We hear today from many the words, “Jesus loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life.” Is this biblical and should Evangelical Christians utter such a phrase? The big question in Scripture is not does God love us but do we love God. Our love towards God and the things of God is the most important aspect of our spiritual life. Our love for God does not come easy. We are by nature at war with God in our hearts. We are by nature opposed to God and in rebellion to His law. We do not naturally love God. It is only by God’s grace and enabling that we love him as our sinful nature does not permit us to love God. God grants this gift by his sovereign will.

The short answer to the question of God’s love is that God does not love everyone equally. We cannot address the topic of God lightly. This is not a trivial question. Love is just one of God’s attributes. It seems today that God’s love is talked about, preached about, and highlighted more than his other attributes, and His holiness and wrath are seldom talked about. God is one of love and mercy. He is also a God of judgment and justice. The Bible clearly says that God is love. 1 John 4:8 says, “The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” Scripture teaches us that God is love, not that love is God. It is important that we don’t make love a god. It is fundamental that we do not highlight one attribute over another, we must have a balanced belief based on all of God’s attributes. If we are going to study this topic faithfully then we must get our view of God from God’s Word, not man’s view or our own personal opinion on the subject, nor from what society views as love. The one true God has revealed himself to us in the pages of Holy Writ. He has told us what He is like.

If we fashion a god in our minds that is not in keeping with Scripture, we are guilty of forming an idol in our mind. If we create and worship a god other than the One of Scripture we commit the sin of idolatry and thus breach the holy law of God.

Greek words for love

In English, there is only one word for love. There are four Greek words for love. The four Greek words are agape, eros, philia, and storge. Eros is the only Greek word for love that never appears in Scripture.

Agape – This is the kind of love that is expressed in action not feelings. A good example of this would be Christ going to the Cross to pay the price for sinful men and women. In Matthew 5 we are commanded by God to love our enemies. We can love our enemies with agape love. We can do what is right for them. For example, we can help our enemy in need. We can share the Gospel with them. We can feed our enemies and take care of their physical needs. This kind of love is the one God has for his children. 1 John 3:16 says, “We know love by this, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Eros – This is sexual or romantic love. Eros is not mentioned in the Bible. It is very important to point out that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ was never married and was never in a sexual relationship. He is the most full and complete person to ever walk the face of the earth. If we are saying as human beings, we get our worth, identity, and meaning from a sexual relationship then what are we saying about the Lord Jesus Christ? A marriage relationship is a high form of love, but not the height of love nor is it the greatest form of love. Remember the Bible teaches us that the greatest form of love is Christ who laid down his life for sinners. Our identity as believers is found in Christ alone. If we say that our worth and identity are found in a romantic relationship, then we are saying that married people are of more value than single people or widows. Marriage is an honourable estate. Marriage is a gift from God and a blessing to mankind. Marriage is a beautiful form of love and that love between a man and his wife is for life. Marriage was created by God in man’s innocence.

Philia – This is the bond of friendship and that emotional connection to those closest to us. There is a city in the United States of America named after this Greek word, Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. This Greek word for love is a dispassionate virtuous love between friends or equals. We would use this type of love to express our affection for our family.

Storge – This type of love is used to express the affection parents show to their children. This is also the kind of love we have for our church family and fellow Christians. Romans 12:10 says, “Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor.”

In the Gospel of John, the Lord Jesus Christ asked a very important question to Peter. In John’s last chapter and verse 15 Christ said, “Simon, son of John, do you love Me more than these?” I am sure you have read the account a number of times. Jesus questions Peter about his love for him three times. One thing you might not have realised is that there is a difference in the Greek words for love. Jesus asked Peter, do you “agape” me? Peter answers with a “Philo” love. Jesus asked Peter do you love me more than you love the other apostles. Three times Jesus asked the question to Peter as three times Peter deny knowledge of Christ. Our Lord ask Peter, “Do you love me?” Peter responded with a love that is akin to fondness.

In a world that is growing ever more secular and against the authority of Scripture, God commands us to affirm our love for truth and our faith in the Saviour. Do you love God? Do you truly love God? Do you love God more than anything? Christ said if you love Him, you, will keep His commandments. Can we say from the heart that we love God and His truth while committing sin or living a life of sin? There is nothing worse than a man who does not practice what he preaches. We must confront sin and repent of it. We must fight against sin and not tolerate what sent Christ to the Cross.

In Matthew 5 our Lord tells us to love our enemies. Christians who misunderstand this will find it very difficult to do. Jesus is not asking us to like our enemies. He is asking us to show benevolent love to our enemies. For example, we can do what is right for them. The Christian ought to show respect towards God by faithfully following this commandment. We can give food and water to our enemies. We can show mercy toward them. The commandment to love our enemies does not mean we have to like them, but we do have to do good towards them.

