Let Us Love One Another

1 John 4:7-12 is extremely helpful for those of us who struggle to love others like we should. John basically gives us the theological foundation for loving one another.

Here are the 3 points I meditated on in our Wed evening Bible Study:

1. We are to love one another because we know the One who is love (v. 7-8).
-God is love and He imparts Himself to us when we are born of Him.
-To not love is to fail to manifest the nature of the One who we claim to be our Father.

2. We are to love one another because God has loved us in Christ (v. 9-11).
-The Cross reveals God's love.
-The Cross propitiates God's wrath.
-The Cross fuels our love for one another.

3. We are to love one another because God is seen in our love for one another (v. 12).
-God’s love is revealed when we love one another.

Sinclair Ferguson on the Cross as the demonstration of God's love:
“When we think of Christ dying on the cross we are shown the lengths to which God’s love goes in order to win us back to himself. We would almost think that God loved us more than he loves his Son! We cannot measure such love by any other standard. He is saying to us: I love you this much. The cross is the heart of the gospel. It makes the gospel good news: Christ died for us. He has stood in our place before God’s judgment seat. He has borne our sins. God has done something on the cross we could never do for ourselves. But God does something to us as well as for us through the cross. He persuades us that he loves us.”

Becoming a Gospel-Motivated Servant

I really loved studying and preparing for the sermon on John 13:1-20 this week. I was rebuked daily by Jesus' example of humbled-hearted service. This is one of the clearest passages on the relationship between the gospel and how we serve one another. Jesus' washing away of our sins on the cross is the source and pattern of our service to one another. The only response to the cross is to be a gospel-motivated servant of others.

Here was one of the questions that challenged me this week: When you enter a room with others (i.e. church on Sundays), who is the least important person in the room? The answer should always be the same no matter who else is present in that room. Paul said we are to look out for the interests of others and consider others more important than ourselves (Philippians 2).

Do you immediately see yourself as the least important person, there to serve others? Or, do you subtly think that everyone else should recognize how blessed they are to know you?

So, what are some ways we can grow in actually becoming a servant?

Live in Harmony with One Another

See the introductory post on the "one another" commands.

Romans 12:16 commands, "Live in harmony with one another."

In Romans 15:5, Paul prays that God would grant harmony in order that with one voice the Romans would glorify God.

Some observations:

1. Harmony is both commanded by God and given by God. God commands what He gives.

2. "Harmony" is a pleasing or congruent arrangement of parts. Harmony is the weaving together of two or more different parts which results in a sweeter arrangement than the parts by themselves.

3. God commands and Paul prays that we will so weave our lives together that God is glorified by our unity. Harmony glorifies God.

4. The Christian life is not an individualistic pursuit. We are fundamentally called to join our lives with fellow believers and pursue maturity together. The way to glorify God is not to live in isolation concerned only with your "holiness." The way to glorify God is to lock arms with a group of believers and seek to so love them and care for them that your lives are weaved together in a beautify symphony.

5. Closely related to this command is the command to "agree with one another" (2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 2:2). This certainly does not mean that we have to agree on every detail of life (we don't all have to have the same favorite color). This means that we have a strong agreement on the essentials and purpose of life. We, with "one voice", have the same aim in our existence.

6. Harmony is only possible because of the gospel. Christ has died for our sins and has reconciled us to the Father. Christ has broken down the walls of hostility that exist between each other in our hearts. Christ has made it possible to actually unite ourselves with other sinners redeemed by His blood.

Serve One Another

Galatians 5:13: "Through love serve one another."

Some reflections on the command to serve one another:

1. It seems as if every other "one another" command fits under this one. In other words, every other way we are to relate to each other is to be a means of serving one another. If how we are relating is not an expression of serving one another, we are not relating to one another properly.

2. Martin Luther said to serve one another means, “performing unimportant works such as the following: teaching the erring; comforting the afflicted; encouraging the weak; helping the neighbor in whatever way we can; bearing with his rude manners and impoliteness; putting up with annoyances, labors, and the ingratitude and contempt of men in both church and state; obeying the magistrates; treating one’s parents with respect; being patient in the home with a cranky wife and an unmanageable family, and the like.”

