Does God Love the Wicked Too?

I hear people say that God loves everyone, but does God love those who partake in wicked ways as well? That's just one of the questions we'll be answering on today's edition of Core Christianity. Well, hi, this is Bill Meyer, along with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and this is the radio program where we answer your questions about the Bible and the Christian life every day. With your question at 833-THE-CORE.

That's 1-833-843-2673. Now, if you have a question you want to post on one of our social media sites, we'd love to hear that as well. You can watch Adriel right now live in the studio on our YouTube channel and message him that way. And of course, you can always email us your question at questionsatcorechristianity.com.

First up today, let's go to a voicemail we received from one of our listeners named Stacey. My question is regarding language and vocabulary. I know it has been becoming more pronounced in how people speak using profanity and even some Christians feeling that it's not a big deal. It's just... They're just words. It's just vocabulary. And so, I just was wondering...

I know that we're not to have crude talk, and I was just wondering how I can help teach my own kiddos about this, since there are so many movies and TV shows that I would think shouldn't have it, have things said that growing up I would not have said. So, thanks for any help you can provide. I appreciate it. Bye-bye. Hey, Stacey. Thank you so much for that question.

I'm right there with you. I have four little kids. The oldest is nine, and we want to make sure that they're using their speech in a way that honors God and also builds up the people around them instead of tearing them down. Of course, you know with little kids, brothers and sisters fighting, it's easy to tear each other down, and so it's an opportunity for us as parents to be able to talk to them about how we use our words and how God cares about the way that we use our words. So, just a few passages of scripture.

One, there's a text in Ephesians, chapter 4, verse 29, where Paul, in the context here, he's talking about living as new creations in Jesus Christ. He says in 2 Corinthians, chapter 5, verse 17, that we are new creations in Christ, that the old has been done away, the new has come, and so we should live in light of that reality, and part of living in light of that reality is how we use our words. He says, Let no corrupting talk come out of your mouth, but only such as is good for building up, as fits the occasion, that it may give grace to those who hear.

I think maybe one of the ways we can have this discussion is maybe broadening it out, so not just talking about those four-letter words that we want to be careful that as our kids hear these things, that we're not using our speech in that way, but saying, Look, it's a lot more than that. It's not avoiding a handful of words that you hear from time to time. It's speaking the truth in love.

It's building up. It's speaking words as fits the occasion. It's not just that God doesn't want us to speak a certain way. It's that he's calling us to use our words a particular way, and he cares about how we're using our speech, and so encouraging our kids by modeling that for them and how maybe we build them up and encourage them and speak the truth to them, encouraging them when they're having a hard time with their siblings. It really is something that Jesus spoke a lot about.

I think of the Gospel of Luke in Luke 6, verse 45. He says, From the abundance of the heart, the mouth speaks. I think that's something we can teach to our children as well. The way you use your words says something about what's going on in your heart. It exposes something of us, and so that's why we want to be careful with our speech. We want to realize what's really going on deeper. You also think about that great warning that Jesus gave in Matthew 12, verse 36, where he said that on the day of judgment, we are going to give an account. People are going to give an account for every idle word that they speak. I think having a conversation about the importance of our words and how we use them, the fact that God cares about them, and that as the children of the true and the living God, as new creations in Christ, Jesus wants us to speak in a way that is encouraging and uplifting and builds the other up.

Especially in a society where that doesn't really happen very much. We get in these fights about politics, about medicine, about whatever it is, and everybody's trying to tear down the other person, the other side. Boy, what would it look like if we as believers, new creations in Christ, modeled what it was for us to have healthy dialogue that was honest but also encouraging?

May the Lord bless you as you do that for your children, Stacey, and we appreciate your call. That's some great advice. Adriel, you know, I've had to talk to my son a few times about the trash talking that athletes do because he loves professional sports. And unfortunately, a lot of times some of the things that they say to each other aren't exactly edifying, you know what I mean.

Yeah. And boy, you bring this up, it really is everywhere, isn't it, in our competitions and sports and that kind of a thing. So this is an area where we can really be a model as Christians. I was talking to someone just the other day and they were talking about someone that they've come to know who's a believer and they've been spending time together. And the first thing this individual said was, boy, the way that they talk, they don't talk like other people.

They don't swear in the same way that other people swear and so on and so forth. And it was just interesting to me. It was really a beautiful thing, actually, them really being able to see the impact that Jesus had had on this individual and it leaving an impression on them. And so the way we use our words really can honor the Lord and be a witness to the people around us.

