THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
SPREADING THE SOUL-SAVING MESSAGE OF JESUs
“The Eternal Love of God”
Introduction by narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST. Spreading the soul-saving message of Jesus. And now, Ben Bailey.
One of the truly great themes of Scripture is the eternal love of God. God’s love (and all of the things that go along with it) ought to be one of the things that motivates us to live our lives every day for Jesus Christ. There are so many passages that teach us about the love that our God has for us. Paul said in Romans 5:6-8,
“For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
God loves us so much that when we were at our worst, and when sin was at its worst in our lives, God sent His Son to this world to die for us. Another passage that teaches us of the love of God is found in 2 Corinthians 5:14-16 where Paul wrote, “For the love of Christ compels us, because we judge thus: that if One died for all, then all died; and He died for all, that those who live should live no longer for themselves, but for Him who died for them and rose again.” God loved us so much that He sent His Son to this world to die for us. Our love should be demonstrated toward God by the fact that we give our lives back to Him. There is a beautiful passage found in John 3:16, which teaches us that “God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life.” God loved us so much that He gave…. And what did He give? He gave His only Son—the Son Who had been with Him from eternity (Jn. 17:3) to die on a cruel cross for each one of us. I am reminded of the beautiful picture painted in 2 Corinthians 8:9 where Paul wrote, “For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though He was rich, yet for your sakes He became poor, that you through His poverty might become rich.” Think of all that Jesus had! He was in Heaven, where we are trying to go. But He gave up all that. He came to Earth, lived, and died on a cruel cross so that we could be afforded the opportunity to go to Heaven. That is what the love of God is all about. Paul said in Romans 8:39 that nothing can separate us from the beautiful love of God.
But combined with God’s love is His eternal nature. Yes, He is a God of love. But He also is an eternal God. The psalmist wrote, “From everlasting to everlasting, You are God” (Ps. 90:1-2). God is an eternal and everlasting God. In 1 Timothy 1:17 He is called “the eternal King.” As you look throughout Scripture, you find that God is the One Who is depicted as “inhabiting eternity” (Is. 57:15). Psalm 93:2 describes God in these words: “Your throne is established from of old; You are from everlasting.” God has always existed, and His love has been poured out to us in His Son Jesus Christ. God’s love and His eternal nature both come together in the sacrifice of His Son. Paul said in 2 Timothy 1:9 that God “saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was given to us in Christ Jesus before time began.” Before time ever began, God had set in motion a plan to save us and to give us the hope of going to Heaven. Paul wrote to Titus of how we live “in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began” (Tit. 1:2). Peter talked about the eternal love of God and His plan for us when he wrote,
“You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot. He indeed was foreordained before the foundation of the world, but was manifest in these last times for you” (1 Pet. 1:18-20).
Jesus was given to us as a gift to save us from our sins because in the eternal mind of God, that had always been His intent. Sometimes we know that God loves us, and we understand just how much He cares for us. But do we really live our lives like that? Do we live every day in view of the love of God? Or, do we sometimes see God as an angry and vindictive God Who is just waiting for us to make a mistake so He can discipline us? This reminds me of the illustration of the robber who had been staking out a house. He had staked out the house for two or three weeks. Finally he saw the parents with their children putting their luggage into their car. He knew that by later that evening the family would be gone on a vacation. So, on that night he decides to break into their house to rob them by taking what was not his. As he breaks a window and reaches into the house, he hears someone say, “Jesus is watching you.” He looks up—and lo and behold, he sees a bird in a cage. He notices that there is a parrot in the cage, so he concludes that he doesn’t have anything to worry about. He therefore opens the window and enters the house. He walks over to the bird cage with the intent of doing something to make the parrot stop chattering. But suddenly the parrot says it again: “Jesus is watching you.” As the robber watches the parrot, he notices the bird look down. When the robber looks down as well, he sees a snarling Doberman pinscher with its mouth open and its teeth showing. Just about that time, the parrot said, “Sic ‘em, Jesus.” The robber realized that the bird had been talking about the dog—which was about to pounce on him. Sometimes we think of God and Jesus like that —as if they are simply waiting on us to make a mistake so that they can “pounce on us.” But that is not at all the God Whom the Bible describes. Rather, God is a God of love Who cares deeply for us, Who wants us to go to Heaven, and Who wants us to be happy in this life. Today we want to notice how God’s love is demonstrated toward each one of us. And, we also want to know what the love of God requires of us.
