Chapter 3 – Freedom or Love?
This chapter compares and contrasts two competing images of God – ‘the God of pure will (or freedom) and the God of pure love (or goodness).’
In each case, we either become like, or rebel against, the God we believe.
Your highest moral value
How do you handle moral dilemmas? Do you choose freedom, or love?
When freedom reigns: a critique
In today’s culture, personal autonomy is regarded as the highest good.…
1 John 4:10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins.
John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.
“For God so loved the world” – Heaven’s brightest beam.
“That he gave his only-begotten Son” – Earth’s greatest theme.…
Jared Wilson reflects on a comment of C.S. Lewis (in Mere Christianity), in which Lewis ponders the difference between hating something someone has done and actually hating that person:-
It is often assumed that because love is the greatest thing, it is the only thing.
A married man falls for a woman who is not his wife. “I love her,” he pleads. “And she loves me. I’ve never felt the same way about anyone else before. We were made for each other.”
The same appeal may be used by a homosexual couple: “We love one another. Why would anyone wish to deny us full expression of that love?”…
The familiar Christian triad of faith, hope and love occur not only in the writings of Paul but also in the ministry of Jesus himself.
Faith is prominent in passages such as Matt. 6:30; 8:10, 26; 9:2, 22, 29; 14:31; 15:28; 16:8; 17:20; 21:21; 23:23.
The idea of hope (even if not always the actual word) occurs in Matt. 9:2; 14:27; Mark 5:36; 6:50; 9:23; John 11:11, 23, 40, etc.
And love, pre-eminent of the three, is stressed in passages including Matt.…
Love is:-
Slow to suspect — quick to trust.
Slow to condemn — quick to justify.
Slow to offend — quick to defend.
Slow to reprimand — quick to forbear.
Slow to belittle — quick to appreciate.
Slow to demand — quick to give.
Slow to provoke — quick to conciliate.
Slow to hinder — quick to help.
Slow to resent — quick to forgive.
(Source unknown)…
‘The greatest of these,’ writes Paul, ‘is love.’ (1 Corinthians 13:13)
John Stott (The Contemporary Christian) poses the question, ‘What is the chief distinguishing mark of a Christian?’ Various answers might be given:-
1. Truth. Certainly, sound doctrine is vital to the health of the church. See 1 Tim 6:12,20; 2 Thess 1:14; 2 Thess 2:15; Jude 1:3. But ‘if I…can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,…but have not love, I am nothing’ (1 Cor 13:2).…
Baroness Thatcher was a ‘devout Christian’, according to Dr Eliza Filby, author of God and Mrs Thatcher. She regularly attended the parish church at Chequers, regarded the life of Jesus as exemplary, and drew on the Bible to support her political values.
I will not call into question the sincerity of Baroness Thatcher’s faith. But I will, however, comment on one rather glaring (mis)understanding of the teaching of Scripture.
As reported in Christianity magazine (June 2013), Filby says says that in the early 1980s the text “Love thy neighbour” was often appealed to in support of the welfare state. …
A Christian friend of mine was rather allergic to the word ‘nice’. He had noticed how often it creeps into everyday conversation (“That’s nice”; “She’s nice”) and concluded that it is a weak, insipid, non-descript term that has little place in our working vocabulary. My friend rarely used the word himself. And when others used it he would often ask, “What exactly do you mean?”
The trouble is that for many Christians, ‘Thou shalt be nice’ has become the first and greatest commandment. …
I recently heard a true story about a bishop and a dentist. The dentist had just finished fitting the bishop out with a complete set of new teeth. As soon as the dentist had finished, the bishop went over to a mirror. And as looked at himself and inspected his mouthful of fine teeth, he said, “Jesus Christ.” And then again: “Jesus Christ.” The dentist was rather appalled when he heard such profane language coming from a man of the cloth.…
