Much is said of the love of God, and rightly so, for God is love! It was John who said it again and again (1 John 4:8,16). “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son” (John 3:16). Today we hear so much of the love of God that many seem to have concluded: He is love! therefore, He will save us. They reason: He could not send anyone to eternal punishment, for He is love.

While it is true that God is love, He is much more than love. God is: righteous (Dan.9:14), pure (Prov.30:5), Holy (Ps.99:9), mighty (Job 36:5), great (Job 36:26), faithful (1 Cor. 1:9), true (Jn. 3:33), and just (Rev. 15:3).

If we stopped here we could not be saved. For we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God, and sin deserves punishment. In His love for us God provided a sacrifice for our sins, and that sacrifice was His only begotten Son! There was no other way for Him to remain a just God and at the same time to justify those who had sinned against Him (Rom. 3:26). So, in addition to all the above mentioned things that describe God, our God is merciful. “Gracious is the Lord, and righteous; yea, our God is merciful” (Ps. 116:5). It is “according to His mercy” that we are saved (Titus 3:5-7). Oh yes, we are saved by His grace (Eph. 2:8), for grace is a favor not earned, and we cannot earn salvation. But mercy is God not giving us what we deserve! So, instead of punishment for our sins, by His mercy He saved us “by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5), which “undoubtedly the apostle here means baptism” (Adam Clarke, and the scholarship of the world agrees). So, as Jesus put it: “He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved” (Mark 16:16).

The love of God does not cancel the need of believing – “He that believeth not shall be damned.” Love does not take away the need of obeying – Christ will save those who “obey Him” (Heb.5:9), and will take vengeance upon those who do not obey the gospel (2 Thess. 1:8). For God is more than love.

God is “angry with the wicked every day” (Ps. 7:11), God is ‘greatly to be feared” (Ps. 89:7), God is ‘no respecter of persons” (Acts 10:34), God is “a consuming fire” (Heb. 12:29), and “God is not mocked” (Gal. 6:7). You cannot live as you please, disobey the Lord and expect “the love of God” to save you in the end! God is love … and much more! 

Billy Moore

Sunday

Bible Study 9:30 a.m.
Worship 10:30 a.m.
Worship 5:00 p.m.

Wednesday

Bible Study 7:30 p.m.

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