The Uncertainty of Judgment and the Certainty of God’s Love
As children, we all got into trouble in different ways – by accident, by stupidity, or by deliberate mischief. We relied on our parents to correct us without crushing us. But what if we were uncertain of their response? What if we feared their volatility or inconsistency?
This uncertainty can mirror how we sometimes approach God. When we make mistakes or deliberately sin, we might wonder: Will God give up on me? Is He disappointed? Can I still come to Him?
What kind of response will I receive?
This uncertainty often stems from recognizing fundamental truths about ourselves:
- We are imperfect and ungodly compared to God’s holiness
- We are weak, unable to change our human nature despite our best efforts
- We live with anxiety about things beyond our control
- We experience disappointment with ourselves, others, and sometimes even God
The Gospel Response: Fact and Experience
The gospel offers two powerful answers to these human conditions:
The Objective Fact: The Cross of Christ
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8)
This isn’t just any death. This is a death that was for you. Unlike soldiers or firefighters who might die for those they protect, Jesus died for His enemies. He didn’t die for you at your best – He died for you at your ugliest, at your most shameful.
This different kind of love led to a different kind of death: dying not for the good but for the ungodly, not for the powerful but for the weak.
What Happens When We Trust in Jesus?
For those who receive this gift through faith, God:
- Justifies us – declares us “not guilty,” with a clean record
- Reconciles us – heals the relationship broken by sin
- Gives us peace – puts to rest our worries about how He will treat us
But it goes beyond that to transform us.
Experiencing God’s Love Through the Holy Spirit
If the evidence of God’s love is the cross, then the experience of God’s love is the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Many of us might have grown up in Christian cultures with a phobia about emotions. But hope, love, joy, and peace are all emotions! God made us emotional creatures, and He Himself experiences emotions.
“God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.” (Romans 5:5)
Notice Paul’s language: love “poured out” – not measured out, but given with abundant, extravagant generosity. The love flowing from heaven is infinite and infinitely renewable. It’s an ocean, and sometimes we’re just mucking about in puddles when God says, “Come for a swim.”
Living in the Joy of God’s Love
We have:
- The evidence of God’s love (the cross)
- The experience of God’s love (the Holy Spirit)
- The enjoyment of God’s love (rejoicing)
When someone loves you, it’s supposed to make you feel secure. Children flourish in the security of parental love. Spouses feel good about faithful, steadfast love. You’re supposed to benefit from being loved!
For Christians, the expression of being loved by God is rejoicing. This will have cultural and personality differences, but everyone should know that you are rejoicing. Don’t try to contain it or hold it back.
“Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, and with all your strength.”
The practice of rejoicing, even in the face of suffering, transforms us:
- From giving up to persevering and enduring
- From shallow, unreliable character to deep, trustworthy character
- From having nothing worth living for to hopeful engagement in the world
- From isolated individualism to a community of love
How Much More?
Paul encourages us to grasp “how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ” (Ephesians 3:18). He repeatedly asks: if God did this much to justify us when we were His enemies, how much more will He do now that we are reconciled to Him?
The question for those unsure of their relationship with God is: Will you trust Jesus and receive His love?
For Christians who have already trusted, the challenge is: Together with all God’s people, let’s try to grasp the immensity of Christ’s love. And when we do, let’s rejoice without holding back – “turn it up to 11″ and give God all the glory He deserves.
What kind of church would we be if we were “filled to the measure of all the fullness of God”? How might that transform our daily lives – going to work remembering how wide, long, and deep God’s love is for us in Christ Jesus?
This blog post is based on a sermon, “How Much More”, delivered at Grace Church Stockholm on January 26th, 2025