The Love of God

One of my goals as your pastor is to help you to go deeper into the Gospel so that by understanding it well you will be able to live well. As a result, I’ve been speaking to you about various topics related to a deeper grasp of the Gospel. Today, I will continue that. I’m going to talk to you about the love of God, that is, the love that God has for you. Gaining a more mature understanding of this key teaching of the Scriptures will most certainly result in a deeper understanding of the Gospel. The choice of the topic is appropriate because though there is much talk these days about how God loves, for far too many there isn’t the depth of understanding that is called for. And that always results in problems.

A classic text expressing the love of God is found in something Paul wrote. Listen.

Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:35–39

This is a remarkable passage. I can’t imagine a clearer statement of God’s love in Christ for you, His people. So, let’s take a look at it.

Getting to Know God

Psalm 145.17-20

I have been working through Knowing God by J. I. Packer. It has been both fascinating and challenging. (I recommend it to you all. It's very down to earth and not some abstract theology book.) That a book on this topic should be so engaging is not surprising. We were created to know God. It's the reason we exist. But don't think of that as some duty we are obligated to fulfill. It really is a joy. For one thing, it is as we get to know God better that we get to know ourselves better. It is helpful to remember that sin does not just separate us from the Father. Sin also separates us from ourselves. We really don't understand ourselves nearly as well as we think. Have you never said to yourself, 'Now why did I go and do that?!?' It is by getting to know the God who has created us and is in the process of redeeming us that we begin to understand ourselves. And as we get to understand ourselves better we are better able to fulfill our purpose, to draw attention to Jesus. Life then makes sense. Life becomes filled with joy. So, this morning's sermon will be about getting to know God better. And to that end I was guided to this bit of a Psalm. Let's take it apart and see what we find.

Let's begin with verse 18 and the idea of nearness that we find there. 'The Lord is near to all who call on him...' Being near is actually a physical idea. It's about the geographic distance between two objects. But we use it in other senses. From time to time Todd goes on business trips that last several days. I'm guessing that when he is away he and Debby will talk on the phone. They'll talk about what happened during the day, maybe including some items that need a decision and things like that. They could have the very same conversation after dinner some evening sitting on the sofa. But when it takes place with Debby at home and Todd in Florida, it feels different. And it's not that it's a conversation on the phone. A phone conversation with Debby at home and Todd downtown in his office is still very different from that conversation with Todd in Florida. It feels different. Being near is more than just a physical idea. It's an idea with emotional overtones. In fact, to look at the flip side, you can have two people in the same bed, and yet, they might be light years apart. Being near an emotional thing. The claim of our Psalm is that our God is near. And it's a nearness that isn't about miles. It's an emotional thing.

It's helpful to consider how this was conveyed to the Church in the Old Testament. If you were to ask an Israelite back then, 'Where is your God?', he'd reply, 'He is near to us. And I know that because He's right over there in that tent.' And he'd point to where the Ark of the Covenant was. The promise of God's nearness was assured to the Old Testament saints by His sacramental presence associated with that golden box. The same is true today for you. If someone were to ask you, 'Where is your God?', you could also reply, 'He is near to us. He is with us wherever we go.' The promise of God's nearness is assured to the New Testament saints by His sacramental presence associated with the Lord's Supper. And this nearness makes a difference. A child is awakened in the middle of the night by the fright of a nightmare and begins to cry. What comforts her? A few words will do. 'Don't be afraid. Daddy's here', or 'Mommy's here.' A few words along with a hug. These communicate a single thought: nearness.

Our God is near to us. And if you ever feel alone, frightened by the evil of this world, if it ever seems that He is not near, all you need do is cry out. 'The Lord is near to all who call on him...' The Father offers to all of His children great comfort in this promise. I sincerely hope that it is a comfort that you are enjoying.

Let's move on to another verse. 'He fulfills the desire of those who fear him...' We have desires. That's just a fact. Now, if you were a Hindu or a Buddhist, that's bad. A primary goal of these religions is to get rid of desire. It is, they say, the source of much evil. But the truth is that we have been created by God with desires, good desires. There are things that we long to enjoy. We desire the pleasures of what is good, what is beautiful, what is true. We desire to love and to be loved. We have desires. And the Creator has made us that way. Sadly, sin twists desires and complicates things. But it is still good to have these desires and to have them satisfied. And that , according to our Psalm, is what our heavenly Father intends to do. He promises to fulfill our desires. He did not create us like this to frustrate us. He wants to see us flourish and enjoy Him and His creation. Though sin complicates that, He is not daunted. He still intends to see our desires fulfilled.

