The Moral Issue of Belief

...Human beings are adept at rejecting objective evidence when it does not confirm their prejudice, no matter how clear or compelling the evidence may be. Some people will not be persuaded by all the proof in the world because they are not truly open to the evidence.

My experience as an apologist and minister has shown me that the real reason most people reject Christianity is not for lack of evidence. The proof from external sources regarding the truth of the biblical account is too overwhelming. No, the real issue is a moral one. The person not reconciled to God in Christ and living in disobedience does not want Scripture’s claim that God has a full and final claim on his life to be true...

R. C. Sproul as quoted @ inerrantword.org

and with all the deception of wickedness for those

who perish, because they did not receive the love

of the truth so as to be saved.  For this reason God

will send upon them a deluding influence so that

they will believe what is false, in order that they

all may be judged who did not believe the truth,

but took pleasure in wickedness.

II Thessalonians 2:10-12 

Yes, belief in the truth is a moral issue!

Love and Unity

This is a repost.

Biblical love is far deeper than a love dependent merely on feelings and emotions. Rather, it is a love that flows from the very soul and character of the individual. It comes from the person's decision to love, not from his feelings. In fact, many times the decision to love will run contrary to the feelings one possesses. Biblical love is the love of God that has been poured out into the heart, and then given from that heart to others.

This kind of love is the basis of unity as true unity does not come from a denial of differences, but from a forebearing with one another in spite of the differences. It is the love that gives, that covers, that bears, that endures, that believes. This is the love that overwhelmingly conquers. This love then enables us to be united one with another; not due to a common cause, but because of a common love. 

Ephesians 4:1-3

Therefore I, the prisoner of the Lord, implore you to walk

in a manner worthy of the calling with which you have been called,

with all humility and gentleness, showing forebearance to one another

in love, being diligent to preserve the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Psalm 89:6-7 and Our Worship

Psalm 89:6 For who in the skies is comparable to the Lord? Who among the sons of the mighty is like the Lord?

There is none like Him in heaven or on earth!

Psalm 89:7 A God greatly feared in the council of the holy ones, and awesome above all those who are around Him.

He is transcendent even above those in heaven so that all in heaven are in awe of Him and revere Him, which is why He is worshiped as He is in Isaiah 6, and Revelation 4. This also paints a picture for us that compliments Revelation 4:2...and behold, a throne was standing in heaven, and One sitting on the throne.

This, indeed, is the God whose very presence commands worship. Let our heart fall upon its knees and worship Him.

This, indeed, is the very God who humbled Himself and came to earth in the person of Jesus Christ. He suffered unjustly at the hands of godless men, so that He could be the perfect, sinless, sacrifice for each and every sin we would ever commit as He took sin's penalty on our behalf.

This, indeed, was a majestic death. This should inform and inspire our worship each Lord's Day. So, let us gather together tomorrow and celebrate His resurrection, His victory over sin's penalty, which is death, and its claim on us.

A Response to Michael Bird and His Issue with American Inerrancy

I don't do book reviews as there are many who do a much better and more thorough job than I would.  But I am going to respond to a section in a book, Five Views on Biblical Inerrancy, which contains a section by Michael Bird.  Yes, that Michael Bird, the author of Evangelical Theology, which is a systematic theology based upon the gospel.

My reason to respond to Michael's section in this book is twofold.  One, because I am working my way through his systematic theology, and enjoying it; and two, to offer some corrective insight to his "global" perspective.

His assertions seem to be that inerrancy is a particular American issue, it draws an unnecessary fence around the Bible, and that the word inerrancy is not needed in the global south as they accept the Bible as true and authoritative with out all the muss and fuss of having to call it inerrant; and, therefore, are able to get on with their business of spreading and preaching the gospel.

Kind of an aside here, but he also seems to have a bit of an Aussie/Kiwi chip on his shoulder toward what he views as American theological colonialism/imperialism; and somehow connects this with Rugby verses American football.

