love

Sermon on the Mount Series – God’s Eternal Law

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Many people today are very confused about the meaning of the word love. It is mistakenly thought to refer to a wonderful romantic feeling or sexual passion, but it actually refers to a spiritual condition that multitudes of people desire but do not seem to experience.

There was a time when Moses, the man of God, made a request of the Lord. He said, “Show me Your glory” (Exodus 33:18). We read in Exodus 33 and 34 that the Lord would reveal as much as it was possible for him to see and live. It says, “And the Lord passed before him and proclaimed, ‘The Lord, the Lord God, merciful and gracious, longsuffering, and abounding in goodness and truth, keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin.’ ” (Exodus 34:6, 7). On this occasion it was His character that the Lord revealed to Moses; He was gracious, and merciful, and longsuffering, and He kept mercy for thousands. These principles of the kingdom of heaven were enunciated when the Lord spoke His law to the children of Israel upon Mount Sinai. That law is a pronouncement of the principle of love, but what is that really like?

The Bible mentions many times that the person who has love in his heart will keep God’s commandments. (See I John 5:2, 3; Romans 13.) The giving of the commandments was a Revelation to the children of Israel, as well as to all the people of this earth, a reiteration of the law that governs the kingdom of the heavens. This law was ordained in the hand of a mediator, spoken by Him Who has the power to change the hearts of men and bring them into harmony with its divine principles.

Before God had given His law on Sinai, He had revealed His purpose for the children of Israel. He said, “…you are to be holy men to Me …” (Exodus 22:31, literal translation). Without holiness no one can ever see the Lord. Hebrews 12:14 clearly states that none can have eternal life and see the Lord if they are not holy.

Israel’s problem was and probably still is that she did not perceive the spiritual nature of the law. The people looked at it as a list of things they were not to do. Paul however, when writing to the Romans referring to the law said, “For we know that the law is spiritual …” (Romans 7:14). He goes on to say that he is not spiritual, but, he says, the law is spiritual.

Too often their professed obedience was simply an observance of forms, rituals, or ceremonies instead of a surrender of the heart to the sovereignty of love. In Jesus’ character, teachings and work, He represented to men what God was like—the holiness of His character, His benevolence and His paternal attributes. And at the same time, Jesus presented to them the worthlessness of mere ceremonial obedience. When He did these things the Jewish leaders did not understand or receive what He was talking about. They thought He was dwelling too lightly upon the requirements of the law, when He was actually setting before them the foundational principles on which the law is based.

So, looking at the externals without understanding the principles underlying those externals, the Jewish leaders accused Jesus of trying to overthrow the law. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus revealed in unmistakable language that that was not His purpose at all. In Matthew 5:17, 18, He said, “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled.”

It was Jesus Christ, the One Who created the world and upholds everything by the word of His power, the One Who gave the law on Mount Sinai Who declared that it is not His purpose to set aside any of its precepts, not even the smallest letter or part of a letter of the law. Whatever you study in science or nature, no matter what it is, from the smallest microscopic insect to the study of planets requiring the use of a telescope, everything in the natural world operates under law. Upon obedience to these natural laws, the order and harmony of the natural world depends.

In the same way that natural laws govern nature, there are also great principles of righteousness that control the life of all created beings. Upon conformity to these righteous principles, the well-being of the entire universe depends. Before this world was ever called into existence, God’s law existed. The angels of heaven were governed by it and in order for earth to be in harmony with heaven, man also must be obedient to the divine statutes.

Psalm 103:20 tells us that the angels obey God’s commandments. To man in Eden, Christ made known the precepts of the law. When Jesus came to earth His mission was not to destroy the law or to remove even the smallest part of a letter from it. His purpose, by His grace, was to bring man back into obedience to the precepts of the law. Many decades later when writing under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, His beloved disciple, John, speaks of this law as a perpetual obligation. He says, “Sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4, last part, KJV). And He says that “whoever commits sin transgresses also the law” (verse 4, first part, literal translation).

Not only that, he makes it very clear that the law Jesus spoke of is not some new commandment but an old commandment that has been in effect from the beginning, at creation, which was later reiterated on Mount Sinai. (See I John 2:7).

A study of the first book of the Bible will reveal that the people in the times of Genesis understood every single one of the commandments. They knew that to violate those principles was wrong and worthy of death. All the principles therein expressed can be found in the book of Genesis.

Those of that generation knew those things that were wrong and they called the breaking of them sin. So, speaking of the law, Jesus said, Don’t think that I’ve come to destroy it, or take it away. I have come to fulfill it. He uses the word “fulfill” in the same sense that He declared to John the Baptist when He said in Matthew 3:15, literal translation: “Allow it to be so now, that we might fulfill all righteousness,” that is, fulfill the measure of the law’s requirement, to give an example of perfect conformity to the will of God.

