I want to turn your attention
this week to 1 Corinthians and chapter 13. Now, you may remember
that last week we looked at Lot's wife, that very short verse,
remember Lot's wife, and it's prompted me to do a short series
of messages on the theme of warning, on the theme of warning, because
scripture has warnings for God's people. You see, remember what
prompted me last week. We look around at those that
we thought had a reputation for standing for the truth and we
see them selling out wholesale to the mood, the spirit of the
age and we stand there in absolute shock and horror at what they
are doing with the gospel of grace. We can't believe that
people that we once thought were clear proponents of the truth of the
gospel of grace compromising it with the methods of the world
and things of that nature and it's very, very disturbing and
it's also very easy to get into a position to get into a position
of a sort of a superiority which, oh well we don't do those sorts
of things we don't do those sorts of things and so I thought well
the scripture warns and Christ himself warned in the Sermon
on the Mount You know, we're very, very keen to look for splinters
in other people's eyes. You know, he says in the Sermon
on the Mount, I don't know if you noticed, but the man who
wrote the last hymn was called Edward Moat, and I think the
King James Version talks about the moat in your brother's eye,
when there's a plank of wood in your own eye. It's so easy
to pick that little speck out of your brother's eye when there's
a huge, whopping great plank in your own eye. We need to beware,
we need to be careful, Jesus said in the Sermon on the Mount
again, Matthew 7.21, He said, and you know these words well,
and these are a striking warning. Not everyone that says to me,
Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he
that does the will of my Father which is in heaven. You see,
there are a lot of people who have a hope of entering into
heaven, but He says not everyone who thinks that they're going
to heaven is going to go to heaven. Many will say to me in that day,
Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied preached in your name and in
your name have cast out devils and done all sorts of wonderful
spiritual things and in thy name have done many wonderful works
then I will profess now you hear these words boy what an icy chill
is in these words then I will profess unto them this is the
Lord of glory I never knew you depart from me ye that work iniquity
you see the scriptures are clear there are many who profess to
have faith in Christ, who in fact do not possess faith in
Christ. It's one thing to profess it,
it's another thing to possess it, isn't it? Quite different. I've been reading Pilgrim's Progress
again for the first time in, I can't remember how long, more
than 30 years I would imagine, and I came across the other night
that character, Talkative, you might be able to remember him. Talkative was very fluent in
speaking the things of sovereign grace and particular redemption
and the great doctrines of scripture. He talked the talk but he didn't
walk the walk and faithful was nearly taken in by him until
Christian put him right and told him to give him a wide berth
and don't go near him because his doctrine, although it sounded
so good, was actually poisoned. He talked the talk but he didn't
walk the walk that went with it. And true faith walks the
walk that goes with it. We saw last week Lot's wife.
We saw how Lot's wife had all the appearance of being in the
household of faith. She had Abraham by marriage as
an uncle. She was married to the man who,
although we may think he was very foolish in all sorts of
ways, Lot, for making wrong choices and being in the wrong place
and doing all of those things that we count so silly and foolish,
whilst forgetting that we're silly and foolish ourselves but
the scriptures testimony of him was righteous Lot just Lot just
Lot righteous Lot and so she was there the wife of Lot she
was in that family she was in that situation of grace it appeared
as though she had escaped from Sodom and the judgment to come
only to perish with Sodom when a look back a momentary look
back revealed in that moment it revealed the true state of
her heart because her heart was where her possessions and her
friends were back in Sodom. And so she perished with Sodom.
She appeared as though she'd escaped, but she perished with
Sodom. And so the scriptures warn us, when we're in a position of using
discernment and right judgment, you know, when Jesus says, judge
not that ye be not judged, it doesn't mean don't use discernment.
If you took that in the way that so many people take it, judge
not that you be not judged, you'd go along with anything and everything
in religion because you're not to judge. The scripture doesn't
say that. We're to use our discernment.
