Christ died and rose again so that we could be brought from spiritual death to life, to take out our hearts of stone and give us hearts of flesh that would respond to his love; he died and rose again so that with Paul we can say, For through the law I died to the law so that I might live for God. I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me (Galatians 2:19-20, NIV).
But if we are not living together in such a way as the love of Christ flows freely through us, I am compelled to ask the question: what difference does it make? When we engage in gossip, backbiting, slander, nitpicking, and constant criticism we are not living for God through Christ. If we are engaging each other in anger, not treating one another with respect, or holding grudges against one another, we are not living for God through Christ. The author of Hebrews says in Hebrews 12:14 (NIV), without holiness no one will see the Lord. If we are not growing up in holiness, i.e. being obedient children, i.e. loving one another in sincerity, deeply and from the heart (1 Peter 1:22), that verse should make us pause.
When Christ’s love is not reflected in the lives of His people, the results can be serious. Let me share with you some things I have seen result from this in my own experience.
- I’ve seen ministry into the local community suffer because it is hard for people to take the gospel seriously when our walk doesn’t match our talk.
- It leads to grumbling and griping in the body, and people getting so frustrated that they decide not to use their gifts in the church anymore.
- Instead of practicing forgiveness when people are hurt, it leads to resignation, resentment, and gossip.
- I’ve seen people decide to leave because they feel so hurt, unloved, or unappreciated.
- It can lead to people no longer wanting to financially support their church.
- And when it goes unchecked, typically more and more people feel that they are spiritually weak and under attack.
I shared a couple of in-depth illustrations of what happens when the “love” we give is not an example of Christ’s love for us in A Tale of Three Women.
Someone might say, “Thank goodness we are saved by faith and not by works!” I answer: Be very careful, for saving grace is proven by its fruit, living a life of love. Justification produces sanctification. Jesus says in John 13:34-35 (NIV), A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another. If we are not loving one another as Jesus loves us, how is anyone supposed to know that He has really made any difference? How can we be sure it has even made a difference for us? As Jesus says in Matthew 7:21 (NIV), Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. And Paul says in Romans 6:1-2 (NIV), What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? If we are not driving out what impedes us from loving one another as Christ loves us, what does that say?
Someone might say, “Yeah, but some people just need to be put in their place.” I can’t disagree with that. Sometimes we need to confront people. But you cannot, however, do that however you want, or whenever you want. Jesus says in Matthew 7:12 (NIV), in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets. We are not to respond in kind, but in love; and notice the first two words of that verse—in everything. The original Greek for “everything” is “everything!” This verse is not called the “Golden Rule” for nothing! There is no time when it does not apply.
Paul says in Galatians 6:1 (NIV), Brothers and sisters, if someone is caught in a sin, you who live by the Spirit should restore that person gently. Paul defined living by the Spirit in the previous chapter, in Galatians 5:22-25 (NIV), But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. If that is not you, you are not in a position to be the person doing the confronting. Let someone else do it, or you also may be tempted (Galatians 6:1) and fall into sin yourself.
And in Ephesians 4:25-27 (NIV) Paul says, Therefore each of you must put off falsehood and speak truthfully to your neighbor, for we are all members of one body. “In your anger do not sin”: Do not let the sun go down while you are still angry, and do not give the devil a foothold. Are we to be truthful to one another? Yes, absolutely. But if you are angry when you are calling someone to account, you are on very treacherous ground. For it is a simple thing for the devil to get a foothold in your anger. For this very reason James cautions us in James 1:19-20 (NIV) saying, Everyone should be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry, because human anger does not produce the righteousness that God desires.
The love that God’s grace produces is proved as much by what we don’t do as it is by what we do do. Each of us needs to ask ourselves, “Was the love I showed others today a clear reflection of Christ’s love for me?”
That leads me to add one more thought in conclusion to this post. If you have been reading this week’s series on how not to love one another thinking, “Man I need to have ______ read this he needs this bad!” or, “I wish that ______ would get this through her thick head!” or similar thoughts, you need to reread this series again; you missed the point. The question we need to be asking is, “Does this apply to me? Am I loving people well? Could I be loving people better?” I’m not against sharing books or blogs or articles. What kind of author would I be if I didn’t? But let’s do that from a spirit of encouragement and support in love and not from a spirit akin to giving someone a spiritual spanking, no matter how badly we may think they need it.
Learning To Be Full Of Grace And Truth. 