Good morning. Let's open this
morning's service with hymn number 21 from your gospel hymn spiral,
hymn book number 21, The Covenant, Ordered and Sure. Let's all stand
together. God the Father and the Son and
the Spirit, three in one, in eternal ages past, made a covenant
sure and fast. God my Father chose his own,
in the person of His Son, and ordained that I should be one
with Him eternally. God the Son agreed to come in
the flesh to bring me home. He would keep God's holy law
and retrieve me from the fall. Christ, in love so willingly,
Stood as my great surety, For my price He offered blood To
appease the wrath of God. God the Spirit, Heavenly Dove,
promised to come down in love, bringing life and peace and grace
to the chosen, purchased race. He seeks the lost, heals the
lame, And He brings us to the Lamb, By His mighty sovereign
call, God's elect are gathered all. This poor sinner is secure,
for God's covenant will endure. It is sealed by God's own word,
by His Spirit and His blood. Blessed Holy Covenant God, I
am yours by ties of blood, ties of grace and ties of love. Hold me to my God above. Please be seated. Don't you love that hymn? That's
the gospel. God's covenant promise. Save
his people. We're going to continue our study
in 1 Corinthians this morning if you'd like to turn with me
in your Bibles to chapter 13. 1 Corinthians chapter 13. That hymn we just sang, man-made religion
is all based on the promises that men make to God. And the
hope of man's salvation is based on how faithful he is in keeping
his promises. The truth of the gospel of God's
free grace in the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ is the
promise that God the Father made to God the Son to accept the
sacrifice that he made on behalf of his people. And the promise
that Christ made to satisfy the demands of God's law, fulfilling
all righteousness, That promise can't be broken. That promise
was kept and God's people, as we just sang, were saved. And what a blessed hope we have. Not having to look at our promises
to God, but His promise to us. That's the covenant we just sang
about. And that's such an appropriate introduction to this chapter
on the love of Christ. So many people look at 1 Corinthians
chapter 13 as a description of our love to God. We do love Him. We love Him only because He first
loved us. And the scripture says, herein
is love, not that you love God. but that Christ, God, loved you
and gave himself as a propitiation for our sins. There's the definition
of love. So we don't look at our love
to God and try to figure out You know what love is. We look
at the love that the Lord has toward us. And that's the definition
that's given to us in chapter 13. So let's pray together before
we begin. Our Heavenly Father, we're so
very thankful for the revelation that You have given us of the
love of Christ. And oh, how we pray that the
love of Christ would constrain us, would cause us to look and
hope to Him for all our righteousness. We hope that All our sins been
put away in the sacrifice that he made of himself once and for
all. We ask, Father, that you would
send your Holy Spirit now, that you would unstop our ears, that
you would open our eyes, that you would enable us to set our
affections on things above where Christ is seated at the right
hand of God. Know how thankful we are for that eternal covenant
of grace. whereby we can rest our hopes
and our souls in the promise that was kept perfectly in the
finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ. For it's in his name
we pray. Amen. Scripture says, Beloved, let
us love one another. Let us love one another, for
love is of God, and he that loveth is born of God, and he that loveth
not knoweth not God, for God is love." God is love. Hearing is love, not that we
love God, but that He loved us and gave His Son as a propitiation
for our sins. First Corinthians chapter 13
is known in the religious world as the love chapter. probably
read it ninety percent of weddings uh... and uh... and and men use
it as a as a measuring stick for their own love and uh... comparing themselves to themselves
they take comfort in thinking that well i'm loving better now
than i used to and so therefore i must have hope and assurance
of my salvation uh... You know, I was thinking a small
child's life is very simple. The reason why it's very simple
is because they learn everything by observation. Life only becomes
complicated for a child when they begin to question the things
that they observe. As long as they're young and
they're just learning by simple observation, things are real
