This Sunday service Pastor (Mrs) Silvia Lia Leigh preached another sermon in the series titled ‘Love is The New Commandment’. Her main scriptures were taken from the books of 1 John 1:1-10; 2:1-11; Luke 7:36-50;

LOVE IS THE OLD AND THE NEW COMMANDMENT (1Jn 1:1-10; and 1 Jn 2:1-11).

“God is Love” (1 Jn 4:8). God is not just loving in nature. God is Himself Love. We, the believers in Christ, are children of Love. The concept of Love is major in understating Christianity. The whole universe is powered by the engine of Agape Love. The word ‘Love’ appears about 50 times in this short but powerful letter (1 John). Paul was called ‘The Apostle of Grace’. John was called ‘The Apostle of Love’. We shall study this letter and discover the power of Love. Every time the word ‘love’ appears in the New Testament, including in this letter, is always the Greek word ‘agape’. This is the sacrificial love of God, of Jesus. The New Testament never uses the word ‘eros’ (sexual love) or ‘Phileo’ (brotherly friendly feelings). It is always ‘agape’ love. When you look at Christ Crucified, you see Love! May this amazing revelation fill our hearts, in Jesus’ name!

John writes as an apostle of Christ and as a pastor to the church. As an apostle he has the authority to say that He has seen Jesus! He has ‘seen (looked upon) and handled (touched)’ the Living Word of Eternal Life. As a Pastor he writes with great compassion and encourages his flock. He now ‘declares’ the Word of Life to ‘the Brethren’, calling them ‘my little children’. The purpose of this letter, this sermon, or this declaration is twofold: to have fellowship and perfect joy. These blessings are possible only for the true believers in Christ. First, John wants the brethren to experience the intimate fellowship with God the Father, with God the Son, and with one another. Secondly, he wants their joy to be full, fulfilled, complete, and expressed as a powerful overflow. Lesson: knowing God’s Word is not just theory. God’s Word is living and working in our hearts. It changes lives and circumstances. Believing God’s Word is the only way to have intimate joyful loving fellowship with God and with the brethren. The word Gospel means ‘good news’. The Gospel is the story, the testimony of Jesus. Simply said, the Gospel is this: Jesus died and rose again for me! Salvation is always joyful. For a sinner to be saved, that is the most wonderful news he will ever hear. To preach the Gospel with sadness is sin. The Cross is not a tragedy. It is the greatest triumph in the universe. Jesus completely won the victory over sin and death. We share in that victory. We share in His crown. Our faith in Him is our victory. “For everyone born of God is victorious and overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has conquered and overcome the world—our [continuing, persistent] faith [in Jesus the Son of God]” (1 Jn 5:4; AMP). Our joy comes from believing and knowing that though we are in the world, in Christ, we are more than conquerors on earth and sure of heaven’s glory. Because Jesus lives, we live also!

God is light and in Him there is no darkness at all! This light is another word for truth, holiness, and purity. Apostle Paul reminds us that as sinners we used to be ‘darkness’. But now, the life and light of God has entered into our spirits. He commands us to live in the light. “For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Walk as children of light (for the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness, righteousness, and truth)” (Eph 5:8, 9). The fruits that grow in the light of God are goodness, righteousness (Christian character) and truth. These fruits can never grow in the darkness of unconfessed sin. God’s Word is Truth. In God there are no lies, no sin, and no deception. John warns us about the deceivers in the church. They claim to have fellowship with God, but they do not practice the truth. They are dangerous rebellious hypocrites. They deceive themselves and others saying that they are saved. But they live in sin and walk in darkness. They are spiritually blind and totally ignorant of God. They lie with confidence to cover their sin. The truth is that we are all born sinners and we also choose to sin. But these false teachers say that they ‘have not sinned’. They claim that they live in the light, but they deny the light, making God a liar. By their hypocrisy they attack God’s character. This is a major sin. God’s Word is not in them. They are not children of God. But because you find them in the church, they can deceive others to follow them in their sin.

