Make Love Your Aim

Q: What does the Bible say about the importance of love?

The Bible emphasizes that love is the greatest commandment and essential for true discipleship. In 1 Corinthians 13, Paul articulates the paramount significance of love, stating that it surpasses all spiritual gifts and even faith and hope. Love is not mere emotion but the driving force behind Christian conduct; it is the evidence of genuine faith. The greatest of these virtues is love because it embodies the character of God Himself, who is love. Therefore, making love our aim is vital for reflecting Christ's nature and evidence of our discipleship, as seen in John 13:35 where Jesus declares, 'By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.'

Q: How do we know that faith and love are connected in Christianity?

Faith and love are interconnected as true faith produces love for God and others. In the context of biblical teaching, faith is the means by which we express trust in God, while love is the manifestation of that faith in action. The Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 13, indicates that without love, our faith is rendered ineffective. Real and vibrant faith is corroborated by love, as seen in Galatians 5:6 which states that faith works through love. Thus, genuine faith should naturally lead to love, highlighting that faith is not just intellectual agreement, but a heart that beats in rhythm with God’s love, allowing us to serve Him and others selflessly.

Q: Why is love considered greater than faith and hope?

Love is considered greater because it is eternal and the essence of God's nature. The Apostle Paul’s declaration that love is greater than faith and hope rests on the eternal nature of love. While faith and hope will eventually find fulfillment in the presence of Christ—when faith becomes sight and hope turns to reality—love will endure eternally. As stated in 1 Corinthians 13:13, 'And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of these is love.' Love is the character of God and the principle of His kingdom; it is what will forever sustain our relationship with Him and one another throughout eternity. Love is transformative, empowering us to fulfill the law and the commandments, which culminates in loving God and our neighbors.

Q: How does the Bible define love in the Christian life?

Christian love is defined as patient, kind, and rooted in God’s unconditional love for us. The Bible provides a comprehensive definition of love, particularly in 1 Corinthians 13, where Paul describes love as both active and selfless. Love is characterized by patience, kindness, and a refusal to harbor resentment or seek one’s own interests. It is motivated by the love God has shown to us, whereby we are compelled to love others genuinely. The essence of this love is relational, fostering harmony and community within the body of Christ. Moreover, it’s clear that love should be the foundation of all Christian interactions, reflecting the very nature of God who is love. This type of love is not optional for believers but is fundamental to living out their faith, as demonstrated by Christ's love for His church.

