Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement. (Hebrews 6:1-2)

Hello, my name is Alistair and I’m a caffeine addict.  I had my last caffeinated beverage about 45 minutes ago.  It was wonderful.

I was sitting at home doing…something (I’m not exactly sure what), when that ever-present caffeine craving began to slowly intensify.  There was no caffeine in the house.  Paula, my wife, was out with the car.  I had $5 in my wallet and the plan that had been lying around my mind un-acted on suddenly became very attractive.  I would jump on the scooter, ride to Earlville shopping centre, park close to Gloria Jeans, buy a coffee and get back before Paula returned home.

A short struggle began inside.

Caffeine-Addict Me: I want coffee.

Rational Me: Look, you know how it affects you.  It might be okay now, but this is the beginning of a slippery slope.

Caffeine-Addict Me: I want coffee.

Rational Me: Not such a good idea.

Caffeine-Addict Me: I want coffee.

Rational Me: You told people that you wouldn’t be drinking caffeine anymore.  Even last night you told yourself you need to stop…

A short ride and $4.20 later I had my drink.  (Somebody needs to invent cup holders for scooters).  Man, did that Flat White taste good! 

Why do I need caffeine?  What is it that makes me so enslaved to it that I can’t say no - not for very long at least?  I don’t exactly know, but I do know that if I believed it would kill me, I’d never have another coffee or coke - I think. 

When it comes to “dead works” our conscience, our life, history, the Bible and the Spirit of God tell us that there are things we are doing - and keep on doing - that are wrong.  Not only wrong, but deadly.  Yet we can’t stop.  We won’t stop.  We get on whatever will take us where we want to go and chase after people, possessions, and pleasure instead of going to the source of all love - God himself.  

As a result, we’re out of sync with the universe’s modus operandi.  We’re out of touch with the love that enables us to truly love.  We’re like the proverbial bull in a China shop running roughshod over people and creation, and if we don’t get in line, God has said he will deal with us with far more than a firm hand.

For God’s sake, for other people’s sake, for your sake, turn away from dead works, because if you don’t, they’ll kill you.

 We tend to think that fulfilling our own desires and preferences is the highest good.  That would have been true if our desires and preferences hadn’t been perverted.  Unfortunately they have been, and so God calls us to return to him to begin reconstituting our insides.  Let’s ask him for the willingness and courage to do this.

Therefore let us leave the elementary doctrine of Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again a foundation of repentance from dead works and of faith towards God, and of instruction about washings, the laying on of hands, the resurrection of the dead, and eternal judgement. (Hebrews 6:1-2)

When Eve ate the fruit from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, she was saying to God, “I don’t trust you.

“I don’t trust that you have my best interests at heart.

“I don’t trust that even though I can’t understand what is going on, you have a good plan and that my good is part of your plan.

“I don’t trust that you love me.”

Adam followed her lead, ate some of the fruit and they took the first step toward looking-out-for-number-one over against trusting-in-the-real-Number-One. In retrospect it was a very stupid thing to do.

I mean, think about it. On what basis did Eve come to the conclusion that God was not trustworthy? He had provided her with a husband, a fantastic piece of real-estate, all the food she could eat, the fruit of all the other trees and co-rule over the earth and its animals. Where was the evidence of something underhand going on?

The serpent provided it. Eve had not seen the Lord’s face as he instructed Adam not to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. She had not heard the tone of his voice. The serpent took advantage and provided his own interpretation - not of the command, but of the reason behind the command, an interpretation that sounds a lot like Satan’s own belief about God.

“He’s trying to keep you down.”

How often have we put our own interpretations on events? The interpretation we end up with will always depend on what our beliefs are about the people involved. Sometimes those beliefs are justified, sometimes they are not.

In the same way, the Bible provides a true account of his dealings with us, but we can read it and find his actions open to interpretation. So God has shown us what he is like once and for all.  We understand the character of God by looking to the cross of Christ.

It is at the cross that we can see both the anger and the compassion of God toward self-centred, evil people. We can see his uncompromising commitment to what is right and the unfathomable lengths to which he’ll go to make bring those who are all wrong back to him. We can see his love for people who hate him and refuse to trust his direction.

