Love Bears All Things

”Love Bears All Things” (1 Corinthians 13:7a)

Introduction: Paul has been telling us what the fruits are of a love which is placed in the heart of God’s children by the Spirit of God. We have looked at what love does, it is patient, kind, not jealous, it is not prideful, it does not seek its own advantages, it is not easily angered, and it does not easily impute evil motives to others nor hold grudges. Last week, we saw how this supernatural love of God issues in the fruit of holiness in our lives, for every grace which is given to us by God is meant to issue in, and actually does produce, holiness of life. This morning, Paul gives to us a characteristic of this love which is not so much active, as it is passive. That is, love ”BEARS ALL THINGS.” Earlier Paul had told us that love is patient. That is, love will patiently endure the offenses of others. Furthermore, he told us that love is not easily provoked, which means that it does not walk around in a cantankerous attitude, ready to explode when things do not go the way it wants. Here, Paul gives to us a broader concept which does not so much have as its reference the things mentioned in the prior verses, as though he was merely repeating himself, but which encompasses a familiar truth which Paul elsewhere speaks of as a fruit of love. In this sense, the bearing of all things has reference to the sufferings which one would undergo for the cause of Christ. Paul writes, ”AND NOT ONLY THIS, BUT WE ALSO EXULT IN OUR TRIBULATIONS, KNOWING THAT TRIBULATION BRINGS ABOUT PERSEVERANCE; AND PERSEVERANCE, PROVEN CHARACTER; AND PROVEN CHARACTER HOPE; AND HOPE DOES NOT DISAPPOINT, BECAUSE THE LOVE OF GOD HAS BEEN POURED OUT WITHIN OUR HEARTS THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT WHO WAS GIVEN TO US” (Rom. 5:3-5). Paul was willing to glory in his tribulations because of the love of God which was poured out in his heart. He also remarks, in Romans 8:35, ”WHO SHALL SEPARATE US FROM THE LOVE OF CHRIST? SHALL TRIBULATION, OR DISTRESS, OR PERSECUTION, OR FAMINE, OR NAKEDNESS, OF PERIL, OR SWORD?” Nothing can separate us from that love which is in Christ. It is able to endure all things. And so the doctrine being taught in this passage this morning is,

True Christian love in our hearts will make us willing to undergo any sufferings in our duties for Christ’s sake.

I.

Those Whose Hearts Are Filled with the Love of Christ Will Be Willing to Suffer for Him. A. You Will Be Willing Not Only to Do What Christ Requires of You, but also to Suffer for Him. 1 . Those who make great professions, but who do not do what they say are called hypocrites. a. They lay claim to great love for Christ, but will not do anything which is difficult or that involves any suffering. b. When they came to Christ, they really didn’t expect to suffer anything, or to give up anything in their lives. c. Christ was rather an add-on, something to enhance their lives, without costing them anything. d. Whatever they do in the church is for their own

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interest, their own prestige, just like the Pharisees who put on a great show to be seen of men and to receive praise from them. 2. But those who are Christians are willing to suffer for Christ. They are willing to follow Him on the condition that He Himself made, ”WHOEVER DOES NOT CARRY HIS OWN CROSS AND COME AFTER ME CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE” (Luke 14:27). B.

And so if You Have a Heart Filled with the Love of Christ, You Will Be Willing to Suffer Anything in the Path of Duty for Him. 1 . You will be willing to suffer all things for Christ. a. You will be willing to stand in Christ’s place and take the abuse that is meant for Him. b. As Paul said, ”THEREFORE I AM WELL CONTENT WITH WEAKNESSES, WITH INSULTS, WITH DISTRESSES, WITH PERSECUTIONS, WITH DIFFICULTIES, FOR CHRIST’S SAKE” (2 Cor. 12:1 0 ) . C. You will be willing to suffer the hatred which comes to those who follow Christ. As Christ sent out His twelve disciple, He told them, ”AND YOU WILL BE HATED BY ALL ON ACCOUNT OF MY NAME” (Matt. 10:22). d. You will be willing to suffer the loss of all of your possessions for His sake. Paul said, ”MORE THAN THAT, I COUNT ALL THINGS TO BE LOSS IN VIEW OF THE SURPASSING VALUE OF KNOWING CHRIST JESUS MY LORD, FOR WHOM I HAVE SUFFERED THE LOSS OF ALL THINGS, AND COUNT THEM BUT RUBBISH IN ORDER THAT I MAY GAIN CHRIST” (Phi1. 3:8). e. You will be willing to suffer pain and torture, as those mentioned in the book of Hebrews who were stoned, and sawn in two, tempted, put to death with the sword, destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, who would not accept their release, in order that they might obtain a better resurrection (11:35-38). f. You will be willing to suffer even to the point of death. Jesus said, ”HE WHO HAS FOUND HIS LIFE SHALL LOSE IT, AND HE WHO HAS LOST HIS LIFE FOR MY SAKE SHALL FIND IT” (Matt. 10:39).

