LOVE DOES NOT REJOICE IN INIQUITY

God is love and love is of God.  God is more than love but one of the great attributes of God is that He loves mankind and He desires that all men and women be saved (I John 4: 9-11; 2 Peter 3:9).  And if the love of God dwells within us, we love one another (I John 4:12).  While love has many positive characteristics, there are some negative characteristics of this God-like love and one is that love does not rejoice in the wrong doing of others.  In I Corinthians 13:4, 6 we read that “Love…does not rejoice in iniquity”.  Other translations are now presented that will enable us to understand more fully this statement.  The Revised Standard Version, “it does not rejoice at wrong”.  McCord’s New Testament Translation, “does not rejoice in wrongdoing”.  The New International Version, “Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth.”  Berry’s Interlinear Greek English New Testament translates I Corinthian 13:6 in this manner, “rejoices not at unrighteousness.”

The church of God at Corinth needed this lesson concerning the characteristics of love.  In chapter five we read of a brother who was living with his father’s wife (step-mother) and the church was not doing anything about it.  Rather, some were puffed up about the matter and seemed to enjoy the situation existing in the congregation.  The apostle Paul wrote them a rather stern rebuke and instructed them to deal with the problem in a scriptural manner.  This they did and the brother was restored to fellowship with God and the church (2 Corinthians 2).  The love of God in the hearts of the Corinthian disciples would have prevented their attitudes being what they were toward this brother and all the family involved. 

Permit me to present an example of what I writing about concerning the Christian’s attitude toward a brother or sister who may be guilty of a public sin in their lives.  Several years ago while working with a congregation, a brother in Christ became involved in an illicit relationship with a woman.  This brother was married and had a family of his own.  This ungodly relationship went on for sometime before members of the local church learned about it.  When this adulterous relationship became known to the brothers and sisters of the local church, hearts were broken because all the members loved this brother.  It was a very personal matter with me because he was one of my closest friends and a dear brother in Christ and I loved him very much.  Do you think that any of us rejoiced in this brother’s sin? Of course we did not delight in his wrongdoing.  Rather we wept openly and begged this brother to repent of his sins which he eventually did and was restored to full fellowship with the Lord and the church.

I have intentionally reserved until now mentioning two translations of I Corinthians 13:5, 6.  Phillips translation is as follows, “It does not keep account of evil or gloat over the wickedness of other people.”  The New English Bible, “does not gloat over other men’s sins.”  For example, a denominational preacher in a nearby city has been accused by law officials of sexually molesting children.  Should we gloat over his sins simply because we may differ with him and his denomination over some biblical subjects?  It is a proven fact that scores of Catholic priests are pedophiles.  Should we gloat over this immoral situation because we cannot accept the organization of this religious entity as being acceptable to God?

How are we to deal with the terrible news that a sister in Christ has killed her husband for whatever reason?  Shall we weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15) or shall we delight in this horrible tragedy?  Shall we accuse the church collectively for her action?  The difference in how you treat this unfortunate tragedy will depend on whether or not the love of God dwells within your heart.  William Barclay in his commentary on the letters to the Corinthians writes the following concerning the passage of scripture in I Corinthians 13, “Love finds no pleasure in evil-doing.  It might be better to translate this that love finds no pleasure in anything that is wrong. It is not so much delight in doing the wrong thing that is meant, “as the malicious pleasure which comes to most of us when we hear something derogatory about someone else. It is one of the queer traits of human nature that very often we prefer to hear of the misfortunate of others rather than of their good fortune. It is much easier to weep with them that weep than to rejoice with those who rejoice.  Christian love has none of that human malice which finds pleasure in ill reports.”

Individuals who gloat over the mistakes and sins of other people because of religious prejudice or for any other reason are not truly disciples of the Lord.  To be a Christian is to be Christ-like and to be Christ-like is to have the love of God in one’s heart.  And that measure of love in one’s heart prevents him from rejoicing in iniquity; delighting in evil and from gloating over another’s sins.

LOOKING UNTO JESUS

One of the fundamental lessons to be learned in playing golf is to keep your eye on the ball.  This is easier said than done.  In years past, I played this game each week.  I received most of my instructions from a dear friend when I lived in the city of Ozark, Alabama.  When I would look down the fairway just before I was about to take a swing with my club, he would say, “Keep your eye on the ball.”  Practically every time I would top the ball or hit it in the wrong direction, the problem usually could be traced back to my breaking that basic rule, that is, of not keeping my eye on the ball.

