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NASB | 1 John 4:16 We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | 1 John 4:16 We have come to know [by personal observation and experience], and have believed [with deep, consistent faith] the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides continually in him. |
Bible Question:
Big John, you said: God did not create us with free will so that He could threaten us with hell if we choose sin. He created us with free will so that we could choose to love and enjoy His love well...why is hell ,the lake of fire and all other horrific dicriptions to be placed on mankind according to revelations. In the old testament it tells us of a great flood that was placed on the world due to sin. can you imagine drowning to death? If that doesnt make you flinch how about being burned alive? |
Bible Answer: Hi young grasshopper, Many have grappled with this question for centuries, and to natural man there doesn't seem to be a good answer. But consider, the Lake of Fire was not created for the purpose of punishing mankind: Matthew 25:41 Then He will also say to those on His left, Go away from Me, cursed ones, into the everlasting fire having been prepared for the Devil and his angels. Satan, and those angels that followed him, existed in the very presence of God (Gen 18, 28:13, John 1:51, Rev. 4), yet they rebelled against Him. The result was that God prepared a place for them, the Lake of Fire, and decreed that at the proper time, they will be cast there. Remember that. The Lake of Fire was prepared for the Devil and his angels, not for mankind. God wants mankind to choose Him. But for those who refuse God, who only rebel against Him, God has not established a third alternative. There is only one other alternative, and its not a good choice. God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were yet sinners, in the very midst of our rebellion against Him, He died in our place, to satisfy the righteous requirement of the Law. It wasn't easy for Him, and He hated what He had to endure (see Hebrews 12), but He did it for us anyway, because He wants so much to spend eternity with us. That is love. Love in Christ, Mark |