You choose to love. I choose to love. I choose to make peace. I choose to forgive. You learn to do that by training your mind to do that under the power of the Spirit of God and a commitment to obey.
Welcome to Grace to You, the Bible teaching ministry of John MacArthur. I'm your host, Phil Johnson. Think back to your grammar lessons in school, and let's talk for a minute about adjectives. You'll remember that adjectives are descriptive words, and perhaps one of the most important adjectives that applies to the Christian life is the word ongoing. ongoing faith, ongoing humility, Ongoing prayer and ongoing love.
Today, John MacArthur looks at that ongoing biblical love, showing you how to love no matter what. That's the title of his current study. And a quick reminder before we begin: this series is not just for couples, it provides guidelines for every relationship you have. And with that, here's John MacArthur with the lesson. Let's open our Bibles to Romans chapter 13 again as we...
Come back to the Word of God. Wonderful, wonderful section. One that I'm sure, if you're any student of Scripture, you have read many times and meditated on and perhaps taught. Shared with others. Great truth.
Romans chapter 13, verses 8 through 10. Let me read these verses. Beginning in verse 8, Oh, no man, anything. but to love one another. For he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.
For this. Thou shalt not commit adultery. Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not covet. And if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no.
ill to its neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Now what is love? How do you demonstrate love? Is it an emotion? Is it a spiritual goose bump? Is it a warm and fuzzy feeling?
What is love?
Well, let me suggest what it is biblically, and I'm just going to suggest it briefly. Love, first of all, is teaching others. The truth of God. That in itself, I think, is A supremely important element of love. Paul in Second Corinthians chapter six talks about all the things that.
He is committed to All the things he has done for the Corinthians. He has come to them. Come through all kinds of stripes, imprisonments, tumults, labors, watchings, fastings, verse 5, verse 6: pureness by knowledge, by long-suffering, by kindness, by the Holy Spirit, by love unfeigned, by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armor of righteousness on the right hand and on the left. The key thing I want you to see is that he came by knowledge. By the word of truth.
Love is a matter of teaching truth. Love is a matter of articulating truth. Love is a matter of saying what has to be said from the Word of God. It's Ephesians 4, where it says, Speaking the truth in love. Speaking the truth in love.
I believe that love Involves teaching others what needs to be taught. It is not a feeling, it is an act. Secondly, It involves ministering to the needs of others, ministering to the needs of others. It is not just giving them facts, it is giving them personal assistance, personal help. In Hebrews 6:10, God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor of love.
And what is that? That which you have shown toward his name, in that you have ministered to the saints and do minister. Your labor of love and your work of love is your ministry to the needs of the saints. It is an act, not a feeling. It is a verb.
Not a noun. in its truest form.
So loving is teaching others what they need to know. It is coming to them by the word of God and by knowledge. It is coming to them in ministry. Thirdly I believe love is serving one another. In a way that causes them to grow.
Because of your careful behavior. In other words, setting an example. Love sets an example. Love sets a positive example. of spiritual life so that people can grow from it.
Paul writes to the Galatians, who are In need of this message. And he says, Brethren, you have been called unto liberty, only not to use liberty as an occasion to the flesh, but by love serve one another.
Now, what he means there is this: yes, you are called to liberty, but not to use that liberty to offend someone else, but rather. restrict that liberty to serve someone else.
So the idea then is Love is an act. Of cautious behavior that stimulates someone else's growth rather than retarding it. It is the kind of life that leads others toward the Lord, not toward sin. There's another element of love. Love also covers the sins of others.
1 Peter chapter 4, verse 8: Love covers a multitude of sins. You remember that passage? Love then Is something that teaches people the truth. If you love someone, you speak the truth. If you love someone, you give them the word of God.
Paul said in that 2 Corinthians 6 passage: my speech is candid. I've been very open and I love you even though you love me less for doing it. Love speaks the truth. Love ministers to the needs of others. Love serves others with cautious behavior that leads them toward the Lord, not toward sin.
It doesn't flaunt its liberty. And love covers faults. It is not in a hurry to expose. It is in a hurry to cover. Another thing love does is love forgives.
Love forgives. In Ephesians Chapter 4, verse 32. It says, be ye kind. One to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Be ye therefore, on the basis of a forgiving heart, followers of God as dear children, and walk in love.
Yeah. As Christ loved us and gave himself for us, you love others and give yourself for them. As Christ loved us and forgave, you love others and forgive. Tell you another thing about love. Love endures.
