O How He Loves You and Me (32mb)

(To download an MP3 file of this message, click on the title above. To listen now online, click on the play button of the audio player shown above.)

This sermon is the eighth in a ten-part series on the attributes of God. This message continues the category of attributes that some theologians refer to as the "Moral Attributes" of God. The topics covered in this sermon include: love, mercy and grace.

Written Excerpts:

1 John 4:16 “God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

Introduction:  There are a number of words in our vocabulary that have changed in meaning over time – some with little consequence and others with a great deal of consequence. A word that I believe has changed in some pretty significant ways over the course of time is the word “love.”

Far too many people have a distorted concept of love. Some, if they were honest, would admit that they see love as synonymous with lust. Others think of love as a warm, fuzzy, emotional feeling that inspires thoughts of admiration, etc. towards another person.

As we continue to study about the nature of God and the qualities that are attributed to him in the Bible, we find an abundance of passages that speak of the love of God. Yet, many people today have a rather unbiblical and misinformed idea of God’s love.

In our discussion of the love of God, we are going to also include the concepts of mercy and grace.

III.       Moral Attributes

A. Holiness, Righteousness and Justice.

B. Love, Mercy and Grace

Today, we are talking about attributes that we could say are the exact opposite of those discussed last week.

1. Definitions of the terms.

Love – Have affection for; take pleasure in; be devoted to, with the result of benevolence (i.e. gifts or favors).

Mercy – The quality of love demonstrated in the withholding of judgment that is deserved.

Grace – The quality of love demonstrated in the granting of favors, gifts or blessings that are not deserved.

Both mercy and grace are rooted in the Love of God. It is because of His love that He gives grace and extends mercy.

2. Important Observations from Scripture.

a. Love, like holiness, is what God IS, not what He HAS.

Last week we read the scripture where God declares, “Be ye holy for I am holy.”

Today, I would point out two verses in 1 John where it says God is love. (4:8, 16) “He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love…. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.”

Some theologians have even stated that the core of God’s nature is holy-love and everything else springs from that absolutely perfect balance of holiness and love.

b. God’s love is universal. That is, He loves everyone in the entire world.

John 3:16; 2 Peter 3:9

If God’s love is universal, meaning that no one is left out, then it must also be..

c. God’s love is unconditional.

That means we do not have to measure up to certain requirements in order to get Him to love us. Romans 5:8.

d. God initiates love before receiving any love in return.

That is, He makes the first move toward us without waiting for us to come asking for His love.

1 John 4:10, 19

Squire Parsons wrote the song titled, “He Came to Me.”

The gulf that separated me from Christ, my Lord,
It was so vast the crossing I could never ford;
From where I was to His demands, it seemed so far;
I cried, "Dear Lord, I cannot come to where you are."

He came to me, O, He came to me.
When I could not come to where He was, He came to me.
That's why He died on Calvary;
When I could not come to where He was, He came to me.

e. God’s love is costly.

It is a costly love because it is a self-sacrificing love. John 3:16 “God so love the world that He gave….”

A self-sacrificing, costly love is also a principled love. That is, it is a love that calculates the risks, but is demonstrated and expressed anyway because it is worth the cost.

f. God’s love is a jealous love.

Exodus 34:14. In the context of this verse, the Lord warns against intermarrying with the Canaanites and adopting their worship of idols and pagan gods. As He gives this warning, the sin of idol worship is described as “playing the harlot” – terminology used to describe marital / sexual unfaithfulness.

Deut. 4:24. We tend to think of jealousy as a negative quality; a trait that has negative connotations or meanings. Yet, the Bible is describing God as a jealous God.

If you stop and think about it, it makes complete sense. If there was no level of jealousy at all then there would be a positive reason to question the amount of love the person has.

There is an exclusiveness about love that is God-given and the way God created it.

g. God’s love is constantly in tension with and in harmony with His holiness.

There is never any contradiction between the holiness and love of God. Yet, it is difficult for us to understand the harmony between them.

Over emphasis on the holiness of God; excluding his love leads to a view that sees God as a tyrant, or harsh dictator that can never be satisfied or pleased. Over emphasis on the love of God; to the exclusion of His holiness leads to the idea that God is tolerant of everything and permissive.

The Apostle Paul addresses this tension even as he exhorts believers to “Let [your] love be without dissimulation [hypocrisy]. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.” (Romans 12:9) If someone does not have the capacity to hate what is evil, then it is doubtful they have the capacity to love what is good, or to even love at all.

For love to be genuine, it must seek to conquer all enemies of love that would seek to destroy it.

Conclusion:

So, what does all this mean? Why is it so important to know that God loves me?

1. To really grasp the full meaning of God’s love for me should motivate me to respond by loving Him in return.1 John 4:19.

My back was turned to Him. I didn’t know Him or want Him, but He sought me and came to me and died for me.

2. I should love those that He loves.

1 John 4:11. My love for others needs to have the same qualities that God has for me.

It cannot be based upon their “worth” or “likeability” but base upon the love of Christ working through us.

Remember, the kind of love I’m talking about here is not warm, fuzzy emotional feelings, but a principled compassion that recognizes how much God loves us and wants to pass that on to others.

There are a lot of people who have never known or sensed the love of God, because they have never felt it or sensed it from any of God’s people. This is the kind of love that will do the right thing and what is needed whether I feel like it or not.

The next sermon in this series is: To Tell You the Truth (link is located in blog archive on right)