Path: utzoo!utgpu!watmath!iuvax!rutgers!aramis.rutgers.edu!athos.rutgers.edu!christian
From: fibercom!lab@uunet.uu.net (Lance Beckner)
Newsgroups: soc.religion.christian
Subject: Re: He loves me, He loves me not, He loves me, He...
Message-ID: 
Date: 9 Aug 89 06:26:40 GMT
Organization: FiberCom, Inc., Roanoke, Virginia
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Approved: christian@aramis.rutgers.edu

[This continues a discussion with Dave Mielke, on the subject of whether
God hates those who are not saved.  The argument in Dave's last posting
was (1) the scriptures teach that there is a judgement, in which some
perish. (2) those whom God loves must be saved.  Therefore there are
some that God does not love.  --clh]

I'm sorry, but I never agreed that all of those whom God loves must be saved.
At present I am still holding to my original position that God loves
everyone.  But many will reject His love, and they will perish as a result.

> of the people in this world die unsaved? The Scriptures teach that many
> are on the broad way to destruction and only a few are on the narrow
> way to eternal life.  God could not have loved those numerous people who
> have died unsaved because hell will separate them from His love.

As I have said before, I am still prayerfully studying this issue.  Let me
just try to answer this off of the top of my head (keeping in mind that this
may change as I investigate this further).  I believe it is true that hell
will separate the lost from the love of God.  But I don't think that means
that God never loved the lost.  Rather, it means that even though He loved
them, He still had to judge them for their rejection.  God is a God of love;
He is also a God of justice.  Often times we think that God EITHER loves
someone, OR He will send them to hell.  Because God is a God of justice, all
of us deserve to go to hell.  But because He is also a God of love, He sent
His Son, so that whoever puts their faith on Christ's finished work at the
cross of Calvary, can be saved from their just punishment.

In Christian Friendship,
Lance

-- 
Lance A. Beckner                   INTERNET: lab@fibercom.com
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