Hey Chariklo!
Thank you for those thoughts.
I feel the same way about the presupposition behind the book "Keep yourself in God's Love" being wrong. As you say God already loves us as a father would his children.
If you have a moment I'd love to read your take on some of what Paul had to say about righteousness (a right standing with God), and being put right with God by being counted or declared to be right by imputation, instead of by merit.
(Romans 5:18) . . .So, then, as through one trespass the result to men of all sorts was condemnation, likewise also through one act of justification the result to men of all sorts is a declaring of them righteous for life.
(Romans 4:25-5:2) . . .He was delivered up for the sake of our trespasses and was raised up for the sake of declaring us righteous. Therefore, now that we have been declared righteous as a result of faith, let us enjoy peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom also we have gained our approach by faith into this undeserved kindness in which we now stand. . .
(Romans 5:6-11) . . .For, indeed, Christ, while we were yet weak, died for ungodly men at the appointed time. For hardly will anyone die for a righteous [man]; indeed, for the good [man], perhaps, someone even dares to die. But God recommends his own love to us in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. Much more, therefore, since we have been declared righteous now by his blood, shall we be saved through him from wrath. For if, when we were enemies, we became reconciled to God through the death of his Son, much more, now that we have become reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. And not only that, but we are also exulting in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received the reconciliation.
(Romans 5:17) . . .For if by the trespass of the one [man] death ruled as king through that one, much more will those who receive the abundance of the undeserved kindness and of the free gift of righteousness rule as kings in life through the one [person], Jesus Christ.
(Romans 4:1-8) . . .That being so, what shall we say about Abraham our forefather according to the flesh? If, for instance, Abraham were declared righteous as a result of works, he would have ground for boasting; but not with God. For what does the scripture say? “Abraham exercised faith in Jehovah, and it was counted to him as righteousness.” Now to the man that works the pay is counted, not as an undeserved kindness, but as a debt. On the other hand, to the man that does not work but puts faith in him who declares the ungodly one righteous, his faith is counted as righteousness. Just as David also speaks of the happiness of the man to whom God counts righteousness apart from works: “Happy are those whose lawless deeds have been pardoned and whose sins have been covered; happy is the man whose sin Jehovah will by no means take into account.”
