Turn back to 1 John chapter 3. Verse 16. Hereby perceive, know we, understand
we, the Lord. because he laid down his life
for us. Now, who is the us that he laid
down his life for? If we don't know, this passage
of scripture is meaningless. The us is the elect. The us is those for whom he died. The us is the brethren. He laid down his life for us. Now, last time we looked at that,
we saw we could draw three solid conclusions from that statement. He laid down his life for us. And the first one is this. How
evil my sin must be. that Christ Jesus the Lord had
to lay down his life for that sin to be put away. I say that, and even while I'm
speaking it, I know I don't have much understanding of it, but
how evil sin is. He's the only one who really
knows how evil sin is, and he laid down his life. how evil
my sin must really be. Number two, how much he must
really love me. Greater love hath no man than
this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. He loved me, this sinner, This
one who has to sing, I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus
the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me, a sinner condemned
unclean. He loved me this much. He laid down his life for me. I see from this statement how
evil my sin must be. I see how much he really must
love me. But thirdly, I see how safe I
am. If he laid down his life for
me, I cannot be anything but perfectly saved. He can't lay
down his life for someone and they end up being damned. No,
my hope, my confidence My security is that He laid down His life
for me. He that spared not His own Son,
but delivered Him up for us all. How shall He not with Him also
freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? I would love to enter into how
Paul felt when he wrote that down. I wonder how many times
he said it when he was preaching. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? It's God that justifies. Who
is he that condemns? It's Christ that died, yea rather
that's risen again, who's even at the right hand of God who
also maketh intercession for us. What a precious statement. He laid down his life for us. Now let's go and read it. Hereby perceive we the love of
God because he laid down his life for us and we ought, we,
those for whom he died, we ought, it is what we should do, we ought
to lay down our lives for the brethren. The brethren. These are Christ's
brethren. This is what makes them different
from the rest of Adam's race. These are Christ's brethren. You remember after his resurrection,
he said to the women who were his sisters, he said, you go
tell my brethren that I go before them. Now he didn't say go to
that bunch that denied me and forsook me and fled and ran off
and were in hiding. He didn't say go to them. He
said, you go to my brethren. What a special term that is.
What about when Paul said, when you sin against the brethren
and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Now that's how close this relationship
is. If you're one of Christ's little
brothers and I sin against you, you sin, I sin against the Lord
Jesus Christ. Remember when he said, inasmuch
as you've done it to the least of these, my brethren, you've
done it to me. He didn't say it's as if you've
done it to me. He said, you've done it to me.
And inasmuch as you did it not to the least of these, my brethren,
you did it not to me. Hebrews 2.11, both he that sanctifyeth
and he that sanctifyeth, no, both he that sanctifyeth and
them that are sanctified are all of one, for the which cause
he's not ashamed to call them brethren. For whom he did foreknow,
them he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his son, that he might be the firstborn among what? Many brethren. The Brethren,
what a special title, so close. By this we know we pass from
death to life because we love the brethren. And here John tells
us that just as Christ laid down his life for us, we ought, this
is what we should do. This is what we're indebted to
do. This is our duty. That word is translated in all
those different ways. To lay down our life for the
brethren. You and I are called upon to,
by Christ, to love the brethren so much that we are willing to
lay down our lives for the brethren. By this shall all men know you're
my disciples. by your love one to another. And it says in verse 17, he goes
from something greater to something lesser, but verse 17, who so
hath this world's good and seeth his brother have need
and shut up his bowels of compassion from him. How dwelleth the love
of God in him? Now, like I said, this is going
from a greater to a lesser. He's talking about us laying
down our lives for the brethren, and now he ratchets it down a
notch, yet it's the same. Whoso has this world's good.
Now, you know what that is? That's money. That's means. Whoso hath this world's good
and sees his brother have a need and you shut up your bowels of
compassion. What that means is you pretend
to not see. You pretend to not see. You see it, but you pretend
to not see and do nothing for him. I take this by this that
he didn't ask for your help. He didn't ask for your help,
but you saw the need. And you shut up your bowels of compassion. You have the ability to meet
this need. And you chose to look the other
way. This is what he's talking about. You're, I guess, like
the man James describes in James chapter two, where he talks about.
