OceanSide church of Christ




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BUILDING UP THE LORD’S CHURCH…

With Love for All

Victor M. Eskew

 

INTRODUCTION

 

A.    The Bible tells us:  “God is love” (I John 4:16).

1.      God’s very nature is love.

2.      He is the source of all love that exists. 

 

B.      God’s love is unlimited when it comes to mankind. 

1.      He loves all.

2.      He manifested this love in giving His Son for our sins (John 3:16; Rom. 5:8).

3.      Galatians 2:4-6

 

But God, who is rich in mercy, for his great love wherewith he loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;) and hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

 

C.     With our heavenly Father possessing such love, it should not surprise us that we are to be people who are have love and show love for all.

1.      If we do, we can build up the church.

2.      If we do not, we will repel individuals from the church.

 

I.                   LOVE FOR ALL

 

A.    The first recipient of our love should be God.

1.      Matthew 22:37-38

 

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.  This is the first and great commandment.

 

2.      This love is manifested by obedience to God’s commands (John 14:21a).

 

He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me…

 

3.      NOTE:  Our love for God will cause us to take actions that the world will not understand.

a.      In fact, they will claim that we do not love because of our behavior.

b.      Example:  We cannot condone the actions of homosexuals (I Cor. 6:9-10).

c.       Because we do not, they will claim that we do not love.

d.      Our love for God should trump all other love.

 

B.      Next, Christians should love one another.

1.      John 13:34

 

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

 

2.      I John 3:11

 

For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning that we should love one another.

3.      Paul described the kind of love we should show one another in I Corinthians 13:4-8a.  There are sixteen qualities of love that each of us should constantly be practicing toward each other.

4.      Jesus said that the love that we have for one another will make an impression on those in the world (John 14:34).

 

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

 

5.      NOTE:  Again, the proper display of love toward our brothers and sisters in Christ might not be understood by those in the world. 

a.      In fact, they might mistake our actions as hate. 

b.      Example:  church discipline, II Thess. 3:6

c.       We cannot let their misunderstanding of love keep us from showing tough love when it is demanded.

 

C.     Third, Christians should love all men.

1.      Our Father in heaven loves all.  Shouldn’t the church follow His example? (Eph. 5:2)

 

Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children.

 

2.      It is our love for the lost that often draws them to us. 

a.      We help them.  We care for them.  We provide for them.  We comfort them.  We wrap them in arms of love (Gal. 6:10).

 

As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men..

 

b.      This love will often give us doors of opportunity to teach them the precious gospel of Christ.

c.       Remember:  Talk is cheap.  Love is an action and not just a bunch of words (I John 3:17-18).

d.      It is also important to understand that our love for the lost will cause us to share the gospel with them.

1)      This is the ultimate act of love.

2)      NOTE:  They will sometimes mistake this act of love for hatred. 

a)      They do not want their sins exposed. 

b)      They do not want their false doctrine confronted. 

c)      They do not want to be told they are lost. 

 

D.    Fourth, we should love our enemies (Matt. 5:44).

 

But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.

 

II.                LOVING OTHERS CAN BE HARD

 

A.    The extremely needy

1.      Proverbs 14:20

 

The poor is hated even of his own neighbor…

 

2.      Why it is hard to love them?

a.      They fall into an entirely different class of people.

b.      Some of them feel entitled to our assistance.

c.       Some of them do not really want to help themselves.

d.      They are located in poverty stricken areas of town.

e.       We do not feel they will benefit the church if converted.

3.      Proverbs 29:7a

 

The righteous considereth the cause of the poor…

 

B.      The “extreme” sinner

1.      Examples:  murderer, pedophile, transgender

2.      Why is it hard to love?

a.      They scare us.

b.      We often do not believe they will ever change.

c.       We do not know how to relate to such people.

3.      Matthew 9:10

 

And it came to pass, as Jesus sat at meat in the house, behold, many publicans and sinners came and sat down with him and his disciples.

 

C.     Those of other races

1.      Examples:  how many of us have converted someone of another race?

2.      Why is it hard to love them?

a.      They are different in many ways:  skin color, language, clothing, customs, food, etc.

b.      We have been taught to be prejudice.

c.       They scare us.

3.      Romans 1:14-15

 

I am a debtor both to the Greeks, and to the Barbarians; both to the wise, and to the unwise.  So, as much as in me is, I am ready to preach the gospel to you that are Rome also.

 

D.    Our enemies

1.      These are people who oppose us and treat us in evil ways.  They can be out of the church and in the church.

2.      Why is it hard to love them?

a.      We know they do not like us and do not seek our well-being.

b.      We do not trust them and relationships are based on trust.

c.       In our minds, we want them to be punished.

3.      Romans 5:10

 

For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son; much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.

 

III.             HELPS TO LOVING OTHERS

 

A.    Remember God’s love for us (I John 3:16).

 

Hereby perceive we the love of God because he laid down his life for us:  and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.

 

 

 

B.      We MUST do the will of God (Luke 11:28).

 

But he said, Yea, rather, blessed are they that hear the word of God, and keep it.

 

C.     All men are basically the same (James 5:17a).

 

Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are…

 

D.    Some we approach will obey the gospel of Christ.

1.      A great company of the priests (Acts 6:7)

2.      Simon the sorcerer (Acts 8:13)

3.      Saul of Tarsus (Acts 9)

4.      Crispus the chief ruler of the synagogue (Acts 18:8)

5.      Some the most vile sinners in Corinth (I Cor. 6:9-10)

6.      Some within the palace of Ceasar (Phil. 1:13)

 

E.      We will be judged for the love we show toward all (II Cor. 5:10).

 

For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

 

CONCLUSION

 

A.    Where there is no love:

1.      There is a void, and emptiness.

2.      There is hate and other negative emotions.

3.      There is little care and concern.

4.      There is a façade, but no true sincerity

5.      There are people who are alienated and divided from each other.

 

B.      Where there is love, the church will be built up.

 

C.     “And they will know we are Christians by our love, by our love.  Yes, they’ll know we are Christians by our love” (We Are One in the Spirit).