1 Corinthians 13:5

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels and have not love, I become as a sounding brass and a clanging cymbal... And now abide these three, faith, hope, and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13)

Love—not doctrine or gifts—is the fulfillment of God's law and the unmistakable mark of a true disciple.

The Greatest Commandment

The answer to the question, "What is the greatest commandment?" came from Deuteronomy chapter 6, in the passage called the Shema. Every Jewish child learned it as the very first thing. So Jesus answers in verse 37: "Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment"—not first in order of when it was given, but first in order of rank.

Then Jesus quoted Leviticus: "The second is like unto it. You shall love your neighbor as yourself." But then He said something profound and powerful that hadn't been said to this point: "On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets." All of it is summed up in this reality.

Remember, Jesus is not merely a guru, prophet, or teacher. He is God, and He speaks with awesome authority. If we love God with all our heart, soul, and mind, and love our neighbor as ourselves, then we will never sin. We will fulfill God's word.

Love Fulfills the Law

The children of Israel sought to fulfill the law. They counted 613 laws and said they needed to keep all of them to be righteous before God. The Pharisee who came to Jesus was a lawyer because the Pharisees were astute in the law, and they boasted in keeping it. Paul, when he was Saul of Tarsus, thought himself righteous by the law—in Philippians 3 he proclaims, "Of the law I was blameless."

Jesus says you don't need to memorize all 613 laws. All you have to do is love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind, and love your neighbor as yourself. But how many of you have found that's actually not easy to do?

Paul restates this in Romans 13:8: "Owe no man anything, except that you would love one another, for he that loves has fulfilled the law." He goes on in verse 10: "Love works no ill to his neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Therefore, lovelessness is the common denominator of every sin.

A Loveless Fellowship

It was certainly the case for the Corinthians. Their church was coming apart at the seams. Going through chapters 1 through 12, we saw divisions, factions, strife, carnality, immorality, pride, and conceit. Brothers were suing one another. Husbands and wives were divorcing. People were taking advantage of one another and ignoring the weaker among them. They violated God's way in communion, not discerning the Lord's body. They boasted in their spirituality and coveted one another's giftedness.

The Corinthian fellowship was a loveless fellowship—which is a paradox. How can you have a loveless fellowship? Yet they were called by God to be a fellowship in Christ but were unable to have koinonia, oneness, because of lovelessness. So Paul says, "I show you a better way." They had good doctrine and lacked no spiritual gifts, and yet, lacking love, you are nothing. There is no Christianity without love. There is no church without love. There is no ministry without love.

Doctrine Is No Substitute for Love

It's the tendency within Calvary Chapel, because of our consistency in studying and teaching God's word, to become doctrinally heavy. I don't say that as necessarily bad, but we can exalt sound doctrine over love. More charismatic churches do the same thing with spiritual manifestations, gravitating toward tongues and prophecy to the detriment of love.

Remember Paul's counsel to young Pastor Timothy. In 1 Timothy 1, he charges Timothy to stay in Ephesus to establish good, sound doctrine and to forbid teaching that ministers questions rather than godly edification. Then in verse 5 he says, "Now the end of this commandment is love." The whole point of sound doctrine is to bring people to a place where they love God with all their heart, soul, and mind, and love their neighbor as themselves. If the teaching of Scripture doesn't lead to that, we've missed something. We've gotten fixated on the wrong thing if the ultimate end is not practical, demonstrable love.

This is how Paul finishes 1 Corinthians, in chapter 16, verse 14: "Let all your things be done with love." Proper theology is no substitute for love. Activism and Christian service is no substitute for love. Selective affection—being nice to people you like—is no substitute for love. Ignorance and immaturity is no excuse for lovelessness.

Known by Our Love

Remember what Jesus said in John 13:35: "By this shall all men know that you're my disciples"—by your love. He doesn't say by your doctrine, or by your spiritual gifts. Yet we seem to think they'll know we're real Christians because we've got sound doctrine, or spiritual gifts. No—they'll know you're a Christian if you walk in love as described in 1 Corinthians 13.

You can learn a lot about a person or a church by how they fill in this blank: "God is all about _." Some fill it in with America being a godly nation, or with meeting human need. But if you fill it in with love, as we see in 1 John 4, "God is love"—that's how He defines Himself in the simplest term—then all the other things tend to balance out.

Consider what the New Testament exhorts us to do. 1 Corinthians 14:1: pursue love. 2 Corinthians 8:8: prove the sincerity of our love. Philippians 1:9: that love would abound more and more. Colossians 3:14: above all things, put on love. 1 Thessalonians 3:12–13: increase and abound in love, to the end that God may establish your hearts unblameable in holiness. How do we pursue holiness? By love.