Psalm 116:1 says, “I love the Lord, because He hears My voice and my supplications.” This is the only place in Scripture where “I love the Lord” appears. The Psalmist writes he loves God because the Lord has heard his voice. God supplies the needs of the one who calls upon him. The covenant God of Israel hears the voice and answers the cry of his people. One cannot help but think of what the Apostle John wrote in his first letter, “We love him because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

C. H. Spurgeon wrote in his commentary on this Psalm, “A blessed declaration: every believer ought to be able to declare without the slightest hesitation, I love the Lord.” If there is any doubt in your heart regarding your love or attitude towards God and His Word then confess that before Him. How can we say we love God and doubt His Word or attempt to justify our wrongs before him? Your attention is drawn to the above paragraph. Do you truly love God? Recently I have been thinking long and hard about my love for God. Is there any aspect of my life that needs to be confessed, repented over or even questioned by Scripture? Remember there is no such thing as secret sins, as God sees and knows all things.

Some of the worse sins we can commit are those in private. The hypocrites live a life that is contrary to the one lived before the eyes of the world; privately committing the most wicked of sins and then publicly presenting a persona of righteousness and godly living. Are we like the religious leaders of Christ’s day who were full of dead men’s bones? Are we religious hypocrites? Are we really striving to be holy for the glory of God? Do we fight the battle against indwelling sin in the power of the Holy Spirit by the grace of our God? Or do we think that sin is no big deal, that it does not really matter if we keep it private? The eyes of the world might well be blind to your double-minded lifestyle, but the eyes of God see your lifestyle in the clearest of light. To love God means to obey his loving voice for your own good. To love God means to trust Him. To love God means to confess your sins before Him. To love God means to confess Him before men. Do you really love the Lord with all your heart, soul, and mind?

Scripture warns us, “Be sure your sins will find you out” (Numbers 32:23). Many people have escaped earthly judgment and justice but make no mistake about it not a single soul will escape the divine and eternal judgment of the Almighty. This is good news, God is just. Wicked and evil men such as Adolf Hitler who escaped earthly judgment will face the consequences of their deeds and justice will be served in the afterlife. The Bible declares that every soul will give an account of the life they have lived on earth. We are accountable and one-day divine judgment will be executed. God has made one way to be declared righteous before Him and that is by the blood of Christ which cleanses us from all sin. Christ is the sinner’s joy. Christ is the remedy of sin. Christ is the antidote for the sinful sick soul. If we repent and believe the Gospel we will be saved and counted among the citizens of Heaven.

The most well-known and often misquoted verse in Holy Writ is John 3:16, “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life.” God’s love was shown at the Cross, so all who trust in Him will not perish. This is what John 3:16 teaches. However, some have misquoted this verse and said, “For God so loves the world…” The verse says loved not loves.

God’s grace is poured out on the entirety of mankind regardless if they are believers or not. This is shown in different ways and at different times. God’s love is manifested in his grace on all people. For example, God provides both the righteous and unrighteous with a place to live, money, a job, health, a family, well-being, and other blessings. God’s grace is not just for those who trust in Him for salvation. Remember that God pours out grace on everyone at different points in their lives. The love mentioned in John 3:16 is a general love. I find it strange how many will quote loudly and proudly John 3:16, but will they have the same zeal, boldness of heart, and confidence to quote John 3:36 which declares, “He who believes in the Son has eternal life; but he who does not obey the Son will not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Ezekiel 33:11 says, “Say to them, ‘As I live!’ declares the Lord God, ‘I take no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but rather that the wicked turn from his way and live. Turn back, turn back from your evil ways! Why then will you die, O house of Israel?” It is the desire of God that men and women turn from their evil ways and live for Him. God has no pleasure in the death of wicked men and women, it is His desire that they live a righteous and godly life.

We are all by natural birth children of disobedience and thus children of the devil. By faith in Christ, we are born again to a new hope. Repentance and faith in the living Son of God makes us a child of God. John 1:12 says, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name.” God grants the sinner the right to become a member of His family by faith in Christ. This is God’s saving love in action. When we become a believer the love of God changes us. Before salvation, God’s love towards us is like a benevolent foster parent whose job is to take care of an orphan child. Now, as a believer, God loves us like a father loves his child. We become members of God’s family by adoption. This is the most amazing gift we can be given by God, adopted into the family of God. Love is found at the Cross, there is no greater love than this. True love cannot be found outside the Cross.

