Sermon Central
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Christian Love - A Higher Calling
Contributed by Christopher Nerreau on Nov 28, 2017 (message contributor)
Summary: Jesus said - If you love those who love you what reward will you get? In our sermon today we explore Christian loves higher calling as we see: 1. The Rule of Christian Love 2. The Reason For Christian Love 3. The Reward For Christain Love
o Today who do you hate? Who do you withhold your love from? Who do you need to call, who do you need to forgive, who has hurt you?
o The rule of Christian love is demonstrated in selfless acts of charity toward those who don’t deserve it.
o Who doesn’t deserve your love today? Who is not worthy of it?
Transitional Sentence: So we see the rule of Christian love now let’s see…
II. THE REASON FOR CHRISTIAN LOVE (v.45b, 48)
Explanation: So we clearly see the rule Jesus has established for us regarding Christian love, but why? Why does Jesus want us to love our enemies?
• Our passage illumines the reasons for us…
THE BIBLE SAYS –
• (v.45b) “He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.”
• (v. 48) “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”
We Are To Love Because God Loves
• We are called to love with a Christian love because that is how God loves.
o Romans 5:6 “Christ died for the ungodly.”
• The Christian journey is one of (Theosis) or becoming like God. The process of growing in the likeness of God.
o As such the most important step we can take on this journey is to learn to love like God loves.
• (v. 48) We are called to be “perfect” as God is “perfect”. Perfection in this sense is rooted in Perfect love.
o In other words we are to grow in the perfection of God by growing in the perfection of love.
• Illustration: In our passage Jesus shows us what He means when He say’s – (v.45b) “He causes the sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and unrighteous.” God blesses those who love and those who curse Him.
Application:
• The reason God calls us to love our enemies is because HE LOVES THEM.
• If you struggle to forgive, to love those who have hurt you, remember just how much you have hurt God and ask yourself – “Do I want God to love me?”
• 1 John 4:20 – “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.
• I once heard it said – You only love God as much as the person you love least. This is a difficult thing to consider…
Transitional Sentence: So we have seen the rule of Christian love and the Reason for Christian love, finally lets look at…
III. THE REWARD OF CHRISTAIN LOVE (v. 45a)
Explanation: Understanding that loving those who hate and persecute us is a very difficult thing to do, the logical question that follows is this – “What’s in it for me?”
THE BIBLE SAYS – (v.45a) “that you may be sons of your Father in heaven.”
• The reward that is promised is that we will be Children of God.
• We are allowed full access to Our Father in Heaven. We are given all the benefits of the Kingdom of God.
• Romans 8:16 – “ and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.”
• We must suffer with Him in loving the unlovely in order to be glorified with Him.
Illustration: How often do you receipt the “Lord’s Prayer”? have you ever seriously considered the very first two words of the prayer?
