Friday, 11 March 2011

God's Unlimited Love

God's love is limited to a degree to the unbeliever. These are John MacArthur's words, not mine. To the world, God's love is only temporarily available in time. To those whom He has chosen He loves with an unlimited and everlasting love (Psalm 103:17).
Those who refuse Jesus Christ, that love turns to hate. When men refuse what God offers, that loves turns to hate (John 7:7, Luke 6:22). Our Lord loves His own in an unbreakable love that cannot turn to anything but to more love.
When we become sons and daughters of God we yearn for more of Him. We love His words (the commandments) and strive to live according to His will.

Judgement is Fair? (Romans 9:1-15)
The thing is we don't pity people unless we get emotionally involved. Now when we think about God judging those that haven't heard of His redemption for them then it's not fair. People often ask, ‘What about those who haven't heard the gospel?’ That is just denial of God's abundance of grace. It's the question that denies God's sovereignty and holiness. It comes from a view that says that God is unreasonable and unrealistic. If God is the creator of all things then doesn't He then have the choice to say who lives and who dies? Isn't this reasonable? This view also thinks that since we actually don't have a choice then that God is ultimately cruel. But who said we don't have a choice? God has given us a conscience to bear witness to creation--nature. And He has also written His law in our hearts and on our minds. We can know the right and wrongs of our actions. We know there is something inherently wrong with ourselves and society. It's evident and impossible to neglect all the signs. You'd have to be am imbecile or literally blind to ignore all the evidence! And even if an individual were too simple and even mentally or physically handicapped, God will find a way to save that individual because He chooses to.
He is selectively gracious. God is selective to whom He blesses. As we can see how He had chosen the son of Abraham and how He chose the sacrifice from Abel. He chooses who He loves. He is sovereignty selective. Justice is satisfied in His Son. Grace is given to those who are chosen in Him who believe in the One on the cross.

The Issue
The responsibility for repentance and faith is on you. But God makes the call who will come to repentance (2 Tim 2:25). Be concerned with your own condition first. Grow in repentance day by day. You must repent daily. Your life should be a daily sacrifice to God. “Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith toward God” Hebrews 6:1. And remember to forgive yourself because God has forgiven you. “For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death” 2 Cor 7:10.

Anecdote: Understanding the Father's Love
Inspired by John MacArthur
A small boy watches as his father goes outside with his shotgun. As he walks towards his son's puppy and the son watches from the window inside the house. The father drew aim with the gun and the son watched as his father shot the puppy. The son ran outside and screamed at his father, 'Why did you kill my puppy? I hate you!' The father embraced his son and told him, 'You may not understand this now, but I did this because I love you.' The son was filled with anger towards his father and as the years went by he never forgave his father.
Later, when he grew a little older into adolescence he was going through his father's old documents and found a box and in that box he found some old newspaper articles of a pandemic about rabies. He then found out that his father had killed his puppy to protect him. He did it because he loved him.

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