Amen. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, jump on your phone right now. We'll be taking calls for the next 15 minutes or so. Here's the phone number.

It's 833-THE-CORE. And by the way, if you've got a question about theology or Christian doctrine, church life, maybe something happening in your own life that you're concerned about and you're wondering how the Bible applies, feel free to call us at 833-THE-CORE. And you can always email us your question as well as questions at corechristianity.com.

Let's go to one of our listeners named Barbara, who has a question. I have a question that's been kind of bothering me here lately. When you talk about the elect, you refer to everyone like everyone is saved. I've heard you many times say that God loves everybody and God does not love everybody. God is mad at the wicked. God is angry with the wicked every day. Not everyone is saved. God can save them if he wants.

That's totally up to him. But there is only a remnant. Thank you.

Hey, Barbara. Thank you for that question. I think you may have misheard me in the past, perhaps. I think that you're correct in saying that not everyone is elect, that is chosen. That's a theological word that we see, a biblical word that we see in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. But it is very clear that God loves the whole world.

A few things. One, you were referring to a couple of passages, I think, in the Psalms. For example, when we turn to the Psalms, this idea of God hating the wicked. It's something that we see there in the book of Psalms. Sometimes Christians will say, God hates the sin but loves the sinner, that kind of a thing.

I think that's one way of putting it. But let's just look at Psalm chapter 5, for example. It says in verse 5, the boastful shall not stand before your eyes, you hate all evildoers. What do we do with a passage like that?

This is kind of what you were saying, Barbara. God doesn't love everybody. He hates some people. You look at some passages like that, God hates evildoers. One thing I'll say is all of us, apart from Christ, we're evildoers. Paul says in Romans chapter 5. It's not like there are some people who are really good and God likes them, he loves them, and other people who do really bad things and God hates them. No, all of us, apart from Christ, apart from his grace, apart from the work that he did, we're outside of the faith. Paul says in Romans chapter 5, we were enemies, we were rebels against God.

How do we make sense of this? The idea that God loves everybody but then you come to a passage like Psalm chapter 5 verses 5 and 6 where it says that he hates evildoers. One theologian long ago, Thomas Aquinas, he said, look, God sort of loves and hates the sinner at the same time.

Sinners, insofar as they have existence, God made us, he created us. Insofar as that's the case, he loves humanity, what he made, and that's just because he's God and because he's good. But insofar as we've fallen away from the Lord, we turn from him and we sin, we engage in this sinful behavior, that's hated by the Lord. And so I think one way that we can put it is God loves the sinner but hates the sinner.

Think of other texts of scripture that are very clear. For example, Jesus' words in the Sermon on the Mount, I quoted this actually yesterday in the program, we were talking about loving our enemies. Jesus in Matthew chapter 5 says, you have heard that it was said you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy, but I say to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. For he makes his son rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. God just has this general love for all humanity, for the whole world. And one of the ways we see that is the fact that he causes the sun to rise every day, rain to fall on the ground for the good of all people. John, we read in John chapter 3 verse 16 that God loved the world so much that he gave his only son so that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. The world there is not just some people's, it's the world, the world of sinful humanity. And with God's grace, his love that prompted him to send his son into the world so that we might not be condemned but be saved. And so we have to take all of these passages of scripture together in order to come to a right understanding.

Let me just say one more thing. A concern that I have is, boy, we really have to be careful that we don't just sort of have this us-them mentality when it comes to the world. We're the chosen, we're special, we're the ones who are really loved by God and God just hates everybody else. Now it seems to me that part of the Great Commission, this call that we have as Christians to go into the world and preach the gospel to all nations promiscuously, get it out there, is a sign of God's heart for the nations.

And we should have that as well. We should take the good news of Jesus to all people, even our enemies, those who hate us and persecute us. We should love them because that's an example of how God loves the world.

He causes the rain to fall on all. And so thank you for your question and hopefully that cleared things up for you. God bless. Thanks so much, Adriel, for that explanation, that clarification. Really important information from God's Word. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. And when it comes to the devil, a lot of Christians believe things about him that are not biblically accurate. Well, the good news is we have a free resource on this topic that will help to clear up some of the confusion.

Thanks, Bill. Have you ever wondered if the little devils in pop culture movies and novels might have shaped our idea of who Satan is more than the scriptures? When you stop to think about it, do you really know who or what the devil is and what he's trying to do?

