The Constraints of Love

2nd Corinthians chapter 5, I'll read a verse to you and then we're going to go over to Galatians and stay in the book of Galatians tonight. 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, just reading one verse, verse 14. It says, For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead.

For the love of Christ constraineth us, because we thus judge that if one died for all, then we're all dead. I want to speak to you, I get my topic out of that verse here tonight, is I want to speak to you about the constraints of love, the constraints of love. Now turn with me over, flip over just to Galatians and remain open there, but I'll read to you chapter 5 and verse 1. It says, Stand fast therefore in the liberty wherewith Christ hath made us free, and be not entangled again with the yoke of bondage.

The constraints of love. Now I want to look, the reason I take you to the book of Galatians, because in my message I want to deal, or the book itself deals with a very critical issue involving the saving of the early church from a very subtle but serious doctrinal error. The gospel of Jesus Christ among the churches in Galatia, which is a province northeast of Israel, which is now southern Turkey, and if you happen to be Irish you might take an interest in this because some of your ancestors came out of that province and settled in Ireland and the gospel was taken there.

Paul had three missionary journeys there and the move of God, the the Jesus movement, if you please, made its way into that province, but at the time of Paul's letter the church was in danger of being infiltrated by a Jewish interpretation of the gospel and worse than that, the purpose of Christ suffering, the purpose of the cross, the whole meaning of the cross and the blood was in danger of being of no effect whatsoever because of this air that had come in. And in fact in chapter 5 and verse 2 Paul says, Behold I say unto you that if ye be circumcised Christ shall profit you nothing. And so in this book we find Paul standing like a swordsman, standing like a man with a sword in his hand and he comes against this air and he attacks it and he tears it to shreds in order to defend the new Christian movement against what he called another gospel.

Flip over to chapter 1 in verse 6. In fact he says, I marvel that ye are so soon, now they had to receive the gospel by faith, they had received the New Testament gospel, but he said, I marvel that now you are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ into another gospel. Now had these, this air and had these Judaizers as Paul called them, had they succeeded the gospel might never have gone to the outermost parts of the earth and even if it had gone forth it would have been a gospel without the cross, a gospel without the blood, a gospel without grace and a gospel without the need of faith. And so vital was the issue, so important was it that Paul tear to shreds the air of the Judaizers that he said in verse 8 he said, But though we or an angel from heaven preach any other gospel unto you that which then that which we have preached unto you let him be accursed.

Now that's pretty strong language. Not only does it apply to the air that took place in these churches but it applies today if there be any air, if there be any compromise, if there be any adding to or taking from the gospel, Paul makes it very clear let him be accursed, any man that preaches that gospel. Now there were three issues that Paul deals with or at least three that I want to center in on and these are the three are the basis of my message.

First of all the major point was this that Paul is making, that salvation is not by our own works of righteousness. It is not in our own good. In chapter 3 in verse 11 he said, No man is justified, no man is saved by the law in the sight of God.

It is evident for the just shall live by faith. Chapter 2 verse 21 he says, For if righteousness came by the law or if it could be attained by working for it, then Christ is dead in vain. And I will call this, I want to call this the bondage or we would we could call this air the bondage of the law and we'll take a look at that.

But then there was another issue very important and it was this that if we're saved by grace alone, if we're saved by grace alone in Christ's meritorious death on the cross, rather than being saved by the keeping of laws, does the fact that we're saved by grace give us a license to practice sin? This I call the bondage of the flesh and so Paul dealt with this issue as well because he was accused because he was preaching grace that he was giving them license not to obey the law or to practice sin and he dealt with that. And finally Paul shows us that salvation by faith and grace lays an obligation heavy upon us to fulfill the law and not give in to the works of righteousness. But grace puts upon us a burden, it puts upon us a constraint which in 2nd Corinthians 5 14 he calls it the constraint of love, the control of love and we'll take a look at that.

So let me examine these three points with you. First of all the bondage of the law. Now the problem arose in Galatia regarding the belief among these Jews that had come in these Judaizers who had accepted Christ but then someone came along and said that the keeping of the Jewish laws was important and was a condition of salvation.