What has struck me in reading his response is his naivete, and this naivete is mixed with a bit of smugness; and I think together they have blinded him to the pattern of the church in its history, and to the reality of the church at this time. As good a student of church history as he appears to be, he should understand, maybe more than many, the proclivity of human nature toward liberalism, toward doubt, and should be aware that the church has always been filled with tares. In the history of the church there have always been threats to an orthodox understanding of the bible.  The attack on the inerrancy of the Bible, at least to the degree we have seen in North America and Europe is a more recent threat, but it is also one that has hung around for the last 150 years, it is not going away anytime soon, and it will soon come to a church near you...maybe even your own.

Here in the global North we have seen first hand the damage done to the church by higher criticism and liberal textual criticism.  It has destroyed the church in Europe and damaged the church in America.  The Anglicans in the North have the same 39 Articles of the Faith as the Anglicans of the South, the Presbyterians of the North have the same Westminster Confession of Faith as the Presbyterians of the South, and that did not keep them from abandoning the Bible as truthful and authoritative. What is to keep it from happening in the South?  As the global South becomes more mature and sophisticated theologically, there will be those who will begin to teach in its seminaries and academies who will be smuggled in on the Trojan Horse of "the Bible is true for faith and practice, authoritative for faith and practice, and the standard for faith and practice" (See Michael's section on An International View of Scripture, pgs 160-162).  This is where it began in the Southern Baptist Convention and its Baptist Faith and Message statement, and once the wolves are in the door, they open the door to other wolves, who are much more savage.

As one who was involved, at the local church level, in the Southern Baptist inerrancy controversy and battle for the Bible in the 90s (and still have some scars), I have seen first hand the damage done by those who did not believe all the Bible was true, but hid behind the statement "it is the standard for faith and practice."  I have seen first hand the necessity of drawing a fence around the Bible using the term inerrant.  Yes, it does keep some good people out, but it keeps many many more wolves in sheep's clothing from getting in and ravaging the flock and destroying the faith of some.  In contending for the faith, having the term inerrant and using it as a fence, yes even as a sword, is a necessity.

Yes, inerrancy has been a particular American issue, because the battle was fought here. The European church, with few exceptions, capitulated to the attacks on the Bible without firing a shot. We Americans might not have fought a World War on our soil, but we indeed have fought a spiritual war on our soil (a war that does indeed affect the entire world) over the truthfulness, veracity, and reliability of the Bible, not just as it applies to faith and practice, but about whatever it touches on.  And I dare say that Michael would do the same if the battle came to his soil, his church, his school. It just happened to come to us first, but it will eventually come to the church in the South.

Finally, after reading his section in the book, and going through his Evangelical Theology, I would say that Michael is a closet inerrantist.  He really is an inerrantist at heart, although he calls himself an infalliblist...even Peter Enns thinks so.

In Preaching, Let the Text Say What it Says--So that it Will do What it is Designed to do

As preachers and students of the Word, we all have certain theological leanings, and some are adherents to a particular system of theology.  Yes, when reading or studying the Bible we do so in light of our theological bent; however, when studying and interpreting the Scriptures we should not impose our particular theological bias upon the text, but let the text say what it says.  This will result in a much fairer treatment of the text, and will then result in much clearer expounding of that text in our preaching, and clarity in preaching produces clarity of thought and understanding in the hearer.

When we do this we will earn the trust of our people as they may not understand all the nuances of a particular system, but can usually tell when we are artificially imposing a meaning upon the text that is not readily apparent from its context.

Our job is not to make our people adherents of our chosen system or to have them line up with our bias, but our job is to make our people more like Christ; which is what the Scriptures are designed to do, and therefore why we should do our best to bring out the clear unclouded meaning of the text.
(Colossians 1:28-29, Galatians 4:19, Ephesians 4:11-13, Romans 8:29).

A Christian Heart

It is not the cleaning of the hand that makes the Christian, for many a hypocrite can show as fair a hand as he, but the purifying, watching, and right ordering of the heart; this is the thing that provokes so many sad complaints, and costs so many deep groans and tears.

John Flavel

Crucifixion and Freedom

In Galatians 5:1 Paul tells us, "It was for freedom that Christ set us free." To be set free means to no longer be in bondage. To be free means to no longer be in subjection to, under the dominion of, or be controlled by.

