Are You Really Saved?: Understanding Sin, Grace, Salvation and Sanctification by Michael D. LeMay

Author:Michael D. LeMay [LeMay, Michael D.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781619279957
Publisher: BookBaby
Published: 2014-05-06T00:00:00+00:00

Section Nine

It All Comes Down to Love

If grace is the most misunderstood teaching of the Bible, the love of God might be a close runner up. We see many scriptures that testify to the love of God toward all men. Yet we see scriptures that testify to things God hates--to the truth that God pours out His wrath in certain circumstances, and that God will judge all men and many will be condemned to eternal separation from God.

In most of my encounters with progressive or “nominal” Christians, the love of God invariably is identified as the reason these people are convinced they are going to heaven.

“God is love, so all people go to heaven.”

“I could never worship a God who hates and would send anyone to hell.”

“Love Wins.”

Many are the arguments fallen man will use to justify his wickedness, or to convince himself he is good enough on his own to justify eternal life with God. But the Bible is undeniably clear that many will spend eternity separated from God in hell. And a main reason is they did not have a clear understanding of the “love of God”.

God Loves; God Hates

Earlier we showed that God’s love is an effect of His nature--always right and always just. Because of His perfect nature, He loves perfectly and hates perfectly. But God’s definitions of “love” and “hate” are not what humans have come to believe they are.

Matthew 22:36-40

“Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.'”

Matthew 5:43-45

“You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust.”

Luke 14:26-28

“If anyone comes to me and does not hate his own father and mother and wife and children and brothers and sisters, yes, and even his own life, he cannot be my disciple. Whoever does not bear his own cross and come after me cannot be my disciple.”

So, are we to assume that Jesus really commands us to love our enemies but hate our own mother and father? Of course not. But this latter verse holds the key to understanding the love of God and the love we are to have for others when we claim to be disciples of Jesus Christ. It will also help us understand how God can love and “hate”.

The word “hate” is from the Greek word “miseo” meaning to “love less than.” So Jesus is telling us we must love our mother and father, and all other things, less than we love God.

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