- Be sure to visit HEAVEN DECLARES.
The True Bible Definition
of LOVE
A doctrinal essay by E.H.Jackson
The True Bible Definition of "Love"
Rom 13:9-10 "For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law."
Gal 5:22 "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith"
1Thess 4:9 " But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another."
1Jn 5:1-3 "Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous."
LOVE IS IN THE AIR, BUT NOT TRUE LOVE!
Love seems to be in the air these days. Everybody is talking about it. If you ask people about the meaning of love, as many opinions will abound as people. But if you actually press people and ask them for an accurate definition of love almost nobody can tell you. Most people think that it is some kind of feeling that people get toward other people. It's some sort of an emotional feeling of attachment or endearment. But it seems to be a very nebulous sort of thing that everybody thinks they understand, but nobody can actually define.
Mothers know that they love their children, and they know that it is something more than just a feeling, but they don't know what? or why? Christians can quote John 3:16, and they know that God's infinite love sent Christ to the world, to die for sinners, but they they also know that it was not just a mere emotion or feeling that God had in his heart. It was a powerful force so real and important that it nailed the Lord from Glory on a cross. It completely altered history. When I saw my wife for the very first time, I thought she was the most beautiful thing I had ever seen and my heart pounded, and my hands were sweaty, but I just knew that I had to meet her and ask her out. It was love at first sight. But exactly what was it? was it just a feeling, an emotion, a palpitating heart, a gulp in my throat? What exactly is love? And if we cannot define it, then how can we be certain that we actually know what it is?
The world has many false notions about what love is, and all of them actually undermine the true meaning of love as clearly defined in God's infallible and inerrant word. Mans thoughts are not God's thoughts, and man's ways are not God's ways, and nowhere is this more evident than in this matter of defining what love really is. To man, love is a powerful emotional feeling. When God commands us to "love our neighbors as ourselves" is He telling us to have a powerful emotional affection toward someone else the same as we have toward our-self? Is that what He really means? If so, then how can a feeling translate into feeding our neighbor when he is hungry? or giving him a cup of water when he is thirsty? How can a feeling for somebody provide a place to sleep for someone who is homeless? How can an emotion touch a widow who has lost her husband, or child who has lost his parents? Surely love is much more that an emotion? How can an emotion rescue starving children in a far off country? Build orphanages, hospitals, schools, or teach the blind to be self sufficient? Can an emotion change an old mans diaper when he is incontinent and unable to change it himself? Can an emotion invite a lonely soul to a thanksgiving dinner? or send a care package to a soldier on a battlefield? Can a mere feeling give a granola bar to a hungry child who has not eaten breakfast, because mommy is stoned on drugs and daddy is nowhere to be found? Can a feeling go out of it's way to give a ride to a lonely kid so he can get to Sunday School class? Can a feeling jump into the icy water to save a drowning man? Can an emotion run into a burning house to rescue a baby in a crib from certain death? Emotions, by themselves; feelings and the like, can do none of the things we have mentioned here. That's why God gives an entirely different definition to the word "Love". It may shock and surprise you, but "Love" as God sees it, has absolutely nothing to do with a fuzzy feeling, or with a gentle tugging on your heart strings. Nor is love an overwhelming gush of emotions welling up like an overflowing fountain on the inside. God's idea of love is radically different than any of this, and it behooves every Christian to grab hold of, and seek to fully comprehend and assimilate exactly what God says that Love is. You will never view the subject the same again, so please listen and understand what God says about Love.
GOD'S TRUE DEFINITION OF LOVE
"Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself" (Romans 13:9). But what on earth does this have to do with a definition of love, you ask? These sound like the ten commandments to me, or something very similar to them. They are certainly moral commands that's for sure. So what on earth does this have to do with God's definition of Love?
This is exactly why we never read verses out of context. If you continue reading you will see what I am talking about, because immediately following these commands which are put to represent all of God's system of moral precepts, we read these startling words: "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore LOVE IS THE FULFILLING OF THE LAW" (Rom.13:10). There you have it. God's perfect definition of LOVE. LOVE is the Fulfilling of the Law!
But what on earth can this mean? That sounds like the weirdest definition of love that I have ever heard? "Love is the fulfilling of the law"? How does the fulfilling of God's Law equal love? Why is love the fulfilling of the Law?
