Let brotherly love continue. Don't let it lie dormant. Don't
let it hibernate. Don't let it live in the past
the way you used to be, actions you once demonstrated. Let it continue to act today
and let it continue to act tomorrow, not resting in what was done
yesterday. Let brotherly love continue right
now, present tense. Brotherly love. Saul of Tarsus is holding the
coats of the men who stoned Stephen. He hated Stephen, he hated Stephen's
savior, and he thought it was his moral obligation to stamp
out the name of Christ. He hated him that much and he
wanted to destroy everybody who believed on Christ. He wanted
to destroy all of those who were of the way. And the scripture
describes him like this. He was breathing out threatenings
and slaughter against the saints of the Lord, the disciples of
the Lord. It came out of his pores, he
felt so strongly. Turn to Acts chapter nine for
a moment. Verse one, and Saul, yet breathing
out threatenings and slaughter against the disciples of the
Lord, went unto the high priest and desires of him letters to
Damascus, to the synagogues, that if he found any of this
way, this way of grace, this way of Christ, whether they were
men or women, he might bring them bound unto Jerusalem. Now, you know what happened.
That's when the Lord met Paul. He met him in brightness above
the brightness of the shining of the sun. Paul fell to the
ground and heard these words, Saul, Saul, why persecutest thou
me? He was persecuting the Lord's
children, but the Lord said, you're persecuting me. That's
how real this union is with the Lord Jesus Christ. What you do
to them, you do to Him. He said, inasmuch as you've done
it to the least of these my brethren, you've done it to me. And as
much as you did it not to the least of these my brethren, you
did it not unto me. But the Lord meets him He's knocked
to the ground, cries out, who art thou, Lord? He said, I'm
Jesus, whom thou persecutes. It's hard for thee to kick against
the bricks. He said, Lord, what would you have me do? He said,
arise, go to Damascus, and it will be told thee what thou shalt
do. Now, look in verse 10 of Acts
chapter nine. And there was a certain disciple
at Damascus named Ananias. Now, this is the only time Ananias
is mentioned in the scriptures. And this is the man that God
is going to use to tell Paul the gospel. And I love this. He's a nobody. Just like all of us. But he was a disciple. And the
Lord spoke to him. And there was a certain disciple,
Damascus, named Ananias. And to him said the Lord in a
vision, Ananias. And he said, Behold, I'm here,
Lord. And the Lord said unto him, Arise, and go into the street
which is called Straight, and inquire in the house of Judas
for one called Saul of Tarsus. For behold, He prayeth. He never had before. He thought
he had. He'd gone through the motions
many times. But now behold, he prayeth. And hath seen in a visit a man
named Ananias coming in and putting his hand on him that he might
receive his sight. Then Ananias answered, Lord,
I've heard by many of this man how much evil he hath done to
thy saints at Jerusalem. And here he hath authority from
the chief priest to bind all that call on thy name. But the
Lord said unto him, go thy way, for he is a chosen vessel unto
me to bear my name before the Gentiles and kings and the children
of Israel, for I will show him how great things he must suffer
for my name's sake. And Ananias went his way, and
when he entered into the house, and putting his hands on him,
said, Brother Saul, Isn't that beautiful? Brother Saul. You see, Saul is one of the brethren
now. Now, at first he was nervous
about this. He knew what this man had done,
but upon in obedience to God's command, brother Saul. The Lord, even Jesus, that appeared
unto thee in the way, as thou camest to send me, that thou
mightest receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
And immediately there fell off from his eyes as it had been
scales, and he received his sight forthwith, arose, and was baptized. Let brotherly love continue. Now this would be meaningless
if we did not know who the brethren are. Let brotherly love continue. If I do not know who this group
is called the brethren, I won't know how to obey this command.
Let brotherly love continue. are brothers and sisters in Adam.
We all have the same common ancestors, and that's since we're all brothers
and sisters. Everybody is. And I want every son of Adam,
I want to treat them in such a way as they know that I'm seeking
their good. and that I love them, and that
I want them to know the Lord. I want to be a fisher of men,
don't you? I want to seek to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ,
and I want the sons of Adam to know that I want them to know
the Lord. And we ought to treat everyone
good. They're our brothers, and they
are our sisters. But that's not what the writer
to the Hebrews is talking about when he says, let brotherly love
continue. The brethren are all who have
God as father. Our father, who art in heaven. That's the cry of the believer.
Remember when the Lord said, I go to my God and your God,
to my father and your father, and what a blessed privilege
it is to call him our father. The brethren are those who have
God as father. Not everybody does. Did not the
Lord say, and these words are scary, but he said them. He said
to the Pharisees, you are of your father, the devil. And that's not just hyperbole.
