“The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
the LORD is avenging and wrathful;
the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
The LORD is slow to anger and great in power,
and the LORD will by no means clear the guilty.
His way is in whirlwind and storm,
and the clouds are the dust of his feet.
He rebukes the sea and makes it dry;
he dries up all the rivers;
Bashan and Carmel wither;
the bloom of Lebanon withers.
The mountains quake before him;
the hills melt;
the earth heaves before him,
the world and all who dwell in it.
“Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
The LORD is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
he knows those who take refuge in him.
But with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
and will pursue his enemies into darkness.” [1]
Abrupt! Precipitous! Unexpected! Reading the opening words of Nahum’s Prophecy will almost give the reader whiplash. The Prophet opens the brief prophecy by pointing to the perception of God’s character as seen by the wicked. The character of God is terrifying to those who are determined to pursue their own desires. Then, without so much as even a nod to the fact that he is transitioning, the Prophet of God abruptly speaks of the way God appears to those who look to Him for refuge. Confusing? Only for those who have never met the Living God.
The wicked seldom think of God, or if they do think of Him, the thought is fleeting, transient. Simply thinking of God does not cause wicked people to reconsider their actions. However, their lack of perception and failure to consider the cost to themselves to do what is evil does not change their perception when they meet God.
God has described Himself in His Word by pointing to various qualities. He presents Himself as “faithful” [e.g. 1 CORINTHIANS 10:13], as “compassionate and merciful” [e.g. JAMES 5:11] and as “good” [e.g. 1 PETER 2:3]. Of course, we have all read that God is “light” [e.g. 1 JOHN 1:5] and that He is “love” [e.g. 1 JOHN 4:8]. God is just, according to what is revealed in HEBREWS 6:10. For all these positive representations of the Lord, we who are twice-born are also aware that “the Lord is an avenger” [1 THESSALONIANS 4:6], and that “our God is a consuming fire” [HEBREWS 12:29]. These latter depictions are aimed at professing believers, cautioning us not to presume against the Lord God.
God wants His people to know Him in the fullness of His goodness. However, knowing His character, we are cautioned not to presume against Him. At the same time, Jesus’ words to His disciples comfort those who follow Him and terrify those who turn from Him. Jesus warns, “I tell you, my friends, do not fear those who kill the body, and after that have nothing more that they can do. But I will warn you whom to fear: fear him who, after he has killed, has authority to cast into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him! Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? And not one of them is forgotten before God. Why, even the hairs of your head are all numbered. Fear not; you are of more value than many sparrows” [LUKE 12:4-7].
To sinners, the character of God is dreadful when they at last witness His awesome power in judgement. We see the final actions of bold sinners in John’s vision, the Apocalypse. Listen to these frightful words as John recorded them of what shall take place on the earth during the days of the Great Tribulation when God begins to judge the earth. “When [the Lamb of God] opened the sixth seal, I looked, and behold, there was a great earthquake, and the sun became black as sackcloth, the full moon became like blood, and the stars of the sky fell to the earth as the fig tree sheds its winter fruit when shaken by a gale. The sky vanished like a scroll that is being rolled up, and every mountain and island was removed from its place. Then the kings of the earth and the great ones and the generals and the rich and the powerful, and everyone, slave and free, hid themselves in the caves and among the rocks of the mountains, calling to the mountains and rocks, ‘Fall on us and hide us from the face of him who is seated on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb, for the great day of their wrath has come, and who can stand” [REVELATION 6:12-17]?
The kings of the earth don’t cry out now; but a day is pending when the kings of the earth, together with the great ones, will plead for the mountains in which they hide to collapse on them. They won’t pray to the Living God, but a day is coming when they will actually pray to rocks and mountains, begging them to cover them, snuffing out their lives. The generals of the armed forces of our world don’t often plead for divine mercy in this present hour; but a day is coming when their courage will melt away like the snows before the summer sun. The rich and powerful live lives of privilege now; but a day is coming when the most precious real estate one can own will be caves and mountain peaks. There, the privileged will make common cause with slaves and serfs, crying out for the rocks to fall on them, hiding them from “the wrath of the Lamb.” How the lost who now ignore the Lord will be transformed when at last He reveals His wrath.
