Love of God – Larus Press

Universalism, Liberalism, Justice: What is the True Gospel?

Who is GOD? GOD is Holy… but what does that mean?

I see dusted all over the place, GOD is LOVE. Jesus LOVES you, All you need is LOVE to win the lost. And I notice there is relatively little about the justice of GOD; and yet, Jesus will return to judge the nations (Matthew 25:31).

Well, first of all, what IS LOVE?

I Corinthians 13:4-8a defines LOVE as the following:

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails…”

Love is… and is not:

LOVE isn’t soft. It isn’t excusing. It isn’t cruel but nor is it without standards.

LOVE prevails… is not self-seeking. It isn’t for our pleasure that we love but for other’s welfare. Real love wants the best for the object of our love.

There is such a thing as tough love. Our children need it sometimes; our pupils in schools definitely need it. Sometimes, love isn’t gooey and all-accepting. Sometimes love has hard edges. Likewise, GOD must sometimes demonstrate tough love towards us.

And secondly:

Love is NOT ALL He is.

The Gospel message isn’t just that Jesus is love. He also stands for justice. He whipped the market sellers in the Temple (Matthew 21:13). He accused the Pharisees of their hypocrisy (Matthew 15:7). He scolded his disciples: ‘Have you seen me so long and yet you do not know me?’ (John 14:9)

Love has a moral standard. And furthermore, GOD isn’t only love. He is love, but he is also just. The Just shall live by faith and the faithful shall have a standard or else their claim to faith is dead (James 2:14).

The Full Gospel:

And so, if we are to preach and teach others of GOD’s love, we must also balance that with the Truth of His justice. Otherwise, we are saving souls by our standards rather than by His… and then many will hear from Jesus at his return, “I never knew you” (Matthew 7:23).

The full identity of GOD is not Love, but also Justice, Mercy, Truth.

We must stop deceiving people into thinking He is all-kindness, all-love, all-gooey. Whether or not we have standards, GOD, the Creator of the Universe, has standards. He is all-forgiving, but there must be repentance. He is all-loving, but we must take responsibility for our actions. And so, we must also preach the same. He is Truth. And the truth is: we are born with a sinful nature and must come to Him to repent. It is through the sacrifice of Jesus’ life, determined by God the Father and Jesus the Son, that we can inherit eternal life, not only because GOD is a GOD of love, but also because through His sacrifice and our repentance, His justice is satisfied.

GOD IS LOVE. But He is so much more, and to define Him as only LOVE, we miss our responsibility and His perfect justice and righteousness.

Names

God is Yaweh. He is “I Am”. He is Yehova. God is Adonai Elohim and LORD. These are some of His names.

Character

God is good. God is love. God is merciful, kind and patient, gracious and just. These are some of His attributes.

Roles

God is Creator of the Universe. God is Abba, Daddy, Father. These are two of His roles.

But what is He?

Relationship… with Whom?

We who are born again, we who are evangelical or charismatic – we focus on the relationship we have with God. But do we fully grasp what God is?

The mighty God of the universe, Creator of sun, moon, stars — and mankind — has given us Himself. Some shun Him in order to determine their own lives, prove their independence, and test His love by denying His existence.

We who know Him through His son Jesus, and having been gifted the same Holy Spirit as fathered Jesus and breathed life into Adam and hovered over the universe when it was a blank slate, we need to recognise just how incredible He is. Because if we truly grasp the incredulity of all His magnificence, we might believe God can heal, God can change our destiny, and God must be obeyed.

What is God?

I’ve been a Believer and follower of Jesus for over thirty years, and I’m still learning. I’m still discovering the width and depth and breadth of God’s power and love. I’m only just beginning to consider His justice and His wrath, which is enough to compel me to walk a better witness, as I don’t wish anyone to encounter His wrath.

What is God? The truth is, my words cannot fully convey what He is. Master. Supreme. Creator. These come the closest to describing what I understand Him to be.

And if I could find the perfect word to encapsulate God’s identity, would it make a difference? Would more people follow? Would more followers bend the knee? Would I be a better person?

“The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom.” (Psalm 111:10a) My God is wonderful, full of grace and truth. But as times are shortening, and I’m beginning to realise that the wrath of the LORD is just as strong as is His love, I am beginning to quake in awe, wonder, praise and fear.

I don’t want to miss His blessings. I know He won’t turn on me and harm me. But I also don’t want to allow others to walk into His wrath, or for any of us to miss the generosity of His love, lavished on me and lavished upon others.

And now too, as I mature, I am only just beginning to grasp: neither do I want Him to miss celebrating with His chosen ones as they receive all He has prepared for them.

God is wise. He allows us to choose. But He also calls. I’m tired of wrestling with myself between receiving from Him and doing things my way. I’m wanting more and more to follow His call.

And as I recognise the incredible awesomeness of His sovereign love and authority, I also want others to see it, to trust it and live under it. It will make them happier, me happier and Our Sovereign LORD happier too.

What a wonderful world He’s created. What a wonderful world it would be if we all knew it!

“The earth is the LORD’s, and all its fullness.” (Psalm 24:1a)