If God will go so far as to send his Son as fully God and fully man to endure abuse and die for our betrayal, what reason have we to believe that he is holding out on us when he offers us such an amazing salvation? Even though we don’t always understand what is going on we can know that God is working everything out for our own good.

Ignore the devil. Have faith in God because he is trustworthy. The cross confirms it.

The essence of sin is replacing God with someone or something else at the centre of our lives. We do that when we don’t trust God. Ask him for greater and greater faith to live trusting him and what he has done for us through Jesus.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (ESV)

“Name?”

“Cephas, also known as Peter.” 

“Not anymore. From now on you will be known as Graeme Butler. You’re a shepherd looking after sheep in Hebron. Your wife will be called Mildred, your sons will be Harold, Mike and Julian. Remember those names. Your life could depend on it.” 

“But…”

“We don’t have time, Mr. Butler. There are people who will try to kill you because of what you have seen. Now, pay attention. You will be escorted outside of Jerusalem and taken to a safe place where you will meet up with the rest of your family. From there you will carry on to Hebron where you will be given further instructions. Now, is that clear?”

“Yes, but…”

“We really don’t have time for chit-chat, Mr. Butler. What I need to know from you is how many others have seen what you have seen?”

“Well, there is the Twelve, that group of maybe 500 hundred, James the brother of Jesus, a number of other apostles and a guy called Paul. So…”

“Five hundred? There’s no way we’re going to keep a lid on this!”

“Yeah, well that’s kind of the idea…”

Jesus never intended his resurrection to be shrouded in secrecy or shared with only a few. He appeared to over 500 people after he was resurrected and commanded them to tell people what they had seen! Not only that, he has left us with historical eyewitness accounts of His life, death and resurrection in the Bible, extra-biblical testimony to his life and death and a history forever changed by those facts. This is not a made up story! Millions of people through the years since that event can tell you that Jesus is alive – they have transformed lives to prove it!

It is important to be open and honest about our non-negotiable gospel story and what we have experienced of it – and that can include all the doubts and ugly bits, and the great and beautiful bits. Ask Jesus for his Spirit and for opportunities to be open about him with others.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (ESV)

World Peace. Who doesn’t want it – except for weapon manufacturers? One lady wrote on the internet, “All I want for Christmas is world peace. Failing that, I want an iPod, a bottle of wine, a trip to the Bahamas…”

Well, good news! Jesus is going to bring it about. No, not the trip to the Bahamas! World Peace!

Think about it. How on earth is world peace ever going to be achieved when normal everyday men, women and children envy, hate, fight, ignore and hurt each other? What makes people think world peace is even possible when we can’t get rid of the same failings in us that drive warring nations? We criticise world leaders for war-mongering or weakness and yet if we were in their shoes, what makes us think we’d act any differently? The fact is we wouldn’t.

So this is what Jesus has done. He came and lived a life perfectly in line with the Creator’s original design. Of course, nobody else is in sync with the Creator’s original place for them in creation, so Jesus got caught up in the carnage of a world where people operate like cars that are pre-set to follow their own road rules. He was killed.

But that wasn’t the end. Jesus’ death paid the penalty every renegade human deserves for their wrong living and three days later he was raised to life again by the Creator as the first and greatest of a new and improved humanity. He was raised to life to prove the gospel is true and to give us a new nature and inner peace that will eventually spread to the whole world. You see, he is in the process of completely changing us from the inside out. We, too, if we trust in him, are becoming new and improved humans. And we will, in the future, live in a new and improved creation where everything will work like it was meant to and there will be no more clashes. When that happens, there will be world peace. Forever.

Jesus’ resurrection was the first of many transformations from mortality into immortality. A new humanity made up of believers will be completed, the world will be made new for us and everything will be incorruptible. All the parts of our lives that we groan about and grieve over will be made right and we will not suffer imperfection any more! Praise God for his future plans for us and for the world.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me.  (ESV)

Scientifically, you cannot survive being buried alive for longer than a couple of minutes. Perhaps when you are put in a tomb you may last longer, but having been beaten, nailed to a cross, left to hang and asphyxiate and then speared to ensure you really were dead, it’s not very likely at all that you’d emerge alive from a grave three days later. 

That was Jesus. He was literally dead and buried, and even his disciples thought that was pretty final. “We had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel.” (Luke 24:21)

Had hoped? They had they forgotten what Jesus had said? Jesus’ enemies hadn’t. (Matthew 27:63) Maybe it was just that they didn’t believe it. What caused them to take so long to figure this thing out?

