Jesus said, "If you love me, you will keep my commandments" (John 14:15; cf. John 14:21, 23-24; 1 John 2:5; 3:23; 5:3; 2 John 1:6). Which commandments would those be? Jesus had said that the greatest commandment was, "You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind, and with all your strength" (Mark 12:30; cf. Matt. 22:37; Luke 10:27), and that the second greatest commandment was, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" (Matt. 22:39; cf. Mark 12:31; Luke 10:27). Beside these, there is no greater commandment given. These two commandments sum up the entire Ten Commandments. However, Jesus gave his disciples a new commandment: Love.
Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35; cf. John 15:12, 17; 1 John 3:11, 14, 23; 4:7, 11-12, 21). Jesus described this love thus: "For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me...Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me" (Matt. 25:35-36, 40). John the baptizer also showed us what love in action looks like: "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise" (Luke 3:11). Just as Jesus laid His life down for us, "we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16) because "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). We are to "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor" (Rom. 12:20; cf. Phil. 2:3-4) and "keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Pet. 4:8). "If someone says 'I love God,' and hates his bother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:20; cf. 1 John 2:9, 11).
Most Christians find it easy to love some of the saints, but it is not so easy to love all of the saints. It is said of the churches at Ephesus and Colossae that they had a "love for all the saints" (Eph. 1:15; Col. 1:4). Do we love those saints who disagree with us, whose doctrinal positions differ infinitesimally from our own? Do we love those saints whose dispositions and temperaments are the opposite of ours? Do we love those saints whose culture clashes with ours? We need to learn to love like this, to learn to love like Christ Jesus, because "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). "Let love of the brethren continue" (Heb. 13:1).
Jesus also said to "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" (Luke 6:27) "and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44). "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" (Matt. 5:26) "For even sinners love those who love them" (Luke 6:32). "Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great" (Luke 6:35). What does loving our enemies look like? Jesus said, "do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you" (Matt. 5:39-42). Paul puts it succinctly: "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. 'But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:17-21), but "pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness" (1 Tim. 6:11).
We are to "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor, love therefore is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:8-10; cf. Gal. 5:14). "If...you are fulfilling the royal law...you are doing well" (James 2:8). What does loving my neighbor look like? Jesus illustrated this parable when asked, "who is my neighbor?": "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you" (Luke 3:30-35). The one who showed mercy was the one who proved to be a neighbour to the man who was attacked by the robbers.
"We love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). "God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him" (1 John 4:16). "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8). The Christian is supposed to imitate Christ Jesus. "What was this life of Jesus, which is to be repeated in every Christian life? Its great central characteristic was love—love full of compassion; love serving even to the lowliest degree and at greatest cost; love which was patient, forgiving, thoughtful, gentle; love unto the uttermost, which went to a cross to save sinners!" —J. R. Miller
The Christian is to "put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity" (Col. 3:14) and to "Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good" (Rom. 12:9). Warren Wiersbe said that "Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy." Truth and love must go hand-in-hand. You cannot have one without the other. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal. 5:22-23). "The greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13). All the rest flow forth from love. All that the Christian does should be done in love (1 Cor. 16:14). Love edifies; it builds up (1 Cor. 8:1). "Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails" (1 Cor. 13:4-8a). If we do not have love, then we are nothing and it profits us nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3). Christians are to "prove [themselves] doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (James 1:22). So "prove the sincerity of your love" (2 Cor. 8:8), "show the proof of your love" (2 Cor. 8:24).
So, to you, Christian, who judge me because of the lack of love in my words, do you judge yourself for the lack of love in your actions? Or are you nothing but a hypocrite? Pull the log out of your own eye before you attempt to help me pull the speck out of my eye. At least I know where my flaw is at. "Better is a diamond with a flaw, than a pebble without." —Confucius
Jesus said, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:34-35; cf. John 15:12, 17; 1 John 3:11, 14, 23; 4:7, 11-12, 21). Jesus described this love thus: "For I was hungry, and you gave me something to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me drink; I was a stranger, and you invited me in; naked, and you clothed me; I was sick, and you visited me; I was in prison, and you came to me...Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did it to one of these brothers of mine, even the least of them, you did it to me" (Matt. 25:35-36, 40). John the baptizer also showed us what love in action looks like: "The man who has two tunics is to share with him who has none; and he who has food is to do likewise" (Luke 3:11). Just as Jesus laid His life down for us, "we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren" (1 John 3:16) because "Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends" (John 15:13). We are to "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor" (Rom. 12:20; cf. Phil. 2:3-4) and "keep fervent in your love for one another, because love covers a multitude of sins" (1 Pet. 4:8). "If someone says 'I love God,' and hates his bother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen" (1 John 4:20; cf. 1 John 2:9, 11).