In the Old Testament we see in prophecy that the mission of the Messiah would be to magnify the law and to make it honorable (Isaiah 42:21). The Messiah was to show mankind the spiritual nature of the law. He would present its far-reaching principles and make plain its eternal obligation. Jesus did this in His Sermon on the Mount. This sermon is primarily a sermon about the spirituality of the law. He talks by name of different commandments and shows that they extend not merely to outward observances, but to the heart and to the mind, revealing thoughts and feelings.

When we look at the character of Jesus, we see in His character a divine beauty, of whom the most noble and the gentlest among mankind are but a faint reflection. Concerning His character, the wise man wrote in prophecy concerning Him, in Song of Solomon 5:10, 16, that He is the chiefest among 10,000; yes, He is altogether lovely.

When David saw Him in prophetic vision, he wrote, “You are fairer than the children of men …” (Psalm 45:2, literal translation). Jesus is spoken of in the New Testament as the express image of the Father’s person, the effulgence of His glory (Hebrews 1). And the self-denying Redeemer, throughout all of His pilgrimage of love on earth, was a living representation of the character of the law of God. To keep the law in its purpose and intent from your heart is to reveal the character of Jesus Christ. He said, “I have kept My Father’s commandments” (John 15:10). “I do always those things that please Him” (John 8:29 KJV).

So, He made manifest in this world what heaven-born love is like, how it reveals itself, how it lives. Christ-like principles underlie the principles of the ten commandments. Jesus said, “… until heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle will in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled” (Matthew 5:18, literal translation). His own life and character showed the unchangeable nature of God’s law. He proved that by His grace God’s law can be perfectly obeyed by every son and daughter of Adam. He said, not the smallest letter, not even a part of a letter can be changed. Notice how it is recorded in the gospel of Luke 16:17 ASV: “But it is easier for heaven and earth to pass away, than for one tittle (part of a letter) of the law to fail.”

So Jesus proved, and showed, and taught that the law of God, the ten commandments, is unchangeable and will last forever.

Jesus did not teach that the law would ever be abrogated. He fixes the eye of the human race upon the most distant object that we can focus on, and He assures us that until that point is reached, the law will retain all of its authority and that none need suppose that it was His mission to do away with even part of it. As long as heaven and earth continue, the holy principles of God’s law will remain. Because the law of the Lord is perfect, therefore it cannot be changed. It is impossible for sinful men, of course, in themselves, to meet the standard of its requirement. That is why the apostle Paul said in Romans 7:14: “… the law is spiritual, but I am carnal (fleshly), sold under sin” (Romans 7:14).

For that reason, you and I need the gospel. That is why Jesus came as our Redeemer. It was His mission, not only to pay the price in His own body for our sins, but to make us partakers of the divine nature (2 Peter 1:3, 4). It was His mission to bring us back into harmony with the law that governs the entire universe of heaven. Remember—sin is the transgression of the law, 1 John 3:4, the law that we have had since the beginning, I John 2:7.

When we forsake our sins; in other words, when we choose to quit breaking God’s law and choose to come to Jesus, and see Him as our Saviour from sin and Lord of our life, then the law is not done away with, but exalted.

Remember, sin is the transgression of the law, 1 John 3:4, and when we choose to forsake our sins and accept Jesus as our Lord and Saviour and choose to follow Him, then He gives to us the Holy Spirit and enables us, by His grace and power, to live a life that is in harmony with His law. Notice what the apostle Paul said about this in Romans 3:31: “Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law.” Why is the law established? When a person repents of his sin and comes to Jesus forsaking his/her sin, then the law of God is exalted. That person realizes that he/she needs to come into harmony with the law that governs the whole universe of God. And Jesus gives to him the Holy Spirit and enables him to keep the law (Romans 8). That is one of the main reasons that the Holy Spirit is given to the believers.

In fact, if you receive the Holy Spirit and do not begin to obey God, then you are insulting the Holy Spirit. Notice what Hebrews 10:16 says is the new covenant promise: “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, says the Lord. I will put My laws into their hearts, and in their minds I will write them.”

It is true that the systems of types and ceremonies that pointed to Christ as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world were to pass away at His death. But the principles of righteousness embodied in the commandments are just as unchangeable as God’s throne. Not one command has ever been annulled. Not one precept has been changed. Those principles were made known to man in paradise as the great law of life and will exist unchanged in paradise restored.

When Eden will again bloom on the earth, God’s law of love will be observed by all beneath the sun. The book of Genesis makes it very clear that those living in those generations knew the precepts. The 7th commandment says, “You shall not commit adultery” (Exodus 20:14). This commandment is one of the most widely broken all over the world today. But even before the ten commandments were ever given, the people in the times of Genesis knew that it was wrong to commit adultery.

Notice what Joseph said about it. Joseph was the enslaved manager of Potiphar’s house. “It came to pass after these things that his master’s wife cast longing eyes on Joseph, and she said, ‘Lie with me.’ But he refused and said to his master’s wife, ‘Look, my master does not know what is with me in the house, and he has committed all that he has to my hand. There is no one greater in this house than I, nor has he kept back anything from me but you, because you are his wife. How then can I do this great wickedness, and sin against God?’ So it was, as she spoke to Joseph day by day, that he did not heed her, to lie with her or to be with her” (Genesis 39:7–10).

