[uplifting music]
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[uplifting music]
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>>Eric Flickinger:
Welcome to "Sabbath School,"
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brought to you by It Is Written.
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We're glad you're with us today.
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We are taking a journey
through a fascinating subject.
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We are looking at
"God's Love and Justice."
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What does God's
love really look like,
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and how does that
interact with His justice?
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That's the
journey that we are on.
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This is lesson
number 2 out of 13,
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and today we are
looking at "Covenantal Love."
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What does that look like?
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We're going to find
out in just a moment.
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Let's pray.
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Father, we want to thank You for
bringing us together again, and
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as we study this week's lesson,
we ask that You will bless us
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with a deeper understanding of
not just the subject but of You.
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And we thank You in Jesus' name.
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Amen.
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Well, we're grateful to
have with us again this week
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the author of this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson,
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John Peckham.
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He is an associate
editor of the "Adventist Review"
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and also a research professor
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at the Adventist Theological
Seminary at Andrews University.
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John, welcome back.
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>>John Peckham: Thank
you, thanks for having me.
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>>Eric: So we're
looking at "Covenantal Love,"
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and I want to kind of
begin our dive into this
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with two words,
words that I think
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many Christians are at
least somewhat familiar with.
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They've at least heard before.
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They may or may not
have a correct understanding
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of these words for love.
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One of them is "agape,"
and the other one is "phileo."
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Help us to understand what
these two words mean and maybe
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some common misconceptions
surrounding these words.
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>>John: Yeah, yeah, most people
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have probably been
taught something like this.
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You've probably been taught that
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"agape" is a
special kind of love
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that only God has and all other
kinds of love are deficient
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in some way or
merely human loves.
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So often there's a dichotomy
put forth between "agape,"
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that's God's love for us, which
only gives and never receives,
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according to some conceptions,
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and "phileo" is
like a friendship love.
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It's a back-and-forth love,
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relational love that
humans can engage in.
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But actually the Bible tells
a somewhat different story,
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and I want us to
look at the Bible itself
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so we can see
this for ourselves.
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So I want to invite you
to read from John 14, and
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in that verse you'll see God's
love mentioned in that verse,
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and the verb that's
used throughout there
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is the verb form
of "agape" in John 14.
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>>Eric: Right, so we're
going to look at John 14,
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verses 21 and 23.
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Verse 21 says, "'He who has
my commandments and keeps them,
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"'it is he who loves me.
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"'And he who loves me
will be loved by my Father,
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"and I will love him
and manifest myself to him.'
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"Jesus answered and said to him,
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"'If anyone loves
me, he will keep my word;
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"'and my Father will love him,
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and we will come to him
and make our home with him.'"
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>>John: So I want us
to notice a few things
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in those verses,
right? So, first of all,
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if somebody would
think that "agape" is only
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a divine love and never a human
love, you're already running
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into problems in this passage,
right? Because we're talking
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about a love that is reciprocal,
love relationship, right?
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"He who keeps my commandments,
it is he who loves me,
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and he who loves me
will be loved by my Father."
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And so you have not only
humans engaging in this love,
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which again is that
verb form of "agape,"
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but also God responding,
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that this is a back-and-forth,
that God actually somehow
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evaluatively loves in response
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already in John
14, verses 21 and 23.
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And so you have this
condition in verse 23:
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"If anyone loves me,
he will keep my word;
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and my Father will love him."
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So this is a back-and-forth
love relationship,
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using "agape" all throughout.
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So already there
we see a misconception
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that would be cleared up.
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Then if we go to John 16, verse
27, we'll see another issue here
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because, as I mentioned before,
it's common for people to say
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that the Greek verb "phileo"
refers to a lesser kind of love.
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It's a deficient kind of love.
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Sometimes spoken of
as "brotherly love,"
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but actually that's from a
compound term, "Philadelphia."
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That means "brotherly
love," but it's the latter part
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of that compound term;
that is the "brotherly" part.
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But some say, "Oh, this
is a lesser kind of love.
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It's deficient."
Well, is that really true?
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Well, let's look at John 16:27.
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In John 16, verse 27,
the verb that's used here
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of love is "phileo," and
just notice what it says.
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"For the Father Himself loves
you, because you have loved me,
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and have believed that
I came forth from God."
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Now, that sounds
almost identical in teaching
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to what we read
in John 14, right?
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But here we have the
"phileo" verb that is used.
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And so
immediately from this verse
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you should know that
whatever else "phileo" means,
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it is not necessarily
a deficient kind of love.
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How do we know that?