I'll tell you where I'll be preaching
from this morning. I Corinthians chapter 13. So if you like to follow in your
Bible, and I wish you would because I'm going to go, I hope, verse
by verse, and not only verse by verse, but almost word by
word through this 13th chapter of I Corinthians. But I want
you to look first at I Corinthians 14. You have your Bible there. Turn to I Corinthians. 13 then
look at chapter 14 the first verse of chapter 14 starts this
way follow after charity Now the word charity is love Follow
after love and the amplified version. I believe it is or the
Berkeley says this make love your aim Aim Your goal make love
your your goal, your aim. That's what he's saying in 1
Corinthians 14, 1. Make love your aim, your goal. A preacher friend of mine wrote
an article, sent it to me recently, in which he asked this very thought-provoking
question. Listen carefully to it. He said,
what is the area of my life He didn't say of yours and somebody
else's. He's talking about Himself. What is the area of my life? And if it applies to me, it applies
to you and every believer. What is the area of my life to
which I should give the most attention if I would serve and walk with
Christ in the way He would have me walk? Now, do you understand
the question? What is the area of my life? to which I ought
to give the most attention if I'm going to serve Christ and
walk with Christ and glorify Christ in the way that He would
have me serve Him and walk with Him and glorify Him." And then
the preacher continued thinking out loud. He said, well, many
thoughts ran through my mind. And then I discovered the answer,
the area of my life to which I should give the most attention,
if I would glorify Christ." Peter expressed it this way. The apostle
Peter said, above all things, above all things, have sincere
love among yourselves, above everything. Our Lord declared
this. He said, by this shall all men
know you're my disciples. If you love one another, That's
the way folks are going to know that you belong to me, that you're
my disciples if you love one another. And in the last verse,
you said, Butch, you're coming at this thing backwards. In the
last verse of I Corinthians 13, the very last verse, before the
apostle Paul said, Make love your aim or follow after charity,
the very last verse, he said this, And now abideth faith,
hope, and love. You familiar with it? And now
abideth faith, Faith by which we look to Christ. Faith by which
we find in Christ all we need. That faith that looks to Jesus
that I talked about last week, that's the faith He's talking
about. Now abideth faith. Now abideth hope. That blessed
hope, that good hope, that good hope through grace, that sure
hope, that hope by which we wait for the fulfillment of what He
promised. Now abideth faith, hope, and love. But the greatest
of these is love. That's what he says there. You
know what he says? The greatest of these is love. Why is love
the greatest of these? Love greater than faith? Love
greater than hope? Love is the greatest? Oh, yeah,
that's what he said. I tell you this, it's the moving
cause of God's grace to you and me. Love is the moving cause
for God so loved that he gave. Herein is love, not that we love
God. He loved us and sent His Son. to be the propitiation for our
sins. So love is the greatest because love goes clear back
to eternity past. Love is what motivated God to
give us grace in Christ, to choose us in Christ. He chose us in
love, having predestinated us to the adoption of children.
We didn't love Him. He loved us. He said, I've loved
you with an everlasting love. Therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn you. That's why it's the greatest. It's the greatest. Love preceded
faith, preceded hope. Love was before faith. And love
is the greatest evidence that we have faith. By this shall
everybody know you have faith. You love me. You're my disciple
if you love. And love is what motivates all
true obedience. The love of Christ constraineth
me. If we don't do what we do out of love for Christ, if that's
not the motive, Forget it. God will not accept anything
that is not motivated out of love for Him. He'll not recognize
it. And then love's the only one
that will endure of the three, faith, hope, and love. Well,
faith one day will not be needed. When I see Him face to face,
what I need was faith. That's right. When I see Christ,
Faith's going to be a thing of the past. Hope's going to vanish someday.
Hope's going to give way to reality. That which we see, we don't hope
for. I hope to be like Christ. Well,
one day I'm going to be like Christ. No more hope. I'm like
it. But love, it's the same. It's the character of the kingdom
of God. It's the character of those who live in the kingdom
of God. God is love. And he that loveth not knoweth
not God. So Paul writes in 1 Corinthians
14, follow after love. Make love your aim. If you don't,
you're going to miss faith. And you're certainly going to
miss hope. Because the greatest of these is love. And then all
the reasons are given in 1 Corinthians 13. Would you look at 1 Corinthians
13 with me? Look at verse 1. Now, I may speak
with the tongues of men and of angels. I may speak with the
words and eloquence of an angel. Wouldn't that be something? I
may preach in many languages and tongues. But if I don't have
