Unconditional Love?

Pastor Dave Monreal, Lead Pastor

Do you ever hear an idea and wonder where in the world it came from? Sometimes things are said so often, or the implications are not followed to their logical conclusion. Other times, there is a partial truth in the term, but it is imprecise and inarticulate. Ideas are said so often and so confidently that it almost seems like heresy to question them or, heaven forbid, say that you do not agree with it! It reminds me of a famous line from the movie, The Princess Bride. “You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.” Please bear with me in this, I think some of you know where this is headed, and your defenses are already going up.

I’m sure many of you have heard the phrase, “The ‘unconditional’ love of God.” The term, “unconditional” means, “without any conditions.” In other words, there are no expectations or requirements to receive something, in this case, love. But is God’s love really unconditional? Many Christians mean by this that, “Salvation is by grace alone, through faith alone, in the finished work of Christ alone.” But again, I wonder, “is that really unconditional love?” Unless someone is a universalist and believes that all people will eventually be forgiven and go to heaven, I do not think that they really believe that God’s love is unconditional.

Does God have conditions for salvation? I would answer yes. To say that salvation is unconditional means there is nothing that the person must do to receive eternal life. You’re saying, yes, there are no good works a person must do to receive eternal life. But we are saying two different things. Since we do believe in heaven and hell, and we believe that not everyone is going to heaven we must ask why a person goes to heaven or hell? The only way a person goes to heaven is if he exercises repentant faith (the instrumental means of salvation) and puts his faith or trust in the finished work of Christ alone as full payment for sins receiving the gift of eternal life. Unless a person meets these conditions, he cannot be a true believe and he does not have eternal life.

Does God show love to the unrepentant sinner? In some ways yes. He is benevolent to all in some ways. It rains on the just and the unjust. He does not immediately bring judgment to every sinner the moment he sins. But we would also say that the unrepentant sinner has wittingly or unwittingly made himself to be the enemy of God. Further, the Bible says that he is on his way to a Christ-less eternity in hell if he does not repent and believe. God is not going to automatically give him heaven unless he first meets these biblical conditions. Does God’s love flow to those who reject Christ in the same way as to those who have accepted Christ? I would answer no. God shows a particular love to those who have trusted in him in a way that he does not show to unbelievers. If all of this is true, then in what meaningful sense can I say that “God’s love is unconditional”?

I do think there is a better and more biblical way to describe God’s love. God’s love is not “unconditional” in how it is often used, rather God’s love is covenantal. In other words, God has made a promise to himself that all those who enter into covenant with him, he will pledge himself to them and work for their good to bring to fruition their salvation. God swore to himself that he would save to the uttermost all those who come to him in faith through the finished work of Jesus Christ. To those who believe in Christ, the full penalty of God’s wrath has been paid so that he will always, only interact with his children out of love. Even his correction is motivated by love.

God offers us something infinitely better than the world’s definition of unconditional love. God pledges to himself to work for his glory and our good for those who love God and are called according to his purpose. (Romans 8:28) Yes, God loves unbelievers. But that love does not mean that he overlooks their sin. They will not avert judgment if they do not repent and believe in Christ. “This is evidence of the righteous judgment of God, that you may be considered worthy of the kingdom of God, for which you are also suffering— since indeed God considers it just to repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to grant relief to you who are afflicted as well as to us, when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with his mighty angels in flaming fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and on those who do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.” (2 Thessalonians 1:5-8)