John 13:34,35

A. Love as a principle; takes two directions -

1. Toward God

Matthew 22:37 - “And he said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.” It means to love God with all our power.

2. Toward Mankind

Matthew 22:39 - “And a second like unto it is this, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”

B. Love is synonymous with Christianity. There is no Christianity without love.

John 15:10-14 - “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. These things have I spoken unto you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be made full. This is my commandment, that ye love one another, even as I have loved you. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. Ye are my friends if ye do the things which I command you.”

C. There is a great concern in the world today about love:

1. The so-called love movements are seen everywhere.

2. “What the world needs now is love....”

3. Some seem to think that “love” will cure all.

4. “We must love everybody, and overlook their faults.”

D. True, there is a need for love.

1. Proper, God-centered love.

2. Most people have a misconception about love. They view it, basically, as a strong emotional feeling. Improper “love” leads to immorality and frustration.

E. Love must be properly understood, and then properly directed.

A. “Hateful” means full of hate.

B. Wicked hearts hate truth.

C. They hate the church.

D. They hate all that is good.

A. Jesus had enemies, but loved them.

B. Must love our enemies.

1. Matthew 5:44 - “But I say unto you, love your enemies, and pray for them that persecute you.”

2. Romans 12:20,21 - “But if thine enemy hunger, feed him; if he thirst, give him to drink: for in so doing thou shalt heap coals of fire upon his head. Be not overcome of evil, but overcome evil with good.”

C. Jesus conquered through love.

D. Greatest victories through love.

A. Love unselfish

I Corinthians 13:4-8 - “Love suffereth long, and is kind; love envieth not; love vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not its own, is not provoked, taketh not account of evil; rejoiceth not in unrighteousness, but rejoiceth with the truth: beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Love never faileth: but whether there be prophecies, they shall be done away; whether there be tongues, they shall cease; whether there be knowledge, it shall be done away.”

B. Love opposed to selfishness.

C. Highest values obtained through love.

D. Love promotes all good.

A. God loves the world (people)

John 3:16 - “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life.”

B. Jesus taught us what to love.

Luke 6:27,28 - “But I say unto you that hear, Love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless them that curse you, pray for them that despitefully use you.”

(cf Matthew 5:46-48 - “For if ye love them that love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the Gentiles the same? Ye therefore shall be perfect, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”)

A. Distinction between sinner and sin.

B. Jesus hated sin, loved the sinner.

C. Man must separate himself from sin to be blessed by God’s love.

A. Love the brotherhood: fear God.

I Peter 2:17 - “Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king.”

B. This means love the church.

I Peter 1:22 - “Seeing ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth unto unfeigned love of the brethren, love one another from the heart fervently.”

C. A passion for salvation of others.

A. New Commandment.

B. That ye love one another as I have loved you.

Ephesians 5:1,2 - “Be ye therefore imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for an odor of a sweet smell.”

1. Christ gave it a new depth, height, width that the world had never known before!

2. Romans 5:7-8 - “For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; for peradventure for the good man some one would even dare to die. But God commendeth his own love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

3. John 13:35 - “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.”

4. badge of discipleship.

C. “Tell Me The Story of Jesus”

1. Do you know why that is so beautiful?

2. Because someone cares if I live or die!

3. Because someone cares if I am lost or saved!

A. Yes, Jesus cares, if we are lost or saved. He wants us to be saved. He wants us to go to heaven to be with him. He has given his life so that we could have the forgiveness of our sins. Jesus has given us the plan of salvation that we can all be obedient to.

B. One day, I don’t know when, but he is coming back to receive us, and what will be the right way for you or me to be right with him? We need to love sinners, love the brotherhood (church), love Christ, love God the Father, love the Holy Spirit and on and on we could go naming the things we should love.

C. But before we can get it right to love Him, we MUST be obedient to Him. So, if you have a need today to obey the gospel or if you have been obedient to the gospel and through neglect you have not done what you should as a Christian, we would encourage you to respond to the invitation.