At least one reason the disciples gave up hope was that Jesus hadn’t followed their plan. He was meant to get to Jerusalem and hold a rally, convince people with miraculous signs that he was the promised Saviour for Israel, then overthrow the Romans with the power of his might and set up government…and, of course, reward his loyal supporters in the process. But instead he died.

What must that have been like for those disciples? They had invested their lives in Jesus, they had believed, they had seen the miracles and heard the teaching. They KNEW that Jesus was the Messiah. They had watched him being arrested and tortured and mocked, and those who had not completely given up hope were thinking, “He’s going to act and save himself…now! Ok…now!” But the moment never came. Jesus was in the grave and their hope was dead and buried with him, and they remained in that place for three days.

God’s ways are not our ways.  He brings about death in order to bring about the right kind of life.  Whenever we have no idea what God is doing, remember that God does his very best work in the dark. 

We automatically think God will accommodate himself to our plans, but he does not. The Jews valued powerful and miraculous signs; Jesus became a sign of weakness. The Greeks valued wisdom; Jesus foolishly died. Australians value their lifestyle; Jesus demands daily death. Pray for God to reveal the idols in your heart that you expect him to accommodate to. Think on Jesus’ death and resurrection and ask him for faith in him alone, that whatever happens you know he is working for your good, even if not in the way you expected.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (ESV)

I don’t know about you, but I used to keep journals. It’s interesting going through them years later and finding out what used to be on your mind. One of the most common sentences I wrote went something like: “I really need to get disciplined!”

Yeah, I’m that guy. Maybe you can relate. It’ll happen when it happens, unless there’s a deadline. Then it’ll happen the night before. In fact, while I was studying it got to the point where it happened a day or two later. I still don’t know how I got away with it.

God, of course, is not like that. Can you imagine the Father sitting in heaven looking down at the earth and saying, “Wow, we really should have done something by now. Look how out of hand everything’s got! I know, Son, why don’t you go down there and sort of wing it for a while until we figure something out”?

No, right from the beginning God had decided to send Jesus into the world to die and rise from death three days later and there are indications of this all through the Bible. The funny thing was that before it happened, people didn’t see it. It was only after Jesus fulfilled God’s plan that people began to see God’s plan laid out in the Scriptures, and that only because Jesus showed them! Like someone who was thrown a surprise birthday party, they looked back and saw pointers that at the time just didn’t click. “And [Jesus] said to them, “O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken!  Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?”  And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself. (Luke 24:25-27)

So God planned the worst of events for the best of results. Literally from Day One Jesus’ death and resurrection was carved in stone. It was no accident.

If God can plan the worst event in history for the best of results, surely nothing in our lives can be without good purpose if we belong to him. God’s plan to completely save people has been in motion since the beginning of time. Praise Jesus that his death and resurrection and your part in it is no accident or temporary solution. Thank God for his faithfulness in the past, present and our future.

Examples of Jesus in the Old Testament.

The Bible is an exciting ancient document that continuously reveals Jesus.  The clearest example is Isaiah 53:4-6, but God himself explains that his words were not always that direct (Numbers 12:6-8, see Hebrews 1:1).  In fact, some Old Testament passages the New Testament says speak of Jesus can seem really strange.  They are not always clear to the way we 21st Century Westerners think.  It helps to remember that the Bible was not written to our culture and generation alone.  Look at Genesis 3:12-16, Psalm 22, Isaiah 52-53, Matthew 12:40 and Acts 2:14-36 for examples of Jesus in the Old Testament Scriptures.

3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. (ESV)

I was never interested in crochet (pronounced “CROW-SHAY). Ever. I didn’t even know what it was until I met my crocheting wife-to-be Paula. She likes it and she’s good at it and even crocheted her own wedding dress. And so I’m interested now – in Paula’s crochet.

One year Paula decided to put a few of her crochet pieces in the Show. She wasn’t expecting much, but I assumed she would win first place with at least one piece despite the fact Paula said it wasn’t her best work and could point out some fairly big flaws. So when she got a high commendation she was really happy. Me? I was disappointed in the judges’ obvious bias against my wife, but proud that, despite a rigged result, her work had still been given some recognition. Who got first place? I don’t know. I can’t remember and to be honest, I’m not that interested. But I’d remember if Paula had won.

