Love Implications

For this final week of the LOVE discussion we will look at some implications that aren't immediately obvious...
(Click on love to go to the first post in this series which gives the non-contradictory definition of love.)

For instance, it seems like everyone wants to be loved; however, if people love me it is either because:
1. They know they owe me and are trying to get back to even (JUST), or
2. They are focused on giving in order to build Long Term value through justice (RIGHT).

Either way, I gain a short-term value when people love me and lose a Long Term value.

People who are ONLY focused on being loved are really hoping for a short-term value and little to no Long Term value.

People who are ONLY focused on loving others are giving up a short-term value in hopes of receiving a Long Term value.

Our flesh WANTS short-term immediate value!
God WANTS us to focus on Long Term value!

Jesus focused ONLY on loving others and didn't get offended and equal out His own justice when people didn't love Him, because it was their loss and His gain.

PEOPLE vs. THINGS
We are supposed to love people and use things. This means that we are supposed to give a value to people and get a value from things. Many people get this quite confused when they focus on getting a value from people and give their time, energy, and focus to things.

Remember, LOVE is social and moral. It requires interacting with individuals and is focused on Long Term profitability. EVERY interaction results in an an exchange of value.


THE WHY OF LOVE
One of the analogies used by John Piper and other sovereignty people for God's love to us is a husband's love toward their wife. The analogy goes something like this: I buy my wife roses on our anniversary and say, "I love you". When my wife asks me why I love her and bought roses, what would she say if I said, "Because I have to."? I don't love my wife out of compulsion. Love is an emotion. I love her because...I love her. God also loves us because he loves us. Is that circular reasoning? Yes, but love is circular. And since God loves us for no reason, we can't lose our salvation.

I hope you can see how flawed that analogy is, but just to complete the thought, here are some key points.
A husband's love for his wife IS for a reason! Would John Piper love his wife and buy roses for her if she attacked him with a knife every Saturday morning?
We've seen that love is not an emotion when it used in the Bible. IF Piper believes it is an emotion and it is causeless, there are so many contradictions with that line of thinking, I'm more worried for Piper EVERY TIME he gets emotional for a cause.

The REAL flaw in the analogy is that the husband is NOT God to his wife.
The wife can initiate love back to the husband...we can not initiate love back to God without God.

From the I John 4 discussion, we saw that God FIRST loved us.
The ONLY reason we are able to love is because of God.
We also saw that our love OUGHT to be an effect of this love!

"Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another."

Finally, why would God NEED a reason to stop loving us IF He loved us in the first place for NO REASON?
Why would God loving us for no reason mean we can't lose our salvation?
This line of reasoning DOESN'T make me less worried...it makes me worried God could just as easily stop loving us for no reason.



I LOVE YOU
One of the implications of this discussion is, "WHY would Jesus or God the Father say, "I love you" to a human?" Does the Bible record God or Jesus saying, "I love you" TO a human?

For instance, Peter states "I love thee" TO Jesus:
"So when they had dined, Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest thou me more than these? He saith unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I love thee. He saith unto him, Feed my lambs." (John 21:15)

Jesus talks to others about God loving Him:
"Therefore doth my Father love me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again." (John 10:17)
(Notice, there is a REASON God loves Jesus!)

Jesus talks to others about loving God:
"But that the world may know that I love the Father; and as the Father gave me commandment, even so I do." (John 14:31)

Jesus talks about us loving Him:
"If ye love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15)

About the closest we get is in Revelation where Jesus talks about how He relates to those He loves:
"As many as I love, I rebuke and chasten: be zealous therefore, and repent." (Revelation 3:19)

Jesus also talks about how He WILL love those who love Him:
"He that hath my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him." (John 14:21)
(Again, notice this is love for a REASON.)

LOVED is different than LOVE. To state to someone that you have LOVED them is to point out a value that has been given.

John points out that Jesus loved three people:
"Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus." (John 11:5)

Jesus states that He has LOVED us:
"A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another." (John 13:34)

Jesus states this also in connection with God having LOVED Him:
"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love." (John 15:9)

Finally, the most famous verse talks about God having LOVED the world:
"For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3:16)

People who state that God and/or Jesus have told them: "I love you" ought to be cautious.

It makes sense for God and Jesus to say, "I have loved you" BECAUSE they have. However, there is no Biblical basis for God or Jesus directly telling ANY human, "I love you." After all, what would it mean in a non-contradictory manner?


LOVE IN THE LAW?
One of the biggest questions people have with the Bible is: Why is God different in the Old Testament vs. the New Testament?

My first question is to ask: HOW is God different in the Old Testament vs. the New Testament?

The first example is the difference between the punishing nature of the Law (an eye for an eye) and the LOVE Jesus speaks of (love your enemy). When this question is posed, it ACTUALLY shows how little people know about the Law. Here are a few verses from the Law...notice anything?

"If thou meet thine enemy's ox or his ass going astray, thou shalt surely bring it back to him again." (Exodus 23:4)

"If thou see the ass of him that hateth thee lying under his burden, and wouldest forbear to help him, thou shall surely help with him." (Exodus 23:5)

"Keep thee far from a false matter; and the innocent and righteous slay thou not: for I will not justify the wicked." (Exodus 23:7)

"Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself: I am the Lord." (Leviticus 19:18)

So, from the Old Testament we see that God will NOT justify the wicked (justice will even everything out), we OUGHT to help our enemy, and we shalt love our NEIGHBOR as our self.

Notice that these verses are EXACTLY what Jesus quoted.
So, this ISN'T a question of whether Jesus contradicts the Law...He DOESN'T!
(If a pastor or theologian says Jesus contradicted the Law, they are PROVING they don't know their Bible as well as they thought! And now you know it more than them!)

This is REALLY a question of whether the Law contradicts itself!

