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.

4 Big Reasons to Read Your Bible(Reasons 1 & 2)

2. The Law

Romans 7:7 What then shall we say?  That the law is sin? By no means!  Yet if it had not been for the law, I would not have known sin.  For I would not have known what it is to covet if the law had not said, "You shall not covet."

                              

The Law is important for three reasons. 1. It reveals to us what sin is. 2. It leaves us guilty before God. 3. It teaches us how to live.

1 John 3:4 Everyone who makes a practice sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness.

Since sin is going against the Law then shouldn’t we know what the Law is?  How can you know what the Law is if you don't read your Bible.  You want to know what the Law says?  Then read Exodus 20 for a start.  I guarantee that you are guilty of breaking at least a few of these laws.  Once you realize that you are guilty before God for violating his laws then that leads us to reason number 2.

Romans 3:19 Now we know that whatever the law says it speaks to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be stopped, and the whole world may be held accountable to God.

Now that the law has been made known to you, you will no longer be able to justify your sins because now you know that they are wrong beyond doubt. This leaves the door open for the Gospel because you realize that without some help you are going to be condemned.  This is why the Law is such an important part of evangelizing, because it is only through the Law that people realize their deep need for the grace of Jesus Christ. How can we make them realize their need of grace if we as Christians do not even know the Law?  It also ties into an earlier point I made about how the Bible teaches us to live.

Romans 7:22 For I delight in the Law of God, in my inner being, 23 but I see in my members another law waging war against the law of my mind and making me captive to the law of sin that dwells in my members. 24 Wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death? 25 Thanks be to God through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then I myself serve the law of God with my mind, but with my flesh I serve the law of sin.

This is a very important passage because it shows that while we should take delight in the Law it is impossible for us to keep it.  It also shows that it is very important for us to TRY to follow the Law in a pursuit of righteousness.  Just because we are Christians and freed from the Law does not give us license to disobey it.  On the Contrary.

1 John 3:9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep sinning because he has been born of God. 

Notice that it says that, "no one born of God makes a PRACTICE of sinning." It does not say that one who is born of God does not sin, just that they do not willfully sin.  So therefore it is important for us Christians to study the Law of God so the sins that we are not yet conscious of may be revealed to us in order that we might correct them in our pursuit of righteousness.

1. The Gospel Message

Romans 1:16 - For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for the salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jews first and also to the Greek . 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."

This passage gives a definition for what the Gospel is.  It is the power of salvation for anyone who believes.  Well, believes in what exactly?

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.

It is important to realize that Jesus came and was the fulfillment of the Law.  Because God must be just and cannot let sin go unpunished He sent His one and only Son to bear the punishment for our sins (death) so that we can be safe from His wrath.  This is the gospel message.  That we who are guilty sinners are saved from God's just wrath by the blood that was shed by Jesus (who was guiltless before the Law) when He was crucified on the cross.  God further showed His power over death and thus showed us His power to save us from death when He raised Jesus from the dead after three days.

Romans 5:8 but God showed his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

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 eternal 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. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned alread , because he has not believed in the name of the Son of God.

We have seen how the Law keeps people from justifying their sin.  So it is important that after we have stopped their own justifications that we let them know the Gospel so that they might truly be justified before God. 

Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God, 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift, through  the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.

How can we hope to spread the Gospel without knowing exactly what it is?  These are just a few clarified verses that help explain exactly what the Gospel is, but I cannot describe to you the feeling of awe that will fill you when you are reading the Bible on your own and you come to the realization that the Gospel isn't one of the many themes in the Bible.  It IS the theme of the Bible.  The more you read, the more you will begin to realize that the whole Bible tells of the Gospel and that all of its passages are tied to the Gospel.

The Bible does not need to be modernized or revamped or spiced up in order to get people interested.  The Bible simply needs to be taught so that people can realize on their own just how wonderful it is. You won't realize this if you think of the Bible as a textbook.  Its wonder and majesty can only be realized when you have that eureka moment when you realize that it is God's Word to you.   Every time I read from it I am left in awe and wonder and I want more.  The Bible is fascinating.  The more you read, the more you understand how it all ties together and you just can't get enough of it.  

