Embracing Love: Overcoming Fear in Faith

Devotional

Day 1: The Authenticity of Agape Love

Agape love is a matter of the heart, desire, and motivation. It is an attribute of Christians because it describes God. This love cannot be forced or coerced through fear or the threat of punishment. It is a choice, a decision to love others because God first loved us. True agape love is not something natural or inherent within humanity, but it was originally encoded within our social DNA as part of being made in the image of God ([20:13]).

1 John 4:7 - "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God."

Reflection: Reflect on your motivations when showing love to others. Are you doing it out of obligation or because of genuine agape love?

Day 2: The Misinterpretation of Justice

Justice is often misinterpreted by adding descriptive qualifiers like racial justice or social justice, suggesting that the standard of justice is not absolute. This relativistic view of justice can lead to the belief that everyone is saved by Jesus Christ, regardless of their sins or disbelief, which is contrary to the teachings of the Bible ([33:38]).

Romans 13:4 - "For he is God's servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not bear the sword in vain. For he is the servant of God, an avenger who carries out God's wrath on the wrongdoer."

Reflection: How can you uphold the absolute standard of justice in your daily interactions and decisions?

Day 3: The Importance of Right Motivations

Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons is just as bad as doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Charity, kindness, and good works will always benefit others, but if they're not done for the right reason of Agape, then they're of no benefit to you ([32:03]).

1 John 4:11 - "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."

Reflection: Reflect on your recent acts of kindness. Were they motivated by agape love or by a sense of obligation or self-benefit?

Day 4: The Misuse of God's Love

The statement "God is love" has been adopted by our present post-modern, post-Christian culture as the most important or the only remaining relevant statement to be drawn from sacred scripture. However, as Christians, we know the truth of this statement and how and why it is true ([03:10]).

1 John 4:16 - "So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."

Reflection: How can you counteract the misuse of God's love in your conversations and interactions with others?

Day 5: The Transformation of Agape Love

Our original desire and inclination towards Agape was transformed by sin and corrupted by the fall. However, as Christians, we are called to restore this original agape love in our interactions with others ([21:00]).

1 John 4:19 - "We love because he first loved us."

Reflection: How can you actively work towards restoring the original agape love in your daily life?

Sermon Summary

In this sermon, I discussed the concept of fear and love in the context of our relationship with God. I emphasized that as Christians, we should not fear God, but rather love Him, as perfect love casts out fear. I explained that fear, or "Phobos" in Greek, is a dread that causes a person to want to flee. However, if we have faith in Christ, we should not fear God. I also touched on the topic of punishment, explaining that while we all fear being punished, only wrongdoers need to fear punishment. I concluded the sermon by reminding everyone to abide in love for Jesus, because He loves us.

Key Takeaways

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Sermon Clips

1. "Doing the right thing for the wrong reasons is just as bad as doing the wrong thing for the right reasons. Charity, kindness, and good works will always benefit others, but if they're not done for the right reason of Agape, then they're no benefit to you." - 32:03

2. "The Great Commission is not to plant new churches near existing churches, not to get more people into existing churches and fill the pews, nor is it about getting random people to make a profession of faith without also leading transformed lives. The Great Commission is to make disciples and to teach them all that Jesus has commanded us to do." - 32:48

3. "God does not have to offer or provide us any way to be saved at all, much less many choices for salvation. His merciful nature has already been shown and given to us through the great gift of Providence in our lives and apart from the finished work of Christ in the Holy Spirit Upon Our Hearts, we will remain wretched unrepentant Sinners damned to Hell by our sin." - 36:00

4. "God is love because he gives mercy and Grace. God is just because he is righteous and loving. God is wrathful and will punish sin but he's never unjust in his punishment because he loves his creation. This loving God is merciful by forgiving our sin and he is able to do so justly because of our deserved punishment has already been suffered in the person of Jesus." - 25:52

5. "If you have pesteo in Christ Jesus then the one thing you should not have Phobos of is the Lord God. What John is saying here is that a Christian, someone numbered among the elect, any person who truly loves God should not need to fear God because love casts out fear since fear is closely related to punishment." - 17:00

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