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Because God Himself loves
us with that kind of love,
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according to this text, and
God's love is never deficient,
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and actually what we
find throughout the Bible
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is that there is no
unique term for God's love.
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God's love is the greatest and
most generous and perfect love
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not because of
the word that's used
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but because God who
is the one who gives it.
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In fact, the root of
"agape" can refer to anything
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from the most generous,
noble, wonderful kind of love
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to something that we wouldn't
even describe as love itself.
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To give an example of
this, kind of a sad example,
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in the Old Testament
translation into the Greek,
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known as the Septuagint,
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you have the
common word for "love"
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used in the story
of Amnon and Tamar.
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And if anyone's not
familiar with that story,
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you have this horrible story
of one of David's sons, Amnon,
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who claims to be in love
with his half-sister Tamar,
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and he says over and over
again, "I love her. I love her."
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But actually in the story
it's really nothing more than
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a rapacious lust, and then in
the story he actually takes her
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by force in a
horrible, horrible example,
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and he actually says,
you know, "I loved her."
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Obviously, this is nothing close
to love, but the Greek word
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that's used there throughout
that story to translate
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the term for "love" is "agape."
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And the Hebrew term
in the original Hebrew
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is the main term for
"love" in the Old Testament,
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and it just shows you there's
a broad range of these terms.
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And it's not the term
itself that is describing
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a special kind of love.
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The special kind of
love is actually because
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the agent who is God Himself,
and it's His kind of love.
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But there, again, there's
all kinds of misconceptions
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that come from a number
of theologians in past ages,
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who had a particular view of God
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who can't enter into
back-and-forth relationship.
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And so they thought of
God's love as just unilateral.
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When they thought of "agape"
love, they thought of love
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that only gives
and never receives
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because God isn't
supposed to receive anything,
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but in the Bible there's
actually a back and forth.
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It's always asymmetrical because
God is always the great lover,
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the source of love.
We don't deserve love,
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we can never merit it,
but we can respond to it.
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We can enter into
real relationship with God,
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and that's what God
calls us into and draws us into
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throughout the biblical story.
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>>Eric: You know, I--that's
actually where I want to go
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with my next question, this idea
of God being a relational God
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and not just a
unilaterally-loving God.
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What does that help us to
understand--or how does that
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help us to
understand our responsibility
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to reflect God's
love back to Him?
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>>John: Yeah, this is
very important, right?
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So whenever we talk about
the back-and-forth relationship,
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and even when we talk
about that there's even
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some
conditionality in relationship,
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which we'll talk about
more and more extensively later,
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we need to first
emphasize the fact
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that all love starts with God.
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Right? So
Jeremiah 31:3, God says,
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"I have loved you
with an everlasting love;
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therefore with lovingkindness
I have drawn you." Right?
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And so it's God who is drawing
us into love relationship
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before we ever love
Him in the first place.
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And 1 John 4:19 just says,
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"We love...because
He first loved us."
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So all love begins with God.
He's the source of all love.
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We cannot just
originate it in ourselves,
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but He invites us
to respond to Him.
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And so this is a universal
love that is given to everyone,
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but I refer to it as a
universally relational love
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because it's love that
calls everyone into relationship
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because God will never
force His love on anyone.
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In fact, love itself, by nature,
requires it to be freely given
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and freely received.
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Like, even if I could
control someone else's mind,
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I wouldn't be able
to make them love me.
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I might be able to make
them think they love me, I might
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be able to make them respond
in all the ways, external ways,
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that love typically responds,
but would they love me?
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No, because love must be freely
given and freely received.
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And so God pours out this
love prior to any conditions,
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unmerited, on all people to
draw us all into relationship
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with Him, but we have a choice
whether to respond to that,
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whether to enter into
that relationship with Him.
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>>Eric: So God
is very relational.
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He's looking for that
back-and-forth between Him
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and us, for it to be
genuine, for it to be authentic.
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I'm going to read a
passage here in Deuteronomy;
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Deuteronomy 7,
verses 6 through 9.
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And help us to understand
this relational aspect,
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this covenantal
love from this passage.
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It says, "For you are a holy
people to the Lord your God;
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"the Lord your God has chosen
you to be a people for Himself,
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"a special treasure
above all the peoples
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"on the face of the earth.
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"The Lord did not set His
love on you nor choose you
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"because you were more in
number than any other people,
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"for you were the
least of all peoples;
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"but because the Lord loves you,
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"and because He would
keep the oath which He swore
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"to your fathers, the
Lord has brought you out
00:10:03.43\00:10:06.07
"with a mighty
hand, and redeemed you
00:10:06.10\00:10:07.94
"from the house of bondage,
00:10:07.97\00:10:09.54
"from the hand of
Pharaoh king of Egypt.