Lord of Creation

Isaiah 40:28 Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; His understanding is unsearchable.

Who is God?  That is a mighty big question.  The above verse in Isaiah 40 gives as good an explanation as can be said in short.  God is the Creator of the universe.  Of course, since He is the creator, He is also a great many other things.  For instance, He created us so therefore He rules over us as our eternal King.  As the King and Lord of creation, He handed down His laws to Moses in the form of the Ten Commandments.  This also makes Him our Judge.  These are just the three aspects of God that can be derived by His act of creating us as well as the world around us. Over the next few posts I am going to be addressing the different aspects of just who exactly God is.  This one will be dealing with God's role as our creator.

First, I am going to prove to you that God did create everything we see around us.  The odds are that you are reading this either on a computer or a smart phone.  Where did it come from? Someone in a factory put it together of course.  But you know that someone created it because the evidence is there before your eyes.  The same can be said for the trees outside of my window.  How do I know that there is a creator? Because I see the evidence in the mere fact that there is a creation.  If that logic wasn't enough for you then let's open up a Bible. Romans 1:20 For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. Psalms 19:1 The heavens declare the glory of God, and the sky above proclaims his handiwork. These verses also state that God speaks to us through his creation.  So the entire universe around us is the proof that God exist and that he created it.

Now that we have established that God created everything let's take a look at His role in creating us.  Genesis 2:7 then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature. God then created us, the human race out of the dust.  What is the significance of this?  All the rest of creation He spoke into existence but with us He took the time to form us and breathe His very breath into us thereby separating us from the rest of creation.  Why is this the case? Genesis 1:26 Then God said, "Let us make man in our image after our likeness. And let them have dominion over the fish of the sea and over the birds of the heavens and over the livestock and over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. God created us in His own image, and gave us authority over the rest of creation.  Then in Genesis 3 comes what is referred to as the fall of Man.  In trying to become like God, mankind ate fruit from the forbidden Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil thereby condemning mankind.  Why did this happen? It's a long story for another time but the short version is because God gave us free-will and because we are not God we use our free-will to make bad decisions.

God did not just create us and then turn us loose.  He has an individual plan for each and every one of us.  Jeremiah 1:5"Before I formed you in the womb I knew you, and before you were born I consecrated you; I appointed you a prophet to the nations." Now while these are God's words to Jeremiah that doesn't make it any less true for anyone today.  God loves us and has a plan for each us, but because of the free-will He gifted us with we must choose whether or not to accept that plan.  What is God's plan in your life? That you accept His gift of grace offered through the sacrifice of His Son so that we might be reconciled back to God despite our inherent sinful nature. Romans 5:10 For 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. After being reconciled back to God then we can further find His plans for us in His Word (the Bible).  But I can go ahead and tell you his overarching plan for all of us.  Matthew 28:18 And Jesus came and said to them, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. 19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.  And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age. God wants you to go and spread the Good News of his Son.  We who sinned against God are called to be reconciled to him so that we can go and spread the Gospel to all nations so that they might in turn be reconciled.  

Like I said earlier, we have been given free-will so that we might choose whether or not to follow God's plan for us.  He did this because He knows that in order for us to show our truest devotion to Him that we have to choose to give Him that devotion.  Do I know what God has specifically planned for your life? No. That's between you and Him.  But I do know that it is His will that all of his children be reconciled to Him (Romans 5:10) and to spread the good news of His grace to the whole world (Matthew 28:18-20).

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.

