The Love of God

Ephesians 3:17-19 – “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fulness of God.”

No subject has seized my attention, filling my mind with awe at its truth, as has the grand subject of the love of God. Authors have tried to pen it, but have never done the matter justice. Songwriters have tried to express this subject in time and measure, but have only left the subject much more complex than the song. Preachers have tried to declare it, but as Dr. B.R. Lakin said, “You may as well try to describe a sunset to a blind man” as to expound clearly upon the love of God!

One noteworthy truth concerning the scriptures’ mention of the love of God is that the phrases, “love of God,” and “love of Christ,” are absent from the sacred writings of the Old Testament. In Deuteronomy 6:5, Israel was commanded thus – “And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.” While Israel was commanded to love God, there is little mention of God’s love in the Old Testament. Please note, I am not saying that God did not love His people Israel. Neither am I saying that the Old Testament does not tell us so. However, I am saying, that there is very little emphasis on the love of God in the Old Testament, especially when compared with the New. This should not be surprising. The law was never kept out of love; but out of debt (or, obligation; Romans 4:4). The law was never intended to give life, for if it could have done so, then Christ died in vain (Galatians 2:21). The law only administered death. The law only condemned. Outside of condemnation and death, the law could do nothing (Romans 8:3). The scriptures tell us that Jesus Christ came in a body like ours to condemn sin in the flesh. When He did so, it was at this time that the love of God toward man appeared (Titus 3:4)! Before Christ came, the love of God could only be seen through the keen lens of types and shadows. But now, on this side of Calvary, even the most self-centered, nearsighted individual can see clearly the love of God demonstrated toward every lost sinner! No matter how farsighted a person may be, the love of God shown at Calvary, where He gave His only begotten Son, is not so far that it is out of sight!

Understanding that the love of God is little mentioned in the Old Testament, it becomes clear why those who emphasize the law of God and justice of God care little about the love of God. I have written much in this blog concerning the justice of God. I have shown oftentimes that man is condemned in His sins, and that this condemnation leads to Hell. God’s love and God’s justice must be equally balanced. I have shown numerous times that God can treat me as innocent only because His justice was satisfied when Christ, who knew no sin, took my sins upon Himself, and paid the penalty for them in full! I do not preach the love of God apart from the justice of God. I do not preach God’s love for the sinner apart from God’s hatred for the sin. However, there are some who preach only the law of God, but they never preach that Jesus fulfilled the law entirely, including the death penalty that was upon you and me.

I have been saved for more than twenty-three years, and I am honestly amazed at the love of God more at this moment than I ever have been. One preacher was asked the question, “Why did Jesus choose Judas, if He knew Judas would betray Him?”

The preacher responded, “I’ve been struggling with a question harder than that one!”

“What question is that?”

“You’ve been wondering why Jesus chose Judas,” the preacher began. “But I’ve been wondering why Jesus chose me!”

I pray that, as Paul the Apostle stated in the first passage in this post, we may be able to gain some comprehension of Christ’s great love for us!

Hunger

Matthew 5:6 - "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."

Evidence of Hunger
The Bible gives us a story of a great famine in II Kings 6:25-33. In this account, we are told that there was a famine in the land of Samaria. The famine was so bad that a donkey's head was sold for eighty pieces of silver. Dove's dung was sold for five pieces of silver. Now, I cannot imagine being hungry enough to eat dove's dung or a donkey's head. But, they say that if you get hungry enough, you will eat anything.

However, the famine gets even worse. We are told further that two woman make a pact. Their agreement is this: on one day, they will boil one of their sons, and eat him. On the next day, they will boil the other woman's son, and eat him. However, we are told they actually boiled and ate one of their sons on the first day. But, on the second day, the other woman hid her son.

Here, we are told about people actually eating a donkey's head. It is reported by God's Word that during this time, people actually ate dove's dung. As if that is not gross enough, we are then told that people were actually eating people. The chief sign of hunger is made clear in this statement: When you get hungry enough, you will eat anything. Many Americans know nothing about real hunger. Most of our hunger is "habit hunger." A good percentage of our eating is a direct result from boredom. But there are those in this world who know what it is to be genuinely hungry. There are those who give evidence that they are hungry when they are ready to eat absolutely anything.