2. But not only will you suffer all things for Christ, you will also be willing to endure any degree of suffering. a. If you have in you the heart of a true believer, then you will be willing to forsake all and to follow Christ, and by comparison to Him, you will even hate your, ”OWN FATHER AND MOTHER AND WIFE AND CHILDREN AND BROTHERS AND SISTERS, YES, AND EVEN” your own 1ife. Jesus said if you don’t, then you ”CANNOT BE MY DISCIPLE” (Luke 14:26). b. You will be willing to suffer not only contempt, but the greatest contempt; not only the loss of things, but the loss of all things; not only death, but even the most painful death. c. You will be willing to suffer to the greatest

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degree for Christ. 11. And the Reason that You Whose Hearts Are Filled with the Love of Christ Will Be Willing to Suffer Is: A . It Is Necessary to Your Even Being a Christian that You Give Yourself to Him without Reservation. 1 . If you do not have this love in your heart, it is evidence that you have never given yourself to him. 2. When you came to Christ, you gave yourself unreservedly to Him, to be His and only His forever. 3. That is why the relationship of Christ with His church is often compared to a marriage. a. God says through Hosea the prophet, "AND I WILL BETROTH YOU TO ME FOREVER; YES, I WILL BETROTH YOU TO ME IN RIGHTEOUSNESS AND IN JUSTICE, IN LOVINGKINDNESS AND IN COMPASSION, AND I WILL BETROTH YOU TO ME IN FAITHFULNESS. THEN YOU WILL KNOW THE LORD" (2:19-20). b. A man and woman give themselves to one another in marriage to be the other's and only the other's, for life. c. If you are Christ's, then you are His and only His. d. You have been bought with a price, and are no longer your own. You have chosen Christ to be your all and all. You have delivered yourself to Him as a living sacrifice, wholly devoted to Him. 4. But if you are not willing to suffer all things for Christ, then you show that you have not given yourself wholly over to Him. a. You are reserving something, holding it back. b. You are not willing to bear up any amount of suffering that He may call you to. c. You are setting aside the cause of Christ in the interests of your own ease and comfort. d. It is like Ananias and Sapphira who held back part of the price of their property, when they claimed to have given it all. 5. To give yourself wholly to Christ means that you have

set aside your own temporal interests for Him. a. To do this means that you are willing to set aside any of your interests and to be ready to suffer all things for Christ. b. If God is your true and highest love, then He is your greatest good. And if He is your greatest good, then you will subordinate all other good to Him and suffer all for His sake. B.

You Will be Willing to Suffer Because You Will Fear God So Much, that Displeasing Him Will Be Much More Terrible than Anything You Might Suffer on this Earth. 1 . Christ said, "AND I SAY TO YOU, MY FRIENDS, DO NOT BE AFRAID OF THOSE WHO KILL THE BODY, AND AFTER THAT HAVE NO MORE THAT THEY CAN no. BUT I WILL WARN YOU WHOM TO FEAR: FEAR THE ONE WHO AFTER HE HAS KILLED HAS

