If you asked people to pick one thing that makes Christians different from others, what do you think they would say? Being a good person? Going to church? Following a certain moral code? Or, if they grew up in Sunday school, would they say, “Um… Jesus?”
Before I was a believer, I had thought it was following a long list of “thou shalt nots” that somehow made you better than others (even if you were a big jerk otherwise), which is exactly why I was so turned off from Christianity for a long time. And in a country saturated with a fake, cultural Christianity, that’s a lot of what you see: people who are pretty much just jerks, but hey, they go to church and they never killed anyone or stole anything so they can slap on the label “Christian” and feel good about themselves.
But despite what may be seen in our culture, Jesus actually answers this question directly in a way quite contrary to what most might think.
A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. – John 13:34-35
At face value, many of the verses about love in the Bible can seem pithy and trite. We’ve all heard 1 Corinthians 13 (“love is patient, love is kind…etc.”) or other similar verses recited at many weddings. But not too long before His death and resurrection, after Jesus shows a sign of servanthood by washing the disciples’ feet, even the feet of His betrayer Judas, He then begins his last lesson to the disciples with a message about the importance of love. He says that by our love for others it will be made known to all people whether we are really Christians or not. By our love we will be judged by God, by the world, and by believers whether or not we are who we say we are.
Then there’s the well-known “Greatest Commandment” (which is really two commandments) where Jesus again explains that it all boils down to how we love:
And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.” – Matt. 22:35-40
Our faith in Jesus is worked out by obedience to Him through both our love for Him and for others. THIS is what marks us. This is the litmus test for whether or not someone is a believer. Not being a “good person”. Not going to church. Not wearing Christian shirts and putting fish decals on your car. Not your family or where you were born. What marks you as a Christian is the love within you, which can only be placed there by God and not by any work on your part. And that love does not stay within you, but flows out of you from the overabundance of grace and mercy given to you from God.
There is a movement of philanthropy among atheist groups seeking to prove that God is not needed to to good works. And they’re absolutely right; you can do “good” things without faith in God, but that is again missing the point. The point of Chistianity is not our ability to be good but our knowledge that without Jesus all our “good” is for nothing, and that it is not by our good works but by faith in Christ we are saved; therefore, because of the great mercy shown to us, we show love in a way that is truly impossible without Christ (Eph. 2:4-9). Christ’s love for others went beyond human capability because He was beyond human, being both fully God and fully man. A true Christian loves as Christ did – supernaturally – because a true Christian loves not with fallible human love but with the love of Christ (Gal. 2:20).
These ideas about love being the mark of a true believer have been floating around in my head since I listened to a recent sermon on this subject by Beau Hughes, the pastor for The Village Church’s Denton campus. In his sermon “Love One Another” (which you can download here) he lists several verses of Scripture about how important love is to the validity of your faith. Here are a few:
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord. Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer. Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality. – Rom 12:9-13
Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace. - 1 Peter 4:8-10
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. – 1 John 4:7-11
The Bible is full of exhortations to love one another because of God’s love for us. And in light of these things, 1 Corinthians 13 rings a bit differently:
If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. – 1 Cor. 13:1-3
Without love, nothing you do matters. This reminds me of the frightening passage in Matt 7:21-23 when Jesus explains that there are people who will have done “good” all their lives but when they die Jesus says “I never knew you” because they did not love Him nor others. Without love, you cannot serve God.
But what does that love look like? Back to 1 Corinthians 13:
Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never ends. – 1 Cor. 13:4-8
How many people do you see actually living this way? What about you – in what ways are you living with patience and kindness, absent of envy, arrogance, stubbornness, or bitterness, not holding grudges, putting the needs of others before your own… I know I often fail at that miserably! But in the process of sanctification we are to be gravitating towards this kind of love as we are seeking and praying for the ability love in this way so that we may honor Christ with obedient, loving lives. And when our lives are played out according to His will for us, things like this happen:
And they [the early church] devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. And awe came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done through the apostles. And all who believed were together and had all things in common. And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their number day by day those who were being saved. – Acts 2:42-47
Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul, and no one said that any of the things that belonged to him was his own, but they had everything in common. And with great power the apostles were giving their testimony to the resurrection of the Lord Jesus, and great grace was upon them all. There was not a needy person among them, for as many as were owners of lands or houses sold them and brought the proceeds of what was sold and laid it at the apostles’ feet, and it was distributed to each as any had need. – Acts 4:32-35
How different would the world be if the global Church today looked like the first church in Acts? How different would the world be if we all truly lived out the command to love one another as Christ has loved us?
great reminder, thanks. had a discussion recently about whether good works require christianity. (you mentioned this briefly) I tried to direct my friend to ‘mere chrisitanity’ by lewis who much better that I makes the case for ‘how or if there is a standard for good’ and ‘how would we know or measure it’.
seems difficult to remember to let love rule me and my emotions and actions. your reminder to look at the sacrifice of Christ helps!
its true, the word love could or has been described sometimes so flippantly in our society we have taken away one of Gods most precious gifts, the gift of love,and by his grace we are forgiven. God is always greater than sin, when you are forgiven for much, you love much.
I’ve learned that fear will never stop me from showing or offering love, from my heart to anyone. If it is not received well, I know that they are not in a place to receive just yet, but I’ll never stop offering.
