1 Corinthians 13:7

Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and I have not love, I am become as a sounding brass and a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I can remove mountains, and have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not love, it profits me nothing.

Love suffers long and is kind. Love does not envy, it does not boast, it is not puffed up, it does not behave itself rudely, it seeks not its own, it is not easily provoked, it thinks no evil. It rejoices not in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. But whether there be prophecies, they shall fail. Whether there be tongues, they shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away with.

When I was a child, I spoke as a child. I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even also as I am known. And now abide faith, hope, and love, these three. But the greatest of these is love.

Father, we thank You, standing here now only because of Your love. We thank You that You loved us when we were completely unlovely. You continue to love us in Your long-suffering patience when we do things that are uncharacteristic of Your love. And God, thank You for loving us, Lord. Thank You for demonstrating Your love towards us.

That while we were sinners, You died for us. Your work on Calvary's cross, as it reveals Your love, continues to be effective in each of our lives daily. Lord, I pray that You would work in us, that we would demonstrate Your love also.

People who see us in our workplace, in school, in our homes, or where we play—wherever we are—should know that we are followers of You, not because of a bumper sticker or a t-shirt, but because of Your love demonstrated in our lives. God, work this into us, we pray. We ask in Jesus' name. And all God's people agreed, saying, Amen. You can be seated.

We have, for our last two studies, and now this will be the final one, been looking at the virtues or characteristics of Christian love. The love that we see in our world today is not often characteristic of Christian love, so we need a real demonstration or a description of what it is. What does it really mean when we're told to love the Lord our God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and to love our neighbor as ourselves? When we're told that God is love or that God loves us, what does that mean? How should we decipher that?

What, if you will, should be the Rosetta Stone by which we translate what love is, or the lenses through which we should look? First Corinthians 13, especially verses 4 through 7, gives us that lens and helps us to see what it is. We have already looked at most of the characteristics of love here, and we now come to the five final characteristics as listed. As I mentioned two weeks ago, these things fit together as one unit. They are all interconnected, and we couldn't have gone into it the last time; it would have taken us far more time than we had left. I wanted to ensure that we focused on these and gave them enough time.

Before we jump into verse 7, where we see these five things—that love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things, and then the first part of verse 8, that love never fails—I think it is very important to make reference to something that has been very big in the news since Friday. I'm sure you've seen what took place in Norway, and it's been all over the news.

The domestic terrorist attack that took place there has resulted in a death toll of about 92. Immediately after it happened, some people suggested that it had to be related to Al-Qaeda and Islamic terror. However, it wasn't long before we found out that this was not the case.

Yesterday, I read in the New York Times that the suspect left behind a detailed manifesto calling for a Christian war to defend Europe against the threat of Muslim domination. He identified himself as a fundamentalist Christian. We need to recognize that this man and his actions are so far from Christianity that it almost makes me want to hurl. We, as the Christian community, should have no problem denouncing what this individual has done. It is so not Christian. It does not align in any way with what is described as Christian love.

God describes Himself in perhaps the simplest way as love. Paul says it is the love of God that constrains us and compels us to share the gospel with people. Jesus told Pilate in John chapter 18, "If my kingdom were of this world, then yes, my servants would fight, but my kingdom is not of this world." This is a very trendy phrase, not just a bumper sticker anymore; now people have pants, hats, and shirts that say "not of this world." We like to tell people that we are not of this world, but what does that mean?

It means that what this man did has nothing to do with Christianity or Christ. Since this will be discussed this week in your workplace, school, or social gatherings, I think it is very important for the church to clearly and boldly declare that he is no more Christian than this microphone. He does not speak for Christ. He may have taken a few verses from the Bible way out of context, but he is not Christian in any way. The Christian community should denounce what he has done without hesitation.

It is completely appropriate to say that his actions are totally against what we read in the Bible, where it states that love is patient and kind, does not boast, and does not behave itself unseemly. Does any of this describe his actions?

This Andreas character? No, he's not a Christian. Not at all. I think it's important, as an aside, to confront that issue and recognize it as such. What should identify us as Christians is not something we say on a website, but what is clearly identifiable in the way that we live. Jesus said, "They will know that you are my disciples by what? Your love."

These are the things that should characterize us. We are long-suffering and kind; we do not boast and are not puffed up. We do not behave ourselves rudely, we do not seek our own, and we are not easily provoked. We do not think evil. We rejoice not in iniquity but rejoice in the truth. We bear all things, believe all things, hope all things, and endure all things. We don't fail.