We're to use our discernment and be careful. But in the process,
beware of becoming judgmental. Beware of becoming superior in
your mind regarding the false practices of others. Yes, let's
not go that way, but let's not stand in judgment, but let's
examine ourselves This is what Paul says to the Corinthians,
2nd Corinthians 13, 5. Examine yourselves whether ye
be in the faith. Prove your own selves. Know ye
not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except
ye be reprobates. If he's in you, if he's in you,
you'll know it, except you be reprobates, except you be those
who are outside of the love of God in Christ. The psalm that
we read, 139 and verse 23, the psalmist asks God, search me,
O God, and know my heart. You see, I
don't really know myself. I think I do. I'm such a mixture.
But the psalmist asks God what we should all ask. Search me,
O God, and know my heart. Try me and know my thoughts,
because I don't even know them properly myself. And see if there
be any wicked way in me. Because whilst I prance around
thinking I'm so righteous and proper and good, O God, reveal
to me the wickedness that is still there in my flesh, that
will always be there. Now 1 Corinthians 13 sheds very,
very clear light on this, this examining of ourselves, because
it gives us the marks of a true Christian. It gives us the essentials
of salvation. It shows us, it boils it right
down to the essential things. Things that you'll find again
and again in the epistles are the marks that the Apostle Paul
looked for in those that he was writing to. The faith, the hope
and the love that is in the Lord Jesus Christ. This chapter, 1
Corinthians 13, I know it's so well known. It's hardly possible
to go to an Anglican Church wedding. You know, we all have families
in the Anglican Church, and the weddings tend to be held in elaborate
Anglican churches. And you can almost guarantee,
you know, four out of five weddings will have 1 Corinthians 13 as
the Scripture reading, because it talks about love. I know the,
as Peter pointed out, the King James Version has that word translated
charity. It's not just that it's an old
word. You know, I very much like the reliability of the King James
Version, but here is a place where the translators got it
wrong, even in old-fashioned language. If you read Robert
Hawker, 200 and odd years ago, he says, the translators got
it wrong. They're talking about, as Peter
said, a charity shop, that kind of thing, acts of charity. No,
it's love. It's love. It's agape love. That's
the Greek word. It's the self-sacrificing love. Not just the the emotional love that a man
might have for a woman and a woman for a man, the agape love, the
self-sacrificing love that is manifested in the Lord Jesus
Christ. That's what this word charity is in this passage. Love. It's that agape love. And it's
all about this. Do I have the divine love of
Christ flowing from Him through my soul? Because that's the mark
of a true believer. Do I have that love of Christ,
that pure divine love of Christ flowing through my soul. My flesh
may make it appear imperfect in all sorts of ways, but it
isn't. It's that perfect, divine love of Christ. There's a very
good analogy that I saw Robert Hawker give as well. He said
that a river can never flow higher than its source. Take the River
Thames. It rises in the Cotswold Hills
and it flows to the sea out near the Queen Elizabeth Bridge, the
Dartford Crossing. Guess which way it's flowing?
in terms of up and down. I tell you there isn't one solitary
point where it's not flowing downhill. It always flows downhill. It can never rise up higher than
its source in the Cotswolds. Never, ever, ever. That's just
a fact. Water flows downhill. True? If
the apparent love of God in your heart is just a fleshly origin,
because there can be some very, very, very good mimics. There
can be some very good appearances of the true thing. But if its
source is the human flesh, it will never ever rise above the
level of human flesh. It will never ever rise to that
level of divine pure love of the Lord Jesus Christ. Only love that comes from Him
on that high level, on that high level can flow down through the
hearts of His people. It's fleshly love versus divine
love. It's the mimicking one versus
the genuine one. Now look at this chapter with
me. Verse 1 of chapter 13. 1 Corinthians chapter 13. Verse
