I have a touchy sermon today, friends, on
a touchy subject that may or may not
touch you in regard to the Lord's commandment
to love one another.
In John's Gospel, in chapter 15 and verse
12, we read, This is my commandment, that
ye love one another as I have loved
you.
I don't believe most Christians today take Jesus
at his word.
If they did, then they'd sure act differently
than they do.
I believe the early church took Jesus at
his word, for if it hadn't, it wouldn't
have survived the hot persecution had those early
Christians not taken him seriously.
All you have to do is to read
the New Testament.
Take a look at the epistles of the
Apostle John, for instance, to see that Christ's
disciples took him at his word, and the
word was alive.
It was manifested in their lives.
Listen to 1 John chapter 3 and verses
16 through 18.
Hereby we perceive the love of God, because
he laid down his life for us, and
we ought to lay down our lives for
the brethren.
But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth
his brother have need, and shutteth up his
bowels of compassion from him, have dwelleth the
love of God in him.
My little children, let us not love in
word, neither in tongue, but indeed in truth.
What John is saying is that if you
claim to be a follower of Christ Jesus,
then you better be sure you live like
one.
Sam Jones used to say, being a Christian
was quitting your meanness.
What John is saying here is if you
see a brother in need, and you have
the means to help him, and you don't,
then you're not much of a Christian.
That's what the old boy is saying.
Like we say in the South, that's the
oil straight from the can.
It's the unvarnished truth, but most of us
don't want to swallow it.
It's like a bitter medicine.
I can say from first-hand experience, friends,
in my dealings with church folk over the
last few years, that we're living in a
day here in America where society looks at
the American church and laughs.
They can't take it seriously, because most of
us don't act like Christians, or we are
good at church attendance, and we don't mind
serving in some capacity at church, and we
don't mind even giving some of our money,
so long as we can hold the reins
on how much we give.
We give mainly out of our abundance, rather
than out of our want.
It's funny.
The Christians who have the least are usually
the ones who give the most, like the
widow and her mite.
It seems the more folks have, the cheaper
they are, the stingier they are.
We live in a day here in this
country where we have loveless Christians in a
lawless church, and that's the title of my
message today, friends.
Loveless Christians in a lawless church.
Because if you are going to church, but
you don't want to obey the laws of
God, then it shows you don't love God,
and because you don't love God, you don't
love the brethren.
This may jab you in the ribs where
you keep your wallet, but it's true, friends.
If you see a brother in need, and
you can help, and you don't, then you
have no love.
That is what John is saying.
If you have a gripe about it, take
it up with God, for it is God
speaking here through his word.
But many of us don't want a religion
that cuts too deep into our nest egg.
We don't want to have to deny ourselves
a creature comfort that we don't really need
anyhow.
To help a brother in need, we'd rather
live in word, because that doesn't cost us
anything rather than love in deed and truth,
like John is saying here.
It's the Apostle John saying this, friends.
I'm just relating to you what your own
Bible says.
I know some of you don't believe it,
because you don't take the time to read
it yourself.
All you get fed are the feel-good
messages from your pastor that soothe your conscience
rather than sear it like a hot iron.
But the fact remains.
We have loveless Christians today, in a lawless
church.
How do I know?
I have come across a boatload of them.
They're in the pulpit, and they're in the
pew.
They serve on church committees, and they like
singing hymns in worship time.
And they'll even shed a little tear if
their emotions get worked up by a heartfelt
story.
But if you have a real need, and
you let them know about it, you will
hear one of two things.
Either a deafening silence, or they will say,
we will pray for you.
Because prayer doesn't affect their pocketbook.
Like I said, we have loveless Christians in
a lawless church.
I'll end with some more of what the
Apostle John writes in his epistle from chapter
4 and verse 21.
And this commandment have we from him, that
who loveth God loveth his brother also.