Oh Holy Night: His law is Love
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oh Holy Night: His Law is Love
oh Holy Night: His Law is Love
16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
For God so love the world...
God loved us so much
Love is such an important issue in Scripture.
In fact, just before Jesus was taken away, He was in a room with His disciples, sharing a passover meal.
You can feel sense of urgency as He summarized so many truths with them that night.
Among those was the issue of love.
When you look at what He said about it and consider what was happening, it is an amazing lesson for us.
I pray that today we get an even deeper understanding of how we THE CHURCH is supposed to love.
Jesus set the standard of Love for the church.
By standard I don’t ONLY mean he set the bar for what love is...
He also made it clear that if you are as Christian you must love other Christians.
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
“A New Command”
NEW - a unique kind of love christian are to have for one another. why is it unique...
Unique in the sense that it isn’t based on mosaic law
The law of love is based on Christ’s sacrificial love for us. (shown un His willingness to give His live for us)
COMMAND - this is not a suggestion. If you are a christian you MUST love other Christians. (one another)
Things you cannot say without being disobedient:
You stay on your half and I’ll say on mine.
I love God but hate the church.
I’m not a member of a church because my relationship with God is personal.
“Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another”
Just as = in Response to Christ’s Love for us.
Since Jesus loves us … we ought to love each other.
Just as= To the degree that Jesus loves us.
Endeavor to emulate Christ love for us in the way we love each other.
I would submit that both are true.
Because Jesus first loved us unconditionally, we should, in turn endeavor to emulate that love for each other!!!!
*so then…Jesus set the standard of love for us, the church...
(Therefore) Our response to Christ’s love identifies who we really are.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
How radical is this love?
It is actually supposed to be a witness to who we are!!!!
Let me pause and tell you why this is so important.
I have had conversation about sharing our faith with others.
How do I help them see the problems with their belief system. (you should want to be able to do that)
But think about this...
This command was given to people who had NEVER read the bible (it didn’t exist yet)!!!
Their love for each other was supposed to do the talking for them.
“I don’t know if I believe everything they do at Warwick Baptist Church, but their love for each other is so genuine, there is some real about that church!”
I want to learn more about that Jesus they talk about.
But lets pause and think deeper about this...
We celebrate the idea that our love for each other will be a testimony for who we are in Christ...
We won’t show this by simply loving those who are easy to love.
32 “If you love those who love you, what benefit is that to you? For even sinners love those who love them.
It is not enough to love those who are easy to love.
It is not enough to love those who will reciprocate our love.
Christ’s standard is UNCONDITIONAL LOVE!!!!!!
A Christians love for others is continual as well as situational.
10 If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.
What I think most people hear is:
If you are a Christian you will keep Jesus’ commands
If you are going to keep Jesus’ commands here is what it takes
ABIDE in His love.
Abide = to continue in a certain activity.
How do I know if I’m doing this?
If you are continually need to apologize for your response to conflict you are not obeying this command.
Maybe that seems really hard to do.
Then you are missing the point.
This statement was made just after Jesus used the illustration:
5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Abiding in Christ’s love is supposed to be a live giving source of joy and comfort.
You are so dependent on Christ’s love that it hurts you to have anything less flowing through you.
The purpose of Christ’s life on earth was for us to know and dwell in God’s love.
26 I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them.”
It is vitally important for us to understand where we are when Jesus said these words.
He is about to leave the room where he shared His last meal with His disciples… and go to get betrayed and killed.
Think about all that happened in that room.
washed their feet
instituted communion
Initiate this NEW COMMAND about love
Then gave this amazing heartfelt prayer.
This is His final prayer where He gives an account of His earthly mission.
He prays for Himself
He prays for His disciples
He prays for later believers (us).
last words of this prayer...
“I have made known to the them your name, and I will continue to make it known,”
This is more than simply making us aware of God
We are able to KNOW God … have a personal relationship with Him.
Jesus revealed in the flesh the one and only true God who is in the Spirit.
Jesus corrected this misunderstandings about God and fulfilled the law of God.
“That”
So that … in order that
This is a SUBORDINATE CLAUSE
it expresses the PURPOSE which the action took place.
“That the love with which you have love me may be in them, and I in them.”
Jesus revealed God to us so that same love that God has for Jesus will be the same be also in us.
And therefore Jesus will also be in us.
Jesus came to earth to reveal God’s love to us because by having God’s love we can receive the gift of Christ.
Closing Prayer
Closing Prayer