1 says this, 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. See what he's saying? Examine
ourselves. Let's examine ourselves. He's
talking about the spiritual gift of tongues that was there in
the early church and that many people claim to have in these
days, but I believe are all, absolutely in every instance,
a fallacy, a delusion, a satanic delusion. Though I speak with
the tongues of men and of angels, this ability to speak in other
human languages without any teaching, without any native birth, and
speak the truth of God in these other languages. Though I speak
with those tongues of men and angels, wow, you must be incredibly
spiritual, You must be on a really high spiritual plane if you can
do that, mustn't you? Wow, we all must bow down and
listen to what you have to say. I know, but if I have not charity,
if I have not that divine love of Christ, I'm just a noise. You know, I'm just a sounding,
clanging noise, a tinkling cymbal. It does nothing, it doesn't last,
it just makes a noise for a while and then it's gone. If that's
all that I have. But if I'm in the Lord Jesus
Christ, If I'm in Him, I have that true love from Him flowing
through me. You know, Jesus in John 15 verse
5 likens Himself to the vine, the grape rootstock. He's the root of the vine and
all of His people are the branches and that rootstock sap flows
through Him into the branches, and that's his love. That's this
divine love. I am the vine, you are the branches. He that abideth in me and I in
him, the same bringeth forth much fruit. For without me, if
that connection isn't there, you can do nothing. You know
when you're pruning, and you're pruning off the bits that you
need to prune off to make the plant strong, and accidentally
sometimes, I do it myself, I miss, I misjudge, and I, oh whoops,
I cut the wrong branch. That was a really good one. I
didn't want to do that. You look two or three days later and it's
dead and limp and the life's gone out of it because the sap
isn't flowing. If you abide in me and I in him the same bringeth
forth much fruit for without me you can do nothing. You're
just a noise. You're just a clanging cymbal
without it. Look at verse 2. Though I have the gift of prophecy
and I understand all mysteries and all knowledge and though
I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not
charity I am nothing. I am nothing. I've got the gift
of prophecy. Ah, Balaam had the gift of prophecy. That false prophet, Balaam, he
had the gift of prophecy. You read the words of Balaam
in Numbers 21 to 24, that sort of region of the book of Numbers,
and you will see that man speak the clearest gospel messages
in the Old Testament that you will ever read. Absolutely. Absolute sovereign grace, the
particular redemption of a people for the glory of God. In spite
of all the devil's schemes to have them cursed. Yet he cannot
but bless them. And he speaks the truth of God,
Balaam. But he was a false prophet. He
was nothing. He wasn't Christ. Although he
spoke those words. Let's go one better than that.
Caiaphas, the high priest at the time of the crucifixion.
Caiaphas in John 11 verses 49 to 52. He said this, Caiaphas
the high priest, that wicked high priest that sought the destruction
of Jesus. He said, it's fitting that one
man should die for the people and that the whole nation perish
not. And this he spoke, and this spoke he not of himself, not
from his own spirit, but he being high priest for the year, he
prophesied. You see, this empty vessel, this
false prophet, yet by virtue of his office he prophesied truth,
that it was fitting for Christ to die for the people. What a
gospel statement. And there was a false prophet.
Though I have the gift of prophecy, without this true life and love
of the Lord Jesus Christ, I'm nothing. I'm just nothing. And
I can understand all spiritual mysteries, but without that love,
that true divine life of Christ flowing into me and through me,
I am nothing without those things. I can have superhuman confidence. I can have all faith. You know,
you say to people, oh, he's got great faith. He's got tremendous
faith. He just launches out with great confidence in God and does
all sorts of things for Him. I can have great sacrificial
generosity for others. I can give all my goods to feed
the poor. And I can even become a martyr
for the cause. I can give my body to be burned.
I can do all of these things. Oh, mustn't I be a strong Christian?
