Christian Love by J.C. Ryle
"Love is rightly called "the Queen of Christian graces." J.C. Ryle CHRISTIAN LOVE! LOVING YOUR ENEMIES, IF WE LOVE A PERSON
"Love is rightly called "the Queen of Christian graces." J.C. Ryle CHRISTIAN LOVE! LOVING YOUR ENEMIES, IF WE LOVE A PERSON
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CARRY THE LIGHT ~ CHRISTIAN CLASSIC BOOKS<br />
CHRISTIAN LOVE!<br />
LOVING YOUR ENEMIES<br />
IF WE LOVE A PERSON<br />
BY J.C. RYLE<br />
Page 1
He that loveth not knoweth not God;<br />
Page 2<br />
for God is love. ~1 John 4:8
CTL.TODAY<br />
PRESENTS<br />
CHRISTIAN LOVE!<br />
LOVING YOUR ENEMIES<br />
IF WE LOVE A PERSON<br />
BY<br />
REV. J.C. RYLE<br />
1878<br />
Page 3
John Charles <strong>Ryle</strong> was born at Macclesfield and was educated at Eton and at<br />
Christ Church, Oxford. He was a fine athlete who rowed and played Cricket<br />
for Oxford, where he took a first class degree in Greats and was offered a<br />
college fellowship (teaching position) which he declined. The son of a wealthy<br />
banker, he was destined for a career in politics before answering a call to<br />
ordained ministry.<br />
He was spiritually awakened in 1838 while hearing Ephesians 2 read in<br />
church. He was ordained <strong>by</strong> Bishop Sumner at Winchester in 1842. After<br />
holding a curacy at Exbury in Hampshire, he became rector of St Thomas's,<br />
Winchester (1843), rector of Helmingham, Suffolk (1844), vicar of<br />
Stradbroke (1861), honorary canon of Norwich (1872), and dean of Salisbury<br />
(1880). In 1880, at age 64, he became the first bishop of Liverpool, at the<br />
recommendation of Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli. He retired in 1900 at<br />
age 83 and died later the same year.<br />
<strong>Ryle</strong> was a strong supporter of the evangelical school and a critic of<br />
Ritualism. Among his longer works are <strong>Christian</strong> Leaders of the Eighteenth<br />
Century (1869), Expository Thoughts on the Gospels (7 vols, 1856-69) and<br />
Principles for Churchmen (1884).<br />
Page 4
THOUGH I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and<br />
have not love, I have become a sounding brass, or a clanging symbol.<br />
And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries,<br />
and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove<br />
mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all<br />
my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,<br />
and have not love, it profits me nothing.<br />
<strong>Love</strong> is patient, and is kind; love does not envy. <strong>Love</strong> doesn’t<br />
brag, is not proud, does not behave itself inappropriately, doesn’t seek<br />
its own way, is not easily provoked, takes no account of evil, doesn’t<br />
rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things,<br />
believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. <strong>Love</strong> never<br />
fails: but where there are prophecies, they shall fail; where there are<br />
various languages, they shall cease; where there is knowledge, it shall<br />
vanish away.<br />
For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that<br />
which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away.<br />
When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I<br />
thought as a child: but when I became a man, I put away childish<br />
things. For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face:<br />
now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known.<br />
And now abides faith, hope, love, these three; but the greatest of<br />
these is LOVE.—I COR 13.<br />
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CONTENTS<br />
CHRISTIAN LOVE! … 7<br />
LOVING YOUR ENEMIES … 28<br />
IF WE LOVE A PERSON … 33<br />
SCRIPTURES … 38<br />
RESOURCES … 45<br />
Page 6<br />
The Loving Heart of an Actual Living Christ - Audiobook<br />
https://youtu.be/A3xSc7S2QTo
CHRISTIAN LOVE!<br />
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of<br />
these is love!" 1 Corinthians 13:13<br />
"The end of the commandment is love." 1 Timothy 1:5<br />
<strong>Love</strong> is rightly called "the Queen of <strong>Christian</strong> graces." It is a grace<br />
which all people profess to admire. It seems a plain practical thing<br />
which everybody can understand. It is none of "those troublesome<br />
doctrinal points" about which <strong>Christian</strong>s are disagreed. Thousands, I<br />
suspect, would not be ashamed to tell you that they knew nothing<br />
about justification or regeneration, about the work of Christ or the<br />
Holy Spirit. But nobody, I believe, would like to say that he knew<br />
nothing about "love!" If men possess nothing else in religion, they<br />
always flatter themselves that they possess "love."<br />
A few plain thoughts about love may not be without use. There are<br />
false notions abroad about it which require to be dispelled. There are<br />
mistakes about it which require to be rectified. In my admiration of<br />
love, I yield to none. But I am bold to say that in many minds, the<br />
whole subject seems completely misunderstood.<br />
I. Let me show, firstly, the place which the Bible gives to love.<br />
II. Let me show, secondly, what the love of the Bible really is.<br />
III. Let me show, thirdly, where true love comes from.<br />
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IV. Let me show, lastly, why love is "the greatest" of the graces.<br />
I ask the best attention of my readers to the subject. My heart's desire<br />
and prayer to God is, that the growth of love may be promoted in this<br />
sin-burdened world. In nothing does the fallen condition of man<br />
show itself so strongly, as in the scarcity of <strong>Christian</strong> love. There is<br />
little faith on earth, little hope, little knowledge of Divine things.<br />
But nothing, after all, is so scarce as real love!<br />
I. Let me show the PLACE which the Bible gives to love.<br />
I begin with this point in order to establish the immense practical<br />
importance of my subject. I do not forget that there are many highflying<br />
<strong>Christian</strong>s in this present day, who almost refuse to look at<br />
anything practical in <strong>Christian</strong>ity. They can talk of nothing but two<br />
or three favorite doctrines. Now I want to remind my readers that the<br />
Bible contains much about practice as well as about doctrine, and<br />
that one thing to which it attaches great weight, is "love."<br />
I turn to the New Testament, and ask men to observe what it says<br />
about love. In all religious inquiries there is nothing like letting the<br />
Scripture speak for itself. There is no surer way of finding out truth,<br />
than the old way of turning to plain texts. Texts were our Lord's<br />
weapons, both in answering Satan, and in arguing with the Jews.<br />
Texts are the guides we must never be ashamed to refer to in the<br />
present day. "What do the Scriptures say? What is written? How do<br />
you read?"<br />
Let us hear what Paul says to the Corinthians: "If I speak in the<br />
tongues of men and of angels, but have not love--I am only a<br />
resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy<br />
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and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith<br />
that can move mountains, but have not love--I am nothing. If I give<br />
all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but<br />
have not love--I gain nothing!" 1 Corinthians 13:1-3<br />
Let us hear what Paul says to the Colossians: "Above all these things<br />
put on love, which is the bond of perfectness." Colossians 3:14.<br />
Let us hear what Paul says to Timothy: "The end of the<br />
commandment is love out of a pure heart" 1 Timothy 1:5.<br />
Let us hear what Peter says: "Above all things, have fervent love<br />
among yourselves: for love shall cover the multitude of sins.”<br />
1 Peter 4:8.<br />
Let us hear what our Lord Jesus Christ Himself says, "A new<br />
command I give you: <strong>Love</strong> one another. As I have loved you, so you<br />
must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my<br />
disciples, if you love one another." John 13:34, 35.<br />
Above all, let us read our Lord's account of the last judgment, and<br />
mark that lack of love will condemn millions. "Then He will say to<br />
those on the left: Depart from Me, you who are cursed, into the<br />
eternal fire prepared for the Devil and his angels! For I was hungry<br />
and you gave Me nothing to eat; I was thirsty and you gave Me<br />
