Bible verses often times misapplied and misinterpreted.
Romans 5:8
But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were
yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Ephesians 2:4-5
But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5)even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved).
I John 4:9-10
By this the love of God as manifested in us, that God sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10) In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
I John 4:19
We love, because He first loved us.
Two reasonable explanation of the above verses:
1. Romans 5:8
clarifies the meaning of the other three verses. God is Demonstrating His love to all men. This is a continuing action best demonstrated by the work of Christ on the cross. Also Matthew 5:45 God causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.
NOTE: A demonstration of love towards a person and
affectionately loving a person are two different things.
EXAMPLE:
Say we find a bobcat hurt out in the woods. We can demonstrate love towards it by showing it mercy and bandaging its wounds. We can take it home with us and nurture it back to health, knowing all the time one day we may reach down to pet it and pull back a stump.
That’s what God has been doing with the human race: demonstrating love to the whole world knowing they would reject Him with hostility - as was seen in the crucifixion of Christ. Though He demonstrated love to all, He never loved them as he loves Christ (His Son), or those who received Christ (His church). John 16:27 For the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me,
DONALD GREY BARNHOUSE, Bible expositor:
Unsaved men are never called the beloved of God.
Romans, Vol. 1, p. 86
2. These Scriptures pertain to people that will ultimately go to heaven.
There is no indication that they are talking about anybody that will go to hell.
By these verses it cannot be determined that God has affectionately loved a person, or ever will, love a person who will end up in hell.
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Another misunderstood, and sometimes misinterpreted verse is:
John 3:16: For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish, but have eternal life.
1. When it says that God so loved the World, it is reference to Mankind As A Whole.
Titus 3:4
But when the kindness of God our Savior and His love for Mankind appeared, He saved us...
Question:
Why Does God Love Mankind?
Answer:
The thing that makes man valuable to God, is that we were created in His image.
Genesis 9:6
Whoever sheds man’s blood, by man his blood shall be shed, For In The Image Of God He Made Man.
This is why you can kill a cow and even eat the cow and God doesn’t care. But if you kill a man unrighteously He becomes furious!
It would be an improper use of John 3:16 to imply that God personally loves un-regenerated unrepentant, homosexuals, murderers, child molesters, adulterers, fornicators, abortionists and many, many others.
2. Also, the word for “love” in John 3:16 is agape. It has the following meaning:
W.E. VINE, Biblical expositor:
AGAPE and AGAPAO are used in the N.T. (a) to describe the attitude of God toward...the human race, generally (Jn. 3:16; Rom. 5:8); and so such as believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, particularly (Jn. 14:21).
An Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words, Vol. 3, pp. 20-21
JAMES STRONG:
agapao, ag-ap-ah’o; perh. from agan (much); to love (in a SOCIAL or MORAL sense).
The Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible, Greek Dictionary, p. 7
Many automatically assume if we say, “God loves you” it means He feels emotionally and affectionately warm toward them. This Is Not True! Agape love is an issue of the will, not the emotions.
WILLIAM EVANS, Theologian:
God loves the believer in His Son with a special love.
Those who are united by faith to Jesus Christ are, in a different sense from those who are not thus united, the special objects of God’s love.
International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Vol. 3, p. 1932
Our language only has one word for “love,” whereas the Greek language has many words for “love.”
There are different types of love in the Greek language, we adapted the meaning for only one of these words, meaning personal affection (PHILEO), and have applied it across the board.
The love of John 3:16 is AGAPE, it is not affectionate at all.
Therefore, we had better qualify exactly what we mean before we give people the impression that God loves them.
One way of explaining the meaning of John 3:16 is that God’s love (AGAPE) is directed towards people because He, by His nature is love.
However, unsaved men, because of their evil nature are not able to relate to God’s love as they are. There is a giant wall that will not allow people to relate to that love directed towards them. The only way this connection can be made is through “regeneration” the indwelling of the Holy Spirit with our sin covered by the blood of Jesus Christ.
Then men can experience God’s love (PHILEO); an affectionate love, a communion of love, a love relationship; never before!
A love relationship involving personal, affectionate, warm love is quite different than the love of John 3:16.
Therefore, if a man responds to John 3:16 (love which is void of any experiential relationship), he will experience God’s PHILEO love.
But if he does not respond to it (the Cross) he will continue to be under condemnation and wrath.
Another way of looking at John 3:16 could be through the eyes of a righteous judge.
A judge could say, “I love the courts.” But we might ask, “How can you have courts without actual people?”
Well, you can’t! However, his statement, “I love the courts” does not bind him to loving every criminal that comes before him in the courts! Technically speaking a person could force John 3:16 to make it look like God personally loves the sinner, but even with this attempt the quality of this love is of absolutely no practical or personal value to the unredeemed other than providing air for them to breath and the option for them to Trust Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
3. Last of all,
John 3:16 is a collective statement that could be interpreted as to creation (man) as it (he) was in the garden before the fall.
This could be why the word for “love” in this verse is in the aoriest tense. It could be a reference to the past, a given point in time when this was true. A love for mankind His creation.
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Jesus holds out hope for all who repent.
(In other words those that change their minds about him.)
LEWIS SPERRY CHAFER, Founder of Dallas Theological Seminary:
God’s irrevocable answer to human sin is the lake of fire, which is the second death. He may save men from it only as a Substitute answers the holy demands made of them and they received that Provision for them. Too often men are blinded by the awfulness of this divine judgment against sin and contend that, since God is love, He will not finally execute all that is here predicted; but be it said again that, if God could save even one lost soul on the ground of His compassion apart from the righteous judgments wrought out by Christ in His death, He could save all lost souls by mere compassion, in which case the death of Christ becomes not only needless, but the greatest blunder of this universe. Systematic Theology, Vol. 5, p. 364
GOD WILL LOVE YOU,
and provide a wonderful plan for life; and, in fact, you may become an object of God’s wonderful love and mercy if you will turn to The Lord Jesus Christ as your personal savior. Realize that you deserve to be
eternally tormented and separated from God (Revelation 20:15).
Then look to the Lord Jesus Christ for salvation provided for you by the grace of God through faith. Jesus said He would give you peace like a river and joy like a fountain. But you must first Repent (change your mind about Jesus) and personally receive Him into your life as your Savior and Lord.
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WARNING:
I Timothy 6:3-5
If anyone teaches false doctrines and does not agree to the sound
instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ and to godly teaching, 4) he is conceited and understands nothing, he has an unhealthy interest in controversies and arguments that results in envy, quarreling, malicious talk, evil suspicions 5) and constant friction between men of corrupt mind, who have been robbed of the truth and who think that godliness is a
means to financial gain.
II Timothy 2:14
Remind them of these things, and solemnly charge them in the presence of God not to wrangle about words, which is useless, and leads to the ruin of the hearers.
Galatians 1:8-9
But even though we, or an angel from heaven, should preach to you a gospel contrary to that which we have preached to you, let him be accursed. 9) As we have said before, so I say again now, if any man is preaching to you a gospel contrary to that which you received, let him be accursed.
II Timothy 4:3-4
For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but wanting to have their ears tickled, they will accumulate for themselves teachers in accordance to their own desires; 4) and will turn away their
ears from the truth, and will turn aside to myths.
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