Historically and theologically, we distinguish among three types of divine love.
There is God’s love of benevolence, where God has a kind spirit to the whole world. His benevolent will and love fall on everybody.
There is also the sense in which the love of God is defined in terms of God’s love of beneficence, which refers not just simply to His attitude toward the world, but how He displays that goodness universally as we read in the Gospel of Matthew. “For He causes his sun to rise on the evil and the good and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45). So that universal dimension of the love of God is evident.
When we are talking about the love of God in fashionable or popular language, we call it God’s love of complacency. The love of complacency is not used in the way in which we use the term complacency in our age, in our culture. Our use of complacency means disdain, exaggerated and self-satisfaction. However, when the Scriptures indicate the love of complacency, it is that special love that God has for His Son and all of those who are in His Son and who have been redeemed and adopted into His family.
If we talk about the love of God in terms of the love of complacency, and we talk about it universally, that’s blasphemy. Because God does not love the whole world with the love of complacency. The Scriptures tell us that there are many ways in which God is at enmity with the world. He hates the world and those who are swift to shed blood. We must take that into account.
When I hear preachers stand up and say that God loves everybody unconditionally, I want to wail and say, “Wait a minute, then why does He call us to repent? Why does He call us to come to the cross? Why does He call us to come to Christ?”
If God loves everybody unconditionally, then you can do whatever you want and believe whatever you think, but that is just not true. He is placed an absolute condition by which He requires. He does not just invite people to come to His Son; He commands all men everywhere to repent of their sins and to come to Christ. If you want to enjoy the love of complacency, you must be in Christ.
For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be the glory forever. Amen. (Romans 11:36)
Coram Deo.
We cannot be half-hearted disciples of Jesus. When it comes to following Him, we must be all in. Although we will sin and may at times fall into periods of spiritual apathy, true disciples of Christ will persevere through these times and press on in full commitment to the Savior. Let us ask the Lord today to strengthen your resolve to follow Him and commit ourselves once more to being His disciple.
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