11 And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from whose face the
earth and the heaven fled away; and there was found no place for them.
12 And I saw the dead, small and great, stand before God; and the books were
opened: and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and the dead
were judged out of those things which were written in the books, according to
their works.
13 And the sea gave up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered
up the dead which were in them: and they were judged every man according to
their works. 14 And death and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
15 And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into the lake of fire.
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The same Jesus of Matthew 5:45-48 is the One sitting on this throne, and it is He that sends sinners to an everlasting painful end.
The "love" (in English) is not affectionate care. It is, like rain or sun, that which the Father sends, charity--a grace for general distribution if a person will accept it. The application to individuals bears a little more thought.
Ponder on this for a while. Would you admit a Charles Manson into your home?
Your reference does not say that God hates anyone.
God’s justice does not amount to hate.
No, I would not admit Charles Manson into my home.
Love or hate is one thing. Stupidity is another.
Thank you for your reply. In the Matthew 5 passage, Jesus is instructing/commanding His followers as to how they must live during their time on earth. This must not be conflated with judgement. Judgement is what comes after our mortal lives end. In the first case, it is our inescapable duty to obey the commands of Christ. In the second case, only Jesus will judge. That will be His province, not ours.
As for love/agape, we are in no doubt. Jesus modeled it for us. This is why the second greatest commandment changed. Before the Incarnation, that command was to love others as we love ourselves. After Jesus’ sojourn among us, the commandment became: love others as Christ loved us.
How did Jesus love us? He spent three years meeting people’s spiritual and physical needs. Then He submitted Himself to a terrible death so as to secure us entry into heaven. Iow, He saw our desperate need and met it.
Jesus took His agape/love towards us very seriously. The cross is the eternal testament as to how seriously.
Jesus demands that we take agape/love towards others equally seriously. We know this from the second half of Matthew 25. Jesus paints for us a very vivid picture of judgement. Like a shepherd separating the sheep from the goats, He divides the eternally saved from the eternally lost.
On what basis does the division take place? Precisely on the basis of the first and second greatest commandments. First, if you love Jesus you will keep His commandments. Second, His command to love others as He loved us.
The eternally saved saw needs and met them. They provided food, drink, clothes, visitation and care to those in need. As a result, Jesus welcomed them into their eternal reward.
The lost did not practice toward others the kind of agape/love Jesus modeled during His incarnation. They had opportunities to meet needs and failed to do so. As a result, Jesus sent them into eternal damnation.
As for Manson, I would show him agape as I would show any other. I.e.: I’d endeavor to meet his greatest need. That need is not to be invited into anyone’s home. Manson’s need is to reconcile with God. If he were receptive when I detailed the Gospel message [through the safety glass at the max prison where he resides] he would be saved. If not, his blood wouldn’t be on me.
(One thing you will notice about agape in
the NT. It is not one size fits all. Whenever Jesus met an individual—be it Nicodemus, the rich young ruler, Zacheus, the woman at the well, etc—He met them where they were. He addressed their most urgent/immediate need. We must do likewise. For some the need is food. For others, it is the Gospel. The indwelling Holy Spirit will guide us to make the right decisions.)
Would he be cast from Heaven for killing people?
I talked to Charlie a few times, and no, I would not admit him into my home. I did, however, run into guys who were a lot worse than Charlie, and no one knows their names. I wouldn’t admit any of them either. 😱👎🙃😫😖