Now, some doubt this. And why? They take stock of their situations. So many of their desires are not satisfied, not fulfilled. They see this and react. It's helpful, though, to see that we're all in the same boat. None of us have had our desires fulfilled. There is a gap, and we all sense it. We are not satisfied. It's not surprising that this is the case. It's what sin does. But the key to dealing with this is deciding whether to react to this situation or to respond to it. There is a way to respond to this that yields blessing. This is where that first verse of our text comes in. 'The Lord is righteous in all his ways...' 'Righteous' is such a church word. We really do need to translate it. When we do, it comes out simply as 'does what is right'. The Father does what is right – in all that He does. That's what the verse is saying. So, when you feel the gap, when you feel the pain that comes when those good desires that God created in you are not being fulfilled, when you wonder what in the world is God doing with your life, just tell yourself that whatever He is doing, it's the right thing. 'The Lord is righteous in all his ways...' He knows what He is doing with your life, and as crazy – and painful – as it might seem, He's doing the right thing.

Now, even that doesn't completely work for some folk. For whatever reason, God seems distant and cold to them. So, while they are reluctant to label God as harsh, but they might think of Him as uncaring as He pursues this 'righteousness'. And that's why the rest of this verse is so helpful. 'The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works.' The Father is kind in His dealings with us. He is thoughtful and considers how His actions affect us. He is gentle toward us. And this is true even when He leaves a gap between our good desires and their fulfillment. He pursues what is right, very aware of how that pursuit will affect you. That means that if there were a better way to achieve His goals for your life, a way that is kinder to you, He would have done it that way. We are all disappointed and dissatisfied with something. We all experience the gap. But our Father promises to satisfy our desires – and He always keeps His promises. Even His delay in closing that gap is an expression of His kindness toward us.

I have spent some time thinking about this in terms of Jesus' life. He had desires too. And one of them was to be married. I can say that because of this statement in Genesis. 'It is not good that the man should be alone.' That applies to Him as much as to the rest of us. Imagine, a healthy young man who never married. As a result, He was alone. I think that He must have been very lonely, especially at times. He experienced the gap. And yet, His Father was doing what was right for His life – with kindness. And Jesus accepted that. He knew that all of His desires would be satisfied. The Father always keeps His promises. I'm guessing that as Jesus experienced His unfulfilled desires He said what we all need to say. 'I trust you, Father. You know what you're doing with my life. One day you will keep your promise to Me.' Your Father does what is right for you, and He does it in kindness. He will keep His promise to you.

That leaves us the last verse. 'The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy.' We find the same theme here as throughout the Psalms. Everyone is either one of the righteous or one of the wicked. There is no third category. We're back to Psalm 1. 'The Lord knows the way of the righteous but the way of the wicked will perish.' God has an attitude when it comes to the wicked. He intends to destroy them. The word translated 'destroy' is quite strong. Think 'exterminate'. Our God will exterminate the wicked. And that also is a promise.

Let's try a thought experiment. Imagine yourself as you are. You're the same person with the same opinions, the same attitudes, the same habits. You're diligent when it comes to doing your work. You love your family. You go to church on Sundays, say your prayers and read your Bible. Everything is the same about you except this. Jesus isn't your savior. There are no other changes. It's just that one difference. And it's that one difference that makes you one of the wicked.

All those things about us that separate us from the evil people – well, they don't. A prostitute and a moral, middle class soccer mom both qualify for the label 'wicked'. And God promises to exterminate both of them – unless they have a savior, the only Savior, Jesus. So, if the prostitute finally finds that Savior, she immediately qualifies for the label 'righteous', and if the soccer mom doesn't find Jesus, she remains one of the wicked and will be exterminated, forever. So, if you were to be without Jesus then you would be standing next to that soccer mom. '... all the wicked He will destroy.' The only reason you are not destroyed is that you have a Savior. Jesus, the Righteous, was labeled Wicked by the Father as He hung on that cross for you. The Father destroyed Him instead of you. The gracious promises of this Psalm are yours but only because of Jesus.

Let me suggest something. Take a little time and imagine yourself as you are but without Jesus. Then put yourself in the picture as you read again, '... all the wicked He will destroy.' Let that percolate in your soul a bit. And then, tell yourself this, 'But I have been given a Savior who suffered my destruction so that I might enjoy these promises.' As the two sides of that coin become clearer to you, you will get to know your God better. You will get to know yourself better. And as all of that develops in your soul, you will find that you will be able to fulfill your purpose better, and you'll do that with great joy.

The Promise

Romans 8.32

The Bible is filled with promises from God. Your Father wants you to know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that He loves you. So, time after time after time He inserts a promise in His Word. Our text is one of those promises. Paul points to the Father and assures us that we will be cared for. That's the promise, that we will be cared for. Boil down just about any promise and that's what it will say. The Father promises to take care of us. But it's the details that drive any promise home. It's the details that convince us. So, we're going to take this promise apart to see the details. We'll be doing the kind of things that we have been doing in the adult Sunday school, taking apart the verse, looking at the details, being challenged and encouraged by what we find.