Unlike the silly song that tells us we are free to dance, there is a spiritual freedom, a true liberty of heart and soul and mind that we have been given in Christ. Paul lays the foundation for our understanding of this freedom in Romans 6:1-14, as he tells us that we have been set free from sin, we are no longer slaves to sin, that sin should no longer be our master.  The key to understanding this, and the foundation of our freedom, is given in 6:6-8 as we are told our old self was crucified with Him and that he who has died has been set free from sin. So we see that it is crucifixion that sets us free. Our being baptized into Christ unites us with Him in His crucifixion and resurrection. We have been freed from sin and its stranglehold by being crucified with Christ.

In Galatians Paul fills out the rest of of what is implied in Romans 6:1-14, and what has been accomplished in our being crucified with Christ. In Galatians 2:19-20 we see that through crucifixion we are set free from the bondage of the Law (Romans 6:14, 7:1-2, 6).  In Galatians 5:24 we see that through crucifixion we are set free from the flesh with its passions and desires (Romans 6:12-13, Galatians 5:16-21, Ephesians 2:3, Romans 13:13-14).  In Galatians 6:14 we see that through crucifixion we have been set free from the world with its anti-God philosophies and ways (I John 2:16, 5:4-5, 5:19, Colossians 2:20).

As Christians we no longer breath the foul air of imprisonment, but now breathe the fresh air of freedom. The freedom that only death can bring.  Let us rejoice in our freedom, and praise God for our freedom, because in Christ we are free indeed.

Blessed are the Pure in Heart

In the beginning of the Sermon on the Mount there is a pronouncement of blessings. Blessings for those who are true disciples of Christ. Blessings for those who possess certain spiritual characteristics, the characteristics of true disciples, who, therefore, are true Christians. As you go through the pronouncement of these blessings, every blessing is spiritually rich and spiritually beneficial. Every blessing pronounced is an extravagance of the grace of God, and to have them in total is much like drinking out of a fire hose. However there is one blessing that stands out from all the rest because it is the greatest of these blessings, it is the pinnacle of these blessings, it is the blessing by which all others pale; and, indeed, it may well be the greatest promise He made, and it is found in verse 8..."Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God." This has been called one of the greatest verses in all of Scripture, one of the greatest sayings of Christ, the most gracious words that ever came from His lips.

We know from Exodus 33 that no one can see God and live. From I Timothy 6:16 we learn that the Lord dwells in unapproachable light and no man has seen or can see Him. So to see God would be a most unimaginable blessing, and I Corinthians 13:12 gives us additional insight into what is entailed in seeing God as it tells us this, "For now we see in a mirror dimly, but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully just as I also have been fully known."

In I Corinthians 13:12 we see that for those who believe there is a seeing of God, the sight of faith (as we also see in Hebrews 11:24-27); but that is likened to a dim reflection, of which the fullness of sight and with it the fullness of knowing are yet to be. From this verse we understand that in seeing God we will fully know God. Since God, Himself, is the highest and most supreme Being, seeing Him and knowing Him would be the highest and most supreme blessing, and to receive this blessing is the highest and most extravagant grace one could ever receive.

We have learned that the recipients of this supreme blessing are those who are pure in heart. So the question for us to consider is who exactly are the pure in heart. Let's look at what the Scriptures tell us about these people.

Those who are pure in heart:

Love God

I Timothy 1:5 But the goal of our instruction is love from a pure heart, a good conscience, and a sincere faith.

Deuteronomy 6:4-6 Hear, O Isreal!, The Lord is our God, the Lord in one! You shall love the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.  These words I am commanding you today shall be on your heart

Deuteronomy 10:12 Now, Israel, what does the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God will all your heart and with all your soul.

Mark 12:30 and you shall love the Lord you God with all your heart, and with all your souls, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.

This is not the state of the natural man

Romans 1:29-31 being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful.

II Timothy 3:2 For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy, unloving, irreconcilable, malicious gossips, without self-control, brutal, haters of good, treacherous, reckless, conceited, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God,

The love of God will be evidenced by

1.      Love of neighbor

Mark 12:31 the second is this, You shall love your neighbor as yourself.  There is no other commandment greater than these.

Romans 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor

2.      Love of the Brethren

John 15:12 This is my commandment that you love one another, just as I have loved you.

I Peter 1:22 Since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart.