I’m inviting us who listen today to listen to Nahum as he presents the differences in how people see God. He will look somewhat more intensely at how the lost see the Living God, and then briefly consider how the righteous see the LORD. Join me in this study that seeks to understand the question, “When you look at God, Who do you see?”
A SINNERS’ VIEW OF GOD — Nahum’s oracle is pronounced against Nineveh. Nineveh was, at the time Nahum delivered his prophecy, the sole superpower in the world. The nation was ruthless, vicious, rapacious. They worshipped gods that were vile and evil, and Israel was threatened by this wicked national powerhouse.
To be certain, Nahum’s prophecy, as is true of all the prophecies found among the Minor Prophets and the Major Prophets, would have an impact on Israel. However, it was through this prophetic word the LORD was endeavouring to encourage His people by reminding them that despite all appearances, He was in control. How comforting to the follower of the Christ to know that God reigns, that the Living God is in control. How terrifying to those outside of Christ to realise that God is in control, and that He holds them accountable for what they say and what they do.
Have you ever thought about the fact that cults and unbelievers have no confidence of God’s goodness? They may fear His judgement—and they should—but they have no confidence of His goodness toward them or toward another. If we pronounce a blessing or a curse without biblical basis, where would we obtain confidence about what was pronounced? Those outside of Christ may speak of God’s goodness, but it is inevitably in the context of a wish, and not an expression of confidence.
Muslims have no confidence that their god accepts them, nor can they have such confidence. They hope they can coerce that god into accepting their acts of hatred against others as sufficient to permit them to have a place in paradise. Buddhists have no confidence that they will find Nirvana, but they continue trying to be perfect because there is no other recourse for them. Hindus have no certainty that any of the multiplicity of gods will accept them, but they have no alternative except to continue trying to placate those gods. Jehovah’s Witnesses, Mormons, Seventh Day Adventists—not one of these so-called Christian cults have confidence that their efforts, their slavish adherence to rules and regulations, will suffice to coerce God to accept them.
Lest you think that I am bashing those who are outside of the grace of God, let me assert very strongly that I am sympathetic to such people. I was once counted as being among those who relied on something other than the grace of God. And you also, if you are a follower of the Christ, was once among those who lacked confidence.
In Christ, we received His Spirit, and the Spirit of Christ testifies with our spirit that we are children of the Living God. Whereas we once were without confidence toward God, now we are confident of His love. We have confidence to approach His throne of grace, knowing that our Father will receive us. We now have confidence that our God is not an austere bully seeking to intimidate us into doing His will. Rather, we serve a God who seeks what is best for us in every situation. Our confidence in God and in His goodness, rests securely in our certainty that His Word is true. In making this assertion, we confess that we have nothing of which we may gloat or boast; we are recipients of the Lord’s mercy and grace.
Having believed the message of grace, we can say with all the redeemed, “[We] are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for His own possession, that [we] may proclaim the excellencies of Him who called [us] out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once [we] were not a people, but now [we] are God’s people; once [we] had not received mercy, but now [we] have received mercy” [1 PETER 2:9-10]. This is what the Lord has done for us.
How do sinners see God, then? What does an unsaved person think when they allow themselves to think of God? Perhaps it would be fair to say that such people lack the capacity of forming an opinion of God or of His character. Nahum opens his prophecy by presenting a sinner’s view of God. He writes,
“The LORD is a jealous and avenging God;
the LORD is avenging and wrathful;
the LORD takes vengeance on his adversaries
and keeps wrath for his enemies.
…
“Who can stand before his indignation?
Who can endure the heat of his anger?
His wrath is poured out like fire,
and the rocks are broken into pieces by him.
…
“with an overflowing flood
he will make a complete end of the adversaries,
and will pursue his enemies into darkness.”