As a result, he landed up in prison for his refusal to commit adultery. Joseph would rather go to prison than sin against his God. He said, “How can I do this great wickedness and sin against God?”

The Bible says that in heaven, God’s word is forever settled (Psalm 119:89). Nobody in heaven has any question about God’s law. We also read in Psalm 111:7, 8: “All His precepts [commandments] are sure. They stand fast forever and ever, and are done in truth and uprightness.”

Again in Psalm 119:152 KJV, it says, “Concerning Thy testimonies, I have known of old that Thou hast founded them for ever.” If you really love God, you will keep His commandments. Notice what the apostle John said about this in I John 4:7, 8: “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”

How do you know that you really love God? I John 5:2, 3 says, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

The apostle John had the same problem in his day that we see in the Christian world today. People claimed to love God while hating their neighbor and refusing to keep God’s commandments. He addresses that over and over again in his book. He said in I John 3:7–10: “Little children, let no one deceive you …” on this point. “He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose, the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother.” Then he goes on to say, “… this is the message that you heard from the beginning …” (verse 11).

O, friend, is the love of God really in your heart?

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Sermon on the Mount Series – Love not Force

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He who is guilty of wrong is the first person to suspect wrong in someone else. When human beings start accusing, they are not satisfied with simply pointing out the supposed defect in somebody else. They will resort to compulsion to force others to comply with their ideas about what is right. The Jews did this in the time of Christ. Do we still do this today?

Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged” (Matthew 7:1). When men begin seeking to earn salvation by their own works, it inevitably leads them to pile up human exactions as a barrier against sin. When they see that they fail to keep the law, they devise all manner of rules and regulations of their own to force themselves to obey. This then turns the mind away from God and toward self, resulting in the love of God dying out in the heart and with it, love for our fellow men. A system of human intervention designed to guarantee that people are good, with its multitudinous exactions, always leads its advocates to judge all who come short of the prescribed human standard.

This judging causes a development of an atmosphere of selfish and narrow criticism that stifles the noble and generous emotions and causes men to become self-centered, judges, and petty spies. Such were the Pharisees in Christ’s day. They came out from their religious services, not humbled with a sense of their own weakness, nor grateful for the great privileges that God had given them, but rather, they came forth filled with spiritual pride. Their thoughts centered on themselves, their feelings, their knowledge, and their ways which were better than others.

The Pharisee’s own attainments became the standard by which all others were judged. By putting on, what you might call, the garment of self-dignity and self-righteousness, they mounted the judgment seat to criticize and condemn others. Jesus recorded the prayer of the Pharisee who was just like this in Luke 18:11, literal translation, where he said, “Lord, I thank You that I am not like other men are … .”

The people partook of this very same spirit, which intruded upon the province of the conscience. People began to judge one another in matters that lay between the soul and God alone. It was in reference to this spirit and practice of judging in matters of conscience that Jesus said, “Judge not, that you be not judged.” In other words, do not set yourself up as the standard. Do not make your opinions, your views of duty and your interpretations of Scripture, the criteria for everybody else in the world. Do not condemn others because they do not come up to your standard of ideals. Do not criticize and pass judgment upon others conjecturing their motives, which you really don’t know.

Notice what the apostle Paul said about this in 1 Corinthians 4:5: “Therefore judge nothing before the time, until the Lord comes, who will both bring to light the hidden things of darkness and reveal the counsels of the hearts. Then each one’s praise will come from God.”

There is coming a time when everyone in the world will be judged. The apostle Paul says, “… we must all stand before the judgment seat of Christ … to receive a reward for deeds done in the body …” (2 Corinthians 5:10, literal translation).

Jesus said a time was coming when nothing will escape from being revealed (Matthew 10:26). That is God’s providence – the One who alone knows the hearts of mankind and the secret motives that impel them to do what they do and say what they say. But we, as human beings, cannot read the heart. We are faulty ourselves and are not qualified to sit in judgment upon others because we are only able to judge from the outward appearance, which is often deceiving.

God knows the secret springs of action. The Bible says that He will judge righteously and with compassion. In Romans the apostle Paul again brings a rebuke to those who are entering on the judgment seat as human beings. Notice what he says: “Therefore you are inexcusable, O man, whoever you are who judge, for in whatever you judge another you condemn yourself; for you who judge practice the same things” (Romans 2:1).

Those who condemn or criticize others are also guilty themselves because they do the same things. In condemning others, we pass sentence upon ourselves, and God declares that this sentence that we pass is just and He accepts our own verdict against ourselves. The sin that leads to the unhappiest results is the cold, unforgiving, critical spirit that characterizes Phariseeism. When our own religious experience lacks love, Jesus is not there; the sunshine of His presence is absent. No matter how busy we are in activity for Christ, our zeal cannot supply the lack of love.

