Based on the sources and our conversation, a central theme is the critical warning that the appearance of love in religious affections is not reliable evidence of saving grace. This challenges a common belief that because Satan cannot love, any display of love must come from the Holy Spirit.

The sources explain this by establishing a principle: the more excellent anything is, the more it will be counterfeited. True Christian love is described as supremely excellent, heavenly, and divine, the chief of graces, and the sum of true religion. Because it is so highly valued, the subtlety of Satan and deceitful human hearts are chiefly exercised in counterfeiting its outward appearance. While the true inward nature of love is difficult to imitate, skillful deception focuses on creating exact imitations of the outward form.

Scripture is used to illustrate this point. Christ warned that the love of many would wax cold and not endure to the end, showing a type of religious love that does not lead to salvation. Many graceless Jews outwardly displayed strong, violent affections for Jesus, following him intensely and shouting praises, yet lacked grace. The Apostle Paul's exhortation to love Christ "in sincerity", meaning pure and spiritual love, suggests awareness of counterfeit love that was not genuine. Similarly, the strong affections the Galatians had for Paul are presented as an example of love towards believers that Paul feared was "without saving grace".

Therefore, appearances of love, even if strong and fervent, are explicitly stated to be "no evidence that religious affections are saving". True, saving love is pure, spiritual, and enduring, qualities that counterfeits lack despite mimicking the outward show.

Reformed Theologian GPT: https://chat.openai.com/g/g-XXwzX1gnv-reformed-theologian

Patreon: patreon.com/edi_reformed