If any, if a brother or sister be naked and destitute of daily
food and one of you say, depart in peace, be warmed, be filled,
and then close the door. and don't give them that which
is needful to the body. This is the same thing. What
good did it do them? Now, I've got to pause while
I'm talking about this. I always need to remind myself
and you, do not think about somebody not helping you. Well, they didn't help me when
I was in that kind of condition. or they didn't help so-and-so
when they were that kind of condition. The Bible doesn't tell somebody
else how to treat somebody. It tells you how to treat somebody. Doesn't tell somebody else how
they ought to treat you. Tells you how you ought to treat
them. The Bible wasn't written for
other people. It was written for me. is written for you. So when we see a passage of scripture
like that, don't all of a sudden become a judge. They need to
hear that. They need to hear that. Oh? John asked this question though
regarding this man who sees his brother have a need. and shuts
up his bowels of compassion, how dwelleth the love of God
in that man? The fact is, the love of God
does not dwell in that man. That's just the bare bones facts.
The love of God does not dwell in that man. It's true faith
without works is dead and love without works is dead. Isn't
it? Love without works is dead. It's not even real. Love is as love does. I think
of that scripture, John 3, verse 16, God so loved the world that
he gave, that he gave. Look in 2 Corinthians 8. 2 Corinthians
8. Verse seven, therefore, as you abound in everything
in faith and utterance and knowledge and in all diligence and in your
love to us, see that you abound in this grace also. And he's
talking about the grace of giving. Love gives. That's what love
does, it gives. If you love somebody, you give
of yourself to them. If you love the Lord, you give,
not to pay the bills, but you give as unto the Lord. Love gives. Now look what he says in verse
eight. I speak not by commandment, I'm not giving you a rule, but
by occasion of the forwardness of others. And look at this line,
and to prove the sincerity. your love. Now, you have two
men. One says, I love the Lord, and
he gives little. And you have another man who
says, I love the Lord, and he gives much. Now I'm not talking
about amount. It may be somebody who gives
$10 gives more than somebody who gives $1,000. You know I'm
not talking about an amount as such. I'm talking about the spirit,
the generosity of that gift. The man who says he loves much
and gives little and the man who says he loves and gives a
lot. Which is the accurate barometer of that love? Giving proves the
sincerity of that love. Verse 18 of our text, back to
1 John chapter 3. My little children, this is a
term of endearment. My little children, let us not
love in word, neither in tongue. but indeed and in truth. Now he's not saying, don't say
I love you. He's not saying that at all. I suppose, Lynn, there's
not a day that goes by where at one point we don't say, love
you, I wouldn't run the phone, love you, that's the way we're
hanging up, love you. I mean it too, it's not just, and we
love to hear people say I love you. I love it when somebody
tells me I love you, and I know they do. I love it. I love it. You do too. He's not saying don't
say I love you anymore. Here's what he's saying. I love
you is either the most meaningful or meaningless word in existence
dependent upon the actions that are behind it. Now you've had
people who have said I love you and you thought you don't want
to show it. I would have thought the opposite. You've had that
happen. People say, I love you. And then
you've also had people who say, I love you. And you know, they
do. And what a blessing that is when someone says that, you
know, they do. So he's not saying, don't say,
I don't love you. He's saying, make sure your actions
behind it correspond with what you said. Turn with me for a
moment to Luke chapter seven. Luke chapter seven. And one of the Pharisees, verse
36, Luke chapter seven, verse 36. And one of the Pharisees
desired him that he would eat with him. And you know, the Lord
went to his house. He went to his house. This fellow
wanted the Lord to eat with him. And the Lord said, okay. And
he went to his house. He was a Pharisee. And he went into the Pharisee's
house and sat down to meet. And behold, a woman in the city,
which was a sinner. She was a very immoral woman. When she knew that Jesus sat
at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment. I believe she'd heard him preach.
You know, in the context, this was right after he said, Come
unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. She heard this message. And she stood at his feet. Behind him. She didn't feel like
she could come before him, she wanted to stay behind him weeping.
And began to wash his feet with tears. and did wipe them with
the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with
ointment." Now one thing I would notice, she didn't say anything.
