Brotherly Love

It is important to make something clear before the sermon today. The congregation of the saints here in Anniston is undergoing trials at this time. Some of us might be uncomfortable with publicly admitting these things. I believe it is important for the group here to be open and honest to the world, as Jesus was.

John 18:20 Jesus answered him, “I spoke openly to the world. I always taught in synagogues and in the temple, where the Jews always meet, and in secret I have said nothing.

Churches have trouble. Not one church in the NT do we find that didn’t have trouble. If they weren’t wrapped up in sin, they were under serious persecution from the outside world. Something has been on my mind for the past week, and I believe it’s important for us to remember. No matter what happens in the local church - no matter how bad things get, or how much harm and division the wicked sow among us… as long as we are fighting the good fight according to how God wants us to fight it… the troubles visited upon us are still better than an eternity in hell.

I want to go to heaven, and I want everyone here to go to heaven as well. But if we are unwilling to open our Bibles and listen and study together… if we are unwilling to be honest with each other… and if we are unwilling to take a stand for the gospel… then there is no faithful work of the Lord here.

The only thing that will help us through this trouble is the Love of God. There are a number of ways you can preach God’s love. His love for us in salvation, His love for us in providence and blessings, etc. Today I’d like to look at a particular facet of that love - the love He expects us to have with each other.

Romans 12:9-13

Romans 12:9–13 NKJV

Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil. Cling to what is good. Be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love, in honor giving preference to one another; not lagging in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord; rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer; distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

Brotherly Love is without Hypocrisy. Rom. 12:9-13

In fact, you could read it as “love without hypocrisy”

Hypocritical love CLAIMS such a thing, but does not DO what is best for its object.

Agape love means I do what is BEST for you. If I do not, it is not love.

Abhorring evil

Wickedness is despicable, unable to be tolerated!

This means we do not stick around when temptation is possible!

Clinging to good

CLEAVE to what is good (KJV).

This word means to be “glued” to something. It is used in the context of the marriage relationship (Mark 10:7), and also in the context of being or becoming a member of a local congregation (Acts 9).

In clinging to good, we are separating ourselves completely from evil!

Affectionate.

Affection: loving dearly, being devoted.

Thus, we DEVOTE ourselves to one another. In our productive, healthy relationships in the Kingdom, we are devoted to each other, serve each other, and hold each other accountable so that we can maintain fellowship in love.

In honor preferring one another

ESV “outdo one another in showing honor”

“esteem more highly”

Honor means we value each other, just as God honors all of us.

Does NOT lag in diligence.

Note that if we keep busy with Kingdom work, the less susceptible we are to breaking these commands.

The gossip does so because they are not busying themselves enough with the work of the Lord. In their dislike of someone, they do anything but approach them directly. Instead, they bear their tales elsewhere and sow strife and discord.

May we all strive to busy our hands with the Lord’s work! If you need to know what to do, ask someone.

When we lag in diligence, we open up the door for Satan to disrupt and possibly even destroy the work of the local church.

Is rather FERVENT in spirit.

Enthusiasm/excitement. You don’t HAVE to do Kingdom work; you GET to do kingdom work!

Implication that fervency for a worldly/carnal things and people is NOT a spiritual motive.

Also that the spiritual mission of a Christian (evangelism, edification, benevolence) should be undertaken with a great ENERGY - not a lack of care.

Serving the Lord.

The angels serve him out of love.

Revelation 4:8-11 “The four living creatures, each having six wings, were full of eyes around and within. And they do not rest day or night, saying: “Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty, Who was and is and is to come!” Whenever the living creatures give glory and honor and thanks to Him who sits on the throne, who lives forever and ever, the twenty-four elders fall down before Him who sits on the throne and worship Him who lives forever and ever, and cast their crowns before the throne, saying: “You are worthy, O Lord, To receive glory and honor and power; For You created all things, And by Your will they exist and were created.””

We need to remember this with everything we do for Him. If we remember who HE is, then we will remember how to treat each other.

Rejoicing in Hope.

“happy in expectation” - someone asks, how can I be that way?

Eph. 1:18-23 - How much more do we need to be joyful? The creator of the universe has adopted you into his family! What he did for Jesus, He will do for you!

Not sadly sighing as we come together because we “have to”!