love, if I don't have love for Christ and love for His people,
then I'm no more effective than a gong. You know, an old sounding
gong, a ringing gong that makes your ears rattle, or a tinkling
cymbal that worries your nerves. That's how important love is.
I may speak with the words and eloquence of an angel and the
tongues and languages of many people, but all of it is to no
avail and ineffective if I don't love Christ and His people. Look at verse 2. I may have the
gift of prophecy, the gift to preach. I'd like to be able to
preach. I write to people who write to
me and I say, pray for me, that God give me wisdom and power
and grace to preach the gospel of Christ. But I may have the
gift to preach, prophecy, preaching. I may understand the mysteries
of Scripture. I may have great knowledge of
hidden truths. I may even work miracles, have
faith to move mountains. You see that verse 2? And have
not love? I'm nothing. What is that great
preacher? Without love, he's nothing. What
is that great mind that can delve into the great mysteries of the
Word of God and take us into those hidden truths and treasures?
Without love, he's nothing. Well, who is this man that has
the knowledge of the hidden truths and can bring about great miracles? If he has not love, he's nothing.
He's nothing. That's what it says, isn't it?
Well, I may, look at verse 3, I may even be generous and give
my goods to feed the poor and pay tithes to the church
and help with so many worthwhile projects. Did not they say at
the judgment, we preached in your name? cast out devils and
did so many wonderful works. And he said, I never knew you.
Depart from me, you workers of iniquity. Well, I may be generous
and give my goods to feed the poor. Why would a person do that
if he didn't love the poor? Oh, there are a lot of reasons. Because a man is generous doesn't
mean that he loves. That's right. There are a lot
of reasons. Ananias and Sapphira, Remember them? They gave. They gave generously. They sold
their house and gave and land and gave generously, kept back
part of it. Why'd they do that? For recognition. Their hearts weren't right with
God. They did it for recognition. What about the Pharisee in the
temple who said, I give alms to feed the poor? Huh? I give
alms to the poor. I tithe. I give alms to the poor. Why'd he do it? For righteousness.
That's why he was doing it, that he might be accepted of God because
of his good deeds. What about those people in Matthew
7? Why did they do many wonderful works in preaching his name and
cast out devils? Why were they doing it? To gain
acceptance to heaven for reward. That's why they're doing it,
for reward. Love is so essential. You see what I'm saying? See
what Paul's saying? Love is so essential. and so
indispensable, that a man may have outstanding gifts, speak
with the tongues of men and of angels, that a man may have outstanding
talents, the gift of prophecy, understand all mysteries, and
faith to move mountains. A man may have great qualities
of generosity and give his goods to feed the poor, but without
love he's nothing, nothing. He has nothing. He does nothing. He's like a sounding brass and
a tinkling cymbal. Nothing. You see, my friend,
note this well. This love we're talking about,
and I'm talking about the love which is the character of His
kingdom, the love of Christ for us. We love Christ because He
first loved us. None of this originates with
us. Love is the gift of God. Love, listen to this. Love is
the commandment of Christ. He said, a new commandment I
give you, that you love one another as I loved you. And love is the
evidence of life because he said, by this shall all men know you're
my disciples if you love one another. It's a special family. It's a special unit. It's just
people that love each other, love God and love one another.
Thirdly, it's the fruit of the Spirit. Love is the first word
mentioned when he describes the fruit of the Spirit. Now, the
fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, but
love. That's the first word mentioned.
Love is the gift of God. It's shed abroad in our hearts
by the Spirit of God. Love is not a prerogative. Well,
some, you know, Christian ought to love Christian. No, he will. It's not a prerogative. It's
not what I ought to do. It's not a prerogative. It's
not a priority. Well, that ought to be our first
priority, preacher. No, it's not a priority. It's
not the privilege of the few. It's the principle of the kingdom
of God. It's the possession of everybody
who's born of God. He that loveth is born of God.
You see what I'm saying? Christ's love for us, our love
for Him, and our love for one another is not a prerogative.
It's not a priority. It's not a privilege of a few. It is the principle of the very
kingdom of God. It is the principle of the nature
of faith. It is the principle of that new
heart. He said, I'll put a new heart
in you. I'll take out the stony heart of hate and malice and
give you a new heart. And that new heart is a heart
of love. It's the very principle and possession
of that heart. He that loveth not knoweth not
God. That's what 1 John 4 says. It's
not what a fellow ought to do. It's what he will do. It's what
he can't do of himself. It's what he can't do of himself.
That's the reason salvation's of the Lord. That's the reason
