MELVIN M. NEWLAND, MINISTER
RIDGE CHAPEL, KANSAS, OK
(Powerpoints used with this message are available free. Just email me at mnewland@sstelco.com and request #428.)
TEXT: 1 John 3:2; 1 Corinthians 13:1-3; John 13:35
A month or so ago someone put a request into the offering box asking me to preach a sermon on the 13th chapter of 1 Cor., which is often called the “Love Chapter” of the Bible. That chapter contains so much for us to consider that just one sermon could not cover it all. So this morning will be the first of several sermons during the next few months dealing with 1 Cor. 13.
ILL. Have you heard the story of the Jim twins? Jim Springer & Jim Lewis were twin sons of a 14-yr-old Italian girl. She gave birth to them in a small town in Ohio & then disappeared.
Having been abandoned, they were adopted into two separate loving families, & each one grew up knowing he had a twin brother somewhere.
Jim Lewis was driven by a desire to find his twin brother. Although they both lived in Ohio - one in Lima, & the other in Dayton – they had never met. Finally, after 39 years of separation, through the help of a probate court judge, they found one another.
Picture this scene in your mind. Jim Lewis drove to Dayton to meet his brother for the first time in 39 years. When he found the house he was so nervous that he drove around the block three times. Finally, he parked, walked up to the house & knocked on the door.
When Jim Lewis & Jim Springer met for the first time they stood staring at each other, speechless. They said it was like looking into a mirror. They discovered that they talked, looked, thought, & acted alike. It was almost spooky.
Both men also had the same hobby – woodworking; & both had just finished building wood furniture for their homes. Even stranger, the first wife of each man had been named Linda. Both had divorced & remarried. Both men’s second wife was named Betty. And of course, both had been given the first name “James” by their adoptive parents.
Though separated for 39 years, they were amazed to find so much similarity in their lives. (Adapted from Ed Sasnett on Sermon Central)
A. Well, while we may also be amazed at their story, may I suggest that God has a desire for an even more wonderful display of similarity in our lives – where we, as Christians, find ourselves beginning to think & talk & act more & more like Jesus?
In fact, the Apostle John may be suggesting the same idea in 1 John 3:2. “Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is.”
Now I realize most of the time when we read that verse we think that the Apostle John means we will be like Jesus – with the same kind of heavenly body that Jesus has. And that is probably correct.
But was John talking only about our appearance when he said, “We shall be like Him” - especially when the Bible urges us to become more & more like Jesus in the ways that we think, talk & behave?
B. You know, sometimes it is hard for those who profess to be Christians to behave like Christians should. We try, but sometimes we may lose our tempers & behave much like the world behaves.
But the Bible teaches that we are to be people who exhibit love in our relationships with one another.
Listen to these words, "Be completely humble & gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love" (Ephesians 4:2). And again, "Make every effort to live in peace with all men & to be holy..." (Hebrews 12:14).
SUM. Now each of these verses say the same thing. It may be difficult sometimes, & not everybody will be easy to love, but if it is possible as far as we’re concerned, we are to live in peace & harmony with everyone.
PROP. So, as I said, in the next few months I’ll prepare a few sermons dealing with how to get along with other people, focusing on 1 Cor. 13, the "love chapter" of the Bible.
This morning we'll look at the first 3 verses which Paul begins by saying, "Now I will show you the most excellent way." (1 Cor. 13:1)
I. THE IMPORTANCE OF LOVE IN OUR LIVES
He is saying, "I want to show you the best way to take care of virtually every situation, & that is the way of love." Then he points out that love is more important than four other things that Christians consider very important.
A. In vs. 1, Paul says that love is more important than spiritual gifts. "If I speak in the tongues of men & of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal." (1 Corinthians 13:1)
On the day of Pentecost, when the very first gospel sermon was ever preached, God gave the apostles the special gift of being able to speak in languages that they had never learned so that the people hearing them could understand what was being said.
