The Call to Love
Introduction
Romans 13:8-10: 8 "Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself." 10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law."
I was attending a junior stock show when a grand-champion lamb, owned by a little girl, was being auctioned. As the bids reached five dollars per pound, the little girl standing beside the lamb in the arena began to cry. At ten dollars the tears were streaming down her face and she clasped her arms tightly around the lamb’s neck. The higher the bids rose, the more she cried. Finally, a local businessman bought the lamb for more than $1000.00, but then announced that he was donating it to the little girl. The crowd applauded and cheered.
Months later, I was judging some statewide essays when I came across one from a girl who told about the time her grand-champion lamb had been auctioned. “The prices began to get so high during the bidding,” she wrote, “that I started to cry from happiness.” She continued with: “The man who bought the lamb for so much more than I ever dreamed I would get returned the lamb to me, and when I got home, Daddy barbecued the lamb — and it was really delicious.” Joe Wagner, in Reader’s Digest
Are You In Love?
A young man said to his father at breakfast one morning, “Dad, I’m going to get married.” The father asked, “How do you know you’re ready to get married? Are you in love?” The son, “I sure am,” Then the father asked, “How do you know you’re in love?” The son replied, Last night as I was kissing my girlfriend good-night and her dog bit me, but I didn’t feel the pain until I got home. Source unknown
I. The Call Of Love Is A Call Of Commitment. v 8
8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
All Christians have a debt to The Law Of Love. There are two words used in the New Testament for Love. Agapao and Phileo Phileo is more of a friendly kind of love where Agapao is more of a godly kind of love. Both involve a voluntary (I’ve decided to love you) and involuntary (I can’t help but love you) response.
One point: there is no command to love in scripture that ever uses phileo. Added to from C. Swindoll, Growing Strong, pp. 67-8
A. A Commitment Of A Debt Stated
13:8a “Owe no one anything except to love one another,. . .”
1. Owe No One Anything.
A Through Check Of Scripture Reveals:
Debt Is Allowed Unless Abusive.
Best Not To Borrow Or To Lend, But Most Of Us Have, and Do.
2. Good Advise
10% To God, 10% To Savings and 80% To Live On.
3. Major Debt is to Love
B. A Commitment Of A Debt Satisfied. 13:8a
“. . . for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.”
In 1773, the young pastor of a poor church in Wainsgate, England, was called to a large and influential church in London. John Fawcett was a powerful preacher and writer, and these skills had brought him this opportunity. But as the wagons were being loaded with the Fawcetts’ few belongings, their people came for a tearful farewell.During the good-byes, Mary Fawcett cried, “John, I cannot bear to leave!” “Nor can I,” he replied. “We shall remain here with our people.” The wagons were unloaded, and John Fawcett spent his entire fifty-four-year ministry in Wainsgate. Out of that experience, Fawcett wrote the beautiful hymn, “Blest Be the Tie that Binds.” Today in the Word, August, 1996, p. 6
Application
The Call Of Love Is A Call Of Commitment - I will ask you to go to someone you can share a word of love later in this sermon
II. The Call Of Love Is A Call Of Commandment. v 9
9 For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet," and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
A. The Statement Of The Commandment. 13:9a
For the commandments, "You shall not commit adultery," "You shall not murder," "You shall not steal," "You shall not bear false witness," "You shall not covet,"
1. No Adultery
2. No Murder
3. No Stealing.
4. No Lying
5. No Coveting.
B. The Summation Of The Commandments
13:9b “. . . and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself."
NASU “. . . it is summed up in this saying,. . .”
KJV . . . “it is briefly comprehended in this saying,”
Other Commandments?
Why No Mention Of The Sabbath? Wiersbe says: Note that Paul says nothing about the Sabbath; the Sabbath Law was actually part of the Jewish ceremonial code and never applied to the Gentiles or to the church. Nine of the Ten Commandments are repeated in the epistles for Christians to obey, but the commandment about the Sabbath is not repeated. We Worship On Sunday Because The Lord Resurrected On Sunday. The Sabbath Commemorates Creation. The Lord’s Day Commemorates Re-Creation.
Dr. Mitchell was impressing upon us that we are not under the Law when we’re in Christ, but we’re under a new law — the law of LOVE. He used this to illustrate:
In America there is a law stating a woman must take care of her child. So, a man comes to a new mother’s home. He says “Are you taking care of your baby? The Law says you have to.” The woman, tenderly holding her baby, said, “I don’t need a law to make me take care of my baby.” Why? Because she loves her baby! She feeds him, holds him, changes him because she loves him. I no longer need the Law because I’m under Christ—a law of LOVE. Source unknown
Application
I don’t need a law if I follow The Love Of God!
III. The Call Of Love Is A Conquering Call
13:10 Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
A. The Action Of Conquering Love
13:10a Love does no harm to a neighbor;. . .”
B. The Accomplishment Of Conquering Love
13:10a . . therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.
Act Out Love In his book Mere Christianity, C. S. Lewis wrote,
Do not waste your time bothering whether you love your neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less. Our Daily Bread.
Some years ago, Dr. Karl Menninger, noted doctor and psychologist, was seeking the cause of many of his patients’ ills. One day he called in his clinical staff and proceeded to unfold a plan for developing, in his clinic, an atmosphere of creative love. All patients were to be given large quantities of love; no unloving attitudes were to be displayed in the presence of the patients, and all nurses and doctors were to go about their work in and out of the various rooms with a loving attitude. At the end of six months, the time spent by patients in the institution was cut in half. Source unknown
Conclusion
A certain medieval monk announced he would be preaching next Sunday evening on “The Love of God.” As the shadows fell and the light ceased to come in through the cathedral windows, the congregation gathered. In the darkness of the altar, the monk lighted a candle and carried it to the crucifix. First of all, he illumined the crown of thorns, next, the two wounded hands, then the marks of the spear wound. In the hush that fell, he blew out the candle and left the chancel. There was nothing else to say.