Bearing the Fruit: Love

1 Corinthians 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have faith so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and  if i deliver my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Most of us have heard the thirteenth chapter of 1 Corinthians read at weddings.  But if you restrict this passage to marriages only then you are not producing the fruit of love as Christians are supposed to.  As Christians, the concept of love is totally different from what today's society would have you believe.  The world today views love as some abstract emotion that is felt between people who are close with one another.  As Christians we should know that love is an action that should be shown towards EVERYONE.  If you love someone, then it should be evident to others through your actions.  You may not be thrilled about the thought of loving everyone but you should know that you're not alone.  Whenever we hear this we all have that one person who pops into our mind and we think, "Oh no.  That means I have to love that person too."  It's not easy but we are nevertheless called to do it.

Matthew 5:43 You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I say to you, Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you, 45 so that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven.  For he makes the sun rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. 46 For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have?  Do not even the tax collectors do the same?  47 And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing than others?  Do not even the Gentiles do the same? 48 You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Here is Jesus telling us that it is not enough for us to love as the world around us loves.  We have to show that we love everyone just as Jesus did.  We have to remember that we are just as dirty and rotten as everyone else.  We all have that sinful nature that makes us do things we know we shouldn't.  This has caused us to sin not just against God but against each other as well.  If you have trouble loving someone because of something they have done to you, then you need to ask yourself who has trouble loving you because of something you have done to them.  If someone is persecuting you then pray, for them.  I don't know the situation; maybe they are doing it for no reason or maybe they feel you have wronged them.  It doesn't matter because we are still called to love them and to pray for God's mercy and grace be made apparent to them.

1 Corinthians 13:4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude.  It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice in wrongdoing, but rejoices in the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.  8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.

Read that passage again while remembering that love is a verb.  You are called to have patience and show kindness to EVERYONE.  You do not feel jealousy towards or brag to ANYONE.  You must be humble to EVERYONE; there is no room for pride when you are trying to show someone that you love them.  If you are filled with pride then you are making it about yourself; loving someone is you making it about them.  You must be polite with EVERYONE.  You can't have the attitude, "It's my way or the highway!" See what I said earlier about pride.  You are to conduct yourself in a calm manner and do not hold grudges against ANYONE; forgive EVERYONE.  Matthew 6:14 For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you, 15 but if you do not forgive others their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses. You shouldn't encourage ANYONE to do something wrong and never hold it against ANYONE for being honest.  When you are filled with God's true love then you can withstand anything, believe that all is possible with God, be secure in the hope of His promises, and thus be able to last through anything that comes your way.  If you are truly filled with God's love, then you are filled with the love that will be with you throughout eternity.

1 John 3:16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth.

This is more evidence that love is more than just a feeling but an action.  It is not enough just to say that you love someone.  You have to show that you love them with your actions.  There are several different ways to show your love for someone.  You can be a servant.  I'm not saying to just dedicate your life to taking care of one person's needs, but to just do things that help out others.  Don't refuse to help those who need it.  The most important thing that you can ever do to show your love for someone is to share the Gospel with them.  Even if that person is a fellow Christian.  It is important for us as Christians to keep the Gospel firmly before us so that we might keep our humility and continue to progress in our sanctification.  But for those who do not yet believe, the Gospel is the message of love and hope that they have been looking for, they just don't know it yet.  So examine yourself.  Make sure that you are filled with the true love that is God's love so that you can go out into the world and through a life of servitude show this broken world what it truly means to love.

1 Corinthians 13:13 So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

Good News

Romans 5:8 but God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of His Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.

