Posted by
ValiantForTruth on Thursday, May 08, 2008 10:45:43 AM
‘God loves all people, and we are told to “be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Matthew 5:48). If we are to love all people, this probably means not killing them.’ -Andrew Tallman
Mr. Tallman, the NT is clear that God’s love is demonstrated in Christ…
‘But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us’ [Romans 5:8].
But men outside Christ are under wrath because they are lawbreakers in rebellion against God….
‘God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through Him might be saved. “He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already…and this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil…’ [John 3:17-21].
The unbeliever should rightly question you why there is so much teaching on hell in the NT if God loves all men. Does God condemn those He loves to everlasting punishment in hell? God forbid!
'There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus...' [Romans 8:1]
What about Romans 9:13?
As it is written [Malachi 1:2-3], “Jacob I have loved, but Esau I have hated.”
In Romans 1 Paul said that he is not ashamed of the gospel because it is the power of God unto salvation. Romans 9 is part of the gospel. Are we ashamed of the gospel? Then why must we make an image of God to fit our own ideas of what God should be?