Do All People Love God?

[jimmyjimmy]

Didn't the man receive forgiveness? It says his debt was cancelled.

Better than that. He was out on the street. He was forgiven.

 

[Kenny'sID]

Remorse isn't the same thing as repentance (by a biblical definition), which means a turning around.

Turning around as in stop doing it? If not, what do you mean?

 

[bling]

Can you get blood from a stone?

You are taking Ezekiel's poetic analogy to far, since their hearts were not literal stones. Did this literally happen also: Ez. 11:22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the of the God of Israel was above them.
This is talking about Israel also.

Their hearts could have been softened by what they heard, but they need a new one, which comes afterwards with the Holy Spirit.

 

[bling]

Better than that. He was out on the street. He was forgiven.

So why did he not Love much and why in the end does he still owe the debt?

 

[GirdYourLoins]

If God loves all people, as many say, do all people love Him?

If you had ever seen my dad say he hates God with such venom in his voice and face you'd know not everyone loves Him.

 

[Hammster]

Again forgiveness can mean just the forgiver's part or the completed transaction. The forgiveness (canceling of the debt) was on the table so to speak, but the servant refused to pick it up.
We know the transaction of forgiveness did not take place or the servant would have had automatically an unbelievable huge Love since he was forgiven of an unbelievable huge debt and certainly would not have found another servant of the master and treated him totally un-lovingly. Also, the servant would not in the end owe the master anything if the forgiveness transaction had been completed.

His debt was cancelled. It's pretty clear. He was forgiven.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

You are taking Ezekiel's poetic analogy to far, since their hearts were not literal stones. Did this literally happen also: Ez. 11:22 Then the cherubim, with the wheels beside them, spread their wings, and the of the God of Israel was above them.
This is talking about Israel also.

Their hearts could have been softened by what they heard, but they need a new one, which comes afterwards with the Holy Spirit.

What good is poetic analogy if it is not conveying a truth? Is God trying to deceive us?

 

[jimmyjimmy]

If you had ever seen my dad say he hates God with such venom in his voice and face you'd know not everyone loves Him.

I was the same myself. I wonder how I changed. . .

 

[jimmyjimmy]

So why did he not Love much and why in the end does he still owe the debt?

The debt was reinstated by the king.

We have to look back the origins of this subject before we get confused. You brought up the story, stating that he wasn't forgiven, if you recall.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

Turning around as in stop doing it? If not, what do you mean?

I also added this:

"Repentance in Christianity means a sincere turning away, in both the mind and heart, from self to God. It involves a change of mind that leads to action--the turning away from a sinful course to God." What Does Repentance Truly Mean?

 

[Hammster]

The debt was reinstated by the king.

We have to look back the origins of this subject before we get confused. You brought up the story, stating that he wasn't forgiven, if you recall.

Or it's a new debt.

 

[Open Heart]

If God loves all people, as many say, do all people love Him?

Of course not. Some people love only themselves. They are evil. They are predators. They harm others to get what they want for themselves. They say that 1 out of every 100 people is a psychopath.

 

[jimmyjimmy]

They say that 1 out of every 100 people is a psychopath.

"They" also say that 87.2% of statistics are made up, and that psychology isn't a science. I tend to agree with them.

 

[St_Worm2]

If God loves all people, as many say, do all people love Him?

I think that everyone wants/loves the good things that God has to offer us, IOW, everyone loves His "benefits", but most don't love or want anything to do with God Himself.

Does that still count

 

[jimmyjimmy]

I think that everyone wants/loves the good things that God has to offer us, IOW, everyone loves His "benefits", but most don't love or want anything to do with God Himself.

Does that still count

I agree. Romans 1 explains that men neither thank God nor honor Him (as God). They (we) take, but we fail to do what our mothers taught us as children. We fail to thank Him.

 

[OzSpen]

Don't you have to change before you can accept the love that changes you?

That's your promotion of Calvinistic regeneration preceding faith.

 

[OzSpen]

Ch. Bell

1. Does God loves all people? Yes, but hate their sin.
2. Do all people love HIM? No, for example, Atheist and Agnostic fit this bill.

Seymore,

There are Calvinistic people who would disagree with point #1.

John Piper, a strong Calvinist, wrote:

• Some Christians miss the riches of God’s love for them because they only think of God’s love in terms of John 3:16.
• John 3:16 says that God so loves “the world.” Is that love the same love we find in 1 Thessalonians 1:4?
• No, he does love the whole world, but he loves believers in a special way, a love expressed in election.
• That same special, electing love is seen in marriage. Husbands love all women, but they love their wife with a particular, covenant love. (Ephesians 5:25)
• Paul writes to those “who are loved by God and called to be saints” in Romans 1:7. He doesn’t mean all people, but those who have been chosen by God and believed in him.
• Every Christian should know that God has a special love for them, like a husband has for a wife. (1 Thessalonians 1:4) (Do Not Diminish God’s Love for You: 1 Thessalonians 1:2–7, Part 2)

So, according to Piper, God loves the whole world but He has a special love for Christian believers in his election of them to salvation.

Do you agree with Piper's 2 kinds of love? One type is for the whole world but there is a different kind for the elect.

Oz

 

[OzSpen]

Do you think that God's love has any power? Does it have an effect on a person?

Jimmy,

God's impact on people, including his love for them, is affected by this dimension: 'The wrath of God is being revealed from heaven against all the godlessness and wickedness of people, who suppress the truth by their wickedness' (Rom 1:18 NIV).

The godless, wicked activity of people is joined by their suppression of the truth of God's existence and his attributes. Nevertheless, these people will be 'without excuse' when they stand before God (Rom 1:20).

Oz

 

[OzSpen]

God's love has always been there for all of us. It is just a matter of when we realize the love that has always been there.

God loves the unsaved also, He just cannot work in their lives without their coming to Him.

Can we know of His love without the Gospel preached or taught? Is the activation of the love of God for the sinner possible without the Gospel?

Oz

 

[ToBeLoved]

Can we know of His love without the Gospel preached or taught? Is the activation of the love of God for the sinner possible without the Gospel?

Oz

I think people can know God loves them without being saved, however it is probably not a personal relationship but rather a knowing.