GRACE:
In recent times, grace has come to be popularly understood to mean “unmerited
favor.” This definition does not even
come close to defining the actual meaning of Grace. But, this error has
been repeated so often, at this point, that it has come to seem completely
legitimate.
One reason that this definition of unmerited favor has been so often
repeated is that it is important in substantiating the non-responsible
gospel. This definition is typically
used to turn the idea of grace into an exclusion that relieves the believer
of the consequences normally connected to wrong doing. Obviously, this is a key change that nicely fits
the non-responsibility idea that the believer has no real obligation to rise
above the sin impulse.
An Overspecialization
So, let’s just look at the real
definition of the word. Webster’s
Dictionary defines Grace as, “Seemingly
effortless beauty, ease and charm of movement, proportion, or form; a charming
quality or characteristic.” Funk
and Wagnall’s Standard Dictionary defines it as, “Any excellence, characteristic, quality, or endowment.”
The Greek word that is translated as
grace every time, save one, in the
New Testament is “Charis.” Thayer’s Greek-English Lexicon of the New
Testament (A widely and highly regarded work) gives this definition for
that word, “That which affords joy,
pleasure, delight.” Strong’s
Dictionary of the Greek Testament (also a very highly regarded work) gives
this meaning: “Graciousness (as
gratifying) of manner or act.”
The Broader Meaning More Accurate
The idea in these legitimate
lexicons is simple. These completely
objective and highly regarded dictionaries give us a much broader definition of
grace than is involved in the pop-definition of unmerited favor. They define
grace, in short, as simply a kind of “innate goodness” (innate meaning, from the beginning, or
occurring originally or naturally.)
So, the idea being conveyed in these
reputable references speaks simply of a natural or characteristic goodness. And that is the primary way “grace”
should be understood in the New Testament.
We should point out, here, that the
Bible does not have its own special meanings for the words that it
contains. In fact, just the reverse is
true. It is a necessary requirement for
Bible translators that they have a broad and accurate knowledge of both the
language that they are translating from, and the language that they are
translating to. This is necessary so
that they can employ words accurately as to their established meanings. In any reputable translation of the Bible,
every effort goes toward this accurate rendering into the commonly held
usage.
So,
the contention here is that the truth is far better served when one understands
grace as the general references render it:
simply a naturally occurring
goodness. When we understand grace
in this way, we soon come to see that to be saved “by grace” speaks more
of the naturally occurring goodness in
the character and motives of God, than merely to the smaller idea of “mercy.”
Certainly, mercy (unmerited favor) is involved
in our salvation. And, it is certainly a
part of and a product of God’s grace.
But, grace is not mercy. The two
terms do not interchange equally. And,
to attempt to do so is to greatly narrow and so specialize the idea of grace
that its true meaning, and thus, the intent of the scripture, becomes
lost.
A Superior Personal Government
However, when we understand grace
correctly, the stage is then set to understand something astounding. It is the role that grace plays in the
transformation of the believer. A
tremendous awareness, which is entirely lost through the non-responsible idea
of “unmerited favor,” is that this same divine grace (naturally occurring
goodness) eventually also expresses itself within the believer, through our
Spiritual merger with Christ,
Through our Spiritual integration
with the character essence of Christ, we are literally connected to His
gracefulness, just as we are to his other character traits. And, this naturally occurring goodness (which
we share with the character essence of Living Christ) then enables a
spectacular change in the way that God’s people are governed and guided.
Paul makes a profound statement in
this regard in Romans, chapter 6, where he says, “For sin shall not
have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.” With this statement, Paul confirms that God’s
people have transitioned from a personal government based in the external rules
of the divine law. He confirms here that
we are now governed by the internal government of grace, this Christ-based
instinctive goodness now present within the believer’s heart through the
Spiritual merger. And, this change,
changes everything.
It provides a wonderfully natural and
comfortable guidance to our daily life. So,
grace becomes a very instinctive heart-based personal government to replace the
very un-natural and completely awkward government of external rules. Thus, in the Living Christ, the believer merely
begins to naturally do, what he has become in Christ.
