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The church world always talks about love, but what really is the love that the Bible talks about? There is one thing that is definitely true about love experienced between two people: it will cause you to do things you would not normally do.

If that is true about the love that is on a natural level, then how much more would that be true about the agape love of God?

In 1 Timothy 1:5 we read, "Now the end [or purpose] of the commandment is charity [agape] out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned."

There are three things that Paul points to in this scripture. They are (1) love out of a pure heart, (2) love out of a good conscience and (3) love of faith unfeigned.

Why do you think Paul would say this is the end or purpose of the commandments?

Peter tells us in his first book chapter four and verse eight, "...above all things have fervent charity [agape] among yourselves: for charity [agape] shall cover the multitude of sins."

If love is the end of the matter and is above all things we are to have, then we should be aware of the attack against it. Jesus explicitly warns us in Matthew 24:12 that, "because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold."

I've heard many reference this verse before and take the position that because they were not involved in iniquity, their love was not in jeopardy of waxing cold. But is that what Jesus said?

Look closely at this scripture and you will see that it goes beyond your involvement in iniquity. Iniquity, in the context of what Jesus said is not limited to an individuals involvement in the iniquity. Let me give you an example that may make more sense.

In 2 Peter 2:7-8, "and delivered righteous Lot, who was oppressed by the filthy conduct of the wicked (for that righteous man, dwelling among them, tormented his righteous soul from day to day by seeing and hearing their lawless deeds)..." (NKJ).

We see here that just being involved is not the only problem. Notice verse seven states that Lot was oppressed by the conduct of the wicked, yet he was referred to as "righteous." In other words, he was not partaking of the iniquity, but the iniquity that was going on around him was vexing his righteous soul daily.

Your love can wax cold by the evil around you if you do not actively keep it burning. We now see love becoming the measure of our ability to walk in the things of God.

Let's take a look at this love thing that the Bible talks about so much. In 1 Corinthians 13:4-8, we see some characteristics of love.

We see that love suffers long, is kind, does not envy or parade itself, does not behave rudely or speak of it's own as well as some other characteristics and the fact that love never fails. In Galatians 5:6, we read another important aspect about love and that is, "...but faith which worketh by love."

So in a nutshell we know, (1) our faith works by love, (2) love will cause us to do things we normally wouldn't, (3) love covers a multitude of sins, (4) love is the end of the matter, and (5) love will not fail. Therefore, we can conclude that there is no possible way to separate love from a successful walk with God.

So let's take a love test. There are many scriptures that we can take this test with, but I have chosen 1 John 3:14 for this article which says, "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."

Now I know that we would all say that we love the brethren, because I am sure everyone reading this article has passed from death unto life. For the fun of it, let's just see how well we do.

Do I suffer long and am I kind to my brethren? Do I ever envy my brethren? Do I ever try to parade myself or puff myself up with the brethren? Am I guilty of behaving rudely with my brethren?

Are my needs more important than the needs of my fellow Christians? Do I ever provoke another? Do I ever think evil about my brethren? Have I bore ALL things with my brethren? Do I endure ALL things with my brethren?

I don't know about you, but when I break down the characteristics of love, I can find myself at times falling short. If I fall short, then I have to ask myself the question, "Does the Word of God really mean anything?"

Maybe Paul and James were a little off their rockers and they were just trying to illustrate a point by being tough. Or could it possibly be that God's righteous standard with which He will use to judge the earth is not the same standard we use to judge our lives.

In 1 John 4:20, we read that if someone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. The word "hate" that is used in this scripture is the same Greek word "hate" that is used in Luke 14:26 that says, "If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife...he cannot be my disciple."

This word hate is defined as, "to detest or to love less." From this we see in 1 John 4:20 that our love one for the other is just as important as our love for God. This is why we are told in Phil 2:2-5, "Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus."

How far must one go in placing another before themselves? I think this is best illustrated in Foxes Book of Martyrs in the story of John Frith.
"On July 4, 1533 John Frith was taken to the place of execution...and the sticks were lit around him and several others who were also being burned for heresy. Burning close to Frith was an Andrew Hewet, and a strong wind that day blew the flames from Frith's stake and toward Hewet, thereby consuming Hewet quickly and leaving Frith to burn slowly. But even though his agony was prolonged, Frith appeared happy that it shortened the suffering of his fellow martyr."
Love will cause you to do things that you would not normally do. How true is this statement in your life with your fellow Christians and a lost and dying world?

Copyright © Fellowship of Hope
All rights reserved. Used by permission.

Author Biography

David Shipman
Web site: Covenant of Peace International
 
Pastor David Shipman is one of the founding pastors of Fellowship of Hope and presently serves as the Senior Pastor. He employs a very aggressive and responsive attitude toward the Word of God. Believing whole heartedly Jesus’ Words found in Mark 9:23, “If thou canst believe, all things are possible to him that believeth.”
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