1 Corinthians 16, 14, let all
your things be done with love. Now these are among Paul's final
remarks to this church in this particular letter. And having
written to them so much about love in this letter in chapter
13, we know that's where love is defined. in terms of spiritual
truth, God's definition of love. And he clearly addressed this
as a problem in this church. He leaves this exhortation then
with him in these closing remarks. He, remember particularly 1 Corinthians
8, if you would thumb over to that chapter with me, 1 Corinthians
8, and you'll see, I think, why Paul left this among his closing remarks of this letter.
1 Corinthians 8, 1, now as touching
things offered unto idols, we know that we all have knowledge. Knowledge puffeth up, but love
buildeth up. And if any man thinks that he
knoweth anything, he knoweth nothing yet, as he ought to know. But if any man love God, the
same is known of him. Now there's a lot in that little
passage there. First of all, you see how he,
in what context he had rebuked them regarding love and why he
would mention this in these closing remarks. There was apparently,
these were very wise and gifted believers in the church at Corinth,
but they were very stark and mechanical and heartless in their
knowledge. And so he emphasizes this and
we have chapter 13 where he talks about if you know everything
that you don't have the love of God in you, you're worthless,
you're useless to anybody and you're lost. So this was a subject
that he dealt with throughout this letter quite a bit. But
look how beautiful this passage in chapter eight. He's talking
about their knowledge and how it was puffing them up. And you
read that whole chapter, you see the context of that. They
had this problem. They were puffed up. I know more
than you. Like a lot of pharisaical so-called
Christians are in every age. But what's beautiful is the way
he turns this around Not only the play on words where he says,
knowledge puffeth up, but love buildeth up. Edify means to build
up. But also, if any man think he
knoweth anything, he doesn't know anything yet as he ought
to know, but if you love God, if you love him because he first
loved you, then he knows you. That's salvation, not what you
know. Him knowing you, not you knowing him. Of course, he gives
us a knowledge of himself. But our knowledge is not salvation. Salvation is him knowing me.
So you see some context to our verse tonight. So do things with
love. Do all your things with love,
as opposed to this self-righteous, I know more than you, condemnation
of people. Because that's what people do.
In that parable of the good Samaritan, the Lord said this, it says he
spake this parable to those that trusted in themselves that they
were righteous and despised others. Those two go hand in hand. The
more self-righteous you are, the more you're gonna look down
on everybody else. And that was their problem here. So he said,
do everything you do with love, not with a self-righteous attitude. And you can tell the difference
pretty easy. Someone who has knowledge without love will tell
you all that you're wrong about. Somebody who loves you will tell
you the simple truth of Christ. A so-called preacher who spends
their time ranting about false doctrine and goes into all the
heresies, pretty much using the truth only to prove people wrong,
and they love to debate and argue, and these are the ones that are
puffed up with knowledge. Not hard to tell. There's a difference
between refuting error with the truth, even specific error. There's a difference between
that and just using the truth to beat people up, to accuse
people, and everybody that doesn't agree
with you, basically, is a heretic, and that's so common and so easy
to detect. That's what Paul, Clearly from
the context of the whole letter, that's what he's dealing with.
