God Loved Us First

This past Sunday at HopeSpring we reflected on how God shows His love for us at the cross. The central verse was Romans 5:8: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” The cross continues to show us that God loved us when we were weak, ungodly sinners and enemies of God. He loved us when we were unlovable and sent His Son to bear the penalty of our sin. We are recipients of amazing love and glorious grace. We did not love Him; He loved us first.

This old hymn written in 1836 by Josiah Conder captures the thought:

Tis not that I did choose Thee,
For Lord, that could not be;
This heart would still refuse Thee,
Hadst Thou not chosen me.
Thou from the sin that stained me
Hast cleansed and set me free;
Of old Thou hast ordained me,
That I should live to Thee.

’Twas sov’reign mercy called me
And taught my op’ning mind;
The world had else enthralled me,
To heav’nly glories blind.
My heart owns none before Thee,
For Thy rich grace I thirst;
This knowing, if I love Thee,
Thou must have loved me first.

“In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.” (1 John 4:10 ESV)

 

 

The Cross and the “Spiritual”

Consider D. A. Carson’s concluding reflection from his exposition of 1 Cor. 2:6-16 in The Cross and Christian Ministry (pp. 62-63):

What it means to be “spiritual” is profoundly tied to the cross, and to nothing else… This lesson is especially important when so many Christians today identify themselves with some “single issue” (a concept drawn from politics) other than the cross, other than the gospel. It is not that they deny the gospel. If pressed, they will emphatically endorse it. But their point of self-identification, the focus of their minds and hearts, what occupies their interest and energy, is something else: a style of worship, the abortion issue, home schooling, the gift of prophecy, pop sociology, a certain brand of counseling, or whatever. Of course, all of these issues have their own importance. Doubtless we need some Christians working on them full time. But even those who are so engaged must do so as an extension of the gospel, as an extension of the message of the cross. They must take special pains to avoid giving any impression that being really spiritual or really insightful or really wise turns on an appropriate response to their issue.

I agree with Carson that we must make the cross, the message of the crucified Messiah, the center of our self-identification. How often have I used a litmus test issue to judge another Christian and identify myself with a certain group? Some of the loudest amens are heard in churches when a pet issue is reinforced. These are the verbal “slaps on each other’s backs” by the more spiritual. But where are the amens when the gospel is proclaimed?

There are varying degrees of maturity among believers, but not varying degrees of spirituality. Every believer is spiritual because he/she has the Spirit. One believer is not more spiritual than the other. And the spiritual understand “what God has freely given us” (1 Cor 2:12). We understand the message of the cross! Praise God for that kind of “spirituality.” As Carson concludes:

We must recognize that what it means to be wise, what it means to be spiritual, is to embrace, by the help of God’s Spirit, the message of the crucified Messiah.