3.      Obedience to God

John 14:15 If you love me you will keep My commandments

John 14:24 He who does not love Me does not keep My words

I John 5:2-3 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and observe His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

Those who are pure in heart:

Seek God

Psalm 27:8 When you said, Seek My face, my heart said to You, Your face, O Lord, I shall seek.

Psalm 105:3-4 Glory in His holy name; Let the heart of those who seek the Lord be glad.  Seek the Lord and His strength, seek His face continually.

Jeremiah 29:13-14a You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me will all your heart.  I will be found by you….

Deuteronomy 4:29 But from there you will seek the Lord your God, and you will find Him if you search for Him with all your heart and all your soul.

I Chronicles 28:9 As for you, my son Solomon, know the God of your father, and serve Him with a whole heart and a willing mind; for the Lord searches all hearts, and understands every intent of the thoughts.  If you seek Him, He will let you find Him; but if your forsake Him, He will reject you forever.

Isaiah 55:6-7 Seek the Lord while He may be found; call upon Him while He is near.  Let the wicked forsake His way and the unrighteous man his thoughts; and let him return to the Lord, and He will have compassion on him, and to our God for He will abundantly pardon.

Matthew 6:33  Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness….

Psalm 119:2, 10 How blessed are those who keep His testimonies, who seek Him with all their heart….With all my heart I have sought you; do not let me wander from Your commandments.

Those who are pure in heart:

Find God

Hebrews 11:6 And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is and that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him.

Jeremiah 29:13-14a You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me will all your heart.  I will be found by you….

Psalm 63:1-5 O God, You are my God; I shall seek You earnestly; my soul thirsts for You, my flesh yearns for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.  Thus I have seen You in the sanctuary, to see Your power and your glory.  Because Your lovingkindness is better than life, my lips will praise You.  So I will bless You as long as I live; I will lift up my hands in Your name.  my soul is satisfied as with marrow and fatness, and my mouth offers praises with joyful lips.

Jeremiah 24:7 I will give them a heart to know Me.

If we understand correctly that the unsaved and unregenerate do not seek God (Romans 3:10-18) and are haters of God (Romans 1:31, II Timothy 3:1-5), then we are left with the conclusion that those who are pure in heart are those who heart has been cleansed, been made pure (Ezekiel 36:26, John 13:8-10; 15:3), and filled with love (Romans 5:5).  In other words, no one truly seeks God until he has been saved; and then he spends a lifetime of seeking after God, and God rewards his seeking by disclosing more and more of Himself.

And how do we see God?  We see God in the Word of God. We see God in the person of Jesus Christ. No greater blessing can be bestowed.  Make this your desire, make this your prayer, make this your quest today. 

Our Response to Answered Prayer

Too many times when God answers our prayers we

 disregard it because it doesn't come packaged as we "expected."

Victory in Christ

For Jesus Christ the road to Calvary was the road to victory.

For us, the daily taking up of our cross is the key to victory in 

the living out of our Christian life.

Guarding Against Self in Our Preaching

Brother pastors, as you prepare for Sunday are you intent

on showcasing God's wisdom or your own?  Are you preparing

for your people to hear from God, or hear from you?  Is it God's

Word you are preaching or your own?  Do you have more

confidence in your own word than God's word, or more 

confidence in your own machinations than the work of 

the Spirit?  

I Corinthians 2:1-5, Romans 1:16

The temptation for all of us is to serve ourselves and trust

ourselves rather than the Lord, even in our preaching.  Let 

us be like Joshua and chose this Lord's day to serve and

trust Him and Him alone in our preaching.

II Timothy 2:21

The Longings of the Christian Heart

The longings of the Christian heart are

inspired by God and fulfilled by God.

Psalm 37:4

Presenting the Lord

As preachers, does the way we present

the Lord inspire people to get out of

bed to come worship Him?

 .

The Christian Life

Don't be fooled by the glib preacher.  The Christian life is not about being "authentic," it's about being like Christ, for it is being like Christ that makes one truly authentic.

Biblical Confidence

If we are going to restore confidence in the Bible,

we must start with restoring it in the hearts of  church

leaders.  If the Doubters lead the Doubtful they will 

never arrive at Certainty.