nothing to drink; I was a stranger and you did not take Me in; I was<br />
naked and you did not clothe Me, sick and in prison and you did not<br />
take care of Me." Matthew 25:41-43.<br />
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Let us hear what Paul says to the Romans: "Owe no man anything--<br />
but to love another: for he who loves another has fulfilled the law."<br />
Romans 13:9.<br />
Let us hear what Paul says to the Ephesians: “And walk in love, as<br />
Christ also has loved us, and has given himself for us an offering and<br />
a sacrifice to God for a sweet smelling savor.” Ephesians 5:2.<br />
Let us hear what John says: "Beloved, let us love one another, because<br />
love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and<br />
knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, because<br />
God is love." 1 John 4:7, 8.<br />
I shall make no comment upon these texts. I think it better to place<br />
them before my readers in their naked simplicity, and to let them<br />
speak for themselves. If anyone is disposed to think the subject of<br />
this paper a matter of light importance, I will only ask him to look at<br />
these texts, and to think again. He who would take down "love" from<br />
the high and holy place which it occupies in the Bible, and treat it as<br />
a matter of secondary consequence, must settle his account with<br />
God's Word. I certainly shall not waste time in arguing with him.<br />
To my own mind, the evidence of these texts appears clear, plain,<br />
and incontrovertible. They show the immense importance of love, as<br />
one of the "things that accompany salvation." They prove that it has a<br />
right to demand the serious attention of all who call themselves<br />
<strong>Christian</strong>s, and that those who despise the subject are only exposing<br />
their own ignorance of Scripture.<br />
II. Let me show, secondly, WHAT the love of the Bible really is.<br />
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I think it of great importance to have clear views on this point. It is<br />
precisely here that mistakes about love begin. Thousands delude<br />
themselves with the idea that they have "love," when they have not,<br />
from downright ignorance of Scripture. Their love is not the love<br />
described in the Bible.<br />
(a) The love of the Bible does not consist in giving to the poor. It is a<br />
common delusion to suppose that it does. Yet Paul tells us plainly,<br />
that a man may "bestow all his goods to feed the poor "1 Corinthians 13:8<br />
-and not have love! That a charitable man will "remember the poor,"<br />
there can be no question. Galatians 2:10. That he will do all he can to<br />
assist them, relieve them, and lighten their burdens--I do not for a<br />
moment deny. All I say is, that this does not make up "love." It is easy<br />
to spend a fortune in giving away money, and soup, and milk, and<br />
and bread, and coals, and blankets, and clothing--and yet to be<br />
utterly destitute of Bible love!<br />
(b) The love of the Bible does not consist in never disapproving anybody's<br />
conduct. Here is another very common delusion! Thousands pride<br />
themselves on never condemning others, or calling them wrong,<br />
whatever they may do. They convert the precept of our Lord, "do not<br />
judge," into an excuse for having no unfavorable opinion at all of<br />
anybody! They pervert His prohibition of rash and censorious<br />
judgments, into a prohibition of all judgment whatever.<br />
Your neighbor may be a drunkard, a liar, and a violent man. Never<br />
mind! "It is not love," they tell you, "to pronounce him, wrong!" You<br />
are to believe that he has a good heart at the bottom! This idea of<br />
love is, unhappily, a very common one. It is full of mischief. To throw<br />
a veil over sin, and to refuse to call things <strong>by</strong> their right names, to<br />
Page 11
talk of "hearts" being good, when "lives" are flatly wrong, to shut our<br />
eyes against wickedness, and say smooth things of immorality--this<br />
is not Scriptural love!<br />
(c) The love of the Bible does not consist in never disapproving anybody's<br />
religious opinions. Here is another most serious and growing delusion.<br />
There are many who pride themselves on never pronouncing others<br />
mistaken, whatever views they may hold. Your neighbor may be an<br />
Atheist, or a Buddhist, or a Roman Catholic, or a Mormonite, a Deist,<br />
or a Skeptic, a mere Formalist, or a thorough Antinomian. But the<br />
"love" of many says that you have no right to think him wrong! "If he<br />
is sincere, it is uncharitable to think unfavorably of his spiritual<br />
condition!"<br />
From such love--may I ever be delivered!<br />
At this rate, the Apostles were wrong in going out to preach to the<br />
Gentiles!<br />
At this rate, there is no use in missions!<br />
At this rate, we had better close our Bibles, and shut up our churches!<br />
At this rate, everybody is right--and nobody is wrong!<br />
At this rate, everybody is going to Heaven--and nobody is going to<br />
Hell!<br />
Such love is a monstrous caricature! To say that all are equally right<br />
in their opinions--though their opinions flatly contradict one<br />
Page 12
another; to say that all are equally in the way to Heaven--though<br />
their doctrinal sentiments are as opposite as black and white--this is<br />
not Scriptural love. <strong>Love</strong> like this, pours contempt on the Bible, and<br />
talks as if God had not given us a written standard of truth. <strong>Love</strong> like<br />
this, confuses all our notions of Heaven, and would fill it with a<br />
discordant inharmonious rabble. True love does not think everybody<br />
right in doctrine. True love cries, "Do not believe every spirit, but test<br />
the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false<br />
prophets have gone out into the world!" 1 John 4:1. "If anyone comes to<br />
you and does not bring this teaching, do not take him into your<br />
house or welcome him!" 2 John 1:10<br />
I leave the negative side of the question here. I have dwelt upon it at<br />
some length because of the days in which we live and the strange<br />
notions which abound. Let me now turn to the positive side. Having<br />
shown what love is not, let me now show what it is.<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> love is that "love," which Paul places first among those<br />
fruits which the Spirit causes to be brought forth in the heart of a<br />
believer. "The fruit of the Spirit is love." Galatians 5:22.<br />
<strong>Love</strong> to God, such as Adam had before the fall, is its first feature. He<br />
who has love, desires to love God with heart, and soul and mind, and<br />
strength.<br />
<strong>Love</strong> to man is its second feature. He who has <strong>Christian</strong> love, desires<br />
to love his neighbor as himself.<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> love will show itself in a believer's doings. It will make him<br />
ready to do kind acts to everyone within his reach, "both to their<br />
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odies and souls. It will not let him be content with soft words and<br />
kind wishes. It will make him diligent in doing all that lies in his<br />
power to lessen the sorrow and increase the happiness of others.<br />
Like his Master, he will care more for ministering than for being<br />
ministered to, and will look for nothing in return. Like his Master's<br />
great apostle, he will very willingly "spend and be spent" for others,<br />
even though they repay him with hatred, and not with love. True love<br />
does not want wages. Its work is its reward.<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> love will show itself in a believer's readiness to bear evil<br />
as well as to do good. It will make him . . .<br />
patient under provocation,<br />
forgiving when injured,<br />
meek when unjustly attacked,<br />
quiet when slandered.<br />
It will make him bear much and forbear much, put up with much<br />
and look over much, submit often and deny himself often--all for<br />
the sake of peace. It will make him put a strong bit on his temper,<br />
and a strong bridle on his tongue.<br />
True love is not always asking, "What are my rights? Am I treated as I<br />
deserve?" but, "How can I best promote peace? How can I do that<br />
which is most edifying to others?"<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> love will show itself in the general spirit and demeanor of<br />
a believer. It will make him kind, unselfish, good-natured, goodtempered,<br />
