Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Quotes

"Everyone wants to live at the expense of the state. They forget that the state lives at the expense of everyone." --French economist, statesman and author Frederic Bastiat (1801-1850)

"Liberals claim to want to give a hearing to other views, but then are shocked and offended to discover that there are other views." --commentator, author and founder of National Review William F. Buckley Jr. (1925-2008)

Transferring wealth to those to whom the wealth belongs: "[W]e have lived through an era where too often, short-term gains were prized over long-term prosperity; where we failed to look beyond the next payment, the next quarter, or the next election. A [federal budget] surplus became an excuse to transfer wealth to the wealthy instead of an opportunity to invest in our future. Regulations were gutted for the sake of a quick profit at the expense of a healthy market. People bought homes they knew they couldn't afford from banks and lenders who pushed those bad loans anyway. And all the while, critical debates and difficult decisions were put off for some other time on some other day." --President Barack Obama

"[W]hat America needs to remember is that this nation is built on the backs of you -- workers who have dedicated their lifetimes to working on behalf of the issues that are so important to this nation. And before we do anything here in this town -- in this country -- we thought it is important to say 'thank you' for the work that you've done, thank you for the work that you're gonna do because we're going to need you working so very hard over the next several years." --Michelle Obama to Department of Agriculture bureaucrats **"Memo to Mrs. Obama: This nation wasn't built on the backs of government workers. Government was built on the backs of government workers. America was built on the backs of those in private enterprise." --Carol Platt Liebau

Sunday, February 22, 2009

Is God's Love Unconditional?

In keeping with a recent theme, here is some teaching from John Piper.

There is such a thing as unconditional love in God, but it’s not what most people mean by it.

It’s not a saving love that he has for everybody. Else everybody would be saved, since they would not have to meet any conditions, not even faith. But Jesus said everybody is not saved (Matthew 25:46).

It’s not the love that justifies sinners since the Bible says we are justified by faith, and faith is a condition (Romans 5:1).

It’s not the love of working all things together for our good because Paul says that happens “to those who love God” (Romans 8:28).

It’s not the love of the most intimate fellowship with the Father because Jesus said, “He who loves me will be loved by my Father” (John 14:21). And James said, “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you” (James 4:8).

It’s not the love that will admit us into heaven when we die because John says, “Be faithful unto death, and I will give you the crown of life” (Revelation 2:10). And faithfulness is a condition.

How then does God love unconditionally? Two ways (at least):

He loves us with electing love unconditionally. “He chose us in him before the foundation of the world . . . for adoption as sons through Jesus Christ” (Ephesians 1:4-5).

He does not base this election on foreseeing our faith. On the contrary, our faith is the result of being chosen and appointed to believe, as Acts 13:48 says, “As many as were appointed to eternal life believed.”


He loves us with regenerating love before we meet any condition. The new birth is not God’s response to our meeting the condition of faith. On the contrary, the new birth enables us to believe.

“Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been [already!] born of God,” (1John 5:1). “[We] were born, not . . . of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:13).

Let us pray that thousands of people who speak of the unconditional love of God would discover the biblical meaning of what they say. If that happened many would find their feet on solid ground.