The Pursuit of Love

Our theme for 2020 has been “Seeing Spiritually.”

We are learning to see from God’s perspective and to understand what God is doing.

We had no idea when this year started, what a crazy year it would be.

But if you look with your spiritual eyes, you may see that God is unfolding His plan right in front of us.

About two months ago, we talked about Paul’s letter to the Romans (Romans 1-8) in a series entitled “What does it mean to believe?”

We discovered that believing involves a supernatural encounter with Christ that transforms us into the people that God made us to be.

You no longer belong to yourself; you belong to Christ!

So the question changes from--What does it mean to believe? to-- What does it mean to belong?

God chose a people through whom He would reveal Himself to the world.

We then learned that we are all messengers through which God will convey His message to the world.

Last week we talked about the importance of presenting ourselves to God to be transformed into those who would represent God, not just in name, but in character.

We presented our abilities, our attitudes and our allegiance.

Today’s text is about love as the culmination of transformation.

Last week we talked about how we relate up - to God and to those in authority.

Today we are talking about how we relate out - to those around us, especially with those who are our fellow messengers.

Remember the Roman church was both Jews and Gentiles.

If the world was to receive the message of God’s love, they would need to first demonstrate that love to each other.

What does it look like to pursue love?

Love is one of those words which is so often misunderstood.

Let’s break it down like Paul does. We are pursuing what is good, honorable and edifying.

Pursuing what is good.

Romans 13:8 ESV

8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.

Love is our duty.

This verse picks up on the idea of presenting our allegiance.

We owe the government taxes, but what else do we owe and to whom?

We certainly don’t want to be giving our allegiance to things other than God.

If our goal and purpose is the spread the message about God, then our single obligation is to that duty.

So how does duty translate into love?

From the Jewish perspective, duty is all about keeping the Law.

But when you think about what the Law says, it can all be summed up by what Jesus called the greatest commandments, to love God and to love your neighbor.

In other words, instead of focusing on what not to do (kill, steal cheat or covet) you can focus on what to do (love) and you have the same result.

Romans 13:10 AMP

10 Love does no wrong to one’s neighbor [it never hurts anybody]. Therefore love meets all the requirements and is the fulfilling of the Law.

This requires transformation because we already said that God’s kind of love is not something that comes natural.

It is part of the process of restoration that God is doing .

Romans 13:11–12 ESV

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.

Love reflects God’s goodness.

The Bible is the story of God’s redemption.

We begin in the garden with a good creation and mankind enjoying fellowship with God. Everything was good!

Then sin entered in and mankind became selfish and defensive.

Love in the context of sinful human nature says, “what can you do for me?”

We associate love with a the pleasant feeling you get when someone pleases you or meets a need that you have.

But God showed us what love is in Jesus Christ, that He sacrificed to bring us back into relationship with himself.

We wouldn’t know what love is without God.

We would be inclined to think that love is what makes me feel good.

We don’t even know what “good” is without God.

“Good” is whatever is good for me, but what if that’s not good for you?

Love is desiring what is good for the other, even at our own expense.

Pau says it’s like we have been asleep and are just now waking up.

I thought I was good, until I saw God’s holiness.

I thought I knew love, until I saw the love of God in Christ.

I thought I knew everything until I learned that everything is not about me.

The difference is like night and day; like darkness and light.

I hear a lot of people using this language, but I’m not sure that they mean what the Apostle Paul is meaning.

People use the slang “woke” to describe being aware of racial injustice. I also see people asking, “are you awake yet?” with reference to election interference and media manipulation.

All of these usages are expressions of moral outrage, but that’s not the way the term is being used here.

Paul is talking about an awakening to love.

It is like being awakened to life, beauty and all that is good.

It’s not the awareness of evil, but the expectation of good.

It’s like for the first time in our lives, we actually know what good means!

If you are having difficulty following me, let’s spell it out for you.

Romans 13:13 ESV

13 Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy.

So instead of guilt, hangovers, arguments, the “walk of shame” or whatever else characterized your life before Christ, you have a new life now.

Until you know the goodness of God you aren’t really living.

Love is our choice.

You need to understand where you have come from and where you are going.

Nobody is saying that you have to be perfect.

God is in the process of restoring all things.

Part of that restoration is what He is doing in your life and in my life.

We are people in process - a process of putting off the old and putting on the new.

Romans 13:14 ESV

14 But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.

Pursuing love is a choice.

You decide what you are going to put off and what you will put on.

You don't’ have to just go with what comes naturally.

You are an empowered child of God!

Pursuing what is honorable.

I know what some of you are thinking, “I love everybody; I just don’t like some people.”

Do you ever get impatient with people who can’t do this or can’t eat that?