And here's the key verse look at verse chapter 2 and verse 16 the key verse or teaching that they had trouble with. Paul says knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by the faith of Jesus Christ even we have believed in Jesus Christ that we might be justified by the faith of Christ and not by the works of the law for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified. Now these Jews the Jewish Christians at first as I said accepted salvation by faith but then Paul said you've allowed some people to come in you've allowed some false teaching and they have come in and they have bewitched you and you brought and they have brought you under their spell and under another condition of the gospel and they said that both Jews and Gentile Christians alike must be circumcised first and not only be circumcised but take on all the burden of law-keeping and they had to keep the law in order as a condition to be saved.

In fact they went so far as to say that if a Gentile wished to be saved he had to become a Jew first and he would have to become a Jew only by being circumcised and so there ended up two Gospels now of course you know that there are not two Gospels when Paul said you preach another gospel which is not another gospel but nevertheless there was a two versions of it one for the Christian Jews of course who are already circumcised and another for the Gentile believers who were not and in fact the inconsistency was so great that Peter when he was among the Gentiles he would eat meat that was a no-no to the Jew and yet when some of these Jews would come along Peter separated himself from them and went over and acted like the Jews and Paul said that he had to withstand Peter to his face and he said Peter he said there are not two Gospels if you go along with this then you do away with a whole gospel of grace and you do away with the whole purpose and the meaning of why we're going to take communion tonight now with that as a background let me say let me ask this question what does a problem like that way back there have to do with us today well there is a number of issues that I could deal with tonight but this problem of the bondage of the law is one that I want to deal with in a very general sense because it is a very real problem in many people's approach to God and to religion you see the whole world can be divided into two groups of people one group are those that believe that there is none other name given under heaven whereby we might be saved than the name Jesus Christ they are also these are the same people that believe according to Ephesians 2 8 and 9 for by grace are you saved through faith and not not of yourself it is a gift of God not of works lest any man should boast now that's one group now the rest of the group believe that they can or they must do something to save themselves do you know the reasons that the cults are so popular is because they put the emphasis on doing something you do something the devotee is able to do something and having done it he can point to it as a work of righteousness and as the merit of his salvation we sometimes use the Jehovah Witnesses they're used to I've heard Christians I've heard ministers use them as an example of people who are out knocking on doors they're out witnessing they're out making converts and I've heard many ministers say boy they put Christians to shame the way they evangelize the way they go out and witness and I suppose there is a point to be made regarding that we ought to be aggressive in our witness but remember they are motivated by the fact that their salvation depends upon those good works and when you believe that my friend you will walk up all those stairs in the apartment houses and you'll go knocking on doors and you'll do anything that you have to do if you think that that's going to save you and listen if you want to get people committed just get them to believe that salvation is in their own hands they'll go to any length they'll go to any sacrifice they'll make any commitment in order to save themselves and if you see these kids around selling flowers friends they're not just selling flowers they're trying to work their way to heaven they're trying to buy their way to heaven but even the average person has this philosophy as long as my good outweighs my bad I think God will be alright you know in the end it'll be alright many civic minded people many charitable kind giving people are moved they're motivated by the law of good works and behind such benevolence is the feeling that God must be pleased with them and their good works certainly merit them a reward in heaven how many of you know unbelievers who act more like a Christian than some Christians and when that person compares their morality or their good works with the failure or struggles of some Christian they come out looking pretty good and have a false hope as a result of it how many you know that you work with them you live with them some of you you've heard the expression if anybody ought to go to heaven it ought to be so-and-so she was such a good person my goodness Liberace dies and here's a headline in the paper if any man ought to be in heaven he made so many people feel good my goodness I think I told you about the man who wealthy man start going to a church and one day after the service he went up to the pastor and he said pastor he said do you think if I get a lot of money this church I'll get to heaven the pastor says I don't know but it's worth trying and my friend that's as sad as it is humorous because it isn't worth trying now Paul defends the gospel and he says the central issue is not what a man does for God that saves him