This is part three about why we worship God. We mentioned that we worship God for who He is and what He has done. One of the best things He is is LOVE and one of the best things He has done is LOVE US
How do we know God loves us? (John 3:16; 1John 3:16; 1John 4:9-10; 1John 4:19).
How much does God love us? (Rom 8:31-32; John 17:23; Ephesians 3:16-21)
What can separate us from God's love? (Rom 8:35, 37-39)
When did God start loving us? (Eph 2:4-6)
This time let’s look at a couple more:
What about when we sin, does God still love us?
Eph 2:4 God sent His Son while we were still sinners. Sin cannot separate us from His love. He loves us the same always, even when we sin. It makes Him sad when we sin, but He still loves us the same. We try not to sin because He loves us and we love Him too. He is glad when we make the choice not to sin. He loves as a function of His nature – that is – it is not ever a question He asks “Am I going to love them today?” It is a foregone conclusion because of who He is. He cannot be otherwise or He would cease to be God. There is no shadow of turning in Him. Discipline and punishment He doles out as needed but love is always a constant (Ps 32:7, Jer 31:3, Zeph 3:17; Heb 12:5-11)
Remember God’s desire to love is 250 times stronger than His desire to punish –
Exodus 20:5-6 5 You shall not bow down to them or worship them; for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, punishing the children for the sin of the fathers to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, 6 but showing love to a thousand {generations} of those who love me and keep my commandments.
No matter what you do He ALWAYS loves you. Sure, He can be disappointed with what you do (Do not greave the Holy Spirit Eph 4:30), but His love is constant. You are always loved. There is a place of security, safety, rest, peace and well being in your Father's love.
What does God do with our confessed sin?
Jer 31:34 "No longer will a man teach his neighbor, or a man his brother, saying, 'Know the LORD,' because they will all know me, from the least of them to the greatest," declares the LORD. "For I will forgive their wickedness and will remember their sins no more."
Mic 7:19 You will again have compassion on us; you will tread our sins underfoot and hurl all our iniquities into the depths of the sea
Act 3:19 Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord,
Psa 51:1 and ( Have mercy on me, O God, according to your unfailing love; according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions…Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity.
Isa 43:25 I, even I, am he who blots out your transgressions, for my own sake, and remembers your sins no more.
Isa 44:22 I have swept away your offenses like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you.
Ps 103:12 As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
There are others as well: Col
Are you rooted? Do you know and believe in how much He loves you? Do you believe He loves you as much as He loves Jesus? Do you believe nothing can separate you from His love? Do you see His love as your possession? Do you believe your sins have been trampled underfoot, thrown into the see of forgetfulness, remembered no more, blotted out and fully forgiven? Do you believe He has always loved you? That there has never been a time when He did not love you?
God wants us to be secure in His love and know it as our foundation the thing that roots us to Him. He wants us to know He has always loved us and nothing can take that away from us. He wants us to experience His love in a tangible way. He desires to quiet us with His love, to rejoice over us with His love. His love is our exclusive possession. He has made a way to always thing positively of us by wiping out our sin and remembering it no more. God love you infinitely and he is pleased with you as His child! Walk tall brothers and sisters. Rest in Him, YOU are the beloved of God!
References
All Scriptures not specified are quoted from Life in the Spirit Study Bible (NIV). Stamps, Donald C., and John Wesley Adams. Life in the Spirit Study Bible: New International Version. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan, 2003. Print.
