Do you think biblical love is more about action than emotion?

Theology
1

I tend to think Scripture leans heavily toward action, but not at the expense of emotion. Biblical love seems less defined by how strongly we feel and more by what we choose to do — forgive, serve, sacrifice, remain faithful.

Emotions can spark love, but actions sustain it. There are moments when affection flows easily, and others when it doesn’t, yet love continues through decision and commitment. That suggests love is more covenantal than impulsive.

At the same time, action without heart can become hollow. The ideal seems to be integration — a love that feels deeply but is not dependent on feeling in order to act rightly.

2

Absolutely. I wish I had more time. I will try to return and elaborate. However, yes. You are correct. I guess the best way to demonstrate this in the short time I have would be to point out James 2:14-17

“What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”

Peter

3

Emotions are naturally the cart following the horse. When attempting to go straight to emotions one risks the self-stimulation that leads to addictive proportions.

4

Ok, back for a little bit. Here is why I feel so strongly about sharing this. Love, if not Biblical, can be used to justify sin. Same with compassion. It is not loving or compassionate to not warn someone that if they walk through the fire, they will get burned. It is not love or compassion to remain silent and watch them burn. It is not love or compassion to accept the lie and allow others to accept the lie. It is not love or compassion to sit and remain silent in the face of so many losing their very Right to live.

You see, there is only one Truth. There is only one Way. There is only one way to find Life itself. It is not exclusive. It is INCLUSIVE. It is not narrow-minded. It is not hate-filled. It is not discriminatory. Not chauvinistic, or anything else.

“Jesus said unto her, I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live: And whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die.” John 11:25-26

Some will try to tell you that God is unconditional love. This is simply not true. God does love all; however, there is a condition. His name is Jesus. There is a condition: you do not continue to live willfully in sin. There is a condition: that you follow His commandments.

"I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery. "You shall have no other gods before me.

You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth. You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I, the LORD your God, am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments.

You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain, for the LORD will not hold him guiltless who takes his name in vain.” Exodus 20:2-7

Or as Jesus would say.

“And he said unto him, ‘Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” Matthew 22:37

Jesus tells us this.

“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” John 14:15

God even said this.

“If my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” 2 Chronicles 7:14

“If=do” Love commands action. Feelings require nothing. Politicians do this all the time. “I sure do care about the poor. I care about the working class. I love this country.” And? What have you done? “Well, I formed a committee to study the situation and come up with a plan to move forward.” What does that even mean? “Hey, I care. Do not slander my name. You don’t care. You hate these people.” You get the point.

God so loved the world that He gave His Son so that… Say “so that” whoever believes in Him will be saved. Say “if.” Yes. Jesus came for sinners. Yes, He would, now listen carefully. He would accept the sinner unconditionally. However, He would expect them to change. John 5:14, John 8:11.

Feelings will not save someone. Feelings do nothing to serve our Father. The World says, “If it feels good, do it.” “Love everyone, accept them for who and what they are. Live and let live.” Or rather, live and let die. This is not Biblical love. “Have compassion on them, let them be. Don’t hurt their feelings.” “Just love them.” This will assist someone straight to hell. I hope I explained that well.

Peter

1 Like
5

I’m not sure I agree with this Peter. There’s love and then there’s love in action. “For God so loved the world”. I believe God loves mankind. All of mankind, but His demonstrated love is for those who are His people. For those who are not His people there is a longing for them to become His people and remorse that they are not. He desires a relationship with everyone because He loves everyone.

But we are talking about human love. Is that right? In this I think that actions of love take precedence over emotional love. When I read 1 Cor 13, I don’t read anything about how the person feels. It’s all about action and attitude. This is something I wrestle with a lot. Serving those I don’t like. Serving those who offend me. If I don’t demonstrate Jesus to them, how will they ever know? It begins with relationship and once I have that relationship, I can tell them about Jesus. They’ll listen because I’ve shown them love. I’ve earned the right in their eyes to tell them what’s important.

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6

Personally I believe @PeterC is correct, in light of these Scriptures.

Romans 3:10–11
“As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God.”[1]
Humanity does not naturally pursue God because sin blinds the mind and hardens the heart.