simple. But when they get to the point to where they begin
to question the authority, and of course the problem with children
is that not only are they sinners, but they have sinners as parents
who are not always consistent. Parents who say, do what I say,
not what I do. And so that's when life gets
complicated for a child. as long as they have simple childlike
faith things are very simple and as long as the example that
they're following is consistent I'm there's never a question
is there we have a consistent example the Lord says that lest
you become as a little child you shall not enter into the
kingdom of God suffer the little children to come unto me, for
such are the kingdom of God." Such is the kingdom of God. We're but little children. We
don't question the authority or the example of our Heavenly
Father. We have a perfect example. not
like our parents not like the parents that we've tried to be
uh... we've got a perfect example and in that regard life for the
believer is simple we have a single uh... we're looking towards christ
and uh... my hope this morning is that
We will see in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 and in the passage
we're going to look at in Isaiah 43 as well because the the theme
this morning will continue hopefully into the second hour, a description
of the love of Christ. Not my love for Christ, but the
love of Christ. And I'm convinced that if our
affections are set on things above where Christ is seated
at the right hand of God, that the love of Christ will constrain
us. the love of christ will cause
us to love him and to love one another so rather than measuring
ourselves by some standard let's see this as a perfect description
of christ and uh... and and look to him uh... he's
up perfect example in perfect love and the scripture says that
perfect love cast it out fear so there's no fear of condemnation
there's no fear of the law there's no fear of judgment when we are
looking at perfect love our love fall so far short of being perfect
doesn't One day, Paul ends this chapter
by saying, when I was a child, I thought as a child, I acted
like a child, but when I become adult, when I became an adult,
I put away childish things. He's talking about that day when
we see Him as He is and are made like Him. What a glorious day
that'll be when our love becomes perfect love. That's how this
chapter ends. It's ending with the believer's
hope for that day when my love will not be infected with my
sin and with my flesh. I'll have left all that behind and love will be the only thing
I'll have. Perfect love. Perfect love. All right. Scripture also says, greater
love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his
friends. No longer do I call you my servant,
for a servant doesn't know what his master does. I call you my
friends. We know what the Lord Jesus Christ
did when he laid down his life. He laid down his life in order
to satisfy the demands of God's justice, in order to put away
the sins of his people. He died for his sheep. He didn't
lay down his life arbitrarily for all men. He actually went
to the cross with an objective. His objective was to satisfy
the demands of God's justice for God's elect, those whom God
chose in that covenant of grace we just sang about. And we know
what he did. And so he says, I call you my
friends. I've laid my life down for you.
And herein is the greatest description of love. John chapter 3 verse
16. Everybody thinks that it's a
general offer of salvation to all men, but we know that the
world used in that verse is speaking of those outside of Israel. Talking
about us Gentiles. For God so loved... He's talking
to Nicodemus. Nicodemus is a leader of the
Jews. He's convinced that the gospel,
that salvation is only available for Israelites. And the Lord's
making it clear to him, Nicodemus, you can't see the kingdom of
God until you're born again. And how does John 3.16 start
out? For God so loved the world that
He gave His only begotten Son. whosoever believeth on him shall
not perish but have everlasting life." Everyone that believes
on Christ. And then in Romans chapter 5,
scarcely for a righteous man will one die uh... self-righteous that's what john
chapter five son about his time about someone is self-righteous
are you not gonna you not only a life down for self-righteous
man uh... and then he goes on to say yet
per adventure for a good man some might dare to die but god
commended his love toward us in that while we were yet sinners
christ died for us. God commended His love toward
us and that while we were yet sinners, we were worse than self-righteous. We certainly weren't a good man.