This is very close to a similar statement that we find in 1Jn. 5:3 "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous". Then of course we have the words that came directly from the mouth of our Lord when he said: "If ye love me, keep my commandments" (Jn. 14:15). And the there are these words also which say: "If ye keep my commandments, ye shall abide in my love; even as I have kept my Father's commandments, and abide in his love" (Jn. 15:10).
Obviously Love has something to do with keeping God's commandments, because this note is sounded over and over again in the New Testament. But what is the connection? and how does this fit with the idea that Christians are not bound by the law, but are under grace? This whole thing seems rather confusing, because it is so radically different. It does not seem to make much sense. I think I was more comfortable with my old worldly understanding that love is simply a powerful affectionate feeling. I want to go back there and view this whole think like I did before. It was so much simpler. A gushy warm fuzzy feeling makes no demands on me. But this commandment thing? now that's another story completely! Keeping commandments, that means I have to do something, doesn't it?
Paul is very specific in his application of the principle of true love. "Love does not commit adultery", "Love does not kill". "Love does not steal". "Love does not covet" and he even adds: "if there is any other commandments, love does not break them either"! This is incredibly direct and specific teaching. What are we to make of it?
LOVE IS OBEDIENCE TO GOD!
Disobedience is Hatred Toward Him!
Jesus said, "you are either with Him, or you are against Him" Matthew 12:30 , and this is no more clearer than in this matter of love.
It's really quite simple. Love is not a replacement for God's Law, it is the fulfilling of Gods law. Love is the summation of all that the law contains, and all that the law contains is the summation of true love. When you love, you obey God. Period. If you love Christ, you keep his commandments, just like he said. That means that two people practicing adultery cannot say that they are "in love", because clearly they are "in lust". They do not love, because they are disobedient to God and are rebellious. Two homosexuals practicing sex in a manner that God disapproves of, are not "loving each other" because they acting contrary to God's law. It has absolutely nothing to do with human emotions or feelings, and it has everything to do with actions and principles. Love always strives to do what is right according to what God says. Love acts on divine principles, not on human lusts, base feelings, pleasure principles or tickling sensations!
So, at the outset we see that, love is a principle of action, not a feeling or emotion. Love does what God wants, and does not do what lust and feelings want. By definition then, actions that are contrary to God are contrary to Love. Obedience to God is the only test of true love. If you love your wife, then you will treat her according to God's divine principles. If you love your neighbor, then you will obey God and perform actions toward him that demonstrate your obedience to God. Love on any level, and toward any individual or group of individuals, is always and only demonstrated by obedience to the divine principles of truth and righteousness. Love is not tied to feelings and emotions, to whims or fanciful dreams. Love is tied only to God's definition of what is right and what is wrong.
It is not man's definition of right and wrong, which we are talking about here. It is strictly and exclusively God's definition. Men practice relativism. Whats right for me may not be right for you, and whats wrong for me may not be wrong for you. That's because we are infatuated with ourselves, and we really don't give a damn about anyone else. This is how the world thinks. Societal restraints or "laws" if you will, are just made for convenience and for the general good of society. They have absolutely nothing to do with love for God or obedience to His truth. But that's exactly why love is not giving your neighbor what he wants, but what he needs, and what God says he should receive. God defines the actions which constitute love. He also defines the actions, which if committed, prove that we are not loving, and are actually being hateful. If obedience to God's truth and righteous principles is love, then conversely disobedience is hatred.
If you hate God, men or even yourself, you will be disobedient to revealed truth. But if you love God, men and yourself, you will perform all the necessary acts that qualify as loving. For a parent this may involve doing many things, you may not want to do, or feel like doing, or that give you a negative emotional feeling. But guess what? A loving parent obeys God.
What about Loving Speech and Kind Words?
