Let us commence our service tonight
by singing together hymn number 1066. The tune is Evan 136. Do not I love thee dearest Lord,
behold my heart and see, and cast each hated idol down that
dares to rival thee. Hymn 1066. Tune Evan, 136. But I will be dearest to thee,
Behold my thought and see. When cross be chained, dead I
will come, ? That is to right all things ? ? You know I'm coming for my soul
? ? Then let me not in doubt ? ? Carry my heart to Meryton ? ?
When Jesus cannot move ? ? Is not thy name there ? ? Glorious
still to my attentive ear ? ? Till the holy night is gone ? ? Of the night ? ? And his voice to hear ? ? Last hour of life
? ? In all thy power ? I want this pain to be The sound of
hope before whose face I pray I close to be Let us read together from the
Holy Word of God in the First Epistle to Timothy, Chapter 1. The First Epistle to Timothy,
Chapter 1. Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ,
by the commandment of God our Saviour, and Lord Jesus Christ
which is our hope. Unto Timothy, my own son in the
faith, grace, mercy and peace from God our Father and Jesus
Christ our Lord. As I besought thee to abide still
at Ephesus, when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest
charge some that they teach no other doctrine neither give heed
to fables and endless genealogies which minister questions rather
than godly edifying which is in faith, so do. For the end of the commandment
is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and
of faith unfeigned, from which some, having swerved have turned
aside unto vain jangling, desiring to be teachers of the law, understanding
neither what they say nor whereof they affirm. But we know that the law is good
if a man use it lawfully, knowing this, that the law is not made
for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient for
the ungodly and for sinners, for unholy and profane, for murderers
of fathers and murderers of mothers, for manslayers, for whoremongers,
for them that defile themselves with mankind, for men-stealers,
for liars, for perjured persons. And if there be any other thing
that is contrary to sound doctrine, according to the glorious gospel
of the blessed God, which was committed to my trust. And I
thank Christ Jesus, our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that
he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry, who was
before a blasphemer and a persecutor and injurious, but I obtained
mercy because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of
our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is
in Christ Jesus. This is a faithful saying and
worthy of all acceptation that Christ Jesus came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief. Albeit for this cause,
I obtained mercy that in me first Jesus Christ might show forth
all longsuffering, for a pattern to them which should hereafter
believe on him to life everlasting. Now unto the King eternal, immortal,
invisible, the only wise God, be honour and glory for ever
and ever. Amen. This charge I commit unto
thee, son Timothy, according to the prophecies which went
before on thee, that thou by them mightest war a good warfare,
holding faith and a good conscience, which some, having put away concerning
faith, have made shipwreck, of whom is Hymenaeus and Alexander. whom I have delivered unto Satan,
that they may learn not to blaspheme. May the Lord bless the reading
of his own precious word and grant unto us a spirit of real
prayer. Holy, holy, holy, Lord God Almighty,
which is an art, an art to come, Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. We bow before thy great majesty. We desire that thou would meet
with us here tonight. We have met together and all
professedly to worship thee. We need thy Holy Spirit. We need
his heavenly power. We need his divine unction. We need that to be poured upon
us, O Lord, from on high, as we gather together around thy
Word. We need thee to give us words to speak, and ears to hear,
and hearts to receive thy Word. And we need grace to practice
what we hear, and to do the things that we ought to do. Lord, grant
us these things we do humbly beseech thee, and graciously
bless us as a church and as a congregation, and work mightily and powerfully
and effectually to the great glory of thy name, to the good
of precious souls. Lord, we do pray that thou wouldst
confirm us in the faith, the faith as it is in Jesus, We pray
that thou would strengthen our faith and our love and that we
may follow thee and serve thee in our day and in our generation. We pray, most gracious Lord,
to be delivered from an evil heart of unbelief, from the power
and dominion of sin, from the temptations of Satan, Lord, we
are surrounded with enemies. We are surrounded in the day
in which we live with the spirit of antichrist and darkness and bondage that
comes with it. We pray to be delivered from
it. We pray that the glory and light of the gospel may shine
into our hearts, that we might experiment and know the wonder
and truth of that word for God who commanded the light to shine
out of darkness, have shined into our hearts with the light
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. We do thank thee for that light. We do thank thee for those words
of our Lord Jesus, all power is given unto me in heaven and
in earth. We thank thee, Lord, For those lovely words of grace,
alleluia. For the Lord God omnipotent reigneth. We pray that thou wouldst come
and reign in our hearts. Come and reign in our affections.
