The Practice of Love: Holy and True
1 Corinthians 13:5b-6
Dr. Ritch Boerckel
March 22, 2015
1 John 4:7-8 (ESV)
“Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has
been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know
God, because God is love.”
Principle: We cannot be a God-glorifying member of Jesus’ church without having a
personal ministry of love toward others in the church.
--The Source of Love in the Church.
Definition: Love is the giving of oneself in diligent pursuit of God’s eternal happiness for
others for the purpose of glorifying God.
Truth: Love is the product of God’s Spirit at work in us overcoming the selfish desires of
our flesh.
Galatians 5:19-23 (ESV)
“Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality,
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions,
divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I
warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom
of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no
law.”
--The Practice of Love in the Church.
Fifteen qualities of love that bring glory to God in His church:
Qualities #1-7: Love is patient, kind, does not envy nor boast, is not arrogant nor rude,
does not insist upon its own way.
Quality #8: Love is not irritable.
Principle: An irritation problem is really a love problem.
Ephesians 4:1–3 (ESV)
“I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the
calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with
patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the
Spirit in the bond of peace.”
Ephesians 4:26–27 (ESV)
“Be angry and do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and give no
opportunity to the devil.”
Ephesians 4:30–32 (ESV)
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day
of redemption. Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be
put away from you, along with all malice. Be kind to one another, tenderhearted,
forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you.”
Principle: Ultimately grumpiness and frustration grieves the Holy Spirit because it
rejects God’s sovereignty over our life. Our irritability draws power from our
self-worship.
James 1:19–21 (ESV)
“Know this, my beloved brothers: let every person be quick to hear, slow to
speak, slow to anger; for the anger of man does not produce the righteousness
of God. Therefore put away all filthiness and rampant wickedness and receive
with meekness the implanted word, which is able to save your souls.”
Quality #9: Love is not resentful.
Romans 4:7–8 (ESV)
““Blessed are those whose lawless deeds are forgiven, and whose sins are
covered; blessed is the man against whom the Lord will not count his sin.””
2 Corinthians 5:18–19 (ESV)
“All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the
ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to
himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the
message of reconciliation.”
Psalm 103:10–12 (ESV)
“He does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our
iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his
steadfast love toward those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so
far does he remove our transgressions from us.”
1 Peter 4:8 (ESV)
“Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of
sins.”
Quality #10: Love does not rejoice at wrongdoing.
Definition of love: Love is the giving of oneself in the diligent pursuit of another’s
eternal happiness for the glory of God.
Truth: No evidence of this culture’s defiance against God is more damning than our
culture’s rejection of God’s own clear statements regarding what is right and
what is wrong.
Quality #11: Love rejoices with the truth.
Principle: Love does not abandon God’s truth, neglect God’s truth, compromise God’s
truth or reject God’s truth. Love and truth are conjoined twins. These two
cannot be separated.
“Love always rejoices in God’s truth and never with falsehood or false teaching. Love
cannot tolerate wrong doctrine. It makes no sense to say, “It doesn’t make a great
difference if people don’t agree with us about doctrine. What matters is that we love
them.” That is the basic view of what is commonly called the ecumenical movement. But
if we love others it will matter a great deal to us whether or not what they believe is
right or wrong. What they believe affects their souls, their eternal destinies, and their
representation of God’s will, and therefore should be of the highest concern to us.”
John MacArthur
1 Timothy 1:8-11 (ESV)
“. . . the law is not laid down for the just but for the lawless and disobedient, for
the ungodly and sinners, for the unholy and profane, for those who strike their
fathers and mothers, for murderers, the sexually immoral, men who practice
homosexuality, enslavers, liars, perjurers, and whatever else is contrary to sound
doctrine, in accordance with the gospel of the glory of the blessed God with
which I have been entrusted.”
Principle: Love for people makes us more passionate about God’s truth, not less
passionate about it.