Love and Restoration

Text:  1 John 1, 3, 4; Matthew 18; Romans 5 1 John 4:19-21:  “We love, because He first loved us.  If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.  And this commandment we have from Him, that the one who loves God should love his brother also.” (Observation):   We are commanded to love our brother. One cannot love God and hate his brother.   (Interpretation):   I suggest to you that the word brother in the passage means a fellow adoptee into the family of God, by faith in Jesus Christ.  In other words, a fellow Christian. Therefore, the conclusion is that hatred for someone who has the Spirit of God in them precludes the possibility that the hater could love God. Further, it is by God’s love that He sacrificed Jesus to pay for our sins. Therefore, the statement:  We love because God loved us first, as it says in Romans 5:8:  “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” Consider Matthew 18:15-17:  “If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.  “But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED. “If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church,...

Willing to Be Foolish

Evangelism comes naturally to some.   They count it as a spiritual gift.   For the rest of us it can feel like a challenge or even a grind as we flop around like a fish out of water, not knowing what to do or how to do it.  We may not recognize the opportunities in front of us to be undertaken, regretfully seeing many of these opportunities in the rear-view mirror. Jesus commands us to “go make disciples” prior to his accession into the heavenlies (Matthew 28:18-20).  Therefore, it is the responsibility of all men to be involved in evangelism, sharing the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ– regardless of spiritual giftedness. The obedient man of God is involved in evangelism.  To say otherwise runs counter to Biblical teaching. It would suggest that a man does not need to be merciful, does not need to serve, has no need to be generous–simply because he does not identify any of these as his spiritual gift.  Certainly, a lack of giftedness in a particular arena is not an adequate justification in neglecting obedience to those things to which God has commanded. Evangelism is for every one of us–not because God needs us.  He alone builds His Church.  He gave us evangelism because we need it. The man of God who understands this attempts to weave evangelism into the fabric of his day.  Having a mind for evangelism helps a man daily “regard no man according to the flesh” (II Corinthians 5:16) and helps him maintain an eternal perspective throughout his day.  “While we look not at the things which are seen, but...