[NAHUM 1:2, 6, 8 ]
Sinners appear prone to dismiss God; certainly, that was the case for most of us. The thought seems to be, “If I don’t think of Him, He won’t bother me.” Whatever the rationale, whether deliberate or whether a form of benign neglect, it is true that many unsaved individuals ignore the very thought of God. For most, it is not that they refuse to believe there is a God; rather, it is that they don’t want to think about God. In their ignorance, they imagine that they can coerce God into leaving them alone by refusing to think about Him. It won’t work. Ultimately, all must face the Living God.
Some deliberately deny God’s existence. Perhaps this is a variance of those who attempt to dismiss God, but the subset described is unique in aggressively refusing to believe there is even such a Person as God. David spoke of such people when he wrote,
“In arrogance the wicked hotly pursue the poor;
let them be caught in the schemes that they have devised.
For the wicked boasts of the desires of his soul,
and the one greedy for gain curses and renounces the LORD.
In the pride of his face the wicked does not seek him;
all his thoughts are, ‘There is no God.’”
[PSALM 10:2-4]
The thought presented here is clearly related to the Psalmist’s statement elsewhere:
“The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.”
They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds;
there is none who does good.”
[PSALM 14:1]
If sinners cannot readily dismiss God, the approach often chosen appears to be an attempt to transform Him into a mythical entity. We’ve all heard someone employ the dismissive term, “The little man upstairs,” when that person seems to acknowledge there is a God without allowing the God they acknowledge as existing to be involved in the individual’s life. They craft a god who is seen as a grandfatherly type, a god who is benevolent toward all people and tolerant of every disreputable characteristic. The god they imagine can’t bring Himself to hurt anyone; rather, they imagine this god smiling benignly on people, softly chuckling at the foibles and the deliberate acts of disobedience people perpetuate. If people imagine that all dogs go to Heaven, then you may be certain that they believe that all people go to Heaven. Well, there may be a few exceptions, generally those individuals we don’t particularly like—they won’t go to Heaven!
However, when sinners allow themselves to actually think about God they are terrified at the One they confront in the hidden recesses of their minds. This is one great reason why people don’t like to think about accountability to the Living God. It is especially true that those who are hostile toward God, or even those who want to push far from their mind the thought of God, are disquieted when they are compelled to reflect on what is inevitable.
I have spoken at other times of a request to perform a funeral that made a great impression on me. The family had requested a Baptist minister to conduct the funeral for their mother. They requested a Baptist minister because their mother had sent her son and daughter to a Baptist church when they were little children. The family was not religious. In fact, none of the family attended any religious services. Nevertheless, they were adamant that a Baptist minister must conduct the funeral.
The director of the funeral home contacted me, and I immediately made arrangements to visit the family. When I met the son, he was almost angry as he insisted that he didn’t want a hellfire and brimstone funeral. He just wanted someone to say his mother was in heaven and that all was sweetness and light. As gently as I was able, I explained that I could not say whether his mother was in heaven or not, as judgement was the purview of Christ the Lord alone.
The son became agitated, almost to the point of threatening fisticuffs. At that point, I excused myself and stated that I was not willing to participate in the charade any longer. I said as clearly as I was able, “I do call those attending a funeral to account, reminding all who are present that they must give an account of what they have done with the death of God’s own Son. Had your mother not had the audacity to die, I would not be compelled to call any to account at her funeral. However, the fact remains that she did die! And if I conduct the funeral, I will remind people of the mercy of God, but remind them that He calls all mankind to receive the gift of life in Christ the Son of God.” With that, I left the house and returned to the funeral home to inform the director that I would not be participating in this particular funeral.
By the time I arrived at the funeral home, the daughter was on the phone with the director, raging about how rude that preacher was. Later, the funeral director explained that the family had hired a United Church minister to declare that their mother was in heaven and that God received her joyfully because she was a good woman. What this incident revealed was a family who was compelled to think about God, and the confrontation was terrifying. Therefore, they wanted some sort of assurance that they were okay because they were good people. Their fear was fully exposed by their actions.
