Articles
What It Takes to Be Saved (2): God’s Part - God’s Love
What It Takes to Be Saved (2): God’s Part God’s Love
Mike Willis
When I read the Bible, I find myself thinking over and over again, as I read Israel’s history, “Why didn’t God just walk away from mankind whom He had created?” It seems as if God would be exhausted by man’s wickedness, his unthankful and rebellious ways. The only answer that I can find is this: God loves man whom He created in His own image.
God loved man before he was created. Love is God’s nature: “God is love” (1 John 4:8). Jesus said, “Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because YOU LOVED ME BEFORE THE FOUNDATION OF THE WORLD” (John 17:24). The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit existed before creation and shared their perfect love. God chose to create mankind in His own image (Gen. 1:27) so that there could be a fellowship between God and mankind whom He created.
Another side of God’s character is His holiness. In order for man to associate with a holy God, he must be holy (Lev. 11:44-45; 19:2; 20:7; etc.). Before Adam and Eve sinned, God had fellowship with Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden (Gen. 2:15-18; 3:8). Adam and Eve’s relationship with God was broken when they disobeyed His commandment.
A holy God cannot fellowship sinful man. God cannot ignore the sin that man commits and continue His fellowship with him. That would compromise God’s own holiness.
God did not make a machine when He created man. He could have, but He chose not to create a machine. A machine is plugged into its power source and does whatever its designed it to do. There is no free-will choice for a machine that makes donut holes to do anything other than what it is programmed and designed to do. If God wanted a worshiping machine, He could have made one that glorified Him endlessly. Instead of making mankind to be a machine, God gave man free-will—the ability to choose to serve Him or not to serve Him. Adam and Eve chose not to obey God’s commandment—they chose to do what they wanted to do instead of what God commanded them to do.
Since God knew that mankind would choose to disobey His commandments, He planned a way for sinful man to be forgiven. The triune God (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) would pay the price for man’s forgiveness. Forgiveness for man required the sacrifice of God’s own Son. We know the biblical story of God’s love that is encapsulated in one of the most familiar verses of Holy Scripture: “For GOD SO LOVED THE WORLD, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).
Salvation for mankind depends upon God’s love for mankind whom He created. We should thank God for loving us. Had He not loved us, none of us could be saved.
