Can a person be born again without love for Jesus?

Yes this is my question.

Here is my answer, with my personal testimony.

The only criteria for being Born again is to believe in Jesus, his death and resurrection. And to repent from their past life, acknowledging their sins.

Since most of you are in some way brought up in a Christian environment or with some knowledge of Jesus, it is easy to realize his love and to respond back (when born again). So for you, love of Jesus and salvation cannot be separated, based on personal experience.

But I was raised in a Hindu family. I had no clue about Jesus and his love for me. All I knew about Jesus before I was born again was that He was a God worshiped by Christians!

Now when I heard the Gospel and started reading Bible. I found that I wanted the life that Jesus lived and willing to offer me. I wanted to be free from the burden of my sins. Hence I accepted Jesus as a savior for what he was offering me. I will not say I did not love Jesus but definitely my love for Jesus was not on par with most Christians surrounding me. I even acknowledged it publicly many times as I was honest about my spiritual condition!

In India we have the concept of arranged marriage, in which the parents arrange marriage for their children. Now the husband and wife in this case are united without any love for them. They marry because their parents wanted them to marry each other. Now does that mean this married couple will never learn to love one another? NO NOT AT ALL. Or does that mean they are not married because there is no love? NO NOT AT ALL. The more they get to interact with each other, they start to appreciate one another and then fall in love.

The same way, I came to Jesus because I liked what he offered to me. But the more I lived with him, I started to appreciate his love for me and started responding back. Just because I did not love Jesus the extent I wanted to love Jesus, does that mean I was not born again? Not at all. I had total assurance that my sins were forgiven. I wanted to live the life that Jesus wanted me to live. I was clearly born again! But the love was still lacking in me. All most all things I did as a Christian, was not motivated by the love for Jesus.

Rev 2:4 states that Ephesians Church lost their first love for Jesus. Does that mean they lost their salvation? I am sure most people here will not agree with this. So it was possible for the believers in Ephesians to suffer for Jesus, identify false apostles but without motivated by love for Jesus.

Jesus also warned that because Lawlessness will abound in end times, the love of many will grow cold (Matt 24:12). Does that mean many will lose their salvation? Or is it a false warning given by Jesus because a Christian can never lose his love? These are some questions for us to ponder upon.

Brother Sree,

I think it is very dangerous to go on in that line.

First, when a man is convicted of his sins and comes before God with a contrite heart, repenting of his sin and asking for forgiveness - God forgives and cleanses and regenerates this man. This man does not receive forgiveness because he all of a sudden has started to love Jesus, no! Neither because he wept much and felt so sorry about his situation. He is saved through faith in Christ! The expression of that faith is coming to the cross and through that faith he receives forgiveness of his sins and eternal life in Christ.

From this we can conclude that first the salvation of a man has nothing to do with his love for Christ, but rather with his faith in the love of God!

"In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins." 1 John 4

Now when a man is truly born again, born from the Spirit of God, his heart is changed and because of that also his life! He can no longer continue to live the way he lived before - "...for his seed [of God] remaineth in him." Before we were haters of God (Romans 1:30), or we ignored God, were proud against him and now we are "new creature".

"Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new." (2 Corinthians 5:17) "...the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness." (Ephesians 4:24) Can there be any true holiness without love?

There are many places in the Bible that speak of love - God's love toward us, our love for Him and God as Love Itself! After regeneration, love toward God and your fellow men (as well as other believers) fills your heart!

"Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him." 1 John 5:1

John goes on to explain that you cannot say: "I love God!" while you hate your brother. We know also that the first commandment is to "LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD". The promises are also for them that love Him:

"But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him." 1 Corinthians 2:9

And Jacob speaks of "the crown of life, which the Lord hath promised to them that love him." (1:12)

There are many other places in Scripture and the sum of it is that in Heaven will be those who love Christ!

"He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." 1 John 4:8

And remember you added the word "at all"

From this we can conclude that first the salvation of a man has nothing to do with his love for Christ, but rather with his faith in the love of God!

Exactly sister, this is my point as well. I totally agree with you about how we are saved. The unregenerate man is totally incapable of showing Agape love. We love only those who are good to us.