Every unbeliever is a child of the devil with no love for Jesus
Christ. And he says to these people,
you are of your father, the devil and the lusts of your father,
you will do. John speaks in first John chapter three, verse 10.
In this, the children of God are manifest and the children
of the devil. Those are the only two groups.
Children of God and children of the devil, whosoever doeth
not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his
brother. The brethren are the elect of
God. Knowing brethren beloved, Paul
said, I love that language, don't you? knowing, brethren beloved,
your election of God. For our gospel came not unto
you in word only, but also in power and the Holy Ghost and
much assurance. Listen to this scripture. Here's
the brethren. For whom he did foreknow, Then
he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image of his
son, that he might be the firstborn among many brethren. Those are the brethren, those
he foreknew, those he predestinated, the elect of God. The brethren are the brothers
of Christ. Listen to this scripture. I love this scripture. Hebrews
chapter 2 verse 11. Both he that sanctifyeth, that's
the Lord Jesus. He's the one who sanctifies us. And they who are sanctified are
all of one. I'm one with Christ. Every believer
is united to Christ for the which cause He is not ashamed to call
them brethren. He calls every believer, you're
my brother. The brethren are those Christ
died for. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. He said,
I lay down my life for the sheep. The brethren are those the Lord
Jesus Christ died for and put away their sins. The brethren
are the ones who are born of the Spirit. That which is born of the flesh
is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit
is spirit. And because of that, the brethren
have the same nature. Second Peter 1.4 uses this amazing
statement, every believer is said to be a partaker of the
divine nature. That's so glorious, it's so mysterious,
it's so powerful. Brethren, have the same nature.
They have the same love. They have the same desire. They
have the same faith. They all believe the same thing. That
is where our brethren come from. We believe the same thing. We
have the same Savior. We believe the same gospel. We have the same object of faith,
the Lord Jesus Christ, partakers of the divine nature. Turn with me to 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. That's why they love. Now, a
mother that is not a believer, she loves her children. She loves
her husband. She loves her mom and dad. But
that's not the love John's talking about. He's talking about this
love of the brethren. He's talking about love to God
and love to the brethren. He said, he that loveth, everybody
that has this kind of love, what's the reason? They're born of God. And they know God. He that loveth not knoweth not
God, for God is. Love. 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's begotten of him. Now that is love to the brethren. Let brotherly love Continue,
where there is faith, there will be love to the brethren. I love
that verse of scripture in Galatians chapter five, verse six, where
Paul said, for in Christ Jesus, neither circumcision avails anything
nor uncircumcision, but faith, which worketh by love. Love to God, love to the brethren. Now turn to 1 John chapter three.
We're there in 1 John, I want to read this passage of scripture
to you, verse 10. In this, the children of God
are manifest and the children of the devil. There we have those
two groups. Whosoever doeth not righteousness
is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother. For this
is the message that you've heard from the beginning, that we should
love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that
wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because
his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Marvel
not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we pass
from death unto life." What a passing. We know that we pass from death
to life because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother
is a murderer, and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life
abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of
God, because he laid down his life for us, and we ought also
to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoso hath this
world's good, and seeth his brother have need, shutteth up his bowels
of compassion from him, How dwelleth the love of God in him? Now,
this is a rhetorical question. It doesn't. Verse 18, my little
children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but
in deed and in truth. And hereby we know the where
of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him. Now, let brotherly love continue. You got to know who the brethren
are. And that doesn't mean you can look at somebody, that person's
a brother, I don't think that one is. That's not what this
is about. Who believes the gospel? Who
believes Christ? Who loves Christ? Anybody who
loves Jesus Christ, every believer loves. Let brotherly love continue. Now, I think this is interesting. We don't need to be taught to
love the brethren. Paul said in 1 Thessalonians 4, 9, but
it's touching brotherly love. You need not that I write to
you for yourselves are taught to love one another. It's something
every believer just does. And it's also something every
believer needs to be taught and continually reminded to do. Let brotherly Love continue. Now the brethren are those, here
they are, the brethren are those who do the will of God. Turn with me to Matthew chapter
12. beginning in verse 46. While he had talked to the people,
Matthew chapter 12, verse 46, while he had talked to the people,
behold, his mother and his brethren stood without desiring to speak
with him. This is his mother after the
flesh, his brethren after the flesh. Then one said unto him,
behold thy mother and thy brethren stand without desiring to speak
with thee. But he answered and said unto him that told him,
who is my mother? And who are my brethren? And
he stretched forth his hand toward his disciples and said, behold,
my mother and my brethren, for whosoever shall do the will of
my father, which is in heaven, the same as my brother and sister
and mother. Now, do I need to remind you
of what it means to do the will of the father which is in heaven?