and considerate for others. It will make him gentle,<br />
affable, and courteous, in all the daily relations of private life. It will<br />
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make him thoughtful for others' comfort, tender for others' feelings,<br />
and more anxious to give pleasure than to receive.<br />
True love never envies others when they prosper, nor rejoices in the<br />
calamities of others when they are in trouble. At all times, it will<br />
believe, and hope, and try to put a good construction on others'<br />
actions. And even at the worst, it will be full of pity, mercy, and<br />
compassion.<br />
Would we like to know where the true Pattern of love like this can be<br />
found? We have only to look at the life of our Lord Jesus Christ, as<br />
described in the Gospels, and we shall see it perfectly exemplified.<br />
<strong>Love</strong> shone forth in all His doings. His daily life was an incessant<br />
"going about" doing good. <strong>Love</strong> shone forth in all His bearing. He was<br />
continually hated, persecuted, slandered, misrepresented. But He<br />
patiently endured it all. No angry word ever fell from His lips. No illtemper<br />
ever appeared in His demeanor. "When they hurled their<br />
insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no<br />
threats." 1 Peter 2:23. <strong>Love</strong> shone forth in all His spirit and<br />
deportment. The law of kindness was ever on His lips. Among weak<br />
and ignorant disciples, among sick and sorrowful petitioners for<br />
help and relief, among publicans and sinners, among Pharisees and<br />
Sadducees--He was always one and the same--kind and patient to all.<br />
And yet, be it remembered, our blessed Master never flattered<br />
sinners, or connived at sin. He never shrank from exposing<br />
wickedness in its true colors, or from rebuking those who would<br />
cleave to it. He never hesitated to denounce false doctrine, <strong>by</strong><br />
whoever it might be held, or to exhibit false practice in its true<br />
colors, and the certain end to which it tends. He called things <strong>by</strong> their<br />
Page 15
ight names. He spoke as freely of Hell and the fire that is never<br />
quenched, as of Heaven and the kingdom of glory. He has left on<br />
record an everlasting proof that perfect love does not require us to<br />
approve everybody's life or opinions, and that it is quite possible to<br />
condemn false doctrine and wicked practice--and yet to be full of<br />
love at the same time.<br />
I have now set before my readers the true nature of <strong>Christian</strong> love. I<br />
have given a slight and very brief account of what it is not, and what<br />
it is. I cannot pass on without suggesting two practical thoughts,<br />
which press home on my mind with weighty force, and I hope may<br />
press home on others.<br />
Think, for a moment, how deplorably little love there is upon earth!<br />
How conspicuous is the absence of true love among professing<br />
<strong>Christian</strong>s! I speak not of heathen now, I speak of professing<br />
<strong>Christian</strong>s! What angry tempers, what passions, what selfishness,<br />
what bitter tongues--are to be found in private families! What<br />
strifes, what quarrels, what spitefulness, what malice, what revenge,<br />
what envy between neighbors and fellow-parishioners! What<br />
jealousies and contentions between Churchmen and Dissenters,<br />
Calvinists and Arminians, High Churchmen and Low Churchmen!<br />
"Where is love?" we may well ask, "Where is love? Where is the mind<br />
of Christ?"--when we look at the spirit which reigns in the world. No<br />
wonder that Christ's cause stands still, and infidelity abounds--when<br />
men's hearts know so little of love! Surely, we may well say, "When<br />
the Son of man comes, shall He find love upon earth?"<br />
Think, for another thing, what a happy world this would be--if there<br />
was more love. It is the lack of love which causes half the misery<br />
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which there is upon earth. Sickness, and death, and poverty, will not<br />
account for more than half the sorrows. The rest come from illtemper,<br />
ill-nature, strifes, quarrels, lawsuits, malice, envy, revenge,<br />
frauds, violence, wars, and the like. It would be one great step<br />
towards doubling the happiness of mankind, and halving their<br />
sorrows--if all men and women were full of Scriptural love.<br />
III. Let me show, thirdly--where the love of the Bible comes from.<br />
<strong>Love</strong>, such as I have described, is certainly not natural to man.<br />
Naturally, we are all more or less selfish, envious, ill-tempered,<br />
spiteful, ill-natured, and unkind! We have only to observe children,<br />
when left to themselves, to see the proof of this. Let boys and girls<br />
grow up without proper training and education--and you will not see<br />
one of them possessing <strong>Christian</strong> love! Mark how some of them<br />
think first of themselves, and their own comfort and advantage!<br />
Mark how others are full of pride, passion, and evil tempers! How<br />
can we account for it? There is but one reply. The natural heart<br />
knows nothing of true love.<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> love will never be found except in a heart prepared <strong>by</strong> the<br />
Holy Spirit. It is a tender plant, and will never grow except in one<br />
soil. You may as well expect grapes on thorns, or figs on thistles--as<br />
look for love when the heart is not right.<br />
The heart in which love grows, is a heart changed, renewed, and<br />
transformed <strong>by</strong> the Holy Spirit. The image and likeness of God,<br />
which Adam lost at the fall, has been restored to it, however feeble<br />
and imperfect the restoration may appear. It is a "partaker of the<br />
Divine nature," <strong>by</strong> union with Christ and sonship to God; and one of<br />
the first features of that nature is love. 2Peter 1:4<br />
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Such a heart is deeply convinced of sin--hates it, flees from it, and<br />
fights with it from day to day. And one of the prime motions of sin<br />
which it daily labors to overcome, is selfishness and lack of love.<br />
Such a heart is deeply sensible of its mighty debt to our Lord Jesus<br />
Christ. It feels continually that it owes to Him who died for us on the<br />
cross, all its present comfort, hope, and peace. How can it show forth<br />
its gratitude? What can it render to its Redeemer? If it can do<br />
nothing else, it strives to be like Him, to drink into His spirit, to walk<br />
in His footsteps, and, like Him--to be full of love. "The love of Christ<br />
shed abroad in the heart <strong>by</strong> the Holy Spirit" is the surest fountain of<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> love. <strong>Love</strong> will produce love.<br />
I ask my reader's special attention to this point. It is one of great<br />
importance in the present day. There are many who profess to<br />
admire love--while they care nothing about vital <strong>Christian</strong>ity. They<br />
like some of the fruits and results of the Gospel--but not the root<br />
from which these fruits alone can grow, or the doctrines with which<br />
they are inseparably connected.<br />
Hundreds will praise love--who hate to be told of man's corruption,<br />
of the blood of Christ, and of the inward work of the Holy Spirit.<br />
Many a parent would like his children to grow up unselfish and good<br />
tempered--who would not be much pleased if conversion, and<br />
repentance, and faith, were pressed home on their attention.<br />
Now I desire to protest against this notion, that you can have the<br />
fruits of <strong>Christian</strong>ity, without the roots--that you can produce<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> tempers, without teaching <strong>Christian</strong> doctrines--that you<br />
can have love which will wear and endure, without grace in the heart.<br />
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I grant, most freely, that every now and then one sees a person who<br />
seems very charitable and amiable, without any distinctive <strong>Christian</strong><br />
religion. But such cases are so rare and remarkable, that, like<br />
exceptions--they only prove the truth of the general rule. And often,<br />
too often, it may be feared in such cases the love is only apparent,<br />
and in private it completely fails. I firmly believe, as a general rule,<br />
