Chapter 34

 

How can I live among men for the glory of God?

 

ÒBut I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you. And unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloke forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again. And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise. For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.Ó (Luke 6:27-38)

 

How can I live among men for the glory of God? If you are a believer, I am sure that is a question you often ponder in the various situations you face day by day. How can I glorify God in this situation? How can I live among men for the honor of God my Savior and the gospel of his grace? What would the Lord have me to do here? What is GodÕs will in this place and at this time?

 

If we would live among men for the glory of God, we must love them. Love is always right. It is the will of God for us to love one another, to love our neighbors as ourselves; and our neighbors include family, friends, brethren in Christ, and even our most implacable enemies. That is our SaviorÕs doctrine in this passage. May he graciously apply his doctrine to our hearts by his Spirit.

 

The Lord Jesus here declares, that to all who profess to be his disciples, that those who follow him love people, not just that they love to be around people, but that they love people. Love is the great, identifying mark of true Christianity. Love is the sweet bond of peace. Love is the fulfilling of the law. Love is that without which we are nothing before God. Love is that sweet grace identified first as the fruit of the Spirit.

 

It will profit us greatly and may even make us profitable to others to carefully study and diligently practice that which is taught in these verses.

 

The Basis of Appeal

 

I am calling for all who read these lines, professing to be followers of Christ, to live among the people of this world in exemplary love, to love your brothers and sisters in the kingdom of God and your neighbors for the glory of God. But before we can exemplify the love of Christ, we must know the love of Christ.

 

You cannot gather grapes among thorns, or figs among thistles. You cannot expect flowers where there are no roots, or fruit without trees. It is not possible to have the fruit of the Spirit unless you are united to Christ by faith, born of his Spirit and sanctified by his grace. Until you are born of God, it is not possible for you to exemplify the love of Christ.

 

So the basis of my appeal is this: — If you have experienced the mercy, grace and love of God in Christ, show that same mercy, grace and love to others.

 

ÒAnd be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for ChristÕs sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.Ó (Ephesians 4:32-5:2)

 

It is not possible for anyone to possess the fruit of the Spirit who does not know the doctrine of the Spirit, the doctrine of Christ. There are hoards of people today who go to great pains to show other people how loving, self-denying and sacrificial they are, who utterly despise the gospel of Christ; but theirs is only the hypocritical pretense of love demonstrated by the Pharisees in John 8:1-2 and in John 9.

 

ÒOnce for all,Ó wrote J. C. Ryle, Òlet us understand, that real, genuine, self-denying love, will never grow from any roots but faith in ChristÕs atonement, and a heart renewed by the Holy Ghost. We shall never make men love one another, unless we teach as Paul taught, ÔWalk in love as Christ hath loved us.Õ Teaching love on any other principle isÉlabor in vainÓ

 

Those who do not know the doctrine of Christ, who do not know the gospel of the grace of God, do not and cannot know the love of God. Those who do not have the love of God dwelling in them cannot walk in the love of Christ and exercise that love toward others.

 

Do you know the love of God? Have you experienced his grace? Are you born of his Spirit? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you robed in the righteousness of GodÕs dear Son? Are you a saved, justified, forgiven, heaven born soul? If you are, the basis of my appeal is the mercy, love and grace you have experienced. I am calling for saved sinners to act like their Savior. Those who have experienced grace ought to be, and are, gracious. Those who have experienced mercy ought to be, and are, merciful. Those who have been forgiven ought to be, and are, forgiving. Those who know the love of God in Christ ought to love others for ChristÕs sake, and do.

 

LoveÕs Character

 

Our Lord Jesus plainly shows us the character of true love. The nature and character of true love is the nature and character of his love. How often have you said, or heard someone say, ÒThey love in their own wayÓ? Phooey on their way. If we love, we love GodÕs way. There is no other way to love.

 

Who are we to love? — The Lord Jesus Christ teaches us to love our neighbors. Religious Pharisees and hypocrites ask, ÒWho is my neighbor?Ó (Luke 10:29). Our Lord tells us exactly who we are to love.

 

ÒBut I say unto you which hear, Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you.Ó (vv. 27-28)

 

Our love toward others is to be like our RedeemerÕs love toward us: unselfish, disinterested, expecting no return of love from those we love. Our Lord Jesus loves us freely. So let us love others freely. He expects no return for his love, except wrath, unless he himself creates love for himself in the sinners he loves. So let us love, expecting nothing from the objects of our love. The Master says, ÒLove ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in returnÓ (v. 35).

 

How are we to love those who despise us? We would be wise to hear what the Son of God says about this, and ignore the psychologists, psychiatrists, marriage counselors and social workers of this God-hating, self-loving society. How are we to love people? Read verses 29-30, and you will see.

 

ÒAnd unto him that smiteth thee on the one cheek offer also the other; and him that taketh away thy cloak forbid not to take thy coat also. Give to every man that asketh of thee; and of him that taketh away thy goods ask them not again.Ó

 

Our Lord is not here demanding utter passivity. He is not requiring that we allow those who would rob us, take our homes, or murder us to do as they wish. He is talking here about insignificant things. Oh, how I pray that God will give me grace to treat insignificant things as insignificant things!

 

Loves gives in. Love gives up much. Loves endures much. Love is kind. Love strives to avoid strife. Love sacrifices personal rights and desires for its object, and even submits to wrong for the sake of peace. Love, like the great Lover of our souls, is meek and lowly of heart, long-suffering, gentle and kind. This is what our Master teaches us concerning the character of love (Romans 12:9-21; 14:19; 1 Corinthians 13:1-13). May he give us grace to exemplify it to one another in the house of God, in our homes, and to the world around us.