Obviously, this is a far superior
method of personal governance. And, it is
one which absolutely succeeds where that of external rules, even the divine
external rules, have failed in the past.
So, the apostle would also write this in Romans, chapter 6. “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh,
God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned
sin in the flesh: 4 That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled
in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.”
What It Is, What It Isn't
The accurate and truthful view of
grace is to understand it as this guiding goodness which is naturally occurring
in the nature of God, and now, through the Living Christ, in the renewed nature
of the believer. Understanding this,
provides a much broader and more accurate insight into the true nature and the
larger redemptive roll of grace.
So, grace, understood correctly, is
not a term that describes God’s willingness to simply overlook all human failing,
thus abdicating His original plan for an obedient, faith-expressive
people. Obviously, when properly
defined, grace is hardly the means of non-responsibility. Rather, grace enables responsibility by
providing a very nature-based way to instinctively respond to God and to life in
true goodness.
So, it is the greatest perversion to
re-tailor the meaning of grace to lay a foundation which allows one to retreat
from responsibility. Such an idea is not only inaccurate from the
standpoint of definition, but it is also in complete disagreement with
everything that God has intended for His people from the beginning.
How Very Logical
How very logical when you think about it, and how very
“amazing,” indeed. God has found a way
to bring effective and consistent heart government to the human being by
enabling us to share in the good heart motives of Christ’s through our personal
merger with Him. And then, His graceful
instincts become our own to provide an every day, easy government of
grace. It is the natural government of
instinctive goodness.
And what could
be more natural? As the good impulses
which move Christ become our inner impulses and begin to move us, we now become
able to serve God with the same natural affinity with which we once served our
own self-centeredness. Where once we
instinctively responded to dark and selfish urges, now we respond to the
natural impulses of light and true goodness.
So that’s what God meant when He said, “I will put My
Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes; and, you will keep My
judgments and do them.”
SIN:
Now, let’s consider the issue of Sin. It is obviously an important issue in Christian
theology. And how we view and deal with sin
defines the fundamental conflict between the antichrist gospel and the
authentic Gospel.
The Nature of Sin and the Sin Problem
To understand how the believer can
survive before a holy God in a context of real accountability, it is necessary
to first understand the nature of sin and the sin problem. This understanding begins with a simple
idea: Sin has a twofold nature. Sin is often expressed as an action. But, it is essential that we
understand that sin does not only exists
in the form of an act. It also
exists as an internal value.
The Sin Value
But, what
are values? Values are those things that
we, well, value in our heart. They are our most dearly held principles, beliefs, tenets, etc. stored
on the deepest governing level of our core person. And, these values, these life governing
principles, are so intrinsic to who we are that they are often more like
instincts than cognitive thoughts. And,
all of our values, taken together, form our Value
System.
And, it
is this value system, this collection of values, which serves as a kind of “interpretive
life filter” to enable us to sort out the issues of life. Thus, every day, our values serve as our
personal guidance system to decide good and evil, right and wrong, yes or no, etc. So, indeed, every day, our value system shapes
the kind of life we live, determines the quality of that life, and sets the directions
our life will take.
Thus, our
values are supremely important to the outcome of every day. Jesus said, “A good man out of the good
treasure of his heart brings forth that which is good; and an evil man out of
the evil treasure of his heart brings forth that which is evil: for of the
abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”
Essentially
then, our life is, indeed, the product of the values within our heart, our core
being. And that core person is also essentially
defined by this value system. Now, let’s
look at the role values play in the nature of sin and the sin problem.
Back to the Sin Issue
So, while an act of sin may be the more
visible and familiar expression of sin, it is still only the product of that deeper,
inner dimension of sin, the sin value,
within the heart. But, when we think of
sin in these terms, as a value in the heart, it is important that we understand
the difference between what can aptly be called the “Essential or Primary Sin Value”
and the secondary sin impulses.
The essential sin value is the root
source of all sin in a person’s life.