In the same way the Bible tells us angels long to look into this good news that Paul says is of first importance (1 Peter 1:12), but their interest will only ever be that of an observer or a support person. Don’t get me wrong, they are fascinated by what God has done, but in the same way I only had a second-hand interest in the Arts and Craft competition at the Show, the angels will never be the main players in this event called the gospel.

But we are. Christ died for our sins. It is for us that Jesus changed the course of the world. And without this realisation Jesus’ death and his resurrection are, to quote Homer Simpson, “just a bunch of stuff that happened.”

Do you remember that thing you did that makes you feel ashamed whenever you think of it, even today? Or what about those words you said that you wish you could take back? You lost your temper over something minor? You lied about your work? You may have stolen, hurt, even killed. Those sins, your sins, were dealt with when Jesus died. Even those sins we don’t realise are sins are part of what Jesus died for. He died for the sin in us that makes us sin! Truth be told, he even died for the parts of us that still love sin.

Jesus’ death is a shower that washes people completely clean; his resurrection provides us with a new life to clothe ourselves in. If you accept that his death applies to you, that it was your sins that have been washed completely away, then you understand what Paul meant when he wrote ‘Christ died for our sins’.

Knowing that you are the beneficiary of Christ’s death and resurrection changes it from being merely a true story into being your story.  We need to keep asking God to make that story real in our lives.

For no particular reason our baby started to cry.

We had put her to bed not too long ago, and usually she will sleep through without incident.  This time, however, she had begun crying - loudly.

I was at the computer right next to her room and Paula was in bed, so I went in and comforted Lylie and she settled. Thinking it might be a nightmare (do 6 month olds have nightmares?) I did what we usually do when there are nightmares in the house - I prayed a prayer of protection over her.

Now, God almost always answers prayers of this kind in our house, but for some reason this time he didn’t unless his answer was to prod Lylie so she would begin crying again, because that’s what she did.  And all her howling brought her mother to the room to see what was going on.

Well, I wasn’t going to let Paula get all the glory for settling her, so I did what needed to be done.  I picked her up, sat in a chair and rocked her.  This was no time for controlled crying.  And it worked! I got immediate results. Lylie’s eyes began to droop and after a little while we deposited her sleeping form back into her cot where she slept for the rest of the night.

It occurred to me that these little crises help me to bond with Lylie far more than if I just palm her off to her mother.  It’s almost as if Lylie learns who can be counted on to stick around until the crying, whatever its cause, comes to an end.

And then I looked at my relationship with God.

Often when I’m in crisis - disillusioned, hurt, angry or whatever - I don’t turn to God as much as I do to some distraction.  TV is a good one, as is food, reading, sleeping…  All these I know are there for me but what an insult to the God who is ultimate strength and comfort.  I need to learn to turn to God first instead of other things, knowing that unlike fickle me, he is not a Father that palms his children off onto others but can be counted on to stick around until the crisis, whatever it is, ends.

In the Bible, the words “faith” and “believe” are the same word - faith is the noun; believe is the verb. So, when you are believing, you have faith, and faith is the name for believing.

But we Christians use “faith” and “believe” so often that they lose some of their meaning - or worse, take on extra meanings. Faith, for some of us, has come to mean merely giving a nod to the Biblical worldview. For others of us, it is a force we work up in ourselves that brings about whatever we want - or should! But neither of those are what Biblical “faith” and “believing” is about.The Biblical meaning is easier to see when we replace “faith” and “believe” with the word “trust”.

For we hold that one is justified by trust apart from works of the law. (Rom 3:28) 

And to the one who does not work but trusts in him who justifies the ungodly, his trust is counted as righteousness. (Rom 4:5) 

Therefore, since we have been justified by trust, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. (Rom 5:1)

Unless your faith in Jesus is trust in Jesus and you trust when you believe, no matter how well or badly things work out you are not exercising Christian faith. And how do you know you are exercising Christian faith?  You are willing to let go of everything else.