you will not find such love as the Bible describes, except in the soil of<br />
a heart thoroughly imbued with Bible religion. Holy practice will not<br />
flourish without sound doctrine. What God has joined together, it is<br />
useless to expect to have separate.<br />
The delusion which I am trying to combat, is helped forward to a<br />
most mischievous degree <strong>by</strong> the vast majority of novels, romances,<br />
and tales of fiction. Who does not know that the heroes and heroines<br />
of these works are constantly described as patterns of perfection?<br />
They are always doing the right thing, saying the right thing, and<br />
showing the right temper! They are always kind, and amiable, and<br />
unselfish, and forgiving! And yet you never hear a word about their<br />
religion! In short, to judge <strong>by</strong> the generality of works of fiction, it is<br />
possible to have . . .<br />
excellent practical religion--without doctrine,<br />
the fruits of the Spirit--without the grace of the Spirit,<br />
and the mind of Christ--without union with Christ!<br />
Here, in short, is the great danger of reading most novels, romances,<br />
and works of fiction. The greater part of them give a false or<br />
incorrect view of human nature. They paint their model men and<br />
women as they ought to be, and not as they really are. The readers of<br />
such writings get their minds filled with wrong conceptions of what<br />
Page 19
the world is. Their notions of mankind become visionary and unreal.<br />
They are constantly looking for men and women such as they never<br />
meet--and expecting what they never find.<br />
Let me entreat my readers, once for all, to draw their ideas of human<br />
nature from the Bible, and not from novels. Settle it down in your<br />
mind, that there cannot be true love without a heart renewed <strong>by</strong><br />
grace. A certain degree of kindness, courtesy, amiability, good<br />
nature--may undoubtedly be seen in many who have no vital<br />
religion. But the glorious plant of Bible love, in all its fullness and<br />
perfection, will never be found without union with Christ, and the<br />
work of the Holy Spirit. Teach this to your children, if you have any.<br />
Hold it up in schools, if you are connected with any. Lift up love.<br />
Make much of love. Give place to none in exalting the grace of<br />
kindness, love, good nature, unselfishness, good temper.<br />
But never, never forget, that there is but one school in which these<br />
things can be thoroughly learned--and that is the school of Christ.<br />
Real love comes down from above. True love is the fruit of the Spirit.<br />
He who would have it--must sit at Christ's feet, and learn of Him.<br />
IV. Let me show, lastly--why love is called the "greatest" of the<br />
graces.<br />
The words of Paul, on this subject, are distinct and unmistakable. He<br />
winds up his wonderful chapter on love in the following manner:<br />
"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest<br />
of these is love!" 1 Corinthians 13:13<br />
This expression is very remarkable. Of all the writers in the New<br />
Page 20
Testament, none, certainly, exalts "faith" so highly as Paul. The<br />
Epistles to the Romans and Galatians abound in sentences showing<br />
its vast importance. By faith, the sinner lays hold on Christ and is<br />
saved. Through faith, we are justified, and have peace with God. Yet<br />
here the same Paul speaks of something which is even greater than<br />
faith! He puts before us the three leading <strong>Christian</strong> graces, and<br />
pronounces the following judgment on them, "The greatest is love!"<br />
Such a sentence from such a writer demands special attention. What<br />
are we to understand, when we hear of love being greater than faith<br />
and hope?<br />
We are not to suppose, for a moment, that love can atone for our sins,<br />
or make our peace with God. Nothing can do that for us, but the<br />
blood of Christ; and nothing can give us a saving interest in Christ's<br />
blood, but faith. It is Scriptural ignorance not to know this. The office<br />
of justifying and joining the soul to Christ, belongs to faith alone.<br />
Our love, and all our other graces, are all more or less imperfect, and<br />
could not stand the severity of God's judgment. When we have done<br />
all--we are "unprofitable servants." Luke 17:10.<br />
We are not to suppose that <strong>Christian</strong> love can exist independently of<br />
faith. Paul did not intend to set up one grace in rivalry to the other.<br />
He did not mean that one man might have faith, another hope, and<br />
another love--and that the best of these, was the man who had love.<br />
The three graces are inseparably joined together. Where there is<br />
faith, there will always be love; and where there is love, there will be<br />
faith. Sun and light, fire and heat, ice and cold, are not more<br />
intimately united than faith and love!<br />
The reasons why love is called the greatest of the three graces,<br />
Page 21
appear to me plain and simple. Let me show what they are.<br />
(a) <strong>Love</strong> is called the greatest of graces, because it is the one in which<br />
there is some likeness between the believer and his God. God has no<br />
need of faith. He is dependent on no one. There is none superior to<br />
Him in whom He must trust. God has no need of hope. To Him all<br />
things are certain, whether past, present, or to come. But "God is<br />
love" and the more love His people have--the more similar they are<br />
to their Father in Heaven.<br />
(b) <strong>Love</strong>, for another thing, is called the greatest of the graces,<br />
because it is most useful to others. Faith and hope, beyond doubt,<br />
however precious, have special reference to a believer's own private<br />
individual benefit. Faith unites the soul to Christ, brings peace with<br />
God, and opens the way to Heaven. Hope fills the soul with cheerful<br />
expectation of things to come, and, amid the many discouragements<br />
of things seen, comforts with visions of the things unseen.<br />
But love is pre-eminently the grace which makes a man useful. It is<br />
the spring of good works and kindnesses. It is the root of missions,<br />
schools, and hospitals. <strong>Love</strong> made apostles spend and be spent for<br />
souls. <strong>Love</strong> raises up workers for Christ, and keeps them working.<br />
<strong>Love</strong> smooths quarrels, and stops strife--and in this sense, "covers a<br />
multitude of sins." 1 Peter 4:8. <strong>Love</strong> adorns <strong>Christian</strong>ity, and<br />
recommends it to the world. A man may have real faith, and feel it--<br />
and yet his faith may be invisible to others. But a man's love cannot<br />
be hidden.<br />
(c) <strong>Love</strong>, in the last place, is the greatest of the graces, because it is<br />
the one which endures the longest. In fact, it will never die. Faith will<br />
Page 22
one day be swallowed up in sight--and hope in certainty. Their office<br />
will be useless in the morning of the resurrection; and, like old<br />
almanacs, they will be laid aside. But love will live on through the<br />
endless ages of eternity! Heaven will be the abode of love. The<br />
inhabitants of Heaven will be full of love. One common feeling will<br />
be in all their hearts, and that will be love.<br />
I leave this part of my subject here, and pass on to a CONCLUSION.<br />
On each of the three points of comparison I have just named,<br />
between love and the other graces, it would be easy to enlarge. But<br />
time and space both forbid me to do so. If I have said enough to<br />
guard men against mistakes about the right meaning, of the<br />
greatness of love--I am content. <strong>Love</strong>, be it ever remembered, cannot<br />
justify and put away our sins. It is neither Christ, nor faith.<br />
But love makes us somewhat like God.<br />
<strong>Love</strong> is of mighty use to the world.<br />
<strong>Love</strong> will live and flourish when faith's work is done.<br />
Surely, in these points of view--love well deserves the crown!<br />
(1) And now let me ask every one into whose hands this paper may<br />
come a simple question. Let me press home on your conscience the<br />
whole subject of this paper. Do you know anything of the grace of<br />
which I have been speaking? Do you have <strong>Christian</strong> love?<br />
The strong language of the Apostle Paul must surely convince you<br />
that the inquiry is not one that ought to be lightly put aside. The<br />
grace, without which that holy man could say, "I am nothing," the<br />