And, its basic nature is completely uncomplicated. It is simply the value of self-determination. The idea is simply what was described
above. It is the motive, the drive, the
desire to do your own thing, even
when that “thing” ignores or conflicts
with God’s values and directions. So, it is this very primary sin value, as it
drives us to be self-determined, self-guided, self-sufficient in life, which
then gives rise to the more secondary sin impulses: immorality, cheating, stealing, lying, etc.
God's Primary Target
Thus, it is this essential sin value,
this root source of sin, at which God’s redemptive work is first aimed. Eliminating this rebellious and very compelling
sin value from the governing level of man’s heart is the key to restoring fallen
mankind.
This is true because this value is
in direct opposition to the faith value, the nature of which is
also very uncomplicated. The faith value
is the diametric opposite of the sin value which insists on
self-expression. But, the faith value is
the motive, the drive, the desire to humble one’s self before God by willingly
embracing His values and directions, rather than your own.
The Sin Voice :
Open Hostility vs. Quiet Independence
So, within our core person of
unredeemed man, on the subconscious level, this value becomes a kind of “sin
voice,” the constant expression self-sovereignty
(self-rule). And it constantly demands
the freedom to be self-determined.
Sometimes this is an observably
caustic expression which comes out as an arrogant and openly rebellious
opposition to God, as might be observed in a very nefarious non-believer. In this form, the influence of the sin value might
be seen as a fist-shaking, “stay out of
my way, God, and leave me alone,” kind of attitude. When the sin value expresses itself like
this, it is easily identified for what it is.
Most often though, it does not
express itself in this way, at all. It
is far more frequent that the sin value will simply express itself as a quiet, but
resolute, independence. In this more
attractive form, the essential sin value may actually allow us to consciously
acknowledge God for who He is. It may
even allow for a casual pursuit of God.
But, in truth, it will never allow us to enter into anything more than a
self-protecting encounter with Him.
And, it should be noted too, that,
even in this more attractive form, this quiet independence is still a very real
form of rebellion against God’s authority as the Creator. And, it has the same separating effect. And, it draws the same stern judgment of God
as that more abrasive expression of the sin value. They are, in essence, the same.
Condemnation, Absent Expression
So, it is this inner dimension of
sin, the sin value, which condemns the soul before God. And, it does this before it ever expresses
itself as an act of any kind. So, the
idea of putting our good works up against our bad works in the balance scales
of the final judgement suddenly begins to appear as what it truly is – childish
and ridiculous. What will be examined
first and foremost in the final judgement will be our heart, not our works. And, this will be done with a singular
interest in finding out what is the dominant value in this heart – the sin
value, or the faith value.
An Obvious Conclusion
Even to our minds, then, it becomes
obvious that to really answer the problem of sinful actions, one would have to
deal, first, with this root cause: the sin value. And certainly, the all-knowing God has known
from the beginning that it is in the heart, including the subconscious heart, and
not in the expression, that sin must be remedied. The act of sin is but the symptom of the real
disease within. Cure the disease and the
symptoms disappear. So, it is this inner dimension of
sin at which the redemptive work of Christ is first aimed.
Jesus
expresses His grasp of this need to His disciples in Matthew, chapter 15, when
he asks, “Are you also still without
understanding? Do you not yet understand that whatever enters the mouth goes
into the stomach and is eliminated? But those things which proceed out of the
mouth come from the heart, and they defile a man. For out of the heart proceed
evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness,
blasphemies...”
The Non-responsible Tactic
When it comes to the issue of sin,
the non-responsible gospel does not actually tamper much with the meaning or
nature of the concept. Rather, it makes
sin (both the value and the actual expressions) a moot point by simply, as
always, making the believer non-accountable for its existence in his heart and
life.
The Essential Sin = A Deceitful
Presentation
We can be self-determined and still be a moral
person. We can be self-determined and
yet consciously pursue the affections of God, at least to a point. We can be self-determined and still be very
principled. But, even with all of this
accommodation and more, it still remains true that self-determination, whether openly
hostile or very subdued, will ultimately separate us from God and draw God’s
judgment.