The Pharisees were infused with doctrine and looked holy on the outside, but Jesus said you're full of dead men's bones, full of carnality, hate, and vice—planning to kill Jesus. Hebrews 10:24 tells us to stir each other up to love and good deeds. 1 Peter 4:8: "Above all things, have fervent love among yourselves, for love shall cover a multitude of sins."

What Love Really Is

Our cultural definition of love is off. What the world exalts as love is just a mushy sentimentality that bears little resemblance to 1 Corinthians 13. The 1960s were all about love—and what came from it? Free love, the summer of love, 1969. Was holiness abounding? Or was it carnality? Look at the shift in American culture that resulted. Jesus says wisdom is justified by her children; the wisdom of an idea is proven by what comes from it.

Two weeks ago we looked at the first eight characteristics: love is patient, kind, does not envy, does not boast, is not arrogant, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered. It's long-tempered, slow to anger, gentle, merciful, gracious. Does this describe you or me? No. Does it describe Jesus? Yes. And as He lives in us, He manifests these things, because the fruit of the Spirit is love. They're not manufactured by me; they're produced by the Holy Spirit. Not immediately in their fullness at conversion, but over time they should become evident.

Love Keeps No Record of Wrongs

We pick up at the end of verse 5, where Paul says love "thinks no evil." This could be translated, "it keeps no record of wrongs." The word "think" is an accounting term in the Greek—it means to keep a mathematical calculation, the word used by a bookkeeper about his ledger. A first-century steward over a household kept a ledger accounting for everything. Paul says the one who loves keeps no record book about the evil they have suffered at the hands of others.

We have no problem admitting this is hard. Our brains seem perfectly programmed to index every wrong done to us. We even go to Scripture to support it—"an eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth"—jumping back to an Old Testament mindset, though we don't want to be dealt with in an Old Testament sense; we want New Testament grace and mercy for ourselves.

But Jesus had something to say about that passage. In Matthew 5:38–40, He says, "You have heard it said, an eye for an eye... but I say unto you, resist not the evil one, but whosoever shall smite you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also." The level of nonviolence Jesus speaks of is hard for me personally. I'm a martial artist; I want to defend myself, and I live in a culture that tells me I have a right to. "If any man will sue you at the law to take away your coat, let him have your cloak also."

Five years ago in Louisiana I had an accident on a rainy highway and ran into another driver. Eight months later I was served with a subpoena—but the paperwork described an accident from a different month. The man claimed he'd been in a second accident as a result of the first. I wanted to fight it. "Let's go get this guy, this is wrong, I want justice." But my lawyer said, "No, we're going to settle." Whoever compels you to go a mile, go with him two.

God Keeps No Record of Our Sin

The same Greek word translated "thinks no evil" is used elsewhere for the pardoning act of God over our sin. In Islam, two angels are dispatched at birth to record every individual's good and bad works, and at the judgment those works are weighed on the scales. But the God of the Bible—the only true God—has kept no books on our sin. When we are in Christ, all our sins are washed away.

Be certain: everyone not washed by the precious blood of Jesus will stand before God for judgment according to their works. But in Christ we have been redeemed, our sins removed as far as the east is from the west, cast behind the Lord's back. He refuses to bring them up again. Instead He writes "righteous" beside our names, because He has given us Christ's righteousness. He who knew no sin became sin for us, that we might receive His righteousness.

David speaks of this in Psalm 32: "Blessed is he whose transgressions are forgiven... Blessed is the man to whom the Lord does not impute iniquity." The same Greek word for "impute" there is the word used here for "thinks no evil." So love never makes memories out of wrongdoings.

Love Does Not Rejoice in Iniquity

Number ten: love does not delight in evil—it rejoices not in iniquity or sin. What does it mean to rejoice in sin? There are at least two ways. Some rejoice in their own sin, in the pleasures they find in it or in getting away with it, boasting in their stubbornness toward God. But others rejoice in the sins of others.

We rejoice in others' sins because it makes us feel better about ourselves. In self-righteousness we look at the politician who falls into adultery, who confesses on national TV or whose sin comes out on Twitter, and we rejoice because it builds us up. "Look at that vile, wicked Democrat"—or maybe a Republican, I don't know. We love others' unrighteousness because it encourages our self-righteousness. "I'm not quite so bad. I'm better than that guy."

Another way we rejoice in others' sin is by entertaining ourselves with it. This is convicting. It's not godlike or righteous to take pleasure in the sins of others. Think of tabloid publications and TV shows. Standing in the checkout line at Walmart, I looked at the tabloid counter—so-and-so caught in this, Ben Affleck did that, adultery, wickedness, sin. Why do those things sell? Why is it a billion-dollar industry? Because we love to entertain ourselves with the sin of others—through reality TV, movies, dramas, romance novels, and gossip.

