It’s better to follow the approach of the apostles and early church in the book of Acts.  They simply preached the gospel along with the call for people to repent and believe in Jesus Christ.  The word “love” isn’t used at all in the book of Acts, and we certainly don’t hear the apostles telling unbelievers that God loves them.  In his love, God does send his church out into the world to proclaim the gospel.  But as we do that, we have to make it clear that the good news God sends in his love is only so good because the bad news is so bad:  God is holy and just and he will not overlook sin. 

A parishioner asked me whether God loves everyone. She was discussing this with a friend. The friend insisted that God doesn’t love everyone — he only loves believers. My parishioner’s gut reaction was to disagree. This was my response:
That’s a question I’ve been thinking about for many years.  I used to agree with your friend.  But through further study, I’ve come to a different view.
The problem is that there are Scripture passages which speak of God’s wrath and hatred towards the wicked — Psalm 11:5 comes to mind. But there are other passages which speak about God’s all-encompassing love for his creation — Psalm 145:9 is an example of that, also John 3:16.
Scripture tells us that “God is love” (1 John 4:16).  Love is an attribute of God.  All of God’s attributes are true of him eternally.  But that raises a question:  love always requires an object, so who did God love before creation?  The answer is with the persons of the Trinity.  Eternal, holy, infinite love existed between the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.  When it comes to the love of God, that’s where we need to start.  This intra-Trinitarian love is ultimate and primary.
When it comes to his creation, God does have a universal love for all that he has made in general.  But we can also speak of a love that God has for all human beings in virtue of the fact that they are created in his image.  John Calvin spoke about that in his Institutes. But just like a husband can love his neighbours while also having a special love for his wife, God loves elect human beings in a special way.  They become beloved children of the Father, and part of the bride of Christ for which he died.
So what about what Scripture says about God’s wrath and hatred for the wicked in places like Psalm 11:5?
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Written by James E. Bruce |
Tuesday, November 21, 2023
In disputes, whether in a deliberative assembly or in everyday life, referring back to what was said becomes crucial. Having accurate minutes helps. (If only we had accurate minutes for some of our everyday conversations!) Because Robert’s Rules requires the approval of the previous meeting’s minutes, everyone has an opportunity to reflect on, and endorse, what was decided. Good minutes hold people accountable for promised performance. If someone, especially an officer, fails to fulfill a directive, approved minutes can make clear what that person should have done. Good minutes also serve as a to-do list for the future.

I rise in favor of Robert’s Rules of Order. Often criticized as arcane and cumbersome, it actually serves as a marvelous guide to how people should engage in healthy debate when they gather together.
One objection to Robert’s Rules is that it doesn’t allow people to be themselves. It’s seen as jilted, stilted, and wilted; it doesn’t promote casual, conversational engagement.
This objection is unfair. First, for small gatherings, its committee rules make the structure less rigid and more conversational.
Second, for large assemblies, casual conversation is impossible. So the alternative to Robert’s Rules — or something like it — is not friendly engagement but chaos. In fact, Robert (the man himself) wrote his Rules after seeing a Baptist church try to have a congregational meeting. As an extrovert, I don’t mind talking over people to get my point across. However, a free-for-all gabfest fails to ensure that all positions, especially those of the minority, are heard. Robert’s Rules addresses this issue by providing a way to ensure that all voices are heard — even quiet ones.
Another advantage of Robert’s Rules is its facilitation of quick and easy consensus, when appropriate, and the ability to resolve thorny issues, when things get more complicated. Rules seem arcane and unimportant . . . until they are essential for the smooth functioning of a meeting. Then we see how necessary they are.
Let’s consider calling the question, which sounds strange to unpracticed ears. What is a question, and why is anyone calling it? Calling the question is a request to vote on the main topic under consideration. But this explanation just raises another question: Why should anyone vote on whether to vote?
I’ve got this one for the team: Stopping debate limits the freedom of members to speak on an issue. As such, there is a higher, two-thirds threshold for calling the question than there is for the simple majority vote on a topic at hand.
Sure, this rule may seem strange, but it makes sense: In faculty meetings or Presbytery meetings, I find that even professors and pastors find it difficult to stand before their peers and speak on an issue. And that’s people who speak for a living! Imagine a homeowner association, composed of many people who do not speak for a living.
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There are creatures, and a creator, and they are not the same thing. When it comes to authority, God is completely and utterly other. Whether we are husbands, mothers, managers, or pastors, we serve at God’s pleasure, derive our authority from his power, and expect obedience from others only insofar as he allows. Authority in this sense is always derivative. It comes from God, must be shaped like God, and is always for God’s life–giving purposes alone.

There’s a good principle in ministry that says, for the issues that people find the hardest, raise the bar, don’t lower it.
To be sure, lowering the bar can feel like the right move. Don’t rock the boat. Don’t mention the war. Placate the masses and the seats will stay warm.
But there is one thing lowering the bar struggles to do, and that’s make disciples.
Whether it’s a tricky bit of theology or ethics, what brings maturity in the Christian life is rarely swallowing a pill that hurts less, or chewing on something so diluted it’s more liquid food than solid. People grow when the hard thing is shown to be relevant, and when the stakes are raised so high, they say: “Look, I don’t get all of it—but I’m starting to understand why God said it.”
In a word? People often just need the unadulterated truth.
Which brings us to Jonathan Leeman’s new book on Authority. Power, submission and obedience? Those are Bible words that make us squirm and shudder. But if you’re game, this book might make them worthwhile.
Authority in the West
The Western world has a hate–hate relationship with authority. Every age has had their difficulties, “but we in the enlightenment West have given that resistance moral and philosophical respectability” (2–3). Governments are corrupt. The police are racist. Language is a weapon. Even Mum and Dad are just washed-up mouthpieces of an outmoded disciplinarian past.
And there is some truth here. Life is full of oppressors, victims, sadnesses and abuses—as many of us know all too well. Leeman’s own vulnerability in this book is palpable. Like him, many of us have felt authority gone terribly wrong, and it hurts.
And yet what would our world be if we went without authority at all? Letting authority run rampant is oppressive. But rejecting authority can be problematic too (6-7). It leaves us powerless, and ineffective: no one taking responsibility to see our world thrive. What we need isn’t less authority (or more). What we need is a model that works.
Authority in the Bible
Leeman’s definition is simple: whether in your marriage, church or workplace, godly authority authors life (9, 19, 24). You can see it in the contrasts: bad authority takes and destroys; good authority gives and creates. This is, after all, is what God is like.
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