00:10:09.57\00:10:11.84
"Therefore know that the
Lord your God, He is God,
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"the faithful God
who keeps covenant
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"and mercy for a
thousand generations
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with those who love Him
and keep His commandments."
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>>John: What a
beautiful passage, right?
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And so I'll start
kind of at the end 'cause
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I want to make sure
that I don't miss this point
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and no one misses this point.
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You have that beautiful
phrase at the end of God
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who is a faithful
God, who keeps His covenant
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and His
faithfulness-- to how long?
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To 1,000 generations
of those who love Him.
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And so you see, again, this
is an asymmetrical relationship.
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God's love is much greater
than the love of His people,
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but He calls
people into relationship,
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this covenant relationship
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that He will
actually extend far beyond,
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even to the
thousandth generation, but there
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is that back-and-forth
in this relationship.
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Now, here also in this passage
you have this relationship
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between love and
choice and love and election.
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God's covenant people
are especially chosen people.
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They are elect. They're elect
in a way that is unmerited.
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They did nothing to
deserve being the covenant,
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chosen people of God.
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The text says God chose them
because He loved them, right?
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And so, whereas there is
often a common identification
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of love and choice--
there are some people
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that even say,
"Love just is to choose"--
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that's actually a misconception.
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It is true that
love involves choice.
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We saw that in the
last lesson very clearly.
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God loves freely, and He
invites us to love freely.
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Love involves choice, but
it cannot be reduced to choice;
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and here God's
choice of His people
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is already based on
His prior love for them,
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and this should reinforce
two points for them and for us.
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There could be a common way.
00:11:55.71\00:11:57.91
If you're part of God's covenant
people, God's special people,
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you could think,
"Oh, I'm special.
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Maybe I deserved this." Right?
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And you see, first of all, you
weren't chosen because you were
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better than anyone else or you
were greater than anyone else.
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No, it's because God
set His affection on you.
00:12:08.72\00:12:12.13
He chose you for
special blessings. Why?
00:12:12.16\00:12:14.30
Because He already loved you,
and you didn't deserve that,
00:12:14.30\00:12:16.83
either, nor could
you ever deserve that.
00:12:16.87\00:12:19.67
This is entirely unmerited love
that God gives for His people,
00:12:19.70\00:12:26.44
and He sets His affection
on His people for that reason.
00:12:26.47\00:12:31.05
Not only that, there
could be a misconception
00:12:31.08\00:12:33.31
that God is somehow partial.
He's choosing this people.
00:12:33.35\00:12:36.62
Why do they get
these special blessings?
00:12:36.65\00:12:39.15
And it is because God wants to
bless all nations through them.
00:12:39.19\00:12:43.02
This is the reason for election
all throughout Scripture.
00:12:43.06\00:12:45.86
In Genesis, the promise
made to Abraham is, "I will--
00:12:45.89\00:12:49.26
I've chosen you, and I will
bless you to bless all peoples."
00:12:49.30\00:12:52.37
And so God is
drawing the covenant people
00:12:52.40\00:12:54.37
into relationship to
be a blessing to everyone
00:12:54.40\00:12:57.54
'cause He wants to
have that same kind
00:12:57.57\00:12:59.21
of love
relationship with everyone.
00:12:59.24\00:13:00.94
>>Eric: And I think He
probably wants to use us to help
00:13:00.98\00:13:03.78
other people
understand that love, too.
00:13:03.81\00:13:05.95
John, we're digging into
something here really deep,
00:13:05.98\00:13:08.28
this covenantal love concept.
00:13:08.32\00:13:10.12
You've authored a
companion book to this quarter's
00:13:10.15\00:13:13.46
"Sabbath School" lesson. Share
with us a little bit about that.
00:13:13.49\00:13:16.36
>>John: Yeah, in
that companion volume,
00:13:16.39\00:13:18.26
I get an opportunity to go
deeper into the biblical text,
00:13:18.29\00:13:21.23
deeper into the understanding
of what God's love is like,
00:13:21.26\00:13:25.57
deeper into some
of the misconceptions
00:13:25.60\00:13:27.37
that are out there, and
deeper into how we understand
00:13:27.40\00:13:31.37
that God actually loves us
with a love that is much greater
00:13:31.41\00:13:35.71
than most of us
have been taught.
00:13:35.74\00:13:38.05
I thought I knew
what God's love was like
00:13:38.08\00:13:39.95
before I spent
many years studying it,
00:13:39.98\00:13:41.78
and I'll tell you
the picture that emerged
00:13:41.82\00:13:44.25
is more beautiful
than I could imagine.
