Love and Structural Integrity
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
EXAMPLE OF STRUCTURAL INTEGRITY
in a chair
in a house
in a bridge
IT PASSES THE TEST, it’s whole, it works, it’s not going to fail, you can trust it
that’s the type of love we’re called to as believers, that’s the type of love we want to have as believers
Last week we were given the “ultimate example” of hate in Cain as murderer
This week we are given the ultimate example of love in Christ as our Sacrificial Savior
He has shown us what our love should look like
just like someone shows someone else how to build a house, or a bridge, or a chair, you follow that instruction and trust it to work
SO WITH THAT, let’s look at our passage...
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
“By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us”
Maybe an easier reading of this… This is how we know what love is: “Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” (NIV)
“We know love”
Know defined
Intellectual knowledge
Experiential knowledge
Knowing lived out
Know (intellectually) what the love is
KNOW (experientially) what the love is
AND WHAT is the love that we are knowing?
He (Jesus Christ) laid down his life for us
“laid down” is an active verb
People didn’t take it from him
It didn’t happen to him passively
He sacrificed of his own accord
“life for us”
“The condition of living or the state of being alive"
The extent of humble sacrifice that Christ displayed in love for us is greater than we’ll ever understand and comprehend.
He started from a higher spot than we will ever attain AND
He lowered himself to a spot lower than we will ever go
God of the Universe, Creator, Holy, Majestic takes on
We will never be
Human flesh, finite, humble, weak, frail, lowly
Huge step already, now he’s “on our level”
To die in the place of wicked, evil, rebellious sinners, the wrath of God poured out on Jesus for us
We could never fill that role for someone else like Christ did for us
1. Know the love of Christ experientially (v. 16).
1. Know the love of Christ experientially (v. 16).
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
EMPHASIZE
6 For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare even to die— 8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from the wrath of God. 10 For if while we were enemies we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, now that we are reconciled, shall we be saved by his life. 11 More than that, we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation.
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved. 11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
YOU CAN KNOW, BUT NOT EXPERIENTIALLY, AND THAT WON’T HELP YOU...
Pharisees knew
Demons know
I knew, but now I KNOW
Knowledge is not what saves you; knowledge is not enough to save you.
Knowledge that leads to faith that results in action
APPLY
If you DO NOT know this experientially, the rest of this sermon won’t matter for you UNTIL you get to that point.
Start by understanding (knowing/knowledge) these truths:
God is your Creator, you’re accountable to Him
God is holy, he is completely set apart from sin
God is just, he will not and cannot allow your sin to go unpunished
God is love, he made a way for you to be reconciled to God
Repent of your sin
Trust in Jesus as your Savior
Follow Jesus as your Lord
If you DO know this experientially, the rest of this sermon won’t matter for you UNLESS you build on this point.
You need to understand and view the gospel is the best thing that ever happened to you, is happening to you, and will continue to happen to you for all eternity.
The gospel, God’s good news, and your new life because of it, has completely altered the course and purpose of your life.
ILLUSTRATE
“knowledge of a doctor” vs. knowing the doctor through him helping you
EXPLAIN
Once you’ve experientially known the love of Christ, you will and you must build upon that.
You don’t “just sit there”
You don’t “move on from there”
You build upon it
LIKE A FOUNDATION
you don’t just live on a foundation as if that’s the complete home
you don’t move on from the foundation and build the home somewhere else
NO, you build the home ON the foundation. You live there, don’t move on from there, but you do build on top of it
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
We ought to lay down our lives for the brothers
We “ought to”
to be or to become bound by obligation; to be obliged
the pattern has been set; the expectation given
if this is what our Master does, this is what we do
Lay down our lives (willingly)
humble sacrifice for the well-being of others
whatever that may look like
no matter the cost
Christ did more than we ever could, but he also showed us how we can love
For the brothers
our brothers and sisters in Christ
2. Love fellow believers practically and sacrificially (vv. 16-17).
2. Love fellow believers practically and sacrificially (vv. 16-17).
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
In building upon the foundation of Christ’s love, how can you “lay down your life” and love the brothers like Christ has done for you?