But if I don't have this love, this divine love of Christ flowing
into me and through me by virtue of my union with Him, I'm nothing
and it will profit me nothing none of it will profit me when
it comes to glory and I will be amongst those to whom he says
depart from me I never knew you you who work iniquity you see we need this well as
he said to the woman by the well in Samaria this well of water
she was drawing water from a stagnant old well and he said I will give
you living water and you will have a well of water springing
up into everlasting life that's John 4.14 that's this love of
Christ that's this divine love of Christ in my heart in me and
through me so it's not what I do or say but it is what is in my
heart that's the important things you see the Corinthians to whom
Paul is writing they put far too much emphasis on these early
church spiritual gifts. These miraculous gifts. These
prophecies. These tongues. These speaking
in different languages. The truth of God when you'd never
learned it. These miracle workings. These healings. All of these
things. They put so much emphasis on it without realizing. Look
what Paul says in chapter 12 in verses 1 and 2. He says, I'm
going to talk to you about spiritual gifts, brethren. I wouldn't have
you ignorant. You know that you were Gentiles
carried away unto these dumb idols. The Apostle calls all
these things that there's so much fuss about in our day that
you're not a proper Christian unless you've got tongues, unless
you've got prophecies, unless you've got powers of healing
and all of those things. You're not a true Christian unless
you've got all of those things. Paul calls them dumb idols. They're
just dumb idols because they take attention away from the
living God. He says at the end of that chapter
12 covet earnestly the best gifts, and yet show I unto you a more
excellent way." And then he goes on into chapter 13 to show us
that more excellent way. Not in these temporary gifts,
not in these temporary authentications of the truth of God in the New
Testament writings and the preachings of the apostles, but the more
excellent way that is here in the love of Christ. And the last
verse of chapter 13 says this, and now abideth faith, hope,
and charity. These three, but the greatest
of these is charity. These are the enduring marks
of genuine faith in this life. Faith, hope, and love. Read what Paul writes to the
Colossians in his introductory first three or four verses. Why
does he write to them as Christians? Because he sees in them, he hears
from them, the genuine signs of true faith in Christ. of a
hope of eternal life, of love for one another and love for
the brethren. So here are three tests to apply to ourselves. Here are three tests that we
need to apply to ourselves in examining whether we be in the
faith. First of all, do I have the faith
of God's elect? Secondly, do I have the hope
of God's elect? And thirdly, do I have the love
of God's elect? Firstly, do I have the faith
of God's elect. Well, how do you get it? Well,
the Scripture tells us it's a gift. It's a gift. It's the gift of
God. You can't demand it. It's the gift of God. Ephesians
2 verse 8, By grace you say, through faith, and that not of
yourselves. It is the gift of God. It's the
gift of God. But when you've got it and He's
given it, it's that thing whereby I trust my eternal soul to Christ
and He's finished work to save me. That's what it is. I trust
my eternal soul to Him because of what I see by faith. It's
that which is in the heart. Romans 10 and verse 9, If thou
shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe
in thine heart, in thine heart, that God hath raised Him from
the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with the heart man believeth
unto righteousness. and with the mouth confession
is made unto salvation. It's heart belief is this faith,
this gift of God. It's heart belief. It's not just
mental assent. It's not just saying, well yes
I can see that now that you put it like that, yes I can see all
of those things and you put all the ticks in the boxes and you
agree to it. It's not reason and it's not
logic even though true Christian faith stands the test of reason
and logic. Absolutely. The gospel, the true
gospel is the most rational thing that there is. It is absolutely
rationally true, but it's not about cold facts. It's not that
I know the area of a circle is pi r squared, and that's just
an objective fact, but it doesn't affect my emotions in the slightest.
This is the love of God that I see through faith, the gift
that he gives to me. It's true faith, and it's heartfelt
faith. It directs my emotions, it directs
my desires, you know? what you long for. You can listen
to music and you can say, oh yes, I see how that all fits
together and I can see the timing of it and I can see the pitch
and I can see the theory of the harmony. But does it make the
hairs on the back of your neck tingle when you hear it? You
know? This is emotion. This is not
just head knowledge. It's emotion. Heartfelt faith. True heartfelt faith directing
my emotions and my desires to Christ and to His kingdom. Because
you see, by faith, by spiritual sight, I see. I see things. I see the things of Christ. I
see that He's established justice on my behalf. I see that I'm
in Him and united with Him and married to Him and joined to
Him. And that everything He does,
I am counted as having done in Him. And He bore my sins. And
I see Him doing all of these things. I see Him establishing
justice. I see Him satisfying justice
in my place. So that as I stand before that
judgment seat of Christ before which we all must stand, I know
there that on the basis of what He has done, I will be counted
righteous and justified and accepted. I know all these things and because
I see them by faith, I rest in them. I rest. You know, you might
say to me, sit down on that chair over there and I can see it and
I'll sit down on it and that works. I see it and I sit down
on it. But if by faith I see another chair there that you
don't see because you haven't got that faith to see that chair.
