Bible Kisses

Bible Kisses

There are many types of kisses. There’s the kiss you give your mother…

There’s the kiss you give your sister…

There’s the kiss you give your wife!...

A kiss is an expression of love and affection. Pop culture has reduced it to a tawdry act of eroticism. So I thought on this eve of Valentine’s day that we would look at kisses in the bible. What can we learn by studying “bible kisses?” I think as we look at some examples we will find some truths and principles worth keeping.

I. The Figurative Kiss of God’s Attributes – Ps. 85:10

Mercy and truth are met together; righteousness and peace have kissed each other.

KJV

a. Consider how difficult it is to get Mercy and Truth together. Truth is absolute holiness with error or hypocrisy. Mercy is overlooking error and hypocrisy.

b. The same can be said for Righteousness and Peace. Sinful man finds righteousness frustrating, yet he cannot have true peace without it.

c. Yet our verse says that these seeming opposites have met together. They have kissed each other.

d. How can this happen? Only in Christ can it happen. John 1:17 says:

For the law was given by Moses, but grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.

e. Christ joined God’s holy righteousness and His overwhelming love. How can God be both righteous and merciful at the same time?

Rom 5:1 - Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ

NIV

f. Both sides of God’s attributes were brought in harmony through the salvation Christ brought on the cross.

II. The Faithful Kiss of Salvation – Luke 7:37-38

37 When a woman who had lived a sinful life in that town learned that Jesus was eating at the Pharisee’s house, she brought an alabaster jar of perfume, 38 and as she stood behind him at his feet weeping, she began to wet his feet with her tears. Then she wiped them with her hair, kissed them and poured perfume on them.

NIV

a. Simon the Pharisee was upset by this harlot’s flagrant display. Jesus used this as an opportunity to teach Simon about forgiveness. This “sinner” had taken it upon herself to honor Him.

b. When we receive God’s salvation through his Son, there is a difference made in our heart. We then look for ways to honor Christ with our life. Each of our attempts to honor Him are like kisses to Him.

c. I remember when my oldest daughter Karen thought she was too big to kiss Daddy goodnight anymore. A lot of kids do that when they become teenagers. But as Christians, I would hope that we never grow up so much that we quit showing our affection for our Lord. Have you kissed the Savior lately?

III. The Family Kiss of the Brethren – Romans 16:16 (and 4 other places)

Greet one another with a holy kiss…

NIV

a. In several places, Paul admonishes the believer to greet one another with a kiss. This “holy kiss” would be the equivalent of a heartfelt handshake or a hug. But what is behind this exhortation of Paul to kiss one another?

b. This was a sign of true affection and blessing to one another. There are a number of times in scripture that we are commanded to “love one another.” This holy kiss was the result of God-inspired love.

c. Even though our social norms would tell us that kissing others is a no-no, the demand that we love one another is never out of style.

IV. The Farewell Kiss of Separation – Acts 20:36 – 38

36 When he had said this, he knelt down with all of them and prayed. 37 They all wept as they embraced him and kissed him. 38 What grieved them most was his statement that they would never see his face again. Then they accompanied him to the ship.

NIV

a. The Christians in Ephesus obviously loved Paul tremendously. This moment of saying goodbye brought incredible sorrow to them. The context of this passage is that they fell on neck and kissed him goodbye repeatedly.

b. Sometimes we have to say goodbye don’t we? The son or daughter that heads off to college for the first time. Or, perhaps off to serve their country in a foreign land. Maybe it’s a missionary fulfilling his/her Godly calling by leaving home and traveling to a far away land. It could be a pastor being called to lead another church. Sometimes we are saying goodbye at a coffin of a loved one.

c. That goodbye kiss is one we remember for a long time.

V. The Foolish Kiss of Idolatry – Hosea 13:2

Now they sin more and more; they make idols for themselves from their silver, cleverly fashioned images, all of them the work of craftsmen. It is said of these people,