Whoever possesses a wonderful keenness of perception in discovering the defects of others is nothing but a hypocrite. The admonishment is to first cast out the log from your own eye and then you will be able to see clearly to take out the splinter from the other person’s eye (Matthew 7:5). You see, it is the one who is guilty of wrongdoing himself who is the first to suspect wrong. When men indulge in this accusing spirit, they are not satisfied with pointing out what they suppose is the defect in somebody else. If milder means fail of making that person what they think he ought to be, they will resort to compulsion. Just as far as lies in their power, they will force other men to comply with their ideas of what is right.

This is exactly what the Jews did in the days of Christ and the apostles and is also what the Christian church has done ever since whenever she has lost the grace of Christ. When the church finds herself destitute of the power of love, which actually is the most powerful thing in the universe, then she has reached out for the strong arm of the state to enforce her dogmas and execute her decrees. When you understand that, then you understand the secret behind all religious laws and legislation that have ever been enacted and the secret of all persecution from the days of Abel to our own time.

Jesus Christ never uses these methods to draw men to Him or to make them righteous. He does not drive men, but He draws them to Himself. The only compulsion that Jesus uses is the constraint of love. The apostle Paul says, “… the love of Christ constrains us …” (2 Corinthians 5:14). In other words, it impels us; it forces us to act. When the church begins to seek for the support of the state, the support of secular power, it is thereby plainly evident that that church is devoid of the power of Christ, the constraint of divine love.

What we need worldwide in Christianity today is to be constrained by the love of Christ, to have His character inside which will impel us to activity for Christ and to do what is right. When we take upon ourselves His yoke, the yoke of obedience and service, there will be no need for someone to crack the whip over us to make us do what is right. Jesus said, if we need something, then we need to go to the Lord and ask for it.

Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened. Or what man is there among you who, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will he give him a serpent? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask Him” (Matthew 7:7–11)!

No specific condition is mentioned here. If you feel your need enough to ask, the Lord will hear. Do you hunger for His mercy? Do you desire His counsel? Do you long for His love? Then ask in faith and you will receive. The Lord has pledged His word and it cannot fail. If you come with true contrition, you need not feel that you are presumptuous in asking the Lord for what He has promised. When you ask for the blessings that you need in order that you might perfect a character after Christ’s likeness, the Lord assures you that you are asking according to a promise that will be fulfilled. If you know that you are a terrible sinner, that is sufficient ground for you to come and ask for His mercy and compassion.

The condition that you can come to God is not that you have to be holy or that you have to fulfill some obligation first. There is no condition. You can come just the way you are. Although you are not holy, when you come to Him, desiring that He cleanse you from your sin and purify you from all iniquity, then that is the argument that you may come with and plead. We can always come with our great need for deliverance from our sins. Our utterly helpless state makes His redeeming power a necessity and so, if we come presenting our need, our need will be fulfilled.

Notice what the Bible says about this in Job 22:21 KJV: “… acquaint now thyself with Him, and be at peace.” Just before his death David told his son, Solomon, “If you seek Him, He will be found by you” (1 Chronicles 28:9, last part). So, “If you, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father … give good things to them that ask Him” (Matthew 7:11, literal translation).

Notice the way this passage is put in the gospel of Luke: “If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him” (Luke 11:13)! The Holy Spirit is the greatest of all gifts that God can give you. All good things are comprised in this gift. In fact, the Creator Himself cannot give you anything any better or any greater. When we ask the Lord that we might receive the Holy Spirit, we are asking for a gift that with it will bring to us every other gift from God that we need.

When we ask the Lord to pity us in our distress and to guide us by His Holy Spirit, He will never turn away from our prayer. The Bible is very clear that it is possible for a parent to turn away from his hungry child. Everyone who has done very much reading has read awful cases of children who have been abandoned, but God will never abandon those who have a longing and needy heart.

The Lord told people who have felt in their distress that God was not mindful of their need, that they did not really understand His love for them. Notice what He says to them in Isaiah: “Zion said, ‘The Lord has forsaken me, and my Lord has forgotten me.’ ‘Can a woman forget her nursing child, and not have compassion on the son of her womb? Surely they may forget, yet I will not forget you. See, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands’ (Isaiah 49:14–16, first part). (Humanity was inscribed on the palms of His hands when they were nailed to the cross.) Your walls are continually before Me” (verse 16, last part). Jesus said that even though a human parent may forget, He will never forget. Every promise in the word of God, therefore, brings us subject matter for prayer and shows us what we may pray for. If God has promised it and we ask with an honest heart, we are going to have it.

It is our privilege to claim these promises and have our sins forgiven when we come to Him in faith and confess them. And He has promised to forgive them as recorded in 1 John 1:9. We may also state to Him not only our need for forgiveness of sins, our need for spiritual help, and strength, and salvation, but we are perfectly free to come to Him with any temporal concern or matter – our financial difficulties, our need for food and clothing, for shelter. Whatever our need is, we are invited to come and ask for it.