00:13:44.29\00:13:46.25
And we can only scratch
the surface in the lesson.
00:13:46.29\00:13:48.09
The companion
volume goes further.
00:13:48.12\00:13:49.76
We can even only
scratch the surface in that.
00:13:49.79\00:13:52.36
>>Eric: Fantastic.
00:13:52.39\00:13:53.70
So if you would like to
pick up that companion volume
00:13:53.73\00:13:56.53
to this quarter's
"Sabbath School" lesson,
00:13:56.56\00:13:58.37
you will find it
at itiswritten.shop.
00:13:58.40\00:14:01.04
Again, at itiswritten.shop.
00:14:01.07\00:14:03.71
We're going to be
back in just a moment
00:14:03.74\00:14:05.21
as we continue looking
at God's covenantal love,
00:14:05.24\00:14:08.28
digging into it more deeply
and seeing God more clearly.
00:14:08.31\00:14:11.78
We'll be right back
here on "Sabbath School,"
00:14:11.81\00:14:13.82
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:14:13.85\00:14:15.48
[uplifting music]
00:14:15.52\00:14:17.85
>>John Bradshaw: So,
what is God really like?
00:14:19.19\00:14:22.49
To hear some people tell
the story, "God is a tyrant.
00:14:22.52\00:14:24.96
God is
vindictive. God is hateful."
00:14:24.99\00:14:27.60
To hear some people tell
the story, "God is a murderer.
00:14:27.66\00:14:31.33
God is masochistic."
That's what some people say.
00:14:31.37\00:14:34.94
Now, why would
they say such a thing?
00:14:34.97\00:14:36.67
Well, you look into
the Bible and in Noah's day
00:14:36.71\00:14:39.14
God destroyed the entire world.
00:14:39.17\00:14:41.41
There may even have
been billions of people
00:14:41.44\00:14:44.78
alive at that
time. God wiped them out.
00:14:44.81\00:14:47.95
Well, was that a one-off?
00:14:47.98\00:14:49.48
In the days of Hezekiah king of
Judah, 185,000 Assyrian soldiers
00:14:49.52\00:14:57.49
were destroyed by
God's angels in a night.
00:14:57.53\00:15:00.66
What is the
character of God like?
00:15:00.70\00:15:03.40
You don't want to miss
"The Character of God."
00:15:03.43\00:15:05.77
We'll talk about creation, love,
00:15:05.80\00:15:08.07
the cross, and you'll
know that God is love.
00:15:08.10\00:15:11.74
"The Character of God,"
00:15:11.77\00:15:13.94
brought to you
by It Is Written TV.
00:15:13.98\00:15:17.48
[uplifting music]
00:15:18.98\00:15:22.78
>>Eric: Welcome
back to "Sabbath School,"
00:15:22.82\00:15:24.42
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:15:24.45\00:15:26.32
We're taking a look at "God's
Love and Justice" this quarter.
00:15:26.35\00:15:29.89
In this lesson, we're taking
a look at "Covenantal Love."
00:15:29.92\00:15:34.96
John, I want to kind of delve
into something that you unpacked
00:15:35.00\00:15:38.67
here in this lesson about
God loving some despicable
00:15:38.70\00:15:43.81
characters, and perhaps we know
some folk in our lives or we've
00:15:43.84\00:15:50.05
met some folk that might--
that we might place under
00:15:50.08\00:15:52.95
that banner, under that umbrella
of despicable characters.
00:15:52.98\00:15:56.58
How does God
deal with those folk,
00:15:56.62\00:15:59.19
and what lessons
can we learn from that?
00:15:59.22\00:16:01.32
>>John: Yeah, it's
important to recognize
00:16:01.36\00:16:03.39
that God loves everyone,
00:16:03.43\00:16:05.39
even those whom we might
think are unlovable, right?
00:16:05.43\00:16:08.63
And if we're being honest with
ourselves, somebody who knows
00:16:08.66\00:16:11.23
us in our worst moments, we're
among the unlovable too, right?
00:16:11.27\00:16:14.70
We're not ever
worthy of God's love.
00:16:14.74\00:16:17.04
But John 3:16, of course,
probably the most famous passage
00:16:17.07\00:16:20.54
in the Bible, but no
less profound, even though
00:16:20.58\00:16:23.38
we're so familiar with it:
00:16:23.41\00:16:24.28
"For God so loved the world
00:16:24.31\00:16:26.68
"that He gave His [one and] only
...Son, that whoever believes
00:16:26.72\00:16:30.19
in Him [shall] not perish
but have everlasting life."