What is the Gospel? If asked what the word gospel means most people who have been raised in the church can tell you that it means, "Good news."  Well, what is this good news? It is incredibly sad that in today's world most people do not even know what the good news of the Bible is.  They know that you get "saved" and then you go to church because Jesus loved them and died for them.  But even then they don't truly grasp why God would send His Son to die for us.  Unfortunately a lot of people today believe that God sent Jesus to die so that they might have a better life here on earth and then one day they will die and go to heaven.  This "prosperity" preaching is really confusing people as to why they need Jesus in the first place.  People do not even realize what it is that they need to be "saved" from.  They know that if they do not get "saved" then they won't get into heaven but they don't realize why they won't get into heaven.  They don't realize that Jesus's sacrifice wasn't to save us from the devil, it wasn't to save us from poverty, it wasn't so we could have a better home life, it wasn't so that we could quit smoking, or be rid of any other vice.  Jesus was sacrificed so that we might be spared the wrath of His Father who is a Mighty and Just God.

You might be asking yourself, "Why would God set his wrath against me? I'm a good person who tries to do what is right." Romans 3:20 For by the works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin. What is the law? The law is what was given to Moses in Exodus 20 which we know as the Ten Commandments.  Most people have heard the Ten Commandments but when asked, they would still say that they are a good person. So if you think that you are a good person, I would like you to take this little test and please be honest.  No one knows the answers to these except you and God.

Have you ever told a lie?

Have you ever taken anything that didn't belong to you?

Have you ever looked at another person in lust? Jesus says in Matthew 5:28 But I say to you that everyone who looks at a woman with lustful intent has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

Have you ever taken God's name in vain? Think about what you say whenever someone cut you off when you are driving.  God's very name is Holy and He will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain.  Matthew 12:36 I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give an account for every careless word they speak. 

If most of you were honest with yourselves then you came to the same conclusion that I did. We are lying, thieving, blaspheming, adulterers.  So if you stood before a righteous God on your Judgment Day, would he send you to Heaven or to Hell?  You might think that you should still get to go to heaven because, after all, you didn't actually hurt anyone when you did those things.  If a cop pulls you over for going 20 mph over the limit, he is still going to give you a hefty fine at the very least, even if no one was hurt.  Why? Because you went against the decrees of the governing body and therefore the crime must be paid for.  Sin isn't just a crime against your fellow man; it is primarily a sin against God.  Since God is an infinite being then punishment for a crime against him is also infinite.  You and I, we deserve to be condemned to Hell.

I will be expanding on God's Justice in the near future.  Now though I want to tell you about how our sin debt to God has already been paid.  It was paid for when God sent his only Son to earth, to be born from a virgin and to be raised as a man, and not just any man but one to grow up to lead a perfect, sinless life.  He never committed a single sin, and you may think that was impossible for a man to do.  It is, but this wasn't just any man. He was Jesus, the Son of God.  He was able to do this because He wasn't just a man but He was also God.  So what happened when God took on human form and came to earth.  We killed Him.  We hung Him up to die a traitor’s death.  Why did God allow this to happen? Because in His omniscience God knew we would never be able to live up to the standards that are required for entry into Heaven.  So God sent his Son to earth to die as the ultimate sacrifice for our sins. But then God showed his true power when he raised Jesus from the grave after three days so that He might show His power and that we might trust in His strength.  Romans 6:23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. 

What do you have to do to be a recipient of the gift of eternal life? First, you have to acknowledge that you are a sinful creature who has done wrong in the eyes of God and deserves to be sent to Hell as a punishment.  Then you must renounce sin and ask for God's forgiveness of your sinful ways.  Does this mean that if you ever sin again then you won't be saved? No.  What this means is to turn away from willfully sinning.  In short if you know that what you are doing is wrong, then don't do it.  And once God shows you an area in your life where you have been sinning and had not realized that your actions were sinful, then you must acknowledge it, ask forgiveness and turn from it. After you have acknowledged and then renounced your sin, then you must recognize Jesus for who He is and what He did for you.  Romans 10:9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.  All you have to do then is believe in the saving power of God who sent His son as a sacrifice and then raised Him from the dead on the third day, and then make an open confession about it. Turn from your iniquity. Believe in Jesus' sacrifice and resurrection. Believe in His Lordship and also confess these things openly to others then you will be saved.  And then on your Judgment Day instead of facing an angry, and wrath-filled Judge, you will be welcomed home with the open arms of a Father who is filled with unimaginable love and grace.

John 3: 16 For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have everlasting life.  17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.