Does God love everyone?

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Aerials1978

Well-known member
Dec 10, 2019
1,707
987
113
#1
Recently I had listened to an older video of R.C. Sproul and a lecture he had given on this topic. Is it Biblical to tell all people that God loves them? In R.C.’s conclusion, the answer would be yes and no. He breaks down this notion of divine love into three parts:

Benevolent: God’s good will towards His creation

Beneficence: God shows provision for people by giving things that we all benefit from in order to survive

Complacency: This not to be confused with how the word is used today, but instead it is the love the Father has for the Son and to those who have been given to Him (The Elect)

I do think this is accurate assessment given what scripture has revealed to us. I just want to get other Believer’s opinion of the matter. Is R.C. missing the mark on this one? Is he correct? Please let me know
(Also, this not an in-depth analysis of the topic, but rather a summary of what he did allude to)
 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
13,885
5,630
113
#2
Recently I had listened to an older video of R.C. Sproul and a lecture he had given on this topic. Is it Biblical to tell all people that God loves them? In R.C.’s conclusion, the answer would be yes and no. He breaks down this notion of divine love into three parts:

Benevolent: God’s good will towards His creation

Beneficence: God shows provision for people by giving things that we all benefit from in order to survive

Complacency: This not to be confused with how the word is used today, but instead it is the love the Father has for the Son and to those who have been given to Him (The Elect)

I do think this is accurate assessment given what scripture has revealed to us. I just want to get other Believer’s opinion of the matter. Is R.C. missing the mark on this one? Is he correct? Please let me know
(Also, this not an in-depth analysis of the topic, but rather a summary of what he did allude to)
“As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭9:13‬ ‭KJV‬‬
 
Jun 12, 2021
416
91
28
#4
Romans 9:29
New King James Version


29 And as Isaiah said before:
“Unless the Lord of [a]Sabaoth had left us a seed,
We would have become like Sodom,
And we would have been made like Gomorrah.”
 
Jun 12, 2021
416
91
28
#6

No one deserves the love of God. The love of God is a gift to God's elect.
 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
13,885
5,630
113
#8
yep have several times actually incorporated it in study and chased down the Old Testament places he’s referring to in chapter 9

if you notice Paul is constantly referencing the ot scriptures in his writings to teach about the New Testament

chapter 9 is one of those based upon the ot scripture Paul’s revealing things through those events like esau and Jacob
 

Lanolin

Well-known member
Dec 15, 2018
23,460
7,188
113
#9
Maybe He has a love/hate relationship with people?

Some he hates to love and some He loves to hate.

I dont know who RC Sprouls is but if hes on the fence about it he can just say...well it depends.

I mean...think about it do YOU love everyone? Possibly not. But then did you create every being on earth? Or maybe you just love your own children...cos children who are not yours you probably dont even care about.

but if you have more than one child..you are probably going to say to them I love all of you. Because if you say you love one and hate the other this is sure going to create problems.

anyway, most people are missing the point. It isnt about how much God loves us but how much do WE love God? Isnt that the FIRST commandment?

so maybe dont worry about it.
 

Blik

Senior Member
Dec 6, 2016
7,312
2,428
113
#10
“As it is written, Jacob have I loved, but Esau have I hated.”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭9:13‬ ‭KJV‬‬
Scripture also tells us God is love and that God wants all man to live. Scripture also tells us God is eternal and never changes, and all scripture is truth. We need to put all these things together as we try to understand.

The answer is that it is demons and principalities God is against. If man has absolutely no ability to repent of sin, that man is dead and a threat to those who accept Christ. It was even so for the about 4,000 years when the giving of blood for forgiveness was only a prophesy of Christ. God did not hate Esau the human he created that could live with Him forever, God hated the unpentant sin within Esau.
 

Isaskar

Active member
Nov 13, 2021
139
55
28
#11
No God does not love everyone in the type of love He has for His people. Yes God does love everyone in the sense that He is merciful and long suffering.