00:16:30.22\00:16:33.96
And that passage
says God loves who?
00:16:33.99\00:16:37.49
He, God, He loves the
world and everyone in it.
00:16:37.53\00:16:40.60
That includes
you. It includes me.
00:16:40.63\00:16:42.73
It includes everyone
that you meet and many people
00:16:42.76\00:16:45.90
whom we will never meet.
00:16:45.93\00:16:47.70
And there's a lot of people who,
when they hear about God's love,
00:16:47.74\00:16:51.27
they hear that kind
of teaching, they say,
00:16:51.31\00:16:53.84
"Oh, that sounds great,
00:16:53.88\00:16:55.34
"but that can't
really be true of me, right?
00:16:55.38\00:16:57.51
"God couldn't really
love me. I know what I'm like.
00:16:57.55\00:17:00.68
"I know that I'm unworthy.
00:17:00.72\00:17:02.05
I know that I have forfeited
any right to God's love."
00:17:02.08\00:17:06.32
And that is true.
00:17:06.35\00:17:08.42
It's true of all of
us, but it doesn't stop God
00:17:08.46\00:17:11.29
from continually loving
us and calling out to us.
00:17:11.33\00:17:14.03
Let me just
give you one example.
00:17:14.10\00:17:15.66
In the history of the nation
of Judah, you have a number of
00:17:15.70\00:17:20.14
good kings, and you
have a number of bad kings.
00:17:20.17\00:17:22.94
And whenever the kings went bad,
00:17:22.97\00:17:24.27
this--things went very
bad for the nation of Judah.
00:17:24.31\00:17:26.57
And one king in particular
by the name of Manasseh,
00:17:26.61\00:17:29.88
he was a horrible
king, arguably the worst king
00:17:29.91\00:17:33.25
in the line of
kings; and he had just done
00:17:33.28\00:17:37.32
every despicable thing
imaginable, and nevertheless,
00:17:37.35\00:17:42.49
before Manasseh dies, God
makes a way to reclaim him
00:17:42.52\00:17:47.36
and restore him and
even provide forgiveness.
00:17:47.40\00:17:51.30
If God can do that
for someone like Manasseh,
00:17:51.33\00:17:54.47
He can do it for anyone.
00:17:54.50\00:17:56.67
He can do it for
you. He can do it for me.
00:17:56.71\00:18:00.11
>>Eric: You know,
speaking of forgiveness,
00:18:00.14\00:18:02.28
there is an interesting passage,
a story that Jesus tells
00:18:02.31\00:18:05.65
in Matthew, chapter 18
about the unforgiving debtor.
00:18:05.68\00:18:10.92
This might be a hard one
for some of us to stomach and to
00:18:10.95\00:18:15.09
delve into because we've run
into some characters out there.
00:18:15.12\00:18:20.86
Unpack this for us
and give us a takeaway
00:18:20.90\00:18:25.57
that might be a little
difficult pill to swallow
00:18:25.60\00:18:27.90
but one that we need
to swallow nevertheless.
00:18:27.94\00:18:29.94
>>John: Yeah, yeah.
00:18:29.97\00:18:31.27
This parable illustrates
what is a consistent teaching
00:18:31.31\00:18:34.11
of the Bible, that God
bestows love on everyone freely
00:18:34.14\00:18:38.38
prior to
conditions, entirely unmerited,
00:18:38.41\00:18:42.58
and yet we can reject
love relationship with God.
00:18:42.62\00:18:47.02
Now, it's hard to do that.
00:18:47.06\00:18:48.62
God bears long with us,
but you can finally reject Him
00:18:48.66\00:18:52.59
and cut yourself off from Him.
00:18:52.63\00:18:54.36
And we see this in
this parable in Matthew 18,
00:18:54.36\00:18:56.70
where you have this
man who owes his lord.
00:18:56.73\00:19:00.74
He owes him a great
debt, a massive debt,
00:19:00.77\00:19:04.27
a debt of 10,000 talents.
00:19:04.31\00:19:07.64
Now, for our viewers, if
you don't know what a talent is,
00:19:07.68\00:19:10.25
a talent was roughly equivalent
to 6,000 denarii, and a denarius
00:19:10.28\00:19:15.42
was roughly
amount-- about the amount
00:19:15.45\00:19:18.12
that an average day laborer
would make in a single day.
00:19:18.15\00:19:22.19
And so if you
think about this debt,
00:19:22.22\00:19:24.16
you have 6,000
denarii in every talent.