Most Christians find it easy to love some of the saints, but it is not so easy to love all of the saints. It is said of the churches at Ephesus and Colossae that they had a "love for all the saints" (Eph. 1:15; Col. 1:4). Do we love those saints who disagree with us, whose doctrinal positions differ infinitesimally from our own? Do we love those saints whose dispositions and temperaments are the opposite of ours? Do we love those saints whose culture clashes with ours? We need to learn to love like this, to learn to love like Christ Jesus, because "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35). "Let love of the brethren continue" (Heb. 13:1).
Jesus also said to "love your enemies, do good to those who hate you" (Luke 6:27) "and pray for those who persecute you" (Matt. 5:44). "For if you love those who love you, what reward have you?" (Matt. 5:26) "For even sinners love those who love them" (Luke 6:32). "Love your enemies, and do good, and lend, expecting nothing in return; and your reward will be great" (Luke 6:35). What does loving our enemies look like? Jesus said, "do not resist an evil person; but whoever slaps you on your right cheek, turn the other to him also. If anyone wants to sue you and take your shirt, let him have your coat also. Whoever forces you to go one mile, go with him two. Give to him who asks of you, and do not turn away from him who wants to borrow from you" (Matt. 5:39-42). Paul puts it succinctly: "Never pay back evil for evil to anyone. Respect what is right in the sight of all men. If possible, so far as it depends on you, be at peace with all men. Never take your own revenge, beloved, but leave room for the wrath of God, for it is written, 'Vengeance is mine, I will repay,' says the Lord. 'But if your enemy is hungry, feed him, and if he is thirsty, give him a drink; for in so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.' Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom. 12:17-21), but "pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, perseverance and gentleness" (1 Tim. 6:11).
We are to "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, 'You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,' and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' Love does no wrong to a neighbor, love therefore is the fulfillment of the law" (Rom. 13:8-10; cf. Gal. 5:14). "If...you are fulfilling the royal law...you are doing well" (James 2:8). What does loving my neighbor look like? Jesus illustrated this parable when asked, "who is my neighbor?": "A certain man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho; and he fell among robbers, and they stripped him and beat him, and went off leaving him half dead. And by chance a certain priest was going down on that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite also, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, who was on a journey, came upon him; and when he saw him, he felt compassion, and came to him, and bandaged up his wounds, pouring oil and wine on them; and he put him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the next day he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper and said, 'Take care of him; and whatever more you spend, when I return, I will repay you" (Luke 3:30-35). The one who showed mercy was the one who proved to be a neighbour to the man who was attacked by the robbers.
"We love, because He first loved us" (1 John 4:19). "God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in Him" (1 John 4:16). "The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love" (1 John 4:8). The Christian is supposed to imitate Christ Jesus. "What was this life of Jesus, which is to be repeated in every Christian life? Its great central characteristic was love—love full of compassion; love serving even to the lowliest degree and at greatest cost; love which was patient, forgiving, thoughtful, gentle; love unto the uttermost, which went to a cross to save sinners!" —J. R. Miller
The Christian is to "put on love, which is the perfect bond of unity" (Col. 3:14) and to "Let love be without hypocrisy. Abhor what is evil; cling to what is good" (Rom. 12:9). Warren Wiersbe said that "Truth without love is brutality, and love without truth is hypocrisy." Truth and love must go hand-in-hand. You cannot have one without the other. "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Gal. 5:22-23). "The greatest of these is love" (1 Cor. 13:13). All the rest flow forth from love. All that the Christian does should be done in love (1 Cor. 16:14). Love edifies; it builds up (1 Cor. 8:1). "Love is patient, love is kind, and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails" (1 Cor. 13:4-8a). If we do not have love, then we are nothing and it profits us nothing (1 Cor. 13:1-3). Christians are to "prove [themselves] doers of the word, and not merely hearers who delude themselves" (James 1:22). So "prove the sincerity of your love" (2 Cor. 8:8), "show the proof of your love" (2 Cor. 8:24).
