Paul continues in Colossians 3 encouraging us to put to death all of the old sinful remnants of our former lives, and in their place to “put on” as one would a garment all of the Christ-like characteristics with which our LORD Jesus has endowed us – particularly Christ’s love for all people, which binds all these Christ-like characteristics together in Him.
On the evening He was betrayed, Jesus gave a new commandment to His disciples – that we are to love one another, saying that all people will know that we disciples of Jesus by the love we show toward one another. Later in the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus prayed for all of those who would come to believe in His Gospel through the words of His disciples. We who are followers of Jesus have a sacred calling from our LORD to go forth and share the Good News of salvation in Him with the lost and dying world all around us who desperately need to hear. Therefore, Pastor Brian asks simple yet critical question. In response to our call from Jesus, Will you go?
On the night He was betrayed to die on the cross in our place so that we might be forgiven of our sins and restored into fellowship with God, Jesus gave His disciples “a new commandment” that we love one another, saying that people would recognize that we are His disciples through the love we exhibit for one another. But exactly how do we show this love that Jesus has commanded for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Paul tells us that our love for one another must be genuine, and gives some concise characteristics of this love in Romans 12:9-17.
It’s no secret that as we put our faith in God, we are commanded to love Him first and foremost. From there, we are to also love “one another” in the same manner as Christ loves us. But how do we do this? God’s Word is filled with practical ways which can help us understand how it’s possible to achieve something that seems impossible. Until our love inside the walls of the church rises above our emotions, above our sensitive feelings, above our petty differences, above our likes and dislikes, we will never experience the full power of God working in our lives, and we will struggle to make any impact in our community or for the Kingdom.
The world around us will know that we belong to Jesus through the way we love them. The words of Jesus found in John 13:34 are not words of impossibility but are words of encouragement to go and walk in his ways rather than our own. It is an invitation to love beyond us, and to focus on the interests of others.
God did not simply tell us that He loves us. Instead, he used an action, not an emotion, or a feeling, or a fleeting sentiment, but a sacrificial act on the cross. Your access to God’s love and to His eternal Kingdom rests on your decision to accept Jesus and the power of His reconciliation.
We live in a world where the true meaning of love has been distorted. Mankind has taken a gift from God, which He intended as special and meaningful, and turned it into something manufactured and artificial. Love by the standards of our world has been reduced to something pleasing to the eye and purely physical in nature. Real love, according to the manner in which God intended, is so much more and carries a much deeper purpose for our lives.
Sunday School - 9:30 AM
Sunday Worship - 10:30 AM
Sunday Evening - 6:00 PM
©
2025
Mt. Freedom Baptist Church