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AUTHORITY TO CAST INTO HELL; YES, I TELL YOU, FEAR HIM!” (Luke 12:4-5). 2. If you are truly a Christian, then you will recognize that the God we serve is much more terrifying and His wrath more dreadful than all the sufferings we might endure in this life. 3. Therefore, it is better for you to suffer all the things of this life, than to forsake God and suffer His eternal anger and wrath. C. You Will Be Willing to Suffer Because You Will Have the Faith that Is Necessary to See that which Is Greater than the Greatest Suffering that You Could Possibly Endure in Christ’s Service. 1 . Christians see the excellency of God and Christ as their greatest reward, and this far outweighs any suffering that you might endure. 2. You also see that what God has promised you for suffering for His sake is far greater than anything that you could undergo in this world. a. Paul writes, ”FOR MOMENTARY, LIGHT AFFLICTION IS PRODUCING FOR US AN ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY FAR BEYOND ALL COMPARISON, WHILE WE LOOK NOT AT THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN, BUT AT THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN; FOR THE THINGS WHICH ARE SEEN ARE TEMPORAL, BUT THE THINGS WHICH ARE NOT SEEN ARE ETERNAL” (2 Cor. 17-18). b. This is the reason why Moses was willing to suffer all that he did for Christ’s sake. The author to the Hebrews writes, ”BY FAITH MOSES, WHEN HE HAD GROWN UP, REFUSED TO BE CALLED THE SON OF PHARAOH’S DAUGHTER; CHOOSING RATHER TO ENDURE ILL-TREATMENT WITH THE PEOPLE OF GOD, THAN TO ENJOY THE PASSING PLEASURES OF SIN; CONSIDERING THE REPROACH OF CHRIST GREATER RICHES THAN THE TREASURES OF EGYPT; FOR HE WAS LOOKING TO THE REWARD” (11:24-26). D. You Will Be Willing to Suffer Because You Will Have Counted the Cost, and Have Forsaken all to Follow Him. 1 . Jesus say to you, ”FOR WHICH ONE OF YOU, WHEN HE WANTS TO BUILD A TOWER, DOES NOT FIRST SIT DOWN AND CALCULATE THE COST, TO SEE IF HE HAS ENOUGH TO COMPLETE IT? OTHERWISE, WHEN HE HAS LAID A FOUNDATION, AND IS NOT ABLE TO FINISH, ALL WHO OBSERVE IT BEGIN TO RIDICULE HIM, SAYING, ’THIS MAN BEGAN TO BUILD AND WAS NOT ABLE TO FINISH.’ OR WHAT KING, WHEN HE SETS OUT TO MEET ANOTHER KING IN BATTLE, WILL NOT FIRST SIT DOWN AND TAKE COUNSEL WHETHER HE IS STRONG ENOUGH WITH TEN THOUSAND MEN TO ENCOUNTER THE ONE COMING AGAINST HIM WITH TWENTY THOUSAND? OR ELSE, WHILE THE OTHER IS STILL FAR AWAY, HE SENDS A DELEGATION AND ASKS TERMS OF PEACE. SO THEREFORE, NO ONE OF YOU CAN BE MY DISCIPLE WHO DOES NOT GIVE UP ALL HIS OWN POSSESSIONS” (Luke 14:28-33). 2. Suffering is part of the cost of being a disciple of Christ. a. If you never counted the cost of being a Christian and reckoned on the possibility of suffering, and

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were willing to accept it, then you have never met the terms of coming to Christ in the first place. b. It is like someone wanting to build a house, but who is unwilling to pay for its construction. In that case, he really does not want to build it. c. And the one who comes to Christ, and does not receive the Gospel along with all of its difficulties, does not receive the Gospel. d. You must receive Christ with His cross as well as His crown. Jesus invites you to come and find rest for your soul, but then He invites you to pick up your cross daily, and follow Him. Both go together. e. If you receive only the easy part of Christianity and not the difficult part, then you are at best only an "almost Christian." f. Those who are wholly Christians receive all of Christianity, and they will be honored on the last day, and not cast away with shame. E.

