Covenantal Love

Lesson 2

Covenantal Love

(Deuteronomy 7, 1 John 4, Matthew 18)

Copr. 2025, Bruce N. Cameron, J.D. Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Suggested answers are found within parentheses. If you normally receive this lesson by e-mail, but it is lost one week, you can find it by clicking on this link: http://www.GoBible.org. Pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit as you study.

Introduction: A “covenant” is an agreement. We might call it a “contract” today. For most people, love is “covenantal,” meaning that we love those who love us. And we don’t love those who do not love us. But is that true for God? In Matthew 5:44-46 Jesus teaches that loving only those who love us is not the goal. We read in John 3:16 that God loved the world, therefore He gave “His only Son” to save us. Jesus came to save a lot of people who had never heard of Him. Obviously, they had not agreed to love Him. Let’s dive into our study of the Bible and learn more about the relationship between God’s love and our love for Him!

1. Picking Lovers?
   
   1. Read Deuteronomy 7:6-8. God explains why He did and did not choose Israel to be His special people. What are the rejected reasons? (God did not choose them because they were numerous.)
      1. Then why did God choose them? (God loves them. Plus, God made a promise to their ancestors.)
   2. Read Deuteronomy 7:9-11. Does God love everyone? (Not according to these verses. God loves those “who love Him and keep His commandments.” He will destroy those who hate Him.)
   3. Before the verses in Deuteronomy 7 that talk about God’s love for the Jewish people, we fine verses about people who are to be destroyed. Read Deuteronomy 7:1-2. How are these specific people groups to be treated? (The goal for them is “complete destruction.”)
      1. I ask again, “Does God love everyone?” (These verses suggest that He does not.)
   4. Let’s explore this a bit more by reading Deuteronomy 7:3-5. What reasons do we find for God destroying these people? (They serve other gods. They have rejected the true God.)
      1. Can we formulate a rule for God’s love? One that is “covenantal” - if you choose God He loves you? If not, you need to run.
   5. Read 2 Peter 3:9 and 1 Timothy 2:3-4. What does this add to the picture of God’s love? (God loves everyone in the sense that He wants all to come to Him. But if you do not come to Him you will be destroyed.)
      1. Does this fit neatly with Matthew 5:44-45?
2. Limited Love?
   
   1. Read Jude 20-21. What does it mean to “keep yourselves” in the love of God? Does it mean that whether God loves us depends on whether we continue to choose a position within His love?
   2. Read Hosea 9:15 and Jeremiah 16:5. What do these texts teach us about God’s continuing love? (They teach us that God reaches a point where He does not love people who have wicked deeds.)
   3. Read Romans 11:22. I ask again, are humans in control of God’s love? Put another way, must we “continue in God’s kindness” to be able to enjoy God’s kindness?
   4. One commentator argued that the “love no more” text in Hosea could not mean God can stop loving a person because in Hosea 14:4 we find God saying He “loves freely.” Do you think the “love freely” text means the same as “love always?” (A person could honestly say that they loved everyone “freely” without saying that they would continue to love a person who engaged in wicked deeds.”)
      1. But wait a minute. Are the people who are “loved freely” in Hosea 14:4 good people? (No. They are in an “apostasy” that God says He will heal. This suggests that God stands ready to receive them again.)
3. Common Grace
   
   1. Since the text that seems out of tune with the idea of a turning point for God’s love (and ours) is Matthew 5, let’s look at it in more detail. Read Matthew 5:43-45. What kind of love is described here? (I would call it “equal opportunity love.” The theological term is “common grace.” God says He does the basics for both good and bad people - He sends sun and rain on all.)
      1. Is “common grace” the way you love your family members? (No! You give them special, favorable treatment.)
   2. Read 1 John 4:7-10. What is the most important “common grace” love that Jesus has given to all? (Jesus died for the sins of all.)
   3. Look more closely at 1 John 4:9. Notice that it says that we “might” live through Jesus. Does this mean God’s love is limited if we do not live through Jesus? (If we do not accept Jesus as our Savior His death on our behalf does us no good.)
   4. Read 1 John 4:15-17. What do you think it means to have God’s love “perfected” in us? (Equal opportunity love, common grace, is given to all. That love will not keep us from being destroyed in the judgment. What gives us confidence in facing a final judgment is that we have accepted God into our life and by that God’s love reaches a new level of perfect love.)
   5. Do you recall from last week (Lesson 1 in this series) the Matthew 22 parable of the wedding feast? Read Matthew 22:8-10. What is the common grace part of this parable? (In the end everyone was invited to the wedding feast. Even the “bad” were invited.)
   6. Read Matthew 22:11-13. What is the point at which God’s love is “perfected” in us, according to this parable? (When we put on the robe of righteousness provided by God. We must be careful not to confuse God’s switch from common grace to a perfected love with our obedience. We must choose God, but the likely defect in the guest without a wedding garment was that he thought his clothes were perfectly acceptable. Our good deeds do not earn salvation.)
4. Loving Others
   
   1. Read 1 John 4:19-21. How does common grace fit with hating others? Do you think John used the word “hate” deliberately? (Common grace love treats others fairly, including those we do not like. We do not pick them out for separate and unequal treatment. That is a low standard for love, and not the standard we apply to friends and family.)
   2. Read John 15:12-14. Is Jesus moving the standard upward? He died for all and so we should give up all for our enemies? (Notice the limit found in verse 14. We are God’s friends if we obey Him. I don’t think, upon close inspection, the standard has moved.)
   3. Read 1 John 3:16-17. Does this move up the low standard of common grace love? Is a “brother” something other than everyone else in the world? (Read 1 John 3:13. John makes a distinction between those who have accepted Jesus and those who are the “world.”)
   4. Read Matthew 18:23-28. What is the common grace rule? (Equal treatment. All should pay their debts.)
      1. How would you apply the common grace rule to a fellow who was forgiven an enormous amount of money? (This moves the standard. God’s common grace to us meant that He died to give us the opportunity for eternal life. We must show forgiveness to others.)
   5. Read Matthew 18:29-34. Is God’s forgiveness “covenantal?” Meaning the rules still apply?
      1. Assume a criminal killed a member of your family. Are you required to forgive the criminal? Are you required to ask the state not to execute the criminal? (I suggest that we are required to forgive - that reflects Jesus’ forgiveness to us. But we are not required to go beyond the common grace with regard to the state. We are not required to ask the state to forgo the general rules of punishment.)
   6. Let’s look at what Jesus said about those who had unfairly accused Him, tortured Him, and were now killing Him. Read Luke 23:34. Is Jesus going beyond common grace? Is He in effect, asking the state not to execute the criminal?
      1. Do you think God answered Jesus’ prayer with a positive response? (Jesus says the people did not know what they were doing. Certainly, some knew what they were doing. I believe God gives us sufficient information before He executes judgment when we reject Him. Recall that thereafter Jerusalem was destroyed and the Jewish leaders slaughtered.)
   7. Friend, has your understanding of God’s love and your obligations to others increased through this discussion? Will you show common grace to all while remembering what Jesus did for you?
5. Next week: To Be Pleasing to God.