00:19:24.19\00:19:27.30
So an average day laborer to
make 1 talent--let's say they
00:19:27.36\00:19:31.93
work maybe 300 days a
year, given all the festivals,
00:19:31.97\00:19:34.40
it's probably going to take them
00:19:34.44\00:19:36.07
about 20 years
just to earn 1 talent.
00:19:36.10\00:19:41.41
But he owes this man
10,000 talents--10,000 talents,
00:19:41.44\00:19:47.22
which would take him,
like, 200,000 years to earn.
00:19:47.25\00:19:50.72
So there is no way--there is
no possible way that he is ever
00:19:50.75\00:19:56.02
going to be able to accumulate
enough money to pay off
00:19:56.06\00:20:00.36
this debt, and yet he still
says to the lord, "Just give me
00:20:00.40\00:20:02.93
enough time, and I will
pay you back everything."
00:20:02.96\00:20:06.03
And his master looks at
this man, and he has compassion
00:20:06.07\00:20:09.47
on him, and he says, "I am
going to forgive you that debt.
00:20:09.50\00:20:14.58
You owe me nothing."
00:20:14.61\00:20:16.58
This is amazing
compassion, amazing grace.
00:20:16.61\00:20:20.25
Nothing in the
story merited this.
00:20:20.28\00:20:22.62
Nothing--there
was no condition--
00:20:22.65\00:20:24.52
"Do this first and
then you can receive this."
00:20:24.55\00:20:26.65
It's given to him prior to any
conditions, entirely unmerited.
00:20:26.69\00:20:30.16
And we could wish that that was
the end of the story, but sadly
00:20:30.19\00:20:33.33
it was not the end of the
story because the same servant
00:20:33.36\00:20:36.46
goes out, and he finds another
man, who owes him a small debt,
00:20:36.50\00:20:42.80
a debt that could be paid off in
very little time, comparatively,
00:20:42.84\00:20:47.98
but he doesn't
show this other servant
00:20:48.01\00:20:51.05
the same grace and compassion.
00:20:51.08\00:20:53.38
Instead, he takes
this servant, and he says,
00:20:53.42\00:20:55.65
"If you're not
going to repay the debt,
00:20:55.68\00:20:56.99
I'm going to have
you thrown into prison."
00:20:57.02\00:20:58.49
And he has him
thrown into prison,
00:20:58.52\00:20:59.89
from which, of course, he
could never pay the debt, right?
00:20:59.92\00:21:01.96
This does no one any good.
00:21:01.99\00:21:03.46
And when his master finds out
about this, he is rightly angry,
00:21:03.49\00:21:07.20
he is rightly furious,
and he comes to this servant,
00:21:07.23\00:21:11.17
and he actually
takes back the forgiveness
00:21:11.20\00:21:13.94
he had given him. He takes
back this compassionate grace.
00:21:13.97\00:21:17.71
And this is a story that shows
that even though God's grace
00:21:17.74\00:21:21.01
and compassion is given
freely, without any cost,
00:21:21.04\00:21:24.11
without any prior
conditions, we can reject it;
00:21:24.15\00:21:27.12
we can forfeit it;
00:21:27.15\00:21:28.38
we can turn our backs on it, as
this servant does in the story.
00:21:28.42\00:21:34.49
And so many people struggle
with this idea because we're
00:21:34.52\00:21:37.09
typically taught that God's
love is entirely unconditional,
00:21:37.13\00:21:41.06
and it's true that
God's love is unconditional
00:21:41.10\00:21:42.96
in the sense that
God always loves everyone
00:21:43.00\00:21:46.23
and always wants to have
relationship with everyone.
00:21:46.27\00:21:47.97
God's love is everlasting, and
yet God's love also invites us
00:21:48.00\00:21:52.41
into relationship,
and that relationship
00:21:52.44\00:21:54.74
involves the
condition of responding to God.
00:21:54.78\00:21:58.08
So I use this kind of analogy
to try to explain how God's love
00:21:58.11\00:22:01.55
can be
unconditional, and yet there's--
00:22:01.58\00:22:04.35
to enjoy all the benefits--there
are involved some conditions.
00:22:04.39\00:22:07.52
And so if you imagine the sun,
00:22:07.56\00:22:09.86
the sun shines
on everyone, right?
00:22:09.89\00:22:12.03
And I cannot stop
the sun from shining.
00:22:12.06\00:22:14.76
I can shake my
fist at the sun and say,
00:22:14.83\00:22:16.46
"Oh, you know, I hate
you, sun; stop shining on me,"
00:22:16.50\00:22:19.47
and it's not going
to make any difference.