It bears all things in terms of 1 Corinthians 13. That passage sums up all these things. But love endures. Love is patient. It says in Ephesians 4:2, forbearing or enduring one another in love.
It is taking their foibles and their faults and their mistakes and their errors. and the things about them that are not So tasteful. And finally, and I guess in a summary fashion, love sacrifices for others. Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his what? His life for his friends.
Read John 15:12 to 15. And you are my friends, Jesus said, if you do whatsoever I have commanded you.
So love Love is an action. Love. Teaches, love ministers to needs, love sets an example that doesn't lead people towards sin, love covers their faults, love forgives, love endures all of their problems and all of their idiosyncrasies, and love sacrifices in their behalf. The whole idea of a self-sacrificing Love is of giving someone what it is they need, of spiritual truth and help and concern. It's not a question of how you feel emotionally.
We owe this. This is what we owe people. We're not to owe him anything else. Pay your debts and owe them love. That's your debt.
And believe me, this This love is the heart. Of Christian living. It is the magnet that attracts the world. You say, but how can we love like that? How can we do that?
I believe it's because we have a new capacity. The debt of love is linked. to a new capacity. Before you were saved, you couldn't do it, but now, according to Romans 5:5, you can do it. Do you remember that passage?
Sure you do. Romans 5.5. Hope maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, who is given unto us. How can we love like that then? Because the love of God is what?
Shed abroad in our hearts. We have a new capacity. We have a new resource. to love the way we ought to love. To love like Epaphroditus loved, who.
loved so much he served Paul and he served the church and he served the Lord until it almost killed him. How can we love like that? Because the love of God is shed abroad. That means lavishly poured out. more than sufficient.
A love beyond description. is granted to us. That love becomes the well. That love of God becomes the well that we draw from. when we want love to give to others.
And somebody would ask the question, I asked it myself, okay. I'm supposed to be obedient. Part of that obedience is to owe a debt of love and to love everybody. In order to love everybody, I have to have a supernatural love. God gives me that supernatural love.
That becomes the well out of which I draw the bucket.
Now, how do I let the bucket down? How do I tap that? Let me see if I can give you a little list you might want to write down. How do I let down my spiritual bucket? We'll call this.
How do I get into this? Love. How do I appropriate it? How do I make it my own? I think there's a several series of several elements.
First of all, It's important that you understand the resource. You gotta know the well is there, right? First of all, understand the resource. It is there. It is available.
You remember Ephesians 3? Paul's prayer. That you may be able to comprehend. Know that one? Ephesians 3:18, that you may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height, and to know the love of Christ, which passes what?
Knowledge. The first thing is you've got to comprehend what's available. And realize that there is love for any experience, there is love for any occasion, the well. is more than sufficient.
So first of all, you understand it. You understand the resource and you seize that resource and make it your own by faith. Yes, Lord, yes, God. The love is there that I need for that person, and that person, and that person, and that person, and that person. whoever they are.
First you understand the resource. Secondly, You submit to the Holy Spirit. Comes a point in life when you learn to turn over to the Holy Spirit, the control factor, in your life. You can carry your bitterness and your anxiety and your hatred and your animosity and your revenge and your vengeance and all the things you feel towards someone. You can carry them on your own, or you can yield under the Spirit of God.
And when you submit to the Spirit of God, then the Spirit of God takes over your life, and bitterness is replaced by love. And vengeance is replaced by affection. 1 Thessalonians 4, but as touching brotherly love, you need not that I write unto you, for you yourselves are taught of God to love one another. You're taught of God to love. How so?
Because the Spirit of God has shed that love abroad in your heart. Galatians 5:22, the fruit of the Spirit is. Love. Joy, peace, but love first.
So, the first thing you want to know is that the love is available. You understand the resource. The second thing you want to know is that if you submit to the Spirit of God, He'll teach you to love. You are taught of God to love one another. You don't need to be taught by somebody else how to do it, it isn't a gimmick.
You yield to the Spirit of God and the Spirit teaches you. There's a third factor. And I'm not sure these are necessarily split like I'm I'm giving them to you, or even organized in this particular flow. Chronologically, I'm just Pulling out the elements. The third one, comes to us from 1 Peter 1.22.
Seeing that you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that you love one another with a pure heart fervently. The third thing is a purified heart. What does that mean? That means that you're not going to be able to exercise the debt of love until you've dealt with what? Seen in your life.
Until you see it as sin, you see your bitterness as sin, you see your vengeance as sin, you see your anger as sin, your hostility as sin, any wrong attitude you see in your life, you see it as sin. That's got to be confessed, that has to be dealt with.