WE SEE FOUR COMPONENTS OF PRACTICAL, SACRIFICIAL LOVE FOR THE BROTHERS:
A heart of love found only in Christ (see point 1)
An awareness of available resources: “if anyone has the world’s goods”
An alertness for opportunities to love: “sees his brother in need”
An actual outpouring of love in response to that opportunity: “yet closes his heart against him...”
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? 17 So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. 18 But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. 19 You believe that God is one; you do well. Even the demons believe—and shudder! 20 Do you want to be shown, you foolish person, that faith apart from works is useless? 21 Was not Abraham our father justified by works when he offered up his son Isaac on the altar? 22 You see that faith was active along with his works, and faith was completed by his works; 23 and the Scripture was fulfilled that says, “Abraham believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”—and he was called a friend of God. 24 You see that a person is justified by works and not by faith alone. 25 And in the same way was not also Rahab the prostitute justified by works when she received the messengers and sent them out by another way? 26 For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also faith apart from works is dead.
The Apostles at the Beautiful Gate:
1 Now Peter and John were going up to the temple at the hour of prayer, the ninth hour. 2 And a man lame from birth was being carried, whom they laid daily at the gate of the temple that is called the Beautiful Gate to ask alms of those entering the temple. 3 Seeing Peter and John about to go into the temple, he asked to receive alms. 4 And Peter directed his gaze at him, as did John, and said, “Look at us.” 5 And he fixed his attention on them, expecting to receive something from them. 6 But Peter said, “I have no silver and gold, but what I do have I give to you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, rise up and walk!”
Peter and John had the love of Christ
Didn’t have silver or gold, the things the guy was asking for, but they knew what they did have as followers of Jesus and as apostles
They saw this man’s needs (spiritual and physical)
They followed through on the actions of love
Students:
you guys don’t have silver and gold, you don’t have apostolic power to heal crippled men or perform miracles; You do have the love of Christ (believers)
You do have other resources (that a lot of people don’t have)
You have plenty of opportunities where you may see a need (spiritual and physical)
Follow through on the actions of love
resource of time and friendship
resource of prayer
resource of energy (chores)
resource to serve the elderly
EMPHASIZE
32 Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
Christ gave his life
If you can’t/won’t give material resources because of a cold heart, there’s a problem
SO THIS IS WHAT WE “SHOULD” DO; but what have you actually done...
“yet closes his heart against him”
assuming someone else will meet the need
an unwillingness to help because it’s uncomfortable
feeling inadequate or insufficient to meet the need
selfishly not wanting to help because of personal reasons
seeing the need and forgetting, getting distracted, or just a general lack of caring
EXAMPLES
in need of prayer
in need of friend
in need of help
EXPLAIN
18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
3. Examine your words and actions regularly to evaluate their integrity (v. 18).
3. Examine your words and actions regularly to evaluate their integrity (v. 18).
18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Integrity Defined
Definition: the state of being whole and undivided
Definition: the quality of being honest and having strong moral principles; moral uprightness.
Etymology: "a whole number" (as opposed to a fraction), 1570s, from noun use of Latin integer (adj.) "intact, whole, complete," figuratively, "untainted, upright," literally "untouched," The word was used earlier in English as an adjective in the Latin sense, "whole, entire" (c. 1500).
Etymology: c. 1400, "innocence, blamelessness; chastity, purity," and directly from Latin integritatem (nominative integritas) "soundness, wholeness, completeness," figuratively "purity, correctness, blamelessness," from integer "whole" (see integer).
The sense of "wholeness, perfect condition" is attested from mid-15c.; that of "soundness of moral principle and character; entire uprightness or fidelity, especially in regard to truth and fair dealing" is by 1540s.
Examples of integrity:
Structural integrity
example from intro, trustworthy
Character integrity
same person in word and action, a WHOLE PERSON, through and through
Public and private are the same person
EXAMPLES:
Daniel - Man of Integrity
Pharisees - not men of integrity
Ananias and Sapphira - NOT people of integrity
Words or Talk
Promises/commitments
Facts/truths
Beliefs
In deed
Following through
practical actions of love
serving
In truth
living out commands of Scripture
matches up with words
resembles Christ
EMPHASIZE
22 But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. 23 For if anyone is a hearer of the word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. 24 For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. 25 But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing.
APPLY
Summary/Closing
Summary/Closing