[Biblemat] S:> Love

[Ethan R. Longhenry]

http://www.deusvitae.com/faith/outlines/index.html

                                  Love

I. Introduction
   A. Love, love, love
      1. Heralded by modern "prophets" in song
      2. An agreeable concept
   B. Love is certainly something that Christians should have and share
      1. Galatians 5:22: the first manifestation of the fruit of the 
         Spirit, and can be considered as the fruit
      2. Philippians 2:2, 1 Peter 2:17: love ought to exist among 
         Christians
      3. Romans 13:8-10: love as summation of all commandments
   C. But what is love?
      1. "Love" can mean many things
      2. There are many popular ideas about love; are they accurate?
      3. When the Bible speaks about love, what does it mean?
   D. Let us consider this matter today

II. Understanding Love
  A. In English, "love" is an elastic word
      1. It has many meanings
      2. It can refer to anything from affection to friendship to 
         sacrifice
   B. Greek has three words for the concepts present in English "love"
      1. eros: "erotic" love
      2. phileo: love of friends
      3. agape: "sacrificial" love
   C. The "love" spoken of in the New Testament is reflected in the last: 
      agape love
      1. The definition, in short, is "sacrificial love"
      2. A selfless devotion to the best interest of the other
   D. The Scriptures proper present an excellent definition of such love
      1. 1 Corinthians 13:1-8
      2. vv. 1-3: demonstration that love is necessary ingredient for 
         all other actions
      3. vv. 4-8: characteristics of love
      4. If we replace "love" with "Jesus" in this passage, the meanings 
         fit (1 Corinthians 11:1)
      5. When we put our own names in, is the presentation remotely 
         accurate?
      6. Demonstrates what we are to do to grow in our faith!

III. The Importance of Love
   A. Of all the virtues or attributes presented in the Scriptures, 
      love is most critical
   B. Seen partially in 1 Corinthians 13
   C. 1 John 4 provides full picture
      1. v. 7: love from God, those who love are from God
      2. v. 8: those who do not love do not know God-- God is love
      3. vv. 9-10: supreme demonstration of love made when God sent His 
         Son to die so that we could have remission of sin and live in 
         Him
      4. v. 11: since we have been thus loved, we should love one 
         another
      5. vv. 12-16: we have not seen God, but His love assures us of 
         His existence and that He abides in us
      6. vv. 17-19: God abiding in us completes love within us, that we 
         may stand on the day of Judgment; there is no fear in love; 
         love is based in God loving us
      7. vv. 20-21: love is to be manifest to all men, for that is God's 
         command-- if we cannot love our brother whom we see, how can 
         we love God whom we have not seen?
   D. Love, then, is absolutely critical in our faith and life!

IV. The Responsibility of Love
   A. Sacrificial, agape love involves responsibility
   B. Notice that there is a command to love
      1. We saw commands to love in 1 John 4
      2. Ephesians 5:25, Titus 2:4: husbands and wives commanded to love 
         each other
      3. Anything that requires a command is not inherent or natural but 
         must be learned and trained
      4. The love God desires from us is something learned, not some 
         syrupy feeling that comes automatically!
   C. While society may cherish a view of love that is high on emotion 
      and "tolerance", mostly focused on the self, such is not the love 
      that Christians are called to have by God
      1. NT love has the best for the beloved in mind
      2. Philippians 2:1-4
      3. The love of Christians will be devoted to whatever truly aids 
         his neighbor
      4. Luke 6:31-35: helping those who help you is good, but loving 
         those who hate you is the higher calling in Christ Jesus
   D. The love that Christians are to have does not come naturally-- 
      it must be learned and constantly practiced
      1. It is counterintuitive to love those who hate you
      2. It is likewise counterintuitive to look to the needs of others 
         before yourself
      3. It is especially difficult when the best interest of the one 
         loved and the desire of the one loved are not the same!
   E. Nevertheless, it is something God expects of us to cultivate and 
      continually develop
      1. 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
      2. We can always learn to love more!
   F. Love, therefore, comes with responsibility-- the obligation to 
      serve one another in all humility!
      1. Such is the example of Jesus for us-- Romans 15:1-3
      2. It is not easy, but it can be done!

V. Conclusion
   A. We have investigated love today
   B. We have seen that God speaks of sacrificial love 
   C. Such sacrificial love was shown by God in Christ
   D. We are called upon to love our brethren and all men similarly, no 
      matter how hard it may be
   E. Let us be people marked by godly love!
   F. Invitation/songbook

Ethan R. Longhenry/ disciple_of_iesus at hotmail.com
Evangelist, church of Christ in Norwalk, Ohio
 (http://www.norwalkchurch.org)
Website: http://www.deusvitae.com
AIM: Deus Vitae / ICQ#: 28317056
MSN Messenger ID: deusvitae at hotmail.com
Yahoo! Messenger ID: discipuliiesus

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