~ Pastor Rob Sisco ~
Title: Sincere Love- 04 Sep. 09
Ephesians 6:24 "Grace be with all them that love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity. Amen."
The word, 'love,' is found fourteen times in the book of Ephesians, speaking of their love toward the Lord, the Lord's love toward them, and the love that is to be found in the home between the husband and wife. 'Love,' found here, is the Greek word 'agapao.' Agapao is a sacrificial, God-like love. When asked by the lawyer in Matthew 22, "Master, which is the great commandment in the law?" Jesus responded, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." Jesus says that the greatest thing that we can do is love Him in the same sacrificial way that He loved us.
The Church at Ephesus, like many of the early New Testament churches, had this great sacrificial love for the Lord Jesus Christ. It was a zealous love that gave them an intense, enthusiastic devotion to the person of Christ. Something, though, went entirely wrong in the hearts of the people in the church over the course of the next few years. In Revelation 2:1-7, Jesus speaks to the Church at Ephesus and says in verse 4, "Nevertheless, I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love."
Ephesus was a great city, and it had many attractions, which became distractions to the believers, drawing them away from their first love, Jesus Christ. What a great tragedy! A church with such intense devotion is now being accused of leaving that love for the things of this world. Yet, it speaks of the hearts of multitudes of believers in this present day as well.
Most of the Christians that I know, if asked, "Do you love the Lord?" would undoubtedly say "Yes!" Love, however, is not a feeling or an emotion. Mind you, emotions usually are a bi-product of love, but true love, 'Agapao' love is a decision followed by a sacrifice, not merely a word used to define the emotion.
Notice the love that Christ has for us. The Bible tells us, "For God so loved the world...," "But God commendeth his love toward us...," and so on. We know that God loves us from His Word. However there is nothing in us to love. His Word says, "For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). There is nothing in us that entitles us to be loved by God. The love that He gives to us was a love by choice. Ie... He chose to love you and me, even though we have sinned against Him.
But it doesn't end there. God doesn't just say He loves us, He proves it. Romans 5:8 "But God commendeth (showed, proved) his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."
This is the type of love that God expected form the Church at Ephesus, and this is the type of love He commands from you and me. Not simply saying we love Him, but showing Him how much we love Him. Jesus said in John 14:15, "If ye love me, keep my commandments." Jesus says, "Dont just tell me you love me, prove it like I proved it to you when I went to the cross."
Let me briefly share with you five areas in our lives that we can show Him how much we love Him by keeping the commandments of His Word.
(1) Scriptural Baptism- Baptism is the first act of obedience after salvation. Baptism does NOT get you to heaven, trusting Christ alone as your Savior is the only way (see Rom. 10:9-13, Eph. 2:8,9), however, once you are saved, baptism is an out-ward expression of what Christ has done on the inside. It pictures the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ and identifies you with other believers. (see also Rom. 6, Acts 2:41, and Acts 8:12)
(2) Church Membership and Attendence- Hebrews 10:25 "Noth forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching." Jesus established the local church (Matt. 16:18), loved and died for the local church (Eph. 5:25), and commissioned the local church (Matt. 28:18-20). How can we prove to Him that we love Him, and not be faithful to what He gave Himself for?
(3) Fellowship With Him- My wife would have a hard time believing that I love her if I never listened to or spoke to her. Communication is the key to any loving relationship. God, too, wants a communicating relationship with you and me. He has given us His Word, the Bible, and desires to speak to our hearts through it. He also wants to hear from us in our continous prayer with Him.
(4) Spiritual Growth- II Peter 3:18 "But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ..." Most Christians never grow as Christians, either becuase they are too caught up in the things of this world to make time for God, or they are trying to conform God to their own standard instead of allowing Him to confoorm their lives to His standard. the Bible doesn't say, "Grow if you'd like," no, it commands us to grow. How do we grow? By applying these other principles to our lives.
(5) Serving God- Multitudes have missed this simple prinnciple. Many serve God in order to work their way to heaven. Paul said, "For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast" (Ephesians 2:8,9). We could not serve enough or work hard enough to get to heaven. Only by accepting His free gift (Rom. 10:9-13) can we be saved (to learn what the bible says about how you can know Heaven is your eternal home click here). But because we have received His gift of love, we should have a great desire to now prove to Him how much we love Him by serving Him.
Do you love the Lord, or have you, like the people in the Church at Ephesus, "left thy first love?" We live in a day of great distraction, but God's Word is still the same. "Love the Lord thy God, with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind." Jesus then says, prove it to me, "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
(If you are not 100% sure that Heaven will be your home and would like to see what the Bible says, please click here)
(Note: This article was prepared by Pastor Sisco for the purpose of nurturing up those who have a desire to live Biblically. This is not an extensive list of Biblical commands, but simple principles used to help for that purpose.)
