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What is God Like?

What is God Like?. God of Love or a Consuming Fire? Why would a God of love punish anybody?. Holy, wrathful, just & loving?. Contradiction or Paradox? What does holy mean? How does a Holy God react to sin? Heb 12:29 Is God right to be angry?

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What is God Like?

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  1. What is God Like? God of Love or a Consuming Fire? Why would a God of love punish anybody?

  2. Holy, wrathful, just & loving? • Contradiction or Paradox? • What does holy mean? • How does a Holy God react to sin? Heb 12:29 • Is God right to be angry? • MiroslavVolf: God isn't wrathful in spite of being love. God is wrathful because God is love • Cf. Nah. 1:2; Ps. 78:38 & Col 3:5-6 • How do we reconcile these verses?

  3. Does God Love Everyone? • What do we mean by “love”? • Seems a silly question? • What does the Bible say? • Jn 3:16, 36 … I Jn 4:7-8,16 … Rom 5:8 • Consider Matt 5:43-48 – a form of love? • Does God love all people the same? • Consider Jacob & Esau … • Be very careful – we are not God! I Jn 3:16

  4. What did Jesus say? • Jn 17:9 I pray for them. I do not pray for the world, but for those whom You have given Me, for they are Yours. • Jn 16:27 the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came out from God. • So what did He mean in Jn 3:16? – Jesus never told sinners “God loves you” • Who is “the world”?

  5. What do we mean by Love? • Beware a sentimentalised version of God’s love in which God wouldn’t do anything to cause pain, displeasure or discomfort. • C.S. Lewis: “The Four Loves” – which one? • Danger of “God loves you” for both atheists & polytheism: which god? • Must begin with bad news before good news makes any sense!

  6. Does God hate anyone? • Is this a sacrilegious question? • What does Bible say? Ps. 5:4-6; 11:5 • What about “God hates the sin, but loves the sinner”? • You won’t find it in the Bible! • So where does it come from? • Probably: 1373-93~ Julian of Norwich

  7. God so loved the world … • Universe:~ Acts 17:24 • Earth:~ John 13:1; Eph1:4, • World-system:~ Jn 12:31; Matt 4:8 • Whole human race:~ Rom 3:19 • Humanity minus believers:~ Jn 15:18; • Gentiles in contrast to Jews:~ Rom 11:12 • Believers only:~ Jn 1:29; 6:33-36

  8. Did Jesus Die for Everyone? • II Cor 5:19 God was in Christ reconciling the world to Himself, not imputing their trespasses to them … • impute - “attribute (responsibility or fault) to a cause or source …” • A Limited Atonement: either: • Limited in its scope (saving only the elect) or • Limited in its effectiveness (saving those who accept it & do not resist)

  9. And, your point is …? • “God loves you”: nowhere in the Gospels • No reference in Acts to love of God! • God’s love first appears in the Epistles – written to believers! • Gospel message wrong way round? • Bad news (sin) before Good News (Salvation) • God reveals Himself as a holy God before He is a loving God.

  10. In Summary In a way, God does love everyone – He is love Depends on how one defines "love" ~ either : • He loves everyone, • He loves only the elect, • He loves only his covenant community. Bible uses "love" in a number of ways, so this kind of ambiguity is to be expected.

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