00:22:19.50\00:22:21.70
In a similar way, we
can't stop God from loving.
00:22:21.74\00:22:24.07
We cannot change
His loving nature.
00:22:24.11\00:22:26.41
God is always bestowing His love
on everyone, and yet--I cannot
00:22:26.44\00:22:31.08
stop the sun from shining,
but I could, if I chose,
00:22:31.11\00:22:34.58
lock myself in a
windowless basement.
00:22:34.62\00:22:36.79
I could cut myself off
from the rays of the sun
00:22:36.82\00:22:40.12
so that I would not
receive them, and in the Bible,
00:22:40.16\00:22:42.49
we also can make a decision
to reject God and His love.
00:22:42.52\00:22:46.73
It's very difficult because
God will keep seeking us,
00:22:46.76\00:22:49.66
but you can finally make a
final decision to reject Him
00:22:49.70\00:22:53.10
and therefore cut yourself
off from relationship because,
00:22:53.13\00:22:56.77
again, love must be freely
given and freely received,
00:22:56.81\00:22:59.44
and God will never
force His love on everyone.
00:22:59.47\00:23:01.81
So we all have that choice, but
God always gives His love to us
00:23:01.84\00:23:07.12
prior to any conditions
and draws us into relationship
00:23:07.15\00:23:09.68
with Him prior
to any conditions.
00:23:09.72\00:23:12.29
>>Eric: So we're
getting a clearer picture
00:23:12.32\00:23:13.89
of God's love here.
00:23:13.92\00:23:15.22
What kind of an impact could
that, should that make on us?
00:23:15.26\00:23:18.73
If we constantly keep God's love
in our minds and in front of us,
00:23:18.76\00:23:23.70
what does that look like in--how
would that manifest itself
00:23:23.73\00:23:27.20
in our interactions with others?
00:23:27.24\00:23:29.04
>>John: Yeah, I mean, this
is a major teaching of 1 John;
00:23:29.07\00:23:32.04
1 John just teaches
consistently that God is love.
00:23:32.07\00:23:37.31
And if you have
received God's love, you also
00:23:37.35\00:23:40.32
ought to love others the
way that He has loved us.
00:23:40.35\00:23:43.32
So if we're being honest
with ourselves, none of us
00:23:43.35\00:23:45.59
deserve God's love; none
of us deserve God's favor.
00:23:45.62\00:23:48.59
And if we recognize just
how compassionate and gracious
00:23:48.62\00:23:52.26
and loving God has been toward
us, how can we not be gracious
00:23:52.29\00:23:56.73
and compassionate toward others?
00:23:56.77\00:23:59.60
And 1 John 4 just
says that if you love God,
00:23:59.63\00:24:04.11
you should also love others.
00:24:04.14\00:24:05.77
Another place it says
if you claim to love God
00:24:05.81\00:24:08.44
and you don't love your brother
or your sister, you are a liar.
00:24:08.48\00:24:12.45
And so, in fact, the fact of
accepting God's love includes
00:24:12.48\00:24:17.62
that we will allow
God's love to flow through us,
00:24:17.65\00:24:19.79
God's love to shine through us.
00:24:19.82\00:24:21.62
And in fact, the number one way
that you can actually love God
00:24:21.66\00:24:25.39
in return, that you can
actually reciprocate His love,
00:24:25.43\00:24:28.10
is by loving someone else
because to love someone else
00:24:28.13\00:24:32.23
is indirectly to love God
because God loves everyone.
00:24:32.27\00:24:35.37
Similar to the way that
if you really want to do
00:24:35.40\00:24:37.37
something loving toward me,
do something for my son, right?
00:24:37.41\00:24:40.04
I will appreciate that
more than you doing something
00:24:40.08\00:24:42.28
directly for me
because I love him.
00:24:42.31\00:24:44.15
When we show love to others,
that is a way of loving God.
00:24:44.18\00:24:47.95
>>Eric: So let's say that
there's somebody who's studying
00:24:47.98\00:24:50.92
through this right now,
and they're getting a picture
00:24:50.95\00:24:53.99
of this, but they're still
like, "How can God love me?
00:24:54.02\00:24:57.26
"I'm that despicable character.
00:24:57.29\00:24:59.03
I realize how far
short I fall of the ideal."
00:24:59.06\00:25:04.50
What would you share with
that person to encourage them
00:25:04.53\00:25:07.44
about God's love for them?
00:25:07.47\00:25:10.11
>>John: Yeah, I would share
with that person the fact that
00:25:10.14\00:25:13.48
no matter where you've been,
no matter where you are now,
00:25:13.51\00:25:17.11
God's love is exponentially
greater than your shortcomings.