Do all your things with love. Not this self-righteous attitude
of puffed up knowledge. We know that's one of the things
he's talking about, certainly, because we saw it in the context. The terrible, fruitless wielding
of knowledge in a way that offends rather than teaches and helps
people The gospel is offensive to sinners. There's no question
about that. Those who do not know Christ are gonna be offended
by the gospel, but the message of chapter eight is that the
use of knowledge in an unloving way is offensive in a way that
we should never be offensive. The gospel will be offensive
to sinners that don't know Christ, that hate Christ, but we don't
have to be offensive in delivering it. And we're specifically warned
against that. And of course, our verse tonight
has broad application. In fact, if the word of God itself
can be used in the wrong way to offend, to place a stumbling
block, or as a display of self-righteousness and heartless, loveless reviling
of people, then what would this word things in our text not encompass? if even the scriptures can be
used for that. If the very gospel can be used
as a bludgeon, much more, just our own petty pride and spirit
of contention and judgmental nature can find a million things
to hurt people with and puff ourselves up. So it has broad
application. Let all your things be done with
love. You know, in this world, there's
a saying called, that says familiarity breedeth contempt. And there's
some truth to that. You know, the more you get to
know people in this world, the more you don't like them. That's
not so in God's church. It's not that way. Some think
it is, but it's not that way. Some think it's better not to
get to know each other too much, you know. That's true. Then we're not the Church of
God because he said this is how people are gonna know that you're
mine that you love one another You love one And so it's just not that way
in God's Church look at verse 15 I Beseech you brethren You
know the house of Stephanus that it is the firstfruits of Achaia
apparently the first and among the first believers in Achaia,
where Paul had preached apparently. So he calls them the first fruits. He said, you know them and you
know this, that they have addicted themselves to the ministry of
the saints. You can't do that without everybody
knowing it, can you? Now you submit yourselves unto
such and to everyone that helpeth with us and laboreth. And this
is just a refreshing passage of scripture. We've talked quite
a bit over our studies, how essential this is. The church is not a
lecture hall. It's not just a place where somebody
stands up and speaks, however important the subject is, and
people come and listen and either agree or disagree and go home.
That's not what God's church is. Being a member of Christ's
church is to be part of the family of God. It's to be fellow laborers
in a cause, in a ministry, in his ministry. To be invested in loving one
another. I've tried to describe this before.
as I see it in the scriptures, and I haven't done a very good
job, I don't think, to be invested in loving one another. That's what happens in a church.
To love someone is to be invested in them. In a strange sense,
it's a dangerous thing to love somebody, because now not only
do things affect you directly, but whatever affects them now
affects you too. and that can hurt, that can be painful. Love itself
obligates me. I hope this is halfway clear. Love obligates me, not in a legal
way, of course, but by way of the heart. It obligates me to
defend you, to provide for you, to help you, to sympathize with
you. And I guess just by loving a person, I obligate
myself to do anything and everything for them. That's what real love
is. No greater love hath no man than
this, and a man lay down his life for his friends. You see what I mean by love? It's a commitment. It's an investment
in somebody. It's an obligation. It's a self-obligation. Is that not true of our Savior?
What caused the Savior to obligate himself to give his very soul
as an offering for our sins? He's not obligated. to save anybody
until he says, I will have mercy. Now he's obligated. He obligated
himself. What would cause him to do that? We know the answer to that. He
so loved that he gave his only begotten son. Because he loved us though, he
counted it a joy. You remember that from the scriptures?
For the joy that was set before him, he endured the cross, counting
the shame a small thing. And likewise, we ought to count
it such a joy, such a privilege to have a friend, to have a brother,
a sister in Christ, that we will deprive ourselves, we will suffer
with them or for them, we will give of ourselves, we will labor
with them and for them. Our text says that, has that
word in it, labor. And in reality, love is not a
feeling, but it's better defined by those things done. Do all your things, those things
done. Those are what define love. rather than by a feeling. So
it is with our love for Christ and
love for one another. It's the same way. Of course, it's not the same in
every way as Christ's love, but it's like it, isn't it? It's
like it. He did say, love one another
as I've loved you. And he's the one that gives the
grace to do that. Paul has exhorted us to love
in verse 14. And in verse 15, he's given us
an example of it. Somebody that just can't get
enough of being used by God to be a
blessing to his people. And by encouraging us to submit
to such, to join in with them in being a help and a laborer,
we see what love really is. It's defined by commitment. Our
marriage vows were empty words unless they describe a reality
in our hearts. How many times are those vows
given in vain? Because there's no heart at the
core of it. And so it is with claiming to
be a member of Christ's church. Oh, I'm a member down at so-and-so
Baptist church. Are you? It's vain, it's empty. Without those two words at the
end of verse 16, help and labor. Help and labor. Love. Love. That's how we are known as his
people. The love that he shed abroad
in our hearts for himself and for one another. Let all your
things be done with love. And that happens because of what's
in the heart. It doesn't say just be sure that
you have strong feelings for one another. It defines it. It assumes action,
doesn't it, in the text. Let all your things be done with
love. Look at verse 17. I'm glad of the coming of Stephanas,
and Fortunatus, and Achaus, for that which was lacking on your
part, they have supplied, for they have refreshed my spirit
and yours. Therefore, acknowledge ye them
that are such. I just really noticed that last
phrase. Acknowledge them that are such.