III. A.

And Lastly, if You Are Not Willing to Suffer for His Sake, then You Cannot Claim to Have Denied Yourself as the Scripture Requires. 1 . The Scriptures teach that it is absolutely necessary that you deny yourself in order to follow Christ. 2. "JESUS SAID TO HIS DISCIPLES, 'IF ANYONE WISHES TO COME AFTER ME, LET HIM DENY HIMSELF, AND TAKE UP HIS CROSS, AND FOLLOW ME. FOR WHOEVER WISHES TO SAVE HIS LIFE SHALL LOSE IT; BUT WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE FOR MY SAKE SHALL FIND IT'" (Matt. 16:24-25). a. You must live as though you have given yourself up for Christ. b. If you do not confess Christ before your persecutors, then you in fact deny Him before men. If that is so, Christ will deny you before His Father. c. Paul said, "IF WE ENDURE, WE SHALL ALSO REIGN WITH HIM; IF WE DENY HIM, HE ALSO WILL DENY US" ( 2 Tim. 2: 12). d. If you have truly denied yourself, then you will be willing to suffer all things for His sake.

Uses. You need to realize that the sufferings that Christians endure have a specific purpose: They try the sincerity of that faith to which you lay claim. 1 . Your faith is tried as gold in the fire to see if it is pure or not. 2. Your willingness or lack of it to undergo suffering in the cause of Christ reveals whether or not you are His or whether you will forsake Him when there is danger in the way. 3. It is this that Peter was referring to when he wrote, "IN THIS YOU GREATLY REJOICE, EVEN THOUGH NOW FOR A LITTLE WHILE, IF NECESSARY, YOU HAVE BEEN DISTRESSED BY VARIOUS TRIALS, THAT THE PROOF OF YOUR FAITH, BEING MORE PRECIOUS THAN GOLD WHICH IS PERISHABLE, EVEN THOUGH TESTED BY FIRE, MAY BE FOUND TO RESULT IN PRAISE

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AND GLORY AND HONOR AT THE REVELATION OF JESUS CHRIST” ( 1 Peter 1 :6-7). 4. And again, ”BELOVED, DO NOT BE SURPRISED AT THE FIERY ORDEAL AMONG YOU, WHICH COMES UPON YOU FOR YOUR TESTING, AS THOUGH SOME STRANGE THING WERE HAPPENING TO YOU; BUT TO THE DEGREE THAT YOU SHARE THE SUFFERINGS OF CHRIST, KEEP ON REJOICING; SO THAT ALSO AT THE REVELATION OF HIS GLORY, YOU MAY REJOICE WITH EXULTATION” (4:12-13). 5. The fire of trial tests whether or not your faith is of an enduring quality. B.

In this characteristic of love, as in all the others that we have seen, examine yourselves to see whether you are willing or not to suffer all things for Christ. 1 . You may have never suffered to the degree of a William Tyndale or a John Hus who were both burned at the stake as heretics, but you have had enough opportunities in God’s providential working out of your life to show you what is present in your heart. 2. God usually tests all who profess religion to show them whether they are His children or not. 3. But it is often the case with His children that when they are tested by persecutions, they will hold fast to Christ, remain faithful to Him, suffer the loss of their reputation, lose the favor of those around them, lose their possessions, expose themselves to many difficulties, and do many things which they hate or despise, rather than to forsake Christ for their own convenience. 4. Have you found within yourself a heart to bear all things for the sake of Christ, rather than to become unfaithful to Him? 5. Realize that God may send you a terrible trial before you die, perhaps as bad as any Christian has ever faced to test you. Would you, if it came down to it, be willing to give up your life for Christ’s sake and the sake of the Gospel? 6. Every true Christian has within him the spirit of the martyrs, who were willing to undergo any suffering rather than to deny Christ. 7. If you do not have the ability to endure the lesser trials, how will you endure those which are much greater? 8. Jeremiah the prophet wrote, ”IF YOU HAVE RUN WITH FOOTMEN AND THEY HAVE TIRED YOU OUT, THEN HOW CAN YOU COMPETE WITH HORSES? IF YOU FALL DOWN IN A LAND OF PEACE, HOW WILL YOU no IN THE THICKET OF THE JORDAN?” (Jer. 12:5).

C. This passage exhorts each of us who profess Christ as our Lord to desire that God prepare us to undergo any amount of suffering that Christ may call us to, and to draw upon the Scriptures for encouragement where it tells us, 1 . That those who suffer in the way of service to Christ are called blessed in the Bible.