We were created to be God-directed creatures, not
self-directed creatures. Adam failed,
and mankind in him, not because he shook an angry and defiant fist in God’s
face, but because he quietly insisted on setting his own course in life. It is this kind of volitional sin which has
now touched us all through him. And, it
is this kind of sin, the sin of the self-sovereign heart, for which we should
be most concerned – as is God.
FAITH:
Faith Is Also Two Dimensional
Like sin, faith also has a two
dimensional nature. It also involves the
inner, value (or heart motive) dimension and the external, expression
(or action) dimension.
James, in the New Testament, begins to introduce us to the dual nature
of faith in chapter 2 of his epistle where he says, “
What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but
does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked
and destitute of daily food, 16 and
one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do
not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit?
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.”
Here, James indicates that the faith
value is not meant to be frustrated or defeated by non-expression. His simple point is that it is inappropriate
and incorrect for God’s people not to be a faith-expressive people. The idea is that faith is not meant to be
bottled up and held to only its inner dimension. It is meant to have its perfection, its
completion, through expression, through actions.
The Non-responsibility Twist
It is odd, and completely incorrect,
that we in the modern Church have largely come to think of Sin only in terms of
concrete action. And yet, we now tend to
subtract that concreteness from our faith.
But, indeed, James set this error right.
Nevertheless, in contrast to James’s
authentic Gospel teaching of the need for the believer to be faith-expressive, the non-responsibility
view holds that the believer has absolutely no requirement to be so. This thought, of course, is the logical
extension of a belief in the dominance of sin. Certainly, in a sin dominated condition,
there can be no expectation that the believer can consistently express his
faith in the real terms of Christ-directed works. So, again, God must not require him to do so.
Typically, this conclusion is also
bolstered by overextending the truth
that faith justifies the believer before it finds expression as an action. This certainly is the case. It is the embrace of the faith value within the heart which justifies
the believer - before it is ever expressed as an act of any kind.
But to extend this idea to say that
“God, therefore, holds no expectation of expression” is a grotesque error. And, that is the very error that James discredits
in his New Testament writings.
Obviously, this over-extension is
necessary to make the believer non-responsible.
But, again, the New Testament makes it clear that, in truth, God holds a
very real expectation of expression from a Christ empowered faith.
The Perfect Answer
Now, let’s look closer at the faith
value. Notice that it is the diametric opposite of the sin
value. When the sin value would dictate
in the human heart, “my own will be
done,” the faith value would gladly dictate the opposite sentiment: “God’s will be done.” This makes the faith value the perfect remedy
for the sin value.
Merely The Difference
We should note that we are merely discussing the difference between the
faith value and the sin value at this point.
We are not describing a constant tension between those two motives
within a believer. It would be completely
inaccurate to understand that, at the point of every issue, the believer’s
heart is torn in a life-long battle between these 2 opposing values: “This time – will it be my will or God’s
will?”
Actually, nothing could possibly be
further from the redemptive truth. While
this situation does temporarily occur for the Spiritually incomplete believer, it is absolutely not the usual case
for the mature believer who has experienced a personal merger with the Living
Christ through the Spiritual baptism. In
the mature, Spirit-filled believer, the impact of the Living Christ on his or
her heart eventually erases, entirely, such confrontation. Obviously, once we are empowered and directed
by a shared Value System with the Living Christ within, it is no great matter
to then easily and naturally embrace a shared life decision or direction. We share a heart, why would we not be agreed
in our decisions and directions.
So, in truth, tension and
confrontation is what sinners and, sometimes, Spiritually incomplete believers experience. But, those things are absolutely not the
stuff of a Spiritually mature believer’s relationship with God. The heart-agreement with God which the
Living Christ empowers within the believer makes the “faith answer” so completely
natural as to make it a foregone conclusion,
Faith Ultimately Rules
So, faith in its inner dimension
enables us to embrace God’s will over our own.