I’ve been present on numerous occasions as people were passing from this life. As a pastor, I’ve witnessed multiple times when the death angel came. It is not uncommon that those facing death, when there is time to consider what is happening, want assurance of what lies beyond this moment we call “now.” I’ve heard people admit, “I haven’t been a good person, but now what can I say when I meet God?” In each such case, I’ve spoken of the sacrifice of Christ the Lord, urging the person questioning what will happen to look to Christ, to believe that He died because of their sin and to confess that He rose from the dead.
This is the comforting promise God has given to all who are willing to receive it: “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved” [ROMANS 10:9-10]. As you well know, Paul concludes that divine promise by quoting the Prophet Joel. “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved” [ROMANS 10:13]. To my great joy, some have called on the Lord, even as they lay at death’s door. Here is the comfort I am able to give those who grieve, Christ receives all who come to Him in faith.
GOD AS A REFUGE —
“The LORD is good,
a stronghold in the day of trouble;
He knows those who take refuge in him.”
[NAHUM 1:7]
Nahum asserts several precious truths concerning the LORD, truths of which each Christian needs to be reminded from time-to-time. He reminds us that the LORD is good. The goodness of the LORD our God leads to affirming that the LORD is a stronghold in the day of trouble. Finally, Nahum testifies that God knows those who take refuge in Him. Especially when we are in the midst of trouble, we need to remember these truths. Our flesh will question how this can be true, but the child of God must always remember the truth that tells us, “We walk by faith, and not by sight” [2 CORINTHIANS 5:7].
Sinners are prone to see God as terrifying, that is when they actually allow themselves to think of God. Perhaps this accounts for why sinners don’t want to think about God. However, redeemed people, those who have been saved and brought into the Family of God through faith in the Risen Son of God, recognise God as their Father. As Father of the righteous, God is recognised for His goodness; He is seen as a protector of those who look to Him. Do you know Him? Do you recognise His goodness?
Perhaps you will recall the final affirmation of the Second Psalm. After warning the powerful of this earth against opposing God, after cautioning sinners that they must face the omnipotent God, the Psalmist urges all to look to the Son, testifying that His might is unquestioned, and His judgement is just. Then, the Psalmist makes this comforting statement, “Blessed are all who take refuge in Him” [PSALM 2:12b].
The people of God are blessed because they have a strong protector. As you take refuge in the Living God, you are kept safe. You are protected as you turn to Him. Therefore, you are blessed because you have taken refuge in the Lord your God. Surely this is the promise given in the 121st Psalm. The Psalmist has written,
“I lift up my eyes to the hills.
From where does my help come?
My help comes from the LORD,
who made heaven and earth.
“He will not let your foot be moved;
he who keeps you will not slumber.
Behold, he who keeps Israel
will neither slumber nor sleep.
“The LORD is your keeper;
the LORD is your shade on your right hand.
The sun shall not strike you by day,
nor the moon by night.
“The LORD will keep you from all evil;
he will keep your life.
The LORD will keep
your going out and your coming in
from this time forth and forevermore.”
[PSALM 121:1-8]
The redeemed of the Lord know that He is a stronghold in the day of trouble, according to Nahum. One thing we can know for certain is that because we follow the Lord, we will see troubles. Nevertheless, an even greater certainty for the follower of the Risen Saviour is that our God is a stronghold in the day of trouble. Troubles will come, and our God will be our stronghold when those troubles come. The people of God are confident they have a refuge to which they can flee, and that refuge is the Lord God.
That trials shall come becomes apparent when Peter writes to those facing such trials, “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you” [1 PETER 4:12]. I do not want anyone listening to the message this day to imagine that we who follow the Saviour are spared from trials just because we are born from above. I am aware that such a distortion is frequently presented, either deliberately or by implication; and the ones presenting this fiction are supposed preachers of the Word!