And the Lord laid down His life. uh... for us here's the definition
uh... love all right you have your
bibles open to uh... first corinthians chapter thirteen
though i speak with the tongues of men and angels and have not
now why the translators use the word charity and this chapter
i don't know because everywhere else this word agape is used
it's translated love for some reason here in chapter 13 is
translated charity but it is the word ago pay and it is the
word love okay so though I speak with the tongues of men and angels
now in other words what he's saying is though I'm able to
speak eloquently in every known language how many are there are
others 5,000 but 10,000 how many languages
there are in the world there's thousands of languages in the
world if I was capable of communicating eloquently in every language
and even spoke the language of heaven and had not love in other
words had not Christ number God is love. If I was an eloquent
speaker, but I did not have Christ, I am become as a sounding brass
and a tinkling cymbal. And that's all most preaching
is. Don't be impressed by the delivery of men. listen to the
content is Christ being preached Paul said we profess to know
nothing among you save Christ and him crucified we preach the
person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ that's that's all we preach
we're not preaching the rules and regulations were not preaching
the law were preaching Christ and and there's a lot of sounding
brass and tinkling cymbals in religion isn't there and once
once your ear is tuned to hear of Christ then you then you're
annoyed by that sounding brass and tinkling cymbal aren't you
there's plenty of preachers in the world who could call themselves
doctor sounding brass or doctor tinkling cymbal uh... and uh... and they tickle men's ears as
the Scripture says, telling men what they want to hear. But they're without Christ. They're without Christ. And what
does Scripture say? They are nothing. Nothing. Verse 2, And though I have the
gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge,
and though I have all faith, so that I can remove mountains,
and have not Christ, have not love, I don't have the love of
Christ in my heart. I don't know Christ. I'm nothing. If I understood all the details
of history, if I knew all the nuances of theology, if I had
read all the theologians and had committed to memory all the
scriptures, there's a lot of people that do that. on very
very educated people in religion uh... but they don't have christ
they don't have christ and so what's the lord say the nothing
all their knowledge knowledge pops up love edifice love edifice
is the love of Christ that edifies us that builds us up it gives
us the hope of our salvation and all that knowledge is nothing
more than an attempt to impress men and intimidate men and God's
not impressed with it look at time and I have all faith you
know some people just have a disposition for being able to trust and some
people are more suspicious i'm sure it has something to do with
way were raised i don't know but uh... but i've met people
who don't know the gospel don't know christ who are very trusting
you know, and they just go through life with sort of a spirit of
faith about everything. And the Lord says that if you
have perfect faith, you say that you're trusting God for everything,
but you don't have Christ. You're not trusting God for your
salvation. And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, I made the ultimate sacrifice.
I've turned my back on all worldly goods. I've become a Mother Teresa. I've become a suicide bomber. I've forsaken everything. Men have gone to remote areas
of the world to be a witness for god as a missionary to uh... to tribes of people only to become
the main course at their next dinner you know i mean they they
that happens people have gone in the name of god you know to
be a to be a missionary and and they've been put to death by
the people that they went to And what the Lord's saying here,
even if you do that, that's not going to earn you your salvation.
You see, no amount of sacrifice, no amount of knowledge, no amount
of ability, no amount of faith is going to save you. That's exactly what He's saying
here. The only hope of our salvation is Christ. He's the only one
that can save. And He's got to do it. He's got
to do it all. He's the Alpha and the Omega,
the beginning and the end. He's got to elect you. He's got to redeem you. He's
got to regenerate you. He's got to sanctify you. He's
got to keep you. He's got to present you faultless.
He gets all the glory. So nothing we do is going to
merit us any favor with God. not so contrary to what to what
men teach on this this very passage a scripture and all the scriptures
for that matter verse 3 and though I bestow all
my goods to feed the poor and though I give my body to be burned
and have not love have not the love of Christ in
my heart I'm nothing. It profiteth me
nothing. It's of no profit. It's of no
value. I'll go to the same hell that
the man who doesn't do any of these things will go to. It profits
me nothing. Now, verse 4, he begins to define
love. Remember, this is the definition
of the love of Christ. The love of Christ. The one that
we follow after. And the love of Christ is what
constraineth us. And we will love Him because
He first loved us. But our love is so... We try
to measure our love by these standards. and we're honest we're
gonna find ourselves falling far short of the love of Christ
army verse four love suffereth long he is full of compassion he is
full of long-suffering I've loved you with an everlasting love
never was there beginning to my love never will the beaten
until i love you can exhaust my love and that's not true of
us is it that's not true of us we love people expecting some
reciprocation from that love don't we uh... people people
say you know they They make God to be as they are themselves. That's what the scripture says.