They're that way. It's not just something that
they did one time. It's how they are. Isn't that
beautiful? The word refresh there means
to give rest. To give rest to your soul. There
are folks that are that way. They're that way. I want to be
like that, and I thank God for those who are like that, them
that are such. To refresh the spirit of God's
people, that's a gift from the Lord himself. We realize more and more in the
scripture that one of the greatest ways that
the Lord blesses his people is by his people. acknowledge them that are such,
we don't brag on one another the way the world does. I don't
know if you've ever been to a free will church. I have many times. All they do is brag on one another.
It really is that way. The preaching is a big bragging
session. They have testimonials where
they brag and they recognize people. Every 10 days, it's some kind
of a day for somebody. Let's recognize the mothers,
let's recognize the graduates. And we do that too, but not, that's not the worship. You understand. It's a big old thing in the church
of man, man, man. And that's pretty much what it's
all about. It's all up to you, it's all for you, it's all about
you, it's all because of you. We don't brag on one another
like that, the way religion is known to do. But we're taught
in the scripture to give honor where honor is due. That is to give the glory all
to God and to be thankful for the ones that God uses to bless
his people. Paul called these individuals
by name. There's not a thing in the world
wrong with that. You know, it's interesting, it's very offensive
and very almost scandalous in the church to do that, in a sense,
because people get offended both ways. You know, Paul identified
specifically by name heretics too. He wasn't scared to do it. I'm telling you, I've given you
this illustration before, you know, if you see a snake in the
backyard and your children are out there playing, you don't
just say, well, there might be some snakes out here, be careful.
No, you say, watch out, there's a snake, get in the house. There's
a snake right there. That's what Paul did. He said,
there he is right there. Here's his name. He's a snake.
Stay away from him. That's offensive for, for, self-explanatory
reasons, but also if you recognize somebody, well, my husband did
that too, or I did that, you know, I've got, you know, what
about me? Paul wasn't afraid to do it, that's my point. He
wasn't afraid to do it. He thanked God for them. He did
it publicly, he did it openly. And told the church, he instructed
the church to acknowledge them also. And I think that's a lesson for
us too. We need to do that, of course, in the right way, but
we need to do that. We need to do that. Be thankful. We have examples. The Lord lays on different people's
heart at different times to champion certain things, and that's a
real blessing. I'm thankful for that. We have
in these, Two verses also, 16 and 17 and 18. I'm glad for these folks, he
said. That which was lacking on your part, they supplied.
They refreshed my spirit. They supplied a need, whatever
that was. We don't know specifically what
that was, but he said they supplied what was lacking. And listen,
we have a living example of that in, We have a living example in those
two verses in our text of what's taught in James 2.15. If you
want to turn there, I'm going to be pretty brief tonight. So
if you turn over there to James 2.15, think about what Paul's
saying now. He's commending these folks and he's saying, they supply
the need. In religion, by the way, I was
in it for a good many of my preteen and teen years, so I
know quite a bit about what goes on in it. They'd have big pledges, pledge drives and things,
and everybody would stand up, I pledge to give this much, and
everybody had to outdo the one before. Can you imagine that
in a worship service? It wasn't a worship service,
that was the problem. And everybody would pledge this,
and they'd stand up and do it in front of everybody. Pledge
this much money, pledge that much money. And the preacher
would say, well, we've got over what we need. And then they'd
end up having to borrow money to pay for whatever it was, because
everybody pledging is one thing, but taking money out of their
pockets is another. But listen to James 2.15, if
a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily food,
and one of you say unto them, depart in peace, be ye warmed
and filled, notwithstanding you give them not those things which
are needful to the body, what doth it profit? It doesn't help
at all just to say something. I mean, I'm not saying that that's
never helpful to encourage somebody, but if you say, if you encourage
them and then don't help them in what they need, Then is that
encouraging later when they realize you didn't do anything for them?
