REAL LOVE - THE VALID PROOF OF TRUE CHRISTIAN FAITH

Children, let us love not with words and talk, but with actions and in reality! 1 John 3:16-18 (Those who do not love, do not know God; because God is love. 1 John 4:8-9)

It is easy to practice a Christianity of “words” – singing the right songs, using the right vocabulary, praying the right prayers and, through it all, deceiving ourselves into thinking we are spiritual. Christian love is not a shallow sentiment, a passing emotion that we perhaps experience in a church service. To love other Christians means to treat them the way God treats them – and the way God treats us. Christian love that does not show itself in action and in attitude (1 Cor 13:4-7) is unauthentic. What we say should be the true expression of our character. We should not need extra words (“oaths”) to buttress what we say. Our yes should mean yes and our no should mean no. Consequently, if we say we are in the light, we will prove it by loving the brethren. Many Christians urgently need to be accepted, loved, and encouraged. God’s love is a holy love, not a sentimental feeling that condones sin and pampers sinners.

When we practice true Christian love, we find life getting brighter and brighter. Hatred is what darkens life! When true Christian love flows out of our hearts, we will have greater understanding and perception in spiritual things. This is why Paul prays that our love may grow in knowledge and perception, “that ye may distinguish the things that differ” (Phil 1:9-10). A Christian who loves his brother is a Christian who sees more clearly.

HATRED makes a man MISERABLE, but LOVE always brings him JOY.

HATRED BLINDS/DESTROYS

No book in the Bible illustrates the blinding power of hatred Like the Book of Esther. The events recorded there took place in Persia, where many of the Jews were living after the Captivity. Haman, one of the king’s chief men, had a burning hatred for the Jews. The only way he could satisfy this hatred was to see the whole nation destroyed. He embarked upon an evil plot, completely blind to the fact that the Jews would win and that he himself would be destroyed. Hatred is blinding people today too.

Christian love is a practical reality; it applies in the everyday affairs of life. Consider the over twenty “one another” injunctions in the New Testament and you will see how necessary and practical it is to love one another. *Wash one another’s feet (John 13:14). *Prefer one another (Rom 12:10). *Be of the same mind one to another (Rom 12:16). *Do not judge one another (Rom 14:13). *Receive one another (Rom 15:7). *Admonish one another (Rom 15:14). *Edify [build up] one another (1 Thess 5:11). *Bear one another’s burdens (Gal 6:2). *Confess your faults to one another (James 5:16). *Use hospitality one to another (1 Peter 4:9). In short, to love other Christians means to treat them the way God treats them – and the way God treats us.

Christian love that does not show itself in action and in attitude (1 Cor 13:4-7) is unauthentic.

WHAT HAPPENS TO A BELIEVER WHO DOES NOT LOVE THE BRETHREN? The tragic results: *He lives in the darkness, though he erroneously believes he is living in the light (1 John 2:9). *He thinks he sees, while he is actually blinded by the darkness of hatred. *This is the kind of person who causes trouble in Christian groups. *He thinks he is a “spiritual giant,” with great understanding, when actually he is a babe with very little spiritual perception. *He may read the Bible faithfully and pray fervently, but if he has hatred in his heart, he is living a fake life. *Another tragic result is that such a believer becomes a cause of stumbling (cf. 1 John 2:10).

It is bad enough when an unloving believer hurts himself (1 John 2:9); but when he starts to hurt others the situation is far more serious. It is serious to walk in the darkness. It is even more dangerous to walk in the darkness when stumbling blocks are in the way! An unloving brother stumbles himself, and in addition he causes others to stumble.

In Paul’s day, due to their different backgrounds, believers differed on such matters as diets and holy days. One group said it was unspiritual to eat meat offered to idols. Another group wanted strict observance of the Sabbath. There were several facets to the problem, but basic to its solution was: “Love one another!” Paul puts it this way: “Let us not, therefore, judge one another anymore; but judge this, rather, that no man put a stumbling, block or an occasion to fall in his brother’s way…. But if thy brother be grieved with thy food, now walkest thou not in love” (Rom 14:13,15). The commandment, “Love one another,” becomes new to us in our own day-by-day experience. “Love one another,” becomes a new commandment as we practice God’s love in daily life.

IF WE PRACTICE CHRISTIAN LOVE, THE WONDERFUL RESULTS WILL BE First of all, we will be living in the light (living in fellowship with God and with our Christian brothers). Second, we will not stumble or become stumbling blocks to others. And, third, we will grow spiritually and will progress toward Christlikeness.

Love does not live alone. Love produces joy! Hatred makes a man miserable, but love always brings him joy. [Love] thinketh no evil (1 Cor 13:5) This means that love never keeps records of things others do that hurt us. When we truly love someone, our love covers their sins and helps to heal the wounds they cause. “And! above all things, have fervent love among yourselves; for love shall cover the multitude of sins” (1 Peter 4:8). The love life is the only life, because it is the life that is real! Love, therefore, is a valid test of true Christian faith.

Since God is love, and we have claimed a personal relationship with God, we must of necessity reveal His love in how we live. A child of God has been “born of God,” and therefore he shares God’s divine nature. Since “God is love,” Christians ought to love one another. The rationality is unfathomable! The greatest expression of God’s love is in the death of His Son. “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom 5:8, NASB).

No man without the Spirit of Christ is capable of expressing true love.

If you want to partake in God’s nature, go ahead and accept Jesus Christ as your Lord and savior today. GOD IS LOVE! SHALOM.

– Dr. Lawrence Owoyemi.

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PUBLISHED BY

lawrenceowoyemi

Dr. Lawrence Owoyemi is the Director of Liberty Declaration Network