Introduction:
1. According to Ephesians 5:1,
Christians are to be "followers of
God."
2. We learn from Ephesians 5:2, that
we are to "walk in love."
3. Some helpful guidelines for
"walking in love" are given in Romans 12:9.
a. Love is to be without "dissimulation" [hypocrisy].
b. We are to "abhor that which is evil" [there are certain things that
we must not love].
c. We are to "cleave to that which is good" [we must love that which
is good].
4. In our lesson we are contrasting
6 forbidden types of love with 6 types of love that we are to possess.
5. Let us begin by pointing out that
. . . Discussion:
I.
THE BIBLE
FORBIDS CERTAIN TYPES
OF LOVE
A. (John 12:42-43) We must not love "the praise of men more than the praise
of God."
1. The Pharisees had this problem,
and it kept them from confessing the Lord.
2. If we want Jesus to confess us we
must confess Him (Matthew 10:32-33).
B. (I Timothy 6:10) We must not love
"money."
1. The love of money:
a. prevented the rich young ruler
from following Jesus (Matthew 19:16-22)
b. caused the first scandal in the
church (Acts 5:1-11).
2. In I Timothy 6:17-19, Paul showed
us what God wants.
C. (II Timothy 3:1-2a) We must not
love ourselves [think too highly of ourselves -- Romans 12:3].
D. (II Timothy 3:4) We must not be "lovers of pleasures more than lovers
of God."
E. (I John 2:15-17) We must not love
"the world."
F. (III John 9) We must not love
having "preeminence."
II.
THE BIBLE
COMMANDS US TO
POSSESS CERTAIN TYPES
OF LOVE
A. We are to love God (Matthew
22:37; I John 5:3).
B. We are to love Christ (Matthew
10:37; John 14:15).
C. We are to love our neighbors
(Matthew 22:39; 7:12).
D. We are to love our fellow
Christians (John 13:34-35).
E. We are to love God's Word (Psalm
119:97).
F. We are to love the lost (Romans
10:1).
1. This includes:
a. people who have not obeyed the
Gospel
b. members of the church who are not
faithful.
2. If we love the lost we will put
forth our best effort to save them.
Conclusion:
1. "Walking in love" is an
important activity for God's children (Ephesians 5:2a).
2. We learn from Ephesians 5:2b that
Christ is to be our example.
3. What do our love and the objects
of our love say about us?
