I’m a Calvinist.
Maybe some of you are already closing out this post, but hear me out! I mention this not to defend a Calvinist view of salvation, but to point out what I think can be a weakness of Calvinism if we are not careful, and to explain how this contributed to my own misunderstanding of how God sees us.
Calvinists tend to focus on the sinfulness of humanity to show that there’s no way we would or could ever choose Christ unless God chose us first and ensured our salvation. I don’t ever want to downplay the biblical truth that we do, indeed, possess a sinful nature. Ephesians 2 says that before conversion, we are dead in our trespasses and sins. In Romans 3, we are told that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Many more passages could be discussed which assure us of our sinful condition and our struggle with sin that remains even after we’ve accepted Christ as our savior (Romans 7, 1 John 1).
Yet this is not how it was in the beginning. In the beginning, God made humans in His image, with no sin nature. His image in us has been marred now because of sin, but not destroyed. Humans do have inherent worth and value just because they’re humans. In the sense of earning our salvation, we are worthless. Without Christ, we cannot ever overcome our sin to present ourselves righteous before God. In the words of Isaiah, all our so-called righteous deeds are filthy rags in God’s sight. But there are different kinds of value. A lack of moral value to exchange for salvation does not mean humans lack all value.
I had begun to wonder if God only loves us because of our position “in Christ” and not because he actually loves or values us as people. I had forgotten to balance out the view of Total Depravity with the Imago Dei. The truth is, God does not only love believers because He loves Jesus and is required to love us once we are in Christ. He loves us because humans have inherent value. He intentionally created each one of us in His image. Trusting in Christ for the forgiveness of our sins removes the barrier that was between us and God, satisfying the legal requirement of punishment for sin so that we can finally have a relationship with Him and unleash the fullness of His love towards us. It’s not as if God feels no affection for us personally, only loving us in some sort of distant manner because we’re Christians now, but disconnected from who we are as people. God loves us individually and welcomes us with abundant grace and joy, adopting us as His children and heirs along with Christ (Romans 8).
Even though we still struggle with sin, our identity is not “Sinner” anymore- it is “Saint.”
While I believe God loves each and every human in the sense that they are His valuable creation and He shows them His kindness and common grace during their lives on earth, I also believe that God loves His children in a much different, more all-encompassing way. Think about it in terms of an earthly parent/child relationship. We should have a general care, concern, and compassion for all children (and all people, for that matter. We are commanded to love our neighbor as ourselves). Yet we know that it is good and right for us to love our own children with a far deeper and more protective love than the kids we just walked past in the grocery store, with whom we have no relationship. Since the Bible describes believers as God’s children, I think this is an appropriate analogy for God’s love towards us. But God’s love for us infinitely surpasses the love we feel even for our own children. Most of us far underestimate the privilege and freedom we have in belonging to the King of the universe.
For those who continue in their rebellion against God, judgment awaits. God does have wrath towards sinners and he must condemn them for their sin, because He is just and holy. But, to quote Jonathan Edwards, “God has no pleasure in the destruction or calamity of persons or people. He had rather they should turn and continue in peace. He is well-pleased if they forsake their evil ways, that he may not have occasion to execute his wrath upon them. He is a God that delights in mercy, and judgment is his strange work.”
So if God desires that everyone turn from their sin so He may show them mercy, as He is eager to do, then why doesn’t He ensure that everyone puts their faith in Christ for salvation and experiences the fullness of His love? Well, to come full circle, your answer to that question determines whether or not you’re a Calvinist. Everyone (except universalists) agrees that God must value something above the salvation of every human being – otherwise, everyone would be saved, since God certainly has the power to do that. But that’s a topic for another day.
Next time we will look at several different passages to show scriptural support for this idea that God’s love for His children is not reluctant, hesitant, or forced; instead, abundant love and affection for His people are at the very heart of who God is.
Krista Harmuth 