But here in 1 Corinthians, Paul says that if God gave him the gift of speaking every human language, & even the heavenly language of the angels, but he didn't have love, then he would be nothing more than a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. Now what did he mean by that?
ILL. Back in the 1st Century, there was a big gong or cymbal hanging at the entrance of most pagan temples. When people came to worship, they hit the gong to awaken the gods to listen to their prayers.
Here, Paul is saying that even if he were so blessed that he could speak with the greatest of eloquence in every language, but didn't have love, then his life was as useless as this ridiculous act of striking a gong to awaken non existent gods.
SUM. You see, according to Paul, love is more important than any spiritual gift.
B. Then in vs. 2 Paul says that love is more important than knowledge. "If I have the gift of prophecy & can fathom all mysteries & all knowledge, ... but have not love, I am nothing." (1 Corinthians 13:2)
Paul says that even if you know everything there is to know about medicine & philosophy & psycholo¬gy & every other kind of “ology” if you know it all, but have not love, then you’re nothing at all.
Why? Paul says in 1 Cor. 8:1, "Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up." I don't think we need more knowledge nearly as much as we need more love. For the hearts of people need to change before society will ever change.
C. Thirdly, Paul says that love is more important than faith. Now he doesn't say that faith is not important. He just says that love is more important. He said, "If I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing." (1 Cor. 13:2)
But what is your faith? What do you believe for sure this morning? Do you believe that God is the creator of the world? Do you believe that Jesus Christ is His only begotten Son, & that He came into our world & lived a sinless life, & that He died & was buried & on the third day rose again?
Do you believe that He is now at the right hand of the Father, & is pre¬paring a place for us, & that one day He will come again?
If you truly believe all those things, then well & good & I commend you for it. But the Bible teaches that if you believe all the right things, but do not have love, then you are nothing. Because even faith is of no value unless it is backed up by love.
ILL. The priest & the Levite in the parable of the Good Samaritan had faith. The problem was they had no love. So they walked by on the other side & just left the man lying there to die.
In Galatians 5:6 Paul says, "The only thing that counts is faith express¬ing itself through love."
D. Fourthly, love is more important than generosity. Paul says, "If I give all I possess to the poor & surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing." (1 Cor. 13:3)
Now notice that he doesn't say, "If I give 10%." He says, "If I empty my checking account, if I cash in my insurance policies, if I give everything away to help the poor, & even sacrifice myself, but I don't have love then I gain nothing at all."
You see, generosity by itself is not enough. We get calls all the time from people appealing for worthwhile causes.
But why give? Do you give because the preacher just preached a sermon on stewardship? Or, because you feel guilty if you don't? Do you give because you want to impress others around you?
If the only reason that I give is to receive or to benefit myself, then love is absent, & giving is empty. The motive for giving should be love, love for God & love for God's people.
SUM. So Paul is saying that love is more important than spiritual gifts, more important than knowledge, more important than faith, & more important than generosity.
II. PRACTICING LOVE IN OUR EVERYDAY LIVES
A. So obviously, love is very important. Listen to what Jesus says in John 13:34, "A new commandment I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another."
Now notice that Jesus says that this is a commandment, not a suggestion. And God never commands us to do anything that we cannot do.
We tend to think that love is something that just happens, because that is what the world teaches. You fall in love like you fall into a ditch, or you fall out of love like you fall out of a tree. You can't help it. It is something that just happens to you.
B. But the Bible teaches that love is something we can control. God commands us to love each other. Which means that I can decide to love you, & you, in turn, can decide to love me.
Now, what kind of love is being talked about here? In Philippians 2:4 Paul tells us, "Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." In other words, to love in the same way that Jesus loved.
Think about others & their interests just like you think about yourself & your interests. You become unselfish. Now let's apply that in several different areas.
1. First of all, see how that would work in the family. Let's suppose that someone in every family here this morning or online would say, "I'm going to put this into practice."
