Nothing You Can Do To Make God Love You More Or Less

Do you have a Bible? I was once told that in a simple Bible with no maps, no apocrypha and no commentary you would find the Psalms in the center of the Bible. So, I thought maybe it would be Psalm 119 since it has 174 verses and is the longest chapter in the Bible. However, in my Bible it turns out to be Psalm 130 that is at the very “heart” of the Bible. So, let’s read it!

Psalm 130

Out of the depths I cry to You, O LORD; O Lord, hear my voice.

Let Your ears be attentive to my cry for mercy.

If You, O LORD, kept a record of sins, O Lord, who could stand?

But with You there is forgiveness; so that we can serve You with reverence.

My soul waits for the LORD, more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.

O Israel, put your hope in the LORD, for with the LORD is unfailing loveand with Him is full redemption.

He Himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.

Don’t you love that we can bring our petitions, our hopes, our needs directly to the God of Heaven and earth?

- Sometimes it seems like the answer will never come; like how it feels to be a watchman waiting for the

morning!

- We, too, can put our hope it Yahweh and His unfailing love

- We, too, can be redeemed from our sins!

(Prayer for help with this sermon)

Sometimes people say “spiritual” things that are not really true such as:

- God will never give you more than you can handle, or,

- God needed another angel in Heaven (when someone dies), or,

- “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me.” (check the context Philippians 4:13)

o My favorite of the misuse of this verse was on a show called American Ninja Warrior. It was on the shirt

of a man who owned a drinking establishment and then he was eliminated in the first round. What a

wonderful witness.

Why do I bring this up?

Many things may be true in one context but false in another context.

For instance …

What about this statement by Henri Nouwen a Dutch Catholic priest.

“There is nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make God love us less.”

The statement was modified by Philip Yancey to add the word grace. He wrote:

“Grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us more... And grace means there is nothing we can do to make God love us less... Grace means that God already loves us as much as an infinite God can possibly love.”

I have heard this phrase repeated by both pastors and lay persons:

- At district functions

- In online sermons from various pastors

- From other Christians in conversation

The above examples are “blanket statements.”

“A 'blanket statement' is a broad assertion that fails to account for specific details or exceptions, often leading to oversimplification.”

Let’s look at the one from Nouwen since it is the more general statement of the two blanket statements and is probably most often repeated.

“There is nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make God love us less.”

Actually, I have never heard it repeated exactly that way. What I HAVE heard is, “There is nothing YOU can do to make God love YOU more and nothing YOU can do to make God love you less.”

And, if I were hearing that as a Christian or non-Christian I would interpret it as, “There is nothing I could do to make God love me more and there is nothing I could do to make God love me less!”

Is that true?

Without some sort of context we cannot tell if this statement is true or if it is false!

What are some of the things we do not know about this statement?

First of all, what about our behavior?

- Is God’s love totally disconnected from our behavior?

- Is living a righteous life of no importance to God?

- Are there no consequences for living a wicked life?

- Is this indicating a universal, unconditional salvation?

Who is the “you” in the statement, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and nothing you can do to make God love you less?”

- Is it everyone?

- Only a certain group that God has called?

- Does it exclude those God hates?

- Is it even possible that God might hate someone?

And, what is this love that God has for us?

- Does He have our best interests in mind?