AN EXAMPLE OF BROTHERLY LOVE

PROCLAMATION

“So if you consider me a partner, welcome him as you would welcome me.  If he has done you any wrong, or owes you anything, charge it to me.”  Philemon 1:17-18 (NIV)

 

EXPLANATION

These words were written by the apostle Paul, under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God, to Philemon, a fellow preacher, and his wife Apphia, and to their son Archippus.  Paul began this personal letter to his friend Philemon to ask a favor of him.  Paul wants Philemon to accept Onesimus, a slave who ran away from him and is now a believer in Christ, as a brother and not as a slave. (Philemon 1:15-16)  He says to Philemon, “… welcome him as you would welcome me …” (Philemon 1:17-18)  The church meets in their home and Paul wants Onesimus to be welcome there as a brother.

 

APPLICATION

We all have done wrong and at times we need someone to plead our case.  That is what Christ is doing in heaven as He sits at the right hand of God, The Father, making intersessions for us. (Romans 8:34, Colossians 3:1, and Hebrews 12:2)  This is how we should demonstrate our love for our brothers in Christ.  We should speak up for our brothers, not tear them down, and speak highly of them to others.  And as believers, we should welcome all believers as brothers.

 

EVERYONE WILL NOT SHARE THE JOY OF YOUR DREAMS

Proclamation:

“Joseph had a dream, and when he told it to his brothers, they hated him all the more…Then he had a second dream and he told it to his brothers…When he told his father as well as his brothers, his father rebuked him…”  Genesis 37:9-11 (NIV)

Explanation:

These are the words of God which were written by Moses under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  As Israel and his family moved on from Bethel, Rachel gave birth to a second son, Benjamin, but she died right after giving birth. (Genesis 35:16-20)  Shortly after Israel arrived in Hebron, the land of his father, Isaac died at the age of 180 years old. (Genesis 35:27-29)  Israel had twelve sons (Genesis 35:23-26) but he loved one, Joseph, his first son by Rachel, more than the others and they hated him because of that. (Genesis 37:3-4)  Joseph had dreams in which his brothers bowed down to him.  When he told them of his brothers of his dreams they hated him even more. (Genesis 37:5-11)  They had plotted to kill him but his brother Reuben prevailed upon them to cast him into a pit. (Genesis 37:17-24)  Afterwards they saw a caravan approaching and agreed to sell him to them.  But first they took his coat of many colors that his father had given him and smeared it with goat’s blood, to give it to their father. (Genesis 37:25-33)  Joseph’s brothers were moved by envy when they sold him into slavery but God was with him. (Acts 7:9)

Application:

Not all of our family and friends will rejoice with us and share in the joy of our dreams.  In fact, not all of them really want to see us do well and succeed, especially if we will be better off than they are.  Unfortunately, some people act like crabs in a barrel, pulling one another down before they can reach the top.  We should rejoice when our family and friends rejoice, and be sad when they are sad. (Romans 12:15)  We are not to desire or covet anything which belongs to others. (Exodus 20:17)  We should also be aware of the fact that dreams may show us a successful end point but may not reveal the grievous predicaments which must be endured before the prosperity.  We must keep the faith and endure to the end, with or without the support of family and friends.

LET'S DO BETTER

Proclamation:

“Lord, who may dwell in your sacred tent? … The one who is blameless, who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from their heart; whose tongue utters no slander, who does no wrong to a neighbor, and casts no slur on others; who despises a vile person but honors those who fear The Lord …” Psalm 15:1-5 (NIV)

Explanation:

This psalm was written by King David under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God.  Here David answers the question, “Who may live with The Lord?” (Psalm 15:1)  He who is upright, righteous, and tells the truth.  He who does not slander, do wrong to, or slur his neighbor.  He who despises evil, keeps his word, and honors The Lord.  He who does not charge interest when he lends money or accept a bribe.  This person is a believer and doer of God’s Holy Word and will get to live with The Lord in heaven. (Psalm 15:2-5)