She didn't say, I love you, did she? You go throughout this whole
passage of scripture, and you're all going to say, well, she said
anything. She didn't say, I love you. She did though, didn't she? You could tell by her conduct. Verse 39, now when the Pharisee,
which had bidden him Saul, He spake within himself saying this
man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner
of woman this is that touches him. For she's a sinner. If there was anything to him,
he wouldn't have let her touch him. She's so defiled, so sinful. And Jesus answering. And the man didn't say anything
out loud, did he? The Lord knew exactly what was in his thoughts.
And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to
say unto thee. And he said, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor
which had two debtors. The one owed 500 pence and the
other 50. And when they had nothing to
pay, Would that be where you're at
right now? Would that be where I'm at? Nothing
to pay. He frankly, freely forgave them
both. Tell me therefore, which of them
will love him most? Simon answered and said, well,
I suppose that he to whom he forgave most, that seemed like
an obvious enough answer. And he said unto him, thou hast
rightly judged. And he turned to the woman and said unto Simon,
seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou
gavest me no water for my feet, but she hath washed my feet with
tears and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest
me no kiss. But this woman, since the time
I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil,
thou didst not anoint. But this woman hath anointed
my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, her
sins, which are many, are forgiven. for she loved much. But to whom
little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto
her, thy sins are forgiven. And they that said it meet with
him began to say within themselves, who is this that forgives sins
also? And he said to the woman, thy
faith has saved thee. Go in peace. One by his works without a word,
demonstrated what he thought of the Lord. And one by her works,
demonstrated what she thought of the Lord. Now, I love this
passage of scripture where he says, he that has been forgiven
much, loves much. He that's been forgiven little,
loves little. Now this Pharisee, obviously
is the person he was talking about. This Pharisee looked at
this woman and said, she's a sinner. He believed himself to be somewhat
better than this woman. He's the one who loved little
and you can be sure he was an offense to God almighty. and
then the one who has been forgiven much. Now, what does that mean?
One has been forgiven much because I love what Chris Cunningham
called testimonies. You call them bragamonies. Did
y'all catch that? When people give their testimonies, they
give bragamonies and they start talking about how evil they used
to be and all the wickedness and now look at them now and
all that. I just can't stand personal testimonies like that.
But I know every believer could give this personal testimony. Now, I've never physically murdered
anybody. I really haven't. I've never
physically. I've been faithful to my wife. By the grace of God,
I've been faithful to my wife. I haven't robbed any banks. Yet. Hope I don't. But the point I'm
making is my life, I can look at somebody else and my life
might look pretty good. yours too. Everybody in this room,
you can always find somebody that you're better than. You
can always find somebody, which is an exercise in futility. But that being said, every believer believes they've
been forgiven much because they really believe that all they've
done is sin. That's it. Every action I've
ever done, good, bad, doesn't matter what it is, it's sin.
You know, when Paul said, Christ Jesus came into the world to
save sinners of whom I am chief, that's the one statement I take
exception with. And I think every believer does.
I know every believer does. Because you're the only one who
really knows you. And you believe that you're the chief of sinners.
And I believe this. I believe when I'm in heaven,
I believe that I personally will be the greatest example of just
how much salvation is by grace. It's all in grace with me. And
that's how every believer feels. Every believer is somebody who's
forgiven much. And because of that, they love
much. The Pharisee is an example of
somebody who didn't really believe that. But this woman lets us
know what John is saying. Let us not love in word, neither
in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Let your works demonstrate. What's the first thing the Lord
said to all seven churches? Anybody know? I know thy works. I know thy works. In Christ Jesus, neither circumcision
veils anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith which worketh by love. That love that covers the transgression. You know, a preacher told me
about, I don't know the way I say this, but I'm going to go ahead
and say it. He was asking me how I would deal with this. He
said, a woman told the congregation, told a bunch of people in their
church about her husband was having a problem with pornography.
Well, that's bad. But I'll tell you what's worse
is the woman that told people that. Love covers a transgression. That's the kind of love he's
speaking of. Now we ought, if Christ laid
down his life for us, we ought, it's our positive duty, it's
a debt we owe to lay down our lives for the brethren. People ought to treat me better.
I agree with that. People, wait a minute. Wait a
minute. That's not what we're talking
about. We're talking about you treating the brethren better,
not the brethren treating you better. Boy, I've been treated
wrong. Let's back off that. Now, I want to close by looking
at what the Bible says we ought to do. And that word is only
used nine or ten times in the New Testament. And it's a word
that means this is our duty. This is a debt we owe. This is
what we should do. This is what we're obligated
to do. This is what is a sin for us not to do these things,
what we ought to do. He says, if He laid down His
life for us, we ought also to lay down. That's our obligation.
