Looking for love
1.
For the last several weeks we have examined some of the
common objections to Christianity.
2.
For instance, how can a loving God send people to an
eternal Hell?
3.
How could God justify the nation of
4.
If an all powerful God exists, how can suffering and
death exist in our world?
5.
How can we reconcile miracles with science?
TODAY
WE WANT TO CLOSE OUT THESE OBJECTIONS WITH SOME INFORMATION ON LOVE.
a)
All the objections we have looked at are ultimately
tied in with, in one way or another, love.
b)
Hell is for those who spent a lifetime refusing God’s
love.
c)
It is a place to quarantine those who have no love for
heaven and salvation.
d)
The removal of the Canaanites was necessary because God
loved the world and wants to save it.
e)
Pagans wanted to wipe out the nation of
f)
Sin and death exist because man, in the beginning,
rejected God’s love.
2)
Our world has a lot to say about love and thinks a lot
about love, but does not really understand it.
3)
At the present time there are more than 30,000 books in
print with the word “love” in the title.
4)
More than 145,000 books deal with the topic of love.
5)
More than 10,000 albums or CD’s have love in their
titles.
6)
Millions of Internet sites have “love” as one of their
key words.
a)
Virtually everything in the Bible can somehow be
related to love.
b)
One verse that says a whole lot about love is Jn. 3:16.
c)
We find in this passage the GREATEST BEING (God).
d)
It is here that we find the GREATEST MOTIVE (loved).
e)
We find the GREATEST NUMBER in this passage (the
world).
f)
There is also the GREATEST ACT (He gave).
g)
We know the GREATEST GIFT was given (the only begotten
Son).
h)
The GREATEST INVITATION is found in “whosoever.”
i)
The GREATEST REQUIREMENT is found in obedient “belief.”
j)
The GREATEST FEAR is expressed as “perish.”
k)
The GREATEST HOPE is expressed as “everlasting life.”
7)
God so loved the world because God is love, 1 Jn. 4:7-8.
8)
God’s love is great because it extends to people no
matter what they have done.
a)
Every person old enough to be accountable for their
actions is guilty of sin.
b)
c)
People know they have done wrong. Many are ashamed of the things they have
done.
d)
In spite of man’s worst deeds, what did Jesus say in
Mt. 11:28-30?
e)
Paul said (1 Tim. 2:4) that God wants all to be saved
and come to a knowledge of the truth.
f)
Some look at their life and reason, “I could never be
forgiven of this act.”
g)
God says, “I have enough love to cover all your sins
plus more if that were necessary.”
h)
God has not only made this claim, He really means it.
9)
The Bible demonstrates this point in several different
ways.
10) One
of the worst sins of all mankind was calling out for the death of Jesus.
11) Imagine
a person who shouts, “Kill God.”
That is about as bad as a person can be.
12) In
the first gospel sermon (Acts 2), preachers were dealing with people who had
committed this sin.
13) As
heinous as this sin was, forgiveness was offered – Acts 2:38 – quote.
14) If
God could and did forgive people who killed the Son, what about our sins?
a)
A little later in the book of Acts we read about a man
named Saul.
b)
This man was persecuting people who had become
Christians.
c)
He was attacking the body of Jesus Christ (the church).
d)
This was another type of attack upon deity.
e)
Did God reach down and strike Paul dead. No.
f)
Saul was given the opportunity to learn about the
gospel.
g)
This man learned the truth and was told to arise, be
baptized and wash away his sins (Acts 22:16).
h)
Did this man really have his sins washed away?
i)
He had damaged God’s spiritual body – was he really
forgiven? Yes.
j)
God’s love allowed Saul to become a “new creature” (2 Cor. 5:17).
15) Paul
said he was the “least of the saints” (Eph. 3:8) and the “chief of sinners” (1
Tim. 1:13, 15).
He called himself the worst of the worst, but God’s love cleansed him of all
wrongs.
a)
After a person becomes a Christian, he is not perfect.
b)
Christians still sin, and God’s love continues to
extend to people.
c)
John said if we say we have no sin (1 Jn. 1:8), the truth is not in us.
d)
When sin occurs in the life of a Christian, it is
acknowledged and we seek to turn from it.
e)
This is what we find in the example of Simon (Acts
8:22-24).