Come and draw us unto thyself. None come except the Father draw. Oh, to know those sacred drawings
of our heavenly Father as we gather around thy Word. that
we may truly worship thee. For God has sent forth the spirit
of his Son into our hearts, crying, Abba, Father. Lord, may we have
that sacred experience to be the sons and daughters of the
Lord God Almighty and to have a sacred realisation of him.
We pray, Lord Jesus, that thou wouldst come and stand in our
midst that we may behold thy glory, the glory as of the only
begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth. For in thee,
Lord Jesus, dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily,
and thou art full of grace and truth. May we draw from that
fullness tonight. May we behold the Lamb of God,
that taketh away the sin of the world. O Lord, we do thank Thee
for our Lord Jesus Christ, the way, the truth and the life.
We do thank Thee for what He has done in delivering His people
from sin and Satan's power. We thank Thee for the incarnation
of the Son of God, and that wonderful, profound
glory of God manifest in the flesh. We thank Thee that He was made
of a woman made under the law that He might redeem them that
are under the law. O Lord, we do thank Thee that
He has fulfilled and honoured and magnified that holy law and
brought glory unto Thy name. and brought in everlasting righteousness
for the Church. O gracious God, my hope is built
on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. We thank thee
for Calvary, where sin has been put away, where divine justice
has been satisfied, where God and sinners are reconciled, where
peace is made between God and man, Oh, we do thank thee for
that wonderful grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. We thank thee that
he loved not his life unto death, but he gave his life of ransom
for all to be testified in due time. We thank thee that he rose
from the dead, he swallowed up death in victory, he brought
life in immortality to light through the gospel, We thank
thee for those wonderful words. Come, see the place where the
Lord lay. He is not here, he is risen. Thou hast said, Lord Jesus, I
am he which was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore. Oh, we thank thee for that everlasting
life that is in Jesus Christ. We thank Thee for those wonderful
words of grace, because I live, ye shall live also. Gracious
God, O do hear us, we pray Thee. We thank Thee for every mercy
of Thy kind providence. Thy mercies to us are new every
morning, and great is Thy faithfulness. And as we come together, we would
record Thy loving kindness and Thy faithfulness. And we do pray,
most gracious God, that thou would bless us as a church and
as a congregation. Pour forth thy Spirit, grant
a day of power, grant the pulling down of the strongholds of Satan,
the setting up of the kingdom of the Lord Jesus in the hearts
of sinners. Grant, most gracious Lord, the
return of the prodigals, and that thy wonderful grace may
be seen in this. we do humbly beseech thee. Oh,
we do pray that thou wouldst have mercy upon us and that thou
wouldst bless us, that thou wouldst revive us again. Grant us that
personal reviving in our own hearts. Grant us a closer walk
with thee, a calmer heavenly frame, a light to shine upon
the road that leads us to the Lamb. Oh Lord, we do pray grant
us a great zeal, a fervency, we do humbly beseech thee, a
zeal according to knowledge. And, O Lord, we do pray that
the wonderful glory, light, and power of the gospel may shine
into this village and the surrounding villages and hamlets, and that
many precious souls may be gathered unto Christ, that this little
house of prayer may yet be filled with hungry, longing souls, pressing
into the kingdom of heaven. Lord, let thy work appear unto
thy servants and thy glory unto their children. We do humbly
beseech thee, fulfil that wonderful promise, instead of thy fathers
shall be thy children, whom thou mayest make princes in all the
earth. Lord, we long to see thy goings in the sanctuary. We long
to see thy power and thy glory in the sanctuary. We long to
see signs following the preaching of the word. Remember the little
ones and the children that gather with us. Grant the fear of the
Lord, which is the beginning of wisdom, may be placed in their