We ought. It's what we should do. What's
wrong if we don't? We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. In Luke 11 verse 4, when the
Lord is teaching us to pray, He says, forgive us our sins
for we forgive everyone that is indebted to us. Can you pray
that? Lord, forgive me my sins because
I forgive everybody that owes me, that is indebted to me. This is so important. This thing
of forgiving others, that if I fail to forgive, I will not
be forgiven. Now that's what the Lord says.
I've heard, I've had people, when I've said that, I've had
people say, well, that works. No, it's not. No, it's not. If you're
forgiven, you will forgive. And this is how important this
is. To fail to forgive is such a
sin that we won't be forgiven if we continue in it. Well, I've
forgiven that person, but you continue to punish him. You won't
speak to him. That's not forgiveness. That's
not forgiveness. If you're continuing to punish
those people for something, you withhold something, but that's
not forgiveness. Oh, may God teach us what true
forgiveness is. Luke chapter 17, verse 10, the
Lord said, when you've done all things, which are commanded you,
say, we are unprofitable servants. We have done that which is our
duty. That's the word. We have done
that which is our duty to do. And I know this, in all time,
me and you ought to be humble. and consider ourselves to be
nothing more than unprofitable servants. And when we do do what
was right, number one, it was our duty. Number two, God caused
us to do it by his grace. Number three, we have nothing
to glory in. Don't do something for show, is what he's saying.
When we've done all that is commanded of us, say this, think it, even
more importantly, think it. I'm an unprofitable servant.
You know, as long as I'm a sinner, I'm an unprofitable servant,
aren't I? As long as I'm a sinner, I'm an unprofitable servant.
I've only done that which was my duty to do. And then in John
chapter 13, verse 14, we're familiar with this. If I've been your
Lord and master, washed your feet, you ought also to wash
one another's feet. There's that word, it's your
duty. If I, your Lord and Master, that's who you, can you imagine
the Lord Jesus Christ washing your feet? I understand why Peter
said, you'll never wash my feet. Peter always responds in some
way like that. He's always got something to
say. And the Lord said, if I wash you not, you'll have no part
of me. Then Peter said, wash my hands
and feet too. He said, he that is washed needeth
not save to be washed but his feet. You're clean every whip
but your feet. Now, here's the deal. You walk
through this world, you walk through this world while you're
at work today. You know what happened? Your feet got dirty. You can't walk through this world
without your feet getting dirty. Now, what is the washing of feet? It's not some literal ordinance.
If you want to wash somebody's feet, go ahead. If you want to
do that, I'm not going to object to that. Some churches practice
feet washing. Well, you know, okay. But I don't
think it has anything to do with an ordinance like baptism or
the Lord's table. But what it means, wash one another's
feet with the preaching of the gospel. Your brother's feet get
dirty just like yours do. You know how dirty yours get?
You become defiled by your own sin, by your own walking through
this world. Well, if the Lord Jesus Christ
washed my feet, and he does every single day, cleansed anew by
his blood. Yes, we're cleansed one time,
but we're cleansed every day because those feet get dirty.
every day. If I wash your feet, you ought
also to wash one another's feet. Romans 13. Go ahead and turn
here because I want to read both of these verses. I'm going to
quote most of these, but this one I want you to look at with
me. Romans chapter 13, verse 7. Render therefore to all their
dues that which is coming to them, that which they should
be given. Render to all their dues. Tribute to whom tribute is due,
custom to whom custom is due, fear to whom fear, honor to whom
honor. Give men that. Owe no man anything. Be in debt to no man, but to
love one another. Now, some people have used that
as a reason so that you should never be in debt. Well, if you
can get into a position where you can never be in debt, more
power to you. I'm happy for you. It's a great place to be, but
how many people will ever own a home if they don't get in debt?
That's not saying never be in debt, although it's better to
never be in debt. There's nothing more liberating
when you get your house paid off. You just feel so good about it.
I can still remember the first loan I had. I can remember when
I paid that loan off. I can remember how liberating
that was. I can't stand being in debt. But that's not so much
what he's saying when he says, no man owe no man anything but
to love one another. What he's saying is it's better
to give than to receive. Don't be a receiver for men.
