Nowadays, it has become more commonplace to hear that “God is love”, “He is a God of love, he wouldn’t condemn anyone!”, etc. Is this view biblical? Is this what is found throughout the holy scriptures, or does it contradict it?

As I have stated before, and will state many times again, the Bible should be read and studied as a continual letter. It was written that way, and intended to be read that way. To truly and fully understand the Word of God, it must be read in the context in which it was written. I will be discussing verses, and I would encourage you to read the verses before, after, and throughout to understand the context and concept throughout the Bible.

To go along with this, God is just. He loves His children. Those who deny Him and refuse to honor Him continually are not His children. They reject Him, they get punished. They receive judgement (justice) due their own disobedience and rejection of Him and His Word.

John 10:25-28 –  Jesus answered them, “I told you, and you do not believe; the works that I do in My Father’s name, these testify of Me. ²⁶ But you do not believe because you are not of My sheep. ²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; ²⁸ and I give eternal life to them, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand.

To sin is to turn from God’s will and disobey Him. It is an act against God. He cannot condone that behavior because it would go against His nature. Simply put, if you deny God’s word and sin against Him continually without repentance and turning to Him, He cannot love you, because it would be contrary to His nature.

Hebrews 10:26-31 – For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, ²⁷ but a terrifying expectation of judgment and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries. ²⁸ Anyone who has set aside the Law of Moses dies without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. ²⁹ How much severer punishment do you think he will deserve who has trampled under foot the Son of God, and has regarded as unclean the blood of the covenant by which he was sanctified, and has insulted the Spirit of grace? ³⁰ For we know Him who said, “Vengeance is Mine, I will repay.” And again, “The Lord will judge His people.” ³¹ It is a terrifying thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

If you turn to Him, and stop sinning and put your faith in Him, you will be saved from the judgment. Only when you turn from your sin, turn to God, and stop caring about things of this world and set your mind on Him, will you become His child. You can’t live how you want, deny Him continually, reject Him and His laws, and receive His love. That is not the God of the Bible.

I am only going to list a few verses on each attribute, upon further study of God’s word, His nature and attributes will become quite evident.

Attributes of God

Holy – Exodus 15:11, 1 Samuel 2:2, Isaiah 6:3, Isaiah 8:13, Revelation 4:8, Joshua 24:19, Hebrews 12:10, Leviticus 19:2, Isaiah 6:3-5, etc, etc, etc, .

“Holy is the way God is. To be holy He does not conform to a standard. He is the standard.” – A.W. Tozer

“So obey God because you are His children. Don’t slip back into your old ways of doing evil; you didn’t know any better then. But now you must be holy in everything you do, just as God—who chose you to be His children—is holy. For He Himself has said, “You must be holy because I am holy ” (1 Peter 1:14-16)

Righteous – Psalm 71:19, Jeremiah 9:24, 2 Timothy 4:8, Exodus 9:27, 2 Chronicles 12:6, Jeremiah 23:6

Eternal – Psalm 90:2, Isaiah 43:13, Isaiah 57:15, 1 Timothy 6:16, Jude 1:25

Omnipresent (Ever-present) – Colossians 1:17, Hebrews 13:5, Psalm 139:7-12, Jeremiah 23:23-24

Omnipotent (All-powerful) – Jeremiah 32:27, Luke 1:37, Genesis 17:1, Job 37:23, Job 42:2

Omniscience (All-knowing) – Job 21:22, 1 Samuel 2:3, Psalm 147:5, Isaiah 55:8-9, Romans 11:33,

Immutable (Doesn’t change) – 1 Samuel 15:29, Malachi 3:6, Hebrews 6:17, Hebrews 13:8, James 1:17

Self-Sufficient – Exodus 3:14

Sovereign – Daniel 2:21, Job 12:29-32, Job 37:2-13, Romans 8:28-30, Ephesians 1, Daniel 2:21, 1 Timothy 1:17, 1 Timothy 6:15, Psalm 104, 2 Thessalonians 2:13

Love – Proverbs 3:12, Matthew 5:44-45, Ephesians 1, Psalm 37:28, Hosea 3:1, Psalm 100:5, John 3:16-19, Romans 5:5, 1 John 4, Romans 8

“Can anything ever separate us from Christ’s love? Does it mean He no longer loves us if we have trouble or calamity, or are persecuted, or are hungry or cold or in danger or threatened with death?” “No, despite all these things, overwhelming victory is ours through Christ, who loved us. And I am convinced that nothing can ever separate us from His love, Death can’t, and life can’t. The angels can’t, and the demons can’t. Our fears for today, our worries about tomorrow, and even the powers of hell can not keep God’s love away. Whether we are high above the sky or in the deepest ocean, nothing in all creation will ever be able to separate us from the love of God that is revealed in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:35, 37-39)

Conclusion:

As all of these verses will clearly show, God loves His children. He loves believers, not those who reject Him and want nothing to do with Him. It would contradict His nature, which isn’t possible. God is love, to those who love Him. He is just to those who reject Him. All are sinners in need of a Savior. Some people come to God when they are young, old, middle-aged, etc. There is hope for every person, and it is found in God alone. Christians are called to love (which involves not loving a persons sin, but loving what they can become). We are called to love what God can do in their lives, and share the message of salvation with them.