hearts. Grant, most gracious Lord, thy
blessing upon the young friends, that they may be led and guided
and directed by thee, that they may be brought to living faith
in Jesus Christ, that they might become followers of thee and
of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
So bless our young friends, we do humbly beseech thee. Arise,
arise, O God of grace, into thy rest descend, thou and the ark
of thy strength, and let thy priests be clothed with salvation
and thy saints shall shout aloud for joy. Oh abundantly bless
the provision of thy house and satisfy her poor with bread. Oh Lord, we do beseech thee for
thy great namesake. And oh Lord, we do pray for any
in the path of affliction and trouble and trial and perplexity
sorrow and sadness and bereavement, that thou wouldst draw near to
them, that thou wouldst help them, that thou wouldst put the
arms of thine everlasting love around them, that thou wouldst
give them to feel, yea, I have loved thee with an everlasting
love, therefore with loving kindness have I drawn thee. O gracious
God, do incline thine ear, we do humbly beseech thee, and do
graciously bless. Lord, remember parents who give
wisdom and grace that they may bring up their children in the
nurture and admonition of the Lord. And that, Lord, we remember
the families as they gather for divine worship in the home. May
the word of God be read and prayer made, for all things are sanctified
by the word of God and prayer. And grant us each, O Lord, those
quiet times and we can read and meditate in thy word. When our
heart and affections may be set upon things above and not on
things of the earth, we find, O Lord, that there are many hindrances
to these things and we pray that we might overcome those hindrances
and that we may count it a special privilege to read thy word and
to approach thy heavenly majesty and to meditate on the glory
of thy person and the fullness of thy grace. Remember those
of us that are now in the evening time of life journey, and graciously
prepare us for that great change which must come. Prepare me, gracious God, to
stand before thy face. Thy spirit must the work perform,
for it is all We do pray, most gracious Lord, that Thou, in
Thy precious mercy, wouldst graciously remember Thy servants that labour
in word and doctrine upon the walls of Zion, that Thou wouldst
fill them with Thy Spirit, that Thou wouldst continually grant
them that fresh anointing of Thy Spirit, and that the word
preached may be in power in the Holy Ghost and with much assurance,
and that there may be those mighty signs and wonders that shall
follow the preaching of the Word. We pray for those of thy servants
that shortly expect to take up pastorates, that thou wouldst
graciously help them make a way where there seems no way. O Lord,
we do beseech thee as they move home And one Lord moving to the
USA, we pray that thou wouldst go before him, that he might
see thy gracious hand, the unfolding of thy will. And oh Lord, we
do pray that thou wouldst remember those that labour in the nations
of the earth. We would especially think of
those, although we know, Lord, there are others, We think of
those that go forth from among us. We think of Ian Sadler and
that great work he does in so many different countries, the
orphanages that he runs, and his journeys in the exposition
of scripture and the distribution of thy word, gird him with all
sufficient grace, supply all his many returning needs. And
O Lord, we pray that thou would remember the Mombasa mission,
and thy servant that labours there, do grant good success,
do grant thy rich blessing. And, O Lord, we do pray for the
Savannah Education Trust and the great work that they do in
Ghana in the Christian education. May it redound to the honour,
to the glory and to the praise of thy great and holy name. We
do humbly beseech of thee. O Lord, we do pray that thou
would be with us now. As we turn to thy holy word,
come and open thy word to our heart and to our understanding. Come and touch one's lips with
a live coal from off the heavenly altar. Come and breathe thy word
into our souls. We ask with the forgiveness of
all sin, For Jesus Christ's sake. Amen. Let us now sing together hymn
number 249. The tune is evening hymn 709.
