LIVING GODLY IN A WICKED WORLD - THE FOUNDATION OF LOVE
READ 1 Thessalonians 4:9-10
If you could excel at one thing in life, what would it be? Would it be academics, athletics, music, video games, business, finances? If you think about it, one thing we must excel in to be effective followers of Jesus is ''love.'' In fact, this is the theme of these verses.
The way we follow Christ in a world of darkness is to love God, love one another, and love others the way God has called us to. This is something we should all ''excel'' in.
We live in a wicked world. I don't have to tell you that, and I certainly shouldn't have to prove it. Crime, murder, abortion, sexual immorality, crumbling social norms - our world is a wicked and vile place. We shouldn't be surprised by this fact. We can be heartbroken about it, but we shouldn't be shocked.
Jesus told His followers in Matthew 10:16, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.”
It is clear that we need to be wise, careful, sensible, and righteous amid a chaotic, crazy, wicked, and dangerous world.
Christianity is a living, practical faith that hits the streets in normal, everyday life, affecting everything from believers' simplest attitudes and most mundane actions to their profoundest thoughts and noblest deeds.
Although any religion should affect the way its adherents live, no false religion, no matter how high its ethical standards, can genuinely transform the lives of its followers in a way that restrains the fallen flesh.
Only by belief in the gospel of Jesus Christ does the power of God transform lives so that what believers profess they are able to live. And here, Paul shows us how to live a godly life in the midst of a wicked world.
NOTE A POWERFUL FOUNDATION: vs. 9-10
When it comes to the Christian life, the ''bottom line'' is love. So, here we have love taught: “…as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another” (vs.9)
Paul carefully uses here the word “philadelphia” (brotherly love) to underline the kind of love that believers are to demonstrate toward each other. Because Christians belong to the same family and have the same Father, they should love one another. In fact, we are ''taught of God to love one another.'' God the Father taught us to love each other when He gave Christ to die for us on the cross.
“We love Him, because He first loved us” (1 John 4:19). God the Son taught us to love one another when He said, ''A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another'' (John 13:34).
And the Holy Spirit taught us to love one another when He poured out the love of God in our hearts (Rom. 5:5) when we trusted Christ. “…the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”
Our Lord Jesus Christ, while he was ministering on this earth, explained to us how the world will know that we are Christians: “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another” (John 13:35).
He did not say that the world will know we are his disciples by our correct doctrine. He did not say that the world will know we are his disciples by the power of our words. He said that the world will know we are his disciples because of our love for one another.
Love is a powerful testimony to the reality of the Christian faith.
In the third century, Tertullian once reported that the Romans would say about the Christians, ''See how they love one another.'' As exemplary as their love was, it wasn't perfect. Paul urged them ''do this more and more...'' (''superabound'').
Specific opportunity remained for the Thessalonians' love to abound toward their pastors (5:12-13) and fellow believers (5:14-15, 26).
Along similar lines, Peter encouraged his readers, ''Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently'' (1 Peter 1:22; cf. 2:17; 4:8; 2 Peter 1:7).
To ''love one another with a pure heart fervently'' is the foundation that every Christian life needs. If the foundation isn't love, your life will ultimately crumble. If the foundation isn't love, you will not be able to stand the test of time or withstand the onslaught of the enemy.
Love is the difference between a life built on a firm foundation and a life built on shifting sand.
Faith, hope, and love had been the distinctive characteristics of the Thessalonian Christians from the beginning (1 Thessalonians 1:3). Timothy had reported the good news of their love (1 Thessalonians 3:6), so Paul was not exhorting them to acquire something they did not already possess.
He was encouraging them to get more of what they already enjoyed.
You can never have too much Christian love. Paul had prayed that their love might ''increase and abound'' (1 Thessalonians 3:12); and God answered that prayer
(2 Thessalonians 1:3).
Your Friend and HIS,
Pastor Abbott
MEDITATIONS
1. How would you describe “brotherly love” as used in 1 Thessalonians 4:9?
2. How would you rate yourself in loving others in the local church? Explain.
3. How would you rate yourself in loving others outside the church? Explain.
4. How can you increase more and more in love? (vs. 10) Be specific.