Be a giver. Be a giver. Owe no man anything
but to love one another. That's a debt we owe all men. Now, what is this love? This
love, now I said this a few weeks ago. You love somebody when you
want them to have what you have. That's what love is. It's not
necessarily a ooey-gooey, you know, it might be, you know,
it's not somebody you, it's not your best friend. But if you
really love somebody, you want them to have what you have. You
want them to have Christ. You want them to have security,
safety. You want them to have what you
have even financially. You want them to, that's what
love is. Owe no man anything but to love one another. And
while you're there, Romans chapter 15, verse one. We then that are
strong ought, that's the word, ought, it's our responsibility,
it's our debt to bear the infirmities of the weak and not to please
ourselves. We that are strong ought to bear
their infirmities." Now, what does that mean? Well, a weak
brother has scruples, has grave clothes that you know are not
even true. He's got scruples. What do you do? Well, I'm not
going to deal with his scruples. No, you just overlook them and
bear with them. You bear with their infirmities,
their weaknesses, whatever they may be. How many weaknesses do
you have? I don't care if you are a strong
believer and you've been hearing the gospel for 40 years. How
many weaknesses do you have? How weak are you? We that are
strong ought to bear, put up with the infirmities of the weak
and not to please ourselves. That is what we ought to do. Not, brother, let me straighten
you out. Let me show you how wrong you are. No, bear up with
it. Bear up with it. And in the same chapter, verse
27, Well, it's beginning in verse
26. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia to make
a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem.
It hath pleased them verily, and their debtors they are. They owe this to them. For if
the Gentiles have been made partakers of their spiritual things, their
duty is also to minister unto them in carnal things. And that's
talking about giving. I think it's interesting there he calls
giving a duty. A duty, it's something that ought
to be done. Now, giving's a joy, isn't it? The scripture says that the Lord
loveth a cheerful giver. And giving is a joy. I want you
to think about what a privilege it is to give, as unto the Lord. It's a joy. It's also a duty. That's what he calls it here,
a duty, an obligation. Not a bad obligation, it's a
good obligation. What a blessing to have that
as your priority, to give. And that's what he calls it,
that this is a duty. Then in 1 Corinthians 7, verse
3, it says, let the husband render unto the wife due benevolence,
and the wife also to her husband. Do benevolence. Do goodwill. Now, I love that, well, I guess
I love that, I either love it or it condemns me, where it talks
about husbands dwell with your wives according to knowledge
that your prayers be not hindered. I want to dwell with my wife
according to knowledge, so my prayers won't be hindered. But
I know this, I owe my wife goodwill, due benevolence. And my wife
owes me goodwill, due benevolence. And to not give my wife due benevolence
is to defraud her and do her wrong. Now, a bad marriage is
sinful. That's just all you can call
it, sinful. Now, it's one person's fault. It's both person's fault.
It's always both person's fault. I shouldn't say that. But the
point is, I am to give my spouse due benevolence. The good will
do her. And to not do so is sin. Look at 2 Corinthians 12. When I saw this, I thought, this
is so sad. Look in 2 Corinthians 12. Verse 11, Paul says to the church
of Corinth, I am become a fool in glorying. And he had been
commending himself. I mean, look in the previous
chapter of the Jews, five times received I 30 stripes, saved
one. Night and day I've been in the deep. I've been beat with
rods. All these different things he'd
gone and experienced for the cause of Christ. And he says
in verse 11 concerning all the stuff that he said, he said,
I've become a fool in glory. You have compelled me, for I
ought to have been commended of you. For in nothing am I behind
the very chiefest apostles, though I be." Nothing. Now, Paul had
to commend himself and defend himself with these Corinthians. They developed such a critical
and judgmental and harsh and suspicious attitude toward him.
And he said to the church of Corinth, these people who had
learned the gospel from him, he said, you ought to be commending
me. Now, that wasn't because he was
wanting to get glory to himself, it was because of their attitude.
