What Does Logic Tell Us About Loving Jesus?

Introduction

Today I plan to conclude this series that we have spent the last 2 weeks presenting titled ‘Learning of Love’.

In the first message titled ‘What is Love?’, we examined I Cor. 13 and expounded upon several identifiers as to what Love truly is - according to God’s Definition.

Love is Long-suffering (v4a)

The definition being ‘Patiently endure’, meaning that love doesn’t cut & run when the going gets tough. Love carries you through the trials & heartache. Love does not let the storms of life extinguish the flame. Love is Long-suffering

Love is Kind (v4b)

Love is ‘tender & good’. Love is not violent, nor does it manifest itself wickedly

Love is Humble (v4c)

Love does not seek to rule. Love does not seek to lord over. Love seeks to submit and serve.

Love is Upright (v5a)

Love is not scheming or conniving. Love is TRUTHFUL - never deceptive. Love does not exhibit itself in anything but upright and Holy in manner, attitude and exhibition

Love is Selfless (v5b)

Love does not simply seek what it can get, but rather what it can give! AND THIS IS SO IMPORTANT - because it drives at what is at the heart of love, and the best word that God ascribes to it here, and that is CHARITY.

Love Laments Sin (v6)

Love takes no pleasure in sin in any form or fashion

Love Continues (v7-8a)

Beareth all things

Believeth all things

Hopeth all things

Endureth all things

Love NEVER FAILS!

In last weeks message we looked at the Causality of Love in the message titled ‘What Prompts Us to Love?’ We Identified several things that would move us to act in the manner described in I Cor. 13.

I. The Emotions that we Experience

Our Connections

Our Care

Our Compassion

II. The Example that Jesus Gave

An Example to Strive For

An Example that Makes Sense

III. The End that We Desire

Who we Choose to Glorify

What we Choose to Accomplish

This week in Conclusion, I hope to put it all together and give you some considerations for self-evaluation, and bring this to a logical conclusion, with some DEDUCTIVE REASONING.

And this concept to which I will present today is unique in a sense when compared to the mindset of the world around us, but truly should be common sense. What I mean is that I’m speaking of Logic & Love cohabiting. For many today, they think of love, logic goes out the window. But what I hope to show today is that now that we have defined True Love, and we have looked at the Causes for our Love, I want to now bring you to the Logical conclusion of Love - and most specifically our Love toward Christ. How this Love of Christ will Manifest itself in our specific, identifiable actions.

The first thing that we are going to examine is found in John ch. 14. Our first step in our Logical Conclusion when Learning of Love and our Love for Christ is that IF we Love, we WILL KEEP

I. If we Love, we Will Keep (Joh. 14)

In John 14 we see a few different variations of statements that Jesus makes.

The Demand of Christ

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

In this verse we must identify two things. I would simply label them ‘Cause’ and ‘Effect’. In computer terms, it would be rendered IFTTT - ‘If This, Then, That’.

(Ill.) In my house we have alexa’s, along with two smart bulbs. One is ‘Reading Lamp’ the other is ‘Living Room Lamp’. But I have them in a group called ‘Living Room’. And IF I say ‘Alexa, turn off ‘Living Room’, then Alexa knows that since I said the qualifier ‘Living Room’, it knows to send off signals to both of those lights. ‘If THIS, THEN THAT’.

Well in this verse of Scripture, we have Jesus giving a IFTTT to His disciples.

Jesus says first the word ‘IF’. This is the qualifier. This sets things in motion. Without the qualifier - nothing else could be expected to happen.

(Ill.) I could shout the house down saying ‘Turn off living room’ and unless my family feels pity on me and starts unplugging things, the lights will stay on’. I must say ‘Alexa’ first.

Jesus then says ‘ye love me’. This is the condition. This must be in place for things to move forward.

(Ill.) If I were to say ‘Alexa, turn dining room on’ - nothing happens, because I don’t have anything in the dining room.

Jesus then says ‘keep my commandments’. This is the result. This is what happens when the qualifier & conditions are met.

(Ill.) When I meet the conditions for the illustration, the lights turn off.

This is the same principle here. Jesus says ‘IF’ (qualifier) ‘ye love me’ (condition), ‘keep my commandments’ (result).

Now I want to make sure that you understand what that means, and in order to do so, you must define the word ‘keep’ (def) to watch; to guard from loss or injury, to hold or retain in one’s power or possession; to have in custody for security or preservation.

As I tell you constantly, I am a logical guy. I think & draw conclusions logically - very rarely emotionally - in any aspect of my life, and what I’m showing you here is a very logical statement from our LORD.

