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Scripture Reading : 1 John 3:18

Love shows itself by what we say, but more by what we do. Sometimes speech is only pretense, but actions usually tell the truth. They say, "Actions speak louder than words." "My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth" (1 John 3:18). James also insists that love must not be in words only, but in action (James 2:14-16). Love manifests itself not so much in the big things we do, but in the little day by day things. Do we ever give our Christian friends or neighbors flowers, or vegetables from our garden, or something fresh from the oven? Do we ever visit them in their homes or invite them over for a meal or a visit? Do we help them with some work that needs to be done? These things do not cost much but usually are highly appreciated, and make for Christian love and fellowship. And surely if one of our Christian friends has a definite need, true love impels us to help. "But whoever has this world's good, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?" (1 John 3:17).

Increase and abound in love

In 1 Thessalonians 4:9, Paul says, "But concerning brotherly love you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another." Then he adds in verse 10, "And indeed you do so toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia . But we urge you, brethren, that you increase more and more." Although the Thessalonians were indeed loving one another, Paul did not want them to rest satisfied with the extent of this love. He desired that they increase more and more. He says, "And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love to one another and to all, just as we do to you." They evidently paid good heed to this exhortation because we read in 2 Thessalonians 1:3, "And the love of every one of you all abounds toward each other." This should teach us never to be satisfied with the measure of love that we have toward one another, but to always be reaching after Christ-likeness. We can never have too much love, in fact we can never have enough. Let us cultivate what little love we have; water it and help it grow. Let us not be content until the world says, "My, how those Christians love one another."

Love toward all men

Although this brief study primarily deals with the relationship between Christians, it is important to note that our love should not be confined to Christians only. In 1 Thessalonians 3:12, Paul desires that their love increase and abound also toward all men. Our love should not be merely because of attachment expressed by the Greek word “phileo,” but we should be men and women whose very characters radiate love to all. This is expressed by the Greek word “agape.” Christians of the early church were often abused by their idol worshipping fellow countrymen, and they might well have been inclined to retaliate; at least to display a spirit of hatred. There might be a similar tendency in our age, but this we must not allow. The Lord Jesus says, "Love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who spitefully use you and persecute you" (Matt. 5:44). If we demonstrate a spirit of love toward all men, the task of winning them for Christ is made much easier. The Thessalonians had a zeal for spreading the Gospel far and wide. If we show no interest in the salvation of the lost, we lack either faith toward God or love toward the sinner.

Love by the spirit

"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart" (1 Pet. 1:22). Notice that this verse says the Spirit of God had led them to "sincere love of the brethren," but then he exhorts them to "love one another fervently with a pure heart." We have already considered that love is the first thing the Spirit seeks to produce in the hearts of the converted. "The fruit of the Spirit is love" (Gal. 5:22).

Natural affection

They say, "Birds of a feather flock together." A new convert naturally drifts toward the people of God, loving their company rather than that of worldly people. Before salvation¹ a person shunned Wednesday night prayer meetings, or any other church gathering, but the new born babe in Christ loves to be there, no longer caring for the late night bar, pornography, X-rated movies, women of the night, or any of those things often preferred by the world. The company in a child of God’s home changes too, and the new Christian seldom enjoys visiting in the homes of the unsaved as before, unless it is to spread the Gospel of Christ. If, after salvation, one still seems to love the old companions and the old haunts, then true submission and faith in Christ should naturally be questioned.

Sincere love

Our verse (1 Pet. 1:22) speaks of Christians having "sincere love." This means love without pretense or hypocrisy. There is much pretended love in this world. You can usually tell a politician by the way words are spoken to the public. Before election you might think the person loved everybody, but after election you may notice that their love is only for those who can serve his/her purpose. The story is told of a young man who had business dealings with one who professed to be a Christian, who was in fact a deacon in the church; who apparently pretended to love others. The young man soon discovered that the deacon was not what he pretended to be. Because of the prospect of making money he did wrong toward a friend of the young man. That young man grew up to be a very successful businessman, and to this day speaks poorly of the deacon and will not listen to any word about the Gospel, saying, "If that deacon who cheated my friend is any example of the type of people you Christians are, I want no part of it." Just calling a man a church leader does not make him one.

Love of the brethren

Who are the brethren? Sometimes we make a mistake here. Can a person find the truth of the Gospel from a personal study of God's Word² in their own home, through their own study of Holy Scripture? If we say, "No," then we must accept that we are the only ones in the whole world who have all the truth of God's Word and that we are the only ones in the whole world who can save the lost. But that certainly is God's work. We need to raise up our hearts and simply say that our brethren are all those in this world that trust and obey the Lord Jesus Christ, who are born again and trying to worship God as revealed in His Word. The Bible is God's truth and it is all over the world. Without a doubt, that Word has been and is in places where we have never gone. To think that it is always necessary for those of us who profess to know the truth to be there and baptize each and every one in the world is very close to placing ourselves on the same level in importance as God. The Word of God certainly needs to be preached by faithful Christians, but the power is in the Word of God, not in man and, in fact, the Word of God can convert with or without our help. William Harrison told this story:

Years ago, I learned that a congregation in France had been serving the Lord for many years; following the commands and teachings of Christ in the New Testament regarding how the body of Christ should worship the Lord, save the lost, and live before man and God. Yet, to my knowledge, not one Christian missionary had ever preached there up to the time the congregation was discovered. Now certainly we all should follow the teachings of Christ and there are many false teachers that we must always seek to withstand. Yes, truth is certainly truth. But, how arrogant we must appear if our attitude causes others to think that we believe that we are the only ones in the whole world who are able to understand all the truth of God as revealed in His Word.

There is no excuse for a true Christian not demonstrating a loving attitude toward the unsaved both in and out of false religions, who, for whatever reason, fight against becoming just a Christian, and we should strive to not let their unbelief lessen our affection toward them. Only by maintaining a loving attitude toward them can we, by example, ever hope to lead them to the Lord through faith and obedience to God.

Fond of or deeply loved?

You will notice that in our verse (1 Pet. 1:22), we twice have the word "love." The one speaks of natural affection, but the second of deep, spiritual, Christ-like love. Peter says they had natural affection (phileo), but he desired that they have this deeper form of sacrificial love (agape). This verse further adds that we should love fervently with a pure heart. As we have natural affection for the people of God because we have been purified, so, out of this pure heart should come pure love as well. Pure love should come from a pure heart. And this love should have a little heat in it, as the word "fervently" suggests. This love should be a flame not easily put out, because it is fed by the oil of the Spirit of God. It should grow hotter and stronger as days go by. This love should not be a selfish desire to get, but an unselfish desire to give.

Footnotes:

¹ For more information on salvation, see God’s Salvation in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.

² For more information on the Bible, see God’s Word in A Religion Library section of StudyJesus.com.