In Scripture, the Church is referred to as the bride of Christ. Christ died for His bride, and He loves His bride with everlasting love. There are conditions to this love, repent and believe the Gospel. Hebrews 12:6 testifies to this truth, “For those whom the Lord loves He disciplines, And He scourges every son whom He receives.” Due to the fact that God loves his own as a Father loves his child, God will chasten and correct us when we go wrong and sin. It is God’s joy to teach us and discipline us and it ought to be our joy to receive His loving correction. If you have never experienced this chastening from God then serious questions need to be considered regarding your faith and salvation. Hebrews 12:8 teaches us, “But if you are without discipline, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate children and not sons.” Clearly, throughout the Word of God, there are distinctions of God’s love. God clearly does not love the ungodly in the same way as He loves the Church. 1 John 4 demonstrates this truth.

The first of the 10 Commandments teaches us to love God. You shall have no other god before the One true God of Israel. Our love for God is based on His divine love for us. God’s love for us is not based on anything we have done. We haven’t earned God’s love. Titus 3:3-7 says, For we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful, hating one another. But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for mankind appeared, He saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness, but according to His mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, whom He poured out upon us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that being justified by His grace we would be made heirs according to the hope of eternal life.

How we identify ourselves in the world is also very important. Are we known as one of Christ’s in the world? We ought to have the following in mind. I would rather be known by Him, than by this world. Known as His for His glory. I would rather have the love of Jesus, than this world’s vanity. I would rather be led by His hand of grace than my own mortal flesh. I would rather have Jesus than anything a man can offer me. I would rather be in full submission to His perfect will. I would rather lift up His most holy name than my own in the history books, for I know I can trust His glorious grace.

What does God love? In order to know God we must read His word. God has revealed Himself to us in the pages of Holy Scripture. We cannot know the One true God outside of the Bible. Psalm 11:7 says, “For the Lord is righteous, He loves righteousness; The upright will behold His face.” The Bible teaches that God is a lover of righteousness and the righteous. God is against unrighteousness. Again in Psalm 33:5 this is repeated, ” He loves righteousness and justice; The earth is full of the lovingkindness of the Lord.” Psalm 45:7 tells us that God loves righteousness and hates wickedness. Furthermore, in Psalm 37:28, David reminds us that the Lord loves justice and the wicked shall be cut off. There are many more passages to quote from the Book of Psalms that mentions God’s love for righteousness. We can’t view God’s love without His holiness, goodness, and righteousness.

By looking at the Bible I have established that God loves righteousness and holiness. Having said this what causes God to pour out His anger, wrath, and judgment? The biblical text teaches that God pours out His anger, wrath, and judgment toward sin and those who commit sin. Psalm 5:4-6 says, “For You are not a God who takes pleasure in wickedness; No evil dwells with You. The boastful shall not stand before Your eyes; You hate all who do iniquity. You destroy those who speak falsehood; The Lord abhors the man of bloodshed and deceit.” Also in Psalm 7:11, “God is a righteous judge, And a God who has indignation every day.”

If God is only love, then no unrighteous sinner will go to Hell. In fact, God judges sinners and sin as an expression of His love and justice, as God cannot allow anything unholy into Heaven. The view that God is all and only love makes people think they can live however they please, even a life full of sin, and God will still embrace them. This is a lie. However, God is not all wrath because God has mercy and grace toward sinners. If God was all wrath then everyone would be thrown into hell, not a single soul would be spared the flames of Hell. All the attributes of God have to be viewed in the light of Scripture and understood as Scripture teaches.

God’s love towards His children is a special one. The Church is made up of the children of God. One of the tests of a true child of God is the Lord’s chastening and rebuke. I have mentioned this briefly above but I would like to go a little deeper. In Proverbs 3:11-12 the Bible says, “My son, do not reject the discipline of the Lord Or loathe His reproof, For whom the Lord loves He reproves, Even as a father corrects the son in whom he delights.” A loving parent will correct, teach, and direct their child in the right way. A loving Father will discipline his child when the child has done wrong. Why? Because a Father loves the child and does not want the child to go down the wrong path, he will warn the child of the dangers and the consequences of wrongdoing. Our Heavenly Father does the same. God will do all the things a loving Father should do. God has not given us the Bible to control us nor to take the fun out of things. Rather God has given us rules and commandments to live by because He loves his creation and does not want any harm to come to us.

In Revelation 3:19 Christ is rebuking the lukewarm church of the Laodiceans. Our Lord said to them, “‘Those whom I love, I reprove and discipline; therefore be zealous and repent.” What Christ said to the lukewarm Christians can teach us a great deal of good today. Read the whole account of the Lord’s rebuke to the Laodiceans (Revelation 3:14-22). Can you see that the Lord loves them so much that He does not want them to continue in sin? Christ calls them to Repent. Is the Lord’s hand upon your life? Does Christ call you to repent today? Is there any sin in your heart that is preventing you from holiness and godliness? Is there anything you need to confess to God today?

I will close with John 14:23-24, “Jesus answered and said to him, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s who sent Me.” Is today the day you have realised that you do not love God as He deserves to be and is commanded to be? I call on you today to reverence God, honour God, receive God, and worship God.