A Hungry World
It is evident to me that we live in a world of people who are starving to death. I know they are starving because they will eat absolutely anything. The atheist and agnostic will laugh at my belief in God and His Bible. But then, I examine the pitiful theories they swallow. The Big Bang Theory, the theory of evolution, and even the theory that the universe came from nothing are all laughable explanations of the existence of the universe and mankind. If you believe in this nonsense, you are swallowing a donkey's head. But when you get hungry enough, you will eat anything. Atheists are starving, and the way that sit down and eat filthy slop proves it.

Some of the most confused people today are religious people. Religion never has satisfied the hunger of man, nor ever will. When I see Muslims with their face to the floor, bowing to their god, some of them willing to sacrifice their own life - and still have no assurance that their god is pleased with them, their willingness to eat a donkey's head reveals their true starvation. When I see Catholics keeping sacraments, observing traditions, reciting prayers, worshipping Mary, and praying to saints, their willing to eat slop shows how hungry they really are. Mormonism, Jehovah's Witnesses, and other cults who emphasize men other than Jesus Christ are so hungry they are willing to swallow anything!

I Am Satisfied
I can write with confidence that I am satisfied. I was starving at one time, but I found the bread of life. "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled." The key phrase is "after righteousness." I got tired of eating the donkey's head. I was sick of dove's dung. I finally cried out in my spirit "Just any piece of flesh won't do!" Then, the gospel was preached to me. It made me hungry and thirsty for righteousness! It may be wrong to be picky about what you eat when you are hungry, but I got picky! I got to the place where it had to be righteousness, or I wasn't eating it! Jesus is the bread of life, and He is the only substance that will satisfy. When I found Jesus, I found bread that stopped the hunger pains. I found water that quenched my thirst to the extent that I never thirsted again! I have found that there is always a vast supply! I'll never need to go back to the donkey's head, or the dove's dung. I'll never need to go back to unsatisfying religions and creeds. I'll never need to settle for the pitiful theories that some swallow. Once you've tasted of Jesus Christ, you'll never be deceived by something other than righteousness! I was at a church recently where someone got up and said, "Someone here has a headache." This man was supposed to be prophesying. God was supposed to be telling him that someone in the crowd had a headache. Let me shine a little light on this for you - In a crowd of four, someone's got a headache. That's not God! God had nothing to do with that man's "prophecy." When you have tasted of the real bread from heaven, dove's dung doesn't entice you! That night when that man prophesied that someone had a headache, would you believe that there were those who swallowed that mess? Yes, when you get to where you're starving, you'll eat anything!

Why don't you cast the dove's dung away and partake of the bread of life? One bite, and you'll never have to sit down to a plate of slop.

"Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled!"

The Worst Kind of Backsliding

Galatians 5:4 - "Christ is become of no effect unto you, whosoever of you are justified by the law; ye are fallen from grace."

If God Examined Your Works
Suppose you were called upon by Almighty God to stand before Him right now. Suppose the Lord required this of you for the purpose of examining your works. As you stand in the presence of a just, holy God, He gives you the orders of how your works will be examined. He tells you to present your best works first, then your evil, bad, corrupt works.

So, you prepare to show the Lord your best works. You go to church regularly; so you present it to the Lord. You give to work of God; so you make that known to Him. You treat your neighbors in a kind fashion; so you do not hesitate to call names of your neighbors to whom you have shown kindness. Then, you stop for a minute. You think, making sure you can tell of another good work, without stretching the truth in any way. You tell the Lord, that, you are not a gossiper. You do not spread rumors on people. You do not lie. You give to charity. You pay all of your bills on time. When you owe money to any party, you are prompt to pay what you owe. You study the Bible regularly. You pray every day. You even fast on a regular basis. You make it a point to witness to so many people a week. And, you go on and on. Hours pass, and you still rattling off your best works. In your mind, you are thinking, "This isn't so bad; I'm a lot better than I thought I was!" You present your good works to the Lord for eight solid hours. Then, after a period of silence, the Lord asks simply, "Are you finished presenting your best works?" You answer, "Yes." There is another long silence before the Lord responds to all these good works you have presented to Him. You wait, wondering what the Lord will say about all these great things you have done. Suddenly, you hear a sound from the throne. You listen, but can't make out the words. Then, you realize that the Lord is not speaking; He is gagging at all your good works. Your BEST WORKS have made the Lord regurgitate all over heaven. This is the Lord's response to your BEST WORKS; you have not even presented your evil works yet!