Then you'll know when I actually go across and I sit down on it
and I rest on it. Do you see the illustration?
By faith we see and we rest and we sit down on that which the
natural eye does not see. It's the gift of faith to see
those things. And I rest happy and content. You know, I've quoted it a lot
recently and we're not having this in this morning, but the
one that says, it is well with my soul. I know it's well with
my soul. If I'm taken from this life today,
if this is the last day I spend in this life and I move immediately
into eternity, it is well with my soul. Why? Because I've seen
what Christ has done for me. I've seen that everything is
established for me. Secondly, do I have the hope
of God's elect? Do I have that hope? You see,
seeing the things of Christ and resting in the good of them,
for me, I look forward to a goal because surely this is not it.
Doesn't Paul say at the end of 1 Corinthians, a couple of chapters
on from where we are, he says, if this is all there is and there's
no resurrection, then we're of all men most miserable. We're
of all people most stupid. Think of the things, think of
the deprivations that we put ourselves through for the cause
of the gospel of Christ. Think of the things that we deny
ourselves for the cause of the gospel of Christ. We're of all
men most miserable if this is all there is. But to the eye
of faith, this isn't all there is. This isn't all there is. There's hope. There's hope of
eternal glory. There's the hope of God's elect.
I see and I rest and I look forward to the goal. And I have that
hope in me. That hope of the gospel, as Paul
calls it. Colossians 1.23. If you continue
in the faith grounded and settled and be not moved away from the
hope of the gospel. If I have that hope in me, now
what sort of a hope is it? It's what I've called, it's not
what I've called what the world sees as hope, which is a perhaps
hope. You know, I hope it's going to be a nice day on Wednesday.
Perhaps it will be, perhaps it won't be. I don't really know
at this stage. Even with better weather forecasts, I don't really
know what it's going to be like on Wednesday afternoon this coming
week. I have a perhaps hope that it will be nice, but I don't
have a certain hope that it will be nice. This is a confident
hope. This is a confident expectation. And why is it a confident expectation? You know, you see these people
that gamble all of their wealth on that particular horse, or
that particular set of lottery numbers, or whatever else it
is, because they're in the hope that it's going to turn out well
for them, and it doesn't turn out well for them. No, this is
a confident expectation. because it's not based on anything
that is left to chance. This is why the words of Christ
on the cross are so important. It is finished. He has finished
that work. He has established justice. He
has borne his people's sins. He has paid their penalty so
there's no more penalty left to pay. And on that basis we
know that if we're in Him we're going to be in glory in eternity
outside of this life which is fleeting for we're just as the
flower of the field the flower of the field comes up as a little
shoot in the spring and then it matures through May and into
June it blossoms and it's a lovely flower and if it's anything like
my flower beds at the moment now that we've had some dry weather
the last couple of weeks they're fading and they're dry and they're
dying and they don't look very well at all and the weeds are
thriving and we bloom like a flower and then we fade it's gone in
no time but the believer in Christ has a confident hope a confident
hope We have an anchor for the soul in the stormy sea of life's
uncertainties. We don't know what's coming.
We don't know what's around the corner. It is a stormy sea of
uncertainties in this life. But this hope is an eternal hope.
It's a confident hope. It's an anchor for the soul.
As we were singing in the hymn just before the message, my hope
is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Now that's a solid foundation.
that's a foundation on which to build Jesus blood and righteousness
not some wishy-washy emotional oh how good it is to have Jesus
in the boat with me that that quite frankly I won't mince my
words that that's emotional claptrap that's just nonsense I've heard
Muslims I've heard Muslim girls on the radio say how they go
through life and what a comfort it is to have the Prophet Mohammed
with them all the time and how it makes them feel There are
people who talk about having Jesus in the boat, and it's exactly
the same concept. No. My hope is built on nothing
less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Why do you have confidence? Why
do you have confidence that it's well with your soul for eternity?
