More Than A Feeling

The great story of all of history is that of a loving God that loves a people that don’t always love Him in return. Yet, despite this adversity, the Lord continuously reaches out to His people. This is the mark of a loving person: one that never gives up. Or maybe: one that does whatever it takes. Or maybe: one that cares enough to correct. God, who is love, loves us enough to overcome our shortcomings and failures. Our sin, that very thing which we might think to be too great for forgiveness, is overcome by the loving mercy of our God. In His love, He never gives up, does whatever it takes, and cares enough to correct.

In the beginning, we were with the Lord but through our own selfish desires we failed. We fail and fail again. We find sin attractive. We find it tempting. We see the allure of it. We see an appeal in it. And, because we are weak, we break the law of God. A loving creator-God who has given us the glory of His Word of Truth has revealed to us right and wrong, good and evil, righteousness and unrighteousness. In His justice, He promises that evil will be forever destroyed. In His grace, He offers to make us holy. In His love, He has shown us compassion and direction but will we follow?

The challenge we have today is that what people say and do are different from one another. People say they love God but they deny Him by their actions (Titus 1:16). People say they love God, but they harbor bitterness towards others (1 John 4:20). People say they believe Jesus is Lord but it is mere lip-service (Mt 15:8). People say they are disciples but their lifestyle doesn’t resemble the life of Christ (1 John 3:18).

The challenge we have today is that people believe that love is a feeling and they think that belief is a thought. However, what the Lord desires is that you truly love Him. And when you love, you act. We would never look at a one-sided marriage and call that love. Marriage is a give and take, for better and worse. When we see one or the other spouse doing all the giving and the other doing all of the taking, we know without much thought required this marriage is falling apart.

Why is it different with our Lord? We are always ready to take, but are we giving? We are ready to receive, but what are we offering? We want, but are we wanting to give or only to get? Love isn’t just a feeling. Love is something we do and something we are.

The challenge we have today is that people live like love stops, rather than begins, at the heart. Paul had to confront the attitude in the early church. They seemed to think that one could believe one way and live another. In Romans 2 he writes, “God ‘will repay each person according to what they have done.’ To those who by persistence in doing good seek glory, honor and immortality, he will give eternal life. But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow evil, there will be wrath and anger.” (Rom 2:6-8).

God loves you despite your sin and offers you a way out of judgement: a life changed by Jesus Christ. Our challenge is to learn to love like Jesus loved: with action. 

Gospel

There’s a concept in Biblical studies with regard to many teachings that could be called “both/and”. This happens frequently and there are many examples we could show that would illustrate the principle well. It’s a valuable tool that can help us in our studies when we are working through passages on our own or together.

One example has to do with prophecy. When reading prophecy, we should keep in mind that it is God’s word. God’s word is relevant and powerful. We see often that predictive prophecy was fulfilled in the life of Jesus. But, it should come as no surprise that the prophecies given also had relevance for the time in which it was given.

One example of such a prophecy comes from Isaiah 7:14, “Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel.” This should be a familiar passage for you, I hope. We know of it because according to Matthew 1:22-23, this prophecy is given concerning Jesus as one more of the many signs that Jesus is who He says He is.

Yet, this isn’t the only fulfilment of the prophecy. Isaiah continues, “but before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste.” Isaiah is also providing an immediate context fulfilment for King Ahaz. This is one example of the both/and nature of Biblical teaching in general and prophecy in particular.

Another situation in which we see the “both/and” interpretative tool being used has to do with the Gospel. In 1 Corinthians 15, Paul describes the Gospel (15:1-2) this way: Christ died (3), Christ was buried (4), and Christ was raised (5ff). Within each verse, Paul ties these facts of the Gospel to “the Scriptures” which shows the ongoing importance of the whole Bible as it reveals to us how God has been working to reconcile His people to Himself. That is, salvation history.

However, this is not the only definition of Gospel the Bible provides. Remember, “gospel” is not an English word. It comes from the original Greek text of the Bible in which you would have found the phrase “good news”. When we read the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John we see Jesus preaching and teaching throughout the Promised Land. But, we also know that everyone, including Jesus’s disciples, were shocked at the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. Therefore, as much as 1 Cor. 15 accurately describes and defines the Gospel, what then was it that Jesus taught throughout the Land?  