We must not forget that when we come and ask for these things from the Lord, as our Father, we are acknowledging that we are His children. If we are His children, then we are going to have our petitions. If we claim to be His children, we have given ourselves to His work. It was those to whom Jesus had said, “Seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness …” (Matthew 6:33), that Jesus gave the promise, “… Ask, and you will receive …” (John 16:24).

In summing up His instruction in Matthew 7:12, literal translation, Jesus said, “… whatever you desire that men should do to you, you do even so to them.” This text has been called “The Golden Rule.” In this text Jesus teaches us that our anxiety should not be how much are we going to receive, but rather, how much are we going to give. The standard of our obligation to others is found in what we ourselves would regard as their obligation to us if our situation were reversed. So, in our association with others, we need to attempt mentally to put ourselves in their place, to enter into their feelings, their difficulties, their disappointments, their joys and sorrows. We need to identify with them and then do to them the same way that we would want them to do to us if the situation were reversed. This is the true rule of honesty and courtesy.

In Matthew 22:39 KJV Jesus said, “Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.” This is the real expression of the law. This, of course, is the substance of the teaching of the prophets. It is a principle of heaven and it will be developed in everyone who is fitted for the holy companionship of heaven and allowed to go there. The Golden Rule is the genuine principle of true courtesy. Its truest illustration is seen in the life and character of Jesus Christ. When we study His life we see not only softness, not only firmness, but beauty and sweetness that flowed from His very presence. Even the children loved to be around Him and to climb up in His lap.

The same spirit is to be seen in His children. When Jesus dwells in the heart, a divine atmosphere will surround us with a fragrance of purity. No man who really understands what constitutes a true Christian character will fail to manifest the sympathy and the tenderness of Jesus Christ, because the influence of His grace is to soften our hard hearts and to give us a heaven-born sense of delicacy and a true sense of propriety. As with all gifts and blessings of this life, whatever we have that our fellows do not have, places us in debt to that degree that others are less favored. There are people around us who are sick. Some are widowed. Others are orphaned and fatherless. We need to treat them the way that we would like them to treat us if our situations were reversed.

The Golden Rule teaches by way of implication the very same truth that Jesus taught in Luke 6:38, where He said that “… with what measure you mete, it will be measured to you again” (literal translation). Simply stated, whatever we do to others, whether good or evil, will surely react upon ourselves, whether in blessing or curse. Whatever we give, we are going to receive again.

The earthly blessings that we give to others are often repaid in kind. What we give often does come back to us even in this world, sometimes in four-fold measure. But, besides this, all gifts are repaid in God’s eternal time of reckoning, both the good and evil. If I impart evil, that evil will return to me again. Any person who has been free to condemn or discourage or bring hardship upon others will, sooner or later, in his own experience, be brought over the same ground where he has caused others to pass. He will feel the same that he has caused others to feel.

The standard of the Golden Rule – whatever you wish that men would do to you, you do to them – is the standard of Christianity. Anything short of that is not true Christianity, but a mere deception. A religion that leads men to place a low estimate upon other human beings, human beings whom Jesus estimated to be of sufficient value to give His life for, is a spurious religion and not Christianity. If we slight the claims of the poor, the suffering, and the sinful, we prove ourselves to be traitors of Jesus Christ. When men or women take upon themselves the name of Christ, calling themselves Christians while denying His character, they have little power in the world and the name of the Lord is blasphemed because of these things.

Friend, we need to ask ourselves a question, especially if we call ourselves Christians. Is my religion real? If my Christianity is real, am I manifesting in my life and practice the principle of the Golden Rule?

(Unless appearing in quoted references or otherwise identified, Bible texts are from the New King James Version.)

Pastor John J. Grosboll is Director of Steps to Life and pastors the Prairie Meadows Church of Free Seventh-day Adventists in Wichita, Kansas. He may be contacted by email at: historic@stepstolife.org, or by telephone at: 316-788-5559.

Bible Study Guide – Brotherly Love

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August 20 – 26, 2017

Key Text

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34).

Study Help: Testimonies, vol. 5, 167–177; The Ministry of Healing, 25, 26.

Introduction

“All who are imbued with His Spirit will love as He loved. The very principle that actuated Christ will actuate them in all their dealing one with another.” The Desire of Ages, 678.

Sunday

 1 A NEW COMMANDMENT

  •  How much love was demonstrated by Christ and what is its significance for His followers? John 13:1; 15:13.

 Note: “[John 13:34, 35 quoted.] How broad, how full is this love. The new part of that commandment the disciples did not understand. They were to love one another as Christ had loved them. These were their credentials that Christ was formed within, the hope of glory. After the sufferings of Christ, after His crucifixion and resurrection and proclamation over the rent sepulcher of Joseph, ‘I am the resurrection and the life’ (John 11:25), after His words to the five hundred who assembled to see Him in Galilee, and after His ascension to heaven, the disciples had some idea of what the love of God comprehended, and of the love they were to exercise one toward another. When the Holy Spirit rested on them on the day of Pentecost, that love was revealed.” “Ellen G. White Comments,” The Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary, vol. 5, 1141.