Philippians 2:14–15 Do all things without complaining and disputing, that you may become blameless and harmless, children of God without fault in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world,

Related: “patient in tribulation”

Luke 21:15-19 - Amazing words for the Apostles! They were to be patient amid tribulation. In this passage, those aspects still apply to us.

Continuing steadfastly in prayer.

NASB “devoted to prayer”

Not so much a CONSTANCY, but the fact that you have a healthy prayer life that is ongoing.

Easy to stop, especially when troubles come up! Rather we must pray MORE when trouble arises.

Acts 12:12 So, when he had considered this, he came to the house of Mary, the mother of John whose surname was Mark, where many were gathered together praying.

Distributes to the needs of the saints

“sharing what is necessary for the holy ones” - this is not just about material sharing.

Note John 21, Jesus says “feed my lambs”, “tend my sheep”, “feed my sheep”

Jesus was not telling Peter to build a soup kitchen; rather, to make sure the flock of God is fed with the word of God accurately taught!

Sometimes what I WANT is not what I need; this applies as well to Bible teaching!

Given to hospitality.

“Pursuing the love of strangers”

Thus, we need to be reaching out to each other, building relationships. We need to think of what we have not only as what belongs to us, but for what we can put it to use for the brethren.

Brotherly Love is not found in panic and fear. 1 John 4:17-19

1 John 4:17-19 “Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us.”

If your reaction to the scripture is fear, it might be because you live in a sinful situation that you are not willing to change.

In this fear of doing right, fear of knowing right, fear of true study of the Bible, we expose our hardened hearts, unwilling to listen to our creator.

Fear involves torment.

The Bible was not written so that we fret away our lives; rather, that we have a calm and patient trust in Him, a true, reverential fear of HIM, not the consequences of doing the right thing.

Love is COMPLETED/PERFECTED in our casting off of worldly, carnal fears.

We are not those who “sit and wait” to see what mankind will let us do.

We serve God actively in boldness and courage.

I’m afraid many who call themselves Christians will not face the judgment in boldness, but rather with worldly fear and panic.

Brotherly Love does not lie. Eph. 4:25-32

Ephesians 4:25–32 Therefore, putting away lying, “Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor,” for we are members of one another. “Be angry, and do not sin”: do not let the sun go down on your wrath, nor give place to the devil. Let him who stole steal no longer, but rather let him labor, working with his hands what is good, that he may have something to give him who has need. Let no corrupt word proceed out of your mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart grace to the hearers. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.

Put falsehoods away; they do not belong in the Christian’s “toolbox”.

Colossians 3:9 Do not lie to one another, since you have put off the old man with his deeds,

Note that anger is not condemned, but misdirected and uncontrolled anger is!

The requirements to fulfill this command:

Do not let the sun go down on your wrath

Meaning that time will not fix this problem. It must be met head-on and corrected immediately.

Do not give place to the devil.

He will take any foothold he can to hurt the Lord and his saints.

Do not make excuses about endangering the brethren you are supposed to love!

Instead of stealing, work for what you need, so that you can even then have abundance to help those who cannot work.

Let no corrupt word...

This does not seem to only be about “cuss words”, though they would be included.

The core message seems to be “don’t speak a rotten, useless, vain message” - in essence, follow what James says in James 3!

James 3:1–2 My brethren, let not many of you become teachers, knowing that we shall receive a stricter judgment. For we all stumble in many things. If anyone does not stumble in word, he is a perfect man, able also to bridle the whole body.

Control your speech, and especially in the context of teaching others, which is our goal.

Speak what is useful for edification - building up!

If we do not follow this, we grieve the Holy Spirit - who gave us all the words we need to accurately teach His will!

We have been “sealed for the day of redemption” by him - our deeds in the body matter!

One would think v.31 would be a no-brainer. Of course we should put away all these things! Yet, we always need that reminder.

Bitterness

Wrath

Anger (obviously misdirected and/or unrighteous anger)

Clamor - loud fighting. The thought that the biggest holler wins. Talking over those in order to get your way.

Evil speaking - accusing others of untrue things in an effort to deflect from your own problems.

Put away those, and be kind and tenderhearted to each other.

Forgiving as Christ forgave you.

Here is the value of W.H.O. - being Willing, Honest, and Open in every conflict resolution.

