The term "unconditional love" has become one of the catchwords of recent years. It is used by nearly every segment of society to describe the kind of love they desire from others and "aspire" to give in return. The Christian world is caught up in this frenzy as well, including Fundamentalists. What is unconditional love? Is there such a concept in the Scriptures? Can man give such a love? Does God bestow such a love upon anyone? We will examine these questions in the following.

The use of "unconditional" as a description of "love, " according to one source, cannot be found in use before the "hippy" movement of the 1960s. As often as the words are used together today one would think the concept is of ancient origin, but that is not the case. It is a product of the 60s along with LSD, "free love, " and the "new age." "Unconditional" simply means "without condition or reservation." That is one is to "give love" without any physical, emotional, and especially moral judgments. "Love me for who I am" is a common request. Another way of saying this is, "It doesn't matter what I do, say, or believe, as a human being, I deserve unconditional love."

This unconditional love philosophy is really just and extension of the modern concept of self love. The basis of the self love craze is the mistaken notion that a person has intrinsic worth. That is, just because a person exists he is owed unconditional love by both God and man regardless of his actions, and he above all things must unconditionally love himself. This has to be one of the most diabolical schemes ever hatched out of the mind of Satan. Self-love, self-worth, and self-esteem are just forms of self-gratification. They make the person "feel good."

This self love philosophy is openly promoted in the secular world. Here is an example of the "teaching" found at www.coping.org,

• Place no condition on yourself as to how to behave or what to be in order to receive self acceptance and self love.
• Not use "if - then" clauses in establishing conditions for accepting and loving yourself.
• Take a risk to be open and vulnerable to who you are with no preset limits or expectations.
• Accept and love yourself for the fact that you exist rather than for what you do.
• Give yourself the respect and latitude to be yourself rather than to be what others want or expect you to be.
• Set the stage for yourself to feel warmth, caring, and concern for yourself which results in your growing in self-esteem and self worth.
  

• Free to be yourself.
• You have value and worth.
• Wanted and desired for you as you are rather than for what you do.
• Listened to and understood.
• That you have yourself to offer others which in itself is worthwhile.
• Warm, cared for, and nurtured.
• You are OK just the way you are.
• That there is no need to wear a mask or to act in any way just to please another.
• Free to be yourself and to open up your feelings with no fear of rejection or non-approval.
• That it is possible to take the risk to be vulnerable in order to have open and honest relationships with others.
• No fear of retribution or reprisal from others if you should make a mistake or experience a failure.
• That there are no conditions set on your relationships with yourself.

Blah, blah, blah. Needless to say, anyone who continues to adhere to these beliefs cannot be saved. You must see yourself a sinner [Rom. 5:8], lost in sin [Luke 19:10], and without hope apart from Christ to be saved [Eph. 2:12]. You must see you have a desperate need. These deceived self-reliant kooks who are in love with themselves have no hope. How is their self-love and "coping skills" going to help them at the Great White Throne judgment?

It should be no surprise that the world would be caught up in this unconditional love/self love frenzy, but that professing Christians would promote it is another matter. However, when believers abandon the Bible as the sole source of infallible truth and fall to the pop psychology of secular humanism this is not so surprising. James Dobson, of Focus on the Family has reportedly said, "I'm convinced the human spirit craves this kind of unconditional love and experiences something akin to 'soul hunger' when it cannot be achieved." Then he goes on to say "God's acceptance is unconditional."

A common contention among Fundamentalists that is promoted all over the airways and in print is the classic saying, "God loves the sinner, but not his sin." This is a confusing statement under examination. Can a sinner in some metaphysical way be separated from his sin? If he can then why is He still a sinner? Does the Lord see a person and his sin as separate entities? If so why did Christ have to die to redeem the sinner? Why couldn't He just separate him from his sin? This pet phrase may have a place in trying to lead someone to Christ, but it is poor doctrine.

Your author is not aware of any place in the Bible where the Lord considers a sinner's sins as somehow separate from the sinner. They are part of his very being and nature [Eph. 2:3]. Not only was he born in sin from his father Adam [Rom. 5:19], he has sinned himself. Sin is so intertwined with him that if he wishes to be saved he needs to not only repent for what he has done [sin], but repent for what he is [a sinner, Luke 5:32, Luke 15:10, Luke 18:13]. Sin is so much a part of the sinner that the Lord considers him "of the Devil" [1John 3:8].



Notice how the Lord's treatment of Israel is based on His love for their fathers [Abraham, Isaac, Jacob]. A little later the Lord expresses His love for Israel as a nation,


Here we see that the Lord's love is without merit [Job 7:17]. One cannot make God love them because they have any inherent value or worth. Israel was a small disorganized and complaining people, yet God loved them for their ancestor's sake.

The first mention of God's love for an individual is in 2Sa 12:24 [see also Neh. 13:26],


It is interesting to note that Solomon is the only individual mentioned by name in the Old Testament that God expresses His love for. It is further interesting that Solomon's life ended in apostasy [1Kings 11:9].

