The Love of God for Sinners

God’s first act of love

The LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife and clothed them. (Genesis 3:21 NIV)

God’s love for fallen mankind can be seen in the very first book of the Bible, Genesis. Adam and Eve disobeyed him but he didn’t cast them out immediately. He made garments of skin to clothe them. This was to cover their modesty and protect them from the harsh environments outside the Garden of Eden.

The skin must have come from an animal. Many Bible scholars believe that an animal was killed for its skin to clothe Adam and Eve. This event ultimately points to the Cross on which Christ died once and for all the sin of the world.

God is mindful of us

“When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is man that you are mindful of him, the son of man that you care for him?” (Psalm 8:3-4 NIV)

The Creator has established two spheres of rule: heaven and earth. He has established the celestial bodies in the firmament and has given them the rule over day and night. He appointed humankind to govern the earth. The heavenly bodies all have their appointed place. In relation to the vastness of space, the order and the importance of the heavenly bodies, "what is man"? The word "man" is a poetic word for a human being in his frail human existence.

Human beings are by nature ordinary earthlings, and yet they are the particular objects of God's attention. The Creator has invested glory and honour on them. In spite of our rather insignificance and frail existence compared to the vast and limitless universe, God is mindful of us. He cares for us. He loves us above all else. We are the crown of his creation.

God's love and his promise

"Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever." (Psalm 23:6 NIV)

The goodness of God is demonstrated in his abundant care and promises... evidence of his blessing. The love of God is his covenant commitment to bless his people with his promises. When God's goodness and love follow us we need not fear, because his loving care is throughout life. Experiencing God's goodness and love is equivalent to dwelling "in the house of the LORD," a phrase that signifies abiding in the environs of salvation. The believer gets a taste of everlasting fellowship with God.

Christ died for sinners

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NIV)

God is the source of love. Christ is the proof of love. God has set his act of infinite mercy in the most conspicuous light for all to see. We were neither righteous nor good, but impious and wicked. In our fall from God, our first apparent state is that we are without strength. We have lost our principle of spiritual power, by having lost the image of God, righteousness and true holiness, in which we were created.

We are ungodly, having lost our strength to do good. We have also lost all power to worship God the right way. The mind which was made for God is no longer his residence.

We are sinners. We have lost our centre of rest, and our happiness, we go about seeking rest, but find none. What we have lost in losing God, we seek in earthly things; and thus are continually missing the mark.

Christ came to sacrifice himself in the place of the ungodly. Christ gave himself for you. Christ died for us on the Cross and through him we are reconciled with God.

Christ appeared at the proper time

You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6 NIV)

But when the proper time appeared, Christ was manifested in the flesh when the world needed him most. Christ came when the Jews were in the lowest state of corruption, and had the greatest need of the promised deliverer. Christ arrived when the fullness of the time came as foretold by the prophets.

Security is found in the Lord

"The name of the LORD is a strong tower; the righteous run to it and are safe." (Proverbs 18:10 NIV)

There is security in the Lord's name. The Lord is fully able to protect those who trust in him. The first line establishes this truth, and the second line focuses on the trust of the righteous. This is the only place in Proverbs where the phrase "the name of the LORD" is found; it signifies one of the attributes of God-- the power to protect. The metaphor of "strong tower" sets up the imagery of his protection. To run to the Lord (the strong tower) metaphorically describes a wholehearted trust in God's protection where safety is a certainty. God protects his people in every situation of life.

Made alive in Christ

"But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:4-5 NIV)

God is not hostile toward those he has created. He loves them and has made possible their reconciliation to himself. Had he decided to destroy his refractory children, he would have been entirely justified, and nothing could have averted the catastrophe. Instead, love led to "mercy"-- God's compassion for the helpless, issuing in action for their relief. Over humanity's rejection of God, his gracious acceptance of human beings in Christ continues to remain. There is an inexhaustible treasury of such mercy in the loving heart of God.

God's love defines true love

"This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins." (1 John 4:10 NIV)

John distinguishes agape love from any other kinds of love. It is not that "we loved God", as Paul's opponents claimed, but that "he loved us." Agape love can be given to God only when it has first been received from God. It exists only as a response to his initial love for us. Moreover, God's love for us defines what true love requires-- the commitment to sacrifice one's best. So for God, love required that he send his best, his beloved Son, the atoning sacrifice for all our sins.

In setting our hearts on worldly things we may have drifted away from God. Though still his people, we become estranged from him. But God jealously yearns for our devotion. God gives us the assurance that he will welcome us back if we seek him in repentance and come to him. The door to God's throne is always open and the light is still on.

Selie Visa