THE REAL MEANING OF LOVE

     Thank you and again I extend my heartfelt appreciation for each
one who has honored us with your time this morning. It continues to
be my sincere desire to encourage each listener to come to a better
understanding of the book we call the Bible.  We should not be
interested in "My views," or "Your views," but we must be extremely
interested in "God's Views." And the only way we can determine that
is by opening His book and listening to what He says.
     In our study this morning I wish to examine what the Bible says
about the meaning of love. Love is one of the key words in the word
of God. The fact that God loves man is again and again stressed by
each inspired writer of the Bible. 1 John 4, verses 7 through 21 is
an example of the importance placed upon love by the word of God.
Several facts are given in these verses which show that love is
indispensable to fellowship with God. John says that "God is love"
and that "love is of God." Since God loves us, we are instructed to
"love one another." "If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and
his love is perfected in us." "God is love, and he that dwelleth in
love dwelleth in God, and God in him." All of these statements are
taken from that context in 1 John, chapter 4. This is the theme of
John in this section of his epistle, and he concludes the chapter by
saying, "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a
liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can
he love God whom he hath not seen? And this commandment have we from
him, That he who loveth God love his brother also" (1 John 4:20-21).
     The question arises, What does love for my fellow man require of
me? I have been told in times past that if I speak out against
certain things which others do in the name of religion, that I do not
love them. Now, if that is true, I am wrong. No man can please God
without love in his heart. No matter how much truth and power one
has, if he or she does not have love, he is nothing. Paul makes that
very clear in 1 Corinthians 13.  But, what is the true, the real, the
scriptural meaning of love? What does love require in my relationship
to those about me.
     Love is an action of the heart. Note what the apostle Peter
says, "Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth
through the Spirit unto the unfeigned love of the brethren, see that
ye love one another with a pure heart fervently" (1 Peter 1:22). John
states, "My little children, let us not love in word, neither in
tongue; but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18). Love, then, is the
state of heart of attitude of mind that responds in word and in deed.
It is what we do and say that is prompted by an attitude of heart
called love.
     In 1 Corinthians 13, we have a description of the love that is
approved by God. It suffers long, is kind, does not envy, is not
puffed up, does not behave in an uneven manner, does not seek its
own, is not easily provoked, does not think evil, nor rejoice in sin,
but does rejoice in truth. Love endures all things. This state of
mind and conduct of life may be directed toward the wrong object.
Many love, but they love the wrong things. Paul says, "For men shall
be lovers of their own selves" (2 Timothy 3:2). And again, "lovers of
pleasures more than lovers of God" (2 Timothy 3:4). "For Demas hath
forsaken my, having loved this present world" (2 Timothy 4:10). "For
the love of money is the root of all evil" (1 Timothy 6:10).  "But
Diotrephes, who loveth to have the preeminence among them" (3 John
9). "For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God"
(John 12:43). We are commanded to love God (Matthew 22:37), to love
truth (2 Thess. 2:10), to love the brethren (1 Peter 1:22), and to
love our enemies (Matthew 5:44). It may be that one has once loved
the right things, but has lost that love. Hear Jesus, "And because
iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold" (Matthew
24:12). "Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou has
left thy first love" (Revelation 2:4).
     Let us look at the true meaning of love. For a long time the
denominational world has contended that members of the church of
Christ do not have love in their hearts, and the proof they offer is
that they debate and oppose "other churches." Love to these people
means a kind, loving, compromising soul who will agree with and
endorse almost any kind of religious teaching. Could it be possible
that you in the listening audience has this concept of love? Can we
have love in our heart, yet still oppose that which is not found in
the Book of God?  When I oppose some unscriptural practice or
doctrine, does that mean that I do not have love in my heart?
     God is love. John the inspired apostle said so. How does God
react to sin and disobedience by those of us in the flesh?  In the
Old Testament, "every transgression and disobedience received a just
recompense of reward" (Hebrews 2:2). In the New Testament, "he that
doeth wrong shall receive for the wrong which he hath done: and there
is no respect of persons" (Col. 3:25). The wages of sin is death
(Romans 6:23). Paul is speaking of the second death, or spiritual
separation from Jehovah. In Revelation 20:14, 15, we read, "And death
and hell were cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death.
And whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast into
the lake of fire." Truly, God is love, but He deals with sin just as
He promised. It follows, then, that love is not incompatible with
strong dealing with error and sin. True love does not cover up sin;
nor does true love overlook unscriptural beliefs and practices.
     When I was a child I sometimes wondered how my father and mother
could say, "Son, this is because I love," when they applied the rod
where it would do the most good. If they loved me, why did they have
to show it like that? As I grew older and became a father myself, I
had to do for my children exactly what was done to me. I then knew
what they meant when they said, "This is because I love you."  I know
now, as you know, that love demands correction and chastisement when
it is needed to make the person you love better. "For who the Lord
loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth"
(Hebrews 12:6).