16) A
time may come when Christian says he or she no longer loves God.
a)
Or, a Christian’s love for God is weaker than his love
for the world.
b)
Jesus said “seek first the kingdom” (Mt. 6:33), but
some put the world ahead of God.
c)
Even in these cases, God’s love continues to exist.
d)
e)
People may not always have an interest in God, but God
always has an interest in them.
17) God
has proven this time and time again.
18) God
is not just a God of talk – He is a God of action.
a)
Eph. 4:8 says deity has given “gifts unto men.”
b)
James (1:17) says “every and
good perfect gift comes from God.”
c)
There is not one good gift that cannot be traced back
to deity.
d)
God shows His love for man by showering it upon the
saved and the lost.
19) Even
the life of Jesus shows God’s love for humanity.
20) Jesus
was deity in the flesh and what did He do while on the earth?
21) He
healed people, He fed people, and He taught people.
22) God
has created a “track record” of love with the world for thousands of years.
23) One
of the most interesting examples of God’s love for man is in Jesus’ genealogy.
a)
There are a bunch of men listed in the Lord’s family
tree, but not many women.
b)
Only four females are found in the Lord’s genealogy.
c)
These four ladies are Tamar, Rahab,
Ruth, and Bathseheba.
d)
Three of these women have “tainted names.” They made some pretty bad mistakes.
24) How
many of us would like to look at our family tree and say, “This relation was a
mass murderer.”
25) Or,
“this relative was a prostitute.”
26) Most
would be embarrassed about that type of thing.
27) In
the Lord’s family history we find harlots and adulteresses.
28) This
is one more indication of God’s love or all people.
a)
Another great illustration of God’s great and
everlasting love is found in Peter’s life.
b)
Peter was told he was going to be a “rock” in the
church.
c)
He was someone who had been especially close with Jesus
for at least three years.
d)
It was Peter who boasted he would never deny the Lord.
29) A
time came when Peter had to make a decision:
would he acknowledge Jesus or deny Him?
30) We
know the story – Peter used an oath to deny that he knew Jesus.
31) He
pretended as if he and Jesus had never before met.
32) Then
Peter went out and wept. Maybe he
bawled.
33) God
could have given up on Peter because of the denials.
a)
We know that an apostle was replaced (Acts 1).
b)
God could have said that Peter made such a serious
mistake someone else would take his place.
c)
God’s love was extended to Peter and the apostle
repented.
d)
Not only was Peter restored, he was allowed to be a
leading speaker in Acts 2.
34) There
are times when other people may not believe in us.
35) We
may not feel like someone else loves us.
a)
A wife may not feel like her husband loves her.
b)
A husband may not feel like his wife loves him.
c)
Children may not feel like they are loved by their
parents or parents by their children.
36) In
many cases people think they are not loved, but that is really not true.
37) Let’s
suppose for the sake of argument that such is really the case in a person’s
life.
38) Imagine
someone that is not loved by anyone – every single person hates them.
a)
In this type of situation, God would still love that
individual.
b)
There is not a single person God does not love.
c) If God welcomes publicans
and harlots into the kingdom (Mt. 21:31), He certainly welcomes all others.
39) Jer. 31:3 refers to God’s “everlasting love.”
a)
There are not many things that are “everlasting.”
b)
We buy products, they last for a while, and then it is
off to the junkyard.
c)
Technology changes and things wear out--hardly anything
last for a lifetime.
d)
God says that with Him, there is “everlasting
love.” We cannot use up His supply of
love.
40) Jesus
said He had loved His disciples “till the end” (Jn.
13:1).
41) This
love is well illustrated in the story Jesus gave in Lk.
15.
a)
A son came and said to his father that he wanted his
inheritance.
b)
That must have been a very sad request for the father
to hear.
c)
Dad gave his son the money and the boy left home.
d)
Dad was willing to wait. The son finally returned and dad showered his
love on the son.
42) God’s
love is eternal and perfect. It is
impossible for him to be more loving than He is.
43) Our
obligation is to reach out and accept it.
44) We
must access that love by coming to Christ – obeying the gospel.
45) We
cannot be in the love of Christ if we have not heard about it.
46) We
are not going to benefit from God’s love unless we repent.
47) When
we know about God’s love and want it, we will confess Christ as Lord.
48) To
gain God’s love, we must go where it is located: in Christ.
49) Many
of the objections to Christianity are swallowed up by God’s love.
50) Have
we found that love?