The first thing that I want you to notice is that our text isn't a statement. To hearken back to your dim elementary school past, this is not a declarative sentence. You'd expect one of those for a promise. But, Paul frames it differently. 'He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?' It's a question, an interrogative sentence. You see, for Paul, the point is obvious. 'Of course the Father will care for us! How can He not?' The question drives that home. Do you feel it? A declarative sentence wouldn't have the same punch. Paul wants to make sure that you feel what he has to say. So, he phrases it as a question. '... how shall He not...?'

We are sure about the promise, though, not because of Paul's strong personality or his literary ability. Paul gives us a reason to believe that our Father will care for us. Listen again. 'He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?' Did you hear it? Did you hear the reason? Paul is pointing back to the time when Abraham was ready to sacrifice Isaac. 'Take your son, your only son, Isaac, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah, and offer him there as a burnt offering on one of the mountains of which I shall tell you'. Abraham did not spare his son. The knife was lifted and about to come down. But the Father stopped him. Now, when it's the Father who is ready to sacrifice His Son, His only Son, Jesus, whom He loved, the story doesn't end in the same way . There was no one to stop Him. No. Rather, 'He did not spare His Son, but delivered Him up for us all.' He handed Jesus over to be killed. Whenever you hear that kind of language you need to fill in what it means. You need to fill in the beating and the torture. You need to fill in the nails piercing flesh and bone. You need to fill in enduring an eternity of punishment for sin. 'He delivered Him up for us all.' I came upon two words that try to capture what happened. The first is 'damned'. Jesus was damned by the Father, condemned, declared guilty and sentenced to death, the death of hell. He was damned even though He never sinned. The other word is 'abandoned'. 'My God, my God, why have You forsaken Me?' I have never, ever experienced even a little neglect – let alone abandonment - by the Father. Even in my darkest days, I never felt abandoned. The nearness of my God was my hope, my refuge, my rock. So, I cannot imagine what Jesus experienced. Abandoned. I found a quote that fits here: 'Who delivered up Jesus to die? Not Judas for money; not Pilate for fear; not the Jews for envy -- but the Father for love.'

Do you see why Paul puts this as a question? 'He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?' Will the Father care for us? Well, of course He will! Just look at the Cross. The reason for Paul's bold confidence is the Cross. At the heart of the Gospel is the Cross. Jesus, the beloved Son of God, was sent to the Cross for sinners, for us. And that is why we can be sure about this promise. 'He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?'

We've looked at the first half of the text, the foundation for the promise. Now, let's look at the second half, the promise itself. The point is clear. The Father will freely give us all things. But you need to notice this 'with Him'. '...how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?' Paul is not content with his statement about the Cross in the first half of the verse. So, he says it again. The Father has already given you Jesus. That's the gift of the Gospel. You get Jesus. So, with this little phrase, 'with Him', Paul is saying, 'If the Father has already given you the greatest gift, won't He also give you all the other, lesser gifts? '...how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?' This is Paul's way of driving home the beauty and power and the certainty of this promise.

Now, I also want you to notice what Paul didn't write. He didn't write '...give us what we need'. No. He will give us 'all things'. Words are funny. There's what they say out loud, and then, there's what they whisper. What's the difference between 'give us what we need' and 'give us all things'? Doesn't the first sound smaller? Doesn't it sound like, 'the Father will give you enough so that you'll make out, you know, enough so you won't die.' But to write, 'give us all things', that's a picture of Thanksgiving dinner. At one end of the table is this huge turkey, then there are three kinds of potatoes, four different vegetables, a green salad and a fluff salad, stuffing, gravy and cranberry sauce. And that's not counting the four kinds of pie waiting in the kitchen – one, of course, being pecan pie - with your choice of whipped cream or ice cream and all topped off with a good, strong cup of coffee. 'ALL THINGS!!' Do you get the picture? Our Father is no miser. He isn't stingy with His blessings. He doesn't give us just enough. He overwhelms us with all sorts of good things so that we will flourish!

So, does this mean that we should expect to see a brand new Lexus in our driveways sometime soon? Or for the younger crowd, a new PlayStation 3 – with a complete set of your favorite games? Listen. If having a new car or a new computer game thingy would make you flourish, then one would be provided. Really. But what most people need more than some new toy is a sense of being loved, being at peace with themselves and their situation, the ability to laugh even when life is hard, enjoying a hopefulness that is rooted in truth and that just won't quit. If I have those things (and I do), then I'll be quite happy with a ten year old Mazda in my driveway (and I am). But, whatever it is that you need to flourish, your Father will give it to you. That's the promise.