Start with your spouse. You ought to love your husband or your wife first & most. You ought to be kinder, more tender, more gentle to them even if they're behaving like a jerk. Begin first in your marriage relationship.
And soon it filters down to the relationship you share with your children, maybe even your in laws & everybody else in the family - just because you love them.
2. It begins in the family, & it spills over into the church family & into the world. In fact, Jesus said, "By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another." (John 13:35)
That's the way the world will find out that the message of Jesus is valid. And if we really love each other the way Jesus loves us then we have to develop in our own lives the same kind of compassion for people that Jesus had.
APPL. Christlike compassion will cause us to ask ourselves some tough questions.
"What's it like to hurt deep inside & no one knows you're hurting? What's it like being sick & knowing you're not going to get well, & wanting more than anything else to live? What's it like to be handi-capped?"
"What's it like to be a minority? What's it like to be dealing with marital problems or domestic problems? What's it like?"
What kind of burdens are people carrying, & do we care enough to help them bear those burdens? That's what it means when Jesus talks about loving one another as He has loved us.
ILL. There is a story about a missionary, Doug Nichols, that I want to share with you because I think it illustrates what I’ve been trying to say this morning.
Doug Nichols went to India, but while he was just starting to study the language he developed tuberculosis & had to be put in a sanitarium
It was not a good place to be. It was not very clean & conditions were difficult because there were so many sick people there. But Doug decided to do the best he could in that situation. So he took some Christian books & tracts & tried to witness to the other patients in the sanitarium.
He tried to witness, but he was handicapped because he couldn’t communicate very well in their language, & he felt so discouraged. He tried to pass out Christian tracts & books, but no one would take them.
Here he was. Because of his illness he would be there a long time. But it seemed like the work that he had come to India to do would not be done because no one would listen to him.
Because of his tuberculosis, every night at about 2 o'clock he’d wake up with coughing that wouldn't quit. Then one night when he awoke he noticed across the aisle an old man trying to get out of bed.
He said the man would roll himself up into a little ball & rock back & forth trying to get up the momentum to get up & stand on his feet. But he just couldn't do it. He was too weak.
Finally, after several attempts the old man laid back & wept. The next morning Doug understood why the man was weeping. He was trying to get up to go to the bathroom & didn't have enough strength to do that. So his bed was a mess & there was a smell in the air.
Some of the other patients made fun of the old man. The nurses came to clean up his bed & they weren't kind to him, either. In fact, one of them even slapped him in the face. The old man just laid there & cried.
Doug said, "That next night about 2 o'clock I started coughing again. I looked across the way & there was the old man trying to get out of bed once more. I really didn't want to do it, but somehow I managed to get up & I walked across the aisle & I helped the old man stand up."
But he was too weak to walk, so Doug said, "I took him in my arms & car¬ried him like a baby. He was so light that it wasn't a difficult task. I took him into the bathroom, which was nothing more than a dirty hole in the floor, & I stood behind him & supported him in my arms as he took care of him¬self."
"Then I carried him back to his bed & laid him down. As I turned to leave he reached up & grabbed my face & pulled me close & kissed me on the cheek, & said what I think was 'Thank you.'
Doug said, "The next morning there were patients waiting when I awoke, & they asked if they could read some of the books & tracts that I had brought. Others had questions about the God that I worshiped & about His Son who came into the world to die for their sins."
Doug Nichols says that in the next few weeks he gave out all the literature that he had brought, & during the months that he was there many of the patients, & even doctors & nurses in that sanitarium, came to accept Jesus as their Savior, too.
He said, "Now what did I do? I didn't preach a sermon. I couldn't even communicate very well in their language. I didn't have a brilliant lesson to teach them, or wonderful things to show them. All I did was take an old man to the bathroom & anyone can do that."
SUM. Someone has said, "They will not care how much you know, until they know how much you care."
There is a more excellent way, & that is the way of Jesus, the way of love. This morning if you don't know Jesus as your Savior, we offer His invitation to you. We pray that you will respond as we stand & as we sing.
INVITATION