That's discouraging. That you had good wishes for
them, but you weren't willing to help them out. That's not
encouraging. That's not profitable in any
way. And so you see that they supplied
a need. There was a need and they supplied
it. And I thank God. Paul clearly delighted in that. He mentioned their names. He
said, submit to them, join in with them, encourage them, acknowledge
them. It was a blessing to him. And
I understand that because it's a blessing to me. I see that
so much. I'm thankful when the Lord uses
somebody to be a blessing in any way. James is illustrating saving
faith by that. hypothetical right there that
we just read in James 2 and The principle taught by it is valid
also with regard to love If you love somebody If you see it's
one thing to say you do But when he gives the example
of what he taught in verse 14 do all your things with love
now here's some folks that do that and and He named them and
he said, this is how that happens. Needs are supplied. Things are
done. That's how that works. Also with regard to love as defined
in 1 Corinthians 13. You see how verse 14 echoes through
all of this, the rest of this chapter. Do all your things. with love. Verse 19 will be. I don't know how long we've been
in first Corinthians, but you've been a blessing to me. Verse
19, the churches of Asia salute you. Aquila and Priscilla salute
you much in the Lord. With the church that is in their
house. All the brethren greet you. Greet
ye one another with an holy kiss. Now God's people meet wherever
they can. And that's interesting in this,
just in, you know, closing remarks and not even exhortations, just,
you know, these folks say hello and, you know, that type of thing
we learn about Something about the Lord's people. They meet
where they worship the Lord, wherever they are, wherever they
can. If that's in somebody's house, then that's where they
meet. They worship there. They hear the gospel there. I've probably worn this story
out, but I know I've told it a few times over the years, but
we were meeting for a while in that little house
over on Boyd Mill Avenue. Most of you will remember that.
We decided to sell that property and look for some property that
we could build a building on. In the meantime, while we were
looking, we met in some temporary locations that I thought were
very suitable for it. Anyway, while we were meeting
in these temporary locations, temporary places while we were
looking for property. One of the people told me that
another one who had stopped coming and that one of the folks had
stopped, we didn't see him since we left the house on Boyd Mill.
I hadn't seen him in a long time. And one of the other people told
me that that person said that whenever we figure out what we're
going to do, you know, they might come back. And some of you know
me enough to know that how I might react to something like that. I don't know if I'm proud of
it or ashamed of it, but I told her, I said, you tell that person
that we figured out exactly what we're gonna do. I said, we're
gonna worship God anywhere we can. That's what we've been doing
and that's what we're gonna do. You make sure they understand
that. I don't know if that ever got
passed on or not, but that just upset me. God's people are gonna
get together, and they're gonna hear the gospel, and they're
gonna worship. Wherever they are, wherever God gathers two
or three of us together, that's what we're gonna do. And it may
be in not so great circumstances, and it may be in wonderful circumstances
like these, but the Lord's people are gonna worship him, and that's
a blessing to see that here. Everywhere, and Paul, he wasn't
too busy to stop by these people's house and preach to them. That just blessed me, just. We've talked before about kissing.