Application:

None of us does a perfect job of following The Word of God.  We all have sinned and we fall short of that goal. (Romans 3:10 and 3:23)  It also does not matter how “good” we are, we could all do better.  Part of my prayer is that The Lord would help me to sin less tomorrow than I did today, and that I would do one more thing to please Him tomorrow than I did yesterday.  The point here is to try to be more Christ-like with each passing day.  The Bible is the instruction manual for good Christian living.  Unfortunately, many of us do not read it very often, and most of us who do read it do not follow it, or we follow only parts of it.  This psalm identifies ten ways in which we could be a better Christian.  If you are already doing these things, then there is a more complete list of sins in Romans, chapter one, beginning at verse 21 and through verse 32.  Even judging others who sin is a sin. (Romans 2:1-9)  The question is, “Are you striving to be a better Christian?”  A good Christian exhibits integrity and reliability, respects the people of God and holds himself accountable for his thoughts, words, and actions.  We all have room for improvement.  Let's do better!

ENTERTAINING ANGELS UNAWARE

Proclamation:

“Keep on loving one another as brothers and sisters.  Do not forget to show hospitality to strangers, for by doing so people have shown hospitality to angels without knowing it.” Hebrews 13:1-2 (NIV)

Explanation:

Most Bible scholars agree that the human author of The Bible Book of Hebrews is unknown.  There are those, however, who attribute it to the Apostle Paul.  Regardless of the human authorship, these words were clearly written under the influence of The Holy Spirit of God to the believers in early church.  After encouraging them to continue to love one another, the author exhorts them to also be kind to strangers.  He tells them that some strangers are angels and they may have entertained angels without being aware of it.

Application:

When we think about angels, we usually visualize small or adult size, people-like creatures with very large or small wings.  But not all angels have wings.  Some angels are walking around with us here on earth.  Angels are messengers from God.  Smith's Bible Dictionary defines ‘angels’ as "whoever or whatever God uses to do His will."  Pastors are frequently called the angel of a local church.  Since angels can look like regular people, we should be very careful in how we treat people, especially strangers, as they may be an angel that is unknown to us.  We don't want to miss out on a blessing because we mistreated one of God's angels.  God may take personally our mistreating one of His messengers.  "... as you have done it unto one of these my brethren, you have done it unto Me." (Matthew 25:40)  As believers we need to be careful how we treat strangers and other people in general.  Be kind to strangers, they may be angels with a message or a blessing from God.

LOVE ONE ANOTHER

Proclamation:

“Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying The Truth so that you have sincere love for your brothers, love one another deeply, from the heart.” 1 Peter 1:22 (NIV)

Explanation:

In this letter written by the apostle Peter, an eyewitness to the sufferings of Christ (1 Peter 5:1), was written to the scattered believers after the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.  While the letter addresses remaining faithful in times of distress, suffering and persecution, here Peter provides them with guidelines for living as new people of God and tells them how they ought to treat each other.

Application:
As Christians we are commanded to love one another.  Once we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal savior we, with the help of The Holy Spirit, must really love our fellow man and not just with half-hearted efforts.  Today we use the word ‘love’ very loosely.  When we say 'love' we usually mean 'like, lust, or infatuation', and not the unlimited and unconditional love of God.  The best that we can do is to offer one another a sincere brotherly love, and that requires the aide of The Holy Spirit.  Jesus said that we should love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Matthew 22:37-39)  This is much easier said than done.  We need to learn to exhibit the type of love for one another which will allow us to meet others at their point of need.  This kind of love requires an action on our part and not just words of hot air.  It is not about looking for or expecting love in return.  Only truly saved souls have the capacity to love like this.  In this case our actions really do speak louder than our words.  We need to pray for God to help us to love one another.