I'm preaching to you salvation's a miracle. You say, you're talking
miracle. I know I'm talking miracle. I'm
talking something that man cannot do. With men, it's impossible. With God, all things are possible. Our Lord said, It's easier for
a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man
to enter the kingdom of heaven. And the disciples said, Well,
who can be saved? He said, With me, and it's impossible.
But with God, all things are possible. God can turn a blasphemer
into a preacher of the gospel. He did Saul of Tarsus. God can
turn an idolater into a man that's a friend of His who talks with
him face to face. He did Abraham. It's a miracle. If a man say, I love God and
hates his brother, he's a liar. How can we love God whom we have
not seen if we don't love our brother whom we have seen? You
see what I'm saying? This is the very nature and principle
of the kingdom of God. Now look at these verses, and
let me just give you a rundown of these verses, four, beginning
with verse four. Paul reveals the character of
that love. What's it like? What is this
love of God and love of His people and love for one another? Well,
listen. Verse 4 says this, love suffers long. That is, it's long,
it's patient, patient with others. Love doesn't give up so easily.
Well, I'm through with you. No, love's not through with you.
It suffers long, it's patient. Love is kind. Be kind one to
another, tenderhearted. forgiving one another, even as
God, for Christ's sake, forgave you. That's the basis. It's kind. Love does not envy,
envieth not. Love doesn't envy the one it
loves. Isn't that right? True love rejoices
in the gifts and the blessings and the happiness of that person
whom he loves. He rejoices. He doesn't envy
that person. Love envieth not. And love is
not puffed up. Puffed up means proud, arrogant. Pride is arrogant, but love is
not. I ask you this, what do we have
to be proud of? What do we have in which to boast? Who maketh thee to differ? What
do you have you didn't receive? I am what I am by the grace of
God. Paul said, I labored more abundantly than all of you, yet
not I. It wasn't Paul, it was Christ
that dwelleth in me. Love's not proud, puffed up. And then verse 5 says, Love,
listen, does not behave itself unseemly. What's that mean, unseemly? Love doesn't behave unseemly. Well, it means just this, love
is not rude. You meet rude people, unmannerly
people, Well, they don't know anything about love. Love's not
rude and unmannerly. Love produces humility, graciousness,
courtesy. Courtesy. And then watch this
in verse 5 there. It says, Love seeketh not her
own. Boy, we know something about this in this day, don't we? My
rights. My rights. Had a real popular
song. I'm going to do it my way. My
way. My pleasure. Whatever it costs
everybody else, my way. Well, this is selfish. This is
self-centered. This is not love. Love seeketh
not her own. Love looks on the things of others,
not on their own things. That's why we talk about mothers
loving their children. A mother can't love her child
and seek her own. She doesn't even seek her own
rest or her own desires or her own happiness. She seeks the
happiness of her child and finds her happiness in that child's
happiness and progress and growth and blessing. That's love. Love
is not easily provoked. It says there in verse 5, what's
the word provoked? Touchy. Oh, easily offended. always feel slighted, you know,
the least little thing, just offended and slighted, so touchy. You just have to walk on eggshells
around those folks. Well, that's, they don't love.
Love is not easily provoked. Love, look at the next line,
that love thinketh no evil. Love does not look for faults
in other people. It doesn't care suspicious nature
around all the time. See, two people talking, what
if they're talking about me? See a man and woman together,
wonder what they're doing. You know, all this is a suspicious
nature. It thinks evil. But love doesn't
do that. Love thinks the best. Love thinks
the best. Because verse 6 says, Love doesn't
rejoice in iniquity. Love is never glad when somebody
goes wrong. Love is not glad when somebody
falls. Are you glad when your children
fall? No, I love my children. Well, that same principle ought
to reach out to my children, too, and other people's children.
Love does not rejoice when somebody falls or fails. I tell you this. I found this out a long time
ago. What a man is, what he really is, he wants other people to
be. That's right. He would like for
people to be like him. Now, listen. Let me carry out
what I'm carrying out. If a person is evil, They delight
in gossip, and they delight to point out the evil in somebody
else. If a person's weak, he likes
to point out the weakness in somebody else. Misery loves company.
That's what somebody said one time. And what he is, he likes
to discover in somebody else because it justifies him. But I'll tell you, if a man loves
God and is honest toward God, And like Peter said, Lord, you
know all things, you know I love you. Then nothing delights him
more than to find somebody who does love God, who does honor
God, who does find delight in God. He delights in... See, love
does not rejoice in iniquity, it rejoices in the truth. You
see that in verse 6? Love does not rejoice when somebody
falls, when somebody goes wrong. Evil rejoices in that. They like
