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The Love of God
By Grant Phillips
I recently received
a few emails,
basically asking me
to stop talking
about hell, that
since Jesus is love
and He is fair, He
would not send
anyone to hell who
is a good person.
Jesus had a great deal to say about
hell, actually more
than He did about
Heaven. Don’t you
think He just might
want all of us to
know about this
place of torment, so
it can be avoided by
coming to Him in
faith? Jesus gives
eternal life and a
home in Heaven, to
all who come to Him.
To the contrary,
Satan entices as
many as possible to
his future home,
hell, which will be
transferred to the
lake of fire at the
end of the thousand
year reign of
Christ. How does
Satan entice us? He
does so by
convincing people
they do not need to
come to Jesus
because they are
okay, they’re good
enough, Jesus would
send no one to hell,
and many other
excuses.
Dare I avoid the bad news of hell,
simply because it
may not be pleasant
to hear? It is only
unpleasant if you
choose it over
Heaven.
The Apostle Paul said to the Galatians,
“Am
I therefore become
your enemy, because
I tell you the
truth?”
(Galatians
4:16) I heard a very
well-known and
respected pastor on
the radio, just this
week, speak on this
very subject, and he
stated, “Without bad
news, there can be
no good news.” Did
you ever think of
that? Obviously,
instead of bad news
or good news, all
news would just be
news, period.
Almost anything you
buy has a warning
label on it. Some
are obviously
ridiculous, but they
are there no less.
The Surgeon General
and the FDA provide
warnings. How many
have bought medicine
and not read the
side effects
(warnings)
associated with the
medicine? If not,
you should. What
good parent would
not warn their child
of predators, or to
stay out of the
road, or don’t play
with fire, etc.?
Come on now, cannot
God provide
warnings? The Ten
Commandments are
warnings. If we
follow them, we will
stay out of trouble.
If we don’t, there
is going to be
trouble. If you
proceed down the
“narrow road” all
will be okay. If you
remain on the “wide
road” it will not be
okay.
“And it came to pass afterward, that he went throughout every city and
village, preaching
and shewing the glad
tidings of the
kingdom of God: and
the twelve were with
him,” (Luke 8:1)
“And
how shall they
preach, except they
be sent? as it is
written, How
beautiful are the
feet of them that
preach the gospel of
peace, and bring
glad tidings of good
things!” (Romans
10:15) “Glad
tidings” in these
two verses mean
“good news”. This is
good news, but if
this is good news,
there must also be
bad news, just as
there is “down
verses up”, and
“cold verses hot”
and “bad verses
good,” etc. So if we
speak of the good
(Heaven), we must
warn of the bad
(hell), just as
Jesus Himself did so
many times.
I believe that the
greatest hurdle for
mankind to get over,
concerning this
subject, can be
stated in one word,
“works”. The
legalists of Paul’s
day were infested
with it, and it
remains alive and
well today. How
could it be clearer
than this, “For
by grace are ye
saved through faith;
and that not of
yourselves: it is
the gift of God: not
of works, lest any
man should boast.”?
(Ephesians 2:8-9) It
simply does not
matter how good or
bad you are, or what
you do, when
referring to the
eternal destination
of your soul. There
is one door into
Heaven, “I
am the door: by me
if any man enter in,
he shall be saved,
and shall go in and
out, and find
pasture.” (John
10:9) There is one
way to Heaven. “Jesus
saith unto him, I am
the way, the truth,
and the life: no man
cometh unto the
Father, but by me.”
(John 14:6)
The door of hell
stands wide open.
Those who depend on
their own works
instead of the works
of Jesus Christ to
save them will enter
through that door,
regardless of how
good they have been
while on this earth.
Am I saying that
good, moral, mind
their own business,
obey the laws, pay
their taxes,
friendly, social,
faithful to their
spouse, love their
children, those who
are kind to and help
others, even church
going folks could go
to hell? If they are
not a born-again
child of God, who
has been saved by
the blood of Jesus
Christ, the answer
is “yes”. It is not
about what you
do. It is about
what you
believe. Only by
Jesus Christ is our
eternal destiny
determined for the
good. That is the
point. So is God to
blame that many will
spend eternity in
hell, as many would
have you believe?