You thought that I was altogether as yourself. And so when we say
that God doesn't love everybody, men recoil to that because they
say, well, if I was God, I'd love everybody. Well, why don't
you love everybody? Why don't you love everybody?
We don't, do we? We love those who love us. And we're real good at withholding
our love for the purpose of manipulating someone, aren't we? We do that
in our marriages. We do that with our children. We can't say, our love suffereth
long. Not in the sense that this is a definition of God's love.
It's long-suffering. It never changes. never changes. I am the Lord and I change not
therefore you sons of Jacob are not consumed. His love for you
when you sin and when you act rebellious toward Him is exactly
the same when you are broken by His Spirit and pouring out
your heart for grace and mercy. It doesn't change. It's long-suffering. it's exactly the same all the
time why cuz he doesn't change the same love that he placed
on us in Christ before time ever began is the love that he has
for us now perfect love all the time now whose lover you looking
at your love or his love see the only hope that we have of
not being so manipulative and fickle in our love is to set
our affections on his love. His love is kind. It's kind. His only, only kindness
toward his children. He doesn't beat his children.
He doesn't abuse them. He's kind towards them. I know
the thoughts that I have for you. Thoughts of good, not of
evil. I'm going to bring you to your
expected end. My love to you is perfect. It's going to be effectual. It's
going to accomplish the purpose that I have for it. I'm gonna
break your heart. I'm gonna make you love me. Now,
more importantly, I'm gonna make you to see how much I love you. Charity envieth not. Now, if you listen to the message of salvation that
men preach today, It is that God loves everybody,
Christ died for everybody, God wants everybody to be saved,
he's doing his best, but he has put into your hands the trump
card. He has put into your hands the
power. You're the one who makes the
final decision. God's voted for you, the devil
votes against you, you break the tie. Now, that God has reason
to envy you. You got more power than He does. Our God envieth not. He doesn't
look at us with any envy. He doesn't have any worries about
making sure that His people are going to be saved. He's got power
over our wills. And the scripture says that He
will make us willing in the day of His power. When He's ready
to open the eyes of your understanding and unstop your ears and take
out your heart of stone and put in a heart of flesh, He's going
to do it. He doesn't envy us. the god of modern-day religion
is a is just a a little god isn't he's just he's he's completely
dependent upon not man to do his part so that he can have
his way now if I was that god I would envy man when you are
god in via not Verse 4, love vaunteth not itself. It is not rash. It is quiet,
humble. convincing. He shall not lift
up nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets. He doesn't
have to manipulate men. He's not harsh in his treatment
of his sheep. He doesn't fleece his sheep.
He doesn't beat his sheep. He works effectually in their
hearts and makes them willing. It is not puffed up. It's not
proud. It's not self-promoting. He did everything he did for
the glory of his father and for the salvation of his people.
He wasn't. He didn't come into this world
to puff himself up in regards of protecting himself. He laid
down his life for sheep. He's called the meek and mild
Savior. Now he's puffed up beyond glory
in our hearts, isn't he? Uh, but he didn't have to be
puffed up to accomplish that. All he had to do was reveal himself
in his true nature to us. And, um, he's, he's beyond, uh,
beyond our comprehension, not unto us, not unto us, but
unto thy name be glory for thy mercy and for thy truth
sake. verse 5 love does not behave
itself unseemly for how unseemly we are and our
behavior towards the people the very people that we love the
most I what that to me to murder somebody that
would be an active of of hatred wouldn't be an act of hatred
toward somebody to murder them people talk about uh... being
a hate crime all murders a crime uh... and yet when the lord talked
about murder he said uh... he said you have heard it said
that if you murder your brother take your brother's life you
commit you you're guilty of murder but I sent to you but if you
have anger in your heart without a cause toward your brother you've
committed murder in your heart there's nobody in this world
I love more than more than my wife I'm but I cannot tell you in
45 years how many times I've had I've I've had anger in my
heart toward her without a cause without a cause. I was just in
a bad mood. You've done it too, haven't you?
