09-11-2022 – “Demonstrating God’s Love”
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September 11, 2022
“Demonstrating God’s Love”
Luke 6:31
Read Luke 6:31…
31 Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.
This is often called the Golden Rule, and is referred to in different ways, several places in the Old and New Testaments:
Leviticus 19:18,
“You shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the Lord.”
Deuteronomy 6:4-5,
““Hear, O Israel! The Lord is our God, the Lord is one! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Matthew 22:34-40,
“When the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked [Jesus] a question, testing Him, ‘Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?’ And He said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the great and foremost commandment. The second is like it, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Mark 12:28-31,
“One of the scribes came… and asked [Jesus], ‘What commandment is the foremost of all?’ He answered, The foremost is, ‘Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is one Lord; and you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Luke 10:25-37,
“A lawyer stood up and put [Jesus] to the test, saying, ‘Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?’ And He said to him, ‘What is written in the Law? How does it read to you?’ And he answered, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind; and your neighbor as yourself.’ And He said to him, ‘You have answered correctly; do this and you will live.’ But wishing to justify himself, he said to Jesus, ‘And who is my neighbor?’ Jesus replied and said, ‘A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went away leaving him half dead. And by chance a priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. Likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn and took care of him. On the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return I will repay you. Which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell into the robbers’ hands?’ And he said, ‘The one who showed mercy toward him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do the same.’”
James 2:8-13,
“If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law according to the Scripture, ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself,’ you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors. For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles in one point, he has become guilty of all. For He who said, ‘Do not commit adultery,’ also said, ‘Do not commit murder.’ Now if you do not commit adultery, but do commit murder, you have become a transgressor of the law. So speak and so act as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty. For judgment will be merciless to one who has shown no mercy; mercy triumphs over judgment.”
The greatest, the foremost, the preeminent command from God, if obeyed, brings forgiveness for sins and eternal life. For if you truly love God, you will also love others and have mercy on them just as God has had mercy on you. That is at the heart of Jesus’ teaching about who His true disciples are, those who have repented and believed in Jesus Christ; those who have been born-again by God’s Spirit; those who have overcome this godless world and the corruption caused by sin that leads to eternal condemnation?
1John 5:4-5,
“For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world—our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?”
1John 5:11-13,
“And the testimony is this, that God has given us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He who has the Son has the life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have the life. These things I have written to you who believe in the name of the Son of God, so that you may know that you have eternal life.”
1John 4:7-16,
"Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this 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 also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time; if we love one another, God abides in us, and His love is perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit. We have seen and testify that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."
1John 4:19,
“We love, because He first loved us.”
Micah 6:8,
“And what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God.”
Let’s look again at Luke 6:20-21, where we were 3 weeks ago,
Luke 6:20
“Blessed are you who are poor"
[Matthew 5:3,
“Blessed are you who are poor in spirit,” i.e., those who realize their spiritual poverty apart from the saving grace of God in Christ], for yours is the kingdom of God [heaven].
Luke 6:21a
Blessed are you who hunger now, for you shall be satisfied”
[Matthew 5:6,
“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied,” lit, satiated, completely filled with God’s righteousness].
Luke 6:21b
Blessed are you who weep now for you shall laugh”
[Matthew 5:4,
Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted”].
We have been given everything we need now and forever, in and through Jesus Christ the Lord
(Philippians 4:13,
13 I can do all things through Him who strengthens me.
Philippians 4:19),
19 And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.
2Peter 1:1
“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
2Peter 1:2
Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
2Peter 1:3
seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
2Peter 1:4
For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.”
2Peter 1:1a…
“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
Peter identifies himself as a bondservant [doulos, lit. slave] and an apostle [apostolos, lit. one sent, i.e., one divinely commissioned as a witness of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ].
2Peter 1:1b…
“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ:
Peter directs this letter to those “have received a faith of the same kind as [his].” True faith, bring true salvation made possible, “by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ”
(Romans 3:10-12,
10 as it is written,
“THERE IS NONE RIGHTEOUS, NOT EVEN ONE;
11 THERE IS NONE WHO UNDERSTANDS,
THERE IS NONE WHO SEEKS FOR GOD;
12 ALL HAVE TURNED ASIDE, TOGETHER THEY HAVE BECOME USELESS;
THERE IS NONE WHO DOES GOOD,
THERE IS NOT EVEN ONE.”
Romans 3:23-24;
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
24 being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus;
Romans 5:8;
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.
Romans 6:23;
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Romans 8:1;
1 Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.
Romans 10:13;
13 for “WHOEVER WILL CALL ON THE NAME OF THE LORD WILL BE SAVED.”
2Corinthians 5:21).
21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.
See 2Peter 1:2…
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord;
Peter encourages the believers concerning the “Grace and peace” we have received through Christ; for only those who belong to God, only true Christians have received God’s Grace and Peace. Amazing, the New Testament Books of Romans, 1&2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, Colossians, 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, 1&2 Peter, 2John, and Revelation, all begin with the words, “Grace and Peace.”
2Peter 1:3…
3 seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.
God’s divine power has granted us everything we need for life [bio = biological life], as we serve Him on earth; also providing everything we need for godliness [zoe = spiritual life], in order to live with Him in heaven for eternity. And God did this for His own glory and for our eternal joy.
Ephesians 1:13-14,
“In Him, you also, after listening to the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation—having also believed, you were sealed in Him with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is given as a pledge of our inheritance, with a view to the redemption of God’s own possession, to the praise of His glory.”
Ephesians 2:8-10,
“For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.”
2Peter 1:4a…
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Jesus Christ accomplished everything concerning our salvation, and He provided all we need, now and forever, to have a personal, intimate, and eternal relationship with God. We have received God's forgiveness for all our sins (past, present, future) at the cross; we have received eternal life (through the indwelling of God’s Spirit), demonstrated by Jesus when He came out of the tomb alive; we have received the fruit of the Spirit (love, joy, patience, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control), and the wisdom of God, the mind of Christ, the power and presence of God in our lives now and forever, while also the joy of living with God in the new heavens and new earth.
2Peter 1:4b…
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
Through Christ we “become partners of the divine nature,” Wow! We are able to enjoy deep fellowship with God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, because of Christ.
2Peter 1:4c…
4 For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.
We won’t share in the corruption [decay and death] that is in this world because of the curse of sin, caused by the lust of evil desires; for we have escaped all judgement and condemnation through Jesus Christ
(Romans 8:1-2),
“Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death.”
Luke 6:31,
“Treat others the same way you want them to treat you.”
God is so gracious, loving and kind to us, even though we do not deserve it; and therefore we, as God’s children, are to treat others the way God treats us; we are to love them just as God has loved us.
1John 4:7-8,
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
1John 4:19,
“We love, because He first loved us.”
Pastor Mike
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