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR

Proclamation:

"Jesus replied, 'Love The Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.  This is the first and greatest commandment.  And the second is like it: Love your neighbor as yourself.'" Matthew 22:37-39 (NIV)

Explanation:

These words of Jesus, The Christ, were spoken in response to a question which was designed to test Him.  An expert in the law asked Him, “… which is the greatest commandment in the Law?” (Matthew 22:34-36)  Jesus replied, love God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.  And then He said, “… love your neighbor as yourself.”  After that Jesus said that all of the Law is based upon these two commandments.

Application:
To love God with all of our “heart ... soul ... and … mind ..." identifies the completeness of our love for The Lord.  We should love The Lord God with all of our being, as much as is humanly possible.  We are also to love our neighbor as we love ourselves.  Our "... neighbor ..." is not just the person who lives next door, but it refers to all people, especially our brothers and sisters in Christ.  We are to have a sincere love for one another, and love one another deeply, from the heart. (1 Peter 1:22)  This type of love is not the worldly “like, lust, or infatuation” but it is a Christian brotherly love.  We are to love the person, not necessarily all of their behavior, and that requires the aide of The Holy Spirit. We should pray daily for God to help us follow these two commandments.  We are to love one another fervently, without hypocrisy, from a pure heart and not with manipulative, self-serving intentions. We need to pray for God's help to love each other in a Christ-like manner.

Guidelines For Christian Living

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving The Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with God's people who are in need." Romans 12:10-13 (NIV)

This was the Apostle Paul's advice to the Christians in Rome on demonstrating Christian living and brotherly love.

Paul's discourse on "brotherly love" actually begins with verse 9 and continues through verse 21. It does not matter how "good" we are, we could all improve on our Christ-like behavior. While lengthy, and fairly comprehensive, this list is not exhaustive or complete. However, living as these guidelines suggest, would provide a very good example of Christian living.

Demonstrate God's Perfect Love

"Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God ... Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed His love among us: He sent His one and only Son into the world that we might live through Him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another ... but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us ... If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is The Son of God, God lives in him and he in God ... God is love ... There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear ... If anyone says, 'I love God,' yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And He has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother." 1 John 4:7-21 (NIV)

The Apostle John offers a description of what perfect love, Godly love is and tells how we can achieve it and demonstrate it. It is The Spirit of God within us that imparts to us the will to love each other.

God loves us and He has proven it. If we love God, we will love our fellow man because God is love and God is within us. We cannot love God and hate one another. We should pray that God will help us to love everyone. We must learn to demonstrate the love of God in our daily interactions with our fellow man.

Love

"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 (NIV)

In his letter to the Christians in Corinth, the Apostle Paul describes what love is, and what love is not. His point was that doing the right thing, without love in your heart for whomever you are doing it for, is pointless. It is important to love one another.

Love for our fellow man is not to be confused with romantic love or with lust. It is more than just brotherly love, it is Godly love. Love benefits the recipient of love, not the giver. Love is a God-like virtue that we should demonstrate towards each other.

Encourage Each Other Don't Envy Others

"Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man's gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his faith. If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully. Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves." Romans 12:3-13 (NIV)

Paul is encouraging the Christians in Rome to be humble and not to be jealous of one another. According to Thomas Nelson, "the righteousness of God will cause a believer to conduct himself in humility in the local church." God did not bless them all with the same gifts. He gave them different gifts according to His grace. Each believer was to exercise his own gift and not worry about the gifts of others. They were to recognize and respect their differences, as each was a part of God's sovereign plan. They were also to sincerely love one another.

We should assess ourselves realistically. God has blessed each of us with differing measures of faith and with different gifts. We should concentrate on, and use our energies to, exercise the gifts that God has given us. We are not to be conceited because of our gift, and we are not to envy the gifts of others. We are to use our gifts to the glory of God. "Put your life into service for God whether or not you receive personal gain and applause." F. J. Dake

God Is Love

"Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love." 1 John 4:7-8

God is the essence of love. All of us who are born again receive God's nature. This is not a reference to mere human love or lust, but the highest and ultimate form of agape love which is spiritual not physical.

