God's Conditional Love

It can be easily and biblically asserted that God's love is unfailing, boundless, and perfect.  A much harder assertion to make and support would be that God's love is unconditional.  No single place in all of Scripture does it state that God's love is unconditional.  On the contrary, the biblical account of God's steadfast love speaks thoroughly and consistently about the conditional nature of God's love.

This can be a challenging teaching if we assume that the conditionality of God's love is based on ephemeral whims or arbitrary desires and not on the His perfect moral imperatives.  Instead of thinking of God's love as unconditional, a more accurate understanding of God's love would be in terms of covenant blessings and curses.

Throughout history, God has related to mankind through covenants.  A covenant, in theological locutions, is a contract between God and man that obligates both parties to each other under specific terms.  Under a covenant there are blessings and curses brought about by God upon man based solely on man's adherence to covenant obligations.  God's love should be understood in this covenantal way.  

There are many covenants in the story of redemption: Abraham (Gen. 17:1-14), Moses (Exo. 19:1-9), David (2 Sam. 7), and Solomon (1 Kgs. 3), to name the major ones.  In each of these covenants, God makes conditional promises of prosperity and provision based proportionally on covenant obedience.  Adversely, each covenant has curses that are served in proportion to covenant infidelity.  In this way, God's love is conditional based on fidelity to His covenant requirements.

Evidence of the conditionality of God's blessing and love can be found throughout Scripture (e.g. Psa. 103:17; 1 John 4:12; Jer. 18:5-18).  Along with this, through Christ we are under a new covenant.  Therefore, the conditionality of covenants should inform our understanding of the nature of God's love in Christ.

Jesus speaks directly to the conditionality of God's love based on fidelity to the one, true God in John, ch. 8 and 15.  Unapologetically and unequivocally, Jesus says "if you abide," and "if you keep my commandments," then you will be given the blessings of and from God.  There is a conditionality to the love of God, an if-then connotation.   

Based then on the revelation of Scripture it would not be accurate to say that God's love is unconditional.  Rather, God's love is rightly and justly conditional, based solely on covenant fidelity.  Because of this, we, as believers, should not ever be complacent in assuming the blessings of God.  Instead we should always be cognizant of the level and degree of our faithfulness to God.  Like Jesus said, if we abide in Him, then we shall receive the blessings He has for us.  This is the condition that God's love requires: obedience to Christ and to His word.  Only when we are obedient to Christ's decrees can we truly relish in the warmth of His engulfing love.