“Our Primary Duty!”

Introduction: “What is our primary duty?”

“What is the main obligation of a believer in Jesus Christ?”

“If there was ONE THING that would describe or define a follower of Jesus, what would that be?”

In the 1980’s, there was a praise chorus we used to sing in rounds:

Love, love, love, love.

The Gospel in one word is love.

Love thy neighbor as thy brother,

Love, love, love.

We sang that song, not because of some kum-by-yah moment, but because that’s what JESUS taught!

John 13:34–35 CSB

34 “I give you a new command: Love one another. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”

The Apostle John had the same message:

1 John 4:7–8 CSB

7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

1 John 4:20–5:1 CSB

20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and yet hates his brother or sister, he is a liar. For the person who does not love his brother or sister whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And we have this command from him: The one who loves God must also love his brother and sister. 1 Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father also loves the one born of him.

Even today, there are folks who would consider themselves Believers/Christians, and yet they DO NOT love those who have been “…born on him,” let alone, anyone outside the church!

(READ TEXT - PRAY)

Romans 13:8–10 CSB

8 Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 The commandments, Do not commit adultery; do not murder; do not steal; do not covet; and any other commandment, are summed up by this commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself. 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Love, therefore, is the fulfillment of the law.

I am indebted to the late Dr. David Hocking for the OUTLINE of this morning’s message:

Love does FOUR things…

I. Love RECOGNIZES its OBLIGATION to OTHERS! - (13:8)

(v.8a) - “Do not owe anyone anything, except to love one another…”

Now our CULTURE (and even more dangerous, our FLESH) says the EXACT OPPOSITE!

CULTURE SAYS the only OBLIGATION that you need concern yourself with is the OBLIGATION TO SELF!

“I’ve got RIGHTS! I’ve got NEEDS! I’ve got DESIRES/WANTS! What about ME?”

And on that BASIS, many have checked out of marriage, of family, of commitment—ALL on the because of the belief that, “I’ve got to get MY LIFE together; MY NEEDS met!”

My friends, that is NOT the ἀλλήλους ἀγαπᾶν - ‘one another to love’ that we “owe” (ὀφείλετε)!

“Does this verse teach we should never BORROW?” - NO!

Matthew 5:42 CSB

42 Give to the one who asks you, and don’t turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

Jesus would not command us to LEND money if it were wrong to BORROW money!

I like the NIV translation: “Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another…”

ORIGEN (185-254 A.D.) - “Paul desires that our debt of love remain and never cease to be owed. For it is expedient that we should pay this debt daily and always owe it.”

BECAUSE of what Christ has done for me, I will ALWAYS owe the debt of LOVE!

(v.8b) - “…for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.”

Matthew 22:40 CSB

40 All the Law and the Prophets depend on these two commands.”

Mark 12:31 CSB

31 The second is, Love your neighbor as yourself. There is no other command greater than these.”

Galatians 5:14 CSB

14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one statement: Love your neighbor as yourself.

I. Love recognizes it’s obligation to others! - (13:8)

There’s a SECOND thing love does…

II. Love RESPECTS the RIGHTS of OTHERS! - (13:9a)

FOUR SPECIFIC COMMANDMENTS and a GENERAL STATEMENT:

A. “Do not commit adultery…”

If I truly love someone, I will NEVER violate the SANCTITY of their MARRIAGE!

B. “…do not murder;”

C. “…do not steal;”

D. “…do not covet”

E. “…and any other commandment”

John Stott - “Certainly the last five sins forbidden in the Ten Commandments harm people. Murder robs them of their life, adultery of their home and honour, theft of their property, and false witness of their good name, while covetousness robs society of the ideals of simplicity and contentment. All these do harm (kakos, evil) to the neighbour, whereas it is the essence of love to seek and to serve our neighbor’s highest good.”

William Hendriksen - “This proves that every negative command (“You shall not”) is at bottom a positive command. The meaning, therefore is: “You shall love, and therefore not commit adultery but preserve the sacredness of the marriage-bond. You shall love, and therefore not murder but help your neighbor keep alive and well. You shall love, and accordingly not steal anything that belongs to your neighbor but rather protect his possessions. You shall love, and as a result not covet what belongs to your neighbor but rejoice in the fact that it is his.””

III. Love RESPONDS to OTHERS! - (13:9b)

(v.9b) - “…are summed up by this commandment: Love your neighbor as yourself.”

Leviticus 19:18 CSB

18 Do not take revenge or bear a grudge against members of your community, but love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.

James 2:8 CSB

8 Indeed, if you fulfill the royal law prescribed in the Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing well.

The REAL TEST of whether we LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR is have we ever DONE something about it—have we done WHAT IS RIGHT! Does your BEHAVIOR PROVE YOUR LOVE?

1 John 3:10 CSB

10 This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister.

1 John 3:15–21 CSB

15 Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16 This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth. 19 This is how we will know that we belong to the truth and will reassure our hearts before him 20 whenever our hearts condemn us; for God is greater than our hearts, and he knows all things. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts don’t condemn us, we have confidence before God

IV. Love REFUSES to HARM OTHERS! - (13:10)

David Hocking - “Love doesn’t stay in NEUTRAL!”

Galatians 6:2 CSB

2 Carry one another’s burdens; in this way you will fulfill the law of Christ.