Sermon Tone Analysis

Lucy of Peanuts fame, says to Charlie Brown: /"You know what I don’t understand?

I don’t understand love!”/

Charlie Brown responds, /“Who does?”/

Lucy says, /“Explain love to me Charlie Brown.”/

Charlie Brown says, /“You can’t explain love.

I can recommend a book or a poem or a painting, but I can’t explain love.”/

Lucy responds, /“Well, try, Charlie Brown, try.”/

Charlie says, /“Well, let’s say I see this beautiful, cute little girl walk by . . .

“/

Lucy interrupts – /“Why does she have to be cute?

Huh?

Why can’t someone fall in love with someone with freckles and a big nose?

Explain that!”/

Charlie Brown says, /“Well, maybe you are right.

Let’s just say I see this girl walk by with this great big nose . . .

“/

Lucy screams, /“I didn’t say GREAT BIG NOSE!”/

Charlie Brown sighs, /“You not only can’t explain love, you can’t even talk about it.”/

It is indeed difficult to explain love.

Is it a feeling?

Is it a behavior?

The use of the word has become so contaminated in our society.

We use the word to refer to affection and compassion, devotion and emotion.

We say we love God, our spouses, Mexican food, and football.

What does the word mean for us as Christians?

In the words of the song writer, Cole Porter, “What is this thing called love?”

For the Christian, love is one of the essential pillars of Christian character.

We’ve already examined three of those pillars: Faith, Obedience, and Humility.

Love is the fourth and there are six more to go.

It’s hard to decide if one pillar of Christian character is any more important than the other, but love is so indispensable that Jesus told His disciples that it was the singular distinguishing mark of a true disciple: /“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.

By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another,”/ (John 13:34-35).

We will be known, Jesus said, not by our ecclesiastical authority, or our congregational resources, or our religiosity, or by our missional commitment, or by our doctrinal purity, and not even by our theological orthodoxy.

The world will know we are Christians by our love.

That is how people will know we are His followers.

For the first three centuries of the Church, mutual Christ-like affection was indeed the characteristic the pagans most closely associated with the early Christians.

“My how they love each other!” they would say.

In this morning’s text, the Apostle Paul paints the most remarkable image of love that has ever been penned by man.

!

I. PAUL WRITES THAT LOVE IS ESSENTIAL

#. that seems like a strange statement to make—until you consider what many of the Corinthians considered ‘essential’ in the Christian life

#. the saints at Corinth considered five elements essential in the Christian life

#. the apostle Paul refers to these elements in the first three versus

* 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 /"Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass, or a tinkling 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 could remove mountains, and have not charity, 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 charity, it profiteth me nothing."/

KJV

#. do you see them?

#. oratory

#. prophecy

#. miracle working faith

#. alms-giving or philanthropy

#. martyrdom

#. the apostle told the Corinthians they could have all of these things, but if they didn’t have a Godly, Christ-centered love for others, they had nothing

#. if you want to be true child of God, if you want to manifest His character, if you want to imitate God, then walk in love because that is a characteristic of God

* /“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.”/ (Ephesians 5:1–2, NIV84)

#. the over-all conclusion of the New Testament is pointed and clear

#. even if I have all the wealth I could imagine ... even if your days abound it with pleasure ... even if your health is excellent ... even if you have multiple degrees from prestigious universities ... even if you have authority over many people ... if you are not loving, you don’t have much going for yourself

#. all other values, all other characteristics, all the other qualities, all the other gifts, all other attainments are nothing without love

#. love is absolutely essential

#. it is a fundamental pillar of Christian character that must be nourished and demonstrated

!! A. LOVE IS ESSENTIAL FOR LIFE

#. well, that’s a no-brainer, isn’t it?

#. we all need to be able to express love to others

#. and we all need to be loved by those significant people in our lives

#.

Karl Menninger, a well-known medical doctor, says that love is the essential element in healthy living

#. he says that /“Love is the medicine for the sickness of the world.”/

#. love is essential for our mental health and emotional health and spiritual health

!! B. LOVE IS ESSENTIAL TO THE CHURCH

#. the church has lost much of its spiritual power and its influence upon society

#. we have lost our spiritual power because we have often been more concerned with erecting bigger buildings and expanding programs than in building loving relationships

#. we have lost our spiritual influence because we have often been more interested in denouncing each other’s theology than in championing fellowship, harmony and love

* ILLUS.

Thomas Aquinas, a gifted Catholic scholar of the medieval church, once called on Pope Innocent II.

When he was ushered into the Pope’s presence, the Pontiff was busy counting a large sum of money.

/“You see,”/ said the Pope referring to Acts 3:6, /“The church must no longer say, ‘Silver and gold have I none’”./

/"That is true,”/ replied Aquinas, /“but neither can she now say, a ‘Rise and walk.’”/

#. prestigious buildings, well-planned programs, talented leaders, and correct theology do not draw sinful men and help them put their lives back together again

#. love does

#.

take away love, and the church is a failure

#. or, in the Apostle Paul’s words, we become like sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal

#. that’s his way of saying that, without love, we’re making a lot of noise, but there’s not any music

#. the apostle Paul said love is absolutely essential to the church

!! C. THE LOVE THAT IS ESSENTIAL FOR LIFE AND THE CHURCH IS AN UNCONDITIONAL LOVE

#.

God’s love for us is unconditional

* /“You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly.

Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.

But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.”/

(Romans 5:6–8, NIV84)

#. our love for others must be unconditional

#. the moment we place a condition upon our affection for someone else, is the moment we stop loving that person as Christ loved us

#. the moment we withhold our love from someone because of that person’s words, or looks, or possessions, or status, or wisdom, or lack of wisdom, or personality we have placed a condition upon our love for that person

#. the Apostle Paul writes that love is essential to life

* ILLUS.

Quoting Karl Menninger again, /“Love cures people – both the ones who give it and the ones who receive it.”/

!

II.

PAUL WRITES THAT LOVE HAS A PURE ESSENCE

#. in verses 4-6, the apostle Paul tells us that love has both a submissive and an pro-active dimension to it

#. in this passage, the Apostle Paul shines love through a prism to reveal 15 different colors and hues of love’s spectrum

#. each ray reveals a different facet or property of what Christ-like love is all about

#. the purpose of Paul’s prism is not to give a technical analysis of love, but to break it down into smaller parts so that we may more easily understand and apply its full, rich meaning

!! A. LOVES SUBMISSIVE DIMENSION – NOTHING CAN MAKE CHRIST-LIKE LOVE WAIVER

#. the apostle Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 13:4 that love is patient

#. the word patient actually means long-suffering or long-tempered