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a. Jesus said, ”BLESSED ARE THOSE WHO HAVE BEEN

PERSECUTED FOR THE SAKE OF RIGHTEOUSNESS, FOR THEIR’S IS THE KINGDOM OF HEAVEN. BLESSED ARE YOU WHEN MEN CAST INSULTS AT YOU, AND PERSECUTE YOU, AND SAY ALL KINDS OF EVIL AGAINST YOU FALSELY, ON ACCOUNT OF ME. REJOICE, AND BE GLAD, FOR YOUR REWARD IN HEAVEN IS GREAT, FOR SO THEY PERSECUTED THE PROPHETS WHO WERE BEFORE YOU” (Matt. 5:10-12). b. ”BLESSED ARE YOU WHEN MEN HATE YOU, AND OSTRACIZE YOU, AND CAST INSULTS AT YOU, AND SPURN YOUR NAME AS EVIL, FOR THE SAKE OF THE SON OF MAN. BE GLAD IN THAT DAY, AND LEAF FOR JOY, FOR BEHOLD, YOUR REWARD IS GREAT IN HEAVEN; FOR IN THE SAME WAY THEIR FATHERS USED TO TREAT THE PROPHETS” (Luke 6:22-23). C. To suffer for Christ and His kingdom is given to us by God. Paul writes, ”FOR TO YOU IT HAS BEEN GRANTED FOR CHRIST’S SAKE, NOT ONLY TO BELIEVE IN HIM, BUT ALSO TO SUFFER FOR HIS SAKE” (Phil. 1:29). 2. That God has promised to graciously reward us in the life to come for what we willingly suffer in this life. a. ”BLESSED IS THE MAN WHO PERSEVERES UNDER TRIAL; FOR ONCE HE HAS BEEN APPROVED, HE WILL RECEIVE THE CROWN OF LIFE, WHICH THE LORD HAS PROMISED TO THOSE WHO LOVE HIM” (James I: 12). b. Christ promises, ”AND EVERYONE WHO HAS LEFT HOUSES OR BROTHERS OR SISTERS OR FATHER OR MOTHER OR CHILDREN OR FARMS FOR MY NAME’S SAKE, SHALL RECEIVE MANY TIMES AS MUCH, AND SHALL INHERIT ETERNAL LIFE” (Matt . 19 :29 ) . c. And Paul says, ”THE SPIRIT HIMSELF BEARS WITNESS WITH OUR SPIRIT THAT WE ARE CHILDREN OF GOD, AND IF CHILDREN, HEIRS ALSO, HEIRS OF GOD AND FELLOW HEIRS WITH CHRIST, IF INDEED WE SUFFER WITH HIM IN ORDER THAT WE MAY ALSO BE GLORIFIED WITH HIM” (Rom. 8:17). 3.

And lastly, that the Scripture is filled with examples of those that have suffered for the sake of Christ to encourage us. a. Esther dared to approach the king on behalf of her people, the Jews, in order to plead for their lives, even though it could have meant death if the king did not extend her the royal scepter. b. Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego refused to bow down and worship the golden image of Nebuchadnezzar, even though it meant that they would be cast into the fiery furnace. C. Daniel continued to pray faithfully to God, even under the threat of being thrown alive into a den of lions. d. The writer to the Hebrews says, ”THEREFORE, SINCE WE HAVE so GREAT A CLOUD OF WITNESSES SU~OUNDING US, LET US ALSO LAY ASIDE EVERY ENCUMBRANCE, AND THE SIN WHICH so EASILY ENTANGLES us, AND LET us RUN WITH ENDURANCE THE RACE THAT IS SET BEFORE US, FIXING OUR EYES ON JESUS, THE AUTHOR AND PERFECTER OF FAITH, WHO FOR THE JOY SET BEFORE HIM ENDURED

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THE CROSS, DESPISING THE SHAME, AND HAS SET DOWN AT THE RIGHT HAND OF THE THRONE OF GOD” (12:1-2). e. If your eyes are not set upon Jesus, this strength and desire to suffer all things for Him will not be within you, nor is it within your power. f. You need Christ! You need to embrace Him in faith and turn from your sins. g. But if you are a child of God this morning, the Lord says to you, ”BE FAITHFUL UNTIL DEATH, AND I WILL GIVE YOU THE CROWN OF LIFE” (Rev. 2: 1 0 ) . Amen!