Apostle John counsels us ‘not to sin’. “The fear of the Lord is to hate evil” (PV 8:13). To fear God, it means to take His Word seriously. The fear of God is the antidote to prevent and defeat sin. In case ‘we sin’ we have an ‘Advocate’ with God the Father. He is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Righteous. In Greek, the word ‘advocate’ is ‘Paracleton’, the same word used for the Holy Spirit. It is translated as Advocate, Helper, Comforter, Counsellor, or Intercessor. In heaven, Christ pleads our case with God the Father, who is the Judge. Did you know that we have the best defense Lawyer in the whole universe? As the Most Senior Advocate of the Universe, Jesus Christ has never lost any case. He is both our Great High Priest and our sacrifice accepted by God the Father. He is the ‘propitiation’ for our sins. For example, when I sin, Christ tells the Father: ‘yes, Malia has sinned. But I shed My Blood for her. Please forgive her…’ And for Christ’ sake, God forgives me! To ‘propitiate’ it means to appease the wrath of God. Jesus died on our behalf to appease God’s wrath against us because we broke His Law. God hates sin. God is holy. We are saved by grace and through faith in Jesus. Nothing but the Blood of Jesus shed for sinners could atone for sins and give us entrance into this grace by which we now stand. The Love of God is the engine of God’s plan of salvation. This love has been shed into our hearts. “We love Him because He first loved us” (1Jn 4:19). Love is forgiveness! God forgives so that we forgive! Love is an eternal debt to pay to the Lover of our souls!

As God’s children we love God, ourselves, and our neighbors. This love is not just a feeling. It is God’s deep work in our hearts. Love is obedience to God’s Word. The same deceivers say that they know and love God. They praise God with their lips, but they disobey God’s Word. They are liars. Lesson: Love is not just words. It is action and it is fruitful. He who say I love God, will surely obey His Word. God’s love becomes ‘perfected’ in him. It becomes mature, fruitful. This is spiritual maturity. A mature believer walks (behaves) like Jesus. Though we can never be sinless like Jesus, but by habitually obeying God’s Word, and by loving others, we prove that we are Christ’ disciples indeed. Loving others means not to hurt them; it means to actively care for their souls, to help them in any way we can. If any man becomes a mature Christian, this planet will become for him ‘heaven on earth’. This love is the true mark and the proof that Jesus died and rose for sinners on earth. Glory to God!

Love is called both the Old and the New Commandment. It is old because God the Creator is Love. God created and loved Adam and Eve. God warned Cain to repent of his jealousy and hatred. In other words, God commanded Cain to love his brother, Abel. But Cain refused to listen. He did not want to be his ‘brother’s keeper’. So, he killed his brother. The difference between Love and Hate is as much as the distance between heaven and hell. Love is also called a new Commandment because in Christ, it reached the climax of manifestation and fulfilment. Love is always connected with life, truth, wisdom, strength, joy, peace, and freedom. Hatred is always connected with evil, sin, wickedness, failure, spiritual darkness. Love helps others to make progress. Hatred is a stumbling block. Those who hate never make progress in life. They are troublemakers. “Hatred stirs up strife, But love covers and overwhelms all transgressions [forgiving and overlooking another’s faults]” (PV 10:12; AMP). “Above all, have fervent and unfailing love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins [it overlooks unkindness and unselfishly seeks the best for others]” (1 Pet 4:8; AMP). Hatred keeps grudges alive and fuels the desire for revenge. Love forgives and forgets all the offences against itself. Hatred is blindness, unbelief, and ignorance. The one who hates has no vision for the future. He moves on without a purpose in life. Hatred is always destructive and ends in regret. The love of the Christians towards one another is the most powerful tool for evangelism. In the early church, it turned the world upside down. The believers exercise love towards God and man. Nothing destroys the power of this agape love.

“He who believes in Him is not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God” (Jn 3:18-21). Jesus said that faith in Him saves a man. Justification is by faith alone. Refusal to believe confirms that the man is born a sinner, and ‘condemned already’. The light of God shone in the darkness thru the Person of Jesus Christ. Sinners have no excuse. They refused to come to the light, to receive their sight and be saved. A spiritual blind man is blind by choice. He is rebellious against God’s light. Spiritual darkness manifests as hatred of Jesus, hatred of the Bible, a refusal to surrender to Jesus and refusal to repent of sins. But a believer humbles himself, surrenders and comes to the light. He believes and obeys God’s Word which is truth. Light and life are twins. The believer becomes spiritually fruitful to the glory of God!