to see people fall. They like to find a weakness.
They like to find something wrong. It justifies them, makes them
feel like they're a little more righteous than that person that
fell. But love rejoices in truth. Love rejoices when people do
well in truth. What do people talk about? Listen
to people talk. Whatever they rejoice in, they
talk about, whether it's bad or good. If they're talking bad,
that's what they rejoice in. You know, Paul talked about in
Romans about people that not only do these things, but delight
in other people doing them. So whether it's error, people
sit around and talk about error all the time. They're rejoicing
in error. Look at verse 7, love. It doesn't
rejoice in error. It doesn't rejoice in evil. It
rejoices in truth. It likes to talk about good things,
pleasant things, delightful things, the things of God. It doesn't
like to talk about evil things. I tell our folks quite often,
I tell our men in the men's prayer room, don't talk about error
and talk about what people are doing wrong. Talk about Christ.
Talk about His Word. Talk about those who are rejoicing
in truth and God and the gospel and lovely things. Whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
are of good report, think on these things. Talk about these
things. Rejoice in these things. Whatsoever
is ugly, talk about it. No. Whatsoever is beautiful,
talk about it. See, love beareth all things.
Love covers a multitude of sins. Solomon said, Hatred stirs up
strife. Love covers all sins. A tale-bearer
reveals secrets. He that is of a faithful spirit
will conceal the matter. Love beareth all things. Covers it. Love believes all
things. Much better to believe the best.
Love believes the best. Love hopeth all things. What
love can't see, it hopes for. See what I'm saying? beareth
all things, believeth all things, and hopeth all things. And what
it doesn't see, it hopes for. What's going to get better? Love
endures all things. It'll endure trial, it'll endure
sorrow, it'll endure offense, it'll endure hurt feelings, it'll
endure neglect, it'll endure disappointment. Christ did. Greater
love hath no man than this that lay down his And when he was
reviled, he reviled not again. And when he was reproached, he
reproached not again. And Peter said, Well, how many
times should I forgive this fellow? Seven times? The Lord said, Seventy
times seven. Keep on forgiving him because,
verse 8, love never fails. Love never changes. Love never
goes away. That's what I said now about
his faith, hope, and love. The greatest of these is love
because faith will give way to sight and hope to reality, but
love never goes away. It's the same in the kingdom
of heaven as it is here in the kingdom of his dear son. I know
this is his love for us, but it's also our love for him. Love
never fails, never fails, never goes away, never falls. His love for us will never fail
and our love for him will never cease. It's the gift of God.
It cannot cease. Now, whether there be prophecies,
they'll fail. Whether there be preaching and
teaching and prophecies, it's gonna end. I'm preaching the
best I can, but I'm just preaching in part. I know in part. Whether there be prophecy, it'll
fail. Whether there be tongues, they'll cease. Whether there
be ability to speak, it'll cease. Someday, the so-called knowledge,
where there's knowledge, Fade away. Our knowledge is so limited.
What does He say here? We know in part. We prophesy
in part. We haven't touched the outer
garment, have we? Can you, by searching, find out
God? Can you know the Almighty to perfection? Why, it's higher
than heaven. What can you know? It's deeper than hell. What can
you do? It's broader than the sea. All of that's going away. And when that which is perfect
has come, when the new heaven, new earth has come, that which
is in part will be done away. My preaching, just in part. My
knowledge, just in part. My faith, just in part. My gifts,
talents, whatever, just in part. But love never fails, never fails,
never ceases, never ends. Make love your aim. Follow after
love. When I was a child, I speak as
a child. I understood as a child. I thought as a child. And that's
the way I am now. I'm just a child spiritually. And I speak and
I understand and I think. But when that which is perfect
is come, Christ Jesus, that which is in part shall be done away.
Now abide it. Now faith, hope, and love. But
one day, just love. So make love your aim. Write
for this message. It's on cassette tape. Here's
the address. Send two dollars. We'll mail it to you. along with
another message on the other side. All right, till next week,
God bless you.

Make Love Your Aim

What does the Bible say about the importance of love?

How do we know that faith and love are connected in Christianity?

Why is love considered greater than faith and hope?

How does the Bible define love in the Christian life?

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Make Love Your Aim

What does the Bible say about the importance of love?

How do we know that faith and love are connected in Christianity?

Why is love considered greater than faith and hope?

How does the Bible define love in the Christian life?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

Comments

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