O love divine, how sweet thou art, When shall I find my willing
heart all taken up by thee? I thirst and faint and die to
prove the greatness of redeeming love, the love of Christ to me. Hymn 249, tune Evening Hymn 709. you. Up in my house below Which shall
I find my freedom To share in the day ? Thy mercy great and mighty flow
? ? And breaketh soul redeeming flow ? ? Rise and set me free ? ? Star
of the good Lord ? ? Shimmer in the night ? ? With the angels'
song ? ? Come set me free ? ? It's a hard thing to do, it's
hard to see ? ? They never told me, never told me, never told
me ? I've been down to the bottom
of the sea. ? The lips I smile ? ? The lips
I bite ? ? It's an emotion ? ? Don't be
kind ? ? Be kind to me ? Greatly feeling to need the Lord's
gracious help, I would direct your attention to the chapter
that we read, the first epistle of Paul to Timothy, chapter one,
reading verse five for our text. First epistle to Timothy, chapter
one, verse five. Now the end of the commandment
is charity out of a pure heart. and of a good conscience and
of faith unfeigned. There were those in the church
at Ephesus that were deviating from the truth. We spoke recently
of the church at Galatians, how there were Judaizing teachers
that crept into the church of Asia. In the early church there
were many converted Jews and it was no different at Ephesus. But some of them were not clearly
delivered from the bondage of the law and they were seeking,
as it were, to bring Christian believers again under the bondage of the
law. And he says here to his son Timothy,
in verse three, as I besought thee to abide still at Ephesus,
when I went into Macedonia, that thou mightest charge some that
they teach no other doctrine. That means no other doctrine
to what the apostle had preached unto them previously. Neither
give heed to fables and endless genealogies which minister questions. rather than godly edifying which
is in faith. So do. So the purpose of the
apostle as he was leaving the Ephesians was to, he left Timothy
there because he was a faithful and a fervent preacher of the
everlasting gospel. He says in these two epistles
Let no man despise thy youth. Timothy was a very young man.
He said, let no man despise thy youth. But he points out here, and we've
got no doubt that what he means is the law when he says the end
of the commandment. Now the end of the commandment,
and I'm quite sure he's speaking of the 10 commandments. is charity, out of a pure heart. This of
course is confirmed by our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ concerning
the end of the commandment and Christ himself in the Gospel
according to Matthew, he speaks there of the holy law of God
and he speaks there of what the fulfilling of the law is so in
Matthew chapter 22 and from verse 37 we read 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 neighbour
as thyself. On these two commandments hang
all the Law and the Prophets. So in this sense the Lord Jesus
Christ is condensing down the ten commandments that are those commandments which
relate our duties to God and there are those commandments
which relate to our duties to our neighbour. And what the Lord
Jesus says here is that love is a fulfilling of the law. The
apostle, I think he says twice in his epistles that love is
a fulfilling of the law. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God. with all thy heart, with all
thy soul, with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like unto it.
Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets. The fulfilling of the commandments
are in love. Now, in ourselves, in our flesh,
in our nature, before there is ever any divine life in the heart,
there isn't this love. And it's impossible for us to
love the Lord our God with all our heart, all our mind, and
our neighbour as ourselves. It is like David says in Psalm
139, it's high, I cannot attain unto it. But you know friends,
that is what the law demands. It demands complete, loving obedience. Every second of every minute,
of every hour, of every day. Complete, perfect obedience. What we need is divine life in
the soul before we can ever do that. The carnal mind is emmited to
God, is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. Romans chapter 8. Neither indeed can be. It cannot
do. That is our flesh. cannot do,
cannot fulfill those holy commandments of the Lord. It's an absolute
impossibility for us to do it. Now he says here, now the end
of the commandment is charity. Love the Lord thy God. Charity is love in action. It's
a beautiful word. It's only as the grace of God
reaches our hearts. In our text it says charity out
of a pure heart. That's something that we haven't
got, is it? Charity out of a pure heart.