LOVE FULFILS THE LAW

“Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery,” “You shall not murder,” “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandment, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfillment of the law” (Rom 13:7-10).

The world does not know anything about love. It only knows lust, and it calls lust ‘love’. God’s Law of love is to be obeyed. But sinful man cannot obey it. Thru the Cross, Christ brings a new power of obedience. It is called Love. In Christ, by loving God and man, the believers fulfill God’s Law, and they taste of its sweetness. This obedience makes God happy and gives Him all the glory. Christians alone have the power not only to obey God’s Law, but in Christ, to fulfill it. Fulfilment is the process or the act by which an action comes to its expected end. For example: a promise is made about things in the future. There is a period of time between the promise and the reception of its blessings. Love alone is patient and willing to wait for the fulfilment of the promise. Nothing defeats the power of Love! The adulterer watches to seduce his neighbor’s wife. The thief is looking for doors left unlocked so that he comes in the night to steal from his neighbor. The slanderer is polishing his tongue on how to successfully speak evil against his neighbor. The murderer is happy when his neighbor is sick. He wants him dead so that he can take over his possessions. There is a curse against hating your neighbor. “Woe to him who gives drink to his neighbor, pressing him to your bottle, even to make him drunk, that you may look on his nakedness!” (Habakuk 2:15). For a long time, sinners seem successful and strong. But this is the truth: No evil man can be truly rich or happy. At death, his wealth remains on earth. His soul goes to hell. This is the greatest loss! Selah!

WHAT IS DEBT?

A debt is an amount of money taken now and to be paid later. Debt is an amount of money owed by the borrower and given to the lender. This money is to be returned to the lender with interest, at a particular time. The approval of the loan is based on the worthiness of the borrower. A debt can be mortgage, credit card debt or a personal loan. A secured debt comes with collaterals. If the borrower refuses to pay his debt, the lender will take the collateral. The advantage of a loan is that you can invest in your future. You can start a business, or you can go to school when you don’t have enough money. The disadvantage of a loan is that you have to pay bigger amounts of money later. Having a debt and not being able to pay has consequences: anxiety, depression, financial hardship, family stress, or social stigma. Unpaid debts lead to greater poverty and slavery. Some people who could not pay their debts committed suicide. Spiritually, debt is a form of slavery. Once you borrow from another, you become his slave. His spirit will torment you. “The rich rules over the poor, and the borrower is servant to the lender” (PV 22:7). Now you see why hating someone increases your debt to him and you become his spiritual slave. It is wicked to take a loan planning not to pay it. A Christian pays his loans. “The wicked borrows and does not repay, but the righteous shows mercy and gives” (Ps 37:21). Unpaid debt leads to greater poverty. We are told to be free from debts. But there is a debt we must continuously pay unto we see Jesus. It’s the debt of love.

“And forgive us our debts, as we have forgiven our debtors [letting go of both the wrong and the resentment]” (Matt 6:12; AMP). ‘Debt’ here means a sin against you, a trespass, something that must be paid. A sin against your neighbor is a sin against God. With time, the debt increases until you cannot pay it again. That is why you ask God to forgive your debts of sin, not ‘because of’ but ‘as’ you forgive others. As you let go of the grudges against other people, you can ask God to forgive your debt to Him, because you too have offended men. Selah!

The command is to love God first, love yourself second, and love your neighbor as yourself. Love should never end with you! There is a romantic love with sexual attraction. That is to be expressed only in the marriage between a man and his wife. But this command of love is greater even than marital love. It is the Love of God poured into the souls of men. In the Parable of the unforgiving servant, the Master forgave him a big debt, just because he confessed his debt and pleaded for mercy (Matt 18:21-35). Later, the same man refused to forgive another who owed him very little. The Master called him back. He rebuked him for his lack of love and compassion because he did not replicate the mercy he had received. He misrepresented his master’s kindness and took his grace for granted. The master threw him in prison where he would be tortured until he paid all his debt.

