1 John 4:8 "He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love."
As you can read, from the above verse,, we humans can't love another, [ please remember lust is not love!] unless we know God!
Most of us will dispute both these statements, but for those who do, I ask these questions:
1. If we are all so filled with love, how do Y O U account for the high crime rates, around the world?
2. Or the high divorce rates, the high abortion rates,and well as our ever-present wars?
LOVE.....TRUE LOVE REQUIRES FOUR BASIC PARAMETERS, TO SURVIVE.
1. LOVE REQUIRES FREEDOM
2. FREEDOM INVOLVES RISK
3. RISK ENTAILS RESPONSIBILITY
4. RESPONSIBILITY ENABLES GROWTH OF CHARACTER.
Let's expand on each of the four pillars of true love, after we have explored the three levels of love written of in the New Testament.
1 LOVE REQUIRES FREEDOM.
John 21:15 "So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest (1) thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love (2) thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs." John 21:15 "So
Note: Lovest (1) #25, as you can see, from the Greek of the original manuscripts language, Christ ask Peter if he Peter AGAPAO Him. But Peter answered with PHILEO (2) #5368 [in the Strong's Concordance] which is to be a friend whom one loves, but not as wide nor deep as Apagao love
John 21:16 "He saith to him again the second time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my sheep."
Note: Again both use the very same words again.
John 21:17 "He saith unto him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me? Peter was grieved because he said unto him the third time, Lovest thou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus saith unto him, Feed my sheep."
Note. Both use the word Phileo for love in this verse. But this last verse, shows Y O U part of the why for all these posts, on my part.It is God's gift that I Phileo all God's children, as many are very difficult to love, agree?
So, what about the FREEDOM part? That's the most easy part of all, because I ask Y O U can love, true love ever be forced? Can we beat one into submission and then demand they love us, or receive love at the point of a gun? NO.... love must be willingly given, to have any meaning, agreed? Which is why Your Father-God, uses only Love and Truth, to draw Y O U to Himself. Satan on the other hand will use every thing else, but love and truth, including murder! But look at God's gifts.....
1 Thessalonians 3:12 "And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:" 1 Thessalonians 4:9 "But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another." 1 Timothy 1:5,14. "Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned: 14. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus."
NOTE. Are you beginning to understand the opening verse 1 John 4:8, a little better?
2. FREEDOM INVOLVES RISK.
Freedom, is a must, BUT it involves God's greatest risk! Due to the fact, that in order that we each have freedom, God has given us a free-will, and a brain, to think to reason and to judge, and finally to make our choices As all MUST know, not all of God's children, choose ......
A. to believe that He even exists!
B. or those that chose to believe His existence, yet refuse to love and obey His laws
C. plus those who fit in neither, A or B yet deny the Power of Him, obeying the laws of men instead
D. to fully accept Him, in surrender of self will, obeying because of love, this Christ's Spirit is within.
Note: Most of us have heard about the Garden of Eden, the forbidden fruit, and the fall of righteousness of mankind, right? But how many know that God has fore-seen all this and had a rescue plan in place for mankind's salvation?
Revelation 13:8 "And all that dwell upon the earth shall worship him, whose names are not written in the book of life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Genesis 3:15 "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel."
Note:. This is the first promise of the Messiah, Jesus Christ, "her seed" is Christ and the "thy" is Satan, and those he recruits to kill Christ. the "bruise" head, in the Hebrew is crushed, but the 2nd bruise on the heel, is the nail punctures of His heels at the Cross. Remember, that it was God that created His holy Angels, also with a the freedom of a free-will, and one went south.. Revelation 12:7-9 "And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, And prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him. " Satan, or Sa`-Tan [means the possessor] deceive how many? The whole world Cases in point ?
1. Genesis 3:2-4 "And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die. And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall not surely die: "
Note: This was the first recorded lie in the Bible, "Ye shall not surely die," and it perpetuated the pagan belief of that at death some thing survives death of the body and that part lives forever, die and go to heaven ideology! {if this is truth, why then did Christ need to die for our sins? Plus why does He need to come back for us, even Adam and Eve?}
2. Another risk,one that keeps growing, at present there are on earth now some 34,000 + "Christian Denomination"! But how is it possible that all have all the truth, from ONE Word, One God and One Savior? Especially in view if this simple fact, the whole Bible is it's own expositor, meaning that it proves itself within itself, and is the only book to do so! That's what this means.... John 10:35 "If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the scripture cannot be broken; "
WHY? 2 Timothy 3:16 "All scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness: " Yet this was only the risk that meant the loss of God's children but what about the loss to Jesus?
