Changes can be subtle and subtle changes can be wrong. A wise Christian once said: \u201cWisdom is the ability to distinguish \u2018right\u2019 from \u2018almost right\u2019!\u201d<\/p>\n
One such subtle change, which has had a terrible impact on Christianity, has to do with the love of Christ. \u201cNow\u201d, you ask, \u201chow can the love of Christ ever be wrong?\u201d As the above saying suggests, it can be wrong when it is almost right.<\/p>\n
The problem has come about and is seen in a one\u2013sided love. The love of Christ is that in which the Christian basks. It is the love of Christ that has set the Christian free. In these views, the love of Christ is only a permissive love that enables the Christian to do what he enjoys most<\/span>.<\/p>\n Is this view of Christ\u2019s love correct? The answer is, no. Whilst the love of Christ gives to the Christian many wondrous benefits and incalculable riches, autonomy is not one of them<\/em><\/span>. By this we mean that Christ did not set us free to a vacuum where we are self-determining kings. On the contrary, Christ’s love set us free to serve God<\/span>. Jesus\u2019 love set us free so that we could be priestly-kings in His Kingdom, in order to serve Him faithfully and fully.<\/p>\n Missing from the Christian\u2019s view of Christ\u2019s love in our day is the concept found in the hymn, \u201cFor the might Thine arm\u201d, which states, For the love of Christ constraining<\/em><\/span>.\u201d As a child growing up, I remember this phrase being used. Christians spoke freely of the fact that Christ\u2019s love constrained.<\/p>\n As individualism has made inroads into the Church, I no longer hear this phrase. Rather, as alluded to earlier, Christ\u2019s love is now simply viewed as a permissive element in which Jesus smiles upon any and all activities of the Christian.<\/p>\n Such should not be the case. The love of Christ should constrain us. The love of Christ should motivate us to obedient action. Likewise, the love of Christ should dissuade us from disobedient actions. The love of Christ should be everything to us. It should be our health and happiness.<\/p>\n Thus, we must ask, \u201cHow can we be happy, if we mock the love of Christ?\u201d Someone close to me married an unbeliever. When challenged, their response was, \u201cDo you not want me to be happy?\u201d Our response to that was, \u201cIf you are a Christian, how can you be happy when you disobey Christ?\u201d<\/p>\n The love of Christ is a two-way street. Christ\u2019s absolute love to us should be reflected in our love for Him absolutely<\/span><\/em>. This means that we must appreciate and understand the infinite cost of Jesus death; the incomprehensible depth of the statement, \u201cloved before the foundation of the world\u201d; and the implications of, \u201cyou are not your own but have been bought with a price \u2013 therefore glorify God in your body!\u201d<\/p>\n We simply cannot say that we are encompassed by the love of Christ, when we walk in disobedience to Christ. We cannot say that Christ is our all in all, when we do not love Jesus absolutely by absolutely keeping His commands. Inane concepts like, \u201cGod looks at the heart\u201d simply do not suffice. Yes, God does look at the heart. He looks at the heart to see if it is genuinely filled with the love of Jesus, His beloved Son. God looks at the heart to see whether or not the works that come forth are those of outward show or those constrained by the true love of Christ.<\/p>\n Consider Jesus words to the Church at Ephesus: \u201cBut I have this <\/em>against you, that you have left your first love<\/span>\u201d (Revelation 2:4).<\/p>\n These Ephesians were good. They could spot a heretic at one hundred paces. They could rightly divide the word of God. They had sound doctrine. What they did not have was a genuine love for Christ. This is not to say that they did not love Jesus in any way. Rather, it is to emphasise the fact that spotting heretics and having right theology became an end in itself. They did not learn to eradicate falsehood so that Jesus would be honoured. They did not learn doctrine so that Christ would be glorified. Rather, these elements became an end in themselves.<\/p>\n Brethren, please let the love of Christ constrain us in our day. Give up the radical disobedience of self. Give up the false idea of doctrine for doctrine\u2019s sake. In all our actions, let us be conscious that we act for Christ and His glory. Let us be constrained to action and from action on the basis that we love Jesus and that it would break our hearts irreparably to cause Him any hurt.<\/p>\n The modern view of permissive love is a false view. Christ\u2019s love constrains, and rightly so. How could we not give our all for Him who held nothing back from us<\/em>? <\/span>Jesus love for us saw Him forsaken of God, hung on a tree, cursed by His own creation, despised of man; all to purchase a people for God. How little a thing is it then, that the love of Jesus be allowed to govern every word, thought, and action of His people.<\/p>\n May the love of Christ constrain us completely to an obedience which magnifies and glorifies our beautiful Jesus!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Changes can be subtle and subtle changes can be wrong. A wise Christian once said: \u201cWisdom is the ability to distinguish \u2018right\u2019 from \u2018almost right\u2019!\u201d One such subtle change, which has had a terrible impact on Christianity, has to do … Continue reading