The emphatic answer
is “no”, as we will
see while taking a
look at the love of
God.
Jesus said, “Greater
love hath no man
than this that a man
lay down his life
for his friends.”
(John 15:13) Here is
the issue in simple
points:
·
Sin came into the
world from Satan by
our original
parents, Adam and
Eve.
Revelation
12:9; Romans 3:23
·
Sin must be judged.
Romans 6:23
·
All mankind has
sinned against God.
James 2:10
·
All mankind will be
judged. John
16:8-11; Hebrews
9:27-28; Daniel 12:2
·
All mankind will
also be judged for
their works. Matthew
16:27; Titus 3:4-7
·
The conclusion is,
unless there is some
way to avoid
judgment all mankind
will end up in hell,
because of our sins
and because of our
works. Our sins
condemn us, and our
works are never good
enough. “But
we are all as an
unclean thing, and
all our
righteousnesses are
as filthy rags; and
we all do fade as a
leaf; and our
iniquities, like the
wind, have taken us
away. And there is
none that calleth
upon thy name, that
stirreth up himself
to take hold of
thee: for thou hast
hid thy face from
us, and hast
consumed us, because
of our iniquities.”
(Isaiah 64:6).
So what are we to
do? Yes, God is
love, but He is also
absolute
righteousness, and
uncleanness cannot
dwell in His
presence. Since He
is just, sin must be
judged, and the
judgment is eternal
damnation in an
eternal hell. Then
death and hell will
be cast in the lake
of fire where all
who reject Jesus
will exist forever
outside the presence
of God. (Revelation
20:14) It is my
opinion that there
will be different
degrees of
punishment in hell,
but alas, it is
still hell. That’s
no comfort. Again,
what are we to do?
There is one way out
of this mess we find
ourselves, and
better yet, there is
actually a wonderful
blessing if we take
this only way out.
God looked down on
mankind in eternity
past, and said to
Himself, “I know
that all mankind
will be corrupted by
Satan, but I’ll
provide the way back
to Me for those who
will come by the
method I provide.”
He went on in His
thoughts. “Someone
who is absolutely
perfect could pay
the price to redeem
those who will come
to Me. Nothing less
will work.” So God
looked down through
time to the furthest
point of mankind’s
future, and could
find no one who was
perfect. There were
many good people,
but none who could
pay the price for
sin. So He said,
“There is only one.
It must be my Son.
He can do it.”
So who does God send
to pay the price for
our sins (and our
worthless goodness)?
He goes Himself. He
takes on the flesh
of His own creation,
man, by placing
Himself in a
virgin’s womb, and
is born and lives as
a man. In the flesh
of man, He is called
Jesus. He left His
throne in Heaven,
and fulfilled
everything His
Father asked Him to
do. He lived a
sinless life, and
allowed a mob to
beat Him and crucify
Him on a Roman
cross. Thankfully,
that wasn’t the end.
He rose from the
grave exactly as He
said He would. He
paid the price in
full. When He
returned to Heaven,
He sent His Spirit
to live within each
person who would be
born-again (1st
time physically; 2nd
time spiritually) in
Him. Each of these
who come to Him,
believe in Him
enough to follow
Him, even if it
means persecution
and death to do so.
So should I speak
about hell? Should
others? Oh yes! If
Jesus thought it was
important enough to
warn us of this
place, then it must
be important. But
listen! That is only
one part of being
born-again in Jesus.
He lives within us
while on this earth,
cleans us up, helps
us to live for Him,
gives us a peace
that the world
cannot give or
understand, instills
happiness that
others strive for
but cannot find,
takes away the fear
of death, comforts
us in our sorrows,
gives us His
strength when we are
weak, provides us a
home in Heaven where
we will live with
Him for eternity,
and so much more.
Think about this,
because without it
we are doomed. He
gives to those who
believe on Him, His
own righteousness.