A few months ago I saw God on My Side, Andrew Denton’s film documentary about his visit to the National Religious Broadcasters Convention in America.  It features interviews with a wide-ranging group of people: puffy-haired 70’s style evangelists, a passionate flakes-of-gold-on-your-hand-that’s-God’s-anointing Pentecostal, an Arabic Christian, a media-savvy laidback Phd in Theology, an Australian from UCB, a woman who has been married 9 times (or was it 10?), an end-of-the-world expert…every stripe of Christian imaginable…oh, and a ventriloquist doll!

Have you ever looked around and wondered at the hugely diverse - and often embarassing - array of people that make up the Church?  Even in our city there are Christians who believe and do things far differently from ourselves and in our hearts we subtly add to Jesus’ requirements for Church membership: Yes, sir, as soon as you get the right theology/worhip with your eyes closed/get a haircut we’ll be glad to consider you a brother in Christ!

We need to remind ourselves that Jesus’ requirements are far simpler: if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom 10:9).  There are no other requirements to join God’s family.

You can choose your friends but you can’t choose your relatives.  Let’s love our brothers and sisters in Christ whether or not they are like us or make us feel good.  Let us love them because they, too, trust Jesus.

I have noticed more and more a tendency in me to choose the pleasant way, the secure and comfortable way - the way with the most to gain and the least amount of effort - all for a life of uninterrupted contentment and satisfaction.  And should this dream of a continually pleasant life be rudely broken in upon by a “bad day”, I get angry.

No, I’m not alone in this.  All of us expect a good life.  It is our right!!! or so we believe.  But the truth is if we have no bad days, or weeks or months or even years…something’s wrong.

How can I say this? Continue Reading »

[I decided to put the 8 week devotionals I wrote on 1 Cor 13:1-6 on the web. I refer to them in my head as the "Love Devotions".They were written for our church as a supplement a Rick Warren series of sermons on this passage so they may have a reference to people or those sermons that mean nothing to others. All material that I attribute to our Pastor's sermons are from this series. I managed to get away with quite a few spelling mistakes, typos and unwieldy sentences!  I have noticed, also, that they give the most benefit when all the scriptures used are looked up and read.An enthusiastic student gave an amazing history presentation to a class. He used different types of media: from a power point demonstration to live interviews of historical figures’ descendents to animated characters acting out the events that occurred. He provided a wealth of information using simple and accessible points without overwhelming his audience. He gave his own very well thought-out assessment of the present day effects of the facts he was discussing and after 20 minutes sat down, waiting confidently for the teacher’s ringing verbal assessment.

Please take a look.] 

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (NIV)

“Well!” began the teacher. “You have obviously worked incredibly hard and you have done an incredible amount of research and preparation. You’re style is great, the information was well structured and communicated in a varied and entertaining way with an excellent conclusion. Overall, a brilliant presentation. However…”

He leaned toward the student and whispered so everyone had to listen very carefully to catch what was being said.

“…this is a Mathematics class.”

We are all – right now – giving a presentation of our lives as Christians before others and before God. We might have the purest mouths; we might be the most regular attendees at church; we might be the most involved in ministries, but what Paul is saying is, “This is a Love class.”

Jesus said, “‘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.’” (Matt 22:37-39)

That is the life that we are to be living, and all the other things we might do – speaking in tongues, working hard, prophesying, moving mountains, sacrificing, playing music, preaching, telling the truth, witnessing, praying, helping others, reading the Bible and a million other things – all these things are done because we have love – for God first and then for others. Without love, we are nothing.

We can all point to areas where we are not acting out of love. Ask God to show you an area he would have work on bringing love into your actions.

Memorise: 1 Cor 13:1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.

Read also: Rom 13:8-10, 1 Cor 16:14, Gal 5:14, Eph 5:1, James 2:8, 1 Peter 4:8.

Study Questions:
1. In these verses, Paul says in essence, “Love or nothing”. Why do you think love is so important? What does “nothing” mean? Does it include not being saved?

2. What difference does love make when you combine it with serving God? For you? For others? For God?

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (NIV)

Coffee is an evil thing. At least for me. At least in large quantities. Catch me after a week or two of real coffee drinking and you will find you have a wired, tired, and emotionally sensitive person on your hands.

I was like that a little while ago at church and someone made a cutting off-hand comment about me – I think in an effort to be funny – and I was deeply hurt. And angry. And as I thought about it, I decided that I’d never really liked that person anyway. I realized the huge flaws in their character and personality I hadn’t really noticed before and I was glad I wasn’t like them. And as I kept thinking about it I had to wonder why anyone would like them. I didn’t, and in fact I was ready to hate them.