Y'all may remember that. Greet one another with a holy
kiss. That doesn't, that's not a statute, you know, it's not
required to do, but it's obviously not forbidden to do, right? Some people are uncomfortable
with hugging, and that's fine. It's not hard to tell when they
are, just don't do it anymore, you know? But the scriptures
are clear that it's not a problem unless you make it one. And some
people have, and that's a fact. Verse 22, let's close. Verse
22, the Lord Jesus Christ, If any man love not the Lord
Jesus Christ, let him be anathema maranatha. Can you imagine religion
as it is in this world, so-called Christians of this world saying
something like that? If you don't love the Savior,
you ought to go to hell. And when the Lord comes back,
I hope he puts you in hell. That doesn't sound like something
you'd hear down at the First Avenue Baptist Church, does it? This is not a consigning people
to hell. This is an exaltation of how
lovely the Savior is. He's so altogether lovely that
if you don't love him, then there's just one place for you. There's
just one place for you. This doesn't, it's not mean-spirited. It's just stating the fact that
the Lord Jesus Christ, that's our problem. That's what
sin is. Sin is not we ate the wrong fruit. Sin is hating God. And when God
came down here, and look, there's no in between. You can't just
kind of, you know, take or leave the Lord Jesus Christ. They say
that, isn't it time to try Jesus? No, you don't do that. You either
love him or you hate him. And that's what people need to
understand. And this is what sin is. This
is the condemnation that God sent his son into this world.
And we loved ourselves and hated his son. We loved our darkness
and hated God's light, the light of the world, that we showed
that hatred in every possible way we could as we murdered him. And you might think, as a believer,
you might ask the question, how in the world could somebody not
love Christ? You ever think about that? What
problem could people possibly have with Him doing everything
to save you and you don't need to do anything? How can you have
a problem with that? Well, we know how, don't we?
It's because of self-righteousness. It's because we despise the Son
of God. It's because we're boasters in
ourselves and haters of God's Son. And listen to it in 2 Timothy
3.2. This is why, this is how somebody
could not love the Savior. For men shall be lovers of their
own selves. It's gonna be one or the other,
isn't it? It's gonna be one or the other. Men shall be lovers
of their own selves, covetous. Desiring everything, it's all
about me, me, me, me. Give to me, exalt me. Boasters, look at me. Give it
to me, look at me. Proud. Blasphemers, listen to
me. Don't listen to God, listen to
me. Blasphemers. Disobedient to parents. And you
think, well, boy, that's kind of strange in there. Listed with
blasphemers is not obeying your parents. Do you remember that the scripture
says, if you don't chase in your child, you hate him. And then if you chase in them,
you can save their soul from hell. You remember that in the
scripture? Despising God's authority is
despising God's authority. Whether it's in the home, in
the church, wherever you are. To rebel against God is to rebel
against God. And that starts as a little child. Disobedient to parents. Unthankful. Remember how that's listed among
all the horrible sins in Romans chapter one? Neither were thankful. Unholy. Where'd all this start? With
loving me and not God. Unholy, without natural affection,
truce breakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers
of those that are good. All Abel did was love God, and
that caused Cain to hate him. By the grace of God, he loved
God and obeyed God, and Cain despised him for it. Now, who he really hated was
God. If he could have killed God, he would have killed God.
When we could, we did. But he couldn't kill God at that
time, so he killed God's son, his sheep. Despisers of those that are good,
traitors, no honor. There's no honor anymore. There
never has been, except where God blesses. Heady, high-minded,
lovers of pleasure, more than lovers of God. So that may sound harsh for Paul
to say, if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him go
to hell when the Lord comes. If you don't love the Lord Jesus
Christ, you're a monster. You're an absolute monster, and
so am I. And as I said, it's gonna be
one or the other. It's gonna be you or him. You're gonna love
you or you're gonna love him. Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou
me? Lovest thou me? And Simon confessed his love
for the Savior. And it's interesting to quote this in the context
of our entire passage tonight, because you remember what the
Lord did when Simon confessed his love for the Lord? The Lord
said, do something about it. In fact, didn't He? Do something
about it. And that's what love is, by God's
grace. We love the Lord Jesus because
He first loved us, and love's not just a feeling. May He give us grace to love,
not in word only, but in deed. It'll be His doing, we know that.
We'll praise Him for it if He's gracious to us. Let's pray.