The God of heaven is most definitely a God of love. His very nature is repeatedly characterized in Scripture as “love” (read especially 1 John 4:7-5:5). His love prompted Him to send His Son to bear our sins and die in our stead (1 John 3:16; 4:9-10). His love longs for every one of His human creations to “be saved and to come the knowledge of the truth” (1 Tim. 2:4). His love takes no pleasure in the thought that any of His creations might “perish” (2 Pet. 3:9).
Therefore, out of His immeasurable love for us, the God of heaven set forth very plainly for us His exact plan by which we can spend eternity with Him in heaven. We certainly do not deserve heaven, but the abundance of His love offers it to us and wonderfully shows us how to reach it. Involved in His plan are certain things that we must believe and practice, and there are certain things that we must not practice. Having rules, guidelines, stipulations, demands, requirements, prohibitions and restrictions is not antithetical to love. In fact, just the opposite. Any parent will understand that when the Father of heaven has such laws, it is an absolute sign of His unfathomable love for us. He wants us in heaven so much that He tells us exactly how to get there and He warns us about every possible obstruction that could stand in our way. Rather than question God’s love, let us be grateful for His clarity of instructions.
God has warned His creation to abstain from numerous violations of His divine law. He has clearly specified that certain individuals who practice certain activities will not be permitted into heaven, including “idolaters” (1 Cor. 6:9), “murderers” (Rev. 21:8), “drunkards” (1 Cor. 6:10), “thieves” (1 Cor. 6:10), “revilers” (1 Cor. 6:10), “extortioners” (1 Cor. 6:10), “sorcerers” (Rev. 21:8), “liars” (Rev. 21:8), “covetous” (1 Cor. 6:10), etc. It is not up to us to decide if these are good and reasonable stipulations or not. It is not up to us to decide if God is being fair or not. It is not up to us to decide if we think God is being a “God of love” by excluding those who practice such things from His promised blessings. We are not God! We are not the Savior! We are not the Judge! All that we can (and MUST) do is to speak where the Bible speaks, to stand where God stands, and to not “add to” or “take away from” what God requires (Rev. 22:18-19).
Those who have studied the Bible will know that right alongside those who practice such things as listed above are “homosexuals” and “sodomites” (1 Cor. 6:9). Again, we have no right to decide if that is proper. We have no right to change any part of what God says. All we can (and MUST) do is to “speak the truth” and to make sure that we do it “in love” (Eph. 4:15). “The truth” is not ours, but it is God’s! What God says about homosexuality is all that matters. This series of articles will briefly examine the love of God on this subject.