but it's what God has done for that man to chapter 2 verse 16 for by the works of the law shall no flesh be justified the just shall live by faith you see if circumcision or the keeping of the law such as not eating certain meats or whatever could save a man he could go to God and say look here's my circumcision here's my works give me the salvation that I have earned but you see my friend the gospel of Christ the gospel of Paul that Paul lays down in Galatians is that no man can ever earn God's favor it is entirely a thing of grace because and Paul knew better than anybody that adhering to the Jewish laws could not save a man in Philippians 3 for he said if any other man thinketh that he hath were of he might trust in the flesh he said I'm or he said I was circumcised touching the righteousness of the law he said I was blameless but what things but what things in this regard that once were gained to me he says those I counted lost when I got a vision of Jesus Christ and of the cross and what he did for me and how he laid down his life for me hallelujah there is only one way and only one way to salvation that is by throwing ourselves upon the mercies of God and trusting in the work of Christ for our salvation hallelujah that's why we like to sing here thanks for the blood thanks for the blood hallelujah Jesus paid it all hallelujah Paul said he finally became exhausted in his zeal to keep the law he said oh the law showed me that I was a sinner he said he didn't disregard the law if I didn't know the law he said I wouldn't know that I was a sinner but the condemnation of the law drove him to Christ for deliverance from his spiritual predicament and he finally came to the truth that was the beautiful thing that happened to him on the road to Damascus he came to the knowledge of the truth as it says in second Corinthians 517 if any man be in Christ he is a new creature old things pass away and behold all things become new praise the Lord in other words when we are joined to Christ by faith in his finished work we share in his fulfillment of the righteous demands of the law there's not a thing that we can do hallelujah it's been done for us glory to God look at chapter 2 verse 20 one of the most powerful glorious verses in all to the scripture I am crucified with Christ nevertheless I live yet not I but Christ liveth in me and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me praise the Lord thanks for the blood now another problem that Paul dealt with was the bondage of the flesh you see these Jewish Christians were concerned that salvation by grace would lead to a disregard for the law and become a license to sin and in fact this whole message that Paul preached they tried to discredit him he took some time in here to prove to him that he was an apostle and that God had given him the message of salvation but they had tried to even discredit him and said well you know Paul's not really an apostle and this salvation by grace you know is not really from God and what was behind part of their motive was they were concerned that there would be this message of grace would turn into what we would call today cheap grace and they would not have a regard for the law or and live in obedience and Paul anticipated this and if you look at the first chapter verses 3 & 4 he greets them and he says grace be to you and peace from God the Father and from our Lord Jesus Christ who gave himself for our sins that he might deliver us from this present evil world according to the will of God and our Father to whom be glory forever and ever look at chapter 5 and verse 13 he says for brethren you have been called into liberty only use not liberty for an occasion to the flesh but by love serve one another and I like what another translation says on that it says you have been called to freedom you have been called to grace only do not make your freedom an excuse for the gratification of your lower nature a fellow told me one time he said I used to ride the subways here in New York and there was a big poster the Bible Society or one of the Bible societies had put up there and it said Christ died for your sins he said man that's wonderful that means I can sin all that I want now I want to tell you something not only was that the philosophy of that young fellow but I can tell you in churches all across America there are people that believe the very same thing Christ died for my sins therefore I can I can sin although I want and Paul makes it clear that the grace of God and the freedom from law-keeping as a condition to be saved must not be interpreted as a license to sin or the freedom to indulge the lower side of human nature rather it meant a freedom to walk in the Spirit and a freedom to not have to do what the evil nature in us drives us or wants us to do chapter 5 verse 16 he said this I say then lead the life of the Spirit then you will never satisfy or give in to the passions of the flesh now are you there at the fifth chapter would you go there to the fifth chapter he said this I say then walk in the Spirit and do not and you will not fulfill the lust of the flesh for the lust flesh verse 17 for the flesh lust is against the Spirit and the Spirit against the flesh and these are contrary the one to another so that you cannot do the things that you would now what follows then and I want you to keep your Bibles right open what follows then is that Paul gives us a detailed list a very ugly picture of the works of the flesh as far as I know this is one of the most comprehensive list that are in the scriptures and given to us by Paul there are other list as well but this is a very comprehensive list and I believe that