To do all this requires a true openness on our part.

2 Corinthians 6:11–12 O Corinthians! We have spoken openly to you, our heart is wide open. You are not restricted by us, but you are restricted by your own affections.

When we distance ourselves from our brethren, we become enamored with the world.

Brotherly Love leads a “quiet life”. 1 Thess. 4:9-12

1 Thessalonians 4:9–12 But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; and indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more; that you also aspire to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business, and to work with your own hands, as we commanded you, that you may walk properly toward those who are outside, and that you may lack nothing.

There was no need to be written to, since they were already putting love into practice.

How encouraging it must have been for Paul to write this to people who already knew of the love we all need to know.

However, there is never a point where we have “enough” love. We must increase and abound.

There is constant improvement in the life of a disciple.

2 Peter 1:7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love.

There are no sins we have completely conquered.

If we have defeated the desire, then we need to give glory to God and keep moving, but the possibility of temptation is ALWAYS there. Any addict will tell you that.

Beware someone who says they have a sin “licked”.

1 Corinthians 10:12–13 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

For example, someone who is living with someone outside of marriage can claim that they have no temptation to fornicate, but they are not taking the way of escape in order to bear temptation. Their pride leads them to claim that it is no issue, when they actually need to flee fornication.

Again, we move forward in our life in Christ, not backward!

“Abundance” is accomplished by:

Aspiring to lead a quiet life

Our ambition is to not be the loudest, the strongest, the biggest, and the best.

Rather, to have a life that is well-ordered and honorable before God.

Minding your own business

Not poking yourself into business that does not concern you.

If it doesn’t affect your salvation in Christ, why “hem and haw” about it?

Working with your own hands

Again, busying ourselves with Kingdom work so that we are not tempted in idleness!

The goal: walk properly toward those who are outside!

We can dismiss the sinful world all day, but God cares about what people think of Christians.

We cannot think we can make disciples while having sin named among us.

Brotherly Love is how our journey with Christ begins. 1 Peter 1:22–25

1 Peter 1:22–25 Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because “All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” Now this is the word which by the gospel was preached to you.

Past tense - what happened with these saints is what happened with us!

You obeyed through the Spirit in sincere love

KJV “unfeigned love” - note that this is not a fake love, but a real and true love that listens, desires to work with and help the saints.

If I refuse to study a topic with my brethren, I do not love them, and the truth is that I do not love myself.

Fervent love with a pure heart

Different word than in Romans 12. This one fits more the idea of eagerness.

“eagerly love one another with a clean heart”.

Born again of incorruptible seed, which is the word of God.

The word lives forever - but I won’t, unless I follow it.

Brotherly Love must continue. Heb. 13:1-6

Hebrews 13:1–6 Let brotherly love continue. Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. Remember the prisoners as if chained with them—those who are mistreated—since you yourselves are in the body also. Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled; but fornicators and adulterers God will judge. Let your conduct be without covetousness; be content with such things as you have. For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” So we may boldly say: “The Lord is my helper; I will not fear. What can man do to me?”

“continue” - remain, stay, or reside. Do not reject it or get rid of it!

Entertain strangers - who knows but that there are angels out there? If this is absurd, check your Bible.

1 Corinthians 11:10 For this reason the woman ought to have a symbol of authority on her head, because of the angels.

Hebrews 1:14 Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for those who will inherit salvation?

We shouldn’t dismiss the reality of angels, heaven, and of course a living, active God who affects our lives right now.

Remember those suffering as prisoners as if you were in chains with them!

The reason - “you are in the body also” - the body of Christ.

Being in Christ means you suffer with the rest of the saints.

Being in the body also means that our marriages need to be treated as honorable.

We need undefiled beds! Whoremongers and adulterers God will judge!

Do not covet. Be content with what you have.

God has promised! He is enough!

If we remember His promises, we can boldly tell the world that the Lord helps us, and that mankind can do absolutely nothing to us!

Paul was thankful for the love he received when he became a Christian. Do you want to experience that brotherly love?

1 Timothy 1:12–14 And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord who has enabled me, because He counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, although I was formerly a blasphemer, a persecutor, and an insolent man; but I obtained mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceedingly abundant, with faith and love which are in Christ Jesus.