God created man to love and worship Him, but with the ability to choose to do so or not. God’s love for man is seen from the very beginning of the Bible. God created a world prepared for man and when the world was ready man and woman were created. Even in this paradise where God placed man, there were commands to be followed. Man was not to partake of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Genesis chapter three tells how man failed to follow God’s commands. “Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee. And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life; Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field; In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return” (Gen. 3:16 – 18). Man was also cast from the Garden of Eden (Gen. 3:22 – 24). This did not mean God did not love man, for He did. God expected man to obey Him.
When God gave man the Law of Moses at Sinai, it was added because of the sins of the people. “Wherefore then serveth the law? It was added because of transgressions, till the seed should come to whom the promise was made; and it was ordained by angels in the hand of a mediator” (Gal.
3:19). The New Testament tells that God must be obeyed (Heb.5:8, 9). Jesus taught during His time on earth that man is to do the will of God. “Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity” (Matt. 7:21 – 23). Man must not forget those small little birds. God knows about them and about every man.
God gave His Son for man’s salvation (John 3:16), but God is also just. His justice demands obedience to His word, and punishment for those who do not obey. The Bible teaches that there is a right and wrong, that there is a thing called sin that leads to eternal death (James 1:13 – 15). Those who have not actually studied the Bible may not realize that many of the things that are commonplace in our culture are considered sin in the sight of God (Romans 1:19 – 32; Gal. 5:19 – 21).
The Bible tells of the great love God has for man, but it also tells of His justice and this must not be forgotten. God loves the sinner but not the sin they commit. He is willing to forgive all who would obey His will.
God wants us to believe on Jesus as His Son (John 8:24), to repent of our sins (Luke 13:3), be willing to confess the name of Jesus before men (Matt. 10:32, 33), and then be baptized for the remission of our sins (Acts 2:38).