Paul makes an interesting case in Ephesians 4:15 when he says something that is regularly misapplied by Christians who have the same flimsy false definition of love that the world has. Paul says: "But speaking the truth in love". This has regularly been interpreted with the worlds false wisdom, so that it means when you speak to others you are to do so in a gentle, kind, soft-spoken, sweet, sissified manner. "Speaking in love", according to them, means to speak with an emotional feeling of affection and sweetness. That is not what Paul is referring to at all. Look what he says in the preceding verse. "That we henceforth be no more children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the sleight of men, and cunning craftiness, whereby they lie in wait to deceive" (Eph. 4:14). That means: our "speaking the truth in love" is not childish speech. It is not speech that tosses people about with false winds and false doctrines. It is not sneaky, sleight of hand speech, cunning and crafty speech, which would be easily mistaken or be deceptive. No, our speaking the truth in love, if it is really loving, is therefore clear speech, plain speech, truth filled speech, sober speech, sound speech without trickery, without deception! The statement by Paul has nothing to do with speaking softly, gushingly, mushily or slushily. Speaking truth, any truth, all truth, and only truth, is love in action on our tongues! Don't be deceived, the poison of asps is on the tongues of many sweet talking Devils in disguise. Love speaks the truth, just as God lays it out, with out doctoring it up, to make the hearers happy, cozy, or feel good. Do not be deceived. Loving speech obeys God. Loving speech is always truth-filled speech. Love is the fulfilling of the Law. Don't try to use this verse to turn preachers of righteousness into whoosies and whimps. If they love you, and they love God, they will tell you many things that do not feel good, many things that pierce and sting, many things that are not warm emotional fuzzy feelings. They must tell you, because they love you so much, and they love God even more. They are compelled to speak the truth in love, even when it hurts both them and you in the process. Love compels them to obey God rather than men. They therefore will speak things that are right and true according to God's definitions and God's wisdom, not mans false ideas, and fanciful wishes. If you love them, and if you love God, you should thank Him for men who speak to you like this. These are not sly, cunning deceivers waiting to confuse you, which Paul warns about. These are the true servants of God. These are the true prophets who deliver Gods words with unfeigned speech and true lips. You know that you can trust them, because their love is true. It goes to the last mile in delivering God's truth from it's lips. And it will bend over backwards and fly through hoops to show you the true principles of God, and it will not be just idle words that tickle your ears and sooth your conscience, but will be an actual demonstration of true love. Truth hurts before it heals.
Look there is a great example of speaking the truth in love in James 2:15-16. Check this out carefully.
Jas 2:15-16 "If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit?"
Notice the hate speech here. Look carefully or you might miss it. If you are looking for fuzzy, sweet, gentle and soft words they are all here. But they are words of hate, not "truth in love". Somebody naked, and destitute of daily food comes to church and the preacher preaches warm glowing, fuzzy, emotion packed words, that are actually hateful and evil; even though they sound nice and sweet...listen: "peace dear brother, may you be warmed, and may your stomach be filled, God will provide all your needs. Smile God loves you". Isn't that sweet? Surely that's the kind of preachers we need in America? Speaking the truth in loving and glowing words? Yes, that's what we want. Give us preachers like that who speak the truth lovingly.
Wrong! Empty words! Vain Speech! Meaningless and Deceptive! This is pure hate speech. This is not "speaking the truth in love" at all. It is hate speech because it is nice sounding, sweet, religious words; empty and hollow without one drop of real love in it. Love obeys God. Love speaks truth in action, truth that obeys God. Here's what speaking the truth in love really sounds like...(listen so you can identify truth from error)... "here dear brother, I see that you have no peace, because you are hungry and cold and destitute. Let me take you out for a nice warm meal, and please allow me to give you some clean cloths I have and here's a little money to help you through your difficulties. Why don't you spend the night with us tonight? and tomorrow I will help you, to see if we can find you a place to live, or a shelter. Would that be OK with you? Please let me help you and show you the love of Christ. He cares about you, and I do too! Please let me help." Any moron ought to be able to see that soft gentle, smooth religious double talk is 100% hateful and evil. Words have to be accompanied by the actions of obedience to God and obedience to God's revealed truth. That is what "speaking the truth in love" really means. Speaking the truth can never be divorced from the truth. And the truth is to always be obeyed.
James goes on in the same passage to clarify it a little more. He says In the very next verse. "Even so faith, if it hath not works is dead, being alone" (Jas. 2:17). Then in v 18: "Yea a man may say, thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works". The principle is exactly the same in the matter of love as it is in the matter of faith. Empty meaningless words show neither faith nor love. Faith is not real if it is just cheap talk. And love is not love if it is just kind words and vain speaking. Action, however; genuine obedience, is the real deal. Obedience to God, demonstrated by real action, shows both faith and love.
1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
LAW-KEEPING LOVE
IS ACTUALLY GRACE and NOT LEGALISM!
The question in all this, however, arises when we consider the teaching that the New Testament principle of living in Christ involves faith and not works. The just shall live by faith. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law, but by the faith of Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Jesus Christ, that we might be justified by the faith of Christ, and not by the works of the law: for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified" (Galatians 2:16). And in Romans we read a similar statement, "Therefore we conclude that a man is justified by faith without the deeds of the law" (Rom. 3:28). The New Testament idea then is clear, that "law keeping" cannot justify a man. Paul even goes so far as to say that the law is curse upon man, not a blessing, but he is careful to add that Christ is the redeemer from that curse!