3. There are thousands of practical ways in which we can serve each other. However, the most important way we need to serve each other is by reminding each other of the gospel. We need to serve each other by preaching the gospel to each other every day. Friends, we do not love merely by caring for someone’s physical needs to the neglect of their spiritual needs. Every person on the face of this globe needs one thing: A Savior. I need people to serve me by reminding me of my great need for Christ.

4. Ways in which we can practically serve one another in love:
-Pray for one another.
-Encourage one another by identifying evidences of grace in each other.
-Volunteer for various responsibilities in the church (Nursery, Set-up, etc.).
-Giving someone a book that has helped you grow in Christ.
-Offering to cook or buy a meal for a busy mother and her family.
-Offering to baby-sit so that a couple with children can go on a date.
-Use a skill or resource to save someone else time and money.
-Write a note of encouragement.
-Show hospitality to visitors at church.
-Invite someone to lunch who you have known for a long time but never shared the gospel with.

5. Other texts that command us to serve one another and build one another up:

John 13:14; Romans 14:19; Phil. 2:3; 1 Thess. 5:11; 1 Peter 4:10

In what other ways can we serve others in the body of Christ? How have people served you for the glory of God?

Be At Peace With One Another

"One Another" Commands: Post #1

Introductory Post

One of the responsibilities we have to each other is to be at peace. The Bible is clear that Christians should live in peace with one another.

Mark 9:50: "Salt is good, but if the salt has lost its saltiness, how will you make it salty again? Have salt in yourselves, and be at peace with one another."

Romans 14:19: "So then let us pursue what makes for peace and for mutual upbuilding."

1 Thessalonians 5:13b: "Be at peace with one another."

Observations/Applications:

1. Peace is God-given. We cannot produce peace. We are by nature at emnity with God and with each other. Left to ourselves, peace is impossible. Something radical must happen to us in order for us to obey this command (the gospel!).

2. Peace is more than just an agreement to disagree. It must be deeper than that.

3. Peace cannot exist where there is bitterness, jealously, hostility, etc. Peace is the result of godly relationships with each other.

4. To pursue peace means that I often will have to forfeit my needs, plans, and goals for the good of the community. It is similar to unity at this point.

5. Is there any relationship with another Christian in my life that is characterized by lack of peace (anger, hostility, emnity, jealousy, etc.)?

6. Do those outside the church recognize our churches as places of peace? It is sad that a gospel church would be known for its lack of peace.

7. Peace is a fruit of the Spirit. Thus, to grow in peace, we should seek to be more dominated by the Spirit's power in our lives.

8. Am I known as a person of peace?

9. "When believers are bitterly embroiled in disagreement or coldly estranged from one another, few people will pay attention when we try to talk with them about the reconciling love of Jesus Christ" (p. 12, The PeaceMaker by Ken Sande).

10. Through the gospel, God provides both the motivation and model for peacemaking.

What other thoughts do you have on this command to be at peace?

I would highly recommend The PeaceMaker by Ken Sande. It is an excellent guide to resolving personal conflict.

"One Another" Commands Introduction

The New Testament is full of “one another” commands. It is clear from these commands that as Christians we have a responsibility to each other. We cannot just concern ourselves with our own spiritual growth and neglect each other. Our growth in Christ is connected to our relationships with each other. I will not just give account for how I live my life; I will also give account for my role in the lives of those Christians whom I have been put in fellowship with in the local church.

God did not just save us to live our own individualistic lives. He saved us and put us in community with one another. It is time that we take seriously these “one another” commands.

So, over the next few months I will be exploring these commands here on the blog. Whenever time allows, I will post my thoughts and practical suggestions as to how we can actually obey these commands. I will need your help along the way. Let’s explore together ways in which we can obey God and fulfill our responsibilities to each other.

My goal is that our commitment to the local church would flourish. I’m praying that our churches will be stronger because of our obedience to these “one another” commands.

Begin to notice how many times in the NT we are commanded to, “love one another,” “forgive one another,” “greet one another,” “stimulate one another,” “confess your sins to one another,” etc.