Colin Adams

The Trinity-Mystery and Reality

The Trinity, though a mystery, is a theological reality revealed through the pages of Scripture. We see the Trinity at work in:

Creation
Genesis 1:1-2, 1:26-27; John 1:1-3, Hebrews 1:2, I Corinthians 8:6

Salvation
I Peter 1:1-2, John 6:44, 15:26, 16:8, Ephesians 4:30

Church Life
I Corinthians 12:4-7, 11-12, 18, 24, 27

Giving of Scripture
Hebrews 2:2-4, II Peter 1:19-20

The Ministry of Christ
Matthew 3:13-4:1

We do serve and worship a triune God, not three gods, or one god who manifests himself in three different ways; but a God who is Father, Son, and Spirit all at once, for all time. The footprints of the Trinity are all through the Scriptures. Some are more visible than others, but there are many which can be found by those with a nose for the truth.

The Trinity... Mystery? Yes!...Reality? Yes!...Which should cause us all to worship with awe and wonder, because there is truly no other god like Him.

The Three Most Distinctive Christian Doctrines

There is much that separates Christianity from every other religion, but I believe there are three doctrines that are the most distinctive and provide the greatest degree of separation from the other religions, and also from sects that call themselves Christian.  In fact, these three doctrines are foundational to other key doctrines of the Christian faith. These three doctrines are the Trinity, the Incarnation, and Penal Substitutionary Atonement.

What the Gospel Offers Us

...to study the God of the gospel--the God who handed over his Son, who raised him up again, and who sent his Spirit into our hearts--is to be propelled toward the study of God's triune being, his divine attributes, his actions of creation and revelation, as well the divine purpose and plan for all things.  In the gospel we do not find a catalogue of human religious sentiments offered up for our perusal, no buffet of philosophical theories for us to snack on.  In the gospel there is no unearthing of relics and ritual to ponder like broken pottery pieces from a dead civilization, nor are we offered merely modern mantras promising nice things for nice people. To do the contrary, the gospel offers us much more, something much better than anyone could envision:  the gospel is the offer of God himself.  For in the gospel, God is the giver and gift all at once, a gift of life and love that comes by sharing in the life and love that is in his Son.  This is the God of the gospel, the God who commands the attention of all of our intellects, the God who pushes the boundaries of our imagination, the God who stimulates our creative energies in art and music and literature, and the only God worth singing and studying about.


Michael F. Bird
Evangelical Theology
Page 91

God and the Gospel

To hold the gospel in contempt is to hold God in contempt. To disdain the gospel is to disdain God. To  reject the gospel is to reject God. For God is the gospel, and the giver of the gospel. He has given the gospel with the command to repent and believe (Mark 1:15). To not believe the gospel is to disdain the gospel, to hold the gospel in contempt, and to reject the gospel; and reveals the heart's attitude toward God.

Understanding the Love of God-Part II

In Part I we saw how God has a particular and specific love for His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and that He loves us with the same love with which He loves His Son. This is a familial love, a love that a father has for his own son. This familial love is not for those who are of the world, those who have not been adopted into the family of God, those who have not believed on Christ, His person and His finished work on our behalf. So let's see what else we can glean about this wondrous love of God.

His Particular Love is an Eternal Love

Remember when we were looking at the love of the Father for the Son and we saw that He loved both the Son and His own before the foundation of the world (John 17:24, Ephesians 1:4). This means that before time began God already loved us. God's love for us is from eternity past, so in the eternal mind of God there has never been a time when He did not love us. This fact should give all of us who belong to Him a security in our relationship with Him. It also highlights His unmerited grace in bringing us to Himself. Before we were born, and could do anything good or bad He already loved us with an everlasting love. His love for us has always been, it will always be, and everything connected with His purpose for us revolves around this eternal love with which He loves us. Why can we never be separated from His love, as was stated in Romans 8:32? Because His love for us will never cease! We see a picture of this in Jeremiah 31:3 The Lord appeared to him from afar, saying, "I have loved you with an everlasting love; therefore I have drawn you with lovingkindness." The Lord is talking to Israel in this passage, but in it we see pictured His eternal love for those who are His own. Think about what it means that God has always loved you with the same love with which He has always loved His Son. Because God loves us with the same love with which He loves His Son, He would no sooner let us go than He would His own Son. What a humbling truth! At a minimum it should fill your heart with thanksgiving and humble your soul.