grace which the Lord Jesus says expressly is the great mark of being<br />
His disciple--such a grace as this, demands the serious consideration<br />
of every one who is in earnest about the salvation of his soul. It<br />
Page 23
should set him thinking, "How does this affect me? Do I have<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> love?"<br />
You have some knowledge, it may be, of religion. You know the<br />
difference between true and false doctrine. You can, perhaps, even<br />
quote texts, and defend the opinions you hold. But, remember the<br />
knowledge which is barren of practical results in life and temper--is<br />
a useless possession! The words of the Apostle are very plain: "If I<br />
can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge--but have not love, I am<br />
nothing!" 1 Corinthians 13:3.<br />
You think you have faith, perhaps. You trust you are one of God's<br />
elect, and rest in that. But surely you should remember that there is a<br />
faith of devils, which is utterly unprofitable--and that the faith of<br />
God's elect is a "faith which works <strong>by</strong> love." It was when Paul<br />
remembered the "love" of the Thessalonians, as well as their faith<br />
and hope, that he said, "I know your election of God." 1 Thessalonians 1:4.<br />
Look at your own daily life, both at home and abroad, and consider<br />
what place <strong>Christian</strong> love has in it. What is your temper? What are<br />
your ways of behaving toward all around you in your own family?<br />
What is your manner of speaking, especially in seasons of vexation<br />
and provocation? Where is your good-nature, your courtesy, your<br />
patience, your meekness, your gentleness, your forbearance? Where<br />
are your practical actions of love in your dealing with others? What<br />
do you know of the mind of Him who "went about doing good"--who<br />
loved all, though specially His disciples--who returned good for evil,<br />
and kindness for hatred, and had a heart wide enough to feel for all?<br />
Page 24
What would you do in Heaven, I wonder, if you got there without<br />
love? What comfort could you have in an abode where love was the<br />
law, and selfishness and ill-nature completely shut out? Alas! I fear<br />
that Heaven would be no place for an uncharitable and ill-tempered<br />
man! A little boy said, "If grandfather goes to Heaven--I hope my<br />
brother and I will not go there." "Why do you say that?" he was asked.<br />
He replied, "If he sees us there, I am sure he will say, as he does<br />
now--'What are these boys doing here? Get them get out of the way!'<br />
He does not like to see us on earth, and I suppose he would not like to<br />
see us in Heaven!"<br />
Give yourself no rest, until you know something <strong>by</strong> experience of<br />
real <strong>Christian</strong> love. Go and learn of Him who is meek and lowly of<br />
heart, and ask Him to teach you how to love. Ask the Lord Jesus to put<br />
His Spirit within you, to take away the old heart, to give you a new<br />
nature, to make you know something of His mind. Cry to Him night<br />
and day for grace, and give Him no rest until you feel something of<br />
what I have been describing in this paper. Happy indeed will your<br />
life be, when you really understand "walking in love."<br />
(2) But I do not forget that I am writing to some who are not ignorant<br />
of the love of Scripture, and who long to feel more of it every year. I<br />
will give you two simple words of exhortation. They are these:<br />
Practice love diligently. It is one of those graces, above all, which<br />
grow <strong>by</strong> constant exercise. Strive more and more to carry it into<br />
every little detail of daily life. Watch over your own tongue and<br />
temper throughout every hour of the day, and especially in your<br />
dealings with children and spouse. Remember the character of the<br />
excellent woman: "In her tongue is the law of kindness." Proverbs 31:26<br />
Page 25
Remember the words of Paul: "Let ALL your things be done with<br />
love." (1 Corinthians 16:14.) <strong>Love</strong> should be seen in little things, as well<br />
as in great ones.<br />
Remember, not least, the words of Peter: "Have fervent love among<br />
yourselves;" not a love which just keeps alight, but a burning shining<br />
fire, which all around can see! 1 Peter 4:8. It may cost pains and<br />
trouble to keep these things in mind. There may be little<br />
encouragement from the example of others. But persevere. <strong>Love</strong> like<br />
this brings its own reward!<br />
Finally,<br />
Press it continually on your children. Tell them the great duty of<br />
kindness, helpfulness, and considerateness, one for another.<br />
Remind them constantly that kindness, good nature, and good<br />
temper, are among the first evidences which Christ requires in<br />
children. If they cannot know much, or explain doctrines--they can<br />
understand love. A child's religion is worth very little if it only<br />
consists in repeating texts and hymns. As useful as they are, they are<br />
often . . .<br />
learned without thought,<br />
remembered without feeling,<br />
repeated without consideration of their meaning,<br />
and forgotten when childhood is gone!<br />
By all means let children be taught texts and hymns; but let not such<br />
teaching be made everything in their religion. Teach them to keep<br />
their tempers, to be kind one to another, to be unselfish, goodnatured,<br />
obliging, patient, gentle, forgiving. Tell them never to<br />
Page 26
forget to their dying day, if they live as long as Methuselah, that<br />
without love, the Holy Spirit says, "we are nothing." Tell them "above<br />
all things--to put on love, which is the bond of perfectness."<br />
Colos. 3:14.<br />
Loving Your Enemies Audio book:<br />
https://youtu.be/wZexhDJGV2k<br />
Page 27
LOVING YOUR ENEMIES<br />
"But I say unto you that hear, love your enemies, do good to them<br />
who hate you, bless them that curse you, and pray for them who<br />
despitefully use you." Luke 6:27,28<br />
The teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ, in these verses, is confined to<br />
one great subject. That subject is <strong>Christian</strong> love and charity. Charity,<br />
which is the grand characteristic of the Gospel, the bond of<br />
perfectness, without which a man is nothing in God's sight, is here<br />
fully expounded and strongly enforced. Well would it have been for<br />
the Church of Christ if its Master's precept in this passage had been<br />
more carefully studied and more diligently observed.<br />
In the first place, our Lord explains the nature and extent of<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> charity. The disciples might ask, Whom are we to love? He<br />
bids them, "love your enemies, do good to them that hate you, bless<br />
them that curse you, and pray for them that despitefully use you."<br />
Their love was to be like his own toward sinners--unselfish,<br />
disinterested, and uninfluenced <strong>by</strong> any hope of return. What was to<br />
be the manner of this love? the disciples might ask. It was to be selfsacrificing<br />
and self-denying. "Unto him that smites you on the one<br />
cheek, offer also the other." "He that takes away your cloak, forbid not<br />
to take your coat also." They were to give up much and endure much<br />
for the sake of showing kindness and avoiding strife. They were to<br />
forego even their rights and submit to wrong rather than awaken<br />
angry passions and create quarrels. In this they were to be like their<br />
Master--long-suffering, meek, and lowly of heart. Our Lord<br />
Page 28
condemns everything like a revengeful, pugnacious, litigious, or<br />
quarrelsome spirit. He enjoins forbearance, patience, and longsuffering<br />
under injuries and insults. He would have us concede<br />
much, submit to much, and put up with much rather than cause<br />
strife. He would have us endure much inconvenience and loss, and<br />
even sacrifice some of our just rights rather than have any<br />
contention.<br />
In the second place, our Lord lays down a golden principle for the<br />
settlement of doubtful cases. He knew well that there will always be<br />
occasions when the line of duty toward our neighbor is not clearly<br />
defined. He knew how much self-interest and private feelings will<br />
sometimes dim our perceptions of right and wrong. He supplies us<br />
with a precept for our guidance, in all such cases, of infinite wisdom.<br />
It is a precept which even infidels have been compelled to admire:<br />
