Micah 7:18 NASB95
Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love.
Hebrews 12:29 NASB95
for our God is a consuming fire.
Matthew 3:12 NASB95
His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
For some reason, people assume that fire in Scripture primarily references judgment. It can speak of judgment, but the reality is there are many verses in Scripture where fire speaks of the wholehearted, passionate love of God. Daniel 7:9-10a says that God’s throne is like flames of fire sitting on wheels that are a burning fire, and a river of fire flows out from before Him. The book of Revelation tells us that the throne sits on a sea of glass mixed with fire. This is the biblical picture of the third heavens, throne room reality. This sea of glass that is mixed with fire that has a river of fire flowing through it from the throne of fire that sits on wheels of fire is not an environment of judgment. This is the place where myriads of saints stand before God and worship Him. The throne room is the environment of the un-throttled love of God.
I say all that to offer the thought that the chaff – Matthew 3:12 – of our imperfections in our walk with the Lord are burned away by the consuming fire of the love of God for us. It’s His kindness that draws us to repentance, not His threats. We love Him in ever-growing wholehearted surrender as a consequence of Him first loving us, and our embracing that love. Romans 12:1 says, “I urge you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God (in light of the mercies of God), to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice, well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable service of worship.”
Jesus said in John 14, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments.” Obedience is an act of affection in response to His affection. It’s not that Jesus didn’t come to condemn us, but Jesus came to not condemn us. He came to make incarnate the incurable lovesick heart of God that He might win the heart of a bride. I’ve discovered in my own walk with the Lord that it is the relentless love of God that consumes me more and more into absolute surrender. Repentance is the only reasonable response to the God who delights in unchanging love.