God’s love for his children is not contingent upon anything they have done it is solely a demonstration of his love and mercy. God as the transcendent and non-contingent Creator of the Universe is not dependent upon any part of his creation in the demonstration of his attributes. God is totally free in demonstrating his grace and love. We who are his children are the unmerited recipients of his love and grace. To say that God’s demonstration of his salvific love is dependent upon some foreseen action of his creatures is an attack upon the aseity of God. For grace to be grace it must be free (Romans 11:6). Some would object and say that is just how God from eternity past chose to demonstrate his love. This is just another way of saying that God sovereignly chose to not be sovereign.
It would be inconsistent with God’s command for us as his image bearers to love others with an unconditional love while his own demonstration of love is conditional. Does God command what he himself does not demonstrate? The question is obviously rhetorical. Jesus the Christ, God in the flesh, perfectly demonstrated this unconditional love when He laid down his life for his sheep while they were yet sinners. (John 10:11) (Romans 5:8). This is the doctrine of Justification. What is often confused and mixed up with Justification is the Biblical doctrine of Sanctification. When these two truths are mixed up with one another heresy shoots out as the conclusion. Justification becomes dependent upon Sanctification instead of the Biblical teaching that Sanctification is the result of Justification. All for whom Christ has died are being sanctified (Hebrews 10:14) and are walking in the works that God has prepared beforehand for them to walk in (Ephesians 2:10). There is no Biblical example of an unrepentant Christian. Christ himself completes the work He began in us (Philippians 1:6).
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit, (Titus 3:5 ESV)
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, (Ephesians 2:8 ESV)
For it has been granted to you that for the sake of Christ you should not only believe in him but also suffer for his sake, (Philippians 1:29 ESV)
We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19 ESV)
But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. (John 1:12-13 ESV)
Thank you for concisely stating God’s Unconditional love for his children.
I cannot help but think of my parents and how they loved their children. My brother, who is now passed on, was a challenge for the greatest of parents.
My Mom loved her first born as much as the last born. However, when he hit the legal adult age in Illinois she demonstrated love. My brother was a selfish person. He did not help others. Instead, he took or demanded of others. He did change in time.
The tolerance my Mom had for him to follow the law of the house was exhausted. She through him out of the house. He refused to help her in any way around the house and it was the final straw. Who said, “Why should you eat if you do not work?”
Through it all she never stopped loving her son. She, also, never stopped trying to teach her son a better respectful way. Sometimes an act of tough love is the most powerful of all.
God demonstrates his love with tolerating our inadequacies. But, let us not forget there is a limit (end of time) and I would much rather be in the House of God when that limit is met than any where else. Besides, I really found that the greatest freedom in my life when I committed to following Jesus Christ.
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God wants us to know that His love is unconditional, so He sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us while we were still unlovable sinners. We didn t have to get clean, and we didn t have to make any promises to God before we could experience His love.