“I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,” Ephesians 1:18

What is the love of God and why is it important?

Where do the doctrines of God’s love and God’s Holiness rank in importance in Christian theology ?

The love of God is the heart of the gospel and represents the linkage between all of God’s attributes as they relate to mankind .

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

(John 3:16)

 The love of God is the supreme apologetic of all our theology.

So why is it that Christianity has always been in peril from legalism?

The book of Galatians is a wonderful rendition of God’s grace, but it was written to Christians who had wandered from the pure truth of the gospel.

Moral-ism, the idea that we earn favor with God by our good works, had taken hold of the Galatians church.

In a world that seems to be growing darker by the day, we need to shine as beacons of light like never before.

We need to embrace and then reflect God’s love to the world as revealed in Christ.

Our message must be the fullness of all the purity and brilliance found in Christ’s expression of love to us on the cross.

Our self centeredness desires moral-ism, pride, legalism and self-righteous exaltation.

The tendency toward Legalism among Christians is , as one brave pastor has put it, “not only prevalent, but it is the norm.” ( Dr. Tim Keller)

We need to revisit the gospel continually in order to be reminded of the cost, so we will remember what we owed, in order to love Him as He deserves, …

with our all.

Not because our salvation can be lost, but because we can loose sight of the fullness of what Christ did for us.

MAY GOD GRANT US A REVIVAL OF THE AWARENESS OF HIS GREAT LOVE.

MAY WE REFLECT GOD’S GREAT LOVE TO A WORLD THAT IS LITERALLY DIEING FOR LACK OF AWARENESS OF HIS LOVE.

We are told we need the GOSPELIZATION of all our theology.

That everything needs to point to Christ and His Supremacy.

Supremacy is a matter of emphasis, supreme emphasis in this case.

The following is an outline of  Christian theology as represented with Biblical Emphasis as the context.

Biblical Emphasis is what God has revealed in the Bible as a whole to be of greatest importance.

First and of foremost importance is the fact that God is love.

The second is like the first in that it is how God showed His love for us when He sent His one and only Son. (John 3:16)

Christian Theology in the Context of Biblical Emphasis – Gospelization

God Is Love.  – 1 John 4:8 , 1John 4:16

“Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love.”

God Created Us To Have A Relationship With Him. – Genesis 1:27

“So God created man in his own image,
   in the image of God he created him;
   male and female he created them”


Sin Separated Us From Our Perfect And Holy Creator.  – Isaiah 53:5,6

“But he was pierced for our transgressions,
   he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
   and by his wounds we are healed.
 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
   each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
   the iniquity of us all.”

God Loved Us And Came To Save Us In The Personage Of Jesus Christ. – 1 John 4:10

“This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.”

Christ Died For Us And Then Conquered Death For Us Before We Knew Him. – Romans 5:8

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”

God Offers Salvation As A Gift To All Who Receive It By Faith In Christ As Lord And Savior. – Ephesians 2:8,9

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.”

God’s Salvation For Us Takes Place In Our Hearts. – Romans 10:9,10

“That if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you confess and are saved.”

God Comes Into The Heart Of The Believer To Seal Us As His Own Forever. – Ephesians 1:13,14 – Ephesians 4:30 – II Corinthians 1:21,22 – 2 John 1:2

“Now it is God who makes both us and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, 22 set his seal of ownership on us, and put his Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come.”

God’s Spirit In Us Is Love. – John 7:38

“Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”

God’s Spirit Works In Our Hearts To Change Our Desires And The Result Is Growth In Love For Him.  – Philippians 2:13

“for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose.”

We Love And Serve God Because He First Loved Us. – 1 John 4:19

“We love because he first loved us.”

Genuine Love For God Results In Motives That Please God.- 1 Corinthians 4:5 and 16:14

“Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.”

“Do everything in love.”

Motives That Please God Result In Works That Honor God. – 1 John 5:2-5

“This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands. This is love for God: to obey his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,  for everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world? Only he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God.”

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