Oh, you think this is far fetched. It's only an analogy, but it correctly reflects the Lord's opinions of your best works.

Isaiah 64:6 - "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."

ALL our righteousnesses are as FILTHY RAGS! When we think of filth, we think of homosexuality (and it absolutely is). When we think of filth, we think of adultery, fornication, pornography, lying, stealing, cheating, child molestation, child abuse, domestic abuse, legalized murder of babies, and sins of this nature. And, yes, every one of these things are sheer filth in the sight of a holy and just God.

But God used this word, "filth" to describe our goodness; our best righteousness.

The Pharisees' Religion - A Religion of Righteousness
Upon reading the New Testament, you quickly discover a religious group of people called Pharisees. They strove to keep every jot and tittle of the law of Moses, even adding to it! They were strict. They had rules and regulations. Jesus spoke of their righteousness. Notice:

Matthew 5:20 - "For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, ye shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven."

Here, Jesus speaks to a multitude, using the Pharisees as an example. He tells the people, "If you are not more righteous than the Pharisees, you'll not enter the kingdom of heaven!" The Pharisees were the strictest bunch around! I'm not sure it was even possible to get more strict than they were (I've been in churches that have tried)! Know this: Jesus was not teaching, that to go heaven, you must be more strict than the Pharisees. However, He was teaching that you have to be more righteous than they were. Then, Jesus begins to expound.

"You have heard it said, Thou shalt not commit adultery," He begins. "But I say unto you, He that looketh upon a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery already in his heart." The rules of the Pharisees dealt with actions; Jesus was dealing with the heart!

Then Jesus goes on to say that they have heard the command, "Thou shalt not kill." But He informs them, "I say unto you, if you are angry with your brother without a cause, you are in danger of the judgment." Again, Jesus deals with the heart!

The problem with the righteousness of the Pharisees is that their righteousness didn't go DEEP ENOUGH. It didn't get into the heart. Their righteousness was manifested in rule-keeping. There was never a change of heart!

I have heard Holiness preachers say that we are going to have to be more strict than the Pharisees to get to heaven. But Jesus was NOT teaching us to have more rules than them; He was rather teaching us to be more righteous than them. We need a righteousness that is not merely conformity to a rule, but rather a change of heart. There's only one thing that will change your heart from filthy to clean - the blood of Jesus Christ!

II Corinthians 5:17 - "Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new."

The Most Important Fact You Will Ever Learn
When a person hears a clear declaration of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and decides to respond, the first thing that the individual must do is let go of every feeble, sorry effort to save himself. You are not fully trusting Christ if you are trusting in any effort of your own to save yourself. The greatest truth you will ever admit is that you are hopelessly lost - that your best works are pitiful and disgusting in the presence of a holy God. Once you realize this, salvation is on the horizon! Help is on the way!

How the Galatians Fell from Grace
At the beginning of this blog post, I opened with a scripture from Galatians 5:4, which shows us that the Galatian churches were fallen from grace. Those in the Galatian churches realized this truth. At some point (probably under Paul's preaching), the Galatians heard the gospel. They finally let go of their religion of works, and trusted Jesus only for their salvation. Every lost person must do this if they expect to be saved. You must let go of every philosophy, ideal, religion, creed, and everything else, placing all of your faith in Jesus Christ alone.

But at some point, the Galatians slowly began going backwards. They had backslidden; they had fallen from grace. There is a very important fact we must realize about this backsliding. The Galatians did not go back to doing evil works; they went back to trusting in GOOD WORKS. The Galatians did not forsake Christ to become murderers, thieves, extortioners, liars, adulterers, homosexuals, and the such like. There is a backslidden state worse than that! And that is the state in which the Galatians found themselves! The only state worse than falling from grace to become a murderer or a thief is to fall from the grace of God, trusting in your works rather than in Jesus Christ.