00:25:17.15\00:25:22.88
Again, if God could restore
someone like Manasseh, and you
00:25:22.92\00:25:26.45
look through the biblical story,
you look at some of the people
00:25:26.49\00:25:28.59
that God called to do some
of the greatest things, you look
00:25:28.62\00:25:31.59
where they started, and you
see where they ended up because
00:25:31.63\00:25:33.96
of God's love, there is hope
for each one of us in Christ.
00:25:34.00\00:25:39.67
And the key is to recognize
that it's not really about us.
00:25:39.70\00:25:44.34
It's not our merit. It's
not our being good enough.
00:25:44.37\00:25:46.94
It is God and His love.
00:25:46.98\00:25:49.48
And so to take an
example, someone might think,
00:25:49.51\00:25:51.48
"Oh, it'd be
impossible for God to love me.
00:25:51.51\00:25:54.15
"It'd be impossible
for me to walk with God.
00:25:54.18\00:25:56.05
I've gone too far.
I can't turn around."
00:25:56.08\00:26:00.19
With man, this
might be impossible,
00:26:00.22\00:26:02.39
but with God, all
things are impossible.
00:26:02.42\00:26:04.69
And I think of that story
when Jesus meets the disciples.
00:26:04.73\00:26:08.40
They're in the boat
and Jesus meets them,
00:26:08.43\00:26:10.47
and He's walking on the water,
and Peter immediately is like,
00:26:10.50\00:26:13.13
"Oh, I want to come
out there with You."
00:26:13.17\00:26:14.40
Right? And Jesus
says, "Come out."
00:26:14.44\00:26:17.41
And Peter does, and he's
walking on water, which normally
00:26:17.44\00:26:20.91
would be
impossible, but it was possible
00:26:20.94\00:26:23.61
as long as he
kept his eyes on Jesus.
00:26:23.65\00:26:25.91
But in the
story, he looked down,
00:26:25.95\00:26:27.52
he looked away from Jesus,
and then he began to sink.
00:26:27.55\00:26:29.82
And that shows us the
key all throughout Scripture.
00:26:29.85\00:26:31.92
Keep your eyes on Jesus.
00:26:31.95\00:26:33.76
Recognize His love
and how much He loves you,
00:26:33.79\00:26:36.46
and don't wait to respond
to Him. He's calling you.
00:26:36.49\00:26:40.10
He's calling each one, even now,
00:26:40.13\00:26:41.90
to be into relationship
with Him. So don't wait.
00:26:41.93\00:26:45.07
He's calling you now, and
He will make a way to not only
00:26:45.10\00:26:49.07
restore you to relationship with
Him but to carry you through,
00:26:49.10\00:26:52.57
to even make it so that you
can effectively walk on water
00:26:52.61\00:26:56.28
through His power.
00:26:56.31\00:26:57.61
>>Eric: And that's powerful
and something that we need
00:26:57.65\00:26:59.45
to not just
understand intellectually
00:26:59.48\00:27:02.12
but deep in our hearts
00:27:02.15\00:27:03.79
to embrace and to
receive with gladness of heart.
00:27:03.82\00:27:06.82
Makes all the
difference in the world.
00:27:06.86\00:27:08.96
And we are glad
that you are joining us
00:27:08.99\00:27:10.99
as we're digging
into this subject.
00:27:11.03\00:27:12.89
It is a fascinating
subject, it is a deep subject,
00:27:12.93\00:27:15.86
and it is a subject
that can materially transform
00:27:15.90\00:27:19.53
the relationship
that we have with God,
00:27:19.57\00:27:21.54
and not just the relationship
that we have with Him
00:27:21.57\00:27:23.87
but the relationship
that we have with one another.
00:27:23.91\00:27:26.71
And as God's character,
His attributes are manifested
00:27:26.74\00:27:31.05
in us by us spending
time with Him and allowing Him
00:27:31.08\00:27:34.25
to work in our
hearts, imagine the difference
00:27:34.28\00:27:37.92
that people will see, and
their concept of God will change
00:27:37.95\00:27:42.09
as a result of their
interactions with you.
00:27:42.12\00:27:44.29
We have an awesome opportunity.
00:27:44.33\00:27:46.63
We're continuing our
study of God's love and justice.
00:27:46.66\00:27:49.43
We'll be back again next
week as we continue our study
00:27:49.46\00:27:52.53
here on "Sabbath School,"
brought to you by It Is Written.
00:27:52.57\00:27:55.94
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[uplifting music]
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