Poll: Is Gods Love Unconditional

[Antipas]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Does the bible SAY "God's love is unconditional"?

People can twist and turn the Bible to say nearly anything they want it to say. One must have a personal relationship with God and experience God's love themselves. Sometimes that love transcends traditions and even interpretations of ancient religious texts. When my gifts were begining to manifest I was rejected by many who couldn't classify them in accordance to their narrow interpretations of the Bible.

The point is that God is love. Pure unadulterated love. We do well to keep the Bible in mind. However, God is even grater than the Bible.

[LUKE2447]

Originally Posted by Jermyn Davidson

Yes, God's LOVE is unconditional.

Our salvation is not unconditional but His LOVE for His Creation is, in fact, unconditional.

I'd even go as far as to state that if God's LOVE is conditional, then our faith is no different than any of the other world religions that begin with the morality of man.
True Christianity does not begin with man and is not made complete by the morality of man.

As if this has anything to do with it argument from scripture. Is his mercy everlasting? Yes! Does that mean you receive mercy no matter what? NO! Same thing!

His love is not unconditional. Scripture is VERY clear about this. His love was his death on the cross. However his love is received by those WHO BELIEVE which is contextual. You say it is unconditional. I want you to DEFINE what is LOVE! Since whatever it is is just being thrown around very generally.

[LUKE2447]

Originally Posted by Antipas

People can twist and turn the Bible to say nearly anything they want it to say. One must have a personal relationship with God and experience God's love themselves. Sometimes that love transcends traditions and even interpretations of ancient religious texts. When my gifts were begining to manifest I was rejected by many who couldn't classify them in accordance to their narrow interpretations of the Bible.

The point is that God is love. Pure unadulterated love. We do well to keep the Bible in mind. However, God is even grater than the Bible.

God is love however that does not mean it is unconditional.

[LUKE2447]

Originally Posted by Esaias

Does the bible SAY "God's love is unconditional"?

Does it say otherwise?

What exactly does 'unconditional' mean in the context of the question?

Are there conditions to benefiting from God's love?

Are there conditions to a person being loved by God?

What about this -

Jhn 14:21 He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.

Or this?

Jhn 14:23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.

Or this?

Jhn 15:10 If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love.

Or this?

Jud 1:21 Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.

(That last one seems to indicate we are to keep ourselves, or remain, in the love of God. Is this a command to keep ourselves in God's love toward us? Or to keep ourselves in our love towards God?)

They will spin it however they want. Most of it is a feminized view of God.

[Antipas]

Originally Posted by LUKE2447

God is love however that does not mean it is unconditional.

And what exactly are those conditions that, if not met, would cause a God who is love with regards to his essence to cease loving a person?

[OnTheFritz]

Originally Posted by Antipas

And what exactly are those conditions that, if not met, would cause a God who is love with regards to his essence to cease loving a person?

Men must shave to be baby smooth. Women must only speak when spoken to. And ... No worldly fun at all for anyone -including but not limited to disco-dancing. Then and only then, God will love you.

[Jermyn Davidson]

For those who say God's LOVE is not unconditional:

He showed His LOVE for us while we were yet sinners by sending His Son to die for us just so that we can have a realationship with Him.

If that's not unconditional LOVE, then what is it?

If we love Him, it's only because HE LOVED US FIRST-- while we were still wallowing in our own blood and waste, living under a rock, bound by all manner of iniquity and wickedness.

It's His LOVE (or KINDNESS) that even leads a person to repentance in the first place.

Christianity does not start with us.
Christianity starts with Him. His LOVE is demonstrated by His Provision and His Grace towards us.

HE LOVED US FIRST and there was nothing that we could do to earn His Love when He demonstrated (and demonstrates today) His Love.

You can't earn His LOVE, just like your child can't earn your love.

Are we not made in His Image?
Do we have a greater capacity to love our children more deeply than God who LOVES us?

He's the One who CREATED us, CREATED love, and fashioned our ability to even give and receive LOVE in the first place!

[Jermyn Davidson]

Too many Apostolics forget just how wretched and nasty they once were. Thus, today they are wretched and nasty!

Why don't you go and save yourselves!
God's love has no place in your salvation because you have no salvation!
You have religion, your own good works and your own sense of your faithfulness to a god you have molded to fit into your twisted idea formed by your own self-righteous indignation with those you will be burning in hell next to you at then end of time, unless you see again just how wretched and nasty you are without GOD demonstrating His LOVE to you so that you are even able to be saved.

[Esaias]

I think part of the problem is that 'unconditional love' is not actually defined. Or else it is defined in different ways by different people, which in determines their answer to the question 'Is God's love unconditional?'

The Bible does not speak of 'unconditional love', whether of God or of men. It does speak of the nearly unfathomable depth and richness of God's love toward us but I think it is a fallacy to equate depth with 'unconditional'.

God loved us while we were sinners. That is amazing in and of itself, that the King would love those who formerly broke His laws, and were rebels. And His love devised a way to provide for their reformation and reclamation as loyal subjects of His kingdom. That's grace, indeed.

But 'unconditional'? I am afraid the term itself, 'unconditional love', may not have any real meaning to begin with. It sounds great, but what does it really mean?

In looking at the responses here it seems that those who believe God's love is 'unconditional' take it to mean one does not have to earn salvation and pardon, that one does not have to perform in order to be a recipient of God's blessing. Some also seem to take it to mean that even though God punishes the wicked (even to eternal condemnation), nevertheless He does it reluctantly, as it were, because He would much prefer all men to repent and be saved. Furthermore, even His stern justice is an act of love, considered in conjunction with the larger scheme of things. After all, maintaining His justice in disposing of the wicked in gehenna is part of His love for His entire creation.

But 'unconditional'? Again, I am not even sure the term has much meaning.

We all agree that God loved a sinful world and sought to redeem it (and us!). We all agree that to fully benefit from God's love, one must respond to His love. And I think we all agree that although God's love often requires Him to treat some people (the saints, for example) differently than others (the unrepentant, for example), nevertheless He loves each of us (saint and unrepentant sinner), tho not in the exact same way.

The saint, who trusts Him, obeys Him, follows Him, seeks Him, abides in Him, is loved in a manner different than the one who rebels, cares not for holy things, despises the grace of God, rejects the gospel, etc. Both are 'loved', for the saint has the grace of God operating in His life and the blessings of God that follow thereon, while the sinner has the grace of God calling him still... as long as a sinner draws breath there is a chance they may repent, and God will not turn the truly penitent away.

Yes, there is a 'point of no return', at which God gives a person over to their own devices and lusts and delusions, beyond which point salvation and repentance are impossible... but nobody knows what point that is in a person's life except God alone. Thus, there is ALWAYS hope - however slim it may seem - for the lost to be found.

I think we confuse the Biblical teaching of the depths and riches of God's grace and love with this 'unconditional love' concept - a concept not stated in Scripture, and which honestly seems to come from secular sources regarding idealized human interactions.

But in any case, we should not strive about mere terms to no profit.

[Esaias]

And then we have this -

The LORD trieth the righteous: but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth. (Psalm 11:15)