“On things that are manifest, therefore, let us pass judgment, but with regard to hidden things, let us leave the judgment to God. For whether the works themselves be bad or good, they cannot remain hidden when the time comes for them to be revealed. [1] ” – St. Augustine
It seems that no matter who you talk to these days, everyone knows the same two Bible verses…“Judge not” and “God is love.” It’s as though some people think the entire canon of Scripture can be comprehensively summed up in these two (partially-quoted) verses. But is this true? Does everything boil down to these two things?
Well, the quick answer is an obvious NO…but if you’ve read anything else I’ve written, you know I don’t like quick answers. So let’s dive in a bit and see what’s under the surface.
The Definition of Love
Our starting-place in this whole conversation must simply be this question…what is love? If we have various opinions on what love actually is, we’ll get nowhere. So then, where do we look to find out what love is?
Hollywood? If we look there, we’ll get the idea that love is two naked people in bed together (and usually not within the covenant of marriage). Or that love is a bunch of flowery words and empty rhetoric based primarily on the feelings of the moment.
“[Sex] is easier than love, easier than life, it’s easier to fake and smile and bribe, it’s easier to leave, it’s easier to lie, it’s harder to face ourselves at night // feeling alone, what have we done, what is the monster we’ve become? Where is my soul? - Switchfoot, “Easier Than Love”
Woke American/Western culture? This one is currently more common, and it states that love is an unconditional acceptance and tolerance of anyone and everyone, along with their lifestyle, love life, priorities, etc. This view of “love” refuses to pass judgment on anyone—except those who disagree with this definition, which is another (ironic) story in and of itself.
But what about those of us who are Christians? Where (or to whom) do we look? We look of course to the Triune God to find the definition of love. As Scripture says, God is love. But what does that mean? That God accepts everyone and their behavior without passing judgment? That He’s cool with anything as long as we’re all nice people and don’t hurt others? That because He’s a loving God He would never judge anyone, tell them they’re wrong, and cast them out of His presence on the Day of Judgment?
Hardly.
If you read Scripture honestly, you see very quickly that God is also holy, just, righteous, and much more. And while I don’t want to get too far off on a theological rabbit trail, this touches on the doctrine known as divine simplicity. What this basically states is that God is not a composite being—in other words, His various attributes are not separate from His being. Rather, all of His attributes comprise His being…or, as Dr. Matthew Barrett succinctly stated it, “God is His attributes.” [2]
So why does this matter? Because when we say God is love, we’re saying His love is holy, righteous, just, etc. We cannot separate God’s attributes and elevate one over the others. But people do this all the time when they talk about God’s love as if it were separate from His other attributes.
Our God is a consuming fire (Hebrews 12:29) and He will one day judge the living and the dead. He will put an end to all that corrupts His good creation (namely, sin) and He will cast out, eternally, from His presence all those who practice sin rather than humble themselves and submit to His lordship.
So then, what is the biblical definition of love? When we look at the entire canon of Scripture, we see that love is an unwavering commitment to do what’s best for the object of one’s love, even if the one being loved is unfaithful or an enemy. “God so loved the world that He gave His only Son…” (John 3:16, emphasis mine). “God demonstrated His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” (Romans 5:8). God didn’t just say He loved us; He proved, through concrete action, that He does—in the words of Bob Goff, “love does.”
“How vast the everlasting love of God…” - Matt Papa and Matt Boswell, “The Everlasting Love of God”
[1] Manlio Simonetti, ed., Matthew 1–13, Ancient Christian Commentary on Scripture (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 2001), 147.
[2] Dr. Matthew Barrett, “Divine Simplicity,” The Gospel Coalition, accessed September 18, 2022, https://www.thegospelcoalition.org/essay/divine-simplicity/