Hijacked - Love | Words Of Truth
Words Of Truth

Words Of Truth


"That I might make thee know the certainty of the words of truth..." (Proverbs 22:21).


Hijacked - Love


I. Introduction: We are continuing in our short series of awesome Biblical subject matters that have unfortunately been hijacked by false teachers. In this lesson we are going to address love as recorded in the Scriptures.

A. It is wonderful to know that “God is love” (I John 4:7-8).

  1. We are to love God and that is awesome (Joshua 23:11 and I Corinthians 8:3).
  2. It is great to show love to our neighbors (Mark 12:28-31 and Romans 13:8-10).
  3. It is awesome to embrace brotherly love (Romans 12:10 and Hebrews 13:1).
B. Yet, because of what false teachers and fake Christians have done to the subject of love; it often requires qualifiers when we talk about love.

  1. “But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8) Gods love predates any performance on our part. He will still love us even if we do not respond to that love in order to be saved. God waits” (https://bellavistachurchofchrist.com/blog/833-god-is-love/).
  2. “Human love is different from God's love. Human love is fickle, temporary, and conditional. It can be influenced by various factors like appearance, wealth, or behavior. But God's love is unconditional and not influenced by anything. God's love is not based on what we do or who we are. He loves us simply because He is love” (https://sermoncentral.com/sermons/god-s-unending-love-sermon-on-unconditional-love-20000553).

II. Body: The Perfected Love Of God Is All About Actions (I John 2:1-6).

A. Love, as God defines love, is conditional (Deuteronomy 5:10, Deuteronomy 7:9, John 10:17, John 14:15, John 14:23, and I John 4:20-5:3).

  1. This is love… (II John 1:6).
  2. Even how we love others is a condition of whether or not we are sinners (James 2:8-9).
  3. Whether or not one who has come into the love of God continues to have such is also conditional (Jude 1:21).
B. Love, as God defines love, includes hate (Psalms 11:5, Psalms 97:10, Psalms 119:163, Amos 5:14-15, and Hebrews 1:8-9).

  1. It is hypocritical to claim love for God while not abhorring evil (Romans 12:9).
  2. In regard to the underlying principles of this point, one must literally see sinfulness and righteousness as black and white [darkness and light] (Proverbs 17:15, Isaiah 5:20, Isaiah 8:20, Malachi 2:17, Matthew 12:30, Luke 11:34-36, John 3:16-20, John 8:12, John 12:46, Acts 26:18-20, II Corinthians 6:14-18, Ephesians 5:6-11, I Thessalonians 5:5, I Peter 2:5-9, I John 1:1-7, and I John 2:29-3:10).
C. Love involves actions the world often defines as not loving (Proverbs 27:5-6).

  1. Would people often think that they are being shown love when they are being rebuked (Revelation 3:19)?
  2. The world cannot see that a Christian will love our enemies (Matthew 5:43-48).

  1. Having genuine care for their souls (Philippians 3:18-19);
  2. Using God as our pattern(Colossians 1:12-23).
D. We have to know where to look to see how we are to love (John 15:9-12).

  1. “Walk in love as…” (Ephesians 5:1-2).
  2. “Husbands, love your wives, even as…” (Ephesians 5:25).
  3. “Taught of God to…” (I Thessalonians 4:9).

III. Conclusion: Don’t let it be accurately said that you do not have the love of God in you (cf. John 5:18-47). *Emphasis is vs. 42