Romans 8:7
“Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.”[2]
Spiritual opposition is innate; humans cannot submit to God without His regenerating work.

John 6:44
“No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day.”[3]
Faith and seeking God are enabled by the Father’s drawing, not initiated by fallen human will.

Ephesians 2:1–5
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;… even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”[4]
The spiritually dead cannot seek God until He imparts life; regeneration precedes effective seeking.

Jeremiah 17:9
“The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it?”[5]
Human inclination is toward sin, not God. Seeking Him naturally does not arise from fallen hearts.

Psalm 14:2–3
“The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one.”[6]
Seeking God is the exception, not the default; it is initiated by God’s intervention.

Isaiah 64:6–7
“But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away… there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee.”[7]
Even the most upright deeds of man apart from God are insufficient; no one calls upon God unless He moves the heart.

Romans 5:6
“For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly.”[8]
The ungodly cannot summon themselves toward God; divine initiative is necessary.

John 15:16
“Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit…”[9]
Election and calling are God’s action; seeking and fruitful obedience are results of His prior choice.

Romans 9:16
“So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”[10]
Human desire or effort alone cannot produce seeking or salvation; it is entirely God’s mercy that initiates the process.

Synthesis:

Scripture repeatedly emphasizes: humans, left to their own will, do not naturally seek God. This does not contradict His love; it demonstrates the necessity of divine initiative in salvation, regeneration, and faith. God’s grace must precede and enable seeking.

J.

  1. As it is written, There is none righteous, no, not one: There is none that understandeth, there is none that seeketh after God. KJV

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  2. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. KJV

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  3. No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. KJV

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  4. And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;… even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) KJV

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  5. The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked: who can know it? KJV

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  6. The LORD looked down from heaven upon the children of men, to see if there were any that did understand, and seek God. They are all gone aside, they are all together become filthy: there is none that doeth good, no, not one. KJV

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  7. But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away… there is none that calleth upon thy name, that stirreth up himself to take hold of thee. KJV

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  8. For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. KJV

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  9. Ye have not chosen me, but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth fruit… KJV

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  10. So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy. KJV

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Thank you @Johann . I’m not sure what this has to do with anything I said. We were talking about love. God’s love and then the Christian’s call to love. It’s obvious that non Christians do not love God and don’t love other people with Biblical love. So I miss the point you’re making.

8

Not a problem, was responding to what you said

… I believe God loves mankind. All of mankind, but His demonstrated love is for those who are His people. For those who are not His people there is a longing for them to become His people and remorse that they are not. He desires a relationship with everyone because He loves everyone.

Unless you can give me Scripture references as to the above.
Sounds like universalism, just by reading it and can give that impression, though I know YOU don’t hold to this view.

J.

9

Ok. Jesus’ words to the people of Jerusalem before His death indicates his heart’s longing for them although they didn’t believe in Him.

“O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the one who kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to her! How often I wanted to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing!”

The Lord’s hope and desire for the lost to repent and not perish.

“The Lord is not slack concerning His promise, as some count slackness, but is longsuffering toward us, not willing that any should perish but that all should come to repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9

Jesus paid for everyone’s sins. Not just for those who will receive His gift, but even for those who won’t.

** “**And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.“

God gave His Son to the world because He loved the world and all in it.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”

The giving of His Son, the Lord Jesus, to all men and His desire for all men to know Him is because He loves all men. Even those who refuse Him, have been gifted (action) with His love that is found in the Son.

For this is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Savior, ** **who desires all men to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God and one Mediator between God and men, the Man Christ Jesus, who gave Himself a ransom for all, to be testified in due time,“1 Timothy 2:3-6

11

So you do believe in universalism, correct @Bestill ?

J.

12

No going to go there @Johann . It will end up longwinded and pointless. We can agree to disagree because I really don’t understand you. I was answering Peter, but you jumped in. Which is fine, but I know brother that we are very different in how we approach people and how we answer them. God bless you today and always.

13

I was about to ask you how you understand this verse you’ve quoted…

Jesus paid for everyone’s sins. Not just for those who will receive His gift, but even for those who won’t.

** “**And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world.“

But judging from your reaction, I would agree, let’s shake hands and move on, since this is not the right place and topic.

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J.