Words of Christianity: Love

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It’s time to study another word of Christianity. Let’s talk today about love. And that wonderful study is just ahead from the International Gospel Hour. Please stay with us.

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Hi, this is Jay Webb for International Gospel Hour. For 90 years, churches of Christ have proclaimed God’s Word through International Gospel Hour. You are about to listen to another Bible-based lesson with Jeff Archie of International Gospel Hour, starting now.

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Well, thank you to our J-Web for his kind words always. And greetings and hello everyone. Great having you with us for you help make our broadcast here from the International Gospel Hour going strong and steady and scriptural since 1934. Today we’re going to conclude our five-part study of the Twelve Words of Christianity. We are indebted to our friends at Polishing the Pulpit for this theme, as it was brought forth in studies from their Branson, Missouri location in 2024. If you’d like to learn more about Polishing the Pulpit, you can go to polishingthepulpit.com. One of the directors at Polishing the Pulpit, Alan Webster, expressed the following about our word we’re going to look at today, and that is the word love. Alan observes that it is the greatest of all commandments and the essence of God’s character. Love underpins all other aspects of the Christian life, driving service, compassion, and community. Wow, that’s great. So as we conclude this study today, We are indebted to our brother and friend, Gary Hampton, for the thoughts ahead concerning the word love. We’ll be back in about 20 seconds, but first, a few words from our Jay Webb.

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We talk about the love of God, and sometimes I think about myself that even though I talk about the love of God, I do not really appreciate the love of God. However, when we look at the cross of Jesus Christ, we see a display of the magnificent love of God in a way that excels any other thing we could talk about today. Why is it that we marvel at the love of God? Well, my answer in part is because of the terrible pain of being lost. What is it like to be lost? Well, it’s horrible, friends. All alone, no way out. And Scripture paints it that way in a number of cases. The prophet Isaiah expressed a vision of God and the marvel of God’s robes that fill the temple. He says, Woe is me, for I am undone, because I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips, for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts. Isaiah 6.5 He felt the weight of his own sinfulness in the presence of a holy God and explains in Isaiah 59, 1 and 2, Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened that it cannot save, nor his ear heavy that it cannot hear. But your iniquities have separated you from your God, and your sins have hidden his face from you, so that he will not hear. If anyone understands the pain of being lost in the New Testament, well, it was Saul of Tarsus. He believed he was doing the right thing, persecuting Christians in good conscience until his dramatic encounter with Jesus on the road to Damascus in Acts 9, 1-18. He realized that Jesus is the Son of God. In his letter to the Romans, Paul describes his internal struggle. “‘O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from the body of death?’ Romans 7, 24.” And he answers his own question in verse 25, I thank God through Jesus Christ our Lord. And you know, Paul often reflected on his past and the grace he received. Writing to Timothy in 1 Timothy 1.13, he said, In 1 Timothy 1.15, he said, Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners of whom I am chief. The word chief here means the foremost or the worst. Paul recognized his profound need for God’s grace. John, known as the apostle of love, writes extensively about God’s love. He said in 1 John 4, 7 and 8, Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. John emphasizing that knowing and experiencing God’s love are essential to the Christian faith. And he continued in verse 9, In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. The word manifested means made plain or revealed. God’s love was made plain through the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ. He is the manifestation of God’s love, for John wrote how the Word became flesh and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace and truth, John 1.14. Jesus the Word became flesh to dwell among us, revealing God’s love and grace in the most tangible way. Jesus declared, for God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved, John 3, 16 and 17. This is the heart of the gospel, the good news that God’s love is so immense that he gave his Son for our salvation. And Paul further elaborated on God’s love. All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God set forth as a propitiation by His blood, through faith, to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance God had passed over the sins that were previously committed. Romans 3, 23-25 The word propitiation refers to the atoning sacrifice of Jesus. It is through His blood that we are justified and brought into a right relationship with God. The love of God is demonstrated, not only in the death of Jesus, but also in His ongoing intercession for the Christian. John explained, My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin. And if anyone sins, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but also for the whole world. 1 John 2, 1 and 2. Jesus stands as our advocate, interceding on our behalf. You know, friends, this is a powerful image. Imagine a child who accidentally breaks a neighbor’s window. The parent steps in, takes responsibility, and offers to pay for the damage. In a similar way, Jesus stands by our side, taking responsibility for our sins and offering His sacrifice as the payment. John showed that God’s love is so profound that it reaches us even in our sinfulness. 1 John 4.10 says, In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. God’s love initiated our salvation. It was not because we loved Him first, but because He loved us. For those of us who are already Christians, who have obeyed the gospel of Jesus Christ, through our faith, our repentance, our confession and baptism into Him, this love calls us to repentance and renewal. For John reminds us in 1 John 1.9 to the Christian, If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. Confession and repentance brings us back into the embrace of God’s love. For those outside of Christ, the invitation is open. Jesus’ sacrifice was not limited to a select few, but is available to all. His blood was shed for the sins of the whole world, and Jesus left His blood in His death, John 19, 34 and 35. Paul explained that we reach that death through baptism, Romans 6, 3 and 4, and Colossians 2, 11 through 13. Baptism is not a work of self-salvation, but an act of faith where we appeal to God to cleanse us based on His love. Friends, if you are ready to receive this love, then we urge you to act. Love rescued, love paid, and love interceded. And continues to intercede for the Christian, for all who will come to him. We appreciate once again our friends at Polishing the Pulpit for sharing with us this material that we presented in part. And we are also appreciative to Gary Hampton of the Seawall Road Church of Christ in Jackson, Mississippi, You can find their website at SiwellRoad.com. Gary is a beloved personal friend and a great encourager to our work here at International Gospel Hour. And again, we appreciate our brothers at Polishing the Pulpit for allowing us to share with you a sample of the great work that they do each and every year in Branson, Missouri and Sevierville, Tennessee. We’re going to pause for I know that you have been thinking about the love of God. That’s been our study today. Maybe you want to learn more of the love of God. We love to reach out to each and every listener, encourage you to study in a number of ways, and we have an online study from our friends at the World Bible School. Here is our J-Web with the details, and I’ll be back to wrap up our broadcast.

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You know, friends, there are many more words than just the 12 words of Christianity. Five of them we have shared with you this week on our broadcast from International Gospel Hour. If you’d like to hear earlier segments of this work, you can always go to our website at internationalgospelhour.com. You can click on the tab that says Previous Shows, and you can find the broadcast of which you are looking for. Again, the five words we looked at through this series, of course, today was love, but we began with seek, believe, come, obey, and love. When you think about it, friends, when we seek God to believe in Him, we must come to Him and obey Him and love Him with our lives. Let us know how we can further help you in your study of God’s Word, your search of truth. And let’s continue these studies together at another time. Thank you always for joining me on the International Gospel Hour broadcast. I’m Jeff Archie, and friends, keep listening.

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Thank you for listening to our broadcast today. To God goes all the glory, and we hope that our study today will draw you closer to His Word to walk in His way. To listen to it again or our other broadcasts, please visit our website at internationalgospelhour.com.