 In his exhortation to those early Christians to “run with patience the race that is set before us”, the inspired writer gave them a basic and necessary rule to follow in the game of life when he wrote, “looking unto Jesus the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:1, 2).  In other words, ‘keep your eyes on Jesus.’  He knew that there were many temptations in life which would cause them to turn their attention elsewhere.  To them, the urge to return to the tenets of the old law with its rituals and ordinances was very real and enticing.  To others, it may be the lusts of the flesh or the call of the world.

 Among the body of believers today there are distractions that cause us to turn our eyes away from Jesus.  It may be that some brother or sister has disappointed us.  It could be that someone has spoken words against us.  Perhaps family members have been unfaithful or a child has become involved in sinful living.  Satan is a very strong and wise adversary.  If he could get our parents to sin in Paradise, don’t you know that he is a having a field day with Christians while we live in this world permeated with sin?

The answer to our problems can be found in the encouragement to look unto Jesus.  He walked among mortal men, suffered the agony connected with the rejection of His people and the crucifixion on the Roman cross.  Now, he says, “Follow me” (Matthew 8:22).  However, we cannot really follow Jesus unless we look at Him.  It was when Peter took his eyes off of Jesus and became concerned about the wind, that he began to sink into the sea (Matthew 14:30).  So, when you become discouraged and feel like quitting, remember this fundamental rule of life, ‘Keep your eyes on Jesus’.

'THE WALKING DEAD'

Pardon me, but I cannot understand the demand for and the enjoyment of the popular television series, “The Walking Dead”. Nor do I appreciate the multiplicity of such shows as “Grim” and other programs that deal with magic, sorcery, communicating with the dead and the demonic world. Personally, I want to stay as far away from the devil and his demons as far as possible. And then there are police and detective series wherein there are several killings of criminals, sometimes as many as a dozen or so and the law enforcement agents seem not to have any emotional problems for taking the life of another human being, even though the person killed was a lawbreaker. This is not the way it is in real life.

The television and movie industries are influencing our society and generally speaking, not for the good of mankind. We have been desensitized and our reaction to the violence, sexual scenes, vulgarity, and the ‘undead’, etc. has become a matter of indifference and apathy.

Lest I become too involved with a variety of subjects, permit me to say that I do believe there are some people who are walking around dead!  They may have perfect health. The doctor may inform them following an examination that all their vital signs could not be better. But they are dead! In fact the Bible teaches that certain people are dead while they are living. How can this be?

First of all, we need to understand the word ‘dead’. It basically means a separation of the spirit of a man from his body. In the New Testament, James wrote: “For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also” (James 2:26). Please observe that a person is not dead period. There is a part of man that continues. In Ecclesiastes 12:3, the Preacher wrote: “Then the dust will return to the earth as it was, And the spirit will return to God who gave it.” The spirit of a man is never referred to in Scripture as being ‘dead’, only the body. It is wrong thinking to understand that when a person is dead he is like the dog rover and he is dead ‘all over’.

But, who are the people who are ‘the walking dead’? In Ephesians 2:1 we read, “And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins.” How are we to understand that statement? Please continue to read the following in verses 2 and 3: “(I)n which you once walked according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of he mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.” Paul had reference to their former manner of life, that is, they were dead (separated from God in their sins) before they were saved by His grace through faith (Ephesians 2:5, 8).

The prophet Isaiah clearly taught that it was sin that separated man from God (chapter 59:1, 2). The apostle Paul wrote about one class of widows in I Timothy 5:6: “But she who lives in pleasure is dead while she lives.” Alive physically but dead spiritually! How is this possible? He clearly states that she was living in “pleasure”, that is, she was indulging in sinful acts. Devout Christians should be concerned about real (live) people walking around ‘spiritually dead’ in our society than to be interested in “The walking dead” in a fictitious program on television.

The ‘walking dead’ (spiritually speaking), if not penitent of their sins and obedient to the commands of the gospel will receive their wages one day and that is an eternal death (separation from God) (Romans 6:23). Paul wrote in Romans 6:1-4 that a person who dies to sin in repentance, is buried with the Lord in baptism and is raised to “walk in newness of life” in Christ Jesus.