Love. It has always been about love. What makes God holy and set apart is not some moral dogma; it is his love- the true definition of love. Yes, there is morality from God and morality is to be seen is his people, but this morality flows from love not from self-righteousness. The lengths that God goes to rescue us, to rescue his creation; his love overflows in grace, mercy, and compassion in Jesus Christ.
The Christian is not defined by sentiment or just actions. For we can have affections for someone without love and we can give our lives for someone and not have a drop of love for them. Love then becomes a mixture of sentiment and action; the perfect blend of emotion and will, that culminates in the incarnation of Jesus Christ. The kind of love the Bible talks about is not humanly possible for it includes enemies, strangers, people we have prejudices against, among other things. This kind of love is impossible were it not for God!
The Church is a beautiful testimony to what can happen when people from all branches of life come to bow before the Savior. Where before we could not be in the same room without coming to blows, now we are able to call each other brothers and sisters.
The only hope for our broken world is the ravaging, all-consuming, insufferable, and insurmountable love of God in Christ our Lord.
Thanks for writing.
Amen! Thanks for the response.
What is sometimes called “revival” in Christian circles has to be this!! Only here does true Christianity stand out from all other religions, because it is the very life of Christ being lived out in and through the Christ-followers.
Amen!
I enjoy reading your posts but have a few problems with some of the points you raised in this one. Mainly the idea that only Christian love is more authentic than that expressed by the rest of us! I hope I haven’t misrepresented you on this.
How can we asses this? How do we know which forms of love are more real than other ones? Surely the atheist, who has no expectation of reward or salvation and that “their good works are for nothing”, could be seen to be more genuine?
You write that Christians are able to show, not human love, but supernatural love. The distinction seems to be that supernatural love does not die. But, as you note, our expression of it falters. I would argue this is exactly the same with human love. We feel it but are not always able to express it. How do we know they are not the same thing?
And the other issue I’m trying to explore is how do we know that God is love and is good (apart from what the bible tells us)?
You raise some valid points. I think the answer to your question lies in one’s view of God, salvation, and the authority of the Bible.
In what you seem to be referencing, showing love is just turned into another way of seeking salvation by our good works, which is what I tried to explain isn’t actually Biblical. What I’m referencing in my post is where this love comes from. The Bible says that, while there may be positive consequences of love and service from nonbelievers, it is ultimately all for naught in the eyes of God because they were performed without love for Him being the motivation. Through God’s common grace to all even those who don’t believe get to experience love and other good things in this life (which would be one example of how we can see God as being good: that even those who don’t believe in Him get to experience good things for a time), but for those to whom God has extended salvific grace the love we give and receive is born out of a soul-deep desire to enjoy God, know Him better, and glorify Him through loving others. So while both believers and non believers may love authentically, the motivation for that love is different. The audience I’m speaking to here are those who profess to be Christians but do not love in this way, because the Bible says that if our lives are absent of this God-motivated love for others that often goes above and beyond what is deemed “reasonable”, then we may not actually be true believers.
Our motivation to please God through our love for others is not trying to earn His favor, because for those whom He has saved we have already received His favor; it is because genuine, sacrificial love brings God glory, and as Christians that is to be the ultimate goal in all we do. 1 John 4:9 says, “We love because He first loved us”. That doesn’t mean we will always love in a perfect way, as you say, but that we are on a trajectory towards loving more and more as Christ has loved us.
I hope that clarifies a bit and somewhat answers your questions. Thanks for the feedback!
Good morning. I just found your blog and will be stopping in again. You cover a most important truth; in fact one that’s central to the gospel message. Without love it is impossible to please God. Not just in word but that altruistic compassion for another that’s void of self. It seeks not advantage, but rather to further the kingdom of God and to be a blessing to others. Even if the “others” are of a contrary nature. It’s one who sees beyond the surface and sees things from the Fathers perspective. An eternal perspective as the side issues which divert the intentions of so many ae swept away and the real need is in clear view.
Awesome post. Blessings always in Jesus name.
timbob
I like how you said it’s seeing beyond the surface and from the Father’s perspective – very true! Thanks for stopping by.
In God’s perfect timing, I just happened to be reading this AM in 1 John 1:1-2:5 and John’s gospel ch 14:15-24.
Coming to Jesus is all about entering a love relationship, not simply agreeing to a doctrine or teaching. Of course, doctrine is indispensible, or we wouldn’t know who Jesus is or why He came…we would just have a bunch of religious sentimentality. But some people seem to miss that this is a love – obedience – fellowship with God relationship!
So true. I don’t think it is at all possible to love without genuinely accepting the love of God. This is difficult to understand maybe because the word love means so many things now and used to refer to something else (like, lust, wants). But real love is self-emptying like Jesus’ love for us. It’s loving not for the sake of love but loving another for that other person’s sake. It’s like the Gospel speaks of another love, the love of God, and until we don’t get it (accept it, know it)…. the message is lost on us. We can’t really love without this. This must be what Jesus meant when he said “I am the Way, the Truth and the Life.” Non-believers who do not accept that or even so called believers who do not truly accept the love (wait, oh, the effort to emphasize love is so difficult because it somehow changed in meaning), love meaning the love that Jesus speaks of in the Gospel. Tall order! But the only way, truth, and life)
It’s true, Jesus does make the difference— he revolutionizes the idea of love to something so far beyond what our culture thinks it is. Without him, people can know love in some sense, but not in the full, perfect definition of love from God, who is Love. It’s hard to explain to those who haven’t experienced it, but it’s very real and wonderful.
Thank for stopping by.
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