Luke 4:43 states, “But he said, “I must proclaim the good news of the kingdom of God to the other towns also, because that is why I was sent.” This is just one verse of several where we see Jesus defining His mission as preaching the “good news of the kingdom”.

We see the Gospel then is BOTH the teachings ABOUT Jesus AND the teaching OF Jesus.

What then did Jesus teach? This is the subject of our present study. This good news that Jesus proclaimed focused on: love, kingdom, repentance, faith, worship, discipleship, and judgement – to name a few.

If we are to be followers of Jesus, we need to make sure we understand how to be followers of Jesus. We can only do that through knowing what he taught.

Perseverance

There's a lot going on in the world that tries to bring us down. People worry about everything from the stock market to the supermarket. While it's true we have some basic needs, our focus should be on the Lord who loves us and has promised us through His Son life everlasting. 

If our greatest concern is our station in life, our material possessions, or other ways the world measures success we are indeed wasting our time. Everything you gain here will be lost. But when you work for the Lord, you are working for something that will last. 

In Psalm 73, the author puts to words some of the things that have crossed his mind. He looks at other's material status and, for a moment, considers his status as lesser. But this is a fleeting thought. Let's look at the next few verses and see how his heart returns to the Lord. 

Psalms 73:13 Surely in vain I have kept my heart pure and have washed my hands in innocence.

Psalms 73:15-16 If I had spoken out like that, I would have betrayed your children. When I tried to understand all this, it troubled me deeply

He quickly sees how this bitterness and envy is poison for the soul. 

Psalms 73:21 When my heart was grieved and my spirit embittered I was senseless and ignorant; I was a brute beast before you.

And just as quickly, he sees the path to peace is in the comfort of the Lord. 

Psalms 73:23-25 Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.

Peter puts it another way. He shows the contrast between what's worth working for and what's truly a waste. He reminds us of the promises of the Lord and the nature of this promise is that it is unending, eternal, everlasting. So then, when you work, don't only work for what is seen, but work for what is yet to be revealed knowing your work is not in vain for the Lord is faithful. 

1 Peter 1:3-5 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.

Faithful

There’s a basic assumption many hold about the world. It goes along with the ideas of “common sense”, “keep it simple”, “plain as day”, or “it’s not rocket science”. This is the idea that most people, when given the same set of information, are going to arrive at the same conclusion. Even our government was intended to be a democratic republic based on this belief that an educated populace would evaluate the situation and options and make the best decisions on issues for everyone. I think we can see by now that as much as “common sense” has become a cliché, so is it the idea that “common sense isn’t so common”.

Now that’s an interesting take on the questions, because it assumes that instead of thinking that maybe some people that have reached a different conclusion just aren’t smart enough rather than the thought that maybe those that reached a different conclusion didn’t actually have the necessary information. It’s not because they aren’t intelligent, but because what evidence they would have found persuasive was never presented to them.

We tend to think that we can show people Jesus through just a conversation, just an exchange of ideas, or just a simple discussion. We even see evidence for this approach in the Scriptures. For instance, Isaiah 1:18 reads, “Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord:” (KJV). Acts 17 also shows this approach, “As was his custom, Paul went into the synagogue, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that the Messiah had to suffer and rise from the dead.” Peter too shows the importance of sharing the knowledge and wisdom we have in the Gospel in 1 Peter 3:15, “. . . . Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have. . . .”

However, this should not be our only approach to sharing the Gospel. In fact, we undermine the power of the Gospel when we limit the personal impact the Gospel has on ourselves. When we live without love, repentance, and grace we rob the Gospel of its power to save ourselves and our ability to show others the authentic Jesus. Paul warns Titus of such an attitude present in the people of the 1st-century church. In Titus 1:16 he writes, “They profess that they know God, but in their works they deny Him, being abominable and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.”

Maybe the thing that holds people back from seeing Jesus the way we say we do and reaching the same conclusions we did, is that we don’t actually live like it.

Therefore, let us preach the Gospel not only in word but also in deed (1 John 3:19). Let us live in a way that our lives will glorify God (1 Peter 2:12). Let the life we will reflect the goodness of God (Mt 5:16). Let our example of love lead others to the cross (1 Peter 3:1).

Yes, reason has its place. Yes, we must be able to articulate and explain our convictions. But let our convictions be just that, so we are known not for our skillful debate skills or our eloquent rhetoric but, as Jesus says, let us be known by our love (John 13:34-35).