For years there was a large sign on one of the major highways of San Antonio that read, “God loves you no conditions apply!” At first glance any Christian might think this is appealing because it highlights two great truths of Scripture, God’s love and God’s grace. It is absolutely true that if it were not for the glorious love of God no person would be saved. God’s love is wonderful. It is essential to see God’s love in the cross and see the price of our salvation. God’s love is also unconditional in that He did not love us because of who we are. No one can merit His love. We also know that because He gave His Son that there is no limit to His love. It is indeed infinite and glorious beyond any measure!

There is a practice of presenting the Gospel of Christ highlighting God’s love in the same manner as the sign, “God loves you no conditions apply.” I have repeatedly heard the trend of some evangelists say we are going to spread the Gospel to the world by telling everyone God loves them! It is interesting that in the Gospel messages recorded in the four Gospels, no such similar language is used by our Lord or others in any evangelistic conversation. Also, the book of Acts records multiple summations of evangelistic messages and in none of those accounts is the love of God even mentioned.

There are problems and confusion with the indiscriminate language of a Gospel message that God loves everyone. In the message implying love with no conditions, why do people need a Savior?  Why does sin matter if no conditions apply? How can there be a place called hell when God loves everyone indiscriminately? There are exhaustive ways to scripturally pick such a statement to pieces. It will not stand the test of Scripture. It is one thing to be told you can be a recipient of God’s saving eternal love, and another to be told you already are! Our Lord stated, “Those who come to Me I will not cast out.” Coming to Him is a condition.

A condition is seen in the verse on love which is most often quoted, John 3:16. Our Lord states, “Whosoever believes in Him (the Son) will not perish.” The discriminate “whosoever” is God’s terms for who is rescued and granted His eternal life, and thereby His saving love. The general manner that the term world is taught is that God savingly loves every person in the world indiscriminately who ever lived or ever will live! The word for world is kosmos in the Greek. It is used in a variety of ways in Scripture, and its meaning must be determined by its context. Christ is speaking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee, and the whole of our Lord’s conversation with him must be taken into account. As a Pharisee, Nicodemus had several personal beliefs to overcome. He did not understand that man cannot earn salvation by keeping laws. He believed God was exclusively the God of Israel, and that other people from other nations were excluded. He also had no concept of a loving God.  To him God was a condemning law giver.  What our Lord is saying to Nicodemus is that God so loved that He gave His Son not just for Israel, but for those who would believe from all parts of the world. The clearest explanation of this is in Revelation 5:9, a future scene in heaven speaking of Christ, “You were slain, and purchased for God with Your blood men from every tribe and tongue and people and nation.”

Paul tells us that all the unsaved are enemies of God (Romans 5:10). But the Scripture also says that God loves His enemies (Matt. 5:44-48), and our love must be as His. The word for love in the Greek is agapao, which is sacrificial love of the same kind as our Lord. We must ask what is intended by this use of love, or how is its meaning defined in this reference? We know that God’s love for all people is sacrificial and enduring. He is saying our love for others, even those who mistreat us, must also be sacrificial and enduring.

Christ defines this love as what the Father does for His enemies, “He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good. He sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous” (Matt. 5:45). In this manner He sacrificially loves all mankind. If He did not do so, all people outside of Christ would immediately be destroyed in their sin. Consistent with this, Paul commands us to do good to all men (Gal. 6:10). These references only apply to our immediate living in the fallen world. We know that God will bring a day of accountability or judgment upon all people. In the immediate we are to treat others in this same manner of love on their behalf we would have them treat us (Matt. 7:12). This definition by the Scripture for all men is not saving love. Saving love is an eternal blessed relationship. Saving love is best defined in Romans chapter 8. The chapter begins, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them who are in Christ Jesus.” This verse is built on the explanation of salvation by grace through faith explained in the first seven chapters of Romans. The issue is to be, “In Christ Jesus.” He then closes out this chapter beginning in verse 35, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” The “us” is referring exclusively to all “in Christ.”

What then follows is every conceivable listing of things and combinations of things that could possibly separate our love connection to God. It concludes that nothing can separate us (those in Christ) from His love. Separation from Him, once we are His, is impossible. I hope we can see how special this love between all those believing in the Son as their Lord is to the Father. We dare not confuse or cheapen this definition of love existing between His redeemed and Himself by indiscriminately applying it to the unsaved. Rather than the unsaved being under saving love, they are under God’s divine wrath (John 3:36).

The Gospel message could well be stated that there is a loving God who loved mankind so much as to sacrifice His own Son for sinners. What does He require? We must turn from our sin in true repentance. We must embrace God’s sacrificial gift of Christ by faith and commit ourselves to Him as our Lord. For those who do, they are the beloved of God. They are so loved that He makes us adopted sons and daughters who will live in His glorious presence eternally. It is this love of God that is incredibly defined by the words of Christ in His high priestly prayer, “That they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me” (John 17:23). The infinite quality of His saving love is stated by Christ to His Father as, “And loved them, even as You have loved Me.” That statement of saving love defines the special love of God and of Christ that is unique to His own and is to be cherished above all things and is by those who have saving faith!