Let us show the world the God in us by demonstrating love for one another. Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 13:35

The Golden Rule

"Therefore all things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them; for this is the law and the prophets." Matthew 7:12

This is "the golden rule", do unto others as you would have them to do unto you. Treat people as you would like to be treated.

It is repeated in the Bible, "And as ye would that men should do to you, do ye also to them likewise." Luke 6:31

Many people can recite "the golden rule", even if they do not always practice it. However, rarely, if ever, do the people that say it, tell you that it is a paraphrased Bible verse quotation.

According to MacAthur the negatively stated version of this rule existed before Christ in the rabbinic writings, in Hinduism, and in Buddhism. The negative command was "what is hateful to yourself, do not to someone else."

Jesus stated this as a positive command, enriched its meaning, and underscored this one imperative aptly summarizes the whole gist of ethical principles contained in the Law and the Prophets. (MacArthur) The Law refers to the Torah, the first five books of the Old Testament, and the Prophets refers to the remaining books of the Old Testament which were written by the prophets.

Iron Sharpens Iron

Talk about the Bible with your friends, it will be good for both of you as you will both benefit from the discussion. We talk with them about everything else.

"Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of a friend." Proverbs 27:17

The benefits of an intellectual and theological discussion between friends will encourage joy through the development of keener minds and the improvement of good character development. The goal of the discussion is personal enhancement and not personal put-downs or self aggrandizement.

Friendships should be mutually beneficial, you should help each other morally and intellectually. You should each be an encouragement to the other to do better and to grow spiritually as well.

A good friend makes his friends better. He lifts them up and does not put them down.

Love Your Enemies

True Christians are very special people. They do not respond to people and situations like the worldly people respond.

Jesus teaches us to "... Love your enemies, do good to them which hate you, Bless them that curse you, and pray for them which despitefully use you." Luke 6:27-28

We should not give back to others as they give unto us. But rather we should give unto others as Christ would give unto them. During this life we will be lied to and lied on, done wrong, stabbed in the back by so-called-friends, and hated.

There is special blessing in store for those who can give love in return for hate and love their enemies.

What Is Love?

"Love, love, love, love is all you need." (John Lennon) That is true because "... God is love." 1 John 4:8 KJV

"Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but it rejoices with truth. Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things." 1 Corinthians 13:4-7 ESV

"So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love." 1 Corinthians 13:13 ESV

Love believes the best in others and hopes for the best in others. If we have God in our lives and we are in Christ, then we will have love in our heart for our fellow man, even when we hate his sin.

Let's show our love for others be practicing random acts of kindness.

Love One Another

"Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying The Truth through The Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren, see that ye love one another with a pure heart fervently..." 1 Peter 1:22

As Christians we are commanded to love one another. Once we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal saviour, we, with the help of The Holy Spirit, must really love our fellow man and not just with half-hearted efforts.

When we say 'love' we usually mean 'like, lust, or infatuation', and not the unlimited love of God. The best that we can do is offer a sincere brotherly love, and that requires the aide of The Holy Spirit.

We are to love one another fervently, without hypocrisy, from a pure heart and not with manipulative, self-serving intentions. We need to pray for God's help to love each other in a Christ-like manner.

Love For Our Fellow Man

How do you know that you are saved? "We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." 1 John 3:14

It is not natural for us to love one another. By nature we are selfish and full of self love. Jesus told us to love one another. "By this shall men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another." John 13:34-35

We love one another because the nature of God is within us. We know that we have changed from being dead to Christ to being alive in Christ because we can have and demonstrate love for our fellow man.

Those who do not love their fellow man, do not have the love of God within them. They are dead spiritually, separated from Christ, and living in sinful darkness outside of the marvelous light of Christ.

The world can tell that we are believers and followers of Christ by the way that we treat others.