The essence of God’s love is not that he makes much of us, but that he frees us, at great cost to himself, to enjoy making much of him forever. What does it mean to be loved infinitely? That’s the answer we are after today. And to get the answer, we must first understand that God, for a time, passed over sin. He simply passed over it. He didn’t bring final judgment on sinners in real time. He would deal with sin finally, but only later, in the cross. Meanwhile, in the thousands of years of human history prior to the cross, God would show his forbearance. We read about this in Romans 3:23 23 for all have sinned, and fall short of the glory of God; –26, where Paul writes, “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified by his grace as a gift, through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God put forward as a propitiation by his blood, to be received by faith. This was to show God’s righteousness, because in his divine forbearance he had passed over former sins. It was to show his righteousness at the present time, so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus.” This text is loaded with theology and meaning. And it answers this question of what it means to be loved infinitely. Here now is John Piper preaching in Austin, Texas, on January 1, 1998, to explain. Read or listen to this interview at our website: https://www.desiringgod.org/interviews/to-be-loved-infinitely Find other recent and popular Ask Pastor John episodes: https://www.desiringgod.org/ask-pastor-john