The Lord said, Not everyone that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall
enter the kingdom of heaven, but he that doeth the will of
my Father which is in heaven. Now these fellows thought they
had plenty of good works. Lord, Lord, have we not preached
in your name? Have we not cast out demons in
your name? In your name, have we not done
many wonderful works? then will I profess unto them.
Depart from me, ye that work iniquity. I never knew you. You
see, the people who do his will are the people who believe the
gospel. That's what it is to do his will. It's to believe the gospel. It's to trust Jesus Christ as
your all in salvation. You find me somebody who looks
to Christ only, I'll find you somebody that's doing the will
of God. Now that is doing his will and that's who his brother,
he would look at people in this room. I hope you look at everybody
in this room. I want everybody in this room
to be saved, but I know this. He'd look at every believer in
this room and said, behold, my mother and my brothers and my
sisters. Love is an active thing. That's why it says, let brotherly
love continue. Do you remember John said, my
little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but
in deed and in truth. Love is an active thing. You know, the words I love you
are either the most powerful or the most meaningless words
there are. Isn't that so? Depending on the
actions behind them. Now, don't fall prey in thinking about
brotherly love, people aren't loving me enough. If you're thinking that way,
you're missing the point. I love what JFK said, ask not
what your country can do for you, but ask what you can do
for it. Well, this is infinitely more
so with regard to the brethren. Ask not what your brethren can
do for you, but what you can do for them. Let brotherly love
continue and turn with me for a moment to first Corinthians
chapter eight. I'm going to be preaching on this Sunday night.
I mean, first Corinthians chapter six, but this is an example of
what I'm saying or what the scripture saying, not what I'm saying,
what the scripture is saying. Now he's talking about. Believers
going to law against other believers and how wrong it is for that
to take place under no circumstances that okay and Here's what it
says verse 6 but brother goeth to law with brother and That
before the unbelievers now therefore this is utterly a fault among
you because you go to law one with another Why don't you rather
take wrong? Why don't you rather suffer yourselves
to be defrauded? Nay, you do wrong and defraud,
nay, your own brother." Now, what he's saying is this, out
of love for the brethren, rather than standing for your rights
and standing for what is owed to you and the way you've been
mistreated, rather than standing for your rights, you ought to
suffer yourself to be wronged out of love for the brethren,
out of love for the unity of the Spirit, the bond of That's
an example of love to the brethren. You will suffer yourself to be
wronged, to be misunderstood, to be ripped off, to be wronged,
even knowing it's not right, out of love for the brethren. Paul said, be ye kindly affectioned
one toward another, honoring, preferring one another. Turn to Philippians chapter two.
I want you to look at several scriptures with me. Philippians
chapter two. Verse two, fulfill ye my joy
that you be like minded, having the same love. Love to Christ and love to one
another, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done
through strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind. Let
each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man
on his own things, but every man also on the things of others. Let this mind be in you, which
was also in Christ Jesus. Turn across the page to Colossians
chapter three, verse 12. Put on therefore, as
the elect of God, holy and beloved, boughs of mercies, kindness,
humbleness of mind, meekness, long-suffering, forbearing one
another and forgiving one another. If any man have a quarrel against
any, even as Christ forgave you, So also do ye, and above all
these things, put on charity, which is the bond of perfectness. Ephesians 4.32, be ye kind, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath
forgiven you. Let brotherly love continue. Let me show you one more passage.
Romans chapter 14. This is our, this is certainly
a part of brotherly love continuing. Romans chapter 14. Verse 10. Why does thou judge thy brother? We do it, don't we? all the time. Why? Or why does thou set it
not thy brother? You know, every time you judge
and anytime I judge my brother, here's what I'm doing. I'm setting
him at not. For we shall all stand before the judgment seat
of Christ. That brother you're setting at
not, he's going to stand accepted at the judgment seat of Christ.
You're setting him at naught. You don't have any business doing
it. He stands before God, justified, one of his children. We're all
going to stand accepted before the judgment seat of Christ.