the reason Paul interjects it here is for this reason lest there be any doubt as to the question of the putting away of sin Paul said that if you are in Christ you will not do these things the the works these works of the flesh should not be manifested in your life and he goes into them and I want to go into them just very briefly take a look at the list verse 19 now the works of the flesh are manifested which are these and he begins and it's no accident it's no coincidence that he begins with these two adultery and fornication the reason being is that the society at that time like our society today was rampant with sexual immorality and it was so common it was just an ordinary thing no one ever thought anything of it and when the Christian message came in the one of the very first things that the Christian message brought in the relationship between a man and a woman especially if they weren't married it brought in the most powerful and the greatest safe sex known to mankind and that's Christian chastity and Paul said the benchmark of righteousness the benchmark of walking in righteousness and holiness it begins right here that a man is faithful to his wife a man was married does not commit adultery and the unmarried will not commit fornication he said this is a work of the flesh and then the next word immediately follows and that is well in one translation I believe it says in I don't know what it says in impurity I believe it says uncleanness or impurity and that's a very interesting word and you know from the original word you know what word we get out of it in our English language we get the word pus and what it means is this that if a man is not clean if a man is not pure in his life and his walk before the Lord that it's like a pus it will be like an infection in his body and if he doesn't cut it out it will get into his blood stream and he will be totally unclean it will be in he will be impure in all every area of his life if he doesn't walk right before the Lord in respect to the matter of adultery and fornication and then the next word it was the next word lasciviousness I think another one says debauchery and this word means a readiness for any pleasure this is taking it on a step further this is a man who will commit sin especially sexual immorality and he doesn't care what anybody else thinks about it he is just a readiness for pleasure at any moment there's no restraint and he doesn't care what anybody thinks that's what lasciviousness means among other things and then verse 20 idolatry which means that's when material things have taken the place of God and then witchcraft or sorcery that's where we get our word drugs from and it has to do with the manipulation the altering of our senses in order to bring ourselves into some peace of mind hatred there was today we would use the word rebel it's one who is characteristic hostile to his fellow man he just a rebel he goes around he's got a chip on his shoulder he's he's a person of he's got hating him and then variance or I think in other translations of the word strife or discord and it comes from a root word meaning a rivalry for prizes and it's someone who wants his or her way and will quarrel or work any angle in order to get it and will cause discord in the process and then there's another word jealousy some of these are from other translations and jealousy is from an original word meaning zeal and in this case it's a person zealous to have someone else's position or rank and then it talks about outburst of anger or uncontrolled temper and this describes not a seething anger but an occasional flying off of the handle type of outburst Paul also mentions and again from other translations self-seeking and and that's a very interesting word because it means canvassing for a political office and it's a person who in the church seeks a position they're canvassing they're always trying to move themselves for they're always trying to push themselves forward not with a pure motive but because they want to be seen they're self-seeking and then he talks about disputes or dissension and disputes again literally means standing apart it means just the opposite of unity it's a person who delights and wouldn't no matter what view you take they delight in taking the opposite view they're just a contrary person causing dissension and then it talks about heresies or factions and this is more not necessarily talking about doctrinal error but it's more talking about people who disagree if you disagree with them they can't they can't handle you you can't disagree with them at any point you got to agree at a hundred percent on every point this is the end of side one you may now turn the tape over to side two and then it talks about envying and this is wanting what somebody else wants not so much because the person wants it from themselves but they want it just so they can deprive the other person of it it's grief at your neighbor's good fortune that's what envy is and then murders speaks for itself drunkenness you know drunkenness was not a common word then as because the green is the Greeks drank wine more you know like milk they drank more wine than milk and so to drink to the point of drunkenness was a shame and then it mentions also carousing this would refer to a gang a clique that wants to make trouble noise rioting and so forth and then Paul ends up and he says of verse 21 envying murders drunkenness revilings and such like in other words the list goes on there's more than this and look at verse 21 he ends up he says and I tell you before as I've also told you in past time that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God now listen my