the Scriptures, and love. By Arthur Pink 1 Timothy 1 verse 5



The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. To profit from the Word is to grow in holy love. Love is not an abstract sentiment or a mere feeling. It is the fruit of divine life within, shaped and governed by truth. The one who truly feeds upon the scriptures is transformed into a vessel of love. Love for God, love for his truth, love for his people, and even love for enemies. The word not only instructs the mind, but inflames the heart with a fervent and pure affection that flows from the indwelling spirit.

The Scriptures reveal that God is love, not love as man imagines it, but love as God defines it. This love is holy, sovereign, and sacrificial. It is perfectly displayed at Calvary, where Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God. To read the Bible rightly is to see that every line points to this redeeming love and to be drawn more deeply into its embrace.

The man who profits from the Word will not remain cold, harsh, or indifferent. He will be softened, sweetened, and sanctified by divine love. Love that is shaped by Scripture is pure and discerning. It does not embrace error or excuse sin. It does not call evil good or treat truth as negotiable. Love rejoices with the truth. The more a soul is filled with God's Word, the more it loves what God loves and hates what God hates. This love, grounded in righteousness, becomes the believer's badge and evidence of saving grace.

Such love expresses itself not in words only, but in deeds. It labors, sacrifices, and serves. It bears with the weak, forgives the offending, and seeks the good of the ungrateful. Only the Word of God, applied by the Spirit of God, can produce this supernatural love. As we abide in the Word and it abides in us, the love of God is perfected in us.

Are we profiting from the Word in this way? Does it cause us to love God more deeply, love truth more fervently, love the brethren more sincerely, and love the lost with a holy compassion? If not, we are hearers only, for love is the sure fruit of divine instruction rightly received.

Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth, so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply from the heart. 1 Peter 1.22