Our hearts are unclean, they're unrighteous. But where there
is grace, where the soul has been quickened,
Where the Spirit of God has given that faith that worketh by love, that is the Christian believer
who has a faith that worketh by love. The gospel is not against
the law, neither is the law against the gospel. It's not contrary to it. It's the gospel of our Lord Jesus
Christ and in Him and the very heart of the Gospel of our Lord
Jesus Christ is His fulfilling of the law. I come not to destroy
the law but to fulfill it. That's what He's done. In that
holy life of Jesus Christ is the fulfilling of the law. It
perfectly, completely He did no sin. Sin is any transgression
of the law of God. He did no sin. He never transgressed
God's holy righteous law. He fulfilled it. Every moment of every minute,
of every hour, of every day, Christ fulfilled, honoured and
magnified the holy law of God. One of the principal reasons,
apart from the atonement, one of the principal reasons that
the father sent the son was to fulfil the law, was to honour
and magnify the law, was to do what his people through the fall
are unable to do. It's impossible for us to do
that. So Jesus came, he came to fulfil
and honour and magnify that Holy Righteous Law, the bringing in
of everlasting righteousness. That everlasting righteousness
is the righteousness of Christ. That Holy Righteous Law has been
fulfilled in Christ on the behalf in the room, in the place, in
this head of his people. He lived for us. He suffered
for us. He died for us. He received the
penalty due to our sin. As the prophet Isaiah brings
out so beautifully in Isaiah chapter 53, he was wounded for
our transgressions. Who was? Jesus was. Jesus, the
Son of God. wounded for our transgressions,
bruised for our iniquities, the chastisement of our peace was
upon him and with his stripes we are healed. It's only in Jesus,
my beloved friends, and it's when the Holy Spirit works in
the heart, it's with the heart that man believeth unto righteousness. It's not with the head. I know,
in a sense, head and heart are joined together, but it's very
clear in Holy Scripture, it's with the heart, that's with our
innermost being. That's where the Holy Spirit
works. That's where the Holy Spirit dwells, in the heart of
every true believer, in our innermost being. And when he dwells there,
he gives life. He gives light. He sanctifies by the blood of
Jesus. There is the new man of grace,
the new man of grace, who loves the word of God. The apostle
says in Romans chapter seven, I delight in the law of the Lord
after the inward man. He means the heart, the inward
man. a delight in the law of the Lord after the inward man. Now the end of the commandment
is charity out of a pure heart. And it's when the Holy Spirit
enters the heart, sanctifies the soul, leads in the spirit
of faith unto Jesus Christ, we're then given a pure heart. The new man. We still have the old man. The
hymn writer says, doesn't he, the new man and the old by no
means can agree. The one in sin is bold, the others
from sin set free. You know, in every believer to
harm is a sin. The new man of grace and the
old man of sin. The old man of sin loves this
world, hates the law of God, hates holiness. We've already
quoted what the Apostle says in the Romans, the carnal mind.
That's the old man of sin, the carnal mind. He's enmity to God. He's not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can be, and it never will be. It never will
be. I've often told you that I was
actually working in Jarvis Brook and for quite some time that
word had walked up and down in my soul, turn again O son of
man thou shalt see greater abominations than these and that went on for
several months and every time I turned again I felt more sin,
more iniquity But until I was brought to that place, I could
take to the very spot, it was such a vivid revelation I had
of myself, a crucifying revelation of myself. I saw that every evil
that was in this world, all the wickedness, the immorality, the
unrighteousness, the evil that is in this world, the seeds of
all that sin was in my heart. I had such a clear view of it.
It was a very crucifying view. But it was the line of a hymn
that seemed to seal that teaching into my very soul. Nor can I
promise future good to bring. I saw in a moment that old man
would always be the old man. He would always be sinful. He
would always be corrupt. He would never be any different.