"As you would that men should do to you, do you also to them<br />
likewise." To do to others as they do to us and return evil for evil is<br />
the standard of the heathen. To behave to others as we should like<br />
others to behave to us, whatever their actual behavior may be, this<br />
should be the mark at which the <strong>Christian</strong> should aim. This is to walk<br />
in the steps of our blessed Savior. If he had dealt with the world as<br />
the world dealt with him, we should all have been ruined forever in<br />
hell.<br />
In the third place, our Lord points out to his disciples the necessity<br />
of their having a higher standard of duty to their neighbor than the<br />
children of this world. He reminds them that to love those who love<br />
them and do good to those who do good to them and lend to those of<br />
whom they hope to receive, is to act no better than "the sinner" who<br />
knows nothing of the Gospel. The <strong>Christian</strong> must be altogether<br />
Page 29
another style of man. His feelings of love and his deeds of kindness<br />
must be like his Master's--free and gratuitous. He must let men see<br />
that he loves others from higher principles than the ungodly do, and<br />
that his charity is not confined to those from whom he hopes to get<br />
something in return. Anybody can show kindness and charity when<br />
he hopes to gain something <strong>by</strong> it. But such charity should never<br />
content a <strong>Christian</strong>. The man who is content with it ought to<br />
remember that his practice does not rise an inch above the level of<br />
an old Roman or Greek idolater.<br />
In the fourth place, our Lord shows his disciples that in discharging<br />
their duty to their neighbors they should look to the example of God.<br />
If they called themselves "children of the Highest," they should<br />
consider that their Father is "kind to the unthankful and the evil,"<br />
and they should learn from him to be merciful, even as he is<br />
merciful. The extent of God's unacknowledged mercies to men can<br />
never be reckoned up. Every year he pours benefits on millions who<br />
do not honor the hand from which they come or thank the giver of<br />
them. Yet every year these benefits are continued. "Seed time and<br />
harvest, summer and winter, never cease." His mercy endures<br />
forever. His loving kindness is unwearied. His compassions fail not.<br />
So ought it to be with all who profess themselves to be his children.<br />
Thanklessness and ingratitude should not make them slack their<br />
hands from works of love and mercy. Like their Father in heaven,<br />
they should never be tired of doing good.<br />
In the last place, our Lord assures his disciples that the practice of<br />
the high standard of charity he recommends shall bring its own<br />
reward. "Judge not," he says, "and you shall not be judged; condemn<br />
not, and you shall not be condemned; forgive, and you shall be<br />
Page 30
forgiven; give, and it shall be given unto you." And he concludes with<br />
the broad assertion, "With the same measure that you mete withal,<br />
shall it be measured to you again." The general meaning of these<br />
words appears to be that no man shall ever be a loser, in the long<br />
run, <strong>by</strong> deeds of self-denying charity and patient long-suffering<br />
love. At times he may seem to get nothing <strong>by</strong> his conduct. He may<br />
appear to reap nothing but ridicule, contempt, and injury. His<br />
kindness may sometimes tempt men to impose on him. His patience<br />
and forbearance may be abused. But at the last he will always be<br />
found a gainer, and often, very often, a gainer in this life; certainly,<br />
most certainly, a gainer in the life to come.<br />
Such is the teaching of our Lord Jesus Christ about charity. Few of his<br />
sayings are so deeply heart-searching as those we have now been<br />
considering. Few passages in the Bible are so truly humbling as these<br />
eleven verses.<br />
How little of the type of charity which our Lord recommends is to be<br />
seen either in the world or in the Church! How common is an angry<br />
passionate spirit, a morbid sensitiveness about what is called honor,<br />
and a readiness to quarrel on the least occasion! How seldom we see<br />
men and women who love their enemies and do good hoping for<br />
nothing again, and bless those that curse them, and are kind to the<br />
unthankful and evil. Truly we are reminded here of our Lord's<br />
words, "Narrow is the way which leads unto life, and few there be<br />
that find it."<br />
How happy the world would be if Christ's precepts were strictly<br />
obeyed. The chief causes of half the sorrows of mankind are<br />
selfishness, strife, unkindness, and lack of charity. Never was there a<br />
Page 31
greater mistake than to suppose that vital <strong>Christian</strong>ity interferes<br />
with human happiness. It is not having too much religion but too<br />
little that makes people gloomy, wretched, and miserable. Wherever<br />
Christ is best known and obeyed, there will always be found most<br />
real joy and peace.<br />
Would we know<br />
anything <strong>by</strong><br />
experience of this<br />
blessed grace of<br />
charity? Then let us<br />
seek to be joined to<br />
Christ <strong>by</strong> faith and<br />
to be taught and<br />
sanctified <strong>by</strong> his<br />
Spirit. Let us<br />
understand that<br />
real, genuine, selfdenying<br />
love will<br />
never grow from<br />
any roots but faith<br />
in Christ's<br />
atonement and a<br />
heart renewed <strong>by</strong><br />
the Holy Ghost. We<br />
shall never make<br />
men love one another unless we teach as St. Paul taught, "Walk in<br />
love as Christ has loved us." Teaching love on any other principle is,<br />
as a general rule, labor in vain.<br />
Page 32
IF WE LOVE A PERSON<br />
“If we love a person, we like to think about him. We do not need to<br />
be reminded of him. We do not forget his name, or his appearance,<br />
or his character, or his opinions, or his tastes, or his position, or his<br />
occupation. He comes up before our mind’s eye many a time in the<br />
day. Though perhaps far distant, he is often present in our thoughts.<br />
Well, it is just so between the true <strong>Christian</strong> and Christ! Christ<br />
“dwells in his heart,” and is thought of more or less every day. Ephes.<br />
3:17. The true <strong>Christian</strong> does not need to be reminded that he has a<br />
crucified Master. He often thinks of Him. He never forgets that He<br />
has a day, a cause, and a people, and that of His people he is one.<br />
Affection is the real secret of a good memory in religion. No worldly<br />
man can think much about Christ, unless Christ is pressed upon his<br />
notice, because he has no affection for Him. The true <strong>Christian</strong> has<br />
thoughts about Christ every day that he lives, for this one simple<br />
reason, that he loves Him.<br />
If we love a person, we like to hear about him. We find a pleasure in<br />
listening to those who speak of him. We feel an interest in any report<br />
which others make of him. We are all attention when others talk<br />
about him, and describe his ways, his sayings, his doings, and his<br />
plans. Some may hear him mentioned with utter indifference, but<br />
our own hearts bound within us at the very sound of his name. Well,<br />
it is just so between the true <strong>Christian</strong> and Christ! The true <strong>Christian</strong><br />
delights to hear something about his Master. He likes those sermons<br />
best which are full of Christ. He enjoys that society most in which<br />
people talk of the things which are Christ’s. I have read of an old<br />
Welsh believer, who used to walk several miles every Sunday to hear<br />
Page 33
an English clergyman preach, though she did not understand a word<br />
of English. She was asked why she did so. She replied, that this<br />
clergyman named the name of Christ so often in his sermons, that it<br />
did her good. She loved even the name of her Savior.<br />
If we love a person, we like to read about him. What intense<br />
pleasure a letter from an absent husband gives to a wife, or a letter<br />
from an absent son to his mother. Others may see little worth notice<br />
in the letter. They can scarcely take the trouble to read it through.<br />
But those who love the writer see something in the letter which no<br />
one else can. They carry it about with them as a treasure. They read it<br />
over and over again. Well, it is just so between the true <strong>Christian</strong> and<br />