The Old Testament Law was given to Israel.
It gave rules for two things: community and corporate worship.
The Law was talking to people WITHIN a community.
The goal was to equal out justice HERE, so that people of the same community wouldn't have to pay THERE (after this existence).
Notice, the verses most people quote about the Law (an eye for an eye) ONLY discuss how to HELP a person in community who has TAKEN a value. Equaling out justice NOW is actually best for ALL of us in the Long Term. Jesus told us not to owe any man...He ALSO wants ALL of us to willingly go through "judgment" NOW so that it will be easier for us in the Long Term.

Paul and Jesus are very adamant that the Law is good and doesn't contradict itself.

"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." (Matthew 5:18)
"Jesus answered them, and said, My doctrine is not mine, but his that sent me. If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself. He that speaketh of himself seeketh his own glory: but he that seeketh his glory that sent him, the same is true, and no unrighteousness is in him. Did not Moses give you the law, and yet none of you keepeth the law? Why go ye about to kill me?" (John 7:16-19) This passage is referencing grace.


"What shall we say then? Is the law sin? God forbid. Nay, I had not known sin, but by the law: for I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." (Romans 7:7)
"Wherefore the law is holy, and the commandment holy, and just, and good." (Romans 7:11)
"For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit." (Romans 8:3-4)
"For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believeth." (Romans 10:4)
"Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law." (Romans 13:8)
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." (Romans 13:10)

How can these verses be non-contradictory within the Law?

The ONLY explanation for the "punishment" verses of the Old Testament is that it was to HELP the neighbor (the person in community) to avoid judgment after this existence.
OTHERWISE, the Law would contradict itself!!!!!!
Now let's look at Jesus...

Jesus said ALL of that was just quoted. He told people to make sure they paid back what they owed so they wouldn't get judged.

But here is a KEY point that I made in the post on CULTS: The way to handle someone who has hurt you depends on whether they are in community or not!

Jesus said to love our enemies SO THAT God gives us a reward.
Basically we are to get Long Term rich off of our enemies.

Jesus said in Matthew 18 to CONFRONT your brother (believer...person in community) if they are wrong!
You will spend eternity with this person and you are trying to HELP them NOW so they don't have to pay THERE!
This is the same as the "punishment" verses!

FURTHERMORE: Notice, if the person won't even hear you, then you treat them like they are NOT in community. Again, the word is "hear", not "agree". If they hear and still don't agree, you let them go and let justice take over because they are making a willful decision.

Jesus ACTUALLY went one more step than the Law because the Law didn't deal with people outside of community.

The ACTUAL question is: How does Jesus relate to the Law?
Answer: He fulfilled the Law.
Ultimately, the question is: HOW did Jesus fulfill the Law?
Tomorrow, we will conclude this four week study on LOVE with a very important answer.


JESUS FULFILLED THE LAW
Jesus set His example to us WHILE He was living under the Law!

Before Jesus was crucified, He lived under the Law.
The examples people quote to us about how to be like Jesus ALL occur while He is living under the Law.
Paul is very adamant that the Law is NOT bad...it points out what is bad in us.
I also believe Jesus FULFILLED the Law...but WHAT does that mean?

For instance, I DON'T believe it means Jesus did everything the Law specifically stated to do.
(For example, I don't believe He stoned a witch.)

NOTICE: The Law is stated in terms of CAUSES and EFFECTS!

In order for Jesus to fulfill the EFFECTS, He had to do the CAUSES.
Jesus did ALL the CAUSES...and that would result in Him fulfilling ALL the Law (both CAUSES and EFFECTS).
What are the CAUSES?

"Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great command. And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." (Matthew 22:37-40)

"Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." (Romans 13:10)

LOVE is the fulfilling of the Law...it is the CAUSE.
Jesus says ALL the law and the prophets hang on (are EFFECTS of) LOVING God and your neighbor!
We have seen that doing the first and great command OUGHT to be the CAUSE of doing the second command.
We have seen that we are unable to LOVE without God.

This means, we OUGHT to follow Jesus' example and the number one thing He did was let God work through Him (GRACE).
GRACE is the number one CAUSE of the Law.

"Then Jesus said unto them, When ye have lifted up the Son of man, then shall ye know that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself; but as my Father hath taught me, I speak these things. And he that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." (John 8:28-29)

Jesus did NOTHING of Himself...THAT was His secret...the CAUSE...grace.
The EFFECTS are that He loved everyone which is the end of the law...which fulfills the law.



SUMMARY
This four week discussion PROVES the importance of having a non-contradictory definition of LOVE.

The entire Law hangs on LOVE.
LOVE is the solution to the world's problems.

LOVE is the metric...it is the way to measure our actions and the actions of others.

I have taken a lot of abuse from people for writing "Modeling God".
I'm open to discussing ANYTHING and am available.
You would be amazed at the number of people who actively ignore parts of "Modeling God" in order to interpret one or two sentences out of context and then slander me.
What is truly mind boggling is the number of people who refuse to meet with (or write to) me AND publicly state incorrect conclusions about the book.
Jesus said we will be judged for EVERY idle and unprofitable word...

IS THIS LOVE?

Even if I was the enemy, Jesus said His followers would love their enemies.

NONE of us have an excuse for believing people who DON'T act in LOVE.
God doesn't care how popular or famous the leader is: There is NO excuse for NOT LOVING!

I feel bad for those who believe they are doing God's work AND are unwilling to demonstrate LOVE to me.

More often than not, these people do not have a definition for LOVE.
NONE of them have a non-contradictory definition for LOVE.

I hope you realize the supreme importance for being able to define LOVE in a non-contradictory manner.

"As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love." (John 15:9)

I hope you are now able to determine who is TRULY continuing In Jesus' love...

Next Post