Try planning a dinner and inviting a vegan, a person with gluten allergies and a diabetic… oh and a person who only eats kosher!

It’s amazing that this was written 2000 years ago because it seems like everybody these days has something that they can’t eat or cant do.

And now we have to work in people’s COVID concerns too!

Romans 14:1–4 ESV

1 As for the one who is weak in faith, welcome him, but not to quarrel over opinions. 2 One person believes he may eat anything, while the weak person eats only vegetables. 3 Let not the one who eats despise the one who abstains, and let not the one who abstains pass judgment on the one who eats, for God has welcomed him. 4 Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.

Honor the image of God in others.

We honor people because they are people, not because we agree with them.

A persons adequacy is not determined by what you think of them.

They are a person made in the image of God, just like you.

God loves them, just like He loves you.

Jesus Christ died for them, fills them with his Holy Spirit and uses them just like you.

Any attempt to put another person down to build yourself up does not reflect a godly perspective on them or on you.

I think Paul may be writing these words with a slight smile.

Accept the “weaker person.”

Why? Because he is targeting his remarks to those who are walking in pride and arrogance.

If you identify with how he is saying it, then it is you that he is talking to!

If you look at the whole of what he is saying, he’s not really saying that either is weaker, both are approved by God.

A friend and I once went out with a group of church guys that were talking about the best place to get hot wings. Of course, hot wings are bar food, so some of the best places to get wings just happen to be bars. A couple of the guys, including my friend, wanted to buy beers. Since they didn’t have any personal conviction about having drink or two they didn’t see a problem with it. But a new guy was joining the group and my friend didn’t know that he had been an alcoholic. What seemed like a good thing to one person could be a bad thing for another.

The point I want to make here is that my friend thought he was being strong in his faith because he could have a drink and it wasn’t a problem for him. (There was a time in his life when it might have been.)

In fact, he looked pretty weak when he discovered that he was drinking right in front of a recovering alcoholic.

More on the impact of our example on others a little later.

Honor the choices of others.

Romans 14:5–6 ESV

5 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 The one who observes the day, observes it in honor of the Lord. The one who eats, eats in honor of the Lord, since he gives thanks to God, while the one who abstains, abstains in honor of the Lord and gives thanks to God.

It is good to have convictions.

A truly weak person has no real convictions, they just do what they feel or what they think is expected of them.

Conviction means you have made some decisions about how you are going to live your life and you have reasons for your conclusions.

Paul leaves room for differences of opinion, even differences of conviction as long as they are based on solid reasons.

We live in a time where people believe the most bizarre things.

For example: I have a friend who honestly believes the earth is flat.

But so often, if you question people about their beliefs, they get defensive.

So it has produced this culture where people act like, “What’s true is true for you.”

We call it moral relativism - where the end justifies the means.

That’s not what I’m talking about, and I don’t think Paul is either.

There is only one truth, but we may see it differently.

Truth is still truth, constant and unchanging, but it has many facets and we don’t see or understand everything.

That’s why you can live your entire life learning to know God and you will still be learning when you get old.

And depending on our experiences and circumstances, we will apply the same truth differently.

What is important is that we are seeking to be honest with God, ourselves and others about what we are perceiving.

God honors our choices.

He doesn’t try to control us.

He doesn’t try to make us all believe and act exactly the same way.

In Africa, when the Spirit of God falls on a meeting they shout and dance. In Russia, when the Spirit of God falls on a meeting they weep. Asians may be very quiet and contemplative in their faith. Latinos are all about family and celebration. All are expressions of the same faith and the same Holy Spirit.

I can honor the choices of anyone who is seeking to honor God by their choices.

Honor your own commitment to God.

Romans 14:8–10 ESV

8 For if we live, we live to the Lord, and if we die, we die to the Lord. So then, whether we live or whether we die, we are the Lord’s. 9 For to this end Christ died and lived again, that he might be Lord both of the dead and of the living. 10 Why do you pass judgment on your brother? Or you, why do you despise your brother? For we will all stand before the judgment seat of God;

The Bible tells us both to judge and not to judge.

We have to decide (judge) who we want to be close to or whom we want to emulate.

We are told to judge people by the fruit of their lives (examine their character by it’s outcome).

However we are not to make a final judgement about a person’s identity or destiny.

Only God gets to tell them who they really are and what their end will be.

I’m sure Paul had a lot of critics; people just waiting for him to fail so they could say, “I told you so!”

But here we are in the year 2020 reading his letter as God’s inspired Word which has stood the test of time.

And who were his critics? Do we even know their names?

The point is that Paul wasn’t focused on the critics; he was focused on Jesus!