Christ! The true <strong>Christian</strong> delights to read the Scriptures, because<br />
they tell him about his beloved Saviour. It is no wearisome task with<br />
him to read them. He rarely needs reminding to take his Bible with<br />
him when he goes a journey. He cannot be happy without it. And why<br />
is all this? It is because the Scriptures testify of Him whom his soul<br />
loves, even Christ.<br />
If we love a person, we like to please him. We are glad to consult his<br />
tastes and opinions, to act upon his advice, and do the things which<br />
he approves. We even deny ourselves to meet his wishes, abstain<br />
from things which we know he dislikes, and learn things to which we<br />
are not naturally inclined, because we think it will give him pleasure.<br />
Well, it is just so between the true <strong>Christian</strong> and Christ! The true<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> studies to please Him, <strong>by</strong> being holy both in body and<br />
spirit. Show him anything in his daily practice that Christ hates, and<br />
he will give it up. Show him anything that Christ delights in, and he<br />
will follow after it. He does not murmur at Christ’s requirements, as<br />
being too strict and severe, as the children of the world do. To him<br />
Page 34
Christ’s commandments are not grievous, and Christ’s burden is<br />
light. And why is all this? Simply because he loves Him.<br />
If we love a person, we like his friends. We are favorably inclined to<br />
them, even before we know them. We are drawn to them <strong>by</strong> the<br />
common tie of common love to one and the same person. When we<br />
meet them we do not feel that we are altogether strangers. There is a<br />
bond of union between us. They love the person that we love, and<br />
that alone is an introduction. Well, it is just so between the true<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> and Christ! The true <strong>Christian</strong> regards all Christ’s friends<br />
as his friends, members of the same body, children of the same<br />
family, soldiers in the same army, travelers to the same home. When<br />
he meets them, he feels as if he had long known them. He is more at<br />
home with them in a few minutes, than he is with many worldly<br />
people after an acquaintance of several years. And what is the secret<br />
of all this? It is simply affection to the same Savior, and love to the<br />
same Lord.<br />
If we love a person, we are jealous about his name and honor. We<br />
do not like to hear him spoken against, without speaking up for him<br />
and defending him. We feel bound to maintain his interests, and his<br />
reputation. We regard the person who treats him ill with almost as<br />
much disfavor as if he had ill-treated us. Well, it is just so between<br />
the true <strong>Christian</strong> and Christ! The true <strong>Christian</strong> regards with a<br />
godly jealousy all efforts to disparage his Master’s word, or name, or<br />
Church, or day. He will confess Him before princes, if need be, and<br />
be sensitive of the least dishonor put upon Him. He will not hold his<br />
peace, and suffer his Master’s cause to be put to shame, without<br />
testifying against it. And why is all this? Simply because he loves<br />
Him.<br />
Page 35
If we love a person, we like to talk to him. We tell him all our<br />
thoughts, and pour out all our heart to him. We find no difficulty in<br />
discovering subjects of conversation. However silent and reserved<br />
we may be to others. we find it easy to talk to a much-loved friend.<br />
However often we may meet, we are never at a loss for matter to talk<br />
about. We have always much to say, much to ask about, much to<br />
describe, much to communicate. Well, it is just so between the true<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> and Christ! The true <strong>Christian</strong> finds no difficulty in<br />
speaking to his Savior. Every day he has something to tell Him, and<br />
he is not happy unless he tells it. He speaks to Him in prayer every<br />
morning and night. He tells Him his wants and desires, his feelings<br />
and his fears. He asks counsel of Him in difficulty. He asks comfort<br />
of Him in trouble. He cannot help it He must converse with his<br />
Savior continually, or he would faint <strong>by</strong> the way. And why is this?<br />
Simply because he loves Him.<br />
Finally, if we love a person, we like to be always with him.<br />
Thinking, and hearing, and reading, and occasionally talking are all<br />
well in their way. But when we really love people we want something<br />
more. We long to be always in their company. We wish to be<br />
continually in their society, and to hold communion with them<br />
without interruption or farewell. Well, it is just so between the true<br />
<strong>Christian</strong> and Christ! The heart of a true <strong>Christian</strong> longs for that<br />
blessed day when he will see his Master fare to face, and go out no<br />
more. He longs to have done with sinning, and repenting, and<br />
believing, and to begin that endless life when he shall see as he has<br />
been seen, and sin no more. He has found it sweet to live <strong>by</strong> faith,<br />
and he feels it will be sweeter still to live <strong>by</strong> sight. He has found it<br />
pleasant to hear of Christ, and talk of Christ, and read of Christ.<br />
How much more pleasant will it be to see Christ with his own eyes,<br />
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and never to leave him any more! “Better,” he feels, “is the sight of<br />
the eyes than the wandering of the desire.” Eccles. 6:9. And why is all<br />
this? Simply because he loves Him.”<br />
–J.C. <strong>Ryle</strong>, Holiness: Its Nature, Hindrances, Difficulties and Roots<br />
(London: William Hunt and Company, 1889), 348-352<br />
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SCRIPTURES<br />
<br />
“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that<br />
whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.”<br />
John 3:16<br />
“Greater love has no one than this: to lay down one’s life for one’s<br />
friends.” John 15:13<br />
“Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a<br />
multitude of sins.” 1 Peter 4:8<br />
“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were<br />
still sinners, Christ died for us.” Romans 5:8<br />
“But you, O Lord, are a compassionate and gracious God, slow to<br />
anger, abounding in love and faithfulness.” Psalm 86:15<br />
“Let all that you do be done in love.” 1 Corinthians 16:14<br />
“So now I am giving you a new commandment: <strong>Love</strong> each other. Just<br />
as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one<br />
another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” John<br />
13:34-35<br />
“There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear<br />
has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in<br />
love. We love because He first loved us.” 1 John 4:18-19<br />
“So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of<br />
these is love.” 1 Corinthians 13:13<br />
“If you love me, you will obey what I command.” John 14:15<br />
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“Above all, be loving. This ties everything together<br />
perfectly.” Colossians 3:14<br />
“Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God.<br />
Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever<br />
does not love does not know God, because God is love.” 1 John 4:7-8<br />
“Hate stirs up trouble, but love forgives all offenses.” Proverbs 10:12<br />
“<strong>Love</strong> must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be<br />
devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above<br />
yourselves.” Romans 12:9-10<br />
“A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for a time of<br />
adversity.” Proverbs 17:17<br />
“The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take<br />
great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice<br />
over you with singing.” Zephaniah 3:17<br />
“He has shown you, O man, what is good. And what does the Lord<br />
require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly<br />
with your God.” Micah 6:8<br />
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one<br />
another in love.” Ephesians 4:2<br />
“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died<br />
for all, and therefore all died.” 2 Corinthians 5:14<br />
“But love your enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without<br />
