Monergism Books

Binding: Paperback
Page Count: 96
Publisher: Crossway
ISBN#: 9781581341263

Availability: Usually ships the same business day.

Description: A noted evangelical scholar presents a serious treatment of the doctrine of the love of God and an honest, biblically sound handling of its difficulties and problematic passages. He critiques sentimental ideas such as "God hates the sin, but loves the sinner" and provides interesting perspective on how God loves us. This discussion is blended with consideration of God's sovereignty and His wrath, both of which are important elements of His love, and does away with trivialities and cliches to get to the heart of the matter.

At first thought, understanding the doctrine of the love of God seems simple compared to trying to fathom other doctrines like that of the Trinity or predestination. Especially since the overwhelming majority of those who believe in God view Him as a loving being.

That is precisely what makes this doctrine so difficult. The only aspect of God's character the world still believes in is His love. His holiness, His sovereignty, His wrath are often rejected as being incompatible with a "loving" God. Because pop culture has so distorted and secularized God's love, many Christians have lost a biblical understanding of it and, in turn, lost a vital means to knowing who God is.

The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God seeks to restore what we have lost. In this treatment of many of the Bible's passages regarding divine love, noted evangelical scholar D. A. Carson not only critiques sentimental ideas such as "God hates the sin but loves the sinner," but provides a compelling perspective on the nature of God and why He loves as He does. Carson blends his discourse with discussion of how God's sovereignty and holiness complete the biblical picture of who He is and how He loves.

In doing away with trivialities and cliches, this work gets to the heart of this all-important doctrine from an unflinching evangelical perspective. Yet it does so without losing its personal emphasis: for in understanding more of the comprehensive nature of God's love as declared in His Word, you will come to understand God and His unending love for you more completely.

Monergism Review: Adapted from a lecture series delivered in 1998, D.A. Carson’s The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God guides its reader skillfully and devotionally through what has sadly become the most provocative, distorted and misunderstood of God’s predicates.  Towards the end of chapter one, Carson singles out five “distinguishable ways that the Bible speaks of the love of God.”  To paraphrase, they are God’s intra-Trinitarian love, His providential love, His universal love, His covenantal love and His conditional love.  Carson ’s brief unfolding of these various “loves” is alone worth the price of the book.  Also included are two helpful sections relating the love of God both to God’s sovereignty and His wrath.  Concise, scholarly, pastoral and devotional, The Difficult Doctrine of the Love of God is an excellent book for students, laymen and teachers alike. more....