It was such a clear teaching of the Spirit in my heart. It
wasn't actually long before I was brought into gospel liberty.
But what a crucifying thing that was to see the corruption and
sin of my old nature. But then to have Christ revealed
as the way, the truth, and the life. And it's through teachings
like this that It's what the apostle says, doesn't he, in
the word. We have no confidence in the flesh. And it's through this inward
teaching of the spirit in the heart that we have no confidence
in the flesh. We see that our flesh is sinful,
it's corrupt. It always has been, it always
will be. This, of course, was the great
error of John Wesley. when he preached and taught sinless
perfection. He taught that it was possible
for a Christian believer to reach a state of holiness in this life
so that they did not sin. It's what is called progressive
sanctification. They become so spiritually minded
that they lose their sinful nature. And of course that is completely
opposite to what the Bible teaches. Our old man will always be our
old man. He'll never get any better. Our
new man, the new man of grace, who loves the Lord Jesus Christ,
who loves the ways of God, who loves the word of God, who loves
the house of God, who loves the people of God, that's the new
man of grace. He loves charity out of a pure
heart. That's the new man of grace. I think it's in the first epistle
of John, doesn't he say, the new man sinned not. The new man, but the old man,
he never stops sinning. He always will and he always
has. And the only thing that will
put an end to the old man is death. But the new man, which as we
read in the word of God is created in holiness, the new man of grace. What a mercy, my beloved friends,
if you and I know this distinction between the new man and the old.
And we feel and know it in our hearts. Now the end of the commandment
is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and
of faith, unfeigned, faith unfeigned. Now the dear Apostle Paul, who
of course knew these things, he knew them experimentally and
he speaks, does he not, of this unfeigned love and of this charity. It's often been said by many
that especially in that's what we want to look at now is 1 Corinthians
chapter 13 and it's often been said that where it says charity
it should have been translated love. I can see what is meant
by saying that but I actually think charity is a better word
because the actual meaning of charity is love in action. That's what it means. And that
is what the Apostle is driving at in 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels and have not charity, I am become a sounding
brass or a tinkling cymbal. Though I have the gift of prophecy
and understand all mysteries and have all knowledge, and though
I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not
charity I am nothing. I always think the third verse
is it's quite astonishing what he said and though I give though
I bestow all my goods to feed the poor and though I give my
body to be burned and have not charity It profited me nothing. You see, my beloved friends,
it's what motivates us. It's what motivates us. Is it
love? Is it love to our Lord? Is it
love to his people? Is that what motivates us? Is
that what moves us? You see, friends, there's lots
of different things that motivate motivate us to do this or to
do that or to do something else. Sometimes it's for our own advantage. And that is contrary, it's not
for charity, it's because we have some ulterior thing in mind
when we do something. Though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, you would have thought, well, surely that's
a godly man. And though I give my body to
be burned, you'd say, surely that's a godly man, and have
not charity. It profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long and is
kind. Charity envieth not. Charity
vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up. does not behave itself unseemly,
seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth
not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things,
believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things,
charity never You know, friends, do we have this spirit of love,
this spirit of charity, this love in action that motivates
us, that moves us? You know, we always find I think
we mentioned on Sunday, didn't we, that word in the Galatians,
the flesh losteth against the spirit and the spirit against
the flesh and the one is contrary to the other. And sometimes you
maybe feel moved to perhaps do this loving, kind work to somebody. Out of love. You feel moved to
do it. But then immediately our flesh
will say, oh no you can't do it because of this, or because
of that, or because of something else. You see the flesh lusteth
against the spirit. The one is the contrary to the
other. When the spirit is motivating us to do some good work, some
kind work, some compassionate work, then the flesh will step
in with an opposite argument as to why you shouldn't do it.
