DOES GOD NOT LOVE IF HE DOES NOT SAVE ALL?

 

 

It is often claimed that God is not just, merciful, and loving if He doesn’t ultimately save all. Let’s examine these three charges individually:

 

Is God not just if He does not save all? Not according to Scripture:

 

·       For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)

 

According to Jesus, only one sin is required to damn us:

 

·       “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22)

 

It is the Creator’s right to set the standards for His creation. His creation belongs to Him, and He will not grade on a curve.

 

We might regard God as overly strict, but we need to accept the fact that this is His nature. He hates sin so much that He cannot bear to be around it without destroying its source – us! But we too hate injustice so much that we desire to see the guilty party punished, even for a single crime. How then can we blame God for doing likewise!

 

However, we are not simply guilty of a single sin. Instead, we are serial sinners. Therefore, none of us are damned because of a mere handful of sins:

 

·       as it is written: “None is righteous, no, not one; no one understands; no one seeks for God. All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” (Romans 3:10-12)

 

Consequently, when we demand justice from God we are asking for our own destruction. Therefore, we need to cry out for God’s mercy – our only hope.

 

However, the Israelites would turn away from their God as soon as their fears and pains passed and would rebel against Him. We prefer to reside in the darkness rather than in the penetrating presence of the Light of God:

 

·       “And this is the judgment: the light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the light because their works were evil. For everyone who does wicked things hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his works should be exposed.” (John 3:19-20)

 

Why isn’t God merciful to all and save all? He wants to save all (2 Peter 3:9) providing we sincerely come to Him:

 

·       …“Return, faithless Israel, declares the LORD. I will not look on you in anger, for I am merciful, declares the LORD; I will not be angry forever. Only acknowledge your guilt, that you rebelled against the LORD your God and scattered your favors among foreigners under every green tree, and that you have not obeyed my voice, declares the LORD. (Jeremiah 3:12–13)

 

·       For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” (Romans 10:13)

 

However, no one calls upon God, at least not for long. Normally, we hate Him (Romans 5:8-10; 1 Corinthians 2:14).

 

Therefore, salvation must start with His mercy.

 

·       What shall we say then? Is there injustice on God’s part? By no means! For he says to Moses, “I will have mercy on whom I have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I have compassion.” So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy. (Romans 9:14-16)

 

This might seem unjust if we forget that if God responded justly, He would terminate all of us. Instead, His mercy must take charge if any are to be saved. However, mercy does not work as does justice. While justice must be administered impartially, mercy can be partial. There is nothing that requires us to invite everyone to our party. We are free to invite those we choose. God can also be merciful to whom He chooses. Salvation will have to be according to God’s mercy, since we will never come to God on our own. If we did, it would be like the deer looking for the lion. It just will not happen.

 

How then can God be love if He doesn’t choose all? But He does choose to love all:

 

·       The Lord is good to all, and his mercy is over all that he has made...The Lord preserves all who love him, but all the wicked he will destroy. (Psalm 145:10, 20)

 

How can we equate God’s love with the fact that He will destroy “all the wicked?” His love is expressed through His having given us life, food, and family. However, for many, His love does not extend beyond this life (Matthew 6:2, 5, 16):

 

·       Arise, O Lord! Confront him, subdue him! Deliver my soul from the wicked by your sword, from men by your hand, O Lord, from men of the world whose portion is in this life. You fill their womb with treasure; they are satisfied with children, and they leave their abundance to their infants. (Psalm 17:13-14)

 

God’s love is not compromised if it is limited to this life and to those who want His love for all eternity. He will give us all what we ultimately want. For us, eternal life with our Savior is our utmost desire. For others who prefer destruction over the presence of God, what can be more loving than to give them what they desire.

 

Who would prefer destruction? Those who reject the Light here will certainly reject the Light in the next life where it will be more intense and reveal us for who we are. The Bible is filled with warnings that those who hate God will flee from His presence (John 3:17-20; Isaiah 33:14-15; Psalm I:5; Luke 21:36; Deuteronomy 5:25; Malachi 3:2; Revelation 20:11) and will even ask the mountains to fall upon them to hide them from His Light:

 

·       Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, “Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb.” (Revelation 6:15–16; Isaiah 2:20-22 Hosea 10:8; Luke 23:30)

 

“Well, if God is love, He should love all His creatures eternally, even if it requires changing them into something else.” God is under no obligation in terms of mercy, justice, or love to do so. Instead, if this is a valid objection, then it would be equally valid to charge:

·       If God is truly of love, He should have created an infinite number of people to love!

 

Of course, this charge is absurd, and if this charge is absurd, so too is the prior charge. There is nothing that requires God to love all for an infinite amount of time or to change them into something they do not want to be. If I feed my neighbor’s family for the duration of their lives, no one is justified to charge that I lack love if I do not feed all their progeny forever.

 

Perhaps instead, God’s love is maximized by teaching us that there are consequences for sin, and that eternal life in heaven is not a human right or an entitlement but a gift, which must be accepted!

 

Nevertheless, many will continue to reject God as a terrible and fearful Being. However, this might be if we are not on His right side. Then it is best to not run away but to find out how to get on His right side.