“Render therefore to all their due: taxes to whom taxes are due, customs to whom customs, fear to whom fear, honor to whom honor. Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law” (Rom 13:7, 8). We are commanded to be free from debts. But there is a debt we must continuously pay unto we see Jesus, face to face. It is the debt of love. What does that mean? We are told to pay all our debts and taxes. As much as possible, as Christians, we avoid taking loans. Do not take a loan and spend the money on yourself. The money belongs to your lender. This command teaches us indirectly to be humble, modest, and satisfied with God’s provision so that we avoid taking loans. It also teaches us to be hard working so that we make a profit also to avoid taking loans. It also teaches us to quickly pay our debts and not increase them. We are to pay our debts towards all men, those who are socially and financially superior, equal, or even inferior to us.

After we pay our taxes to the government, we respect the customs of the nation, and honor those in authority, we are not yet totally free. We must pay the universal debt of love towards all people. Apostle Paul merges here two great principles: Law and Love. Loving others is a sign that we are loved by God. Only a child of God is able to love people. This love towards people is the fulfillment of God’s Law. Once we love people, we don’t need to obey any other law. This is the only law God will use to judge us. No other law is needed beside this law. Christianity is powerful because of this old and new Law of Love. This Law is simple, powerful, and profound. Selah!

*Who is your neighbor? Any person you come into contact with you, day by day; that is your ‘neighbor’. Therefore, you see that love is not a romantic feeling. Love cannot choose its objects. Love is a Law to be obeyed. Love does good to all she encounters, the good, the bad and the ugly. This is how Jesus lived. This is how we are commanded to live. We must pay our debt of love to all we meet. No matter how much money we give somebody, if we do not love that one, we still owe him. If you harm a man, you do not love him. You have increased your debt to that man.

*How do you love your neighbor? To love your neighbor means to put yourself in his position, to understand his situation, and to help him have a better life. Love him as you love yourself. Each man is concerned about his life, family, his health, or his reputation. When you meet a man who has a need, think of him like you are in his position. Do whatever you can to help him. “Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, When it is in the power of your hand to do so. Do not say to your neighbor, “Go, and come back, and tomorrow I will give it,” When you have it with you. 29 Do not devise evil against your neighbor, For he dwells by you for safety’s sake” (PV 3:27-29). Do not ‘withhold’ your love from another if you can do something to help him.   

FORGIVENESS

Forgiveness is defined as the letting go of sin. In the Bible, forgiveness is an act of worship and love, to God and man. This includes forgiving everyone, every time, of everything, as an act of gratefulness to God. Forgiveness acknowledges the sacrifice God made through His Son Jesus who died on the Cross to restore the relationship between God and man. Forgiveness does not mean excusing sin, forgetting the past, permitting repetition of the sinful act against you, or guaranteeing reconciliation with the perpetrator. God has forgiven us our sins, and we forgive others of theirs. As we forgive, we are moving on instead of dwelling on that sin. Forgiveness is Freedom, is Love and Progress in life!

Forgiveness in the Bible means God’s pardon of our sins for Christ’s sake. God does not count our sins against us. Biblical forgiveness requires faith in Jesus, repentance, and confession of sins from our part. One condition to receive forgiveness from God is that we forgive others who sinned against us. Love is the foundation of forgiveness. At the last supper Jesus said: “For this is My blood of the new covenant, which is shed for many for the remission (forgiveness) of sins” (Matt 26:28). Refusing to forgive is a sin against Jesus and His Blood. If we receive forgiveness from God, we must give it to others who hurt us. Forgiveness means letting go of grudges or seeking of revenge, trusting God for justice. Forgiveness means releasing the other from blame, leaving the painful event in God’s hands, and moving on. When you forgive, you set a prisoner free, but you discover that the real prisoner was yourself. If in the past you had a relationship with the guilty person, you may or you may not continue in that relationship. If you did not have a relationship, there is no need to start one. Forgiveness means that you trust Jesus Christ, the Judge of the living and the dead, to vindicate you. Once you learn how to forgive, you experience true freedom. “He commanded us to preach to the people, and to testify that it is He who was ordained by God to be Judge of the living and the dead. To Him all the prophets witness that, through His name, whoever believes in Him will receive remission (forgiveness) of sins” (Ac 10:42. 43). Forgiveness is the brother of Love. “Let all bitterness, wrath, anger, clamor, and evil speaking be put away from you, with all malice. And be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you” (Eph 4:31, 32). Forgiveness and Love must be done as Christ has done.

