Real Christians Love
Series: Authentic Living in an Artificial World – City Church of Chattanooga, Chattanooga, TN
Today, we bring our study on authentic Christianity to a close. We have said that real Christians laugh…learn…lean…linger. Today, our focus will be “Real Christians love.” Jesus said that love is the highest calling we can pursue (Matthew 22:26-29) and that the world would know that we are Christians by our love (John 13:35). Paul said that the greatest virtue is love (1 Corinthians 13:13). Becoming a real Christian means that we must become better at loving. Let’s see what the Bible says about this.
FALSE PRESSUMPTIONS ABOUT LOVE
Loving others is natural.
Within the human spirit, there is an evil root of corruption that contaminates our motives and actions. The Bible calls the corruption the flesh–sinful nature.
(Romans 7:18) The Bible says that we need to learn to love. Love is primarily an emotion. The Bible says love is a command, and, therefore, it is an act of the will.
LOVE AS A CHOICE…LOVING BOLDLY
1 Corinthians 13:7, It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Bold love requires sacrifice. 1 Corn 3:16, 18; This is how we know what love is:
Jesus laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers…Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue, but with actions and in truth. Christian love flies in the face of our selfish culture. Bold love takes courage. It makes itself vulnerable. Bold love is optimistic. It hopes for and longs for the day of reconciliation. Bold love is committed without conditions. It has a “love in spite of” mentality.
DEVELOPING BOLD LOVE
1. Decide you will settle for nothing else.
1 Corinthians 12:31, But eagerly desire the greater gifts. And now I will show you the most excellent way.
2. Understand that bold love is a “God thing.”
Galatians 5:22, The fruit of the Spirit is love…
3. Be prepared for your commitment to bold love to be tested.
Luke 6:32, If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even ‘sinners’ love those who love them.
4. When you fail, don’t give up.
