Doing Everything in Love

TRETS 05-10-2017

Doing Everything in Love

Romans 12. 9-16, 1 Corinthians 16:14; 13:1-13

“Let all your things be done with charity” signifies the whole of our obedience to Christ. It involves our observation and subjection to all his ordinances and commands; this should spring from genuine love to the Lord and that, the whole of our conducts and behaviour towards one another ought to be with charity (love), which bears all things and covers a multitude of sins – “for charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (l Peter 4:8). Christ demonstrated the greatest kind of love to us when He surrendered His life on the Cross for humanity. We have a duty to show Christ to the world and equally to one another as brethren to lighting off the burdens of others. Likewise, all our church affairs, our duties to the body of Christ everytime should be done, not with strife and vain glory, but in peace, and with mutual affection, with a concern for the good of each other, and of the whole body, and for the glory of God; because without charity or love, and the exercise of this grace, our service and labour will be of no value and reward at the end of time.

1. CHRIST’S COMMANDS ON LOVE AND COMPASSION TO BELIEVERS

    Luke 19:1-10; John 15:13; Acts 10:38; John 10:13

“For the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which was lost” (Luke 19:10). Christ came to show love to the hopeless humanity. Sin has been a barrier between God and man, it had separated God and man for quite a long time since man fell from the throne of grace in the Garden of Eden, ever since that fall, God had been looking for a way to bring man back to Himself. In order to accomplish this, the Lord Jesus Christ came to seek and to save those that are lost. Christ devoted His entire life-time to redeem humanity from the bondage of sin; He demonstrated this love for mankind when He went to the cross to give His life as a ransom for the souls of men. “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). Christ demonstrated the highest form of love by giving His life for His “friends” (believers). If we truly belong to the Lord, we ought to give ourselves to the work of soul-winning to bring sinners out of darkness to the marvellous light of the gospel.

2. CHRISTIAN LOVE AND COMPASSION FOR THE LOST

    Matthew 28:18-20; Luke 10:30-37; Mark 5:19; 1 Corinth. 9:16-17

Before the Lord Jesus Christ ascended to heaven, He told the disciples to go into the world to declare the message of hope to the lost world. We cannot do this successfully without the love of God radiating our own hearts with a compassionate heart seeking to reconcile the lost with His maker. Christ’s question to Peter after His resurrection “…Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these?” shows that if we are to carry out Christ’s order of reaching the lost with the gospel, we must have the love of Christ in our lives and this love will extend to the lost with the intent to bring them to the knowledge of the salvation of our God. Without love and compassion, it would have been very difficult for the early disciples to reach their generation for Christ with all the persecutions and challenges that confronted them.

3. CHARACTERISTICS AND ATTRIBUTES OF CHRISTIAN LOVE FOR EACH OTHER

   1 John 3:16; 4:7-12; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13; John 13:34,35; 1 Corinth. 16:14; l Peter 1:22; 4:8

“And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins” (l Peter 4:8). The distinguishing mark that differentiates the true believer from an ordinary Bible carrying church-goer is the place of genuine love that emanates from genuine heart of the converted believers to each other. Practical Christianity is the one that emphasises real Biblical love that is devoid of hypocrisy and compromise. Love for each other will make the world to know that we belong to Christ indeed. Practical love entails knowing the welfare of your brother and sister. You ought to be your brother and sister’s keeper.

Attributes of Practical Scriptural love:

·     Practical love is demonstrated in meeting your brother’s need – Luke 10:30-37; James 2:14-17

·     Practical love will make you forgive your brother that offends you - Ephesians 4:32; Mark 11:25,26

·     Practical love will make you have compassion on your fellow believer - Matthew 18:23-33

·     Practical love will make you empathise and sympathise with your brother - Romans 12:15

·     Practical love will make you to encourage your brother to higher productivity - Hebrews 10:24

·     The attributes of Longsuffering, Kindness, Rejoicing in the truth etc. in 1 Corinthians 13:1-13 are components of practical Christian love that should characterise all our conducts as members of the divine household of faith to one another.