Now, I knew that wasn’t right, but I had to be honest. That was how I felt. I prayed about it that night, but it wasn’t until the next morning that I was reminded of Matt 5:11-12 “Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of me. Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you.”

I was hardly insulted because of Jesus, (though a lot of who I am today is because of Jesus in my life), but I suddenly realized that Jesus accepted me and I had nothing to be ashamed of – even personality quirks, faux pas’ and insecurities. I felt loved, and all of a sudden I could forgive that person because my self-worth was no longer linked to what anyone thought but Jesus Christ.

How often do we look for affirmation in other things besides God Himself? We are created to need love, and if we don’t get it from God first, we are driven to get it from other people and things. The Corinthians were basing their worth on what they did – speaking in tongues, prophesying, doing great things for God – but Paul is saying they need to do those things for the good of other people in love, not to get affirmation from other people for themselves. Until we get our primary love from God, our love for others will mostly be dependent on what we can get back from them – but is that Christian love? Once we get our primary love from God, we are able to love others no matter what we get back from them. As John said, “We love because he first loved us” (1 John 4:19).

God calls us to love through giving, but a lot of our love is to get – prestige, respect, compliments, (all forms of “love-in-return”) – and when we don’t get, we stop loving. Can you think of times when you stopped loving because you got nothing in return?

Memorise: 1 Cor 13:2a If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge,…Read also: Eph 3:14-19, 1 John 4:7-16a, 1 John 4:19-21

Eph 3:14-19, 1 John 4:7-16a, 1 John 4:19-21Study Questions:
1. What are some of the “loving actions” we might do that in fact are more to do with getting something back for ourselves? Is it wrong to want something back for ourselves?

2. What are some of the ways we can know we are loved by God? Explain how knowing God’s love helps us love others? Read Eph 3:14-19. Now pray that prayer for yourself.

3. There is meant to be a difference between a non-Christian’s love and a Christian’s love, but how would you explain the “outpouring of love” of non-Christian Australians when they responded to the recent Tsunami?

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (NIV)

My brother Phil used to have an old Hillman Hunter when he was about 17 years old. He drove it to either side of New Zealand and up and down the North Island and eventually into the ground. Well, the engine, anyway. Everything else was in good nick, but without the engine the car was really only good for rolling down hills. He didn’t have enough money to buy another car – one that was legally allowed on the road, at least – so he bought another Hillman Hunter that was filled with rust and poured black smoke out the exhaust but that had a good engine. He began the transfer. He had no idea what he was doing. Library books are great.

Finally, after months of work, and a bit of help from others (including yours truly, who had even less idea what he was doing) he finished putting the “new” engine into his Hillman Hunter. He jumped in his same old car and drove the life out of the new engine in 6 months. But hey, it was worth it.

In these verses, Paul is not saying that the Corinthians shouldn’t speak in tongues, or prophesy, or try to understand mysteries and acquire knowledge. He is not against exercising miracle-working faith or sacrificial giving or dying a martyr’s death. He himself did all those things. His point, that has been made more than once, is that the engine for these things must be love.

But what if you can’t do it in love? At church Gary has made the comment that a Christian who does not serve is a contradiction. What are you to do if you do not feel you are able to serve in love, and that any service you give will be out from guilt or pressure or self-promotion?

Paul did not forbid the Corinthians from doing what they would like. Instead, he encourages them to work on changing the engine powering those acts from selfish motives to love. We do not need to stop serving, or hold back from serving, but rather work on love and have our service transformed. And, if we keep working on it, it will last more than 6 months.

Gary outlined five ways of developing deep love. How are you doing?
1. Learn how mature love acts and responds.
2. Start your day with a daily reminder to love.
3. Memorise what God says about love.
4. Practice acting in unselfish, loving ways.
5. Get support from other loving people.

Memorise: 1 Cor 13:2b …and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Read also: Eph 3:16-19, Phil 1:9-11, Col 3:12-14, 2 Peter 1:3-11.

Study Questions:
1. Go through the five ways to develop love, and evaluate how you are doing. Try to think of ways that you can put those into practice in your life.