flesh lusteth against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh,
and the one is the contrary to the other. Now the end of the
commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience,
and of faith unfaith, unfaith, that's not put on. Unfeigned. Love, we read of that, unfeigned
love. We have to be careful of that
which is feigned, which is false, which proceeds from our old man. We read in the Romans chapter 13 and He quotes to us there, verse
8, no man owe no man anything but to love one another, for
he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this thou shalt not commit
adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt
not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet, And if there
be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this,
namely, thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. Love worketh no ill
to his neighbour, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Love. This is at the root of
it, at the root of all grace. Love is a root grace. Covetousness
is a root evil. Says so in the word of God. Covetousness
is the root of all evil. Love is the root of all righteousness. The spirit of love wrought in
the heart by the spirit of love, by the Holy Ghost. Breathing
into our soul. Kindness. Look at the life of
Christ. Now the Christian believer should
live similar Same as our Lord Jesus Christ. He is our example. Christ is our example. You know,
these people that say that if you say the believer is not under
the law, then they're free to sin. No, the believer follows
Christ. What did Christ do? Not to destroy
the law, but to fulfill it. Following Christ will not lead
you to break the law. But as a point of fundamental
doctrine, The believer is not under the law, but under grace.
That will never lead the believer to sin. No, it will never lead
the believer to break God's holy righteous law. Just the opposite. You know, it says doesn't it,
I often point you to it because it's such a clear word in 1 John
chapter 2 verse 6. He that saith, he abideth in
him, that's in Christ, himself also so to walk even as he walked,
even as Christ walked. Christ full of compassion. What we see in the life of Christ
is the law fulfilled. We read again and again Jesus
having compassion on the multitude Look at the multitude that came
to him to heal their diseases. Did he turn them away? No, in
love he healed them. He healed them of their diseases. He loved not his life unto death.
Why? For his people. To deliver them
from sin and Satan's power. He that saith he abideth in him
himself also so to walk even as he walked. Brethren I write
no new commandment unto you but an old commandment which he had
from the beginning. The old commandment is the word
which you have heard from the beginning and again a new commandment
I write unto you which thing is true in him and in you because
the darkness is past and the true light now shining. He that
saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness
even until now. He that loveth his brother abideth
in the light and there is none occasion of stumbling in him. He that hateth his brother is
in darkness and walketh in darkness and knoweth not whither he goeth
because that darkness has blinded his eyes. See these new commandments
of the gospel of our Lord and our Saviour Jesus Christ in the
fourth chapter of the first epistle of John. He very beautifully
sets before us this spirit of love 1 John chapter 4 verse 7 Beloved
let us love one another for love is of God and everyone that loveth
is born of God and knoweth God see this is how we can tell a
true believer a person that really loves God he that loveth not
knoweth not God for God is love That's the very essence and the
nature of God. And if a person is born again,
if the spirit of God dwells in the heart, that person will love. It will love our Lord Jesus Christ. It will love his word. It will
love his people. It will love his ways. It will
love his commandments. If you love me, keep my commandments. this was manifested the love
of God toward us because that God sent his only begotten son
into the world that we might live through him, here in his
love, not that we loved God but that he loved us and sent his
son to be the propitiation for our sins, propitiation It actually
means the wrath-ending sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ, the
atonement for sin. Here in his love, you see, not that we loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation for our
sins. Beloved, you see now the effect
of the grace of God, beloved, if God, so loved us, we are also
to love one another. No man has seen God at any time.
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected
in us. Hereby know we that we dwell
in him and he in us because he hath given us of his spirit.
