First Posted 5/21/17 on my word press site.

God’s love is unconditional isn’t it? Unconditional love — I will begin with the Definition of unconditional

• 1
:  not conditional or limited :  absolute, unqualified <unconditional surrender>

• not limited in any way

• complete or total

Can we define unconditional from scripture?

The word unconditional does not appear in scripture. So, does what Jesus says in conjunction with love make it unconditional. Remember He spoke in the Old Testament as the very Word of God. The one by whom all things are created.

In Malachi 1:2-3 He says: “I have loved you,” says the Lord. But you say, “How have You loved us?” “Was not Esau Jacob’s brother?” declares the Lord. “Yet I have loved Jacob; but I have hated Esau, and I have made his mountains a desolation and appointed his inheritance for the jackals of the wilderness.”

So we say this seems like, at least for some, an unconditional rendering. A love that touches one, but does not touch another. And with that Most of us believers would agree. If we had no more to go on — what would that make God to the man who is not blessed, who is down and out? In fact to pull verses like these out of context would bring an uneducated conclusion. Jacob became Israel, and God’s blessing followed him. We must ask why? — because Jacob really was No better than Esau — was he?

In context this is God’s point. His blessing did not follow Esau, and Esau’s heritage is now strung out in ruin. Remember this is looking back on Esau’s history. Looking back on Jacob’s history he was blessed — but why. You say Because God chose him — but why?

I want you to think about this — if we follow an unconditional thinking Israel would have never followed the same path and their blessing would have continually followed them — did it?

Israel has been scattered now for 2000 years. Pogroms have been in their history. The nation went the way of other nations and followed other god’s. Today God’s unconditional love is drawing them back, so that one day they will accept His CONDITIONAL Love.

So let’s examine love as Jesus taught it. In John 16:27 He says: “for the Father Himself loves you, because you have loved Me and have believed that I came forth from the Father.”

This love of the Father is conditioned upon according to Jesus our love for and belief in Him.

In John 15:10 He says: If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. The “if” in this verse is problematic for unconditional love. We oft times confuse the term unconditional with God’s willingness to forgive almost anything. Notice I said almost, because there is an unforgivable sin listed in scripture. We’ll speak of that later but the condition placed upon us is usually highlighted with the word “if”.

Let’s look a bit further at this passage — John 15:10, 13-15 “If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love; just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. You are My friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you.”

Here is another big “if”. If you do what I command you. Jesus also says that abiding in His love is an important thing.

Revelation 2:4-5 But I have this against you, that you have left your first love. Therefore remember from where you have fallen, and repent and do the deeds you did at first; or else I am coming to you and will remove your lampstand out of its place—unless you repent.

From John we also here that there is a sin unto death. 1 John 5:16-17 If anyone sees his brother committing a sin not leading to death, he shall ask and God will for him give life to those who commit sin not leading to death. There is a sin leading to death; I do not say that he should make request for this. All unrighteousness is sin, and there is a sin not leading to death.

Jesus unconditional love for the world was not without condition. How can I say that? He died for the sins of the entire world, and in doing so He excluded no man. All sin has been bought and paid for, but at the same time you and I must recognize this fact and make it our own. And in so doing we will fall in love with the only one who loved us enough to offer us eternal life for doing nothing but loving Him back and following His commands or biblical expectations of us. This is why we study the word and ask the Holy Spirit to give us His knowledge and wisdom. His love is conditioned upon our love for Him.

“You are my friends if you do what I command you”.

To be Jesus friend is then the issue, and this friendship can never begin If you don’t believe Him. So in order to start following He says to Nicodemus:

John 3:3 Jesus answered and said to him, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God.” (NASB1995)

Our rebirth is Spiritual and comes from accepting His Holy Spirit following repentance. Repentance is turning from our worldliness to follow God’s Son Jesus.

You can read more about this and more about prophecy in the book —

AND THEN THE END SHALL COME







Possibly Available through Amazon, I have some if you can’t find it online or can’t afford one.