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NASB | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | John 3:16 ¶ "For God so [greatly] loved and dearly prized the world, that He [even] gave His [One and] only begotten Son, so that whoever believes and trusts in Him [as Savior] shall not perish, but have eternal life. |
Subject: Why do i need to love god? |
Bible Note: Dear Inquisitor, If I may, I would like to add my thoughts to those of Pastor Beja and Brother Brad: In order to properly interpret the Scriptures, one must distinguish the descriptive (that which characterizes a thing) from the prescriptive (directions or injunctions). Behavior arises out of the nature of a thing, behavior does not change the nature of a thing. For example: When a child obeys you, he does not become your son. When your son disobeys you, he does not cease to be your child. Offspring may be more or less obedient, deriving the benefits or disadvantages of that behavior, without effecting their status as an offspring. In the same way, those who love the Lord, were birthed from God. Jesus said, "If God were your Father, you would love Me." Note well what He says in John 8:33-47. Belief is not being prescribed, instead it is being described. Children of God believe the words of Christ (cf 1 John 5:1). Children of the devil do not believe the words of Christ (cf 1 Corinthians 16:22). In addition, our Lord even describes how His own love Him: "Jesus answered and said to him, "If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode with him. He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father's who sent Me." (John 14:23-24 NASB) You see, the sons of God are not born of man's will, but Gods (John 1:13). Nevertheless, one of their characteristics is belief (John 1:12), even though all men are commanded to believe (cf John 3:36; 2 Thessalonians 1:8; 1 Peter 4:17). Indeed, Christ clearly asserts that lack of belief is descriptive of those who do not belong to Christ (John 10:25-30). Those belonging to Christ hear His voice and follow Him. Human beings were created to derive their life from the Word of God (Deuteronomy 8:3; John 15:4). Even man in his sinless, perfect state needed to be told who he was, why he existed, what and how he was to do the tasks God gave to him (Genesis 2:16-18). God's provision always proceeds our need. Our salvation is a work of God -- start to finish -- not a matter of even the tiniest amount of merit. Scripture spends much time giving the description of a believer (see post #153858). The tares don't know they are tares (Matthew 13:30), but armed with these descriptions, we can and ought to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5). Therefore, when you see someone who loves the Lord, you see a believer. When you see someone who does not love Him, you see a non-believer. As Dr Tim Keller puts it, it is the acid test of our faith. http://www.monergism.com/acidtest.html In Him, Doc |