Introduction:

I was approached by a man one evening at a function for Alyssa and Nicholas. And I must admit, I find it very difficult to love this person. Knowing I was a pastor this person tried to engage me in theological debate. To which, I merely spoke shallow conversation. This went on for a good hour and a half and I was just looking for an out, my end of the conversation was just um hmm, yeah, i'm sure, etc.
I look back on that conversation now, and I realize that I went wrong, I didn't love him enough to speak truth into his life, where he was in error. The conversation could have been a great one with mutual learning, but I turned into a superficial waste of an hour and a half. I think we do this often, we don't grow with others and with God because we don't love enough. Our command from Jesus, the greatest commandment is to love the lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and your neighbor as yourself, but it's so hard for us to accomplish.
The problem is we are not striving to achieve the goals that Paul led Timothy to teach the church. If we can achieve these goals in our lives we will begin to experience true victorious Christian living.

Love from a Pure Heart

As a goal of a victorious Christian life we are called to love from a pure heart

It is not a love motivated by selfish expression (what can I get from this relationship?)
It is not a love motivated by merely doing the right thing (well, I suppose I have to love this person.)

This love is a genuine, radically different kind of love that can only happen when you know Christ and are walking with Him.
Paul was telling Timothy that the church should be defined by this kind of love.
The greek word καθαρος used as clean or pure literally means to be free from adulterating matter. We sing the chorus, give us clean hands give us pure hearts.

We find Jesus using this phrase in the Beattitudes matt 5.8 as the kind of heart that gets to see God, it's free from defect or deterrent, or distraction.
We find Paul encouraging that this type of heart 2 tim 2.22 is needed to pursue godly qualities, righteousness, faith, love, and peace.
We find Peter telling us 1 Peter 1.22 that this heart comes from obedience to the truth and is the heart needed to show love to each other.

We should have hearts that are so devoted to God, not letting the world come in that it flows to our relationships with others.
Love from a pure heart is where we have to start if we are to be victorious Christians. The problem is however, I rarely see this kind of love acted out. Oh, I see love, but it is usually conditional, motivated by self-gain, etc. Rarely is it the unyielding genuine radical love that Jesus showed. As a result, you don't see God in the way He wants you to see Him. You don't experience the relationship that He has in store for you.
Perhaps today you need to purify your heart. Maybe you need to get some junk out of the closet, and renew your relationship with Him, so you can renew your relationship with others. Maybe you need to purify your heart from disobedience to God and come to Him as Savior today. You see, unbeliever, if you don't have Jesus in your heart, you will never experience love the way God intended. You'll always be let down somehow. Love from a pure heart, is what we first need.

Our love is not only to be characterized by a pure heart, but also by a good conscience

I submit to you that one of the greatest struggles we deal with is a good conscience. How do I mean?
Daily, you and I have to make little choices that will shine a bright light on our conscience:

Young people, "I don't know the answer to this question if I just take a quick glance at my neighbors test."
Parents, are you neglecting to raise your child in the right way: or are you hoping the church will do that?
Adult, it's tax time, are you looking for the small benefits that may be a little grey, but it will help you get more back on your taxes, after all you'll tithe it right?
Husband, do you tell little white lies to avoid confrontation with your wife?

The point is that daily we are not faced with the big decisions, we are faced with tiny decisions that can affect our relationship with God and with others.
Thus, Paul tells Timothy, your love must abound from a good conscience. In other words, your love is going to have as many holes as a kitchen sieve if you are not motivated by a moral right/wrong compass.
Let's further define this goal in terms of Scripture:

acts 23.1 Paul, when being confronted by the murderous mob says, up to this day, I have lived with a good moral conscience.
1 peter 3.16 Peter says you need to love with a moral conscience so that when people slander you and they will, they will end up putting themselves to shame. You see, when people slander you, when they call you a hypocrite, are they right? Is there something in your actions as you say you love someone but turn around and stab them in the back
1 peter 3.21 Peter says when we are saved we appeal to God for this good conscience.

I cannot stress enough that for you to be victorious in your Christian life you have to love with a good conscience. You have to be just as pure on the inside as you are on the outside.

A sincere faith is the third goal of Timothy's ministry and that we should live by.

The kind of faith that Paul tells Timothy to teach the church is the kind of faith that is without hypocrisy.

rom 12.9 Paul says let your love be without hypocrisy
james 3.17 uses this phrase to describe the wisdom that comes from God, it is without hypocrisy
1 Peter 1.22 as before Peter says our love for one another should be sincere.

do you realize what hypocrisy is? It comes from a word that deals with playing a part on stage, and more to the point it refers to a false assumption of an appearance of virtue or religion.
In other words, you are saying one thing, but doing another. If that describes your love, you don't know what Christian love is all about. And the thing is people see right through hypocrisy.
So Paul tells Timothy, our goal is to see that those in the church are genuine, sincere, without hypocrisy.
If you only heard some of the things coming out of the mouths of Christians you would be amazed. We are called to love one another genuinely and yet weekly I hear someone putting someone else down, tearing somebody down rather than building them up.
But not just love without hypocrisy but love with an unhypocritical faith. In other words, do we genuinely love God. That must occur before we can genuinely love others.

In short, your relationship with God and with others is found lacking. That's not where we want to be.
Rather, we need to focus in on these goals: to love from a pure heart, from a good conscience, and from a sincere faith. Then and only then will we begin to experience a complete relationship with others and with God. That's what it's all about, isn't it?