What Proves Our Love For God?

"For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard" (Acts 4:20). "...And they spoke the word of God with boldness" (Acts 4:31b). When we have the filling of the Holy Spirit (God grants anointing at His discretion to do His will) we will be led to share the good news of Christ, and will have what's called the "can't help-its." We speak of what is in our heart and our tongue, which cannot be controlled, betrays us. 2 Cor. 4:13 says, "And since we have the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, 'I believed and therefore I spoke,' we also believed and therefore speak." Philemon 6 is a blessing on us to have the ability to share the gospel.  (See also Psalm 51:15:  "O LORD, open thou mine lips....")   The door of utterance must be opened, it isn't automatic--we are not to be "machine-gun" evangelists (aiming en masse and not individually targeted), but "sharp-shooters (at a specific target)." And so witnessing is a sure sign of love for God; it is obeying the Great Commission.

Some people describe their conversion experience like "falling in love" with Jesus. This is commendable, but usually what the case is, is that this wears off, like a honeymoon in a marriage, and things become more normal. (However, it is wonderful to be around a baby Christian that has just found salvation.) When one is in love one supposedly talks about that person (but hopefully he talks to that person more). One does talk about things he is interested in or cares about--if you love sports, you will discuss it. But one can love and not talk about someone but to someone. For instance, I love my mom very much and talk to her virtually every day for lengthy discussions, but I do not go around talking "about" her. If you are married, do you want your wife talking about you or talking to you? Actually, you would rather have her submit than talk about you.

1 Sam. 15:22 says that "to obey is better than sacrifice...." Jesus also said, "If you love Me you will keep My commandments." Nowhere does it say if you love Jesus you will talk about Him (Jesus said to Peter, "Do you love Me?...Feed My sheep!)--it is implied that if you witness and share the gospel that He will come up, but you don't necessarily go on a mission to talk exclusively about Jesus, like a Jesus freak. A balanced Christian talks about many subjects, and lets God open doors and waits for His timing--earning the right to be heard, not forcing oneself on someone.

I spent several minutes today talking about King David; however, I cannot say that I love him--I love the Lord. (Just talking about something doesn't mean you love the subject--you may just like to talk, and this even applies to discuss theological topics.) "Falling in love with the Lord" is not biblical terminology. Jesus asked Peter if he loved him, to feed His sheep, not to talk about him, there is a difference.

If you fell in love is past tense, "do you love" is present tense. The point is, is that we are not to live in the past on some experience but to evaluate the here and now. One could fall in love, and also out of love to extend the analogy. The unbeliever is a "son of disobedience," not a silent person. Talk can be cheap and some people are just talkers or have the gift of gab. We are to love not in word or in a tongue, but in deed and in truth, according to 1 John 3:18. We are to be a people zealous of good works and to love the brethren and so prove our discipleship.

A relationship based upon emotion is shallow, indeed; God wants saving faith that results in true heartfelt love, not emotionalism per se (faith, not emotionalism pleases God). There is a command to delight in the Lord through: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the delights of your heart" (Ps. 37:4). This called Christian "hedonism" by John Piper; true faith always results in love for the Lord.   Soli Deo Gloria!

Faith And Preaching

"Where there is no prophetic vision, the people cast off restraint..." (Prov. 29:18).

Some of us think in our pride that we were wise enough to have faith, more so than the poor unbeliever. Some think we conjured up our faith on our own efforts. Some think we got it by osmosis or being around other Christians and it just rubbed off on us. Richard Dawkins thinks we got it like a virus become we were naive. Sigmund Freud thought all religion was a neurosis or even psychosis. The fact is, is that it came from God! "Faith comes by hearing, and by hearing, of the Word of God," according to Rom. 10:17. There must be preaching of the Word--that is God's modus operandi. We are all called to preach the Word, not just preachers.

Faith is the gift of God according to Eph. 2:8-9, and it is through grace that we believe, according to Acts 18:27, and it has been granted unto us to believe, according to Phil. 1:29, and God opens the door of our heart to pay attention and heed the gospel (Acts 16:14). No, we were no wiser than anyone else, nor educated, talented, refined, or lucky. It was God's sovereignty in choosing us in eternity past before we were born and had done anything good or evil. Jesus said, "Everyone who is of the truth listens to My voice" (John 18:37). We don't need arguments to prove God to us, because we have the witness in us, ourselves. The proof of the pudding is in the eating! We just know and that is all there is to it. It is like knowing that honey is sweet; if you don't know that I can't help you. 1 John 5:9-11 says that we don't need the witness of man, because we have the witness of God in us.

It is dangerous to believe that faith is a work--it is a work, but the work of God in us, though it is our act (God doesn't have faith). If you believe faith is a work you are being saved by works. Romanists believe faith is a "meritorious work" and this is a denial of sola gratia, one of the slogans of the Reformation (grace alone). The main cry of the Reformation was sola fide or faith alone. Not faith plus works, but faith alone saves--but a faith that is alone, not producing works of love is dead and cannot save. "We are saved by faith alone, but not by a faith that is alone," they proclaimed.

Faith is not our righteousness, it is the instrumentality of our righteousness, as we take the step of faith believing in Christ. We turn away from sin toward Christ. Looking to Christ, coming to Christ, committing our lives to Christ are all the same thing. Genuine faith involves repentance as the flip side--they go hand in hand. Faith cannot be both our righteousness and the instrumentality unto righteousness. Nowhere does it say faith is our righteousness or we are saved on account of faith. We must exercise our faith in Christ. It is not faith that saves us, but faith in the object of Christ.

We need great expositors of the Word that don't go around the text, but give you the experience of the text, not just "wowing" you with their scholarship, but knowing where the parishioners are at. We need exegetes that can delve into the original Koine (common, vulgar Greek), Hebrew, or Aramaic text and see something the English conceal. We also need people that can just preach and explain the Scripture plainly for the common man. Remember the common folk heard Christ gladly. But we need preachers who aren't afraid to preach the Word, no matter what it says. The agenda should be the gospel, to the glory of God--Jesus is the Spirit of Prophecy and the scarlet thread of the Bible. The better we know Jesus, the better we know Scripture. We need modern-day prophets who don't foretell the future, but forth tell what is going on right now, not being afraid to stand alone, take an unpopular stand, or preach against sin in the congregation. When the preacher has faith, it rubs off on the hearer--we don't need another lecture, or a story-teller, or a joker, we need someone serious that knows the Bible. Most of all we need the whole counsel of God--not just their favorite passages or doctrines. Paul said that he had not failed to preach the whole counsel of God.

The Old Testament false prophets told the people what they wanted to hear.   Isa. 30:10 says that the people asked them to prophesy illusions and good things. They just thought that the true prophets were just telling bad news. Today we have many preachers who are just telling the parishioners what they want to hear--they are tickling their ears. The people itching for prosperity, wealth, health and peace of mind, mental health, among other things more than the gospel. There is only one gospel--there is no social gospel (that is a misnomer).

There is no prosperity gospel, either. Jesus never went after numbers, but quality. He never toned down his stringent requirements. The paradox is that through the gospel of salvation is free, it costs everything. You may not have to give up your life or property, but you must be willing to. Many preachers today are afraid of "killjoy" words such as "sin" or "repent" and try to stay "upbeat." We need preachers that will tell it like it is. Prosperity, popularity, fame or clout are no indication of God's blessing or of real success. Jesus says, "Woe unto you when all men speak well of you" (Luke 6:26).
Soli Deo Gloria!