The “unconditional love of God” certainly has limits when it comes to the related topic of salvation. An answer to the question asked in this field from the ranks of the former Protestant churches even gives a reason for hope for the correct understanding of the Gospel.
Inhalt / Content
A God who reconciles all things?
“God’s unconditional love” for His creatures. This statement is the focus especially among good and gullible people who listen to the sermons of the younger descendants of theological colleges. Only love counts and everything else is almost irrelevant. How could the “unconditionally loving” God send someone to destruction? This teaching of “all-reconciliation” is now widespread in evangelical circles today.
Yes, God is love and people’s love for God and each other is a prerequisite for the suitability of the kingdom of heaven. 1. John 4:8:
“He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.“
But this unconditional love of God does not lead to an unconditional salvation of the person loved by God. This fact is often kept secret, suppressed, or even explicitly denied.
Once again, an uncertain interested party turned to the “expertise” of the Evangelical Church and wanted to find out what God’s “unconditional love” actually is (Source). This time the questioner receives a surprising answer.
Is there a contradiction?
The reader knows that after God created him, he judged the result to be “very good” (Genesis 1:31). That was at the end of the sixth day of creation, after God had also created man. The reader also correctly recognized that the Fall threw the “very good” label overboard. God and man no longer fit together; sin has ended fellowship with God, according to the reader. For this reason God sent His Son into this world so that man could have this fellowship with God again through faith in Him. And not just now, but also forever.
According to the interested party, the prerequisite for this is that man must first recognize that he is a sinner and that this stands between him and God. Therefore, the next step is for people to confess their sins, repent and ask for forgiveness. Only then will community be restored, according to the reader.
At this point the reader was asked the following question: Why is there talk of “unconditional love” when it means “I love you the way you are and with everything that makes you who you are, that belongs to you. Period.” and not “I love you, but you still have to…”
The answer from the expertise
The answer from the “expertise team” of this Protestant church newspaper comes from a young graduate of the state examination in German, philosophy and Protestant religious teaching at the University of Cologne. She told the interested reader right from the start that these statements seemed to contradict each other. On the one hand, we speak of God’s unconditional love, and on the other hand, finding God requires faith. Without faith, sin stands between God and man, is their answer. It reinforces what the interested party has already stated, that sin means all things that separate us from God.
Faith, and not works
Faith is needed to restore this relationship. “By faith alone” (Romans 3:28) man comes to God. Paul also made it clear that good works are not necessary. However, the question arose as to whether people had to do something in order to be able to enter into a relationship with God again, according to the religious teacher. This is expressed in the belief that this is necessary in order to love God. However, the question arose here as to whether God’s love also depends on people’s faith. She doesn’t believe this.
Faith is not a “work” that has to be done in order for God to love us. But faith enables people to also love God and to get involved with Him again. “Faith is the condition for us to feel God’s love.”
Faith changes people
Finally, the question still remains as to whether God says to people: “I love you, just as you are and with everything that makes you who you are, that belongs to you.” Man is changed through faith. The believing person does not remain the same. Through faith, people become aware of who they actually are, “a beloved child of God.” Perfectionism doesn’t happen all at once and it isn’t even necessary. God’s unconditional love precedes all change and remains.
An answer that still gives hope
This version from the EKD shows that “hops and malt” are not finally lost. Even in the darkest areas, a small, perhaps inconspicuous light still shines through. The approach of the young religious teacher is proof that the Holy Spirit is also at work where it has generally been rejected for a long time. The saying “the fish starts stinking from the head” applies here once again. Now the young religious teacher would just have to make sure that she leaves the ship that is heading towards an iceberg early (Revelation 18:4).
The feeling would have to be interpreted
The explanation that the believer can sense God requires more precise definition. Due in particular to the charismatic and Pentecostal movements, the “feeling” in the faith has experienced a boom. In these circles, emotion trumps the written word of the gospel. Corresponding “emotional surges” also shape the beliefs of the followers of these communities that are heading full speed towards the abyss. Recognizing God and His will is a cognitive matter and not an emotion controlled by happiness hormones.
There was still no definition of sin
An explanation of what sin actually is would certainly not have hurt the answer. The “sin is everything that separates from God” merely represents the consequence of sin, but does not explain the nature of sin. This is quickly answered with 1. John, 3:4:
“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.“
Lawlessness is simply the disregard or violation of laws. Which laws? The Ten Commandments of God (Info).
At this point, the religion teacher’s answer nevertheless represents a pleasing contrast to the “theology” of the executive levels (“head of the fish”) of these former Protestant institutions. The official consensus on the nature of sin is now completely different (Info).
There are other “offenses” described as sins in the Bible, such as disrespecting one’s reputation or being angry with one’s brother for no reason. But here too, true faith leads to overcoming these mistakes guided by the Holy Spirit, as well as (automatic) compliance with the ten commandments written on two stone tablets.
Perfectionism?
The implied “perfectionism” is actually a relative matter. A possibly frightening sentence was spoken by Jesus Christ himself, Matthew 5:48:
“Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.“
This is strong tobacco. To be perfect as a human being as God is perfect? How is that supposed to be possible? “Cobbler, stick to your lasts” might come to mind. Of course, even under ideal conditions (e.g. before the Fall), it is not possible for humans to be even remotely equal to God. But as God Himself put it, He created man in His own image (Genesis 1:27). This doesn’t mean the head, arms, legs and toes, but rather the character traits. This is also evident when Jesus’ sentence in Matthew 5:48 is considered in context.
Loving someone who loves you back is no great feat. The Gentiles can do this too, as Jesus Christ said. However, loving the enemy is a completely different category. This perfection is expressed in having Jesus Christ as an example, in loving God, one’s neighbor and even one’s enemies. There are also character traits such as long-suffering, patience, gentleness, modesty, self-sacrifice and serving others. But these goals can also be achieved through true faith and the associated work of the Holy Spirit. The change in character occurs through God’s intervention, not through man himself.
It remains an exceptional phenomenon
It’s a shame that such answers have become an absolute rarity among the “EKD experts”. Of all people, probably the most popular answer writer in the question-and-answer section of this evangelical magazine repeatedly stands out for his “professional nonsense”. His remarks made sense in the context of “ecumenism, Baha’i and New Age”, but not in the sense of the Gospel.
Bible verses from King James Version