Jesus Himself has taught us, “I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In the world you have trouble and suffering, but take courage—I have conquered the world” [JOHN 16:33b NET BIBLE]. The Master doesn’t suggest that we may have trouble, He assures us that we will have “trouble and suffering.” By implication, the troubles and suffering we encounter will often be because we follow Him and obey His will. That the source of our trouble is “the world,” is evident when Jesus reminds us that He has “conquered the world.” The world will be offended at Christ. However, because the world cannot strike at Him, this fallen world will strike at us in their frustration at their inability to strike the Master. Nevertheless, we need not fear what the world will attempt to do to us, because we have a stronghold in the day of trouble.
“He knows,” writes Nahum, “God knows.” More particularly, God knows us. Here is a precious truth that each Christian must hold in the forefront of the mind. It is particularly true when the fierce storms of life assail us to remember that God knows us. Nahum’s words comfort the one who follows the Master. Nahum reminds us that God does know us. When we flee to God as a refuge, He knows His own child. That is why He gives us refuge.
The Lord GOD gave us life, and He cannot forget the one He has brought to life. That this is the case is made evident from Jesus’ words. You will recall that the Master has testified, “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hand. My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” [JOHN 10:27-30]. Truly, the words that Jesus spoke in the presence of religious leaders who were seeking to besmirch His reputation, or even to kill Him, are a precious promise to the one who follows Him.
I have sometimes pointed out the matter that God’s knowledge of us will either cause great sorrow or great joy. For the lost, the fact that God knows them, and that He knows the wickedness of their heart, terrifies them—and such knowledge should terrify lost people. Among the Psalms is one written by the Sons of Korah in the Psalmist speaks of God’s knowledge of mankind. In the FORTY-FOURTH PSALM, this Psalmist writes as one who is appealing to God because he worships the Lord GOD. He makes an informative statement as he appeals to the LORD. The Psalmist pleads,
“Our heart has not turned back,
nor have our steps departed from your way;
yet you have broken us in the place of jackals
and covered us with the shadow of death.
If we had forgotten the name of our God
or spread out our hands to a foreign god,
would not God discover this?
For he knows the secrets of the heart.”
[PSALM 44:18-21]
What the Psalmist has written here anticipates a truth that is found in the Letter to Hebrew Christians. You may recall how we are informed in that letter, “No creature is hidden from [God’s] sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” [HEBREWS 4:13].
Early in the Letter to the Saints in Rome, the Apostle Paul teaches Christians, “All who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law. For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus” [ROMANS 2:12-16].
The Living God knows us, and He holds us accountable for what we do know. When arraigned before the Living God, no one will be able to say they did not know what God expected of them; no one will be able to say they were unaware of the will of God. God will judge each one by Jesus Christ, exposing the secrets of the heart. What we are will be revealed; and we shall each stand as an open book before the Risen Son of God. As followers of the Risen Son of God, it is better that we should be exposed now, so that we can deal with who we are, so that we can take whatever corrective action may be required before we stand before Christ Jesus the Lord.
We read elsewhere the account describing an outsider who is convicted when that individual has come under the ministry of the Word. The passage in question declares, “If all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you” [1 CORINTHIANS 14:24-25].
One of the most terrifying aspects of eternity when one is separated from the love of God is that the lost person will remember for all eternity her own wickedness, the impact her decisions had on innocent people whom she loved and the knowledge that she rejected God’s mercy when it was offered. She will remember for ever and ever that she chose her own desires, her own comfort, over the will of the Saviour who loved her. Such knowledge will haunt the lost person for all eternity. There will never be a moment when that knowledge will not plague the memory of the lost.
For redeemed people, the knowledge of God’s love which they have received in Christ the Lord will bless throughout all eternity. Saved people will glorify the Lord throughout the entirety of eternity, blessing God for His mercy and for His goodness. They will witness the Lamb of God upon His throne, and they will praise the Father for the salvation He has provided. Their presence in eternity will be characterised by the endless joy with which the Lord fills their hearts. The saved individual will be filled with inexpressible joy throughout the endless ages. This is the heritage of the redeemed.