It works like this: At conversion
our faith value begins to challenge the sin value for ascendency, first on the
conscious level, and, eventually, through the power of the Living Christ within,
on the subconscious level. And,
ultimately, through Christ, the faith motive does entirely supersede the sin motive
within the believer’s heart. In the next
major section, we will see precisely how this comes to be as we discuss The Dual Role of Christ.
More Will Than Intellect
We can also notice that the faith
value is much more about the will than the intellect. Redemptive faith does not revolve around an
intellectual focus. It is not really about
being mentally convinced of a set of facts, such as, that Jesus is the Messiah or
that He died on the Cross. Redemptive
faith is a volitional, a willful, response in the heart to the implications of
such facts.
Again, James was very clear in
chapter 2 of his letter in the New Testament that such an intellectual position,
absent a humbled and responsive heart, is not at all sufficient to redeem. He said, “You
believe that there is one God. You do well.
Even the demons believe and tremble!” So, James notes that the
demons know for certain, the facts of God's existence and the role He plays in
the human experience. But, he is clear
that this knowledge of fact still does not engage a redemptive faith in
them.
The Faith That Saves: “Influential Humility”
Therefore, it is important that we
grasp the precise intent of the New Testament when it speaks of Faith,
especially the faith which saves our soul.
In general terms, redemptive faith is a deeply held value within the
core person (within the heart). It is
essentially the value of humility. So, redemptive faith originates as simply an ascendant
heart value, which produces this unforced, every-situation heart response
to God: “I trust you more than me.”
Thus, redemptive faith can be
described as “influential humility,”
meaning, a humility which encompasses the
sum of all that we are, the entirety of our personal influence. And, this profound and pervasive humility is
not merely a come-and-go, emotion. It is,
indeed, the superseding motive of our
core person, held on the deepest governing level, and causing us to happily
embrace the beauty and goodness of God’s benevolence. And, in practical, everyday terms, this redemptive
faith motive expresses itself simply as our willingness to embrace God’s value system and directions,
rather than defining those things for our self.
Influential Humility Defines the Believer
So, it is this influential humility which actually defines a true believer. Those who believe, to the saving of
their souls, are those who humbly entrust themselves (the whole of their influence) to God, trusting in His
sufficiency for life more than their own.
This is the truly redemptive faith which one ultimately comes to in John
3:16 where John says, “that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” The phrase, “believes in Him” denotes a confidence, the willingness to confide
one’s self to God, thus making your influence entirely subject to His.
Obviously then, the faith value, influential humility, is in perfect
opposition to the sin value of self-determination.
When understood in this way, redemptive
faith is easily seen as it should be.
Indeed, it is not merely an intellectual position on God’s existence or
the identity of Christ. Rather, it is a
life transforming heart motive. And, it
is God’s perfect remedy for the sin motive of self-determination.
The
Great Leap:
God is profoundly interested in the renewal of His
creature. And, that renewal involves a
very simple, but also very profound, change in our life-approach. That elemental change is our re-direction
from the arrogance of self-determination, with its feelings of self-sufficiency,
to the humility of faith.
So, when Jesus says if we seek to save our life we
will surely lose it, He is underscoring the importance of humility, of relinquishing
control of our life to Him. The idea is
to literally confide ourselves to Him in the real terms of embracing both His
value system and His directions for our life.
This is the true nature of redemptive faith.
It is no great leap to believe in the existence of the
Almighty God. The empirical evidence of that
reality is everywhere to an objective mind.
But, the great leap of faith which saves the soul is to happily and
whole-heartedly risk our self to His loving arms.
THE
NATURE OF GOD’S LOVE:
Now, we are ready to
consider one very important and final concept that the non-responsible gospel
has deeply corrupted. It is the nature
of God’s love.
An important part of the antichrist
gospel is the accentuation of the idea that God’s love is unconditional. Obviously, this is true, but this idea is
better thought of as being part of the
truth. In reality, the non-responsible
gospel has so exaggerated this unconditional aspect of God’s love that it has
all but entirely hidden, from the modern Church, the larger and more accurate
concept.
