God shows His love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 ESV)
God’s plan of salvation, which was decided upon before the creation of the world, is rooted in God’s love for humankind. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit love us and made a way for us to be saved from the ultimate consequence of sin—spiritual death and separation from God in the afterlife, which is called hell in Scripture.
Some people have the impression that God is a cruel and angry God: that He judges people harshly because He is personally offended that they sinned against Him, and therefore He selfishly demands that they be punished. The true picture is very different. Because God’s nature includes the attributes of holiness, righteousness, justice, and wrath, in order to be true to His divine nature He must judge sin.
He could have justly punished every human being for their sins. Instead, because His divine nature also includes the attributes of love, mercy, and grace, His wish was that no one should perish, and to that end He has made a way in which humans can be redeemed. That redemption is rooted in His love, because He “so loved the world.” His love is such that even though we are sinners and have sinned against Him, He has, in love, made a way that we can be saved from the merited judgment for our sins. God’s plan of salvation is the manifestation of His mercy and love for humankind. [1]
The work of salvation is God’s work from beginning to end. He loved us when we were dead, and made us alive in Christ. - Charles H. Spurgeon
[1] Anchor God’s Plan