And wouldn't this world be a better place if I did more commending
and less criticism? May the Lord give me grace to
commend people where they ought to be. Well, that'll puff them
up. No, it won't. No, it won't. A word in season is always a
blessing. So Paul had to say, I ought to
be commended of you. Can you imagine how difficult
that was for Paul to say that to them? I ought to be commended
of you. So may the Lord make us people
of commendation. And here I love this one. Second
Thessalonians 2.13. I love Paul, but I love this
one maybe the best. But we are bound. We are obligated. We're under
a great debt. This is our duty. We are bound
to thank God always for you. Brethren, beloved of the Lord,
because God has from the beginning chosen you to salvation through
sanctification of the Spirit and belief of the truth. Is there
ever a time, he's thanking God for their election, but is there
ever a time when we're not bound to thank and to praise God? Never a time. I don't care how
bad it is. Somebody says it could be worse.
No, it couldn't be better. It couldn't be better. That's
the truth of the matter. Whatever you're going through
is exactly what you need. And everything give thanks for
this is the will of God and Christ Jesus concerning you. Whatever
it is, just trust him. Trust him. Whatever he does is
best. And know this, we're bound to
thank God. Turn to 1 John 2. We have three
more. I'm going to give them real quick. 1 John 2. This was
a blessing to think about. Verse 6. He that saith, he abideth
in him. 1 John 2, verse 6. He that saith, he abideth in
him, ought himself also so to walk even as he walked. Now, what is it? What am I saying
when I say I'm abiding in him? I'm saying that here's what I
want. All God to see is Christ when
he looks at me. Amen. I don't want him to look
at my walk. I don't want him to look at my
talk. I don't want him to look at my motives. I don't want him
to look. I want him to see me in Christ so that all he sees
is the Lord Jesus Christ. And that's what it means to abide
in Christ. I don't want to be anywhere outside of him when
that's all God sees. I don't want him to see anything
about me. I want him to see Christ. I've got a strong desire for
that. Well, if that's the case, it doesn't matter how you walk.
I mean, if all he sees is Christ, what difference does it make
about your conduct or how you are? No, look what John says. He that saith he abideth in him
ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." I want you to think about the
way the Lord completely depended upon his Father, how submissive
he was to his will. Think of the humility of the
Lord Jesus Christ. He that saith, he abideth in
him, think of the obedience of Christ. He that saith, he abideth
in him, he ought also to walk even as he walked. First John
chapter four, verse 11. Beloved, if God so
loved us, well, how did he love us? Look
in verse 10. Herein is love, not that we love
God. How many times do people just,
well, do they really love the Lord? Well, I hope they do, but
if you know anything about your love to God, that's not what
you're going to be talking about. I love the way John referred
to himself throughout the Gospels as that disciple which Jesus
loved. Not the disciple that loved Jesus.
But the disciple that Jesus loved, when with the ransomed in glory,
his face I at last shall see, it will be my joy through the
ages to sing of his love for me. Herein is love, not that
we love God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the
propitiation. Now that's a big word. We don't
hear it much in our day. What does it mean? a sin-removing
sacrifice. Here is love. Not that we love
God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be a sin-removing
sacrifice for our sins. And that's exactly what He did.
Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. And then in third John, verse seven, because that for his namesake,
they went forth, these preachers of the gospel, taking nothing
of the Gentiles. They didn't want to, they didn't
want anything they had. They didn't want to be looked
upon as people who were in this for personal profit. So they
took nothing from the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive
such. that we might be fellow helpers
to the truth. Now, we ought to be fellow helpers
to the truth. We want to be, and we ought to
be. And I put that article by Henry
Mahan and Donnie Bell, they both said the same thing in the article
so many times. If everybody in this church was just like me,
What kind of place would this place be? Some people probably
think it would be variable heaven. Okay, I'm glad you feel that
way, but let's be real. What would this place be if everybody
was as forgiving as me? As gracious as me? As generous
as me? As faithful as me? What kind of place would this
place be if everybody was just like me? And I hope this will
give us all a desire. I want to be a fellow helper
to the truth, don't you? Not a hinderer, but a fellow
helper to the truth. And then there's our text. He laid down his life for us. And we ought also to lay down
our lives to this special group called the brethren. Let's pray. Lord, we ask in Christ's name
that you would put your word in our heart. Lord, Cause us to not love in
word nor in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And Lord, we ask
in thy son's name that we might be allowed to be fellow helpers
to the truth. Lord, we ask that you would forgive
us of our sins. We ask that you would give us
the grace to walk with thy son. We pray for open doors to preach
your gospel to others. Bless this time for your glory.
In Christ's name we pray, amen.