John 1:14 "And the Word was made 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." One of Christ's accomplishments other than to suffer and die and shed His blood as payment for humanity's sins, was to show us the Character of God the Father! Another is to set an example for us, on how to live while in these "clay vessels," that He also took on unto Himself. But you may say so what? Well..
1 Corinthians 15:50-51 "Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God; neither doth corruption inherit in-corruption. Behold, I shew you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, " Jesus Christ, became a flesh man, who upon His resurrection gained a "Glorified Body", thus no longer in Spirit form, could only be in one place at one time, forever! That's the why of the story of John 14 and the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. V.16.
RISK ENTAILS RESPONSIBILITY.
John 14:15 "If ye love me, keep my commandments."
Note: Here's a classic example of disobedience on our part: "The [no not any day but THE day] Sabbath day... Luke 4:16 "And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read." This was Jesus Christ' custom. Why is this of importance? John 1:1-3,14. "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things were made by him; and without him was not any thing made that was made. 14. And the Word was made 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." Therefore it was Jesus Christ who created all things and all life forms, as per the Word of God, right? So as Jesus was the Creator and ... Genesis 3:1-3 "Now the serpent was more subtle than any beast of the field which the LORD God had made. And he said unto the woman, Yea, hath God said, Ye shall not eat of every tree of the garden? And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die."
Plus it was HIS finger that wrote HIS LAWS, on the two stone tablets, and ....;
Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it."
NOTE: Do Y O U honestly think or believe that Jesus Christ knew NOT the correct day upon which to worship the Father-God? Is it not the same day that the Jews have worshiped for 1,000 's of years, from Friday sunset to Saturday's sunset! Yet it was man, who gradually became to accept the Pagan day for worshiping the SUN god, on the day named in his honor Sun-day!,While Islam, desiring to be different,worship on Friday, yet they honer Jesus Christ, Moses and Abraham, go figure!
RESPONSIBILITY ENABLES GROWTH OF CHARACTER.
Will, or can you at least admit that without the first three qualities, we humans would be vastly different people, growing up? How long would we be sucking on a baby-bottle and eating Pablum?
What is our character? Or rather what should it become like? Can we change our character b y ourselves?
Proverbs 22:1 "A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favor rather than silver and gold." John 10:2-4 "But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice."
Can we know the Character of God? YES! Just learn and apply this Royal Law in Exodus 20:1-17, and that's His character defined. So in turn we each should be willing to allow the Holy Spirit, to remake our character ti match that of our Savior Christ Jesus. Titus 2:14 "Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of good works."
Note: Who does the "Purifying? Jesus via the Holy Spirit. WHY? So that His own shall be able to stand at His return, and thus be eligible for entry into heaven! As not all shall be.....
Ephesians 4:17-20 "This I say therefore, and testify in the Lord, that ye henceforth walk not as other Gentiles walk, in the vanity of their mind, Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart: Who being past feeling have given themselves over unto lasciviousness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. But ye have not so learned Christ;" Matthew 10:19-22 "But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you. And the brother shall deliver up the brother to death, and the father the child: and the children shall rise up against their parents, and cause them to be put to death. And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved."
Note: Why is our character so important? It is that by which we are known.....
Revelation 22:11 "He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still"
Note: At that point in time, Probation [we are all under it now] will close, and Judgment of the living shall commence. The dead have been judged since 1844, and very soon it will be the turn of the living! So what's the importance? Revelation 22:12 "And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be." Revelation 22:7 "Behold, I come quickly: blessed is he that keepeth the sayings of the prophecy of this book." Revelation 3:11 "Behold, I come quickly: hold that fast which thou hast, that no man take thy crown."
Note: We can't receive a just reward before we are judged agree? At the same time we are to hold fat, in faith and trust in Jesus, and HIS WORD, [that we should know] thereby we shall be armed against the lies and deceptions of Satan and men and their "Traditions" which make void the Law of God! [Sunday worship]
Philippians 1:6 " Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:" 1 John 4:6 "We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error."
Want to learn more? Visit your Seventh day Adventist Church any Saturday/Sabbath @ 9:15 AM. You'll be glad that you did!
Thank Y O U for your time
Questions?..................Comments?
www.servant@frontier.com
john B.
Other sites: www.blbn.org www,amazingfacts.org www.amazingdiscoveies.org.
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