“MANY persons entirely mistake the Gospel. They imagine that God is now demanding something of them—that they have something to do, in order to be saved. At least, they think they must love God before He can regard them with complacency [i.e. the love of complacence, or loving what is beautiful or morally excellent; loving those who love Him]. They do not see that the Gospel is the very opposite to this; that it is a declaration of God’s love to man, and that God in it brings to them, just as they are, every thing they need for present peace and eternal blessing, through our Lord Jesus Christ. There is nothing for the sinner to do; first, because he cannot do any thing acceptable to God—‘they that are in the flesh cannot please God;’ and secondly, because Jesus has done it all.
The thought that we must love God, to be saved, instead of being saved solely because God loves us, clings most tenaciously to fallen nature; but nothing short of seeing God’s love to us in the cross of Christ, even when we were dead in sins, can give peace.
A gentleman, after living in sin for many years, in companionship with many others, heard that the ringleader of the party was converted. All were sorry to lose such a jovial friend, and marveled that he could be such a fool as to be religious. Still he was very decided, and went to his old associates one by one to speak to them of the salvation he had found in a crucified Saviour. There was one, however, that he passed over. It was this very gentleman of whom I am speaking, and he felt it much. This led him to reflect, and soon he began to realize the unsatisfying character of the pleasures of sin, and to feel that he too had a soul. He read his Bible, but could get no comfort. He thought that he had something to do, and that he never accomplished what he wished. One day, however, he met his old friend, who said to him, ‘Do you ever read your Bible?’ ‘Yes, I do,’ he replied; ‘but I cannot get comfort out of it—I cannot love God.’ ‘No,’ said his friend, ‘nor could I; but the blessed truth is, that God loves me,’ and then wished him good-morning.
‘God loves me?’ ‘God loves me?’ thought the gentleman to himself—what can he mean? But before he reached home that day, the thought of God having given His only-begotten Son to die on the cross to save sinners flashed upon his soul with divine, living light. Now, thought he, I see it. I see now that God loves me as a sinner. Yes, God so loves me as to save me; and his whole soul was filled with joy and peace.
So it is as the Apostle John declares, ‘Herein is love; not that we loved God, but that He loved us, and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.’ This enables us to love and serve God; for ‘we love Him because He first loved us.’ It is here the heart finds real joy, gathers up strength for service, and gives glory to God.”
“He saw me ruined in the fall,
Yet loved me notwithstanding all;
He saved me from my low estate,
His loving-kindness, oh! How great.”
H. H. S.
H. H. S., “GOD LOVES ME!” James Inglis, Editor, The Witness (May 1869), p. 84, italics his. Note: The Witness was a Plymouth Brethren monthly publication of the late 19th century. The author of this article (“H. H. S.”) is likely Hugh Henry Snell.
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