John goes on to explain that you cannot say: "I love God!" while you hate your brother. We know also that the first commandment is to "LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD". The promises are also for them that love Him:

For example Corinthian Church took their own fellow brothers to court. Even today we have Christian organizations suing one another in court! If what John said is true, then they truly do not love God. Have they all lost their salvation?
If John was alive now and written the same statement in Sermon Index, then the self appointed moderators will call him heretic, proud etc!

Did the Ephesians Church lose their salvation when they lost their love?

Even in our day today walk we still start walking by Flesh leading to backsliding. When Flesh takes control, the love disappears, because Flesh cannot exhibit love. It is incapable of doing it. But such a person can always come back to God in repentance and ask him to pour out his divine love through Holy Spirit.

I agree with brother Frank that this is completely different subject.

I do not know you personally but by God's grace will try to explain what God has taught me. I am personally responsible before God for living up to the light I have (and should always strife to know Him more!) - "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." (1 John 2:8) I must walk in the light if I am to walk with God.

"But the path of the just is as the shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day." (Proverbs 4:18)

So can anybody say "I walk with God." or "God lives in me!" when he has no love? After all GOD IS LOVE! So I believe what John says: "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." (1 John 4:8)

About the Ephesian Church God says they have left their first love and God tells them to repent: "Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent." (Revelation 2:5) So this is very serious here! I will transfer it to the individual believer... if you begin to grow cold, lukewarm God says: "I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot. So then because thou art lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will spue thee out of my mouth." And Christ says: "... repent."

God calls such people to repentance!

I hope that helps as explanation. Just as an advise: Please don't try to separate one's life and love for Christ because they are very connected! Christ Himself said: "But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do." We know that Christ died for us because He loves us but think also of this thing He loves the Father, to do His will is His delight. Therefore came He and died on the cross. You see, His love was shown through what He did and what He did was motivated by His love towards the Father and His love for mankind. To God be all the glory forever!

I think the matter of salvation and born again experience in the perspective of love for Jesus are totally connected. Outwardly salvation and born again, might sound like 2 different things. If a believer who has lost his love for Jesus can still continue in salvation then it should also be possible for a person to be born again without love. For example if a human being can live without oxygen then it should also be possible for a human being to be born without oxygen. For those who find it difficult to understand illustrations, the human being is compared here to a believer in the path of salvation!

So my point is absolutely valid. If Ephesians Church is still continuing in salvation even after losing its love for Jesus, then it should be possible for a born again believer to enter into salvation without the love for Christ.

Scripture is so clear, love for Jesus is not an essential criteria for born again. If you listen to the testimony of most of the believers who came from another faith (like me), they will testify that their love for Jesus was a developed love, after witnessing His love for them.

The illustration of an arranged marriage is very much valid here. I am a classic example of an arranged marriage in which I came to Christ for my eternal profit, not because of love. But he who comes to Him, He will not cast out. What a great assurance do we have in Jesus, whether we love him or not.

sree wrote
So my point is absolutely valid. If Ephesians Church is still continuing in salvation even after losing its love for Jesus, then it should be possible for a born again believer to enter into salvation without the love for Christ.

What if martyrdom comes knocking on someone's door "without" love for Christ? Do you think someone is going to count the cost and lay down their life when no love is involved?

Quote:"Scripture is so clear, love for Jesus is not an essential criteria for born again. If you listen to the testimony of most of the believers who came from another faith (like me), they will testify that their love for Jesus was a developed love, after witnessing His love for them."

Certainly none of us loved Jesus before the new birth. We were not able to do so. How can the blind see and the deaf hear? How can the dead be made alive again?
It took a miracle of God's grace and the working of His Spirit to make us alive and the love we have for Jesus is a fruit of His love flooding our hearts first through the Holy Spirit.

Once we have received and come to know and understand His love for us we have the responsibility to nurture and protect and increase in our love for Him, and persevere in it, with the help of His Spirit.

Blessings,

Joh 14:15  If ye love me, keep my commandments. 
Joh 14:16  And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 

Seems to me the "Love for YESHUA (JESUS)was important to HIM. In as much as you keep HIS commandments, you love HIM.