Is It Just a Theory?

[Richard OFfill]

I have been working on the companion book for the first quarter 2010 lesson quarterly that I have written that will be about the Fruit of the Spirit. The first in the list is Love.

We are all acquainted with 1 Corinthians 13 which is called the love chapter. Please review it and then I am going to ask some questions.

1

[newbie]

Once the Holy spirit of God fills our hearts and purifies us and transforms us, we will be a well of living water flowing love in all directions.  We will not be able to keep it in as we would burst otherwise.  It is the Love of Jesus in our hearts and everything that we do will spring from love....  the love that poured in from above and the power of it sustains us and refreshes and the words we speak will sanctify others as we witness what the Love of Jesus has done for us.

We will not want to do anything that would not be of God because we so want this love to fill us and refresh us on a daily basis.  This communion with Christ just like He communed with the Father. 

Every overcomer will have this self sacrificing love from above with power and joy and peace.

We should be an encourager of the brethren and look to Jesus and be positive and give hope to those that are going through trials and temptations.

newbie

[Soli Deo Gloria]

Pastor,

Thanks for another insightful and soul stirring challenge!  It is certainly a matter of priorities. I think some put the cart before the horse. The very basic question of most importance is whether or not we are truly born again? Only those who have been born again will enter the Kingdom of Heaven as Jesus outlines so clearly in John 3:1-8.

And if we are truly born again, or born of the Spirit, then the AGAPE love that the Holy Spirit imparts will show itself in the type of love that we as Christians should all manifest. If we don't have this love, then we are not born again. So much of the New Testament is devoted to this topic, that I am surprised it doesn't come up in conversation more often.

John 13:34,35   Jesus gives us this command:

34 A new commandment I give unto you, That ye LOVE one another; AS I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

 35 By THIS shall all men KNOW that ye are my disciples, IF YE HAVE LOVE one to another.
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Can anyone imagine having a theological argument over whether we should love one another as Christ has loved us? Think about it. Yes it is easy to have a theological argument about meat eating, or wearing wedding rings, or eating chocolate cake. These are externals by which others are judged that the Bible does not emphasize.

 Paul in Galatians emphasizes again the truth he writes in 1 Corinthians 13:

Galatians 5:14,15

 14For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

 15But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed that ye be not consumed one of another.
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The apostle John who wrote the gospel of John as well as the book of Revelation writes this in his epistle of 1 John 3:14-16:

 14We KNOW that we HAVE PASSED from DEATH unto LIFE, because we LOVE the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.

 15Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

 16Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."
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It is this sacrificial love that distinguishes us as Christians. When we are truly born again, then we will start to manifest this love. Then, as we study more, and the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, then we will try to live healthier, and keep things out of our lives that will impede our walk with the Lord. But, these issues only follow after we have the new birth which God imparts to all who believe on His name:

John 1:12,13:
12But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:

 13Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
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Stan

[Raven]

Ellen White said that we should read I Cor. 13 every day.  I wonder how many actually do that?  It would be a good chapter to memorize.  However, memorizing it and reciting it every day still won't produce the fruit of love in one's life, anymore than memorizing the entire Bible would give one a ticket to heaven.  We cannot conjure up the agape that is described in I Cor. 13, anymore than we can jump off a roof and fly.  The apostle John said that "God is love."  Therefore we must go to the Source of love if we are to ever become like what is described in the "love chapter."  I believe one of the main reasons we don't exhibit this agape more often is because we are focused on self rather than on Christ.  Self-centeredness and true love cannot exist in the same person at the same time.

[Richard OFfill]

Stan,
You are sharing my concern. We do tend to talk, even argue, even fight  about any thing and every thing. Yet whether we be liberals or conservatives everything else is a 'sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal'. I am very convicted and troubled about this. Sometimes I think we need to remind ourselves that the Sabbath itself has no meaning unless it is grounded in loving the Lord with all our hearts and our neighbor (family members) as ourselves. From these hang all the law and the prophets.

It is safe to say that this church has no message unless it is based on this. The saved will be this way. I believe we had better get down on our knees individually and together and pray this one through.

[lily-of-the-field]

3. Would marriages be breaking up the way they are if this chapter were implemented in the life of even one of the spouses?

I am a little concerned that this suggests that if a Christian marriage has broken up we can presume that both parties were in the wrong and that even the one who seems most Christlike cannot really be so in the home or else the marriage would have survived.

If even one spouse is Christlike does not necessarily a guarantee a good marriage: one of two things generally happens - either the less believing spouse warms to their Christlike spouse (and to Christ), or, the less believing/unbelieving spouse becomes an instrument of the enemy to attack the spouse who is close to Christ.  We know that Satan hates those who are close to Christ, it has always been and will be much more so toward the end of time as individuals polarize either to Christ or Satan.   Some lovely Christian individuals have suffered badly in their marriages and deserve the benefit of the doubt if their marriage broke and we do not understand everything that went on behind the scenes.

But yes, the chances of things being generally happier and healthier are increased in the presence of a loving and lovable Christian.

[El]

Stan,
You are sharing my concern. We do tend to talk, even argue, even fight  about any thing and every thing. Yet whether we be liberals or conservatives everything else is a 'sounding brass and a tinkling cymbal'. I am very convicted and troubled about this. Sometimes I think we need to remind ourselves that the Sabbath itself has no meaning unless it is grounded in loving the Lord with all our hearts and our neighbor (family members) as ourselves. From these hang all the law and the prophets.