 

Essential to Godliness

 

Is your heart ruled, governed, and motivated by the love of Christ? Do you have within you the kind of love that Christ produces in his people! Do I? Love is absolutely essential to true godliness. Paul tells us that if we have all other things, and have not love, they shall profit us nothing. The absence of love is fatal. As you read such passages as I have cited in this study, do not think to yourself, ÒLove is a very great virtue, most commendable and useful; it would be a great thing if I could obtain it.Ó Oh, no! We must have it!

 

God the Holy Spirit tells us that this love is something which characterizes all who are born of God. We must have it, or else we are not born of God. If I do not have this love, no matter what else I may have, no matter what else I may do, if I do not have the love of Christ in my heart, I am a lost man; and the same is true of you. This love is not a condition to be met in order to get salvation; but it is one sure result of GodÕs saving grace in Christ.

 

Christian love is greater than all other spiritual gifts and graces. Without love, all other gifts and graces are meaningless and useless (1 Corinthians 13:1-3). This one thing, love, is the fulfilling of the law of God (Matthew 22:36-40; Romans 13:8-10). And love is the one sure mark and evidence of a saving union with the Lord Jesus Christ. He said, ÒBy this shall all men know that you are my disciples, if ye have love one to anotherÓ (John 13:35).

 

            Where this love is absent, grace is absent. No man is born of God who does not have the love of Christ implanted in his heart as a ruling principle of life (1 John 2:9-11; 3:14, 23; 4:7, 8, 16, 20; 5:1).

 

The love of Christ, or the absence of it, is a thing easily identifiable. This is not some profound, mysterious point of theology. It is not some sweet-sounding, but useless, emotion. The love of Christ is a gift of divine grace, that is clearly demonstrated in the lives of GodÕs elect (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). This love causes a person to be kind, patient, content, gentle, even tempered, humble, self-denying, generous, honest, truthful, forbearing and forgiving toward others, both in the church and out of it.

 

Love is preferable to all other gifts and greater than all other graces, because love is the only thing that will last forever (1 Corinthians 13:8-13). All other gifts will come to an end. All other graces will cease. But love will go on in heaven. Faith will be no more, when we see him whom we have believed. Hope will be no more, when we have that for which we have hoped. But love will continue and come to perfection, when we enter heaven. Love is the only thing we have in this world that we can carry with us into the world to come. Heaven is a world of love, perfect, unceasing, glorious, Christ-like love. No one will enter that city of peace and world of love, except those who have the love of Christ in their hearts.

 

Blessed Rule

 

Our dear Savior, the Lord Jesus, gives us a very simple and blessed rule by which to live, the rule of love. — ÒAnd as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewiseÓ (V. 31. — ÒJudge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgivenÓ (v. 37).

 

Our Lord knew that in this world the line between right and wrong, in dealing with neighbors and friends, family and foe, would often be very hazy. Personal feelings and private interests often dim our view of things and cloud our judgment. So the Lord Jesus gave us this guide. He tells us to treat others as we would have them treat us.

 

To do to others as they do to us, to return evil for evil, bite for bite, injury for injury, is beastly. To return good for evil is to walk in the steps of our Master. Let us always endeavor to put the best construction on the actions and words of other, judging them and their deeds as charitably as possible. Always be very slow to condemn another and swift to forgive. Let all error in dealing with other people be on the side of leniency, not on the side of severity. We do not have to form an opinion about everything, much less express an opinion about everything, everyone, or everyoneÕs actions. — Believers live by principles the world simply cannot understand. We live by the rule of Christ and the example of his love (John 13:15; 2 Corinthians 5:14).

 

ÒFor if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same. And if ye lend to them of whom ye hope to receive, what thank have ye? for sinners also lend to sinners, to receive as much again. But love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil.Ó (vv. 32-35)

 

As our heavenly Father is Òkind to the unthankful and to the evil,Ó so let us be. As he forgives, let us forgive. As his loving kindness is unwearied, let ours be. As his mercy is unlimited, let ours be unlimited. As his compassions fail not, so let our compassion be unaltered by thanklessness, ingratitude and abuse from those upon whom compassion is bestowed.

 

LoveÕs Reward

 

In verses 35-38 learn, if you have not learned it already, that love is its own reward.

 

ÒBut love ye your enemies, and do good, and lend, hoping for nothing again; and your reward shall be great, and ye shall be the children of the Highest: for he is kind unto the unthankful and to the evil. Be ye therefore merciful, as your Father also is merciful. Judge not, and ye shall not be judged: condemn not, and ye shall not be condemned: forgive, and ye shall be forgiven: Give, and it shall be given unto you; good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over, shall men give into your bosom. For with the same measure that ye mete withal it shall be measured to you again.Ó

 

Our Lord Jesus does not here contradict the whole Bible. He is not here telling us that our love to other people earns GodÕs grace, or earns us a place in heaven. Not at all! He is simply declaring that those who are born of God walk in love, and that those who walk in love are born of God. Those who do not are not. Walk in love, Òhoping for nothing again, and your reward shall be great.Ó

 

The God of all grace has gracious children. The God of all mercy has merciful sons and daughters. The God whose glory it is to forgive sin has a forgiving family. If you are lenient with men, men will be lenient with you. As you forgive men, you shall be forgiven of men. As you give, men will give to you. It is easy to be lenient with lenient people. It is very difficult to be unforgiving toward one who is ever forgiving others. And people are always quickest to give to those who are generous.

 

ÒBeloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.Ó (1 John 4:7-11)

 

 

 

Don Fortner

 

 

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