No Excuses

Ezekiel 3-  17 “Son of man I have made you a watchman for the people of Israel. Whenever you hear a word from my mouth you shall give them warning from me.  18 If I say to the wicked ‘You shall surely die,’ and you give him no warning, nor speak to warn the wicked from his wicked way, in order to save his life, that wicked person shall die for his iniquity, but his blood I will require by your hand. 19 But if you warn the wicked and he does not turn from his wickedness, or from his wicked way, he shall die for his iniquity, but you will have delivered your soul. 20 Again, if a righteous person turns from his righteousness and commits injustice and I lay a stumbling block before him, he shall die. Because you have not warned him, he shall die for his sin, and the righteous deeds he has done will not be remembered, but his blood I will require by your hand. 21 But if you warn the righteous man not to sin, and he does not sin, then he shall surely live, because he took warning, and you will have delivered your soul.”

                As a Christian the first time I read these verses just a couple of weeks ago I was greatly troubled.  It bothered me so much that I am still losing sleep over it.  The reason that this passage bothers me so much and should bother you too, my Brothers and Sisters in Christ, should be quite clear but I will spell it out.  God has given us the charge of spreading the gospel all over the world.  As a matter of fact that is exactly the last thing Jesus commanded us to do before his departure to heaven (Matthew 28:18-20).

                So Jesus has commanded us to go spread the Gospel around the world and has entrusted us with his Holy word as a means to do that.  This was God giving us the warning to spread among the wicked so that they might acknowledge their sins and turn from them.  Who is the wicked? Everyone is wicked.  Romans 3:23- “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.”  No one in the world can be considered righteous on his/her own merits because we have all broken God’s law in some way.

                What does Ezekiel 3:17-21 have to do with this?  My friends, what God told Ezekiel is that if God told him to warn a wicked man to turn from his sins or die and Ezekiel did not do it then when that person reaped the fruit of his sin (as stated in Romans 6:23) then God will hold Ezekiel accountable for that man’s death.  It is the same with you and me, if we know someone who is living in sin and we don’t try to reach them with the Gospel of Christ even though we know we should.  When we stand before God on our Judgment Day, then God is going to hold us responsible for that person’s fate.

                Can you imagine that? God is the Creator, Father, King, and Judge.  His goodness is perfect in every way and because of that He is going to sentence unrepentant sinners to Hell because that is what is required.  He is going to do that even though He created those sinners in his image because he is a Just Judge who always does what is right even though it might break His heart.  How would you like to stand before God and have Him question you as to why you didn’t do as He commanded you and share the Gospel with one of His children therefore forcing God to sentence His  own creation to an eternity in Hell.  Can you imagine the anger and the pain? It’s making me sick just thinking about it.

                We can make up all sorts of excuses to put off sharing the Gospel with someone.  “I’m scared of what they will think?” “I’m too young.” “I haven’t been a believer long enough.” “I just don’t know enough yet.” All of these excuses sound very good in our own ears.  I am guilty of it too, especially that last excuse.  But after I finished reading the book of Ezekiel I went on to read the book of Jeremiah and God had an answer for me there in the first chapter.

Jeremiah 1: 6 Then I said, “Ah, Lord LORD! Behold I do not know how to speak, for I am only a youth.” 7 But the LORD said to me, “Do not say, ‘I am only a youth’; for to all whom I send you, you shall go, and whatever I command you, you shall speak. 8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the LORD.”

                You want that simplified? No excuses accepted.  God has given us the Bible as his Holy Word and with it we are supposed to proclaim the Gospel to everyone.  Whether we are young or old, as long as we keep striving to further the Gospel, God will give us the words and wisdom to use His Word to reach his lost, rebellious children. 

                So here I am writing this.  If you are a Christian reading this then I hope what God told Ezekiel and Jeremiah affects  you like it did me and that it motivates you to do what you can to spread the Gospel.  That is why am writing this.  This will be the first of hopefully many writings that are meant to strengthen and encourage my Brothers and Sisters in Christ , and at the same time, teach those who do not know Christ more  him so that they might understand the extent of his sacrifice for them.  For the Gospel is good news indeed.

                Romans 3: 23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. 24 and are justified by his grace as a gift through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, 25 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 forbearance he had passed over former sins. 26 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.

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