In the third chapter of Galatians, Paul describes the method by which the Galatians fell.

Galatians 3:3 - "Are ye so foolish? having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?"

The Galatians began their walk with God at "the altar," if you will. They began their journey realizing that if they were to be saved, Christ would have to do it, for they could not save themselves. They cast aside every work of their own and trusted solely in Christ. They began IN THE SPIRIT. But now, they went back to trusting in works to keep them saved. I've heard it over and over - "Oh, the Lord will save you. But if you're going to 'stay saved,' you have to..." and then the list of works is preached. Dear reader, get this straight. If works can't get me saved, works can't keep me saved! If going to church won't save me, going to church won't keep me. If paying my tithes won't save me, paying my tithes won't keep me. If dressing modestly won't save me, dressing modestly won't keep me.

Paul plainly asks the Galatians in Galatians 3:3, "Having begun in the Spirit, are ye now made perfect by the flesh?" You began trusting in Jesus, and now you're going back to a bunch of works that couldn't save you to start with???? Paul is flabbergasted! He is absolutely beside himself! He is certain that he taught them better than that! He has preached to them that Christ is their only hope, and now they are trusting their works to keep them saved!

No, the Galatians wouldn't fit a "backslider's category" among many churches. But Paul said they were fallen from grace. Not because they went back to BAD WORKS; but because they went back to trusting in GOOD WORKS.

Yes, placing faith in good works to keep you saved is the worse kind of backsliding that has ever been. Look at what Paul tells the Galatians about trusting in good works to keep them saved:

1) Works cannot justify - Galatians 2:16
2) Rebuilding works once destroyed makes you a transgressor - Galatians 2:19
3) If works could justify, Christ died on the cross in vain - Galatians 2:21
4) If you trust in works, Christ is become of no effect - Galatians 5:4
5) If you trust in works, you are fallen from grace - Galatians 5:4

Clearly, trusting in works after you are saved is backsliding as much as anything. We must trust in Christ for salvation, and in Christ alone.

Nothing can for sin atone; Nothing but the blood of Jesus!
Naught of good that I have done; Nothing but the blood of Jesus!

Oh, precious is the flow
That makes me white as snow!
No other fount I know!
Nothing but the blood of Jesus!*

*Robert Lowry

The Road Between Two Ditches

Matthew 7:13, 14 - "Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leadeth unto life, and few there be that find it."

The Road
In the above verses, Christ gives an analogy, using the illustration of two roads. One road, which has a wide gate at its entrance, is the broad way that leads to destruction. This is the way to hell. It is comfortable. On it, there is plenty of company. It just has a "feel" about it - it feels right. But this is the way which Solomon spoke of when he said, "There is a way which seemeth right unto men, but the end thereof are the ways of death." Those who are not following Jesus are on this road.  So much about it "seems right," but it is everything but right. It leads to death; more specifically, the second death in the lake of fire.

The other road is road on which I wish to focus. It has a straight gate, and a narrow path. It is far less comfortable. There is not near as much company. But, this is the road on which I travel. I chose this road not because I enjoy a lack of comfort; I chose this road because of its destination - it leads to life eternal. You may ask, "Where is this road?" The question is not, "Where is this road;" the question is, "Who is this road?" Jesus Christ is the way, the only way, that leads to eternal life. Let me be clear so no reader is confused - YOU WILL GO TO HEAVEN THROUGH JESUS CHRIST AND HIM ALONE, OR YOU WILL NOT GO! The blood Jesus shed on the cross is the only cleansing agent that can cleanse your sins and mine. The works of Jesus are the only ones that please the Father. Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven. All religions, creeds, beliefs, good works, prayers, gods, temples, mosques, altars, pulpits, books, philosophies, ideals, and every other sorry, pitiful attempt man makes at trying to save himself will lead man to HELL. You don't want to go hell? Then cast off your religion, creed, belief, and every other thing to which you are clinging, and trust Jesus Christ and His finished work on Calvary, and trust nothing else. Jesus is the absolute only way that leads to life.

The Two Ditches
The straight and narrow way has a ditch on either side. You can go too far either way, and be lost. In the same chapter as the verses mentioned above, Jesus talks about two groups of people, neither of which are on the straight and narrow way. Let us look at these groups together.

