And why then does 1 Jn 4:19 make it a point to say that He loved us first, why then does he say in Romans 5:8 say: “But God has made clear his love to us, in that, when we were still sinners, Christ gave his life for us.”
Those verses are speaking to the elect
>>Romans 5:8 say: “But God has made clear his love to us, in that, when we were still sinners, Christ gave his life for us.
>Those verses are speaking to the elect
They are, but the key in Rom 5:8 is “While we were yet sinners” — That is to say, if Jesus had waited until we were righteous then He never would have died for us allowing us to use His Righteousness.
It is a gift of God, not anything that we are able to achieve on our own. In the dirty-reality that is the world we live in, everyone is born in Satan’s grasp, because Adam & Eve decided to get in that stranger’s van and were kidnapped. Jesus is God on a rescue-mission (but at the end you cannot rescue someone who refuses to be rescued).
Watch the movie Blood Diamond. Especially the interactions between the father and his son.