I came across this graphic on the web recently and I was immediately struck by what I believe (in the interests of grace) is an inadvertent mistake. The author of the image seems to be saying that “love in the marriage relationship is God’s plan, it is God-like, or ‘love is of God’ (1 John 4:7).” If this is the intended statement, I agree. The author correctly points out that “God is love” (1 John 4:8). However, in trying to make a further point based on this he or she overstretches and make a false statement: “Love is God” (Love = God).
I don’t want to “make a man an offender for a word” or strain at a gnat, but we are to “try the spirits” and this is increasingly necessary in this age of bumper-sticker theology when the church is adopting an “informal, relaxed, casual atmosphere,” as one church advertised itself. John MacArthur calls it “Christianity for consumers: Christianity Lite, the redirection, watering down, and misinterpretation of the biblical gospel in an attempt to make it more palatable. It tastes great going down and settles light. It seems to salve your feelings and scratch your itch; it’s custom-tailored to your preferences. But that lightness never fills you up with the true saving gospel of Jesus Christ, because it is designed by man and not by God, and it is hollow and worthless” (Hard to Believe, 2003). So, what is the problem with saying, “Love is God”?
- It makes a god out of love. Love becomes the buzz-word, the theme of every message, and the distinctive characteristic of the ministry. Does this sound familiar? Have you heard the message of Joel Osteen and Robert Schuller? But Jehovah, with all his attributes, is God (Deuteronomy 10:17). No matter how admirable and virtuous true love is, it is not, and can never be, my God. This is true with anything good in life—our children, marriage, the church, etc.
- It leads to multiple gods. If we can say “love is God,” then we might also incorrectly reverse the other attributes of God and say that spirit is God (John 4:24) and light is God (1 John 1:5).
- It reduces God to the frail and fickle minds of men. Here is the bitter fruit of rationalism—God is molded into the image of man. Man can describe God, but he cannot define God—to define Him is to confine Him to our limited minds. There is a subculture in broad evangelicalism whose creed is “Love is God.” God is portrayed as a benevolent old gentleman, a divine Santa Claus, who indulges our every wish, tolerates our failures, and overlooks our sin. This type of pseudo-Christian thought might make for a “good” bumper-sticker, but it is bad theology.
- It makes no distinction between the love of God and the love of men. The love of God is absolute—infinite, eternal, and unchangeable. It is not limited by anything in God Himself, not conditioned by anything outside of Himself, and is not dependant on its object since in a fallen world the objects of God’s love are unworthy. Our love, on the other hand, is limited by our fallen state; we are unable to love as God loves. Our love is often selfish, the impulse of feelings, and shallow. God’s love is greater for us than our love is for Him, just as parents love their children more than children love their parents.
- It destroys the gospel. If God is just love (“Love is God”), then He cannot be just. If “Love is God” becomes our creed, then we ignore the other essential attributes of God. “God is Spirit” (John 4:24); “God is light” (1 John 1:5); and God is “a consuming fire” (Hebrews 12:29).
The gospel includes all of the attributes of God, and we cannot pick and choose. The Bible teaches that the gospel is the news of salvation from sin to righteousness in Christ. “Far from condoning sin, [God’s] love found a way to expose it (because He is light) and to consume it (because He is a consuming fire) without destroying the sinner, but rather saving him” (J. R. W. Stott; The Epistles of John). All this was done in Christ—as Paul says in Romans 5:8, “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”
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