Because Christ has borne my sins, and I don't have to answer for
them. He's paid them. He's taken them away. He's removed
them as far as the east is from the west. How do you have...
Why do you have confidence that you are going to rise from the
dead and be with Him? Because He has risen from the dead. Because
He has risen. That's how I have that confidence.
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. And so then, do I have the love
of God's elect? Because if I have this true,
true spiritual union with Christ, I have this faith by the gift
of God. I have this hope which goes with
that faith based on what I see. And I have the love of God's
elect in my heart. That love that flows from its
divine source which is so much higher than my own heart, my
own flesh. All believers have the love of
Christ implanted in their heart as the ruling principle of life.
That's it, the love of Christ. You'll find arguments, I tell
you, you go to the vast majority of reformed Baptist churches
and no doubt Presbyterian ones up and down this country, and
you ask the question of anybody, what is the believer's rule of
life? And they will say, ah, the law.
The moral law is the believer's rule of life. That's what they'll
say. They'll die in a ditch, they'll have a real fight with
you over that. I believe the Scripture says completely the
opposite. The Scripture says that the believer's
rule of life is the love of Christ in the heart. That's the rule
by which we live. That's the principle. That's
the principle. Turn with me to 1 John. Turn
over, there's a few references in here. 1 John and chapter 2
first of all. 1 John chapter 2 and verse 9. you know that this epistle is
absolutely full of the theme of the divine love of Christ
in believers' hearts and minds 1 John chapter 2 and verse 9
he that says he is in the light, he that says he's a true believer
and hates his brother doesn't have his brother's best interests
at heart doesn't love his brother like he loves himself doesn't
look out for the interests of his brother like he looks out
for the interests of himself is in darkness even until now
you see you cannot if you have that love of Christ in your heart
you will have the interests of your brother in your heart he
that loveth his brother abideth in the light and there is none
occasion of stumbling in him uh... and then uh... sorry verse
11 also, but he that hateth his brother is in darkness and walketh
in darkness and knoweth not whither he goeth because that darkness
hath blinded his eyes then chapter 3 chapter 3 and verse 14 we know that we have passed from
death which is the natural state of all men and women you know
you're dead in trespasses and sins we know that we've passed
from death into life the life which is in the light of Christ
Because we love the brethren. We love the brethren. He that
loveth not his brother abideth in death. Verse 23 of the same
chapter. And this is his commandment,
that we should believe on the name of his Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another as he gave us commandment. This is his commandment,
that we should love one another. Chapter 4 and verses 7 and 8.
Beloved, let us love one another for love is of God and everyone
that loveth is born of God and knoweth God he that loveth not
knoweth not God for God is love verse sixteen of chapter four
we have known and believed the love that God hath to us God
is love and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God
in him verse twenty of the same chapter 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 has
not seen with physical eyes and chapter 5 verse 1 whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God and everyone that loveth
him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him everyone
who says I love Christ he loves he loves practically all those
who are born of God all those who are begotten of Christ he
loves those also so the love of Christ fulfills the law of
God the love of Christ fulfills the law of God Matthew chapter
22 verses 36 to 40 Jesus said this that the commands the two
basic commands are love God with all your heart and soul and mind
and strength and love your neighbor as yourself and he said on these
two commandments hang all the rest of the law They just summarize
all the Ten Commandments and every other aspect of the law.
Love God with all your heart and love your neighbor as yourself.
Love fulfills the law of God. Romans 13 verses 8 to 10 say
this, Owe no man anything but to love one another. You know,
just owe that. Owe them love. 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. If there be
any other commandment, let me just stop there, you know, it's
what they call the believer's rule of life, yes? It is briefly
comprehended in this saying. Namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor
as thyself. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor.
Therefore, love is the fulfilling of the law. That's pretty clear,
isn't it? That's pretty clear language. Love is the fulfilling
of the law. Look at this love as it's described
in 1 Corinthians 13, verse 4. Love suffers long and is kind.