expecting to get anything back. Then your reward will be<br />
great…" Luke 6:35<br />
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“Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave<br />
himself up for her.” Ephesians 5:25<br />
“But you are a forgiving God, gracious and compassionate, slow to<br />
anger and abounding in love…” Nehemiah 9:17<br />
“Let them give thanks to the Lord for his unfailing love and his<br />
wonderful deeds for men, for he satisfies the thirsty and fills the<br />
hungry with good things.” Psalm 107:8-9<br />
“For you have been called to live in freedom, my brothers and<br />
sisters. But don’t use your freedom to satisfy your sinful nature.<br />
Instead, use your freedom to serve one another in love. For the<br />
whole law can be summed up in this one command: ‘<strong>Love</strong> your<br />
neighbor as yourself.’” Galatians 5:13-14<br />
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,<br />
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” Galatians 5:22-23<br />
“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who<br />
loves another has fulfilled the law.” Romans 13:8<br />
“Your love, O Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the<br />
skies. Your righteousness is like the mighty mountains, your justice<br />
like the great deep.” Psalm 36:5-6<br />
“Live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us<br />
as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:2<br />
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in<br />
the darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there<br />
is nothing in him to make him stumble.” 1 John 2:9-10<br />
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“How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should<br />
be called children of God!” 1 John 3:1<br />
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for<br />
us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. If anyone<br />
has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity<br />
on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not<br />
love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.”1 John 3:16-18<br />
“This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and<br />
only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love:<br />
not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an<br />
atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we<br />
also ought to love one another. ” 1 John 4:9-11<br />
“His banner over me is love.” Song of Songs 2:4<br />
“The commandments…are summed up in the one command, ‘<strong>Love</strong><br />
your neighbor as you love yourself.’ If you love others, you will never<br />
do them wrong, to love, then, is to obey the whole Law.” Romans<br />
13:9-10<br />
“Place me like a seal over your heart, like a seal on your arm; for love<br />
is as strong as death…Many waters cannot quench love; rivers<br />
cannot wash it away.” Song of Songs 8:6-7<br />
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ<br />
lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live <strong>by</strong> faith in the Son of God,<br />
who loved me and gave himself for me.” Galatians 2:20<br />
“I will declare that your love stands firm forever, that you established<br />
your faithfulness in heaven itself.” Psalm 89:2<br />
“The earth is filled with your love, O Lord…” Psalm 119:64<br />
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“You were cleansed from your sins when you obeyed the truth, so<br />
now you must show sincere love to each other as brothers and<br />
sisters. <strong>Love</strong> each other deeply with all your heart.” 1 Peter 1:22<br />
“Jesus replied: ‘<strong>Love</strong> the Lord your God with all your heart and with<br />
all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest<br />
commandment. And the second is like it: ‘<strong>Love</strong> your neighbor as<br />
yourself.’” Matthew 22:37-39<br />
“In all these things, we are more than conquerors through him who<br />
loved us. For I am convinced that neither death or life, neither<br />
angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any<br />
powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation,<br />
will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus<br />
our Lord.” Romans 8:37-39<br />
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of<br />
love, and of self-discipline.” 1 Timothy 1:7<br />
“Show proper respect to everyone: <strong>Love</strong> the brotherhood of<br />
believers, fear God, honor the king.” 1 Peter 2:17<br />
“But be very careful…to love the Lord your God, to walk in all his<br />
ways, to obey his commands, to hold fast to him and to serve him<br />
with all your heart and all your soul.” Joshua 22:5<br />
“‘Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my<br />
unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace<br />
be removed,’ says the Lord, who has compassion on you.” Isaiah 54:10<br />
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you; bind them around your<br />
neck, write them on the tablet of your heart. Then you will win favor<br />
and a good name in the sight of God and man.” Proverbs 3:3-4<br />
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“May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each<br />
other…” 1 Thes. 3:12<br />
“<strong>Love</strong> is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is<br />
not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily<br />
angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. <strong>Love</strong> does not delight in evil<br />
but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always<br />
hopes, always perseveres. <strong>Love</strong> never fails…” 1 Corinthians 13:4-7<br />
with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one<br />
another in love,… Ephesians 4:2<br />
Having purified your souls <strong>by</strong> your obedience to the truth for a<br />
sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart.<br />
1 Peter 1:22<br />
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever<br />
loves has been born of God and knows God… John 4:7<br />
“You have heard that it was said, ‘You shall love your neighbor and<br />
hate your enemy.’ But I say to you, <strong>Love</strong> your enemies and pray for<br />
those who persecute you, so that you may be sons of your Father who<br />
is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good,<br />
and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those<br />
who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax<br />
collectors do the same? And if you greet only your brothers, what<br />
more are you doing than others? Do not even the Gentiles do the<br />
same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly Father is<br />
perfect… Matthew 5:43-48<br />
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves<br />
me. And he who loves me will be loved <strong>by</strong> my Father, and I will love<br />
him and manifest myself to him.” Judas (not Iscariot) said to him,<br />
Page 43
“Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the<br />
world?” Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my<br />
word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and<br />
make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep<br />
my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s<br />
who sent me… John 14:21-24<br />
As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If<br />
you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have<br />
kept my Father’s<br />
commandments and<br />
abide in his love.<br />
These things I have<br />
spoken to you, that<br />
my joy may be in you,<br />
and that your joy may<br />
be full. “This is my<br />
commandment, that<br />
you love one another<br />
as I have loved you.<br />
Greater love has no<br />
one than this, that<br />
someone lay down his<br />
life for his friends. You are my friends if you do what I command<br />
you. No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know<br />
what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I<br />
have heard from my Father I have made known to you. You did not<br />
choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and<br />
bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask<br />
the Father in my name, he may give it to you. These things I<br />
command you, so that you will love one another…John 15:9-17<br />
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CHRISTIAN LOVE! <strong>by</strong> J.C. <strong>Ryle</strong> and other complimentary online<br />
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