Since the latter is not controversial at all, I will show a few Scriptures on the first one:

John 3:36
Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God’s wrath remains on them.

Psalm 5:5
The boastful shall not stand in Your sight;
You hate all workers of iniquity.

Romans 1:18
The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness,

Notice in Psalms 5:5 it is the opposite of what Gandhi taught (and Christian church adopted for some reason?) of love the sinner hate the sin. The man and his deeds are one and the same, God hates workers of iniquity, God hates those who reject the Son, that is what the Bible teaches.

It is worth noting that John 3:36 is in the same chapter as the famous John 3:16 that is used to prove God loves everyone, but taken in context these two truths do not contradict at all.
What John 3:16 is saying is that God loved the world so much that 2000 years ago He sent His only begotten Son for us. That does not follow that God is presently loving a serial killer, as the other scriptures show. Now God's love is still in that person's life in the sense that while he is alive, He can still receive God's grace which is revealed unto all (Titus 2:11) and can THEN be loved by God, once his sins are forgiven.

I hope this makes sense.
 

BonnieClaire

Well-known member
Jul 1, 2021
378
390
63
#12
No God does not love everyone in the type of love He has for His people. Yes God does love everyone in the sense that He is merciful and long suffering.
So are His people vessels of mercy while all others are vessels of wrath?
 

tourist

Senior Member
Mar 13, 2014
42,550
17,022
113
69
Tennessee
#13
Maybe He has a love/hate relationship with people?

Some he hates to love and some He loves to hate.

I dont know who RC Sprouls is but if hes on the fence about it he can just say...well it depends.

I mean...think about it do YOU love everyone? Possibly not. But then did you create every being on earth? Or maybe you just love your own children...cos children who are not yours you probably dont even care about.

but if you have more than one child..you are probably going to say to them I love all of you. Because if you say you love one and hate the other this is sure going to create problems.

anyway, most people are missing the point. It isnt about how much God loves us but how much do WE love God? Isnt that the FIRST commandment?

so maybe dont worry about it.
Never heard of R. C. Sprouts.
 
P

pottersclay

Guest
#14
Recently I had listened to an older video of R.C. Sproul and a lecture he had given on this topic. Is it Biblical to tell all people that God loves them? In R.C.’s conclusion, the answer would be yes and no. He breaks down this notion of divine love into three parts:

Benevolent: God’s good will towards His creation

Beneficence: God shows provision for people by giving things that we all benefit from in order to survive

Complacency: This not to be confused with how the word is used today, but instead it is the love the Father has for the Son and to those who have been given to Him (The Elect)

I do think this is accurate assessment given what scripture has revealed to us. I just want to get other Believer’s opinion of the matter. Is R.C. missing the mark on this one? Is he correct? Please let me know
(Also, this not an in-depth analysis of the topic, but rather a summary of what he did allude to)
Placing these two scriptures together.

For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son.
As while we were yet sinners Christ died for us.

The question is....do we want to be loved by God? Do we want the love God has for them?

For there is only one way to enter in.... and that is through his son Jesus Christ.
Jesus said...those who believe and keep my commandments.

I have talked to people that believe in God but have a hard time with his Christ.
Some believe they have a relationship with God outside of Jesus. Very sad.
Faith is a act not a thought or like mindedness.
Jesus as well as the apostles acted on what they believed. There are many that sit idle and give lip service. Only when asked do they give a answer to there beliefs.

God's mercy extends to all that God wills to receive it. Is this because of his foreknowledge? IDK.
 

Blik

Senior Member
Dec 6, 2016
7,312
2,428
113
#16
No God does not love everyone in the type of love He has for His people. Yes God does love everyone in the sense that He is merciful and long suffering. .
In other words, God loves everyone in the sense of God, not of humans.
 
