What Is Biblical Love?
The Bible tells us that God is love.
But what does this mean, and how can we love someone according to a biblical love.
According to the world's standards, and even most Christians, to love someone means to do good to them.
But is that really what the Bible teaches? Jesus taught us to love our enemies.
But He also told us that when a brother sins against us that we rebuke him.
If he repents, then we have won him.
But if he does not repent, then we are to treat him as a heathen.
So, is Jesus contradicting Himself in these two statements, or, do we have a misunderstanding of what love really means.
Ask anyone, any Christian, as to how we can love our enemies.
They will give you phrases like "Do good to them in order to heap coals of fire on their heads", or, "Bake them a pie".
But that clearly is not what Jesus was teaching.
To love our enemies does not mean that we have to do those good things for them.
Neither does it mean that we have to continue in a relationship with them, because Jesus clearly said to treat them like a heathen, provided that they claim to be Christian.
Love and Hate A biblical love allows us to both love and hate someone at the same time.
This might seem absurd, and even impossible, but yet, it is possible.
And once we understand what a Biblical love is, we can understand how we can love and hate someone at the same time.
"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments:" 1 John 5:3.
It really does not get any simpler than this.
All we have to do is keep God's commandments, and thereby we can love everyone around us, including our family and friends, as well as our enemies.
It really is that simple.
And if we do not keep the commandments of God, then we cannot love anyone according to a Biblical love.
You see, God cares about us all, and what He wants most is that we all inherit eternal life.
Therefore, when we have found Him, then we are obligated to pass Him on to others.
However, this does not mean door-to-door visitations, or forcing it on others.
Rather, we are to live in such a way that will make others come to us and ask us, what it is in our lives that makes us who we are.
In this way we love God, because we are helping to win souls for Him.
And we are also loving those around us, because we are giving them an example to follow, so that they too can inherit eternal life.
But what does this mean, and how can we love someone according to a biblical love.
According to the world's standards, and even most Christians, to love someone means to do good to them.
But is that really what the Bible teaches? Jesus taught us to love our enemies.
But He also told us that when a brother sins against us that we rebuke him.
If he repents, then we have won him.
But if he does not repent, then we are to treat him as a heathen.
So, is Jesus contradicting Himself in these two statements, or, do we have a misunderstanding of what love really means.
Ask anyone, any Christian, as to how we can love our enemies.
They will give you phrases like "Do good to them in order to heap coals of fire on their heads", or, "Bake them a pie".
But that clearly is not what Jesus was teaching.
To love our enemies does not mean that we have to do those good things for them.
Neither does it mean that we have to continue in a relationship with them, because Jesus clearly said to treat them like a heathen, provided that they claim to be Christian.
Love and Hate A biblical love allows us to both love and hate someone at the same time.
This might seem absurd, and even impossible, but yet, it is possible.
And once we understand what a Biblical love is, we can understand how we can love and hate someone at the same time.
"For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments:" 1 John 5:3.
It really does not get any simpler than this.
All we have to do is keep God's commandments, and thereby we can love everyone around us, including our family and friends, as well as our enemies.
It really is that simple.
And if we do not keep the commandments of God, then we cannot love anyone according to a Biblical love.
You see, God cares about us all, and what He wants most is that we all inherit eternal life.
Therefore, when we have found Him, then we are obligated to pass Him on to others.
However, this does not mean door-to-door visitations, or forcing it on others.
Rather, we are to live in such a way that will make others come to us and ask us, what it is in our lives that makes us who we are.
In this way we love God, because we are helping to win souls for Him.
And we are also loving those around us, because we are giving them an example to follow, so that they too can inherit eternal life.
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