JESUS CHRIST-LOVE

God did not demand that we first demonstrate our allegiance to Him before Christ would agree to die in our place. To demand that we somehow show ourselves deserving of forgiveness in order to regain our status as His children would have been futile. What can ungodly, rebellious sinners offer God that would move the holy Creator of the universe to sacrifice His only Son on their behalf? So God acted first, motivated solely by his own sovereign love, to grant mercy to His people as the ultimate expression of his grace (Ex. 33:19; Isa. 63:7; Rom. 9:15-18; Eph. 2:4; Titus 3:5; 1 Pet. 1:3). Christ died for us because the Father and the Son loved the unlovable.

Scott Hafemann

The God of Promise and the Life of Faith, Crossway Books, 2001, p. 125.

In math, if you divide an infinite number by any number, no matter how large, you still have an infinite quotient. So Jesus' love, being infinite, even though it is divided up for every person on earth, is still infinitely poured out on each one of us!

C.H. Spurgeon

The heart of Christ became like a reservoir in the midst of the mountains. All the tributary streams of iniquity, and every drop of the sins of his people, ran down and gathered into one vast lake, deep as hell and shoreless as eternity. All these met, as it were, in Christ's heart, and he endured them all.

C.H. Spurgeon

Christian History, n. 29.

The extent of God’s love at Calvary is seen in both the infinite cost to Him of giving His one and only Son, and in the wretched and miserable condition of those He loved. God could not remove our sins without an infinite cost to both Himself and His Son. And because of their great love for us, both were willing—yes more than merely willing—to pay that great cost, the Father in giving His one and only Son, and the Son in laying down His life for us. One of the essential characteristics of love is the element of self-sacrifice, and this was demonstrated for us to its ultimate in God’s love at Calvary.

Jerry Bridges

The daily experience of Christ’s love is linked to our obedience to Him. It is not that His love is conditioned on our obedience. That would be legalism. But our experience of His love is dependent upon our obedience.

Jerry Bridges

We are never nearer Christ than when we find ourselves lost in a holy amazement at His unspeakable love.

John Owen

A Puritan Golden Treasury, compiled by I.D.E. Thomas, by permission of Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA. 2000, p. 175.

A person's life is his most precious possession. Consequently, to rob him of it is the greatest sin we can commit against him, while to give one's own life on his behalf is the greatest possible expression of love for him (1 Jn. 3:16). This, then, is the ultimate contrast: Cain's hatred issued in murder, Christ's love (issued) in self-sacrifice.

John Stott

The Letters of John, Eerdmans, 1998, p. 146.

Our Lord God must be a pious man to be able to love rascals. I can't do it, and yet I am a rascal myself.

Martin Luther

The Early Years, Christian History, n. 34.

O blessed Jesus, Your love is wonderful! It is the admiration, joy and song of glorified saints. The experimental sense of Your love on earth sweetens the bitterness of life and disarms death of all its terrors! It was love which moved You to bow the heavens, to come down and sojourn on earth, to humble Yourself, to take on You the form of a servant, and become obedient onto death, even the death of the cross! You pitied me in my lost estate. You sought and found me when I sought You not. You spoke peace to me in the day of my distress, when the clouds of guilt and darkness hung heavy on my soul and I was brought to the borders of despair. You have borne with all my weakness, corrected my mistakes, restored me from my wanderings, and healed my backslidings. May Your lovingkindness be ever before my eyes to induce me to walk in Your truth. May Your love be the daily theme of my meditations, and the constant joy of my heart!

John Fawcett

Christ Precious.

He loved us not because we are lovable, but because He is love.

C.S. Lewis

It is not exceptionally worthy people that Jesus loves, but His love is exceptional in that He loves those of no value at all. In fact, He loves us in our sin. Only such a view of love correctly appreciates the sacrifice of Christ and respects the infinite chasm between what is deserved and mercy.

Jim Elliff

Worth a Lot of Sparrows, Christian Communicators Worldwide, www.CCWtoday.org. Used by Permission.

Read through the Gospels, and you quickly conclude that Jesus was a dynamic, remarkably effective teacher. Never boring, always stimulating. Never obtuse, always clear. Never pompous or distant, always personal and lovingly concerned.

Roy Zuck

Teaching as Jesus Taught, Baker, 1995, p. 10.

Behold, what manner of love is this, that Christ should be arraigned and we adorned, that the curse should be laid on His head and the crown set on ours.

Thomas Watson

To deny the special love of God, and to believe that Christ loves all men equally, is to suppose that Christ has done no more for those the Father has given to Him than for mankind at large. But if Christians are no more loved than those who will finally be lost, the decisive factor in salvation becomes, not God’s grace and love, but something in them, and their perseverance becomes dependent upon themselves.

Iain H. Murray

The Old Evangelicalism: Old Truths for a New Awakening, 2005, p. 119. By permission Banner of Truth, Carlisle, PA.

The fact is, there is a “course” that addresses every issue we will ever face. The Teacher loves to meet one-on-one with His students, so that He can tailor the course to our needs. He is willing to hold class every day that we are willing to meet. We already have the Textbook, which was written by the Teacher Himself. Parts of it can be difficult to grasp. But the Teacher is always available – twenty-four hours a day – to help us understand.

Nancy Leigh DeMoss

A Place of Quiet Rest, Moody, 2000, pg. 62

We may force our Lord to punish us, but we will never have to force Him to love us. That’s His nature.

Thomas Watson