'LOVE LETTERS' FROM THE LORD

     Before the preacher began his lesson from one of the epistles of the apostle Paul he stated that we were reading a letter written to someone else. And in one sense that is true because the epistles were written to various congregations and different individuals. Some were general epistles that were written to no one church or individual. But that does not mean that other persons could not read the same epistles. While there are various passages that would teach that the letters written in the first century could be read by others, I think I Corinthians 1:2 would be sufficient: “To the church of God which is at Corinth, to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours” (NKJV, Emphasis, mine, RE).
      Some religious leaders in an effort to lessen the need of obedience on the part of the believer, and, to emphasize that we are saved by grace and not by any works on our part refer to the epistles as ‘love letters’. Personally I have no problem in speaking of the epistles as ‘love letters’. All that God has done for mankind in the matter of salvation and instructing us what we should do and become has been done because He loves us.
     The words of Jesus written in red letters as found in the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John in some Bibles can be misleading. In actuality, all the New Testament is blood red. In Luke 22:20 we read, “Likewise He also took the cup after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in My blood, which is shed for you” (Emphasis, mine, RE). In reference to Jesus, the inspired writer penned these words, “But He has obtained a more excellent ministry, inasmuch as He is also Mediator of a better covenant, which was based on better promises” (Hebrews 8:6). “And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance. For where there is a testament, there must also of necessity be the death of the testator. For a testament is in force after men are dead, since it has no power at all while the testator lives” (Hebrews 9:15-17). The New Testament was dedicated with the precious blood of Jesus Christ so it would be reasonable to understand all of the writings contained therein to be called books and letters of love from the Lord Jesus Christ.
     These ‘love letters’ did not originate in the wisdom of men. Before Jesus departed from the world He made promises to His apostles regarding the sending of the Holy Spirit to be with them. “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things I said to you” (John 14:26). “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me” (John 15:26). “However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. “He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13, 14). Please observe that the Holy Spirit would only speak what He would hear and that it would glorify Jesus Christ; and whatever the Spirit would declare to the apostles would have been from the Father and the Son.
      Please read carefully these words from the apostle Paul as found in I Corinthians 2:12, 13, “Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God. These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual.” In short, the epistles that Paul and the other New Testament writers wrote were what Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, had them to write. In Ephesians 3:3-5, Paul wrote: “How that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets…” In other words, the epistles are really ‘love letters from the Lord’. Furthermore, what is said of the Son can most certainly be said of the Father. “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16, 17). In summary, the source of all the books of the Old and New Testaments is God the Father.
     The ‘love letters’ in the New Testament’ do not in any sense lessen my response to the directives and commands of the “law of the Spirit” (Romans 8:2) and the “perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25). The truth is that we must respond in love, being submissive to the will of our Lord.
     Jesus plainly taught that true love requires actions on the part of mankind in order to prove our love for Him. He told his disciples, “If you love Me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15). Jesus stated it very plainly that we show our Love for Him when we do what he requires of us. In John 14:21, He said, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
      Jesus obeyed His Father’s will and was loved by His Father and He loves those who keep His commandments (John 15:10). The Lord said in John 14:31, “But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father gave me commandments, so I do. Arise let us go from here.” Jesus proved beyond a shadow of doubt that He loved His Father by keeping all the commands He received from Him. To be like Jesus, we must also obey the commands our Lord has given to us. Otherwise, we show that we do not love Him as we should. Jesus expressed it in this fashion as recorded in John 14:24, “He who does not love Me does not keep My words; and the word which you hear is not Mine but the Father’s who sent Me.”
     The apostle of love, John, wrote in I John 5:3, “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.” God does not require anything of us except it be for our ultimate good. We should respond to His commandments out of a heart of love. When love is the motive, His commandments are not grievous or overbearing. The precious words of our Savior bring joy to the heart of a Christian as is found in John 15:14, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.” When we sing the hymn, “I’ll Be a Friend to Jesus”, it means that we will be submissive to His will. We should not respond to the commands and directives of our Lord merely because ‘we have to’; rather it should be our “faith working through love” (Galatians 5:6).