Love is a Big Deal for God

For about 500 years the church has been telling people they are justified by faith alone.

The church over the years has tortured these words.

Faith is clearly a huge issue, but there is a huger issue. The huger issue is often ignored or forgotten.

“By faith alone” has warped into “as long as you at one point in your life believed the story about Jesus’ death and resurrection and stuff, you are saved.”

Faith becomes mental assent. A nod of the head in the direction of Jesus. Often this nod of the head is done after great manipulation. “You want to go to heaven don’t you?” “God has a wonderful plan for your life, don’t you want that?”

People nod their head, “Yes, I would like a wonderful life followed by heaven.” Then the manipulator says, “Wonderful, just believe the Jesus story and then you’re saved.”

For 500 years people have done a version of this and assumed they were saved.

But the Bible never says we are justified by faith alone. In fact, there’s a huger thing than faith the Bible talks about repeatedly.

Love.

Even the demons believe. They even tremble. But they don’t love God.

Love is a big deal. Love, according to 1 Corinthians 13, is better than faith.

It is possible to believe someone and not love them. There are many creepy people in the world I do not love, yet I can believe what they say. The demons toward God, is a perfect example.

I do not think it is possible to love someone and not believe them though. 1 Corinthians 13 tells us that love “believes all things.” Faith is a part of love; love is not a part of faith.

Love is tricky too though. Many think love is a mushy gushy feeling. Biblically speaking love is pretty tough. Listen to the words of your Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

“If ye love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15).

“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).

“Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.He that loveth me not keepeth not my sayings: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Father’s which sent me” (John 14:23-24).

I don’t see how it could be any clearer. Jesus repeats Himself to His disciples, almost as if He knows that people will struggle with this teaching.

He concludes John 14 by saying, “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 loves His Father. How do we know that? Because Jesus kept the commandment His Father gave Him: namely His suffering and death (John 14:28).

Love pays attention to what the other person is saying and love endeavors to do what that person desires. This is especially true of us toward God, our Savior and Creator.

Faith is easy to pretend; love is not. Love is easily tested; faith is easily faked.

Now abides faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love. If you have all faith that you could move mountains and have not love, it profits you nothing.

Love is huge.

Faith is easy in comparison, which is why the church has decided to major on faith. We’ve decided the level of demons is our ambition rather than sons of God.

It’s a sad thing. It’ll be even more sad on Judgment Day when untold millions will say to Him, “Lord, Lord, look at all the stuff we did for you.” And He will say, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of iniquity.”

Don’t fall for Satan’s deception in the church today: that all God desires is a moment of mental assent we call “faith.”

God is love. The proper response to love is love.