Sermon by Pastor Nathan Johnson, May 12, 2025
The Seriousness of God’s Love
In a world that often seems to trivialize everything, where little appears to hold true importance, there’s a profound truth we must recognize: God is serious. Not in a stern, unapproachable way, but in a deeply caring, passionately committed way. This seriousness speaks to the very core of who God is and how He relates to us.
The Nature of God’s Jealousy
When we encounter the concept of God being jealous, it’s crucial to understand this isn’t the petty, insecure jealousy we often associate with human relationships. Instead, God’s jealousy is a righteous and holy attitude that reflects His unwavering love and desire to be the sole object of His people’s worship. It’s about His passionate commitment to His covenant with us.
This divine jealousy manifests in God’s commitment to His honor, His glory, and His name. It’s a jealousy for us, not of us. Like a mother’s fierce protective instinct for her child, God’s jealousy is His passionate predisposition to protect what belongs to Him – namely, us.
The Importance of God’s Name
God takes His reputation seriously. He will not have His name taken in vain or His character trivialized. Throughout Scripture, we see various names and titles for God, each revealing a facet of His nature:
- Elohim: The God who can make something out of nothing
- Adonai: The one with absolute authority
- Yahweh/Jehovah: The covenant-keeping God
- Jehovah-Rohi: The Lord who guides
- Jehovah-Rapha: The Lord who heals
- Jehovah-Nisi: The Lord who fights our battles
- Jehovah-Shema: The Lord who has always been there
- Jehovah-Jireh: The Lord who provides
- El Shaddai: The all-sufficient one
- El Rohi: The God who sees, knows, and understands us
- El Olam: The everlasting God beyond time
Each of these names carries weight and significance. When we say, “Glory to the name of God,” we’re recognizing and holding in high regard all that He is.
The Exclusivity of Our Relationship with God
In our modern age of “open relationships,” it might surprise some to learn that God desires an exclusive relationship with us. This isn’t about God being controlling; rather, it’s about the profound blessings that come from this exclusive bond: Peace with God and the peace of God; The security of acceptance; Strength to make it through life; The joy of His presence; A hope that extends beyond this world
God passionately protects this relationship because He knows the alternatives will always leave us wanting. Idolatry – the misguided belief that God is not enough – is the greatest threat to this exclusive relationship.
The Futility of Idols
Idols are anything we feel will fill what we think God can’t do or isn’t doing for us. But idols are fundamentally flawed:
- They can only take but can’t give
- They must be carried but cannot carry us
- They must be attended to but cannot attend to us
- They can only distract but never deliver
In essence, idols are not God, and they cannot fulfill us the way He can. They can only distract, disappoint, detract, disrupt, and damage our lives and our relationship with God.
God’s Redemptive Plan
God’s seriousness extends to His redemptive plan for humanity. Knowing our brokenness and alienation, He put a plan in place to redeem and restore us. This plan culminated in sending His only begotten Son, Jesus Christ, to pay the price for our redemption.
Jesus, in His living, dying, and rising, justified us freely forever. This profound act of love and sacrifice demonstrates the lengths to which God will go to secure our salvation and maintain His relationship with us.
Our Response: Worship and Gratitude
In light of God’s serious commitment to us, our response should be one of worship and gratitude. We ought to praise Him for His marvelous, mind-blowing works in our lives:
- Making ways out of no way
- Opening doors we couldn’t see
- Mending broken hearts
- Keeping us alive in the face of death
- Providing peace of mind, food on our tables, and roofs over our heads
- Offering health, strength, friends, and family
- Wiping tears from our weeping eyes
- Picking us up when we’ve fallen
- Guiding us when we’re lost
- Giving hope in times of despair
- Never leaving or forsaking us
Our gratitude should overflow in worship, recognizing that to God alone belongs all the glory.
An Invitation to Relationship
For those who don’t know Jesus, God extends an invitation right now. Salvation comes through believing and trusting in what Christ has already done. As Romans 10:9 states, “If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”
For Christians who may have drifted, there’s an invitation to come back home, to reconnect with the body of Christ and contribute to its strength and health. God’s serious love calls us to a committed, engaged faith that goes beyond casual visitation.
Reflection and Action
As we contemplate the seriousness of God’s love and commitment to us, let’s consider:How do we view God’s jealousy for us? Do we see it as a positive expression of His love?Are there any idols in our lives that we need to identify and remove?How can we cultivate a more exclusive relationship with God?In what ways can we express our gratitude for God’s redemptive work in our lives?Are we actively participating in a faith community, contributing to its health and growth?
God’s seriousness about His relationship with us calls for a serious response on our part. Let’s embrace the depth of His love, commit ourselves fully to Him, and live in the joy and peace that come from this exclusive, transformative relationship.