Gal 3:11-14 "But that no man is justified by the law in the sight of God, it is evident: for, The just shall live by faith. 12 And the law is not of faith: but, The man that doeth them shall live in them. 13 Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree: 14 That the blessing of Abraham might come on the Gentiles through Jesus Christ; that we might receive the promise of the Spirit through faith."
So, if Christ has redeemed us from the curse of the law, and we are no longer under law but under grace, then how on earth can God define love as the fulfilling of the law? This is an entirely valid and important question, and if the answer is rightly discerned, it reveals just how fantastic and perfect a redemption Christ has secured for us. Follow this carefully, because it will give you an expanded appreciation of just how incredible God's love really is.
All Christians understand the basic doctrine that Christ is the ultimate expression of God's love. No Christian, can deny John 3:16. Christ came to this sin blasted planet as the ultimate extension and active proof of the infinite love of the Father for the world. "God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son". and also verse 17: "For God sent not his Son into the world to condmn the world; but that the world through Him might be saved". These truths are undeniable to every Christian. All Christians believe that Christ demonstrated the active, saving love of God by coming to this earth to die for sinners. That's at the very heart of Christianity. But what Christ did with respect to the law is at the very heart of love.
"Love is the fulfilling of the law" is God's basic definition of love. Hopefully you have no doubt about that? If you do, then perhaps you should re-read this article paying closer attention to the verses we considered in it. If Christ demonstrated God's love, then He did so by "fulfilling God's Law"! That's what love is! And that's exactly what Christ did! Look!
Matt 5:17-18 "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill. 18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled."
Christ said that He came not to destroy the law, but to Fulfill it! Paul clearly knew this and believed it, and we should know it and believe it also. Jesus fulfilled the law for us, because we cannot fulfill it ourselves. All men are sinners, because sin is the transgression of the law, not the keeping of it. Nobody can keep the law, except Jesus. Nobody is righteous, but Christ. Nobody fulfills all the commandments of God, with the exception of the God-man. Jesus did for us, what no man could do. He fulfilled every last jot and tittle of the righteous demands of God's law, and that "finished work" stands completed till the heavens and earth shall pass away. In other words, Christ's perfect obedience is sufficient for all time. Nobody ever has to repeat what He did, because He was the only one who could ever have done it! He was the only one who was absolutely sin-less...i.e. having no sin, having no disobedience, fulfilling all righteousness (Matt. 3:15). Christ fulfilled the law, because Christ was pure and untarnished Love. Nobody else qualifies!
But you must see in His love the Grace of God toward you. He did not love for Himself, or obey for himself. He had no need of either love or obedience, because He was God. God needs nothing! God requires nothing, in order to be God! God cannot be improved upon. Obedience is not one of God's characteristics, because He is the one who makes all laws and demands. He does not have to abide by His own laws, because they serve Him, He does not serve them. Christ loved and obeyed not for himself, not for his own improvement, because you cannot improve perfection, nor can you tarnish it. If you could it would not be perfect. Christ obeyed only for his chosen people! He delivered us from the law, by fulfilling all its demands and by bearing all its curses on our behalf and in our place.
I recently read a blasphemous article denouncing the idea of the vicarious atonement of Christ by a man named Arthur P Adams who died in 1925. (Good riddance.) Mr Adams expressed his anti-christian, and non-biblical view, that the idea of a vicarious (substitutionary) atonement is a man made concoction. Beginning with these words he said: "The
common idea of the so-called “Vicarious Atonement” is offensive and repugnant to the principles of justice and fair play.
Furthermore, this popular idea misrepresents God, distorts the truth of His Word into deformities, and obscures the great truth that Jesus Christ is the image of God, the most perfect revelation of the Father that we have". He then proceeds to derail the truth with humanistic reasoning's about why a fair God would never punish a sinless being. How unfair that would be? How cruel and wicked a tyrant this God must be?... That's the God of Christians he is slandering, and calling an unfair tyrant! Beware, oh child of God, when you open up your ears to trash like this! He has no compunction about slandering God, because He rejects God. He imagines a God that has to be fair according to his evil and twisted humanistic idea of fairness. Who says that God has to be fair? And why is it unfair and unjust for Christ to do for man what man cannot do for himself? Mr. Adam's God cannot save, because Mr. Adam's God has to abide by imaginary "fair play", not by what God actually says that Christ did.