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (NIV)

A young man walked by a beggar almost every day and every now and then he put money in the beggar’s tin. Gradually, however, it occurred to this young man that it might be good to do something more. He formulated a plan. He would take the beggar to a restaurant close by and buy him lunch. Great idea.

A couple of weeks passed, and the young man still hadn’t managed to gather enough courage to do what he had planned. He was worried about what other people would say. Finally, however, he managed to do it. He walked up to the beggar and invited him to the restaurant and bought him a meal. The beggar was very thankful, and afterward went back to his spot and continued to beg.

For some weeks after that, the young man passed the beggar and smiled and put coins in his tin. The beggar smiled back. Soon, however, the young man found that he felt embarrassed, and he felt he had created a precedent and that he needed to take the beggar to lunch again. The young man wasn’t sure he wanted to do that – it was hard enough the first time – so he began to avoid looking at the beggar as he walked by. He then began taking detours, avoiding the corner where the beggar sat. Finally, the young man moved out of the area, relieved not to see that embarrassing beggar again.

Sometimes what we can do to show love to other people is limited by time, money and ability, but at other times it is only limited by our own embarrassment, shame or laziness. Most of the activities Paul mentions in the verses above are ‘big’ things – one-offs. But if we only show love in a one-off fashion, do we really love others? There is a charity who no longer accepts one-off help from enthusiastic people at Christmas time – the well meaning volunteers have no idea how to act or talk to the homeless people the charity feeds, and they are not committed enough to learn by volunteer at other times of the year.

Beginning in verse 4, Paul describes love, and his descriptions work in both one-offs and in on-going day-to-day relationships. This means that love should be seen in both. And I would say that if we are great at doing one-off things that show love, but don’t continue to love day-to-day, we should really question if we have love in the first place.

Think about the on-going relationships that you already have and ask God to alert you to ways that you can show continued love in the “little things”.

Memorise: 1 Cor 13:3 If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing.

Read also: 1 Cor 16:14, Col 3:12-14, 1 Peter 4:8-10, 1 John 3:17-18.

Study Questions:
1. What instances of “one-off love” can you think of? Which do you think are reasonable, and which do you think should be followed up on a more consistent basis? Why?

2. We are all human, and there is only so much we can do. What limits do you think should be put on “loving others as we love ourselves”?

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (NIV)

Can you imagine some in the Corinthian church doing their best to speak in tongues and prophesy in love and then having the rest of the church say, “What on earth was that about?” Or trying hard to explain some difficult topic, only to find that the church did not find it useful? Or again, to move a mountain only to have others say, “That’s not where we wanted it”?

It is one thing to give love, but another to see that what you do provides benefit for others. I am not talking about people who don’t know what’s good for them, but about people who understand what is going on, and know their own needs and wants. Part of love is trying to figure out what is good for other people, not just what you feel like giving them, and often that involves asking and listening – to God, and to others.

There is a very useful book called, The Five Love Languages, by Gary Chapman. The principle is well known by many people, though there are still some who are not aware of it. Very simply, Gary Chapman outlines five different ways people give and receive love – words of affirmation, acts of service, gift-giving, physical touch, and spending quality time with others. If I, who gives love through words of affirmation, try to verbally show love to my wife, who receives love through me spending quality time with her, she feels loved only a little. On the other hand, if I spend time with her, she feels very loved. The idea is to learn another “love language” besides your own.

In the same way, if we are to love other people as we love ourselves, we need to find out what benefits them, both emotionally and objectively. Merely reaching out to someone once and giving up after finding little in the way of response does not reflect God’s love.

God, of course, knows perfectly what and when to give and what and when to withhold for every individual for their greatest benefit. Unfortunately, we do not have the same knowledge, but as we grow in wisdom and practice, we can grow in our ability to love other people effectively. As one person said, some things you only learn by doing.

Ask God to help you learn how to love the people in your life more effectively for their greatest benefit.

Revise: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Read also: Eph 5:1-2, 1 John 3:17-18.

Study Questions:
1. What are some examples of “loving without benefit”?