How is God’s love demonstrated? How does He say to each of us, “I love you”? How can we know that God loves us? We can know first and foremost that God loves us because of the sacrificial death of His only Son. God gave His Son on a cruel cross to serve as a sacrifice so that we would not have to spend an eternity lost in Hell with the devil and his angels. The Bible says of Jesus that He “bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes [we] were healed” (1 Pet. 2:24). When Jesus went to the cross, He did that for us—so that we would not have to bear the guilt and consequences of those sins. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” Jesus paid the price for our sins. Isaiah wrote, “But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed” (Is. 53:5). We learn here—750 years before Christ came into the world—that God had planned for His Son to die on the cross. Our chastisement was to be placed on Him, and He was to make the sacrifice for us.
Take your mind back to Matthew 27 and the scene on Calvary. And as you do, remember just how much Jesus suffered on our behalf. He was spat upon. He was mocked. He was beaten. They took a crown of thorns and placed it on His head. They beat Him on the head with a rod. Stripes were laid on His back. He was given a robe, and as the blood on His back dried to the robe, they ripped off the robe. He then was nailed to a cross, and that cross was dropped into the ground. Christ suffered in agony and pain because He loved all of us so very much. That is how much God loves us. He demonstrated His love by giving His Son to die on the cruel cross that we could have the hope of going to Heaven. Peter wrote, “You were not redeemed with corruptible things, like silver or gold, from your aimless conduct received by tradition from your fathers, but with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot” (1 Pet. 1:18-19). Jesus had done no wrong. But He had been foreordained by God to be a sin offering for us. As Christ approached John the Immerser, John said, “Behold, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). John knew that Jesus was the sacrificial offering for our sins. Jesus spilled His blood on Calvary because He loves us and wants us to go to Heaven. He died in our place. Hebrews 2:9 reminds us that He died for everyone! Later, the text of Hebrews 2:14 stated, “Inasmuch then as the children have partaken of flesh and blood, He Himself likewise shared in the same, that through death He might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil.”
The words of Hebrews 9:22 take on great meaning as we think about the sacrifice of Jesus. “Without shedding of blood there is no remission.” Jesus shed His blood so that we could have the hope of going to Heaven. Matthew 26:28 teaches that very principle. As Jesus instituted the Lord’s Supper, He said, “This is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.” So how do we know that God loves us? We know He loves us because He gave His only Son as a sacrifice to die on a cruel cross so that we could go to Heaven. We know that God loves us because that love is exemplified in the fact that He is willing to forgive us of our sins. As we think about God’s love, there is nothing that reminds me more of the fact that God loves me than the fact that He is willing to wipe away the debt of my sin. The Bible teaches us that we have all sinned. Romans 3:23 says that “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” Romans 6:23 teaches us that “the wages of sin is death.” All of us, at one time in our lives, have been separated from God. Isaiah wrote, “The Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save; nor His ear heavy, that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God; and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Is. 59:1-2).
The wonderful thing is that God loves us so much that, as we obey the Gospel and follow His will, He is willing to forgive us of all our past sins. There is a passage in Psalm 103:10 that should mean so much to us as Christians. The psalmist wrote that God “has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor punished us according to our iniquities.” Have you ever thought about what that passage is really saying? It says this. We have not received what we deserved! If we got what we deserved, we would go straight to a sinner’s Hell. But God wiped away our debt. Another beautiful passage is found in Psalm 130:3-4, where the psalmist wrote: “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand? But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.” This reminds me of a time in my life when I was in elementary school. We had a teacher who “marked iniquities.” We had a blue dot, red dot, green dot, black dot system. If I was good in school all day long, then I received a blue dot and I was able to go home and tell my parents that I had not done anything bad. If I did one thing wrong during the day, then I received a green dot. But if I did something else wrong, then I received a red dot—which was pretty bad. But if I made it all the way to a black dot, then I knew it was serious and I was headed outside for a paddling. Think about what it would be like if God did that with each one of us. If the Lord kept an account on a marker board of every one of our iniquities, and He put a mark on the board every time we sinned, then we, like the psalmist of old, could surely say, ““If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, who could stand?” But notice the next verse (Ps. 130:4). “But there is forgiveness with You, that You may be feared.” I am so glad that we serve a God Who is willing to wipe away our debts. Hebrews 8:12 says it this way: “For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more.” God will not hold our sins against us on the Day of Judgment if we have obeyed the Gospel. Micah wrote, “He will again have compassion on us, and will subdue our iniquities. You will cast all our sins into the depths of the sea” (Mic. 7:19). The sea, so we are told, is up to six miles deep in some places. What is Micah trying to get across here? His point is that our sins are going to be so far removed from us that they cannot hurt us. And that is how I know that God loves me! Even though I deserve to receive the penalty for my sins, my God is willing to wipe them away.