It is safe to say that this church has no message unless it is based on this. The saved will be this way. I believe we had better get down on our knees individually and together and pray this one through.

  I just wish that we could hear more sermons preached in our churches today about "The Gifts of the Holy Spirit".  We need to love more and criticize less.    EL

[lily-of-the-field]

We do need to learn to love more, El.   To reflect the image of Christ fully is to love as Christ loves, to have all the fruits of the Spirit in abundance.

[Raven]

  I just wish that we could hear more sermons preached in our churches today about "The Gifts of the Holy Spirit".  We need to love more and criticize less.    EL

The gifts of the Spirit aren't doing anyone any good unless they are accompanied by the fruit of the Spirit in the one who possesses the gifts--assuming God would even bestow these special gifts on those who don't exhibit the fruit of the Spirit.

[Larry Lyons]

I have been working on the companion book for the first quarter 2010 lesson quarterly that I have written that will be about the Fruit of the Spirit. The first in the list is Love.

We are all acquainted with 1 Corinthians 13 which is called the love chapter. Please review it and then I am going to ask some questions.

1

[Agatha]

I have removed the posts that are out of touch with this original topic. They are now on the moderator's forum. Some posts that will not make sense without the context of the other posts will also be removed. If I don't do that the poster will appear to be out of touch with the topic.

Agreed! Thank you, Larry!

[Raven]

Agreed! Thank you, Larry!

Like a breath of fresh air. 

[Pamela Adams]

Pastor....for almost a year now we have had a young Korean man and his wife attend our church, they are in their 30's...he was a former Adventist who was very bitter....but through a dedicated Adventist teacher of English language to foreign students....she persuaded him to come to our little church and reintroduce him to the Seventhday Adventist church. Shortly after starting to come to church, he was diagnosed with cancer. Our church made it a point for him to go to Yuchee Pines and he has also had conventional treatment, but his cancer continues to advance into other organs etc. He rededicated his life awhile back and he and his wife became members of our Church.

Our church has prayed for this couple and he has been anointed. This past year we have had many deaths among our members, the loss of a child, the middle aged and the old. For me, at times, it seems so unfair for this young man to have  this cancer.

.....One evening, while in prayer....and thinking about this young man and his wife....a question came to my mind......it was .....Pam, would you be willing to give your life for this young man......for him to live? It seemed like I heard a voice asking this of me....I paused and had to think about it....you see, my daughter and my husband have cancer....I think I would be able to say yes, if the question were asked of me, regarding them.  But for this young man and his wife......if this were required of me....I realized I was not so willing......and then I thought about how we pray for others and our attitude to wards other's needs....are we really willing to sacrifice for those who are not friends or family? I concluded....that I was not.......and that it is Jesus who desires for us to become like Him....to have the Agape Love....that he has for each one of us......until then .....I am not ready for Heaven.....

Amazing Grace...page 235:

The Grace of Christ must mold our entire being and it 's triumph will not be complete, until the Heavenly Universe shall witness; habitual tenderness of feelings, Christ like love and Holy deeds in the deportment of the children of God.

[newbie]

Pastor....for almost a year now we have had a young Korean man and his wife attend our church, they are in their 30's...he was a former Adventist who was very bitter....but through a dedicated Adventist teacher of English language to foreign students....she persuaded him to come to our little church and reintroduce him to the Seventhday Adventist church. Shortly after starting to come to church, he was diagnosed with cancer. Our church made it a point for him to go to Yuchee Pines and he has also had conventional treatment, but his cancer continues to advance into other organs etc. He rededicated his life awhile back and he and his wife became members of our Church.

Our church has prayed for this couple and he has been anointed. This past year we have had many deaths among our members, the loss of a child, the middle aged and the old. For me, at times, it seems so unfair for this young man to have  this cancer.

.....One evening, while in prayer....and thinking about this young man and his wife....a question came to my mind......it was .....Pam, would you be willing to give your life for this young man......for him to live? It seemed like I heard a voice asking this of me....I paused and had to think about it....you see, my daughter and my husband have cancer....I think I would be able to say yes, if the question were asked of me, regarding them.  But for this young man and his wife......if this were required of me....I realized I was not so willing......and then I thought about how we pray for others and our attitude to wards other's needs....are we really willing to sacrifice for those who are not friends or family? I concluded....that I was not.......and that it is Jesus who desires for us to become like Him....to have the Agape Love....that he has for each one of us......until then .....I am not ready for Heaven.....

Amazing Grace...page 235:

The Grace of Christ must mold our entire being and it 's triumph will not be complete, until the Heavenly Universe shall witness; habitual tenderness of feelings, Christ like love and Holy deeds in the deportment of the children of God.

What a statement of faith!
This is so true of our natures Pamela....  would you give your life for a murderous sinner in jail?  Would you ask God to heal a  lung cancer if the person refuses to quit smoking?  This is where Jesus supersedes us all by loving them enough to die for them.   If we are living as Jesus lived and walked, I think that we would not even think about it and yes, give our lives for them.

newbie

[teresa]

that makes one seriously sit back and take stock of oneself!!