So first you understand the resource. Then you submit to the Spirit who teaches you to love. Involved in that is the purification of the heart. And there's another thing in 1 Peter while we're there, chapter 4, verse 7. But the end of all things is at hand.
Be ye therefore sober-minded and watch unto what? Prayer. And above all things, have fervent love among yourselves, for love shall cover the multitude of sins. He indicates to us that there's a key thing to pursuing love, and that is this: the end of all things is at hand. Hand.
In other words, Dear friends, We live in a sense of urgency, don't we? That's the fourth point. Realize the urgency of love. It's time for us to drop the gloves, right? and start to love.
Because the end of all things is at hand. It's time for us to live the way we ought to live. It's time for us to attract people the way they ought to be attracted.
So we understand the resource, we submit to the Spirit. Purify the heart, realize the urgency. Go back to Colossians 3.14. And there's another element in this Debt of love being properly Paid? Colossians This is very, very basic.
Above all these things, above everything else, put on love. Put on love.
Now, you know what that tells me? This is a conscious choice. This is a conscious choice. I choose to love. I was cancelling a couple.
who have been having a difficult time in their marriage. And they have been struggling and struggled rather seriously for quite a time. And I sat with them and just briefly shared with them: you must make a conscious choice to love. You have to train yourself. In moments when you feel like being angry, moments when you feel like asserting your rights, moments when you feel like you've been defrauded or deprived, moments when you are interrupted, when you have been treated rudely, when unkind words have been said, you must train yourself to make a conscious choice to love.
We had a great talk about that. And I got a phone call two days later after that. The man involved said, I just want to tell you. That the difference in the last few days in our marriage has been that both of us Every time something Poses itself as a problem, our endeavoring to do all we can in the Spirit of God to make a conscious choice to love and to make peace and to show kindness. No matter what the price to our own ego might be, that's a conscious choice you made.
That's a factor in learning how to pay the debt of love. You choose to love. I choose to love. I choose to make peace. I choose to forgive.
You learn to do that by training your mind to do that under the power of the Spirit of God and a commitment to obey. There's a sixth thing. In this matter of learning how to love. And that is, this might sound like it comes really off the wall. That is to be with believers.
to be with believers. You're going to find it very difficult to do this if you're isolated. You say, where did you get that principle? Hebrews chapter 10. Verse 24 says As you well know, forsake not the assembling of yourselves together, and much the more as you see the day approaching.
Why? In order that you may stimulate one another to what? Loves. There is a stimulation to love that occurs in the dynamics of Christian fellowship. And the accountability that it brings to bear on a life.
So, how are we going to love the way we ought to love? We have to understand the resources there. Submit to the Holy Spirit. Purify the heart. Realize the urgency?
We got to get this on because the end of all things is at hand. Make a conscious choice. Be in the fellowship. And there's two more that came to my mind. Number seven is concentrate on others.
Concentrate on others. This is a real key. In Philippians. And you're very familiar with this wonderful passage. We've commented on it many times through the years.
But in Philippians chapter 2, Paul says, if there is any comfort in Christ, Any comfort of love? Any fellowship of the Spirit, any tender mercy and compassion. In other words, if there's any love in the fellowship, if there's any love at all, Let it be the same love, verse 2. That is loving everyone the same, one accord, one mind. How do you do it?
Let nothing be done through strife and vainglory, but in lowliness of mind, let each esteem others better than themselves. Let not every man look on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. In other words, if there's going to be love in the fellowship, we have to be preoccupied with others, not us, right? I'm not. I'm not looking to be loved, I'm looking to love.
That's a whole different perspective. Concentrate on others. And then a last one. Yeah. Consider the results.
Consider the result. That's a marvelous. marvelous reason to live a life of love. Because of the wonderful results. Oh, how wonderful the results are.
They say, what do you mean by that? We learn from even the life of our Lord himself. The scripture indicates to us. that he loved And as a result of his love, He was loved. in return.
John summed it up. We love him because what? He first loved us. There's a dynamic in love that is reciprocal. People are all the time looking.
To be loved. If they only realized that if they would just look to love, they'd be loved. Do you understand that?
So We are to love. That's a debt that we have to pay. the debt of love. How are we going to pay it? How do we pay the debt of love?
Understand the resource. It's there, it's available. If we don't tap it, there's no fault but our own. Submit to the Spirit and be taught by him to love. Purify our hearts by the confession of sin, realize the urgency.
