Does God Really Love Everyone?

One of the most common adages in all of Christianese is “Jesus loves you.” You can find it on billboards, bumper stickers, water tower graffiti and t-shirts. We use it to reassure our hurting brothers and sisters and we proclaim it to the lost.

But does God really love everyone? Does God love the Hitlers, the Bin Ladens, and the Jeffery Dahmers of this world? The Bible clearly states that God hates the wicked (Lev. 20:23, psalm 5:5, Psalm 11:5, Rom. 9:13). Scripture indicates that God hated whole nations as well as individuals.

The first objection would come from John 3:16. The debate in this verse is the extent of the word “world.” Is it all-encompassing, referring to every single person who has or ever will exist? Or is it more selective, referring to some but not all people from every tribe, nation and tongue?

The next proof text concerning God’s universal love comes from 1John 4:8. Indeed God is love, but this one attribute does not fully define His character. God is also just, faithful, and righteous (Deut. 3:4). Does God’s love negate His justice?

In light of these, I ask the question again, Does God love everyone?

In my opinion: Yes.

Matthew 5:43-48

⁴³ “You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.’ ⁴⁴ But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you, ⁴⁵ that you may be sons of your Father in heaven; for He makes His sun rise on the evil and on the good, and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. ⁴⁶ For if you love those who love you, what reward have you? Do not even the tax collectors do the same? ⁴⁷ And if you greet your brethren only, what do you do more than others? Do not even the tax collectors do so? ⁴⁸ Therefore you shall be perfect, just as your Father in heaven is perfect. (Matthew 5:43-48, New King James Version)

As believers, we are called to the impossible high standard of perfection. We are to be perfect, just as God Himself is perfect. One aspect of this perfection is loving our enemies. This is absolutely contrary to our sinful human nature, yet Christ commands us to love our enemies and pray for those who persecute us. When we do this we are suns of our Father in heaven. That means that we are most like God when we imitate Him by walking in love (Eph. 5:1), especially love for our enemies. In fact, God Himself causes his sun to rise on both the evil and the good alike, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous. He gives undeserved blessings to the evil and the good, to unbelievers and believers alike. We are to love our enemies because God, in His perfection, loves those who hate Him.

In John 3:16, the word “world” probably isn’t an all-inclusive, universal term. It does, however, imply broadness to God’s love. To argue that the world Jesus is referring to is restricted and limited is fundamentally flawed based on the definition and usage of the word. It is an error to use this verse to imply that God only loves the elect. Also, God is love. His love does not override His purity and justice, but He is intrinsically loving. Therefore, from the transitive property of mathematics we can deduce that God is patient, kind, not envious, not rude, not irritable, eternal, and rejoices in truth and not in wrongdoing. (1Cor. 13:4-8). Therefore, God’s perfect love is not contradictory to His holy judgment.

Read the story of the rich young ruler in Mark 10:17-21. To summarize the rich young man asks Jesus what He must do to inherit eternal life. Jesus told Him to keep the entire law, to which the man wrongly responded that he had.

Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him, and said to him, “One thing you lack: Go your way, sell whatever you have and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, take up the cross, and follow Me.” (Mark 11:21)

The man was sorrowful because of his great wealth and rejected Jesus. The phrase I want to focus on is in verse 21, “Then Jesus, looking at him, loved him…” Here is an example of the Lord Jesus Christ loving an overt, open, non-repentant, non-submissive reprobate. He said “No Jesus, I will not follow you.” And yet Christ loved Him.

God does indeed love everyone. This is not to say that he loves everyone equally, or that He always enacts His love in the same manner. But that is another topic for another day.

In conclusion, Jesus loves you.

For His glory,
DJ