This doesn't mean we're going to be judged. Oh, we're going
to be judged and justified. That's true, but we're all going
to stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it's written,
as I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every
tongue shall confess to God. So then every one of us shall
give account of himself to God. Let us not therefore judge one
another anymore. But judge this rather, that no
man put a stumbling block or an occasion to fall in his brother's
way. Now it's only those who are born
of God that have this brotherly love that we're speaking of. Do you know it's impossible for
a lost man to have this kind of brotherly love? And you think
of some lost people you know that are nice people. I mean
they're good citizens, they're good neighbors, they seem kind
and genuine and you appreciate their attitude, but they don't
have this kind of love because you have to be born of God to
love the brethren. Let brotherly love continue. What did the Lord give as the
mark of discipleship? He said in John chapter 13, a
new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as
I have loved you. By this shall all men know that
you're my disciples. By your love, one to another. Now go to 1 Corinthians chapter
13. This is where we're going to end. In verse 31 of chapter 12, he
said, but covet earnestly the best gifts. Don't you want to
have the gift to preach the gospel, to testify the gospel? I want
that gift. Don't you want to have the gift
of hospitality, the gift of generosity? Whatever gift there is, Paul
says, covet that gift. for the glory of Christ, covet
earnestly the best gifts, and yet shall I unto you a more excellent
way. This is better than any gift. I hope this is real to me. This is better than any gift. Though I speak with the tongues
of men, and of angels, and have not charity, love, I'm become as a sounding brass
or a tinkling cymbal, no matter how gifted my speech is. And though I have the gift of
prophecy and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge, and though
I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, and have not
charity, what am I? Nothing. And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, though I give everything, to
help people, and I die as a martyr on the stake for the cause of
God and truth, not willing to deny what I stand for. And have not charity, it profits
me nothing. Charity suffereth long. to those it loves. Charity is kind. It's not mean-spirited. It's kind. Charity envies not. You don't envy somebody you love.
You're happy for that which takes place with them. You're not envious
if you love them. Now, if you don't love them, you might be
envious, but if you love them. Charity vaunteth not itself. It doesn't boast and promote
itself. If you love that person, when
you're vaunting yourself, you're being manipulative. You're trying
to promote yourself. You don't do that when you love
somebody. Charity vaunteth not itself. It's not puffed up with
pride, trying to sell itself. Verse five, it doesn't behave
itself unseemly. It's not rude. It seeketh not
her own. It's not motivated by self-interest. It's not easily provoked. It's
not touchy. You don't have to walk on eggshells
around it. It thinks no evil. It keeps no
record of wrongs. It rejoices not in iniquity.
It doesn't rejoice in the fall of somebody, but rejoices in
the truth. It bears all things, and that means it covers with
silence all things. If you love somebody, you're
not gonna want to air out all their dirty laundry and talk
about their problems. It believes all things, believes
the best, it hopes all things, what it can't see it hopes for.
It endures all things, it continues, it doesn't stop. Charity never
fails. It's never reduced to inactivity. Let charity, let brotherly love
continue. But whether there be prophecies,
they shall fail. They'll be over. Whether there
be tongues, they shall cease. This gift of tongues in the early
church was not going to last forever. It died out with the
apostles. Whether they be knowledge, it shall vanish away because
it is so true. We know in part, we prophesy
in part. Don't you know that? Everything you know, the more
you know, the more you realize you don't know. The more you
understand, the more you realize you don't understand. It just
keeps getting bigger and more awesome, and you keep getting
smaller. The more we learn of the truth,
that's the way it works. We know in part, and we prophesy
in part, but when that which is perfect is come, and I have
no doubt that he's talking at this time about the full canon
of the scriptures. They didn't have it at that time.
He said, when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in
part shall be done away with. When I was a child, I spake as
a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when
I became a man, I put away childish things. It's time to grow up.
Let brotherly love continue. For now we see through a glass
darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then
shall I know even as I also am known. And now abideth, this
is what's left. Faith, hope, charity, these three. But the greatest of these is
charity. Why is that? One of these days,
faith is going to be turned to shite. One of these days, what we hope
for is going to be turned into experience. Those things are
going to be gone. But you know what will abide?
Charity. So Paul says in chapter 14, verse
1, follow after charity. Pursue charity. Let brotherly love continue. And I think it's interesting,
the next verse In Hebrews chapter 13, go ahead and try, I've asked
you to turn to a lot of scriptures, it's good. He says in verse two, be not
forgetful to entertain strangers, for thereby some have entertained
angels unawares. Now that word entertain strangers
is the word love for strangers, hospitality. Yes, let brotherly
love continue, but don't forget to love strangers. Don't forget
to be hospitable toward strangers. Love the brethren. And that's
a supernatural love. And don't forget to love the
strangers either. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that you would put it in our hearts to see the glory of being in
that number called the brethren. Those you chose, those Christ
loved and died for, those God the Holy Spirit makes children
What a blessed privilege to be a part of the brethren. Lord,
we know that that is the work of your grace and your grace
alone and how thankful we are for that. And Lord, let us, let
brotherly love continue in us, cause us to be people who love
one another, who love the brethren, Lord, cause us to love all men
so as to preach the gospel to them and truly to seek their
good. Bless this message for Christ's
sake. In his name we pray.