2. What are some ways we can learn to be specific in our love for others?

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (NIV)

Have love. Notice that love is not merely action, but something we have. Love is “got” from God. And once we have that love, we show it by our actions. Where do we most clearly see the depth of the love of God? Jesus’ death and resurrection.[1]

1. Jesus died for people who did not deserve it. No one, when getting paid by his employer or by a client, for that reason, sits back, smiles to himself and says, “How they love me”. That person got what they deserved for the work they did! We not only didn’t deserve to have Jesus die to save us from hell, we deserve to go there right now. Yet, Jesus demonstrated God’s love by dying for us though we don’t deserve it. (2 Tim 1:9)

2. Jesus chose to die. At no time during his life was Jesus forced into a situation he did not want to be in. As he said to Peter when he was being arrested, he could at any time call to his Father and he would be delivered. No woman would feel loved by a guy if she knew her friend had blackmailed him to take her to dinner. (John 10:17-18)

3. Jesus paid the highest price. In the recent wave of giving to the Tsunami appeal, a two hundred-dollar gift from a child meant more than a two hundred-dollar gift from a millionaire. Jesus, the richest, most powerful being in the universe, gave up everything and took on the deepest suffering imaginable in love for us. (Phil 2:6-8)

4. Jesus bought everything. The greater the benefits, the greater the demonstration of love. Jesus could have saved us and banished us from his presence or saved us and made us only servants or slaves. But he saved us and has adopted us as children and he has given us a glimpse of his glory now, and the promise of being in his presence full of joy and pleasures and a deeper experience of love than we have ever known – and it continually gets better throughout eternity! (1 Thess 4:17)

5. Jesus is eternally committed to his people. Jesus’ death and resurrection and the people he was to save were decided on before the beginning of time, and his commitment to continues to eternity. A father or mother doesn’t show love by only sometimes paying attention to their children. (Rom 8:28-30)

If you are a Christian, you can KNOW that God loves you though Jesus’ death on the cross. Apply it to YOU. This is the love that we are to be demonstrating to others.

Revise: 1 Corinthians 13:1-3

Read also: 1 John 3:16, 1 John 4:7-11, Mark 15:16-47, Luke 24:1-7, Eph 5:1.

Study Questions:
1. Can you think of other ways Jesus’ life, death and resurrection demonstrated the love of God for us?

2. How do the five ways of understanding God’s love demonstrated in the cross apply to us loving others?

[1] The following is closely based on a mini-series of sermons by John Piper called, “The Depth of Christ’s Love” within a larger series called, “The Greatest of These is Love”. You can find it at www.desiringgod.org/library/series/LBLOV1.html

If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (NIV) 

Some years ago, a musician called Michael Card wrote a song about Jesus’ death called, “Why?”  The second verse goes like this: 

Why did it have to be a thorny

crown pressed upon his head?

It should have been a royal one

made of jewels and gold instead.

It had to be a crown of thorns,

because in this life that we live,

for all that would seek to love a thorn is

all the world has to give. 

Jesus said, “All men will hate you because of me, but he who stands firm to the end will be saved.” (Matt 10:22)  Loving is not easy, and it is especially difficult when it involves speaking to others about the reason for our love.  As crazy as it sounds, people will hate you for loving as God asks us to.  But this is exactly the reality Jesus asks us to look at when it comes to following him to death. 

Love is war.  It is war against the world and the world’s way of doing things.  The world will laugh at you and take you for granted and try to take advantage of you.  It is war against the devil and his hatred of God and man.  Expect resistance when you begin to love God and others the way he asks you to.  It is war against our selfish natures and our sinful desires to do only what we want to do.  Don’t be fooled into thinking you can do this yourself.  The only way to keep your self under control is to submit to the love of God in Jesus Christ.  And in it all – persevere! 

The choice Paul gives us in the verses above is “love or nothing”.  The other side of the coin is “war or peace”.  You cannot love without war, and if you choose peace you’ll end up with nothing. 

Pray and ask God to teach you to love and to give you the perseverance to love despite difficulties and setbacks.  Think on how much he loves you, and then choose to learn about and love other people as you are challenged to.

 Revise:  If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal.  If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.  If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. (NIV) 1 Corinthians 13:1-3.

Read also: Luke 14:25-33, Luke 8:1-15, Matt 24:10-13.

Study Questions: 

1. Why do you think loving as God wants us to causes such problems?  Do you think it does?  Can you think of examples in your life or other’s lives? 

2. In what way would love be war in a family?  In a work place?  In a community?  How are we to deal with those situations?