Another way by which we know that God loves us is because He has given us the Bible. As I consider the Bible, I can know that God loves me. How would I know about Jesus and forgiveness of sins if it was not for the Bible? The fact that God has revealed Himself to us by inspiration proves that He loves us. The words of 2 Timothy 3:16-17 are appropriate here. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work.” The Bible we hold in our hands is not the product of mere men. Rather, it is the inspired words of the God of the Universe! Peter addressed this matter when he wrote: “Knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit” (2 Pet. 1:20-21). The words that these men wrote did not come from themselves. Instead, as they were moved by the Holy Spirit they wrote down the very words of God. His Word is inspired, so that we know it is from Him and so that we can live according to His will. The Word that God has given to us is the final truth, and is His will on all matters. Peter also wrote, “His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue” (2 Pet. 1:3). Everything that I need to live a good life here and now, to be a godly person, and to eventually go to Heaven can be found within the pages of the Bible. John 8:32 tells us that we can know the truth, and that the truth will make us free. We might ask the same question that Pilate did in John 18:38 when he inquired, “What is truth?” Jesus said in John 17:17, “Sanctify them by Your truth. Your word is truth.” I can know that God loves me because He gave me His Word. It is true. It does not contain errors or lies. And I can trust it as the infallible Word of God. Psalm 119:160 is a beautiful commentary on the truthfulness of God’s Word. The psalmist wrote very simply, “The entirety of Your word is truth.” From Genesis 1 to Revelation 22, every word is true and is from God. That Word has the power to save our souls. Romans 1:16 tells us that it is the Gospel that is the power to save. Hebrews 4:12 says that the Bible is not dead or dull. Rather, “the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” God’s Word is ever living and powerful for us today. James said it this way: “Receive with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls” (Jas. 1:21). We can know that God loves us because He has given us His Word. And we can see how much God loves us by the fact that His Word is able to save our souls.
I also know that God loves me because He has provided for my every need. God provides for me in this life. He has promised me that He will never abandon me or forsake me. In fact, He has promised me this: “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you“ (Mt. 6:33). James wrote: “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning” (Jas. 1:17). In Matthew 6:25ff., Jesus told us not to be anxious about tomorrow, or to worry and fret about food, shelter, and clothing. If God clothes the birds of the air and the grass of the field, which today is here but tomorrow is gone, will He not much more clothe us? God has promised to take care of us. One biblical passage that speaks so clearly to the care of God is Psalm 37:25. David wrote: “I have been young, and now am old; yet I have not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his descendants begging bread.” David looked at his past life and said that there is one thing we can know for sure: righteous people do not stand on the street corner and beg for bread! God is not going to leave us or forsake us. The writer of Hebrews said, “He Himself has said, ‘I will never leave you nor forsake you.’ So we may boldly say: ‘The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?’” (Heb. 13:5).
Let’s now consider the love of God as is evident in the promises that He has given us in the Bible. God has promised us that we can live with Him for eternity if we will only follow His will. This is a wonderful promise that the child of God cherishes and holds very dear. Hebrews 4:9 says that there remains a rest for the people of God. Jesus said in Matthew 25:46 that the righteous will go away into eternal life. John wrote, “And this is the promise that He has promised us—eternal life” (1 Jn. 2:25). God said that if we are willing to follow Him, then we can have eternal life. We know that the love of God is demonstrated toward us. But what does God’s love demand of me? What does God’s love demand that I do? What does God’s love challenge me to do? What does God’s love teach me? We cannot say that we love God, yet refuse to obey His will. One of the things that God’s Word teaches us is that if we say that we love God, we must obey Him. In John 14:15, Jesus said, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” He said in John 15:14, “You are my friends if you do whatever I say.” You cannot say, “I’m a Christian,” but then live however you want to. You must be faithful to Christ every day if you truly love Him. Jesus said, “Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven” (Mt. 7:21). In Luke 6:46, Jesus asked this question of the hypocritical Jews: “Why do you call Me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do the things which I say?” You cannot say, “Jesus is Lord,” or “I love you Lord,” and then not do what He commands. Hebrews 5:8-9 points out that Jesus is the Author of eternal salvation “to all those who obey Him.” If you love Christ, God’s love demands that you obey Him. God’s love also demands that if I say, “God, I love you,” I must live a faithful Christian life every day. I must not live as a hypocrite. I cannot say, “I love God,” and then live the way I want to live. I have to fully surrender my life to Jesus and His teaching. Paul wrote,
“I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God” (Rom. 12:1-2).