Have we never read, “As it is written,
‘What no eye has seen, nor ear heard,
nor the heart of man imagined,
what God has prepared for those who love him’—
these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit” [1 CORINTHIANS 2:9-10a]. This is the promise of God for those who love Him. And we who have been redeemed are confident of His promises because He has given us His Spirit.
PERSPECTIVE DEPENDS UPON POSITION — How you view the Living God, your understanding of Christ as Master over your life, depends upon your perspective. Whether you are looking up to God as your Deliverer, or whether you are cowering before Him in terror, depends upon you. Your view of the Living God depends upon your own character, upon who you are. I say this to encourage each one who listens to embrace the Lord as his or her Saviour. If you are listening to this message and you know that you have never received the grace of God in Christ the Lord, each of us who know Him as Master would plead with you to believe the message of life. You cannot see God as Saviour if He has never been received as Master.
What does it mean to receive Christ as Lord? What does it mean to invite Him to be your Master? It means that you love Him. And love for the Master is revealed through obedience to His commands. Jesus is forthright in demanding that those who claim to know God will love the Son of God. The Master challenged religious leaders in that distant day, “If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me” [JOHN 8:42].
This is nothing but a practical application of the Word of the LORD delivered through Moses: “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one. You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might. And these words that I command you today shall be on your heart. You shall teach them diligently to your children, and shall talk of them when you sit in your house, and when you walk by the way, and when you lie down, and when you rise. You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes. You shall write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates” [DEUTERONOMY 6:4-9].
This is but an anticipation of what is written in “You shall therefore love the LORD your God and keep his charge, his statutes, his rules, and his commandments always” [DEUTERONOMY 11:1]. Throughout Scripture God equates love with obedience.
In light of this understand, note that our Master also said to His disciples, “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
“I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Yet a little while and the world will see me no more, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you. Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him” [JOHN 14:15-21].
Again, we witness Jesus instructing His disciples, “I have said these things to you in figures of speech. The hour is coming when I will no longer speak to you in figures of speech but will tell you plainly about the Father. In that day you will ask in my name, and I do not say to you that I will ask the Father on your behalf; for the Father himself loves you, because you have loved me and have believed that I came from God. I came from the Father and have come into the world, and now I am leaving the world and going to the Father” [JOHN 16:25-28].
As the Master offered up His High Priestly prayer, we witness Him as He prays, “I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me I have given to them, that they may be one even as we are one, I in them and you in me, that they may become perfectly one, so that the world may know that you sent me and loved them even as you loved me. Father, I desire that they also, whom you have given me, may be with me where I am, to see my glory that you have given me because you loved me before the foundation of the world. O righteous Father, even though the world does not know you, I know you, and these know that you have sent me. I made known to them your name, and I will continue to make it known, that the love with which you have loved me may be in them, and I in them” [JOHN 17:20-26].
If He is Lord, we love Him. And if we love Him, we keep His commandments. The preeminent commandment given to those who follow the Master must surely be, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” [JOHN 13:34-35].
I say the command to love one another is preeminent because Jesus iterated the command so frequently in those final hours before His passion.
Listen as He speaks to this very matter soon after the statement given a moment ago. “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I command you, so that you will love one another” [JOHN 15:12-17].
How simple is that! Love the Son and be careful to honour His commands. Here is my question to you: How can you obey Him if you don’t openly associate with His people? If you refuse to share in the life of the Body of Christ, where is the love you claim to have for the Lord of the church? If you love Him, how is it that you don’t love His people? The message is meant to disturb the casual, and my prayer is that the Spirit of God will do precisely that as you weigh the truths that have been presented. The message is nothing less than a call for you to quit pretending that you are a follower of the Christ though your life is occupied with everything but obedience to His call to love His people. Obey God’s call now! Amen.
[1] Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Crossway Bibles, a division of Good News Publishers, 2016. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