In the end, each person has to run their own race.

And each of us will stand before God.

And only God will know if you or I have been obedient to what He has given us to do.

Pursuing what is edifying.

Romans 14:13–15 ESV

13 Therefore let us not pass judgment on one another any longer, but rather decide never to put a stumbling block or hindrance in the way of a brother. 14 I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus that nothing is unclean in itself, but it is unclean for anyone who thinks it unclean. 15 For if your brother is grieved by what you eat, you are no longer walking in love. By what you eat, do not destroy the one for whom Christ died.

Paul is to help the Roman believers to balance to individual obedience to God and at the same time accommodate differing perspectives and even differing convictions within the church.

Both sides want vindication. Everybody wants to be right. But there is something more important than being right....

Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should.

In my earlier example, my friend was feeling like he had the right to a beer because he had overcome what was probably a mild addiction.

The part that he missed was that his little celebration was putting someone else with a more serious addiction at risk of relapse.

In the case of the church at Rome, most of the meat in the market place was not Kosher.

It may have even been offered in a ritual sacrifice.

In Paul’s letter to the Corinthians he talks about meat offered to idols- that’s probably what he is also referring to here.

Paul himself was not superstitious.

But the Jerusalem council had ruled that this was one of the areas where Gentiles ought to defer to Jewish sensibilities.

I’m sure for many Gentile believers who grew up eating their prime rib rare or pulled pork, it might have seemed unfair that their favorite meal would make their Jewish brothers sick to their stomachs.

The point is not whether you believe you can eat it in good conscience.

The problem is that someone else will be tempted to violate their conscience because of you.

I wouldn’t want someone else’s failure on my conscience.

The goal is the goodness of God.

Romans 14:17–19 TPT

17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of rules about food and drink, but is in the realm of the Holy Spirit, filled with righteousness, peace, and joy. 18 Serving the Anointed One by walking in these kingdom realities pleases God and earns the respect of others. 19 So then, make it your top priority to live a life of peace with harmony in your relationships, eagerly seeking to strengthen and encourage one another.

I’m sure that eating certain food or drink, for many people represents “the good life.”

I know for me, there’s nothing like a big juicy steak, lightly pink in the center with the appropriate beverage (you fill in the blank).

But truth be told, I would give that up any day if doing so would help me draw someone to Christ.

The good life is life in Christ!

It’s knowing that God loves me and I am His.

It’s being able to wake up each day with a clear mind and a clean conscience.

It the life of God which comes from my innermost being like rivers of living water.

I wake up with a song almost every morning - that’s the joy of the Lord.

And furthermore, if you are enjoying “the good life” with Christ, you wouldn’t want to do anything that might keep someone else from enjoying that life as well.

Be consistent with your actions.

Romans 14:20 ESV

20 Do not, for the sake of food, destroy the work of God. Everything is indeed clean, but it is wrong for anyone to make another stumble by what he eats.

Remember that our series is entitled: What does it mean to belong?

You belong to Christ. It’s not about you anymore.

We are God’s messengers, redeemed by Jesus in order to restore things back to the good that God originally intended.

But we might be tempted to take a short cut, to sit back and take it easy and try to have what seems like “the good life” right now.

Remember the goal: It’s not just about you, but its about God and love and other people who belong to God just as much as you do.

Romans 14:22–23 NLT

22 You may believe there’s nothing wrong with what you are doing, but keep it between yourself and God. Blessed are those who don’t feel guilty for doing something they have decided is right. 23 But if you have doubts about whether or not you should eat something, you are sinning if you go ahead and do it. For you are not following your convictions. If you do anything you believe is not right, you are sinning.

Do you want to know what love is? Love is loving the things that God loves because God is love.

Every believer should want to get closer to God.

We sing songs like, “God, I just want to know You more” and “I want to know Your heart.”

The closer I get to the heart of God the more I realize that God’s heart is for the world and especially for the lost.

If you want a deep, intimate relationship with God, it’s more than just knowing that God loves you; it’s loving the things that He loves.

Do you want to be a messenger of God’s love?

Then don’t just pursue love for yourself.

Pursue what is good for others as well.

Honor whatever you can find in others that is honorable.

Work together with everyone else who belongs to God to edify one another.

Questions for reflection:

Are you pursuing love; not just to be loved, but to be an expression of God’s love to others? What are you putting off? What are you putting on? What do you think others see in you?

How do you handle people who think differently from you? Are you intent on proving that you are right? Or do you respect the opinions of others? Do you evaluate your convictions in light of your commitment to Christ?

Are you spiritually awakened to the reality of the goodness of God? Are you walking with God daily? Is the goodness of God flowing through you? Are you sharing “the good life” with others?