friend Paul is not talking to a sinful crowd he's not preaching on the street he's writing a letter to the church he's talking to Christians and he said lest anybody think that salvation by grace is a license to sin he said I want to tell you these are the works of the flesh and if you participate in them he said you shall not inherit the kingdom of God now the beautiful thing however is that Paul gives a solution to the bondage of the flesh you see the solution to the possibility of a person misusing the grace of God is to come under the bondage of love or the constraint of love Galatians 514 look at it it says for all the law is fulfilled in one word even in this thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself now this verse presumes that one first of all has love for God for we cannot love our neighbor until we love God and of course this is a parallel verse to what Jesus gave us and let me read it to you if you want to turn to Matthew chapter 22 Matthew chapter 22 I remember how the Lord opened my eyes to this when I was in Bible school it was so liberating to me I tried to get a message on it in my homiletics class it didn't work so well I was going to entitled the day the the prophets were hung but it didn't go over very well then or tonight but look what it says in Matthew 22 verse 37 Jesus said unto him or verse 36 master which is the great commandment in the law Jesus said unto him thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart and with all thy soul and with all thy mind this is the first and great commandment and the second is like unto it thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets in other words the possibility the ability in order to fulfill righteousness and to walk in the commandments of God is based upon our this law of love and operation in our lives you see Christian freedom is not a license to do whatever we want in Christ we are free by the grace of God to become free not to sin one who has come under the constraint of love does does fulfill the law he does obey the commandments not as a condition to be saved but because he is already saved and he trusted in the in the merits of Christ's sacrifice on the cross hallelujah and once you know that then you enter in and accept the constraint of his love look at the chapter 5 and back to Galatians chapter 5 verse 24 and 25 it says they that are Christ they that are Christ have crucified the flesh and the affections and the lust again referring back to that list that Paul gave us the 15 or so things that Paul outlined for an example those and many others he said they that are Christ have crucified the flesh and the affections and the lust if we live in the spirit let us also walk in the spirit now Paul was saying to these Jewish Christians that when a man brings himself under the bondage as it were of the spirit when he walks in the spirit he comes under this restraint of love and he is free to be what he ought to be and that man will go far beyond circumcision he will practice circumcision of the heart and separate himself from all the works of the flesh because it is no longer I that liveth but Christ liveth in me and the life I now live I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved me and gave himself for me and this brings me to the close back to where to the first verse that I read in 2nd Corinthians 514 Paul describes the constraint of love in these words he said for the love of Christ constraineth us this is the same idea set forth in Galatians and the word constraineth is a very interesting one it means that Christ love masters me it controls me it's the motive behind my holiness his love leaves me here's what it means his love leaves me no other choice but to die to my sinful pleasures and Paul who makes it clear that he is free from the bondage of having to do good works to be saved yet he glories in the truth that he is under constraint he is under this constraint because of another law the law of love which is a greater force holding him under its power and in fact the word constraint could also be translated restraint the love of Christ restrains it holds back it motivates a person not to commit adultery not to commit fornication not to be envious not to be jealous loses temper cause divisions and so forth Titus 2 11 and 12 you don't need to turn to it when it carries the same thought this is what it says for the grace of God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men teaching us teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust we should live soberly righteous and godly in this present world what teaches us grace teaches us that hallelujah the words constraint and restraint also means that Paul was coerced or pressed and therefore so impelled forward as one carried along by pressure but wasn't a negative pressure is a positive pressure all around him the love of Christ pressed upon him as a river presses a swimmer and bears him forward with its force and its flow if you don't mind I'll give you a personal illustration it's an earthly one but it has a spiritual application I have been married 26 almost 27 years and I remember before I got married I was warned about marriage my father told me about it and I knew that marriage was not a piece of cake and I knew that marriage was a commitment and marriage was an obligation and I was the youngest of five in the family and had two older brothers and two older sisters and many a time around the dinner table mom and dad would be discussing the relationship between some of my older brothers and sisters and their boyfriends and girlfriends and then their engagement and their marriage and my father would they