Now, we recognize, as we've talked about many times going through this, that none of us fulfill this. But we sure seek that God would make this a reality in our lives. Amen? I desire this for myself because we see here in verse 7 that love bears all things.

The word translated "bears all" means to cover with silence. It means to protect or keep by covering or to preserve. Therefore, genuine love never finds joy or happiness in dragging someone's dirty laundry out for all to see. That's what it means when it says love bears all things.

Yet, in us, there is this twisted sickness that thrives, in a way, on bringing people's failures and weaknesses out for others to see. This distracts attention from us, puts it on them, and we, in our depravity, feel better about it. If we're honest, we'll all agree that that's the case. We can identify it at a very young age.

If you have one child, you might wrongly assume that your child is practically perfect. As soon as you add another one to the equation, you realize very quickly...

They're not. Why? Because there is this desire inherent within each of us, in our sinful hearts, that wants to expose the weaknesses or the failings of another. There is hardly a day that goes by recently that we've been telling our kids, "You're not allowed to jump on the couch. You're not allowed to jump on the bed." Constantly, in many different ways, we are trying to drive this recognition into their little minds: do not jump on the couch, do not jump on the bed. Yet, there's hardly a day that goes by that Ethan doesn't come out and say, "Addison's jumping on the bed."

Now, I know very well that Ethan was jumping on the bed too, but there's something in him that wants to come and tell me that she is doing it. Right? Yes, I bet she is. Very quickly, we see that there is something inherent within us—a depraved attitude or condition—where we find ourselves wanting to expose the weaknesses and failings of others. We recognize this very quickly in our children.

However, love makes provision for people's weaknesses and seeks to shelter them from scorn. Love values others in such a way that it would never uncover someone's nakedness or weakness for a laugh or to fulfill that inner sickness that finds happiness in someone else's failings. If I hear that someone is gossiping about me, I know one thing for certain: they don't love me. I know that. They may say with their words, "I'm sharing this with you because I love him; we need to pray for him," but they're gossiping about me. I know one thing about them very quickly: they don't love me.

It is very important that we recognize this does not mean we make provision for the sin of people without consequence. Unrepentant sin cannot go without consequence. This does not mean that there is never a time for rebuke or never a time for censure, because 1 Corinthians chapter 5 bears that out for us. In 1 Corinthians chapter 5, there was an individual in the church at Corinth who was continuing in open, unrepentant sin. And Paul said...

The church was to expose, rebuke, and reprove individuals by setting them outside of the fellowship until they repented of their sin. When an individual is not willing to repent and is obstinate in their return to the Lord and their turn away from wickedness, there is indeed a time for reproof and censure.

This does not mean that when we read about bearing all things and covering with silence, we should preserve someone by not exposing their sin. It does not mean that a battered wife should put up with the sinful behavior of her husband. It does not mean that a subordinate employee should tolerate or cover the unethical behavior of their superior. Furthermore, it does not mean that organizations like churches should sweep the sinful behavior of their leaders under the rug and pretend it never happened. That is not what this means.

Love does not imply that one must endure anything and everything, nor does it mean that love can be pushed around without dignity. However, love, out of regard, respect, and honest concern for the real value of another person, will do everything it can to cover and suppress that person's sin. Genuine love is reluctant to drag a scandal out in front of everyone because our wicked hearts desire that scandal. We often look for it to come out.

We see this so clearly in politics today, where, whether on the right or the left, people are just looking for the failings of others. They are eager to catch someone in adultery or to expose someone taking bribes. There is an almost willing anticipation for these failures to be revealed, and this attitude is rooted in hatred.

Proverbs chapter 10, verse 12, states, "Hatred stirs up strife, but love covers all sins." Peter echoes this in 1 Peter chapter 4, verse 8, where we read that "love shall cover a multitude of sins." How many of you are thankful today that God's love covers our sins and removes them as far as the east is from the west? This does not mean that there is no reproof, for God chastens His children, as we find in Hebrews chapter 12. Love will warn.

It will exhort, it will rebuke, it will discipline, but it will also cover. It will not expose. This is one of the reasons that I believe it is not right for a leader to chastise someone in front of everybody else. If they fail or make a mistake, it is not a good thing for a leader to openly rebuke them for their minor failing. They fell down, they made a mistake, they screwed up.