We see the Demand of Christ - IF we LOVE we WILL KEEP. - But He didn’t stop there. We see next the Declaration of Christ

The Declaration of Christ

John 14:21a He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me:

Now there something particular that I want you to see in this statement. Jesus doesn’t just say ‘He that hath my commandments, he it is that loveth me’. No, there’s another qualifier there.

This is an important distinction to make, because there’s a LOT of people who KNOW the words of Christ. They know the COMMANDS of Christ - they just don’t CARE about them. They don’t KEEP the commands of Christ.

THERE’S A LOT OF SELF-PROFESSING CHRISTIANS WHO KNOW THE COMMANDS OF CHRIST, BUT DON’T KEEP THEM! (Hold fast; watch; guard; retain)

Some would say this to be a bold statement - I simply see it as a matter of fact. Jesus could not expect them that don’t have His commandments to keep them, but surely He could expect those who DO have them TO KEEP THEM.

We see the Declaration of Christ - but He still goes one step further. Next we see the Denunciation of Chirst

The Denunciation of Christ

John 14:24a He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings:

Here Jesus - just in case He wasn’t clear before - gives the antithesis to His statement.

This matter - this 3rd repetition of Jesus means something. The Bible tells us in the law of Moses in: Deuteronomy 19:15b ...at the mouth of three witnesses, shall the matter be established. Paul used this 3-fold repetition himself against the Corinthians in 2 Cor. 13:1 to solidify the fact. Church, let me just say this: JESUS MEANT WHAT HE SAID!

We see the Denunciation of Christ

So the first step that we look at in what ‘Logic tells us about Loving Jesus’ is that ‘IF we Love, then we’ll Keep’. Secondly, following that line of Reason, we see that 2 - If we Keep, we will Love Others

II. If we Keep, we Will Love Others

We’ll Love God Fervently

Matthew 22:37-38 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment.

Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment of God was, this was His answer. Fervently (def) Earnestly; eagerly; vehemently; with great warmth. 2. With pious ardor; with earnest zeal; ardently.

With every aspect, with every fiber of being, with all our might and everything that we have - we’re to Love God!

Our Thoughts should center around God

Our Desires should be God focused

Our Longings should have a Godly foundation

Our Actions should be God Ordained

And my friends, this is the problem with modern Christianity. We expect the heathen to regard God, when we - the born again believer - treats God as an appendage.

(Ill.) God is like tonsils. You don’t want to do without them, but wouldn’t be a big deal in your life if they were gone. You don’t give them much thought unless you’re hurting. It’s a very small and insignificant part of your being.

This is not the way Christ said it should be! It shouldn’t be that the only time we crack open our Bibles is when we come to church! It shouldn’t be that we only cry out unto God in prayer is when we are in distress! God should DOMINATE EVERY ASPECT OF YOUR LIVES! God should be integral in your work day. In your off days. When you’re out to eat or on vacation. God and your relationship with Him should absolutely DOMINATE YOU LIFE!

IF WE LOVE CHRIST - We’ll love God FERVENTLY - You can’t get around that! Secondly, We’ll love our Neighbor Familiarly

We’ll Love our Neighbor Familiarly

Matthew 22:39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

The man didn’t ask, but Jesus offered the second commandment there as well. We should love our neighbor as we love our own selves.

This is some task that Jesus has called us to do in the age of MYspace, Facebook, Twitter - where everyone is starving for attention and trying to get people to focus on them, but IF we LOVE CHRIST - this is what it looks like. (Of course, the lawyer asked ‘who is my neighbor’, to which Jesus gave the parable of the Good Samaritan) - so the answer to ‘who is my neighbor’ would be ‘whoever you find in distress’.

But there’s another I want to speak of, and it’s found in: John 13:34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

We’re to love the brethren as Jesus loved us!

(Ill.) I know I’m difficult to love sometimes (if not all the time). I know that some of my own brethren will say ‘Man, I can’t stand that preacher!’ - well let me tell you something - you better figure out how to love me - if for no other reason, than because Jesus commanded it! And I better love you despite how you feel about me, and vice versa!

IF we Love Jesus, We’ll Love our Neighbor Familiarly - but Jesus even took this one step further, didn’t He!

We’ll Love our Enemies Faithfully

Jesus told the Pharisees: Matthew 5:43-48 Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. 44 But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; 45 That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust. 46 For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? 47 And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so? 48 Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect.

