There’s something about God’s love our Christian culture is losing sight of, something your church may not like talking about. It’s something you may not like to hear, but trust me, it’s something beautiful.
God loves sinners.
You may thinking, what??? Duh. That’s part of the Gospel!
Yes it is, but it’s a truth many are beginning to skip over, skew, or sugarcoat.
Some Christian writers and preachers love telling us we are worthy, that God loved us because we are special.
Friend, I’m here to remind you of a difficult truth—that believe it or not—before Christ we were not worthy. The Lord loves His creation, caring for its well being, but not because of any inherent goodness in us.
God sent Jesus out of pure compassion! Remember:
“we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind…But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved” Ephesians 2:3-6
The current trend of saying Jesus loved us for us misses the fullness of His Gospel.
Utter Grace
The transcendent, mind-blowing beauty of Jesus is that even though we were dark, depraved creatures, enemies of His will, broken, and utterly lost—our holy, good God still chose to save us at the cost of precious His Son.
For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Romans 5:7-8
It’s a love that makes no sense to us, a incomparable love that showcases God’s extreme kindness. A love not based on our reciprocation or attraction or obligation, but His radical grace.
This overwhelming mercy, when grasped, makes our heart hurt over the brutal sacrifice that made salvation possible and at the same time makes it soar with unexpected hope. It leads to real repentance and joyful obedience to God’s will, rooted in a thankfulness for such a Savior.
Remember, God’s love is beautiful not because it shows we were inherently great, but because it shows He is great.
We have been redeemed from something weak to something wonderful because of Christ, not ourselves. He is worthy, and He clothes us in His perfect worthiness, since we are now one with Him.
Because you are in Christ the Son, You are now perfect in the eyes of Father. This is where your security and joy comes from! A merciful Savior who made you His!
He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to His own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit… Titus 3:5
Do you see the difference? Saying that God loves us is only half the story. But knowing that God loves us, despite the incredible depth of our sin, highlights that He is the one worthy of all praise!
This is freeing because it leads us into true worship, grateful for His underserved love. We are focused on Him, not our failings. We have a calling higher than ourselves, and an inheritance that is unfading – entirely built on His perfect love.
Why Such Love?
And for what reason did God show us such love? It wasn’t because of anything we did, but because of the plan He made before the foundation of the world. Look at this passage in Ephesians:
For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. Ephesians 1:4-6
This brings us to the second point. We forget why Jesus saved us.
Many Christians love that God loves them, but struggle to understand the amazing motivation Christ had in saving us.
The Lord allows this extensive, multi-generational, complex history of sin and redemption, culminating in Himself dying for all that all who are chosen may live — to show us His glory! Our faith in Christ sends us into rightful worship of our Creator!
Without Jesus dying for us, we wouldn’t comprehend the riches of His grace, the extent of His holiness. We wouldn’t know the deep, deep depth of His love.
God is the only One whose mission to glorify Himself ends up abundantly blessing everything else – His glory shines in His undying faithfulness to those He loves.
Soak in His merciful love and let it lead you to praise! Learn more by joining Free Indeed’s Praying the Attributes of God Challenge.
Saying that God loves us is only half the story. But knowing that God loves us, despite the incredible depth of our sin, highlights that He is the one worthy of all praise!
AMEN! I can’t say amen enough to this.
So encouraging. Thank you.
It’s so key to share the Gospel in completion! Thanks for reading, Sarah!
Whenever I’m being reminded of how Jesus loves sinners, this verse is the first that comes in my mind: We love because he first loved us. 1 John 4:19
A very simple yet powerful expression of God’s love that even before we accepted Him into our lives, His love manifest through us.
Yes, that verse captures it so well! Thank you for sharing, Kate!
“A love not based on our reciprocation or attraction or obligation, but His radical grace.” Amen!
His love is so amazing, right? I appreciate your visit, Jordan!
Beautiful. I was just reading today about when Peter denied Jesus. Jesus knew he would and loved him and used him despite major faults. I was praising him and thanking him for this while I asked for forgiveness for my own sins this morning!
I agree, Peter’s testimony is so powerful – showing the depth of God’s sovereignty as well as His grace. Thank you for sharing Katherine!
This is really great Dani because you are including what seems little but truly is part of the bigger picture. For instance, mentioning Grace. God’s Grace is probably one of the hardest things to comprehend. I mean how is that one word supposed to describe the covering of multitudes of sin?!. Grace has been an ongoing learning process for me. I want to grasp it ever so much and have a great understanding of it but the more I learn about it, I learn its more simple than we think but yet we don’t discuss it as much when it comes to sin. Great post . Sharing!!
I agree, Carmen. God’s grace is something we can never stop learning about, experiencing, and sharing with others! The depth of our sin is incredible, and yet God pours our His love through Christ in a way unimaginable to us. It’s because of His grace we have the hope that we have. Thank you so much for visiting!
Thankyou for these beautiful uplifting words
I feel such unbelievable sadness when reading the bible for all the hurts people caused our Lord and the terrible things they did but when asked for forgiveness He forgave immediately what a wonderful God we serve
Thank you so much for your wisdom. Such truth! 🙂
I appreciate your encouragement, Jessie! Our Lord’s Gospel is the best truth!
What a great post! Thank you for sharing this truth. “But knowing that God loves us, despite the incredible depth of our sin, highlights that He is the one worthy of all praise!”- Yes, He is truly worthy of all praise!!!
Thank you, Amber! Isn’t it a wonderful truth? Our God is so good to us!
It was about 2 years ago that I grasped this concept, truly understood God’s love for me in a way I had never known before. It changes everything! Great read girl!
It is so hard to grasp – first because it’s hard to hear we are sinners, and then because it’s hard to realize God loved us nonetheless! Thank you for sharing and for your kind words, Kristen!
What a well-written post! This truth transforms knowing that it is God’s love that leads us to repentance. I’m visiting from Salt and Light and really enjoyed your post!
Thank you, Valerie! It certainly is God who initiates the relationship and makes our holiness possible. I appreciate your visit!
Isn’t the Gospel breathtaking? I’m so amazed by the goodness of Christ displayed on the cross. It really puts in perspective my worth and God’s goodness.
It totally is! Christ’s love on the cross is the epitome of God’s goodness toward us. Thank you for stopping by Bailey!
I just read a post the other day that said something about having value and worth in ourselves, like we deserved salvation, and I was a little thrown by it. Great job in pulling out the Word and applying its truth!
Thank you, Liz! We have to cling to God’s Word and make sure we aren’t proclaiming any other “gospel.” Praise the Lord that He loves us even though we don’t deserve it!
Amen! God’s grace is affectionate and beautiful in many ways.
John:1-1 For God so loved the world that He give his only begotten son. That who whoever believe in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. Amen!
Amen, is just not enough to Thank for reinforcing the missing link in our lives. May God continue to grant you HIS wisdom and use you for HIS Glory and help in understand the scriptures in the right perspectives. Thank You