Why is this so
important? Read
Isaiah 64:6 again,
and you will have
the answer.
That, my friends, is
the love of God,
unconditional love,
meaning He doesn’t
love us because of
who we are, or what
we have done. He
loves us because of
Who He is. Even
while we are His
enemies, He died for
us. (Romans 5:10) He
walked the talk for
us.
Would you rather
talk about the love
of God, since this
is the title of this
article? Okay, let’s
talk about it. How
about John 3:16, the
most well-known
verse in the Bible.
It says, “For
God so loved the
world, that he gave
his only begotten
Son, that whosoever
believeth in him
should not perish,
but have everlasting
life.” That went
well. Let’s read the
next one, verse
seventeen. “For
God sent not his Son
into the world to
condemn the world;
but that the world
through him might be
saved.”
Fantastic! Isn’t it
great! Let’s go on
with verse eighteen.
“He
that believeth on
him is not
condemned: but he
that believeth not
is condemned
already, because he
hath not believed in
the name of the only
begotten Son of God.”
Condemned! Oh my
goodness, that’s a
warning! What
happened?!
Open your eyes and
see that warnings
are given through
love. If God did not
warn us, would He
love us? Surely, the
answer is clear. In
His mind-boggling
love He has for us,
He has made it very,
very clear that
there is one way to
Him and that is
through His Son
Jesus Christ. If we
think we’re good
enough, what else
can He do? If we
think our way is
better, what else
can He do? We have
been warned, and the
alternative is to
abide with Satan in
hell. May we choose
instead to live with
Christ in Heaven.
If it were not for
the love of God, we
would all march
right into hell. If
God had not followed
up on His love, and
sacrificed Himself
on our behalf to
satisfy His
righteousness and
justice, we would
all spend an
eternity in hell.
Bad people and good
people go to hell
when they die for
one reason, they
deny the only way to
God, i.e. Jesus
Christ.
To say that “I’m
good enough”, “I’ll
be alright”, “God
would never send me
to hell”, or all the
other excuses that
come up, is a slap
in the face to God.
Why is that? To
reject the most
precious gift that
He could ever give,
His Son, is to spit
upon God, and say
“My righteousness is
just has good as
His, so no thanks,
I’ll do it my way”.
If we want to do it
our way, that’s
fine, but our way
will send us to a
devil’s hell. In
other words,
we make our own
decision to choose
hell. So
quit blaming God
for your own pride
and
hard-heartedness. He
has done all He can
do. Now you need to
decide. So what is
it going to be, His
way, or your way? In
His great love for
us, He has provided
the way to Him, and
warned us of the
outcome if we choose
another way. That is
the love of God.
If one soul is saved
from hell, or one
Christian inspired
to follow Jesus as
they should, the
angels of Heaven
will rejoice, and I
will too, right
along with them. It
is so tragic that
some cannot see
this, and others are
out to glorify only
themselves
(blindness and
pride).
Pride was the
downfall of Satan,
and it is also the
downfall of mankind.
The love of God
cannot exist in a
heart filled with
false pride. Dear
friends, if we want
the love of God to
live in us, how can
it happen, if we
don’t care enough to
warn others about
hell? How can we
have the love of God
when our pride is in
the way? The Apostle
John says, “We
know that we have
passed from death to
life, because we
love our brothers.
Anyone who does not
love remains in
death.”
(1 John 3:14 NIV)
Let me say in
closing, it isn’t
about you and it
isn’t about me. All
we live for should
be about Jesus
Christ, and sharing
Him with others. If
your eyes are only
on you, you do not
have the love of God
living within you.
Maybe you need to
call upon His Son to
be saved, or if you
are a Christian,
maybe you need to
ask Him to open your
eyes to Jesus and
take them off
yourself. That may
sound hard, but
without God’s love
working in us and
through us we are as
“sounding brass, or
a tinkling symbol”
(1 Corinthians
13:1).
Grant Phillips
grantphillips@windstream.net
Pre-Rapture
Commentary
http://grant-phillips.blogspot.com
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