There is a time for rebuke and a time for reproof, but that should come after an individual has been confronted. Galatians chapter 6 says to restore such a one in a spirit of gentleness and meekness, considering yourself lest you also be tempted. There is a time for open rebuke if someone will not turn from their wicked way, but it should always start with the biblical process of one-on-one confrontation. If that is not received, then take another witness with you. If it is still not received, bring it before the church leadership. If it is still not received, then at that point, there is no other way but to openly rebuke them in the presence of all, as Paul told Timothy, so that the rest might come to a reverence for God.

I think there is certainly something that we in Western culture can learn from Eastern culture, which is established on a face-based culture. They seek to ensure that a person is not shamed before everybody, and we could learn something from that in our culture here in the West.

I also believe that it is unwise and, in many ways, mean-spirited to embarrass a child by punishment in front of everybody else. If they make a mistake, which they will—there is not a day that goes by without mistakes—it is just mean-spirited to rebuke, punish, and chastise them in front of everyone. You can see the embarrassment in a child when that takes place, and that is wrong punishment because that is not how our Father in Heaven deals with us. I would go so far as to say that this is an abuse of your authority.

Those who are married, and the majority of us here today are married, know better than anyone in the world the blind spots.

The vulnerabilities of your spouse are important to consider. If you love them, you will not air those vulnerabilities to your closest friends. Even if you try to cover it up by saying, "We need to pray for my spouse because of this," and then proceed to share details about what they did, that is not loving. There is a way to ask for prayer without divulging specifics. You can simply say, "Can you please pray for my spouse?" without needing to provide any details.

However, we often feel the need to tell the story, to explain the situation. But you don't need to do that. Love bears all things and covers another person's nakedness. You know their blind spots and their vulnerabilities, so don't uncover them for others to see. It is just not loving.

Secondly, love believes all things. We must recognize what this does not mean. It does not mean that we should believe everything without discernment. For instance, when someone comes to our door sharing another gospel, we should not simply say, "I have to love all people, so I guess I'll tolerate it." No, we need to ensure that we use proper Christian sensibility. God has made us sensible individuals who can work these things out while still being loving.

Believing all things is within the limitations of proper biblical boundaries and requires proper Christian discrimination. We need to be discerning about what is truth and what is error. So, what does it mean to believe all things? Love does not walk with suspicion. It is not eager to denounce or cynical. Instead, it believes the best in people.

This can be challenging for us because we rarely give the benefit of the doubt. When someone injures us or offends us with their words or actions, we often assume they did it with malice, that it was intentional. Most of us, when driving down the road, have probably committed this faux pas at least once.

Probably just this last week, I experienced a situation where I cut someone off while driving. We often do something stupid on accident, and then they honk at us, yell, or give us signals to show that they are upset. If you're anything like me, in that situation, I often just say, "I'm sorry. That was stupid. It was a mistake." Why do I respond this way? Because the reality is that most of us are not driving down the road thinking, "I'm going to cut that guy off." It's not NASCAR.

Most of the things we do that are offensive or hurtful to others are not done with malice. Therefore, we should seek to give people the benefit of the doubt. I can't tell you how many times someone has said or done something that offended me, and when I confronted them about it, they had no idea they had hurt me. They would say, "I'm sorry."

In our flesh, we immediately start to filter these actions through our own biases, thinking that they did it on purpose or said something to hurt us. It's important for us to take a step back and recognize that this person probably didn't mean to act that way. They are on the same team as us. It is very unlikely that anyone is actually calculating how to upset us.

We need to give people the benefit of the doubt. It just isn't normal behavior to spitefully do things to injure those we love. Therefore, if someone who apparently loves me does something that hurts me, I try to give them the benefit of the doubt and think, "You know what? They probably didn't mean to do that."

Do you know how much anxiety this perspective alleviates almost instantly? Just acknowledging that they probably didn't mean to hurt me allows me to let it go because love believes the best. It believes all things. You can see this most clearly in mothers, as they tend to believe the best in their children. It is very hard for them to come to a place where they say, "Yeah, Billy..."

Did that. If you go to them and say, "Your son did this, this, and this," they'll respond, "My son would never do that." Sometimes we see this as a weakness and think, "Come on, this is a huge blind spot; you need to see this." However, they are saying, "I just can't imagine that my son would do what you're saying."

We may view this as a weakness, but I would much rather err on the side of grace in a situation like that. I am so thankful that God errs on the side of grace with us. The Bible says that our enemy, the adversary, the devil, is before the throne of God constantly accusing us. He is the accuser of the brethren. Aren't you thankful that when he says, "So and so did that," God is not up there saying, "Gosh, really? I have to look into that"?