  • What is the first fruit of the Holy Spirit and what is the evidence that this fruit is being perfected in us? Galatians 5:22, 23; 1John 4:11–13; 3:18.

 Monday

 2 A NEW COMMANDMENT (continued)

  •  In what sense did Christ refer to brotherly love as a “new commandment”? John 13:34.

 Note: “In this last meeting with His disciples, the great desire which Christ expressed for them was that they might love one another as He had loved them. Again and again He spoke of this. ‘These things I command you,’ He said repeatedly, ‘that ye love one another.’ His very first injunction when alone with them in the upper chamber was, ‘A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another’ (John 15:17; 13:34). To the disciples this commandment was new; for they had not loved one another as Christ had loved them. He saw that new ideas and impulses must control them; that new principles must be practiced by them; through His life and death they were to receive a new conception of love. The command to love one another had a new meaning in the light of His self-sacrifice. The whole work of grace is one continual service of love, of self-denying, self-sacrificing effort. During every hour of Christ’s sojourn upon the earth, the love of God was flowing from Him in irrepressible streams. All who are imbued with His Spirit will love as He loved. The very principle that actuated Christ will actuate them in all their dealing one with another.” The Desire of Ages, 677, 678.

  • How do we show that we are the sons of God and the friends of Christ? Romans 8:14; 1John 3:10.

 Note: “Religion consists in doing the words of Christ; not doing to earn God’s favor, but because, all undeserving, we have received the gift of His love. Christ places the salvation of man, not upon profession merely, but upon faith that is made manifest in works of righteousness. Doing, not saying merely, is expected of the followers of Christ. It is through action that character is built. ‘As many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God’ (Romans 8:14). Not those whose hearts are touched by the Spirit, not those who now and then yield to its power, but they that are led by the Spirit, are the sons of God.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 149, 150. [Emphasis author’s.]

Tuesday

 3 CHOSEN FRIENDS

  •  What title does Jesus bestow upon His faithful followers? John 15:15, 14.

 Note: “How did Christ manifest His love for poor mortals? By the sacrifice of His own glory, His own riches, and even His most precious life. Christ consented to a life of humiliation and great suffering. He submitted to the cruel mockings of an infuriated, murderous multitude, and to the most agonizing death upon the cross. Said Christ: ‘This is My commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you’ (John 15:12–14). We give evidence of being the friends of Christ when we manifest implicit obedience to His will. It is no evidence to say, and do not; but in doing, in obeying, is the evidence. Who are obeying the commandment to love one another as Christ has loved them?” Testimonies, vol. 1, 690, 691.

  • For what purpose did Jesus choose us, and what is His command to us? John 15:16, 17.

 Note: “[John 15:14 quoted.] This is the condition imposed; this is the test that proves men’s characters. Feelings are often deceiving, emotions are no sure safeguard; for they are variable and subject to external circumstances. Many are deluded by relying on sensational impressions. The test is: What are you doing for Christ? What sacrifices are you making? What victories are you gaining? A selfish spirit overcome, a temptation to neglect duty resisted, passion subdued, and willing, cheerful obedience rendered to the will of Christ are far greater evidences that you are a child of God than spasmodic piety and emotional religion.” Testimonies, vol. 4, 188. [Emphasis author’s.]

“[John 15:9–17 quoted.] These blessed assurances are for every one who will respect them, and who will, in character, reveal to the world their interpretation. ‘If ye love me,’ Christ said, ‘keep my commandments’ (John 14:15). If we are doers of the Word, we can come to God with full assurance of faith, saying, ‘Remember the word unto thy servant, upon which thou hast caused me to hope’ (Psalm 119:49). When we zealously obey God’s word from the heart, we may make that word our plea. The Lord always works in accordance with His word.” The Review and Herald, December 6, 1898.

Wednesday

 4 PERSECUTED BY THE WORLD

  •  Why does the world persecute the followers of Christ? John 15:18, 19.

 Note: “[John 13:35 quoted.] This love, manifested in the church, will surely stir the wrath of Satan. Christ did not mark out for His disciples an easy path. ‘If the world hate you,’ He said, ‘ye know that it hated Me before it hated you. If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted Me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept My saying, they will keep yours also. But all these things will they do unto you for My name’s sake, because they know not Him that sent Me’ (John 15:18–21). The gospel is to be carried forward by aggressive warfare, in the midst of opposition, peril, loss, and suffering. But those who do this work are only following in their Master’s steps.” The Desire of Ages, 678.

  • How does the prince of evil respond to the work of Christ’s followers? John 3:19, 20; 15:20, 21.