In the process of advocating an imaginary doctrine for his imaginary deity, he strips Christ of the most precious part of all that He did, and in doing so, he robs the true Lord of the only display of true love that the world has ever known or seen. When you attack the vicarious atoning work of Christ, you have destroyed the entire gospel. There is no "good news" whatsoever, if you assume that man can be saved without a substitute! No matter how you slice it, or what you say about it to disguise the fact, salvation without a divine substitute is salvation by works pure and simple! Salvation by works, is a damnable heresy of the worst sort., and of the oldest sort. You would think Christian could spot it in a instant? Wouldn't you? But obviously there are many blind leaders of blind men. And Christians they are not! They are wolves and vipers. Adams, along with all the rest of the Universalist's of his ilk, are Christ hating man centered pharisees. "they are of their father "the devil".
Don't let anyone, dear Christian, tell you that Christ was not your substitute, and that He did not fulfill God's law to the fullest degree on your behalf. That is damning blasphemy, that if believed, will drag you down to hell for certain, even while you are singing "Oh How I Love Jesus!" in the choir loft! When they say that, they are denying God, and are denying the reality of salvation itself. When they say that, they are calling God a liar, and are committing treason against Him, saying that He really did not love the world at all. Love is the fulfilling of the law, and that is exactly what our Divine substitute did for us! The hateful doctrine that these Universalist's espouse, denies John 3:16 because it denies the reality that Christ fulfilled the law on behalf of His children. It denies that God actually, visibly and concretely demonstrated His love to the world. I'd call that a hateful doctrine, wouldn't you? It is evil because it denies God and denies the only expression of true love that has ever existed. They cry out against the truth, and they claim, that they are the ones preaching it! That is a certain mark of all false teachers. Mark it down and you will never be misled by them. They deny the truth, while they claim to teach it. What a farce and doctrinal fiasco that is! The fact is, they deny Gods love from start to finish. There is no love in disobedience! Nor is there salvation without perfect obedience! If the Universalist's deny the substitute, and His perfect obedience on our behalf, as well as denying His shed blood which alone can saves us, then all their religion and logical notions are nothing but a bunch of crap! Dung! Feces excreted from warped and deviant minds! Manure from the toilets of the reprobates!
Deny the acts which are in the love of God, and you deny the love of God completely. Men love darkness rather than light, and they would rather have, and worship, a false God that fit's their ideas of "fair play", then to worship the true God who maintains all of His divine attributes (such as love and divine hatred, holiness, and perfect justice), without any need for the approval of men, and without any obligation to fit within their silly notions of fairness. If you are a Christian, then read your Bible, and quit following false teachers who want God to conform to their human viewpoint. God never conforms to man, and unless you perfectly conform to Him, through the imputed righteousness of Christ, the sinners substitute, you shall never see God, nor set foot in His heaven of eternal bliss. This is very serious stuff, so please head it well, and consider it carefully. Christ kept the law so you don't have to, and that was perfect love demonstrated and fulfilled!
The In-working and Out-flowing of Divine Love in us,
is exclusively from the Holy Spirit,
and it cannot be self-generated.
There is one more aspect of true love that goes with all of it. If law-keeping defines love, and if you cannot keep the law yourself, but depend upon Christ to fulfill it for you, then how does love become real and operate within you as a child of God? What is the methodology that God uses to transfer Christ's love to you, so that when you love, it is actually perfect love, the love of Christ? Christ's love is the only perfect love, and that's the love that God requires, and Christ maintains. So how then does it come into your life? Jesus said that his disciples would be identifiable by only one distinct and unique characteristic. "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another" (John 13:35). Now look here, and make no mistake.
You do not have the capacity in yourself to love, because you do not have the capacity to obey the law of God perfectly. You will always be unloving and hateful, if you are depending upon yourself to produce a divine attribute. You are a sinner, even after you have been saved. That' is why you must not adopt the false theology that says we are saved by Grace, but we live by good works. That is rubbish. We are saved by grace through faith, and that is also how we live, and fulfill Gods righteous demands. From start to finish salvation is by grace through the faith of Christ, and not through what you do or do not do. This includes not only our justification, or right standing with God, but also our sanctification and daily walk. Here's the key, and don't miss it. Love, true love, the love that is in us, the love that is our identifying mark as followers of Jesus, is one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit. That means it is in-wrought in us, as a matter of Divine production, and not as a matter of human goodness or works.
