"And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him."
God’s love for all of mankind results in the fact that God shows His mercy by not immediately punishing people for their sins (Romans 3.23, 6:23). God’s love for the world is manifested in the fact that He gives people the opportunity to repent (2 Peter 3:9). However, God’s love for the world does not mean He will ignore sin. God is also a God of justice (2 Thess 1:6). Sin cannot go unpunished forever (Romans 3:25-26). The most loving act of eternity is described in Romans 5:8,
“But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”
Anyone who ignores God’s love, who rejects Christ as Savior, who denies the Savior who bought him (2 Peter 2:1) will be subject to God’s wrath for eternity (Romans 1:18), not His love (Romans 6:23). God loves everyone unconditionally in that He shows mercy to everyone by not destroying them immediately because of sin. At the same time, God only has “covenant love” for those who place their faith in Jesus Christ for salvation (John 3:36). Only those who have obeyed the gospel by believing (Acts 8:37) in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior, have repented of their sins (Acts 3:19) and have put on Christ in baptism for remission of sins (Acts 2:38, 22:16) will experience God’s love for eternity.
Does God love everyone? Yes.
Does God love Christians more than He loves non-Christians? No. Does God love
Christians to a different extent than He loves non-Christians? Yes. God loves
everyone equally in that He is merciful to all. God only loves Christians in
that only Christians have His eternal grace and mercy and the promise of His
love forever in heaven. The unconditional love God has for everyone should
bring us to faith in Him, receiving in thankfulness the great unconditional
love He grants all those who obey Jesus Christ as Savior.
In Christ
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