Love, Love, Love
July 12, 2020 Morning Service
Immanuel Baptist Church, Wagoner, OK
Rick Boyne
Message Point: God’s love is not what most people think it is. It is a Father’s love.
Focus Passage: Romans 5:6-10
Introduction: “All You Need Is Love” was written in 1967 and performed by The Beatles. The lyrics begin by repeating “love, love, love” over and over and also repeats, “All you need is love” and “love is all you need.” It certainly describes the idealism prevalent in the 1960s. And love is a wonderful thing, too! What would the world be without love? Folks routinely think of love when they think about God. And that is good thing! The last part of 1 John 4:8 says, “God is love.” But what kind of love? Certainly not the gushy kind of romantic love between a husband and wife. Certainly not the brotherly kind of love between friends. It is the love of a father. It is more than “I love you and all of your faults,” but rather, “I love you in spite of your faults.” In fact, it can be summed up like this: “God loves and receives you as you are, but loves you too much to let you stay that way!”
I. Our Problem
a. We are separated from God by sin.
i. for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, (Romans 3:23) [NASB]
ii. All have sinned and are not good enough to share God's divine greatness. (Rom 3:23 ERV)
b. The punishment for sin is death.
i. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
ii. When people sin, they earn what sin pays—death. But God gives his people a free gift—eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 6:23)
c. There is nothing we can do about it. (vs 6 – we were helpless)
i. God has looked down from heaven upon the sons of men To see if there is anyone who understands, Who seeks after God. Every one of them has turned aside; together they have become corrupt; There is no one who does good, not even one. (Psalms 53:2-3)
ii. We are all dirty with sin. Even our good works are not pure. They are like bloodstained rags. We are all like dead leaves. Our sins have carried us away like wind. (Isaiah 64:6)
iii. You are not saved by the things you have done, so there is nothing to boast about. (Ephesians 2:9)
II. God’s Action
a. God’s Love
i. "For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him shall not perish, but have eternal life. "For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him. "He who believes in Him is not judged; he who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God. "This is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and men loved the darkness rather than the Light, for their deeds were evil. "For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light for fear that his deeds will be exposed. (John 3:16-20)
ii. But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)
b. God’s Requirement: Sinless Righteousness
i. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love. By this the love of God was manifested in us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world so that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. (1 John 4:7-10)
ii. (Definition of Propitiation) Rom 3:25-26 God gave Jesus as a way to forgive people's sins through their faith in him. God can forgive them because the blood sacrifice of Jesus pays for their sins. God gave Jesus to show that he always does what is right and fair. He was right in the past when he was patient and did not punish people for their sins. And in our own time he still does what is right. God worked all this out in a way that allows him to judge people fairly and still make right any person who has faith in Jesus. [ERV]
iii. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)
III. Our Response
a. Immediate Faith
i. Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. "For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself." (Acts 2:38-39)
b. Long Term Obedience
i. "If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. (John 14:15)
ii. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. (1 John 5:3)
iii. FOR THOSE WHOM THE LORD LOVES HE DISCIPLINES, AND HE SCOURGES EVERY SON WHOM HE RECEIVES." (Hebrews 12:6)
Application/Invitation: Have you fully embraced God’s love, that is, been reconciled to Him through faith in Jesus Christ, repented of your sins and have been baptized? The Bible says that today is the day of salvation. It says, “that if you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved; for with the heart a person believes, resulting in righteousness, and with the mouth he confesses, resulting in salvation.” (Romans 10:9-10)
