June 22, 2010
John MacArthur vs. the Gospel, pt. 4
Yesterday, I went over John MacArthur’s promotion of a universal love of God for the reprobate. Today, I’ll go over his arguments for this view.
MacArthur quotes the writings of Errol Hulse to support his view:
Yet Hulse realizes that if we take Scripture at face value, there is no escaping the conclusion that God’s love extends even to sinners whom He ultimately will condemn. “The will of God is expressed in unmistakable terms,” Hulse writes. “He has no pleasure in the destruction and punishment of the wicked” (Ez. 18:32; 33:11). Hulse also cites Matthew 23:37, where Jesus weeps over the city of Jerusalem, then says, “We are left in no doubt that the desire and will of God is for man’s highest good, that is his eternal salvation through heeding the gospel of Christ.” (Ibid., 21–22) (http://www.gty.org/Resources/Questions/QA193 , June 12, 2010)
Ezekiel indeed says that God has no pleasure in the death of the wicked. Even so, we are never told that this is because of any love that God has for the wicked. Inserting a universal love of God here is conjecture, at best.
And while Jesus certainly wept over Jerusalem, and expressed a frequent desire to gather her children, Scripture does not say that that desire was because of any love that he had toward Jerusalem. On the contrary, the love he expresses is toward her children. His complaint is not towards a group of people whom he loved, but who spurned and refused his love; his complaint is towards the leaders of Jerusalem who refused to tolerate his presence and preaching. They would not allow him to enter Jerusalem and gather his beloved children.
MacArthur also cites the story of the rich young ruler:
Mark 10 relates a familiar story that illustrates God’s love for the lost. It is the account of the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and began asking Him a great question: “Good Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” … That is the last we ever see of this man in the New Testament. As far as the biblical record is concerned, he remained in unbelief. But notice this significant phrase, tucked away in Mark 10:21: “Looking at him, Jesus felt a love for him.” Here we are explicitly told that Jesus loved an overt, open, non-repentant, non-submissive Christ-rejector. He loved him. (http://www.gty.org/Resources/Questions/QA193 , June 12, 2010)
We aren’t told anything more about that rich young ruler, but we do know this: God saves those whom he loves. Consequently, this man had to have been saved later in life. We cannot assume that Jesus is here expressing a helpless, ineffectual love for that man, simply because we hope it is true.
The doctrine of God’s Universal Love is a lie that cheapens the love that he has for his beloved bride. Imagine a man who tells his wife that he certainly loves her, and is willing to lay down his life for her, but just happens to have a similar, though totally ineffective, love for all the women in the world. Should she be pleased with such a pathetic, offensive expression of marital love? Yet this is exactly the kind of love that people like MacArthur ascribe to Jesus Christ.
Finally, if God has a universal love for all mankind, what happens to that love when a person goes to Hell? Does it change into hatred? Or is God eternally sad that someone he loves went to Hell?
Praise God that his love never changes; it is as eternal and unchangeable as he is himself. After all, if his “love” for the non-elect could change, then his love for the elect could change as well; but he has promised us that that is impossible.
And praise God that he saves everyone whom he loves, not one of them can be lost. Since the righteousness of Christ is imputed to every one of God’s people in time, their salvation is as sure and certain as the crucifixion. “He shall see the travail of his soul, and be satisfied.” (Isa 53:11)
For more on this topic, please see the articles Common Grace?, and Christ Crucified: God’s Love Manifested, by Marc D. Carpenter.