WORSHIP IS AN ETERNAL DEBT TO BE PAID (Lk 7:36-50).

This is a story that reveals the power of love, the extravagant worship for Jesus. Jesus was invited by Simon, a Pharisee. The Pharisees were religious leaders, always antagonistic to Jesus. They looked for reasons to discredit His words. Just imagine that your enemy invites you to dinner. Will you go? Will you eat at his table? Most people would refuse to go and eat for fear that they will be poisoned. But Jesus went. He sat down with them to eat. It was a room full of men. Suddenly, a woman came in. She was ‘a sinner’, possibly a known prostitute. Nobody invited her. Have you ever been in a room where nobody likes you? No Jew invites a sinner to his table. They believed that her touch alone would defile them for days and they could not go to the temple to pray. Boldy, the woman enters the room, ready to be insulted and driven away by the men. In ancient Israel, it was only the husband that could see his wife’s long hair which was regarded as her naked body. A woman could not be seen with her long hair in public, except she was a prostitute. She came as she was. This nameless woman ignores all men, goes straight to Jesus, and falls at His feet, weeping. The cry was so much that her tears became like a river. She used the tears to wash Jesus’ feet and without a towel, she dries them with her long hair. She kissed His feet and anointed them with expensive fragrant oil she bought in an alabaster box.

The woman lavishes her love on the feet of Jesus. Why His feet? It is because these dusty but precious, beautiful feet brought her mercy, healing, and salvation! “How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who proclaims peace, who brings glad tidings of good things, who proclaims salvation, who says to Zion, “Your God reigns!” (Is 52:7).

Simon and the other religious men were terribly embarrassed by the emotional show of love especially coming from this ‘sinful’ woman. They criticized Jesus in their hearts for allowing such an open intimate display of love on Him. In their understanding, this woman’s reckless behavior and Jesus’ acceptance of it, was sinful. But what Jesus said, shocked them even more. Not only that Jesus did not rebuke the woman, but He rebukes Simon for his lack of love. Jesus tells him that this woman’s behavior is love in heart and love in action. Simon was the host. He invited Jesus into his house but did not perform the simple duty of a host as it was in ancient Israel. Simon did not give Him water to wash His feet. Simon did not welcome Jesus with a friendly kiss. Simon did not bring oil or cream to anoint His head. This woman’s action is worship coming from the grateful heart of a soul saved by grace.

Simon, by rejecting this woman’s worship, proved that he was not saved. Simon and the rest of the men in the room, were ashamed of Jesus. This shame is sinful and dangerous. In other words, they hated Jesus. Jesus said: “For whoever is ashamed of Me and My words, of him the Son of Man will be ashamed when He comes in His own glory, and in His Father’s, and of the holy angels” (Lk 9:26). The natural man is ashamed of Jesus and His words. This is because man is selfish. Jesus said that if anyone is ashamed of Him in this life, He will pay back with the same ‘coin’ when He comes again, in His heavenly glory. Simon did not know that this woman got saved and forgiven; that she came to pay her great debt of gratitude to Jesus. He did not know that this woman also helped him pay his own debt to Jesus. She did what Simon was supposed to do. He did not understand the greatest Law of Love. How ignorant a religious man can be! Lesson: Religion may invite you to dinner, may give you gifts or money, but religion never loves. Religion is a hater. Jesus said to Simon: “Her sins, which are many, are forgiven, for she loved much. But to whom little is forgiven, the same loves little” (Lk 7:47). Jesus connects love with forgiveness of sins. Love is a debt to be paid. All true believers are forgiven people, and they forgive others. They are so broken by the revelation of grace, that they are willing and able to forgive their enemies. Love and forgiveness always go together. The end of this holy chemistry is ‘peace’ with God, peace with yourself and peace with others. Jesus said to the woman, “Your faith has saved you. Go in peace” (Lk 7:50). Love, faith, and peace hold hands and worship Jesus! Worship the Lord!