The distinguishing badge by which Christ would have his people known, is not by a sound creed, or by a conduct in the general correct, as excellent as these are — but by LOVE. Love is the image of his Father, love is the characteristic feature of his nature, therefore he said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples — if you love one another."I am often criticized for the lack of love contained in my writings and/or words, but let me ask you a question: Which is the greater concern, a lack of love in one's words or a lack of love in one's actions? Actions speak louder than words, remember. "Let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and truth" (1 John 3:18). While I am being condemned because of the lack of love in my words, many of these Christians condemning me are blind to their own lack of love in their actions: "I was hungry, and you gave me nothing to eat; I was thirsty, and you gave me nothing to drink; I was a stranger, and you did not invite me in; naked, and you did not clothe me; sick, and in prison, and you did not visit me...Truly I say to you, to the extent that you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me" (Matt. 25:42-43, 45). "And so, by sinning against the brethren...you sin against Christ" (1 Cor. 8:12). The reason for this is "because lawlessness is increased, most people's love will grow cold" (Matt. 24:12). Given a choice between the love in their words or the love in my actions, I will choose my actions every time. I am trying to better the love in my words, because we are to "[speak] the truth in love" (Eph. 4:15), but love in my actions will speak volumes compared to any amount of love in my words. I would rather one act done in love than ten thousand words spoken in love. Showing a person that you love them does far more than merely telling them that you love them and not showing it.
Nothing is so frequently pressed upon our attention, nothing is so urgently required of us — as love. Just before Jesus left his disciples, having displayed his own humble love in a most marvelous way, he said to them, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples — if you love one another." John 13:34-35. He does not merely counsel, or recommend — but he commands. He exercises his authority, and displays his love at once. Let us observe,
His Command. "Love one another." He requires love to all saints, without any distinction. All who believe in him — all who acknowledge him — all who make his word their rule — every one whom he loves — we are to love. We must love the saints, though in some secondary things they differ from us. They may differ in some points of doctrine, they may differ in their views of ordinances, and they may differ as to Church government. But the dissenter is to love the churchman, and the churchman is to love the dissenter. The Calvinist is to love the Arminian, and the Arminian is to love the Calvinist. Love one another. Love every child of God, whether a babe, a young man, or a father. Whether a prince or a pauper, a peer or a peasant. Whether a youth or a man of grey hairs.
Jesus requires love — not merely pity, or sympathy, or respect — but love — that is, delight in them, and union to them. He calls this a new commandment, because it is a most excellent one — and also because it is novel. The old commandment was. "You shall love your neighbor — as yourself." The new commandment is, "Love one another — as I have loved you." Mark,
The Pattern: We are to love one another — just as Jesus has loved us.
He loved us freely — without looking for advantage, or expecting profit. So we are to love each other, not for advantage derived, nor gifts conferred — but freely for Christ's sake.
He loved us tenderly, with more than a mother's love. So are we to love each other tenderly as children of the same family, as members of the same body.
He loved us with a love of preference, preferring the ties of grace to the ties of nature. So should we love the Lord's people with a purer, holier love, than our natural relations.
His was a constant love. Having loved his own who were in the world — he loved them unto the end. So should we, displaying forbearance, patience, and compassion, as far as God's honor will allow.
He manifested his love by words and by deeds. So we should use the loving word, and perform the loving deed. From the cup of cold water, given in the name of Christ, up to our laying down our lives for the brethren. Greater love has no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.
This love, Jesus displayed to us, and now he says, "Love one another, as I have loved you." Precious Savior, how wonderful your love! May the same mind, the same love be in us — which was also in Christ Jesus.
"I command you to love each other, as I have loved you. For this purpose I died for you. For this purpose I have provided grace for you. For this purpose I exercise my authority, and command you to love one another. For this purpose I have placed you in your present circumstances to prove you. Will you love my brethren, my sisters? Will you love them — as I have loved you? Do you wish to do it? Will you strive to do it? Are you sorry that you have not done it?"
Beloved, are we not guilty? Have we not forgotten and neglected this new commandment? What is the cause of our divisions but this? What would cure our heart-burnings — what would heal our breaches — what would give power to our testimony — what would bring about a glorious revival in the church — what would render the most beneficial impression on the world? This, this, a practical attention to Jesus, when he says, "A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples — if you love one another."
"A New Commandment", James Smith, 1860
So, to you, Christian, who judge me because of the lack of love in my words, do you judge yourself for the lack of love in your actions? Or are you nothing but a hypocrite? Pull the log out of your own eye before you attempt to help me pull the speck out of my eye. At least I know where my flaw is at. "Better is a diamond with a flaw, than a pebble without." —Confucius