Have you ever had someone tell you that the church they attend is such a loving church, as if to imply they are a faithful group? Oh, I don’t want to suggest that they are not loving. The problem is, a loving church is often viewed as faithful when they are not. Let me explain.

In Revelation chapter 3, we read where our Lord wrote a letter to the church at Ephesus because they lost their first love (vr. 4). Because of such they were commanded to repent (vr. 5). However, let’s take a close look at what they were commended for:

“I know your works, your labor, your patience, and that you cannot bear those who are evil. And you have tested those who say they are apostles and are not, and have found them liars; and you have persevered and have patience, and have labored for My name’s sake and have not become weary.” (vr. 2-3).

Many of the “loving” churches that I am told about don’t respect Biblical authority and don’t test anyone with specific teaching. They keep it general so as to not offend anyone. They have become the religious stand for “political correctness.” This is done so as to not upset anyone and make them feel uncomfortable. You do that by living under the umbrella of “love.”

This article is not to belittle the importance of love. Let’s face it that it was a specific problem at Ephesus which was specifically addressed. To not heed that warning would cost them their salvation. The point of this article is to see that the Lord was not telling those brethren that “all you need is love.” No, they needed to love and they also needed to continue to do the other things they were commended for.

The reason this article was written to help us see the danger of going to extremes. A church without love is in sin. A church without standing and respecting Biblical authority is in sin. The church of Christ is to be the pillar and ground of truth (I Tim. 3:15). Why? Because it’s Christ’s!

Chuck

What happens if you do not love it?

I cannot help but recall what Matt mentioned in his invitation last week. Although his lesson was about dealing with the mishaps that come our way in life, he mentioned about getting up at 4 in the morning to go duck hunting. Who does that? Only people who like to hunt. Who stands in line all night to get tickets to see a movie premiere? Who sits in a boat fishing while it rains or plays golf when the temperature is frigid? In every case, the person who is willing to endure those things loves the activity.

Those who love doing those things are sacrificing sleep, the comforts of home and a warm bed. For the most part, they do not complain about what they are doing. Most importantly, they do not consider the things they give up to be a sacrifice. So what if they are wet and tired – they get to do the thing that they love.

Compare the love of these activities to those who attend worship (Heb. 10:25). For the most part, we are protected from the weather. We travel in warm vehicles and sit in a warm building. We get to spend time with our spiritual family (I Cor. 12:12). We experience the joy of fellowship by praying, singing, giving, studying and taking the Lord’s supper.

But what happens when the love for the Lord is gone? What happens when worshipping God is something you could take or leave? It means all those things become a hardship. It is like taking someone fishing who does not like it. The weather is a bother. Getting up early is a bother. Driving to the lake is a bother. Even the event itself is unappealing. At every point of the process, they would rather be somewhere else.

The brethren at Ephesus were told that they lost their first love (Rev. 2:4). Jesus came right out and said that they had fallen because of this (verse 5). This was said even though they were still doing right things (verse 2-3).  Let this be a warning lest we also fall (I Cor. 10:12).

                                                                                              Chuck                                                                                                                                                                    

Why does God love man?

Allow me to start this article by pointing out that God’s love is universal. God loves the whole world, and Christ came for everyone (John 3:16). This is very important for us to understand. When we focus on the “all,” we are forced to think about the “kinds” of people that includes. Since God loves the world, that means He loves everyone, no matter who they are.

We all know that terrible crimes take place in this world. Nothing sickens me more than hearing about human trafficking. Children are abducted and forced into all sorts of immoral activities. Moreover, there are senseless killings daily. Sadly, the list goes on (Gal. 5:19-21).

If God knows about the terrible things that happen on the earthy, why does He still love everyone? Before we answer this, we should consider the issue from a few perspectives. How would you look at someone who brutally hurt a loved one of yours? Would it not be hard to look at this person without seeing only the evil? Yet our God loves each and every person in this world, no matter what they have done. So again, why does He love us all?

Wrong reasons God loves everyone

God does not see their sins. This is not true. We are told that God sent His Son for the ungodly (Rom. 5:6-8).  Sin is what separates us from our Father (Isa. 59:1-2). Our transgressions have immediate consequences (Rom. 6:23). Our Creator sees the sins of this world and has done so since the beginning (Gen. 5:5). This false concept causes people to misunderstand God’s love.

God does not see sin as being “that bad”.  It is ludicrous to think that God would minimize the severity of sin in order to love us. How many would send their sinless, only son to die for the ungodly (Heb. 9:28). Our Father did it because there was a high price to be paid for sin, and we could not do for ourselves.

God is a God of love and not wrath. Some people think that our Father cannot be a God of love and wrath at the same time. We are told He is love (I John 4:8). We should also consider Paul’s warning: “Because of these things the wrath of God is coming upon the sons of disobedience,” (Col. 3:6). God loves all of mankind, but we will also be held accountable for our sins.

Proper reasons God loves everyone

We are His creation. In the beginning God made everything, including man (Gen. 2:7, 21-22). When He created man, it was good (Gen. 1:31). Man was not born sin-stained – that happened when man decided to break God’s law (Rom. 5:12). We are fearfully and wonderfully made because God made us (Psa. 139:14).

We were created in His image.  Our bodies are amazingly complex, but it is even more impressive that we have souls. Our God is Spirit (John 4:24). Because we were created in His image (Gen. 1:26), we have the same spirit-like quality, meaning we each have a soul (Matt. 10:28). Our God knows the true value of souls. Jesus taught that a soul is worth more than all the wealth in the world (Matt. 16:26).

We all possess the ability to love Him in return. God expects us to love Him because He loved us first. This would not be a logical expectation if we were not capable of doing it (I John 4:19). Learning about our God and Creator will motivate us to love Him. Most people will not do this, but it does not mean they lack the ability.

Let us not ever be mistaken – God loves everyone. However, that love does not overlook transgression. Let’s love God and serve Him.

                                                                                               Chuck

“Lovers of pleasure”

The apostle Paul told Timothy that perilous times were coming. “For men will be lovers of themselves, lovers of money, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, unloving, unforgiving, slanderers, without self-control, brutal, despisers of good, traitors, headstrong, haughty, lovers of pleasure rather than loving God,” (II Tim. 3:2-4).

Such people were described as “having a form of godliness but denying its power” (verse 5).  How can a person retain a “form of godliness” if they love pleasure rather than God? This situation is where someone will serve God as long as that service does not conflict with anything else they like.

Keep in mind that these pleasures are not inherently sinful. These pleasures might just being things that are fun, exciting or thrilling – sports, playing games with friends, going to concerts, etc. The issue is that these people become more passionate about their fun than they are about God and thus only have a form of godliness.

Faithful Christians love the Lord and do not just want to appear godly – they want a genuine relationship with Him. From an eternal perspective, sacrificing our relationship with God in exchange for a little more time spent playing sports, going fishing, visiting friends, etc. makes no sense!  We should not see God as the ultimate fishing buddy – we should our relationship with Him as something far greater than any earthly pleasure. If we put Him first, there will be no conflict between loving God and earthly activities.   

In closing, consider this illustration. A married man is leaving work, but his friends try coax him to spend time with them at the bar under the pretense of “working late”. A man with a strong love for his wife will not hesitate to choose her every time because there is no comparison between the choices. And so it is with God’s people. His faithful children will seek true godliness and reject having just a form of godliness every time.

                                                                                                                                                                                                                      Chuck