Here it is, one more time: 'He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?' Do you see the parts? The Cross as the foundation of the promise. The certainty of receiving not just enough, but all things so that we would flourish. Do you see it?

Now, a question. What do we need to do with this promise? And the answer is simple. Believe it. Remember that true faith begins with how you think, but it ends with how you act. So, think about the promise. Accept it as true. Then consider how it might show itself in your situation.

Moses has just led an enormous number of people out of Egypt. The Egyptian soldiers lie dead on the shores of the Red Sea. The praise and worship band has just finished leading the people in a song of praise to the God who has brought about such tremendous things. And then, up pops a question. 'So, what's for breakfast? What are we going to eat out here - in the desert?' And the Father makes a promise. 'I will provide your food. Tomorrow, when you get up in the morning, there will be plenty. All you have to do is bring a basket that's big enough. There will be plenty.' Next day - What do you know? - there it is. Manna. This is where that word 'freely' shows up. 'He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?' What did Israel have to do so that the Father would provide the manna? Was there some special prayer? Some ritual? Did they have to be nice or be sure to say 'please'? No. The manna was freely given to Israel. All that they would have to do is wake up, walk outside their tent and - voilà - manna. The Father's promise is to give all things freely, without strings. They didn't have to do anything for the Father to provide. And it was a good thing that there were no strings attached. You'll remember that when Israel was in the desert they were not, to put it mildly, especially obedient. And yet, every morning they would wake up, walk out of their tent and the manna would be there. All they needed to do was believe the Father's promise.

But Israel had to learn how to do even that. Do you remember what happened? They gathered the manna, but some of the people kept some for the next day - you know, leftovers to put in the back of the fridge. But God had said, 'Gather however much as you want. Take plenty. But no leftovers. I will provide for each day.' But, as I said, some kept the leftovers for the next day. And the next morning instead of waking up, walking out of their tent and gathering the manna for the day, they went for that basket with the leftovers in the back of the fridge and - voilà - stinking worms! But understand their thinking. They adopted the 'Plan B' mentality that goes something like this. 'Yes, but what if...? Well, just in case Plan A doesn't work, we need a Plan B, a backup plan. I mean, you never know, you know?' Well, let's finish that first sentence. But what if - what? 'But what if the Father doesn't keep His promise?' I'm pretty sure that none of the people of Israel said it like that. But that's what lay behind their desire for a Plan B. How insulting! And how faithless. Let's face it. If the Father doesn't keep His promises, we'll have bigger problems than what's for tomorrow's breakfast. Faith, believing the promise, means no Plan B. There is no backup, no 'just in case', no 'But what if?' It means taking everything you've got and betting it all on Jesus. I'll grant that that's pretty risky. But the alternative is worse than stinky worms.

One last thought. We will have to wait for some of the 'all things' that the Father has promised. How long? It might be a relatively short wait. But then again, we know that for some things we'll have to wait a lifetime. Right now, Mario would really like a new body. The one that he has now isn't working all that well. I am sure that if he were to get a new body he would really flourish. Now, is a new body included in the 'all things'? Absolutely! Because of Jesus, the Father has promised Mario a new body, one that works perfectly. One that will never break down. That means no more pills, no doctor visits, no oxygen tanks, no wobbliness, no aches and pains, no struggling. The Father promises Mario a new body. He's going to have to wait for it, but he's going get it. There are other items included in the 'all things' that the saints of God will have to wait for. There are those who have never enjoyed a mother's love. Others who are now limited in what they can do because they were denied a good education, things like reading, writing and 'rithmetic. And then, there are those who have longed for, but have never experienced, the happiness of family. That Thanksgiving dinner that I described earlier is only a picture for them, never a reality. It's just a fact that we all will have to deal with wounds and sorrows, gaps in our experience of love and other such things. It's just a part of this life. We live in a fallen world. But whatever we are missing here, will be enjoyed to the full there. One day we'll wake up in a completely different place, walk out of our tent and find much more than manna. The Father has promised. 'He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?'

Out of all that I've said, I'm hoping for two things. The first is devotion to Jesus. He is the reason why this promise is yours. No Jesus, no promise. But Jesus has come, and so we get the promise. In one sense, we owe Him nothing all of this for this. It is freely given. And yet, in another sense, we owe Him everything. 'Whom have I in heaven but You? And beside You I desire nothing on the earth.' Devotion to Jesus. The second thing I'm hoping for is boldness for Jesus. Because of this promise, we can be bold out there in the world. We can take risks for Jesus. After all, what can happen to us? What can they do to us? The Father has promised. And even if we do something stupid, the promise is still true. So, one last time. 'He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?'