 Note: “He who came to redeem the lost world was opposed by the united forces of the adversaries of God and man. In an unpitying confederacy, evil men and evil angels arrayed themselves against the Prince of Peace. Though His every word and act breathed of divine compassion, His unlikeness to the world provoked the bitterest hostility. Because He would give no license for the exercise of the evil passions of our nature, He aroused the fiercest opposition and enmity. So it is with all who will live godly in Christ Jesus. Between righteousness and sin, love and hatred, truth and falsehood, there is an irrepressible conflict. When one presents the love of Christ and the beauty of holiness, he is drawing away the subjects of Satan’s kingdom, and the prince of evil is aroused to resist it. Persecution and reproach await all who are imbued with the Spirit of Christ. The character of the persecution changes with the times, but the principle—the spirit that underlies it—is the same that has slain the chosen of the Lord ever since the days of Abel.” Thoughts from the Mount of Blessing, 29.

Thursday

 5 I WILL NOT LEAVE YOU COMFORTLESS

  •  What difficulties would the disciples encounter after the ascension of Christ? John 16:1–3.

  • Even though they would suffer persecution at the hands of the enemies of the truth, what promise did Christ give to the faithful? John 14:18.

  • What difference in the relationship between Christ and His followers would set in after His ascension? John 16:7.

  • What far–reaching work would the Holy Spirit perform in behalf of sinners? John 16:8–11.

  • What is our part in helping the church to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit? John 15:26, 27; 1John 1:1–3.

 Note: “With a loving spirit we may perform life’s humblest duties ‘as to the Lord’ (Colossians 3:23). If the love of God is in the heart, it will be manifested in the life. The sweet savor of Christ will surround us, and our influence will elevate and bless.” Steps to Christ, 82, 83.

Friday

PERSONAL REVIEW QUESTIONS

1      What are the characteristics of the divine love which     Christ wants to develop in me through the Holy Spirit?

2      What is hindering me from receiving Christ’s unselfish love in its fullness?

3      How is Christ’s commandment to be new to me?

4      Why shouldn’t I be surprised at persecution?

5      What obstacles may be hindering my reception of the Holy Spirit in great power?

 Copyright © 2004 Reformation Herald Publishing Association, 5240 Hollins Road, Roanoke, Virginia. Reprinted by permission.

Where is Your Heart-A Question of Allegiance

by

Love to God is shown through sorrow that His law has been transgressed.

“He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of Me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me.”
Matthew 10:37

“Those who think of the result of hastening or hindering the gospel think of it in relation to themselves and to the world. Few think of its relation to God. Few give thought to the suffering that sin has caused our Creator .… Every departure from the right, every deed of cruelty, every failure of humanity to reach His ideal, brings grief to Him.” Education, 263.

It seems that our focus, our thoughts, and our “realities,” have become so perverted and blinded that it has seriously affected our judgment. We profess to be Christians, to love God and the principles of His kingdom supremely. But do we really? Consider this illustration from Inspiration, and deal honestly with our own souls about our real feelings in relation, not only to this story, but when similar circumstances take place in our own lives.

“And Nadab and Abihu, the sons of Aaron, took either of them his censer, and put fire therein, and put incense thereon, and offered strange fire before the Lord, which he commanded them not. And there went out fire from the Lord, and devoured them, and they died before the Lord. Then Moses said unto Aaron, This [is it] that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified. And Aaron held his peace. And Moses called Mishael and Elzaphan, the sons of Uzziel the uncle of Aaron, and said unto them, Come near, carry your brethren from before the sanctuary out of the camp. So they went near, and carried them in their coats out of the camp; as Moses had said. And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes; lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people: but let your brethren, the whole house of Israel, bewail the burning which the Lord hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die: for the anointing oil of the Lord [is] upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses” (Leviticus 10:1–7).

In this situation, two of Aaron’s sons sinned against the Lord. They used “common fire” in their censors rather than the “sacred fire” kindled by the Lord. This was a grievous sin. Immediately, God sent fire down from heaven and consumed them.

These two men were the sons of Aaron. Not only were they his sons, but they were also co-workers with him in the Lord’s service. Understandably, Aaron loved these sons. Yet after fire came down from God and consumed them, we find God, through Moses, giving Aaron, and his remaining two sons, this command:

“And Moses said unto Aaron, and unto Eleazar, and unto Ithamar, his sons, Uncover not your heads, neither rend your clothes, lest ye die, and lest wrath come upon all the people; but let your brethren, the burning which the Lord hath kindled. And ye shall not go out from the door of the tabernacle of the congregation, lest ye die; for the anointing oil of the Lord is upon you. And they did according to the word of Moses” (Leviticus 10:6, 7).

Aaron and his other two sons were forbidden from showing any grief for the terrible death of the sons and brothers. This may seem to be a little harsh a requirement enforced by the Sovereign of the universe, or is this a reasonable and fair constraint?