Is he everywhere, all-knowing, all-powerful, a kind of mirror image of God? These are the kinds of questions that many people have and the questions that we answer in this new resource, Can the Devil Read My Mind? It's a 70-page booklet that gives you a thorough understanding of what the Bible says about Satan, demons, and spiritual warfare. This booklet is yours for free at corechristianity.com. You can download the resource by heading over to our website at corechristianity.com forward slash offers. That's corechristianity.com forward slash offers.

Just look for Can the Devil Read My Mind? This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez. If you have a question about the Bible or the Christian life, we'd love to hear from you.

Here's our phone number, 833-THE-CORE. Let's go to James from Kansas City, Missouri. James, what's your question for Pastor Adriel? Yes, I was wondering as far as a married couple when like paying tithes and offerings, as a couple should we pay like together or do we pay it individually?

Hmm. Yeah, James, I would say that that's probably something that you should do together as a family as you think about what it looks like to be generous and give to the work of missions, give to the work of your local church where you're being nourished by the ministry of the word, encouraged by the saints that are there. You have this conversation and you talk about this with your spouse and you give, and I would say give generously. Oftentimes when we get questions on tithes and offerings, I go straight to 2 Corinthians 9 because that's really one of the best passages in the New Testament related to giving and what it looks like to support local churches. Paul says in verse 6, the point is this, whoever sows sparingly will also reap sparingly and whoever sows bountifully will also reap bountifully. Each one must give as he has decided in his heart, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

And so I think, James, as you're having conversations with your wife, you talk about this. You say, look, man, God has been so kind to us. He's been so good to us, providing for us not just physical needs but his salvation, his grace, the forgiveness of all of our sins.

What does it look like to invest in his kingdom and in the work that he's doing through our local church and around the world in missions? And how can we do that joyfully? What does that look like for us as a family?

So you have that conversation and you commit to it and do that. Boy, it really is a beautiful thing, I think, when we're able to do this. And there is great joy in giving as well.

I'm sure many of you know this. When you're able to say, hey, we want to give back to the work of the gospel, we're consistently giving, even at times in ways that are above and beyond what we thought we could have done. It's sort of interesting to me, it's a little bit earlier in 2 Corinthians, Paul commends the grace of God that was given among the churches of Macedonia. He says in chapter 8, verse 1, he says, for in a severe test of affliction, their abundance of joy and their extreme poverty have overflowed in a wealth of generosity on their parts.

In other words, they were in a difficult place and yet they still had such a heart for the gospel that they wanted to give for its advancement. And so I would say, brother, have those conversations, pray about it together with your wife, and then together come to an understanding and say, this is what we want to give and we're going to be consistent in that. God bless you, brother. This is Core Christianity with Pastor Adriel Sanchez, and one of the ways you can ask a question is by going to our YouTube channel, you can actually watch Adriel in the studio. And here's a question from Ravish, who is watching us right now in the country of Dubai. He says, this is an Old Testament question, if Saul was filled with the Spirit and the Spirit departed from him, does that mean that he lost his salvation and is no longer a part of God's kingdom? Brother, God bless you.

Thank you for listening to the broadcast all the way out there in Dubai. Well, you look at what the scriptures say, 1 Samuel 16, verse 14, now the Spirit of the Lord departed from Saul and a harmful spirit from the Lord tormented him. It seems like there has been this great falling from grace, if you will. We know earlier in Saul's ministry that the Lord had called him, that he was filled with the Holy Spirit, that he was prophesying, and it just seemed like God was with him in a powerful, powerful way. But I think the way in which the Spirit was working under the old covenant, even there with Saul, is still unique and different from what we see under the new covenant. So I wouldn't say that Saul was a born-again believer, if you will, who lost his born-again status. He was someone in whom the Spirit of God was working mightily as a king in Israel. He was holding this particular office, but as he turned away from the Lord, the Spirit of God stopped working in and through him.

He had this terrible fall. He ends up participating in divination at the end of his life. He's no longer trusting in the Lord, if ever he was, even to begin with. So I would not look at him as someone who was saved and then lost their salvation, if you will.

Obviously when we're thinking about these Old Testament passages of Scripture, we have to factor in the reality of the way in which the Spirit of God was working there under the old covenant through these particular individuals, these individuals who had these special offices, like being the king of Israel at that time. And so if your concern is, boy, it looks like Saul lost the Holy Spirit, am I going to lose the Holy Spirit, which I know is one of the fears that many people have, I think that the good news is for those who believe in Jesus Christ, we're told in the book of Ephesians that we are sealed with the Holy Spirit. I don't believe the Holy Spirit ever departs from you. And while we can grieve the Holy Spirit through sin, he doesn't abandon us. God does not abandon us. He continues to work in us by his grace, drawing us up to himself, sanctifying us. As he promised he would do, he keeps us. And so thank you for listening to the broadcast and giving us a question there.