It doesn't envy. It doesn't vaunt itself. It's
not puffed up with pride. It doesn't behave itself unseemly. It doesn't seek its own things.
It's not selfish. It's not easily provoked. It's
tolerant. It doesn't think evil. It always
tries to think the best. It's not duped. It's not naive.
It's not gullible, but it tries to think the best. It doesn't
rejoice in iniquity. Oh, have you heard what so-and-so's
done? No, it doesn't rejoice in iniquity, but it rejoices
in the truth of the Gospel. It bears all things. It's tolerant.
It puts up with things. It believes all things. Does
that mean it's got no discernment? No, it believes the best. It
believes the best. It hopes all things. It endures
all things. Charity, love never fails. But
where there are these other things, they will fail. And they did.
They all passed away. They all passed into misuse with
the completion of Scripture. That's what the following verses
mean. There's an element of when we get to glory, how we will
see clearly, but I believe that you can make a very strong case
that the following verses, down to verse 13, are about the completion
of Scripture. Childish things. They had childish
things like those gifts, but now we're mature we have this
book in understanding be men for we have a more sure word
of prophecy to which we do well to take heed so all of those
things all of those descriptions that's true love give me an example
give me an example of where where were those where were those characteristics
manifested most clearly you know there's no other more supreme
example than our Lord Jesus Christ himself in whom was no sin Neither
was there any guile in his mouth. He evidenced all of these things
as he walked this earth in absolute perfection. And we're told, follow
me, follow me. Let's follow him. We need to
examine ourselves. We need to look at that list.
When we do, if you, anything like me, you'll see all sorts
of shortfalls and all sorts of causes of lamenting. But the
desire is there, isn't it? The desire is there, oh I want
to be like that. I want to do that. I lament the
times when when I slip and my flesh gets the better in its
struggle against my spirit, that new spirit of Christ within.
I lament the times when I fail and I fail to do those things.
Yes, I indeed lament those times, but my desire is towards the
things of Christ. I want to be those things. I
want to do those things. I want to follow Him. This love
of Christ, it's the only thing that we have in this life as
believers that we take with us into the next life. Because even
our bodies, you know it talks about our bodies being raised?
They're new bodies. Not the same old bodies, they're
new bodies that are raised. So our love, this love of Christ,
this saving love of Christ is the only thing we have as believers
in this life that we take with us into the next life. Faith
and hope, they both cease, don't they? Obviously they do. Romans
8 24 says, why does a man yet hope for what he sees? If it's
there, if If you've apprehended it, if it's in your hands, you
no need any longer to hope for it because you've got it. We'll
see Him as He is face to face. We won't need faith because there
He will be in reality before our sight. Faith and hope will
finish when we pass from this life. But love, love continues. And that is why love is the greatest
gift. These are the three tests. Has
God given you these things? The faith of God's elect, the
hope of God's elect, the love of God's elect. If He has, if
the desires are there, then you can be sure that you're amongst
the redeemed of the Lord, and you can walk in the good of those
things. How do you measure up? Do you have it? Do I have these
things? Do I want these things? Am I conscious that perhaps I
don't have these things, but I want these things? I want to
be in Him. We know that God is sovereign,
absolutely and alterably sovereign. These things are not, as so many
preach, they're not ours to choose to accept or reject. Not at all. It's not in our whim to accept
or reject these things. But with a sense of sin, with
a sense of impending judgment, with a sense of the condemnation
that is due, with a sense of our perilous state before God,
with a longing desire to be in Him and be right with Him, what
can we do? We can do what that hymn writer
said. Pass me not, O gracious Savior. Hear my humble cry. Whilst
on others thou art calling, do not pass me by. Be merciful. God, what was the Pharisee? The Pharisee said, I thank you
God that I'm not like other men. But that other poor man beat
on his breast and said, God, be merciful to me, the sinner. God, that's all we can plead.
God, be merciful to me, the sinner. and you please Lord be pleased
to give me that light and I think it's a good sign if he's put
that desire and that want within you that he will indeed show
you that light faith hope and love let's not stand in judgment
on others without examining ourselves to see if these things be in
us