You see how he traces it to the very root hath given us of his
spirit and this is what the spirit works in the heart of the true
believer he works love and we have seen and do testify
that the father sent the son to be the savior of the world. It goes on in verse 17 and he
says herein is our love made perfect that we may have boldness
in the day of judgment because as he is so are we in this world
There is no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear,
because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect
in love. And then he comes right down
to what you might say the foundation. We love him because he first
loved us. Free grace, isn't it? free grace in our Lord Jesus
Christ, wrought in the heart of the true believer, brings
that believer to love, brings that believer to hate sin, and
to turn away from it, and to look to Christ only. You
know, the fact that sin lives in the believer, we must be clear
on this, The believer doesn't live in sin. Sin lives in the
believer. But the believer doesn't live
in sin. There's a big difference, isn't there? And that is the
great burden and the great trouble and the great trial of the living
child of God. Because they find sin in their
hearts. Sin in their very nature. And
it's something that greatly troubles them. If a man say, I love God, and
hateth his brother, he is a liar. For he that loveth not his brother
whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
And this commandment have we from him, that he who loveth
God, love his brother also. And you know, friends, You know,
each one of us, because we each have our own individual characters, we may have traits in us that
irritate a brother or a sister in Christ. But you know what the Word of
God says? Love covereth a multitude of sins. It's not that we wink at sin,
but love, true love, cover it. It doesn't expose it, it covers
it. A multitude of sins. You know, we have this tendency
that if you hear this one has fallen into sin or this one's
done that, and this is outrageous, and then we spread it all around.
But you know, friends, if we really love somebody, we'll seek
to cover it. not spread it around everywhere.
Love covereth a multitude of sins. Oh that the Lord would
give us more of this love, more of this grace of our Lord Jesus
Christ, because that's where this love flows from, from the
grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. Now the end of the commandment
is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience and
of faith unfeigned. You know, we do feign things. We're forced sometimes in the
things that we say. There may be a multitude of reasons
why we do it. But we have feigned love sometimes. and we have a feigned faith sometimes that's not the true faith but
a feigned faith now the end of the commandment is charity of
a pure heart and of a good conscience and of faith unfeigned and of
love unfeigned because this faith is a faith that works by love
works by love. It loves the Lord Jesus Christ. It's a wonderful thing when we
experience what the Apostle speaks of it in one of his epistles
that the love of Christ is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy
Ghost. When that love is shed abroad
in our hearts it's a very wonderful thing. It subdues the old man
of sin. And the new man of grace is strengthened. And union with Christ strengthens. The closer union and communion
we have with Christ, the more Christ-like we'll be. The more
kind we will be, the more compassionate we will be, the more loving we
will be. You know, the Lord Jesus, he
says, love your enemies. love them that despitefully use
you. This is the spirit of Christ. When he was reviled, he reviled
not again. No. When he suffered, he threatened
not. You know, how soon we rise up
if we're threatened and our old flesh will rise up, we're threatened
back. He threatened not. We should never do that. It's
not the spirit of Christ. He threatened none. Or that the Lord would impress
these things upon our hearts. Now the end of the commandment
is charity out of a pure heart and of a good conscience and
of faith, unfaith. May the Lord add his blessing. Let us now sing together hymn
number 968. The tune is St. B's, 494. Hark, my soul, it is the Lord. It is thy Saviour, hear his word. Jesus speaks and speaks to thee. Say, poor sinner, love is thou
me. Hymn 968, Tunes and Bees, 494
? He's a Savior in this world ?
? Jesus lives and speaks to me ? ? Savior, Savior, God of peace
? I will ever be enough, and ever
will I live. So be kind, be strength, be right,
? Till thy compass gives me light. ? ? When the Lord's tender care,
? Since the Lord the Judge beheld,
His children for evermore be, Evermore in heav'n and earth. ? Mine is an unchanging love ?
? High above the heights above ? ? In the firmament beneath
? Faithful, faithful, strong and
fair. Thou shalt see my glory too,
When the work of faith is done, And the road I go shall be, Safe
from sin about me. For it is my chief complaint
That my love is counterfeit It's my only and the first Now may the grace of our Lord
Jesus Christ, the love of God the Father, the sacred fellowship
of the Holy Spirit, rest and abide with us each both now and
forevermore. Amen.