You're listening to Core Christianity. Just a reminder that we air live on many radio stations at 11 30 a.m. Pacific Time, which translates into 12 30 Mountain, 1 30 Central or 2 30 Eastern Time. You can also listen to our podcast anytime online or on the podcast app. And we would always love to hear your question. You can voicemail us if you want at any time. And we have a question here from Misty in Fort Wayne, Indiana. Misty, what's your question for Adriel? Yes. Hello. First of all, God bless you for what you do.

I appreciate everything. My question comes from the Book of Revelation and throughout the Bible. I hear a lot of opinions of how end times are going to occur and the rapture and everything. And I was just wondering if you could, you know, kind of tell me how the rapture is going to take place and how those events are going to unfold if, you know, the believers and the saved are going to have to endure some of those trials. Or can you kind of expand on that?

Hey, Misty, thank you for giving us a call. And you're right. There are all sorts of different opinions on the end times, in particular the rapture.

Now, let me just say one thing before I give my answer. The fact that there are differences of opinion on eschatology doesn't mean that we're not brothers and sisters in Christ. And so people might disagree on the rapture, on the Great Tribulation, on how to understand the Book of Revelation and still be, you know, born-again believers, you know, sanctified through the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, blood-bought, forgiven.

And so that's something that's really, really important. We don't want to talk about these things in such a way that would suggest that if we have a difference here, we're outside of the body of Christ. Now, for those who believe in the rapture, the timeline is essentially that there is going to be this rapture of the Church, that is that believers are going to be taken away, caught up into the air to be with the Lord. Then there's going to be a period of worldwide evangelization described in Matthew chapter 24 verse 14.

Israel is going to be converted. They'll point to Romans chapter 11 verse 26. The Antichrist revealed the man of sin, as he's called in 2 Thessalonians, and then the second coming, the final judgment. Now, my opinion, Missy, what I believe, and this was really the position of the majority of Christians throughout the history of the Church, is that there aren't two separate comings of Jesus, that is a rapture of the Church for believers, for God's people, and then a second coming later, but that those passages of scripture that sometimes will be pointed to as teaching a rapture are actually really just about the second coming, that Christ is going to come back bodily for all people, for all his people in particular, and he's going to bring judgment to the world at that time, and restoration, rescue to his people.

The books that you really want to go to to study this are 1 and 2 Thessalonians. In 1 Thessalonians chapter 5, the apostle Paul said, Now concerning the times and the seasons, brothers, you have no need of anything to be written to you, for you yourselves are fully aware that the day of the Lord will come like a thief in the night. And maybe that's kind of scary for you when you hear that, it's going to come as a thief in the night. He says, Well, people are saying there is peace and security, then sudden destruction will come upon them as labor pains come upon a pregnant woman, and they will not escape. But listen to what the apostle Paul says now, and I think that this should be a comfort to you. But you are not in darkness, brothers, for that day to surprise you like a thief, for you are all children of the light, children of the day.

We are not of the night or of the darkness, so then let us not sleep as others do, but let us keep awake and be sober. He says, Look, that day is coming, the day of judgment. Christ is going to return, and people get really concerned about that.

Oh, goodness, I'm afraid, I'm scared. Well, one, if you belong to Jesus, you have nothing to be afraid of because he's coming back for his bride to redeem her, and you are not of the darkness so that that day would overtake you as this terrible thing. You are, Paul says, children of light, a child of the light. And so we're really meant to comfort each other. When we talk about the coming of the Lord, we should comfort one another, encouraging one another as we talk about it, saying, Look, this is the blessed appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ, and we don't have to be afraid because our sins are forgiven. We are in Jesus Christ. We belong to him, and he's coming back for us, for our good.

And especially when the church experiences persecution, when we struggle in our own lives personally, whether that's with sickness or with people coming against us, well, this promise of the coming of the Lord is really meant to be an encouragement, a comfort to us, because we know that in this world we have no lasting home. We are strangers and exiles, as the apostle Peter said, looking forward to the world that Jesus is bringing with him in his second coming, the new creation. We're already new creations. We're already a new creation by faith in Jesus Christ, Misty. One day Jesus is going to restore the whole world, and it's going to be beautiful, it's going to be awesome, and we're going to enjoy fellowship with him. together.