Additionally, if you think about how Romans 8:29... for those whom He foreknew He predestined... and Ephesians 1:4-5...In love He predestined us to adoption as sons...go together, you will see that to be foreknown is synonymous with being foreloved.  So, in the foreknowledge of God for those whom He would predestine to salvation, there was also present an eternal love for those very people.  So those who are His own, whom come to Him by faith in His Son, have been known and loved by God for all eternity.

His Particular Love is an Electing Love

I commented earlier that to be beloved is to be the object of a particular love or the particular object of someone's love. We are the beloved of God, and therefore we are the particular object of His love (those on whom He bestows His love), and the object of His particular love (the same love with which He loves the Son, a familial love). But there is also something that goes along with being His beloved. Let's look at some Scriptures together to see what that is.

Ephesians 1:4b-5a In love He predestined us to adoption as sons through Jesus Christ.
Colossians 3:12a So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved....
II Thessalonians 2:13-14 But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ.
I Thessalonians 1:4 knowing, brethren beloved by God, His choice of you;
Jude 1:1 Jude, a slave of Jesus Christ, and brother of James, to those who are the called, beloved in God the Father, and kept for Jesus Christ:

Did you notice that God has only called beloved His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and those whom He has chosen beforehand for salvation. He calls no one else beloved.  Did you also notice the connection between love and predestination; being beloved and being chosen, called, and kept. Because we are the particular objects of His particular love (His beloved), He chose us out of the world unto Himself, and has given us to His Son. This particular love is a love of choice, not compulsion. He chose to set His affection upon us, and the result of this is His drawing of us to Himself. He loves whom He chooses and He chooses whom He loves, and those who are not loved with this particular love are not predestined for salvation, they are not chosen, called, or kept. We see that He only saves those on whom He has set His particular love, this eternal love, which is the same love with which He loves His Son.  This is all done in accordance with the kind intention of His will to accomplish His eternal purpose, which God the Father carried out in Christ the Son.

When we start contemplating this we soon bump the ceiling of our understanding. And that is okay. This causes many questions to come up, the foremost of which is, "Why did God choose to love me, and therefore save me, and not person X?" One day we will know fully as we have been fully known, but until that time we can be in rapt wonder of the greatness of the mind of God, and how incomprehensible His ways are. This truth is transcendent, one that is above and beyond us and our rational capabilities. Suffice it to say that there is enough here to cause us to bow low before Him in holy reverence and awe. It is truths like this that set God apart as God, and let us know that He is truly a God who is deserving of all worship.

His Particular Love is a Saving Love

Because we are loved with a particular love, God has chosen us, and because He has chosen us we are saved. To be loved with this particular love is to be chosen, selected out of the mass of humanity headed for hell, for salvation. The outcome of this love is our salvation, our deliverance from the penalty, power, and ultimately, the presence of sin. The wages of sin is death, and the consequence of sin is the just judgement of a holy God. However, we see this in Ephesians 2:2-7... But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus... Apart from the love of God we would not know salvation. In His choosing to love us our salvation was guaranteed and our eternal state was fixed. I am reminded of a statement by A. W. Pink to the effect that the crucifixion of Christ did not make our salvation possible, it made it certain.

II Timothy :8b-9 ...according to the power of God, who has saved us and called us with a holy calling, not according to our works, but according to His own purpose and grace which was granted us in Christ Jesus from all eternity. The love of God is most manifest in the person of Christ, and it is through the person and work of Christ that He has brought salvation to those whom He has set His great love upon. God's love for His beloved is in accordance with His eternal purpose which has been carried out in Christ. 

Christian friends, rejoice and be glad, be thankful and worshipful, that God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation. Marvel at the wondrous love with which you are loved by the Father. Give thanks to God for loving you so, for loving you with the same love with which He loved the Son, and for placing this saving love upon you.

Yes, there is a general love of God for all of mankind, and in God's love for mankind He has made salvation available to whosoever would turn from their sin, from seeking their own way, seeking their own desires, speaking their own word; and, in repentance and faith turn to the only One who can save, and ask Him to set His saving love on them.