Love and Respect
But, to discover the larger picture,
let’s begin, not by looking at the idea of love, but by considering the idea of
Respect. These two concepts are very connected, as we
shall see. And, an understanding of the
idea of respect is the best way to begin to approach an accurate understanding
of God’s love.
And, indeed, there are some
interesting connections between love and respect. For example, God often employs love and
respect together, in balance, as a molding apparatus.
In The Nature of God
Consider the nature of God,
Himself. He is certainly a molding
influence upon His creation. And, we can
easily see these two ideas working in balance as we look closely at the nature
of God. God, the Father, very clearly
represents an authority figure who commands our respect. Christ, on the other hand - God, the Son -clearly
represents God’s love to us.
In God’s Word
Also, God’s Word, the primary
shaping instrument for His creation, has this same dichotomy in its nature. The Old Testament emphasizes the need to
respect His authority. The New Testament
clearly emphasizes His tender love for humanity.
In The Family Structure
In this same vein, God has also
established this balance of influences in the family to mold children. Fatherhood generally represents respect for
authority to a child; and, motherhood brings the touch of tender love.
Now, Some Powerful Parallels
This connection between love and
respect, to serve God's molding processes, is not the only impressive
relationship between the two ideas.
There are also some powerful parallels between the nature of love and
the nature of respect.
Respect Comes In Three Types:
Respect Based In Nature
Respect comes in three types. First, there is the respect which is based in
the human nature. This is the basic respect that is due to
every human being simply because he or she is a human being. It is not earned. It is just a part of the human worth and right.
Respect Based in Position
Second, there is the respect which
is based in position. This is the type of respect that might be
given to an officer in the military, or a parent, or a president. And, neither is it necessarily earned or
personally deserved.
This type of respect has nothing to
do with one’s actual worth or performance as a person. Instead, it has everything to do with the
position they hold. The military has a
saying, “You don't salute the man. You
salute the uniform” (representing rank or position). This describes, well, the idea behind the
respect that is based solely in position.
Respect Based In Performance
Finally, there is the respect which is
based in performance. This
type of respect must definitely be earned.
We can insist that our children always give us the respect of our position as a parent, even when we do it
poorly. But no one, not even parents,
can demand the respect that is base
in performance when good performance is absent.
This respect must be earned through
admirable performance.
It simply isn't possible to obtain
this kind of respect by demanding it. It
only comes through merit. You must genuinely
deserve it; or, you simply will not get it.
This is true in the home, in the workplace, or in the sports arena, for
example.
In
A Word
So, we use the single word, “Respect,” to refer to all three types of
respect. But, in fact, to really
understand the nature of respect, you must understand that it actually does
exist in these three different ways.
Now, God’s Love
Now, let’s come back to God’s
love. It has a similar trilateral
nature. God loves us with a love
that is based in His nature. He loves us
with a love that is based in His position.
And, He loves us with a love that is base in His expectation of
performance.
To accurately understand God’s love,
one must understand all three facets of it.
Always, God’s love exists in
these three ways - at the same time.
That is why it is incorrect to simply understand God’s love as unconditional. It is that; but, we should also understand that
it is much more than that.
It is impossible, for example, to
reconcile the idea of the God of judgment with that of the God of unconditional
love. So, in order to have an accurate
image of God and accurately predict His responses toward us, we must comprehend
the different aspects of His love.
God’s Love Based In His Nature
First, let’s consider the aspect of
God’s love that is based in His nature.
This is the tender, unconditional love that we hear so much about. And, it fully fits the popular
description. It is the love of John
3:16. It is a forgiving love, a securing
love, a welcoming love, a non-condemning love.
It is the love of the open arms of God.
This is the kind of love that good
parents give their children in the child’s infancy and earliest childhood. But,
this is not the love that entirely rears and matures our children. No parent can rear children using only this unconditional
kind of love without damaging that child.
And, God certainly does not do this with His children.