Gal 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is LOVE, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith,
1Th 4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.
The Whole Law is actually Two Commandments About Love.
God teaches us how to love, because the Holy spirit guides us into all the truth about love, by creating love in us as one of His blessed Fruits. Jesus was clear that the Holy Spirit would teach us about Christ, and bring all things to rembrance that Christ said and did. Christ summed up the whole of the law in two laws, and both laws are about LOVE!
Mat 22:36-37 Master, which is the great commandment in the law? 37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. 38 This is the first and great commandment. 39 And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 40 On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
Perfect obedience... (heart, mind and soul in love with God), and perfect love for your fellow man; this is the fruit of the Spirit. "The fruit of the Spirit is Love". Why do people continuously mutilate the simple teaching of the Bible? It is simply because they hate God and do not trust Him. If you trust God, then you believe that He does what He says. If you trust God about love, then you believe that He brings forth fruit in you, as a believer, that is equal to the perfect Divine fulfillment of the Law through Jesus Christ. This is the fruit of the Spirit. There is no other way to produce true love. True love cannot exist in any man, unless the Holy Spirit puts it there. That's what God says. It's simple. It requires no additions. It requires nothing from you. It is God's fruit not yours! It just automatically shows up on His branches, and when it shows up, guess what, everyone can identify you as a follower of Christ. They shall know you by your love, because love is always the inevitable production of the Holy Spirit. That means that there is no such thing as an "unloving Christian".
There is no such thing as an unloving Christian!
If you you are unloving, then have no doubt about it, you are not a Christian at all. Loveless people, are lost people. Unloving people hate God, and hate men also. The definition of Love, means that only Christians have it. All Christians have it, not just some of them. If you do not have it, it is because you are a child of Satan. The Bible is crystal clear on this. It is impossible to misinterpret, misunderstand or misapply these teachings. Look at these verses, and then look carefully at your heart. Hatred in your heart shows that you are lost and on the road to hell. Love that obeys God, and cares for the brethren,shows that you are saved. We are identified by one thing, one undeniable and distinct mark that belongs only to the true children of God...We Love as He Loved!
1Jn 4:7-8 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. 8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. (Notice: Everyone that loves is born of God. Everyone that does not love not does not know God!)
1Jn 4:11-14 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us. 13 Hereby know we that we dwell in him, and he in us, because he hath given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Saviour of the world. (Notice: If we love one another God dwells in us, and his love is perfected in us. We know that we dwell in God because He has given us the Spirit who creates love in us!)
1Jn 4:16-17 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him. 17 Herein is our love made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment: because as he is, so are we in this world. (Notice: God is love, and the people who dwell in love dwell in God and God dwells in them. Also notice: "as He is (love) so are we (love)).
1Jn 4:19-21 We love him, because he first loved us. 20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen? 21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also. (Notice: All believers love God because God loves them. Anyone who is hateful loves neither men nor God, and they are liars. It is impossible to love God and not love your brothers also. Please remember that love must be action and demonstrated to be love at all. Someone who does not actively show this fruit of the Spirit is nothing but an unrepentant sinner, a God hater. That's clearly what the Bible says.)
1Jn 4:21 - 1Jn. 5:3 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.1 Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3 For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous. (Notice: by this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep his commandment. If you do not do this, by the power of the Spirit of Christ in you, then you are not a Christian, you are a God-hater).
1Jn 2:4-5 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. (This is crystal clear: we know that we are in Him, because God's love is perfected in us and is seen in our obedience to God. Obedience demonstrates love, and proves that salvation exists in our hearts!)
1Jn 2:9-11 He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. 10 He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. 11 But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes. (This requires no explanation. It is plain truth, readily understandable by all..)
Now that you know God's true definition of Love. Then start living it, and start showing it, because if you are one of His, that is what must come out from within you, as the one brilliant and shining mark that identifies you as "Children of the light". If you do not, or cannot love, then surely you are lost and will perish in the eternal burnings. May God help you to find Christ, and to own Him as your Lord and Savior with True Love.
© 2012 EHJ all rights reserved.
Permission is granted to post this article on any website or blog, provided that it is posted in it's entirety, that the author is properly credited , and that a clear link is also posted back to this website. No permission is hereby given to publish this article in print media or to offer it for sale or profit. Please CLICK HERE to send us the link to the article if you put this on your websites or blogs.