Are you going to measure your love by that? It does not behave itself unseemly. How unseemly we are in the way
we express our love to one another. Lord, I don't want to be that
way. I want to see. His love toward us is never unseemly. Seeketh not her own. Everything the Lord Jesus Christ
did was for his bride. Everything. Husbands, love your wives. Christ
loved the church and gave himself for it. That's the kind of love
we want, isn't it? It's not going to happen unless
we look at the love that Christ had for his church. He is not easily provoked. He's not easily provoked. Aren't
you glad? Aren't you glad he's not easily
provoked? How many times do you provoke the Lord? Oh Lord, I'm so thankful. Now that's the kind of love I
want to have. I want to have a love that's patient and kind,
a love that's not easily provoked. Thinketh no evil. He doesn't think evil toward
us. And we just saw in Isaiah chapter 42, who is so blind as
my servant ever seeing but observing not. He looks at us and he doesn't
see our sin. So he thinks no evil toward us.
He doesn't look at, he doesn't see what we see. He sees us perfectly righteous
in Christ. He thinks no evil toward us. Verse 6, He rejoiceth not in
iniquity. Now the world rejoices in iniquity. What is this word, iniquity?
The Lord describes sin with three words in the scriptures, and
all three of those words can be found in Exodus chapter 34,
I think it's around verse 4 or 5, where he says, uh, transgression,
sin, and iniquity. Uh, well, actually he says, forgiving
iniquity, transgression, and sin. forgiving iniquity transgression
and sin let's take them in reverse order sends what we are send
is what we are that's our nature there's nothing that outside
of the righteousness of the lord jesus christ that is anything
but sin in us now that's what the natural man can't see and
when god sends the spirit of god he sends his spirit to convict
men of sin because they believe not on him. The only hope that
we have of being sinless before God is believing on the Lord
Jesus Christ for all our righteousness before God. Outside of believing
on him, we're nothing but sin. Man thinks that sin's the bad
things he does. No, that's transgression. are
the three things iniquity transgression and sin sin is what we are that's
our nature transgression is what we do in violating the Word of
God you wanna think about it like this sienna is the noun
and transgression is the bird and when we when we act outside
of the law of God we are transgressing God's law iniquity he forgives
iniquity transgression and sin iniquity is the good things we
do that's the good things we do
the scripture says our righteousness is are as filthy rags before
God now men rejoice in iniquity They rejoice in the good things
they do. They're proud of their good works.
And they'll be quick to tell you about it. And if they don't
tell you about it, then in their hearts, they're comparing themselves
to themselves, believing they're getting better. They're comparing
themselves to other men, thinking that they're, well, at least
I'm above average. Men rejoice in iniquity. iniquity what's that word mean
on the equal so men do good works thinking that that they're going
to balance out the scale you know that that's the image that
people have of god and salvation you got got a balance scale and
have on my name on it and every time i said it goes on one side
my do some good it goes on the other side and the hope is that
when i die my good works well with baby well way my bad works
in that in that way man thing going about trying to establish
their own righteousness and God says all those things that you
think you're putting on the good side of the scale they're actually
piling up more weight on the bad side you're just adding to your sin
I'm calling it iniquity it doesn't add up it doesn't measure up
it doesn't balance the scale and the scripture says that God
doesn't rejoice in iniquity he doesn't doesn't do what we
do it and and love if god puts the love of christ in our hearts
then we we don't rejoice in our good works thinking that somehow
we balanced out the scale but look at the last part of
our six rejoices in the truth. For this cause came I unto the
world, for this reason why I was born, to bear witness unto the
truth. My sheep hear my voice, they
follow after me. I am the way, the truth. What
is the truth? The truth is everything we've
been saying. The truth is I have no righteousness outside of Christ.
The truth is that the Lord Jesus Christ is all my righteousness
before God. And I rejoice in Him. He is the
truth. Oh, so much to this chapter in
there. read the rest of this chapter
with the love of christ as the uh... as the the purpose of this
and uh... will will pick back up on it
at another time alright let's let's take a break I'll make sure I...