God’s Love Based In His Position
God’s rearing kind of love involves his
larger position. To explain this aspect
of God’s love involves a simple statement.
It is this: God
always loves us in the context of His larger responsibility. In other words, God’s love for us,
individually, is always set in His awareness of His larger responsibility to
the whole of His creation.
It is this aspect of God’s love, His
position-based
love, the love of the Governing Creator, which places Him
on the throne of judgment. It is this
position-based love that causes Him to look beyond just the individual child. To be truly a God of love, He must attend to
the higher and larger concerns of the whole of His creation.
It is this same kind of positional
love which causes parents, to say “no” to our children for their own good. It is this love which causes us to punish children
for their wrong doing, and to refuse to give them a position above principal and
what is right.
As does God, some part of good
parents will always love their children with that unconditional kind of
love. But, that is not the love that
governs in the realm of our larger responsibility to them and to society.
The same is true of God’s love for
mankind. Individually, God loves us as
dear children with a very basic and unconditional love that is ever in place. But, though it is always there, it is
ultimately subservient to God’s positional love, which is based in the context
of His larger responsibility to the whole of His creation. Thus, this
position-based love of the Governing Creator is very much a conditional
love.
God’s Love Based In Performance
Finally, let's consider the aspect
of God's love which is based in performance. This is the love of John 14:21 and following
where Jesus said this, “He who has My
commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. [the condition] And he who loves Me will be loved by My
Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”[the merit-based
response]
“Judas
(not Iscariot) said to Him, ‘Lord, how is it that You will manifest Yourself to
us, and not to the world?’”
“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘If anyone loves Me, he
will keep My word; [the condition] and My Father
will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.’”[the
merit-based response] [Brackets added]
The love described in this passage is
a love that requires, even demands, something from us in the way of
performance. This kind of divine love must
be merited. It is not given except in
response to merit.
The New Testament makes it clear to
open minds that this highest and most desirable aspect of God’s love will only
be experienced by those who have met its conditions. Consider, for example, in addition to the
verses above, The Parable of the Talents (Matthew 25: 14 and following). Then simply continue reading in this same
chapter the teachings of Jesus on how He will separate the “sheep” from the
“goats” (Matthew 25: 31 and following).
These references speak of an expression of God’s love that is only given
in response to genuine merit.
So,
God’s love is sometimes unconditional.
But, it is also sometimes very conditional in the ways that we
have described. To understand God’s love
only as unconditional will never explain the real God with which we have to
do. However, when we understand His love
in this three dimensional way, we can anticipate with much more accuracy His
responses to us.
Again, Redefinition
But, again, we note that a key concept
within the authentic Gospel has been redefined to fit the non-responsible narrative. God’s love, is portrayed in the antichrist
gospel as always dismissive of a believer’s real behavior. Thus, as in many other cases with this bogus
gospel, this is an error based in the extreme exaggeration of a partial
truth.
As a result of the widespread
acceptance of this “always unconditional” error, the contemporary Church has
largely come to believe that God’s love never requires anything of the believer.
So, again, the non-responsible theme is
extended.
Nevertheless, this idea is in complete
opposition to the truth. Divine love is,
in fact, very often a truly expectant love. And, it absolutely does sometimes
require an appropriate response on the part of the believer in the ways that we
have looked at.
In
Summary
So, again, it is true that God loves
us unconditionally. But, He also loves
us in light of His larger responsibility to protect the integrity and
well-being of the whole of His creation. And, He loves us accord with the merit
of our faith-expressive performance or the absence thereof. And, He loves us in all of these ways at the
same time and at all times.
Now,
God’s Love In Action
Now, just before we return to sort
out that Roman Dilemma of the last section, let’s proceed to one more
intervening section. In this next
section, entitled, The Dual Role Of Christ, we will take a look at God’s
magnificent love in action by magnifying the role of Christ in redemption to
gain more details. This, too, will help
us comprehend the wonder of what we are about to discover when we return to better
understand the believer who was trapped in that “Roman dilemma.”
[Continue to Section 6]
[Continue to Section 6]
