“UNCONDITIONAL LOVE” REALLY? ?
Some today believe that all anyone has to do is “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ.” Just believe that this “unconditional love” is enough for us to gain this “free gift.” Is that correct scriptural reasoning?
To begin this discussion I would like to examine this word “UNCONDITIONAL” in Webster’s New World dictionary.
This dictionary defines this word as: “without conditions or reservations; absolute” This word “absolute” is defined: “without condition or encumbrance” “Condition” is defined: “anything called for as a requirement before the performance or completion of something else”. So those who believe that they are saved merely on the basis of “UNCONDITIONAL LOVE” would have us believe that we can just sit back put our feet up and relax. Everything is taken care of. Does the Bible really support that idea? Is this “free gift” really “without condition” or “requirements?” Is this “UNCONDICTIONAL LOVE ” really enough, so that nothing else is required of us?
We might begin this discussion by looking at some of the scriptures that talk about this “free Gift.”
It becomes clear that certain stipulations are set forth in the Bible for those seeking this “free gift.” Notice what the Apostle Peter had to say about this at Acts 2: 38. “Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins and ye shall receive the Free gift of the Holy Spirit.” So the first stipulation is we must “repent of our former deeds and “do works that befit repentance” Acts 26: 20. Ephesians 4:17-32 clearly lays out a list of personality traits that must be gotten rid of. When we are able to accomplish that we have done some of the “works that befit repentance.” Without doing that we would never receive that “free gift.” This shows that the idea of “UNCONDITIONAL LOVE” is not at all scripturally sound. There is much more that shows it up to be nothing more than “empty headed reasoning.”
Focus attention now back to the scripture in Acts 2: 38! WE need that “free gift of the Holy Spirit” in order to understand the knowledge necessary for gaining everlasting life in the Kingdom of God. For John 17:3 tells us: “ And this is eternal life: {it means} to know {to perceive, to recognize, become acquainted with, and understand} You, the only true and real God, and {likewise} to know Him, Jesus {as the} Christ {the anointed One, the Messiah} Whom You have sent.” So taking in knowledge of Jehovah and His Son is a prerequisite for those who profess to be followers of Christ. Once taken in it must be imparted to others of like mind. 1 Timothy 4:15,16. If we fail to do either of these the “Free Gift” of the Holy Spirit would be withdrawn. So once it is gained it must be maintained. Gaining knowledge and imparting it to others are conditions that must be kept. So how can it be said that all we have to do is just believe in Christ, have faith in Christ and we will be saved? Some will tell us that “all we need is Faith in that unconditional love Christ displayed by dying for our shortcomings” nothing else is required. How far from the truth can you get than that? Up to this point I have left out the most important truth of all. This one will totally destroy this idea of “UNCONDITIONAL LOVE.” What is that? It is this!
Jesus whole focus while He walked this earth was to preach the Kingdom of God. He said in Luke 4: 43 … “ I must preach the good news of the Kingdom of God … for I was sent for this purpose.” Jesus told us in John 13: 15 that He “set the example for us to follow.” 1John 2:6 adds this to that: “Whoever says he abides in Him ought {as a personal debt} to walk and conduct himself {herself} in the same way in which He walked and conducted Himself.” The Apostle Paul could say because he followed in the footsteps of Christ: Pattern yourselves after me {follow my example} as I imitate and follow Christ.” {1 Corinthians 11:1}
Each Christian today if he wants to gain and maintain God’s Holy Spirit must follow the guidelines laid out in the Bible for doing so. He must firmly plant his feet in the footsteps of Christ and follow Him even if it leads to his death at the hands of cruel persecutors. “UNCONDITIONAL LOVE”? Not a chance! There are conditions! There are requirements that one must fill before this “free gift” is given. Jehovah does not give this gift to those with only a mere “form of godly devotion.”
In fact His command is to “avoid all such people turn away from them.” 2Timothy 3”5
There are those on this board who are reasonable people. They appreciate someone who is willing to share his knowledge. There are others who only like to drag others down with their nasty comments. They do that because they have little or no knowledge of Jehovah. Lacking that knowledge they lack the proper fear of Him. With nothing positive to offer they attack with slurs and insults and snide innuendoes.
I appreciated the kindly comments of those who listened. As for the others they are really not even worth giving that much attention to.
They will all be happy to know though that I am now deleting this board from my computer. Bye all!