would discuss and he would turn to me said now son I want you to learn from this and David got more time than anybody around the table that's a payback time for what he said to you the other night in fact I remember one I remember one time he made yet before he was married he got a little upset at Gwen and and he made me run down the street and take a friendship back to her and said here give it back to her so I knew the marriage was you know but but you know that day that I stood at the altar 26 some years ago and I stood at the altar and you know there are some things after I got married there are some things about married life that that will a little difficult and I'll just give you two two little simple examples they're not going to be heavy because I'm not going to turn this into a sessions here but I'm going to give you a couple of examples of things that I found difficult in married life for one thing when I first got married I hate I hated I just hated to go shopping with my wife asked me to do anything else but to go shopping with my wife now I've overcome that now and I go and also I remember we lived in Long Island one time and we got into more arguments over the fact that I did not take out the garbage now let me seem a little silly thing to you but every Tuesday and every Thursday the garbage had to go out at night and I'd come home many times late from my ministry and working in Brooklyn and I'd be tired and I'd change my clothes and I'd be relaxed and so forth and my wife would say did you remember to take out the garbage and I never could remember to take out the garbage and I'd say honey why don't you let me remind me when I first came in the door or whatever she said can't you remember I said honey I'm too busy taking garbage out of people's lives I can't remember but you see when I stood before the altar in that little beautiful little white church up in Vermont and as my bride-to-be was coming down when my bride was coming down the altar you see I wasn't standing there thinking about the bondage of marriage I was not thinking about and asking myself how am I ever going to be able to take out the garbage or how am I ever going to be able to go shopping with my wife you know something was greater there you see there was the constraint of love there was the bondage of love there was a love that's there and my friend it's carried us through for 20 almost 27 years in a very happy marriage and if my friend if that can happen in an earthly relationship between a man and woman how much more ought it happen in our relationship with Jesus Christ hallelujah now the kind of constraint does not imply something compulsive or unwelcome bondage not at all this is the greatest kind of freedom the kind that enables us to do what we want in Christ the kind of freedom that brings us joy unspeakable and full of glory God does not constrain us by physical force his cords are those of love the constraint is that which we are glad to feel we accept his wooing we accept his loving pressure as the song of Solomon says draw me and I will run after thee we willingly give assent to that pressure my friend that's the constraint of love of walking in holiness enabling us to walk in holiness let me give you one more illustration there was a young man in our teen challenge Center some years ago I'll never forget him big Polish fella named Victor and Victor had one of those sins that I outlined one of those manifestations of the flesh he had outburst of temper he put his foot through fist through doors and we were very patient with him and finally the staff came to me and said brother Don he said we just cannot put up with us anymore you've got to say something you've got to dismiss them or do something and so I called Victor into my office sat him down I kept the door open he was between me and the desk I didn't know what I was gonna say but unbeknown to me I looked at him and I said to him I said Victor you get saved or you get out and I was a little surprised myself at what I had said and he looked at me he said yes sir and he left it was a Friday night I had to go away and preach for the weekend and on Sunday night I had scheduled I had told the fellows at the center and the staff that they would to come to the meeting where I was gonna preach in Inglewood New Jersey and I said I want all the fellows to be there and so I got there I had been away preaching somewhere else and I got I was there late and I came in about half hour late and when I came in the door who was standing and the front of the church giving testimony but Victor and he looked at me he said well I did it and he told the story he said brother Don called me in and he said get saved or get out well you see that was the law but the law didn't save him the law drew him the law motivated him but he stood there because now he had received Jesus Christ and now the constraint of love was there and I could see it in a smile I could see in his face and I knew because from then on the by first of temper were gone and he was now under the controlling power of Jesus Christ the constraint of love with a little motivation of the law may God open our understanding tonight to the constraint of love the love of Christ constrains us and motivates me to walk as I ought to be that's what it means to be free in Christ to be free to be what you ought to be hallelujah hallelujah let's stand together now Jesus seems slow at times but I want to tell you he always arrives on time hallelujah and his intent is when he delays is that you might believe and out of death and out of despair will come resurrection and the reason he withholds that he's more interested in you