In the New Testament expressions of God's love for man in general and believers in particular is much more common. As Elwell's Evangelical Dictionary aptly states,

Probably the classic verse on God's love is 1John 4:8 where it says, "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love, " but this passage is often abused. God is love in that He is the epitome and definition of love and His benevolence to man is a manifestation of His love, but His great love must work in unison with His other attributes, such as justice and judgment of sin. The Bible is clear, however, that every good thing that happens to man [and even many of what we consider bad things] comes about from God's love and mercy. It seems to be the primary attribute that compels Him to save believers. As another said,


Some try to wrest the verse and claim "love is God." This is tantamount to blasphemy. One cannot find God by simply loving something.


Before we move on we must clear the air concerning the inherent or intrinsic value of a human soul. What is a man's soul actually worth to God, himself, or to others. Is it of infinite value as many of the self-love/self-esteem crowd claims today, or is it of a lessor value. Many Fundamentalists like to quote Mark 8:36,


Most construe this verse in such a way as to teach that a man's soul is more valuable than the whole world, but this is a great overstatement. What is the world, anyway? It is an earth full of people. John 3:16 makes that clear. Is one person more valuable than a world full of people just like him? Of course not. At the risk of damaging the self-esteem of some preachers, read the verse again, and understand that the verse does not say a soul is more valuable than the world. It says, "what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? "

What would it profit a man if he gained a new car and lost his soul? Nothing. What would it profit him if he gained a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and lost his soul? Nothing. What would it profit him if he gained all creation and lost his soul? Again, nothing. The Lord is not saying a soul is more valuable than the world. He is saying there is no profit in gaining anything, no matter how large, at the expense of his soul! The fact is most sell their soul out for a lot less than the world.

Some of you are thinking [I can hear your brains rattling from here], "Then what am I actually worth. It must be a huge amount since God paid such a price to save me." Listen to yourself. Your bloated ego has scrambled your mind. Do you actually believe when God redeemed you that you were so valuable that the only thing in the universe that He could find to pay for you was the precious blood of Christ? Don't flatter yourself. I'll tell you if no one else will, you aren't worth that much. In fact, 10 billion like you isn't worth that much. What are you, in yourself, [and me, of course] other than a filthy low-down sinner with a body made up of a few basic elements inhabited by a depraved soul [the real you]? How hard would it be for God to make 100 billion more just like you out of stones, dirt, or less [Matt. 3:9]? Why He could do it before breakfast without drawing a second breath [pardon my levity].

No doubt many people deem themselves as very valuable and precious. They spend all they have and more just to try and patch up their fragile, sin-cursed body so they can spend another day upon this cursed and evil earth, but take little thought of the state of their soul. Each person's soul should be precious to them. It is the only one they have and is the essence of their being, but compared to the great scheme of things in God's program for man, it is no more valuable than any other.

About the only thing man has that will rival the scope or vastness of the world is the pride of his heart [Pro. 16:18, Obad. 1:3, 1Tim. 3:6, 1John 2:16]. He thinks so much of himself; he reasons he is the "measure of all things." This pride is not immune to a believer. It still resides in his "old man" and flesh [Eph. 4:22]. On the contrary, the Lord did not see the supposed inherent value of man, either individually or collectively, and then calculate what man was worth as if He was buying something of value. He paid the ultimate price because it is His nature to love and have mercy on us poor, needy sinners [Num. 14:18]! He originally created man in His own image and likeness for Himself, for His glory, and it seems for fellowship, but He also wanted to show all creation through the redemption of man what kind of God He really is [Isa. 43:7, Pro. 16:4].

Salvation is all of God, dear reader. He provided man salvation because it is His nature to help hell-bound, destitute sinners and reveal Himself to them, not that man is "worth the price"! Man had a great need, God saw the need, and according to His immense love, mercy, and compassion supplied the need. The thought that He could have cast the whole world into hell and started over again in a moment does not seem to have been considered. Aren't you glad, dear reader, we have such a God for a Father?

However, the question still arises, what kind of value does the Scriptures place upon a man? The Bible is not specific, but here is a verse that gives us a general idea,


Here's another [see also, Mat 10:31],


How do you like that comparison? At least twice when the Lord wanted to make a statement concerning the relative value of a man, He compared him with birds. Do you take comfort in the fact that you are more valuable than a flock of birds? That is a long way from the "infinite value" some of the modern self-esteem preachers suggest. David realized his little inherent worth and likened himself to a dog or even a flea on a dog. He said he was a mere dog before Saul [1Sam. 24:14]. What would that make him before the God of heaven? Even wonder why David was considered a man after God's own heart [Acts 13:22]? Some of you are sinking in you chair as you read this. Remember these truths the next time you get to feeling a little "special" [Psa. 36:11, Pro. 16:19, Pro. 29:23]