Make a conscious choice, stay in the fellowship, concentrate on others rather than ourselves, and consider the effect. Consider the effect. Love given. Inevitably, is love what? Returned and received.
So God By a new creation of grace and saving us, he has given us a new capacity to fulfill the debt of love. The reservoir of love is absolutely inexhaustible. It's inexhaustible. It serves. To Allow us the privilege of representing God in the world by loving as He loved and being loved in return.
One ancient writer wrote, By the very nature, by its very nature, love is the duty which, when done, is never done. Since he loves not truly who loves for the purpose of ceasing to love, By loving, love is intensified, the more it is exercised, the less it can become satisfied. Love, then, should be a deep desire rising from a regenerate heart. It is an element of our obedience. In fact, it is the supreme aspect of our obedience.
And we can do it. We can fulfill the debt of love because of a new capacity. You say, well, how am I going to start? I want to pay the debt I owe, the debt of love. What should I do?
Let me suggest some things, okay? Tomorrow, alright? This is all for tomorrow. This is your assignment. Tomorrow.
You ready? Listen carefully. Mend the quarrel. Search out a forgotten friend. Make a phone call to that friend.
Replace A suspicion. with a trust. Replace a suspicion with a trust. Let an old bitterness Die. By the power of God.
Write a letter to someone who loves you. and won't expect it. Encourage someone you know very well. with how much they mean to you. Keep a promise.
Here's a few other ones. Ask God to help you to forget a wrong someone has done to you. that you remember very well. Reduce your demands on the people in your house. Say thanks.
Say thanks. Say thanks. all day. And then tell someone you love them. Again.
And again. and begin. Just three more. Pray for an enemy. Any enemy.
Take your pick of the list. Yeah. I don't know how long your list is. Take your pick. Oh, and here's a good one.
Send a check to someone you know has a need. And then, finally. Ask God. to help you to love. the way Jesus loved.
Let's share in prayer together. We have a debt of love, Father. We know that. We desire from the depths of our hearts to. Pay that debt.
That's part of our obedience. In fact, that's really the summation of our obedience, for in love, the whole law is fulfilled. We realized that. We can love because we have the resource. It's there.
Sh it's shed abroad. It's deep within us. We want to love that way. Help us to take those necessary steps. to love.
And to realize that love is self-sacrificial service. To those about us who have need. Help us in the days ahead to put to practice these things. that are the practical ways in which we can demonstrate our love. Be pleased.
With the way we pay our debts, owing no man anything, but owing everyone love. Always paying. and always owing. That the world might know we belong to you because of our love. Yeah.
and that they might be attracted. Buy that love. to the one alone. who can save them. The one in whose name we pray, our Lord Jesus Christ.
Amen. Uh Love that fulfills the law of God. That is true love, and that's what John MacArthur is helping you put into practice in his current series here on Grace to You.
Now friend, this study called Love No Matter What is Is all about equipping you to fulfill the second great commandment, which is to love your neighbor as yourself. And of course, some people are easier to love than others. But if you love only those people who are easy to love, that doesn't completely fulfill our duty as Christians. We also need to show love to the problem people in our lives, even our enemies. And that is not always easy.
With that said, let me recommend John's book called Anxious for Nothing. It includes a practical chapter on dealing with problem people, and a whole lot more. If you're tempted to worry about difficult people or anything else, this book can help you put those worries away and experience God's peace. Order a copy of Anxious for Nothing when you contact us today. You can call us weekdays from 7:30 to 4 o'clock Pacific time at 80055 Grace.
or visit our website anytime, gty.org. Anxious for Nothing costs ten dollars and fifty cents and shipping is free. Again, to order, call 8005 GRACE or shop online at gty.org. And thanks for remembering that Grace to You is listener supported. When you partner with us financially, you help connect God's people with the clarity and comfort of biblical truth through the radio and our online resources and through the tens of thousands of free books or other teaching materials that we mail out every month.
To express your support, mail your tax-deductible donation to Grace2U. Box 4000, Panorama City, California 91412. You can also donate online at gty.org. or when you call us at 800-55 Grace. and thank you for praying that's your most important ministry to us and to the people we reach.
And now, for the entire Grace DU staff, I'm Phil Johnson with a question. What says love more? When you pay for dinner? Or when you pay for a new diamond necklace?
Well, be back tomorrow to see why the most extravagant love can also be the most humble. It's another 30 minutes of Unleashing God's Truth, one verse at a time, on grace to you.