I endeavor in my life, as a husband to my wife Andrea, as a father to my kids Ethan and Addison, and soon Caitlin, who we just found out about last week, to seek to believe the best and give the benefit of the doubt. If I had to identify one thing that I learned above all other things from the former pastor of our church, Pat Kinney, it is this: he was gracious. He gave people the benefit of the doubt, and I think that's a great thing to learn. It's a good place to be.

You may say, and this is what our flesh says, "That's foolish. You're setting yourself up to get hurt if you do that." Our former president made the saying very famous, although he didn't say it quite right: "You fool me once, shame on you; you fool me twice, shame on me." While he didn't quite say it right, that's our mindset. We can become cynical from the start, thinking, "I gave them a chance; they only get one chance with me."

You might be right; you might get hurt if you do that. It does make you vulnerable. This kind of love is self-sacrificing.

Love that may get nothing in return might put you in a very vulnerable spot. However, at the end of the day, I'd rather be like Jesus than Jonah. You remember Jonah; it's only a four-chapter book in the Old Testament. It may do you well to read it this afternoon or maybe turn on Netflix and find the Veggie Tales edition of Jonah. It's really great. I've only seen it a million times.

Jonah's story has to be one of the most depressing endings to any book in the Bible. The prophet Jonah is sitting there overlooking the city, willing that God would destroy them because he doesn't like them. He is just hoping God will destroy them, believing they can't possibly repent. That's why he stayed there for the full 40 days in the hot sun, waiting. He didn't believe the best; he didn't love them. But God did.

What does it look like to believe all things? Jesus is the perfect example. In Luke 23:34, Jesus is on the cross and prays, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." Is that not an expression of believing the best? They don't know what they are doing. Are you kidding me? They crucified you; they are killing you. They know exactly what they are doing, and yet there He is, loving them and saying, "Forgive them; they don't know what they are doing." They are doing this out of ignorance.

I think we should learn that lesson. Most of the things that people do that are injurious to us, that hurt us, that offend us, are done out of ignorance. They did not do it on purpose. We should have the grace to say, "Father, forgive them," and give me the ability to forgive them as well. We must not fall into that suspicion that says, "Well, I gave them a chance, and that's all they get with me."

One author said, "Love is a harbor of trust for those who are doubted by everyone else." Love, thirdly, hopes all things. When you have borne all things and you have endured the grief of that, when you have believed the best only to feel that you cannot do it any longer, this is when you come to the place where you hope all things. Love hopes all.

Things John MacArthur said about love are hopelessly optimistic. It refuses to take failure as final. I love that it refuses to take failure as final. Why? Because as long as the grace of God is operative, human failure is never final. And last time I checked, God's grace is still in operation. How do I know? Well, we're all still alive. It's a good indication.

Love waits for the redemption of another with joy and full confidence that God can and will bring it about. This is perfectly illustrated in the story of the Prodigal Son. The father, every single day, would go out and wait for the return of his prodigal son. No doubt, his other son, his wife, and perhaps his servants would tell him, "Why are you going out there again? He's been gone for two years; he's not coming back." Yet, he would go out. Why? Because he loved his son. He had borne the grief of his son leaving, and he believed the best: that his son would return. Even when it seemed his son would not come back, he hoped, "God, would you bring him back?"

Love hopes all things. Love like this constantly reminds itself that with God, nothing shall be impossible. So it bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, and endures all things. The word "endure" is a military term, and it has the idea of love being positioned in the midst of the most intense and epic battle, right in the middle of it, with no way out, and yet pressing on, standing against all opposition. Love endures all things; it bears bravely and calmly through the battle without retreating, receding, or failing.

Now, at this point, you are probably thinking, "It's just not me," because I know that's where my mind goes. I can't do that. I love the fact that the Bible tells us in Mark chapter 10, verse 27, "With men it is impossible, but with God..."

What all things are possible? The word "all things" in Mark 10:27 is the exact same word that is repeated four times in 1 Corinthians 13:7. It bears all things, it believes all things, it hopes all things, it endures all things. All those things that you say, "I can't bear, believe, hope, or endure," with men it is impossible, but with God, all that stuff is possible. Why? Verse 8 begins with just the first three words: "Love never fails."