Given the state of our minds, compromised and degraded by 6,000 years of sin, we will turn to Inspiration to assist us in sorting out this question. Leviticus 10:3 informs us that God said to Aaron through Moses “This is it that the Lord spake, saying, I will be sanctified in them that come nigh me, and before all the people I will be glorified.” This means that for those that wish to be made holy, God will sanctify, or make holy. Every opportunity, every provision has been made for any individual to be made holy that desires to have holiness. This provision was made at infinite cost and suffering. Eleazor and Ithamar had no excuse for their sin. The question then for Aaron and his other two sons was this, did they have more loyalty to and more love for God, His law, and the principles of His government, or for his two sons who had grievously sinned against God, brought Him pain and suffering, and brought dishonor and disgrace to His holy sanctuary and the sacred services connected with it?

Inspiration explains, “He [Aaron] knew that God was just; and he murmured not. His heart was grieved at the dreadful death of his sons while in their disobedience; yet, according to God’s command, he made no expression of his sorrow, lest he should share the same fate of his sons, and the congregation also be infected with the spirit of unreconciliation, and God’s wrath come upon them.” The Spirit of Prophecy, vol. 1, 277.

We need to ask ourself, where is my heart? Where are my loyalties? Where are my supreme affections? Where, truly, is my allegiance?

“When the Israelites committed sin, and God punished them for their transgression, and the people mourned for the fate of the one punished, instead of sorrowing because God had been dishonored, the sympathizers were accounted equally guilty with the transgressor.” Ibid., 278.

With whom was the heart, the affections, the loyalties of the people? When they mourned for the transgressor, though that individual/those individuals, were knowingly violating the principles of God and His government, did they really have supreme love for God, the Power that had worked so mightily in their behalf, delivered them from such cruel bondage in Egypt, worked miracle after miracle in their behalf, showing such tender mercy and infinite patience with so rebellious a people? Or did they have greater love, loyalty and affection for the transgressors? Even more significant, did they give supreme love and worship to the One, the Immortal, loved Commander of heaven, who had left all the bliss of heaven to descend to this earth, its degradation, its pain, its sorrow, its mortality, and the risk of failure and eternal loss, all for love of them, to provide them the immeasurable gift of eternal life? Or were they giving their supreme love, affection and loyalty to a human being?

Yet, when one or more of their number was struck down by God for the boldest defiance of His perfect, protecting law, they mourned not for the dishonor given to God; they mourned for the loss of the rebellious.

Do we love God so much that we are grieved when He is dishonored? Or does a human being, however close they may be to us, hold a more loved place in our heart than our God? This is truly a very difficult question, but a very serious one.

God tells us, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; and he who loves son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Matthew 10:37). Are our allegiances truly with our God and Saviour, the One who created us, and then redeemed us at such an infinite cost? Do we love the principles of that Kingdom of Glory to which we claim to be going?

Furthermore, “The Lord teaches us, in the directions given to Aaron, reconciliation to His just punishments, even if His wrath comes very nigh. He would have His people acknowledge the justness of His corrections, that others may fear. In these last days, many are liable to be self-deceived, and they are unable to see their own wrongs. If God, through His servants, reproves and rebukes the erring, there are those who stand ready to sympathize with those who deserve reproof. They will seek to lighten the burden which God compelled His servants to lay upon them. These sympathizers think they are performing a virtuous act by sympathizing with the one at fault, whose course may have greatly injured the cause of God. Such are deceived. They are only arraying themselves against God’s servants, who have done His will, and against God himself, and are equally guilty with the transgressor. There are many erring souls who might have been saved if they had not been deceived by receiving false sympathy.” The Spirit of Prophecy, 278.

If we truly understand this paragraph, when our sympathies go out to those rebelling against the government of God, we become traitors with them. And not only that, we participate in their eternal loss because we sympathize with evil. Sin, no matter how small, is evil. We have just lost the realization of that reality because we are so familiar with sin.

We need to wake up. Let us not be “foolish virgins” knowing the truths of God in our minds, but not bringing them into the center of our being. Bringing the truths of God into the center of our being means loving God with the entire heart, soul, and mind. It means giving to Him our supreme affections, our most ardent loyalties, always siding with Him and the principles of His government in every situation.

There are only two sides available in this earth, the side of God, or the side of the arch enemy of God, Satan. There is no middle ground. There is no dividing of affections. God says you cannot be divided; either you are wholly His (not sympathizing with those who dishonor Him) or you are with Satan. Are we willing to love God supremely, more than “father or mother” more than “son or daughter,” or are our supreme affections with a human being?

Are we living in the “reality” of the unseen, that of a heart knowledge of and love for One that has sacrificed more for us than any human could? If so, then, as with Aaron, we will understand and from the heart, mourn for the dishonoring of God and the principles of His kingdom more than for the one suffering the discipline for the act that has brought dishonor to our Saviour. Is this our “reality” or are we still living blinded by familiarity with sin and God’s abhorrence of it that we “side” with the sinner?

“Where is your heart?”