Now we’re getting deep church. You don’t have to tell me that it’s not east sometimes to love you brothers & sisters in Christ. I’ve been around long enough to know that’s a chore sometimes. But at least you have that in common, right? But now Jesus has commanded that we love our enemies! These are not people that just rub you to wrong way or stare at you for no reason. We’re talking about people that are ACTIVELY AGAINST WHAT YOU STAND FOR!

We live in a day when either shout down the opposition or cancel them. Now I’m not saying that there’s never a time when we should stand up and fight, what I am saying is that we must remember that our ultimate goal is not to defeat our earthly enemies, but to WIN THEM TO CHRIST!

We’ll Love Ourselves Forsakingly

Jesus said: Matthew 16:24 Then said Jesus unto his disciples, If any man will come after me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow me.

Jesus commands us to Love God, Love our Brother, Love our Neighbor, Love our Enemies - but then Deny ourselves.

AREN’T YOU GLAD JESUS DENIED HIMSELF IN THE GARDEN? AREN’T YOU GLAD THAT HE FORSOOK HIS DESIRE AND INSTEAD FOCUSED ON OUR NEED?

IF we love Jesus, we’ll KEEP His Command to Love ourselves Forsakingly - to Deny ourselves.

So the first step that we look at in what ‘Logic tells us about Loving Jesus’ is that ‘IF we Love, then we’ll Keep’. Secondly, following that line of Reason, we see that 2 - If we Keep, we will Love Others. Now we need to see how that Manifests Itself in Action

III. If we Love Others, our Actions Will Reflect

We’ll Live a God-Centered Life

We will Deny the Flesh

The Bible tells us: Galatians 5:19-21 Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these; Adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, 20 Idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, 21 Envyings, murders, drunkenness, revellings, and such like: of the which I tell you before, as I have also told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.

Paul said it right when he said ‘in my flesh dwelleth no good thing’ (Rom 7:18)

Paul told Titus: Titus 2:12 Teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly, in this present world;

IF we Love Christ, we’ll Love Others (here God specifically), THEN we’ll Deny our Flesh!

We will Do the Will of God

Galatians goes on to say: Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.

We’ll Live a God-Centered Life - IF WE LOVE CHRIST THIS IS HOW IT WILL MANIFEST ITSELF

We’ll Lift Our Brethren

We will encourage & edify the brethren.

We’ll be blessings, not burdens.

We’ll bring our brothers & sisters in Christ joy instead of heartache.

We’ll lift each other up - we’ll pray for one another, we’ll cry when they cry & rejoice when they rejoice!

Paul said: Ephesians 4:29 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.

We’ll Lift Our Brethren - this is how our Love for Christ will manifest itself

We’ll Labour for the Lost

IF you love me, keep my commandments, right? Jesus’ final command found in: Matthew 28:18-20 And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. 19 Go ye therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost: 20 Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you: and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.

Church, if you Love Jesus, you will labour for the lost. Jesus certainly did!

So the first step that we look at in what ‘Logic tells us about Loving Jesus’ is that ‘IF we Love, then we’ll Keep’. Secondly, following that line of Reason, we see that 2 - If we Keep, we will Love Others. Now we need to see how that IF we Love Others, then it Will Manifest Itself into Action. Lastly, If our Actions Reflect Our Love for Others, then our Love for Christ is Justified

IV. If our Actions Reflect Our Love for Others, our Love for Him is Justified

The Proof is in the Pudding

IF we Labour for the Lost - we show love for them, then by proxy - we Love Jesus

IF we Lift up our Brethren - we show love for them, then by proxy - we love Jesus

IF we Live a God-Centered Life - we show that we love the Things of God, then by proxy - we love Jesus

Don’t forget what He said:

John 14:15 If ye love me, keep my commandments.

John 14:21a He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me:

And finally: John 14:24a He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings:

There is no grey area. There is no wonder or hem-hawing around. These are quantifiable. You can KNOW if you really love Jesus or not by these things!

Like I said - I’m a logical guy. And common logic tells me that those who exhibit this type of behaviour truly Loves Jesus - and those who don’t, don’t.

Conclusion

By way of invitation, there may be some of you who are convicted by the truth found here. You might say ‘Preacher, what you’re saying is right, and I’ve not demonstrated this love, and by my actions I certainly am guilty of not loving the LORD like I should… but I want to. If that’s you, make the commitment today. You may have walked ignorantly in the past, but remember what Jesus said: He that hath - AND KEEPETH. Well, now you have… will you keep? The choice is yours.