What does God’s love demand of me? It demands that I realize every day that life is not “just about me.” Today, I must live my life for Jesus as a sacrifice for Him and for His cause. Jesus taught His disciples this in Luke 9:23 when He said, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.” Paul repeated those sentiments in 1 Corinthians 6:19-20 when he asked, “Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own? For you were bought at a price; therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God’s.” We must live faithfully for God every day if we love Him. Paul realized this, and wrote, “I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me“ (Gal. 2:20). Paul said in Philippians 1:21, “For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Do you love God? If so, then you must obey His will. You absolutely must live a faithful Christian life every day. The Bible also says that if you love God, then you must love your brothers and sisters in Christ. You cannot say, “God, I love you, but I hate my brethren.” Hebrews 13:1 says, “Let brotherly love continue.” Jesus taught us in John 13:34-35, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another.” This was not something that was “new” in the sense that they had never heard it. But it needed to be fresh in their minds. In the Old Testament, there were two great commandments. The first was to love the Lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul, and strength. The second was to love your neighbor as yourself. We must love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
If I love God, I also must love the lost. True love demands that I love those who are outside of Christ. This is what Jesus’ whole life and mission were about. In Luke 19:10 we are told that Jesus came “to seek and to save that which was lost.” He spent His whole life teaching lost people the Gospel. He died on the cross for the lost. So, I today must love those who are lost and who are outside of Christ. I must try every day to reach them with the message of Jesus. We have been told to go and preach the Gospel to every creature (Mk. 16:15; Mt. 28:18). In fact, true faith in Christ demands that I say something. Paul wrote in 2 Corinthians 4:13, “We have believed; therefore, we speak.” Do you really believe in Jesus, and that He died for the lost? If so, your love of Him must motivate you to say something about the Savior.
The love of God also demands of us that we would want to worship our God in spirit and in truth. If I love God, then I show my love for God. I show Him how much I love Him by worshiping Him the way He has proscribed. John 4:24 tells us that we must worship God “in spirit and in truth.” We are told to worship God with our heart, soul, mind, and strength (Mk. 12:30-35). I must give back to God—through the use of my talents and abilities—as I worship Him. In Matthew 4:10 we are told, “You shall worship the Lord your God, and Him only you shall serve.”
Do you really love God today? Have you seen the love of God that He has demonstrated for you? Are you ready to accept that love by becoming a child of God? Today you can accept the love of God by believing that Jesus is His Son. You must believe so much that you are willing to repent of your past sins, confess His name before men, and be immersed in water for the forgiveness of your sins—just as they did in Acts 2:38.
If you would like to have a copy of this lesson on DVD or CD, we will be happy to provide that for you if you will contact us through our Website. We love your soul, and we want nothing more than for you to go to Heaven and live with God for all eternity.
Narrator accompanied by a cappella singing:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST is brought to you by loving, caring members of the church of Christ. The McLish Avenue church of Christ in Ardmore, Oklahoma, oversees this evangelistic effort. For a free CD or DVD of today’s broadcast, please write to:
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST
607 McLish Ave.
Ardmore, OK 73401
You may call 580-223-3289. Please visit us on the web at www.thegospelofchrist.com. We encourage you to attend the church of Christ, where “the Bible is loved and the Gospel is preached.”
1. According to Romans 5:6-8, how did God demonstrate His love for humankind?
2. If we are faithful to God, what can separate us from God’s love (Rom. 8:39)?
3. What single trait related to God’s nature is taught in the following passages: (a) Psalm 90:1-2; (b) 1 Timothy 1:17; (c) Isaiah 57:15; and (d) Psalm 93:2?
4. According to Titus 1:2, when did God set in motion a plan for man’s salvation?
5. Peter taught in 1 Peter 1:18-20 that we are saved by something precious. What is that “something”?
6. One of the ways that we know of God’s love for us is because of the sacrificial nature of that love. According to 1 Peter 2:24, what did God sacrifice for us?
7. What is the importance for all humans today of the statement that John the Immerser made in John 1:29?
8. According to Hebrews 2:14, what is one of the things that Jesus accomplished through His death on the cross?
9. Hebrews 9:22 teaches us about the important of blood in God’s plan of salvation. What does it say on that subject?
10. Isaiah 59:1-2 teaches us about a time when God will not hear us. What causes God to be “deaf” to our pleas?
11. Explain the importance of Psalm 103:10 in God’s plan of salvation.
12. What is the meaning of the psalmist’s statement, “If You, Lord, should mark iniquities, O Lord, who could stand?” (Ps. 130:3-4)?
13. Explain the meaning of Micah 7:19.
14. One of the ways that we know God loves us is because He has given us the Bible. According to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, what is unique about the Bible?
15. Where, according to Psalm 119:160, can we go to find truth?
16. What does Matthew 6:33 tell us about how much God loves us?
17. God loves His children so much that there is something He will never do to them. According to Hebrews 13:5, what is it?
18. God’s love for His children is evident through His promises to them. What, according to 1 John 2:25, is one of those promises?
19. What are three things that God’s love demands of us?
THE GOSPEL OF CHRIST, 607 McLish Ave., Ardmore, OK 73401; (580) 223-3289; www.thegospelofchrist.com