Matthew 7:21-23 - "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

The scene in the above verses is the day of Judgment. Jesus speaks of the day when all mankind will stand before God. Jesus talks about two groups of people that will stand before Him on that day, and plead their case. Both groups thought they were on the straight and narrow way, but were not. One group fell in one ditch; the other group fell in the other. Let us look at these two ditches.

The First Ditch
Jesus begins the above passage by saying, "Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." This is a favorite verse among many Holiness preachers. I have heard it brought out many times. And, what is brought out is mostly true.

The first thought that is brought out of this verse is the fact that not everyone who says, "Lord, Lord" is going to heaven. That is ditch number one. There are those who claim to be saved just because they say a prayer. SAYING A PRAYER WILL NOT SAVE YOU! If all you did was regurgitate a prayer, and there was nothing in your heart that believed, rested, and trusted Jesus Christ solely, resulting in Him giving you a new heart, making you a new creature, you have fallen into the first ditch.

"Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven," the Lord said. Then, He goes on to say, "...but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven." I have heard preachers use the latter part of that verse and say, "You have to do the will of God to be saved." Then, they pull out a long list of works to be done! They say that you must pray so much a day; fast so much a week; witness to so many people; go to church so many times a week - all of this is "the will of the Father," so you must have all these wonderful works if you are going to be saved!

Whoa! Wait a minute. They are right when they say that salvation is more than just saying a prayer. But when you start preaching that we have to keep a long list of works to be saved, you're about to swerve into the second ditch.

Jesus said that those who simply say a prayer are in the first ditch. They're not on their way to heaven. Jesus said the ones who are on their way to heaven are those who "do the will of the Father." What is the will of the Father? THE WILL OF THE FATHER IS NOT A LONG LIST OF WONDERFUL WORKS! In John 6:40, Jesus clearly defines the will of the Father - "And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day." The will of the Father is simply believing on the Son and having everlasting life! It is not fasting, witnessing, a dress code, or any other wonderful work. When you pray to be saved, it must be accompanied with BELIEVING, or putting your trust in, Jesus Christ. Romans 10:9 bears this out - "That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved." So, "doing the will of the Father" is not completing a long list of wonderful works. If you preach it that way, you're about to land in the other ditch, if you're not already there.

The Second Ditch
Having just looked at Matthew 7:21, let us look at the next two verses.

Matthew 7:22, 23 - "Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many WONDERFUL WORKS? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity."

The first group fell in one ditch because they said a prayer, but did not do the will of the Father - believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. As a result, there was no change in their life. They were not made a new creature because they were not "in Christ." Their heart was still filthy. They were not washed from their sins. There was no deliverance from sin. As a matter fact, no man can tell that they have been to Jesus, because they haven't! This group thought they were on the narrow way, but they had fallen into the ditch!

The other group, however, make an interesting claim on the day of Judgment. "Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied and cast out devils in your name, and in your name done many wonderful works?" But Jesus will say to them, "Depart from me, ye that work iniquity; I never knew you."

LISTEN TO ME CAREFULLY. You can knock the crowd that just "says a prayer," and there is no life-changing faith involved; and certainly, they are in the ditch. But if you are trusting in a long list of wonderful works, you are not on the narrow way either! The man who is trusting in a long list of wonderful works and outward standards to get him to heaven is just as lost as the man who says a prayer without exercising faith. You can talk about how lost the crowd is that preaches a gospel that produces no change - but if you are trusting in your long list of wonderful works, you are lying in the ditch just across the road from them! Saying a prayer with no faith in Christ will certainly lead you to hell. But trusting in a long list of standards will lead you to the same hell, just as fast.

Dear friend, I am not against having good works; but I am thoroughly against trusting them! If you think you are on the narrow way because you keep a list of rules, standards, creeds, dress codes, laws, or commandments, you are in the ditch.

Conclusion
Jesus Christ is the narrow way. If you say a prayer, but do not trust Jesus Christ, you are in one ditch. If you claim Christ, but are trusting in any wonderful work outside of Christ, you are in the other ditch. We had better get our faith - all of our faith - in Jesus Christ and in nothing else. Faith in anything else leads to hell.