True Christian Love
True Christian love is a holy disposition given to us by God, characterized by meekness and gentleness, and seeks the highest good of others.
A.W. Pink emphasizes that true Christian love is a divine grace bestowed upon believers, characterized by meekness and a commitment to the highest good of others, rather than mere human sentimentality. He warns against confusing this spiritual love with superficial kindness and stresses that love must align with God's will, promoting righteousness and truth. Pink illustrates that true love is not indulgent but disciplined, and it seeks to correct and guide others in their walk with God. He points to Jesus as the ultimate example of love, who balanced gentleness with the necessity of correction. Ultimately, Pink calls for believers to seek God's love to empower them to practice this difficult yet essential aspect of their faith.
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Love is the Queen of the Christian graces. It is a holy disposition given to us when we are born again by God. It is the love of God shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Spirit. True spiritual love is characterized by meekness and gentleness, yet it is vastly superior to the courtesies and kindnesses of the flesh.
We must be careful not to confuse human sentimentality, carnal pleasantries, human amiability and affability with true spiritual love. The love God commands, first to Himself and then to others, is not human love. It is not the indulgent, self-seeking love which is in us by nature. If we indulgently allow our children to grow up with little or, no Scriptural discipline, Proverbs plainly says we do not love them, regardless of the human sentimentality and affection we may feel for them. Love is not a sentimental pampering of one another with a loose indifference as to our walk and obedience before the Lord. Glossing over one another's faults to ingratiate ourselves in their esteem is not spiritual love.
The true nature of Christian love is a righteous principle which seeks the highest good of others. It is a powerful desire to promote their welfare. The exercise of love is to be in strict conformity to the revealed will of God. We must love in the truth. Love among the brethren is far more than an agreeable society where views are the same. It is loving them for what we see of Christ in them, loving them for Christ's sake.
The Lord Jesus Himself is our example. He was not only thoughtful, gentle, self-sacrificing and patient, but He also corrected His mother, used a whip in the Temple, Severely scolded His doubting disciples, and denounced hypocrites. True spiritual love is above all faithful to God and uncompromising towards all that is evil. We cannot declare, 'Peace and Safety' when in reality there is spiritual decay and ruin!
True spiritual love is very difficult to exercise because it is not our natural love. By nature we would rather love sentimentally and engender good feelings. Also many times true spiritual love is not received in love, but is hated as the Pharisees hated it. We must pray that God will fill us with His love and enable us to exercise it without dissimulation toward all.
Sermon Outline
- True Spiritual Love
- The Nature of Christian Love
- The Example of the Lord Jesus
- The Difficulty of Exercising True Spiritual Love
- Thoughtful, Gentle, Self-Sacrificing, and Patient
- Faithful to God and Uncompromising Towards Evil
- The Exercise of Love
Key Quotes
“True spiritual love is characterized by meekness and gentleness, yet it is vastly superior to the courtesies and kindnesses of the flesh.” — A.W. Pink
“Love is not a sentimental pampering of one another with a loose indifference as to our walk and obedience before the Lord.” — A.W. Pink
“We must pray that God will fill us with His love and enable us to exercise it without dissimulation toward all.” — A.W. Pink
Application Points
- We must be careful not to confuse human sentimentality with true spiritual love.
- We must love in the truth and seek the highest good of others.
- We must pray that God will fill us with His love and enable us to exercise it without dissimulation toward all.