The Heart of Gossip

Gossip at its heart is delighting in the sin of others—taking pleasure in evil. We try to cover it up: "Did you hear about so-and-so? We need to pray for them. Let me tell you what they did." That's gossip. If the point is prayer, just say, "I heard something that grieves me; let's pray for this person." You don't need the details.

If someone has wronged you, instead of delighting in it by telling everybody, go and speak to them, as Jesus says in Matthew 18. I've found the overwhelming majority of the time, when I go to talk to someone, they had no idea they even did it. We don't give people the benefit of the doubt. So ask yourself: would you say what you're about to say if the person were standing right there? Would you send it in an email if they were carbon copied?

There is no way for a Christian to rejoice in sin. Which means we should never find ourselves hopeful that someone will fall or fail—a political leader we disagree with, or someone we don't like. That's delighting in evil. Love never rejoices in what offends God, what breaks His heart, or what harms the sinner.

Justice, Mercy, and the Casey Anthony Verdict

The hot news topic of the week has been the Casey Anthony verdict, and many people are in an uproar over the not-guilty decision. It's important to recognize that the news on TV is a business, not a special service. They make money by getting more viewers for more ad revenue, so the more sensational and attractive to our sin nature, the more money they make. Because in our fallen state we love justice, it's easy for them to capitalize on this. The same happened in 1994–95 with O.J. Simpson.

Many are angry at the not-guilty verdict, and whether we like it or not, our anger points back to a lack of love as a nation—in fulfillment of Jesus' words that in the last days the love of many would grow cold. You may ask, "What about justice?" The problem is that we love justice when in reality we need to love mercy. Micah 6:8: "He has shown you, O man, what is good... but to love mercy, to do justly, and to walk humbly with your God."

Our system actually worked the way it's supposed to, even though we don't like the outcome. Isaiah 11:3 says that when Jesus rules and reigns, He does not judge after the seeing of the eyes and the hearing of the ears, but with righteous judgment. We can only judge evidence and testimony. That's what happens in courts every day—twelve people seek a unified decision about what the evidence and testimony point to. We have the best justice system in the world, but even the best is flawed because we judge by sight and hearing.

But a day is coming when Jesus, who is perfectly just, will judge by righteous judgment. Isaiah 11:4: "He will judge the poor and reprove with equity... and with the breath of His lips He shall slay the wicked." So we don't need to be angry about this verdict, because God is just and will always be just. We can leave it in His hands.

Love Rejoices in the Truth

What does love rejoice in? Number eleven: love rejoices in the truth. It finds joy in truth taught and truth practiced. It cannot rejoice in error, false teaching, or wrong doctrine, but is blessed by truth lived and truth taught. Love finds the good and focuses upon it. Love builds up; it does not tear down—because, as 1 Corinthians 8:1 says, love edifies.

But we love to tear people down. I'd say more than 90% of the comedy in our nation is about tearing people down, laughing at the expense of others. Love rejoices in good, sound, right teaching and doctrine. So we cannot say, "Their teaching is a little off, but they're sure a nice, spiritual bunch." We cannot rejoice in a lack of truth.

For example, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints does much good work. They tithe at a percentage far above the national averages of the Christian church, and they're among the first on the scene with aid after earthquakes in Haiti and Japan or fires in San Diego County—I have wool blankets in my garage from the 2007 fires that say so. But for all that good, their doctrine is false, and that taints every good work. Why? Because in their minds their good works are for their salvation, wrapped up in what they do rather than who God is.

The next five characteristics—love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, love never fails—are joined together, so we'll save those for next week.

Closing Prayer

Father, we love your presence. We love that you are gracious and merciful toward us. Lord, we love that although we deserve all of your wrath and punishment, you have given us salvation and an inheritance, eternal life with you. We love all the benefits of knowing you and being called your people.

Lord, I pray that our love for what you've given us would overflow in love toward you, toward one another within the body of Christ, and toward those outside. Because it means nothing to love the benefits of who you are if those things do not change the way that we love. We know our natural tendency is not to do these things—we are not naturally selfless or loving with your love. But as you strengthen us, the world takes notice, because they will know we are your disciples by our love for you, for one another, and for them.

Father, work this in us, for it's not possible for us to manufacture it without you. Help us not to be those who delight in evil or rejoice in iniquity. Help us to be patient and kind, not boastful or covetous, not puffed up. Work this in us, we pray. In Jesus' name, Amen.