     Many think love requires absolutely no hate for anything. They
reason, if one hates anything he cannot have the love of God in his
heart.  The writer of the Hebrew letter quotes God as saying of
Christ: "Thou hast loved righteousness, and hated iniquity" (Hebrews
1:9). Christ hated iniquity! Christ writes to Ephesus "But this thou
hast, that thou hatest the deeds of Nicolaitans, which I also hate"
(Revelation 2:6). To Pergamos, Christ said, "So hast thou also them
that hold the doctrine of the Nicolaitans, which thing I hate"
(Revelation 2:15).  Christ hated the deeds and the doctrine of the
Nicolaitans, yet he is the very essence of love. There are seven
things listed in Proverbs 6, which God hates, yet God is love. It
must follow that true love does not mean that hate cannot exist in
the heart of the person. He must love what he should love and hate
what he should hate.
     Many think love will not permit discipline. To them, any sign of
discipline against those who sin is a sign of the lack of love. Paul
writes to the Corinthians about a man who was living in adultery. He
tells them "to deliver such an one unto Satan of the destruction of
the flesh, that the spirit may be saved in the day of the Lord Jesus"
(1 Corinthians 5:5). Because of their "puffed up" state, he wrote in
the last verse of 1 Corinthians 4, "What will ye? shall I come unto
you with a rod, or in love, and in the Spirit of meekness?" Wait a
minute, Paul, you should not write like that. Don't you know it is
not a sign of love to speak so harshly? Yet, the apostle in chapter
13, explains what true love is. Evidently the apostle understood that
there was a harmony between discipline and true love. Gospel
preachers are commanded by the authority of Christ to deal with false
doctrines; with false practices. The love of God requires this. The
writers of the New Testament knew that one could have a deep love in
the soul and still rebuke sin and false teachings.
     Many think love requires a compromise. False brethren of Paul's
day "privily" came in to spy out the liberty of Christians in order
to bind them again to bondage, but Paul said of them" "to whom we
gave place by subjection, no, not for an hour, that the truth of the
gospel might continue with you" (Galatians 2:4,5).  Paul even rebuked
another apostle by withstanding "him to the face because he walked
not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel" (Galatians 2:11,
14). Love for God and the gospel and men in sin will call upon us to
sound out the word "in season and out of season" without compromise
at any level.
     There are those who will argue that love substitutes for
obedience. How often have you heard someone say, "God is love, and He
will not send a man to hell for doing some little thing that is
wrong." By this they mean that God's love is such that He will
overlook our failure to obey Him and save us anyway. Have you ever
thought like that? Do you think obedience is necessary for salvation?
Will the love of God overlook disobedience, or a failure to obey? Did
not our Lord say, "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15)?
John states, "And this is love, that we walk after his commandments"
(2 John 6).  The apostle Paul said, "Be ye followers of God, as dear
children; and walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath
given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-
smelling savour" (Ephesians 5:1,2).  Real love requires obedience to
God.  Obedience to God requires that we oppose sin and false
doctrines. Listen to the apostle Paul again, "and have no fellowship
with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather even reprove them"
(Ephesians 5:11). And, again, "For there are many unruly men, vain
talkers, and deceivers, specially they of the circumcision, whose
mouths must be stopped" (Titus 2:10, 11).
     Being true to the Word of God, I must oppose sin, whether it is
in the lives of mankind or in the religious practices of those about
us. It is not a lack of love, but rather, a true love for the souls
of mankind that at times I speak out against certain practices of the
denominational world.
     If the congregation for which I preach were not concerned about
the souls about us, we would not spend the money nor the time to
bring you this program from Sunday to Sunday. It is the love for
souls that motivates us to continue to plead with each listener,
search your heart, search the scriptures, seek to be right in the
eyes of the Lord.
     It does make a difference what one does in religion. Claiming to
Love God will not suffice, unless one has the kind of love that will
obey the commandments of the Lord. Jesus Himself said, "Why call ye
me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I command you." How can
one honestly say, "I love the Lord," but, I am not going to obey Him.
Jesus gave the great commission. He said, "He that believeth and is
baptized shall be saved" (Mark 16:16). Have you be scripturally
baptized??
     In answer to our beginning question, "What is the meaning of
real or true love.  The answer: Real love seeks the salvation of
others.  But, often sin must be exposed, pointed out. How do you
react when some religious practice you are engaged in is pointed out
as not being pleasing unto the Lord? Will you search the Book and
show by book, chapter, and verse why you practice what you practice?
I trust that you will.
     But, our time is gone. Think on these things.

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