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?
- Is it a deep, emotional affection?
- A love we might have for a pet?
- A love like the love we may have for food?
What is this love?
If we don’t know what kind of love it is how can we know if the blanket statement is true or not?
Since the blanket statement includes not only us but God Himself we need to do some research.
Where would we do that research?
Here’s a blanket statement you can depend upon.
All we need to know about God and His love for humanity is found in one place; the Bible.
There are three Greek words used for love in the New Testament. The one used almost exclusively for the relationship between God and humanity is …
Agape Love: This is the kind of love that we should have for all men including our enemies. It is a selfless kind of love that Christians must have in regard to acting in the best interest for all human beings.”
Understanding Agape love:
The key to understanding this and other statements about love is to know that this love (the Greek word agape) is not so much a matter of emotion as it is of doing things for the benefit of another person, that is, having an unselfish concern for another and a willingness to seek the best for another.
So, since the Greek word Agape is used almost exclusively about the love between God and man we will assume that that is the intended meaning in the statement, “There is nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make God love us less”.
With that in mind, is the statement true on a level that covers the entire human race regardless of out behavior?
According to the very first words of John 3:16 it would seem to be true!
“For God so loved the world …”
This is talking about God’s love for the entire human race.
How do we know this?
We know this because that is the way it is used in other parts of the Bible as well.
In John 15:13 Jesus says, “No one has greater love than this: to lay down his life for his friends.”
And what did Jesus do on the cross of Calvary?
He laid down His life for the sins of all of the sinful, human race.
2 John 2:2 - “He (Jesus) is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.”
John 1:29 - The next day [John the Baptist] saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!”
1 Timothy 2:5-6a - “For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself as a ransom for all people.”
Romans 5:8 - But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
This is an overarching love that is extended to all humans!
- Given for all of humanity
- Given to pay the penalty for all the sins of humanity
- Given to make provision for the salvation of all humanity!
This was prophesied in the Old Testament 700 years before Jesus was born!
Isaiah 53:1-6
“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to Him, nothing in His appearance that we should desire Him.
He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom people hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.
Surely He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered Him stricken by God, smitten by Him, and afflicted.
But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed.
All we, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.”
This was a selfless act of love of a magnitude that is beyond our ability to comprehend.
God does indeed have an “Agape” love for all of humanity.
When you look at the gift God gave to all humanity at the cost of His One and Only Son’s life it is indeed true that, “There is nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make God love us less.”
It IS God’s desire that all men and all women be saved.
Please listen. This is a very important concept!
The sacrifice of Jesus, the Lamb of God, on the cross of Calvary for the forgiveness of the sin of humanity was a UNILATERAL move on God’s part!
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT! It was a UNILATERAL move on God’s part!
God planned it with a specific purpose in mind.
Even though we made that great sacrifice necessary with our sin God did not ask for our endorsement; He did not need our endorsement or out consent.
He signed the endorsement Himself with the blood of Jesus!
God did it on His own.
He did it for us because we could not do it on our own!
It was His decision so that salvation would be possible for all of us; for you and for me!!!
Thus, God created a unilateral umbrella for us! For you, for me, for all of us!
But … is that the end of it?
Is there no more than that?
Should there be more than that?
Is that not enough?
NO IT IS NOT ENOUGH AND YES THERE IS MORE!
What I mean is that the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross for our sin certainly IS enough to make our salvation POSSIBLE, thanks be to God forever and ever!
But GOD WANTS MORE!
While God has a global, agape love for humanity He also has a DESIRE for a personal agape love relationship with each and every one of us! (Repeat!)
How does this personal agape love work?
This personal agape love is BILATERAL action!
The first was unilateral - by God alone for our benefit.
The second is bilateral - by God calling us individually to Himself and each of us responding individually to the call of God!
Is that true? Is that even possible? That God wants to have a personal love relationship with each one of us individually?
THEN, IS IT TRUE that, “There is nothing we can do to make God love us more and nothing we can do to make God love us less” when I comes to a personal relationship with God?
Well, let’s test the concept according to the Holy Bible.
We stated before, “God so loved the world” and other Scriptures as proof that the blanket statement IS TRUE that God’s work is sufficient for the salvation of all people but what does the rest of that very same Scripture say?
John 3:16-19
“For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him. Whoever believes in Him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because he has not believed in the name of God’s one and only Son.”
- Whoever believes in Him is NOT condemned …
- Whoever does NOT believe in Him is already condemned …
As far as I know belief and unbelief are actions!
So, IS IT TRUE that, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less?”
Let’s look deeper! What else does the Word of God say?
John 16:27 - The Father Himself loves you because you have loved Me and have believed that I came from God.
So, IS IT TRUE, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less?”
1 Corinthians 16:22 - If anyone does not love the Lord, let that person be cursed!
So, IS IT TRUE, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less?”
John 14:23 (agape) - “If anyone loves Me he will obey My teaching. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
So, IS IT TRUE, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less?”
NO, THAT STATEMENT IS ABSLOUTELY NOT TRUE IN A BILATERAL LOVE RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!
Condition - “If anyone loves Me he will obey My teaching.”
- If anyone loves Me - not possible until salvation
o Loving God CANNOT be stressed enough
o Church in Laodicea no longer had a love that was total self-abandonment to God
- Revelation 3:15-16 - “I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm -neither hot nor cold - I am about to spit you out of My mouth.”
- You will obey my teaching - Romans 13:10 - “Love does no harm to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
So, in summary, what have we found in the Bible regarding the statement, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you more and there is nothing you can do to make God love you less?”
Globally - in a unilateral love that God has for the salvation of all humanity - TRUE
Personally - in a bilateral love relationship between us and God - FALSE
The prodigal son - Luke 15:20b - ““But while (the son) was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.”
Unilateral love
- the father never stopped loving his son
- the father always looked for his son’s return
- the father never went to bring his son home
Bilateral love
- the son recognized his foolishness and returned to his father
- the father ran to his son, hugged him, kissed him and celebrated his return with a feast
- BUT the son could have died in the pig pen even though the father longed for his return
- The son met the bilateral condition
Can rebellion cause God to love you less?
Proverbs 6:16-19 AMP -
These six things the Lord hates, indeed, seven are an abomination to Him:
- A proud look [the spirit that makes one overestimate himself and underestimate others],
- A lying tongue,
- Hands that shed innocent blood,
- A heart that manufactures wicked thoughts and plans,
- Feet that are swift in running to evil,
- A false witness who breathes out lies [even under oath],
- He who sows discord among his brethren.
When you see a “blanket statement” there is no context.
CONTEXT IS EVERYTHING IN DETERMINING THE VALIDITY OF A STATEMENT!
You see, without context the sentence, “There is nothing you can do to make God love you less and there is nothing you can do to make God love you more” can lead to horrible conclusions.
But, context makes the statement come alive.
This is so well described in the first verse of the old hymn, Just As I Am
Just as I am, without one plea, (We have no hope of salvation on our own)
but that Thy blood was shed for me, (God’s grace provided unilaterally for our salvation)
and that Thou bidd'st me come to Thee, (God’s grace calls each of us unilaterally)
O Lamb of God, I come, I come. (God’s grace enables us to respond bilaterally)
Here is the unilateral invitation to you from God and if you are unsaved God is waiting for the your bilateral response to His invitation.
The invitation is found in Matthew 11:28 where Jesus is speaking to anyone who is willing to hear Him and He says, “Come unto Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”
Invitation if the Holy Spirit leads.
Benediction and prayer