Love has borne, it has believed, it has hoped, and it has endured. It is still there, hanging in there because it never fails. And yet we fail. We rightly confess, "God, this is impossible for me." But then we should immediately recognize that I can do all things through Christ who gives me strength.

So, we come back to these five quick things.

Number one, we need to recognize that love is a command. It's not just suggested; it is commanded. "Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. Love your neighbor as yourself." Jesus, in John 15:17, said, "These things I command to you, that you would love one another." So, love is commanded.

Secondly, love is possible. This kind of love is possible. Why? Romans 5:5 says that God, by His Holy Spirit, has shed His love abroad in our hearts. He has poured His love into us. So, it is possible. God does not give us frivolous commands. He does not give us commands that we cannot fulfill by His power and by His strength.

Not in our own strength, because with men it is impossible. But He has given us His love.

Number three, this kind of love is the normal Christian life. It is the normal Christian life. In 1 John chapter 4, verse 7, John says, "Beloved, let us love one another." Why? For love is of God, and everyone that loves is born of God. So, if you're born of God, then you're going to love. He who loves knows God. What does that tell us? It tells us that this gentleman in Norway is not a Christian and does not know God. He has no love—love for his neighbor, love for the lost Muslim that needs Christ. He has no love; he is not of God.

Going on in verse 8, it says, "He that loves not knows not God." It couldn't be any more simple, for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God. We have God's love revealed to us because God sent His only begotten Son into the world that we might have life through Him. Herein is love—not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another. This is normal to the Christian experience: to love.

Number four, it is a work of God's Spirit. The fruit of the Spirit is love. It is manifested in joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, temperance, and self-control. It is manifested in those ways, but the fruit of the Spirit is singularly love.

So, if it is commanded, if it is possible, if it is the normal Christian experience, and if it is ultimately a work of God's Spirit, number five, we need to practice it. Let me fill you in on a little secret: You're going to have an opportunity, probably before you leave the parking lot at Calvary Chapel Escondido, to exercise it. We have a choice. There is a volitional choice that comes before us. Am I going to default to my flesh, which is not loving, or am I going to choose to operate in the Spirit of God by His power to extend grace and mercy?

To that person who offends me, the person who cuts me off in the parking lot, or the person who says something unkind, or maybe the person who didn't say hello to me: the fruit of the Spirit is love. If we know God, then we love. The world, those who don't know God, will know that we know God by our love. Not by a "Not-of-this-world" bumper sticker or pants, not by a Christian t-shirt or some website that says we're Christian, or our profile on Facebook or Twitter. They will know that we are followers of Jesus Christ by how we love.

Would to God that when an event happens, like what occurred in Norway, the world would look at the guy's website, where he has a 1,500-page manifesto that talks about his Christian crusade. Would to God that when the world looks at that, they would say, "That guy's not a Christian because those are Christians." Instead, they go, "See, that's what we always thought of him. We knew they were like that. We just needed this one individual to confirm it." It's devastating.

In Hebrews chapter 11, the hall of faith, there is a small verse, about verse 20 or so. I'm wrong on the address, I'm sure, but you don't need to correct me in an email; I'll figure it out. It says of Abraham and his wife, and those who followed God by faith, that God was not ashamed to be called their God. What that implies is there is a certain kind of person that God is ashamed to be called their God. It is that person who doesn't represent what we're talking about here, yet they say, "I'm a Christian." And then God is in heaven, going, "May the Lord not be ashamed to be called our God."

Let's stand and pray. Lord, I confess.

That I am, in and of myself, an unloving person. When I see the standard of what love is, or the demonstration and description of what love is here, I recognize that I am not this. But, Father, I thank You that You yet love me. You have called me, and You have called my brothers and sisters here. You have saved us by the demonstration of Your love through the death of Your Son.

Jesus, You have filled us with Your Spirit, and You have shed Your love abroad in our hearts. We have the capacity to do what Your Word requires of us: to love one another and to love You in this way. I pray that this body of believers, this church, this gathering, Calvary Chapel Escondido, would be known as those who display Your love.

I pray that people would see it in very recognizable, tangible ways—not just because we have a bumper sticker, but because our behavior mirrors Yours. When they see us, may they see You. What You describe for us in Your Word is so far from what we see in this world.

We know that, Jesus, You said in the last days the love of many would grow cold, but may our love burn bright and hot for You, for one another, and for those who don't know You. We ask this in Jesus' name. Empower us by Your Spirit. Amen. Thank You.