O

Oblio

Guest
#17
Recently I had listened to an older video of R.C. Sproul and a lecture he had given on this topic. Is it Biblical to tell all people that God loves them? In R.C.’s conclusion, the answer would be yes and no. He breaks down this notion of divine love into three parts:

Benevolent: God’s good will towards His creation

Beneficence: God shows provision for people by giving things that we all benefit from in order to survive

Complacency: This not to be confused with how the word is used today, but instead it is the love the Father has for the Son and to those who have been given to Him (The Elect)

I do think this is accurate assessment given what scripture has revealed to us. I just want to get other Believer’s opinion of the matter. Is R.C. missing the mark on this one? Is he correct? Please let me know
(Also, this not an in-depth analysis of the topic, but rather a summary of what he did allude to)
"For God so loved the world that He gave the only begotten Son, so that everyone believing in Him should not perish, but should have eternal life." - John 3:16 BSB
 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
13,885
5,630
113
#18
Scripture also tells us God is love and that God wants all man to live. Scripture also tells us God is eternal and never changes, and all scripture is truth. We need to put all these things together as we try to understand.

The answer is that it is demons and principalities God is against. If man has absolutely no ability to repent of sin, that man is dead and a threat to those who accept Christ. It was even so for the about 4,000 years when the giving of blood for forgiveness was only a prophesy of Christ. God did not hate Esau the human he created that could live with Him forever, God hated the unpentant sin within Esau.
esau did repent though with many bitter tears and it wasn’t accepted.

yes I agree God loves mankind I think the thing is we need to understand God sees our inner most depth both the good and evil in us and knows what we are going to choose because of what’s in us

he knew esau was carnal and would sell his birthrite for a bowl of pourage and that’s what he did sold his blessing and birthrite for a bowl of red pourage

I think also very important the term love and hate in biblical terms isn’t what we think love and hate is . We feel love and hate for people , God loves in deed and truth and destroys his persistent enemies

esau actually later in the story becomes a good figure and receives Jacob with love and mercy when Jacob thinks he’s gonna kill him for taking the blessing esau sold to him later deceptively when he pretended to be esau as isaac was dying but esau received his brother with compassion and love and even longing to be together again I don’t think God hates like we do is what I’m saying we have jumbled up a lot of terms through time so we don’t really understand love or hate only from mans oerspective

I think there’s a New Testament lesson in esau that is noted here in a warning against walking in sin and “crooked paths “ when we become Christians esau is an example and warning we’re to learn from like all the ot is

“And make straight paths for your feet, lest that which is lame be turned out of the way; but let it rather be healed.

Follow peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man shall see the Lord:

Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;

Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.”
‭‭Hebrews‬ ‭12:13-17‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Once we sell our inheritance for carnal lives later there isn’t going to be room or occasion for repentance even though we repent deeply like esau and beg and plead with the father. We’re given a mighty and wonderful beyond measire inheritance in the kingdom , but like esau he also had an inheritance but he sold it for carnality and couldn’t later get it back even though his heart relented dearly and deeply he lost his inheritance
 

SomeDisciple

Well-known member
Jul 4, 2021
2,239
1,038
113
#19
Yeah, God does love everyone. It's just that not everyone will love him back.
 

Pilgrimshope

Well-known member
Sep 2, 2020
13,885
5,630
113
#20
So are His people vessels of mercy while all others are vessels of wrath?
the children of God v the children of the devil

“He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that he might destroy the works of the devil. In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.”
‭‭1 John‬ ‭3:8, 10‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I believe it’s who we choose while we are alive we can serve God or the devil and our deeds tell the truth

“Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey;

whether of sin unto death,

or of obedience unto righteousness?”
‭‭Romans‬ ‭6:16‬ ‭KJV‬‬

I would say God hates Satan and Thy en man chooses satans Will and become of him rather than God like the devils children and likeness rather than Christs

“The Lord trieth the righteous:

but the wicked and him that loveth violence his soul hateth.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭11:5‬ ‭KJV‬‬

The Lord lifteth up the meek: he casteth the wicked down to the ground.”
‭‭Psalm‬ ‭147

“He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him.”
‭‭John‬ ‭14:21‬ ‭KJV‬‬

Accepting the gospel and following after is accepting his love and returning it more and more as we grow and persevere in faith