Above is a pic of my youngest daughter and me.
My Husband, My brother in Christ
Do We Need To "Spread Love"?
Here is an excerpt from a MUST-READ POST:
...the Scriptures never call believers to such a nebulous task, a task to “spread love” or “proclaim a message of love.”...The message of God’s people is to proclaim “salvation” – deliverance from something dark and horrible, our own sin... Ephesians 2:1; 4-5 “And you were dead in your trespasses and sins…4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved)…” Yes, this is a message of “love”, but it is a “love” greatly unknown to the masses of people. We cannot afford to speak in such veiled terms, but must boldly proclaim the true essence of the Gospel, a Gospel motivated by the love of God, but a Gospel that nevertheless strikes a piercing blow to the confidence and arrogance of man; a message that is to cause a person to realize he is a sinner, and, that unless he repents, he will face a Christless eternity in hell.
Read it here and do not miss out: A “love” greatly unknown
Comments
I agree that our mission is to proclaim salvation. Where love enters in is that it is the thing which controls us so that we are able to do the task set before us. For if we do not have love for those who are, to be honest, unlovable, why on earth would we care to speak to them about the gospel knowing that they are quite likely to reject it anyway? But a burning fire for Christ will cause us to do it and be like Jeremiah who said:
"If I say, “I will not mention him,
or speak any more in his name,”
there is in my heart as it were a burning fire
shut up in my bones,
and I am weary with holding it in,
and I cannot."
and Paul, who wrote:
"Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel!"
There are other instances whereby we see that the apostles had to preach - and I think that was fueled by love for Christ.
Posted by: Rob | March 25, 2006 03:53 PM
Yes, the apostles were fueled by love. I agree. THe point of this post is not to negate "love" but to define it within the realm of innerrant Biblical truth. Spreading "love" apart from spreading the TRUE Gospel is not really spreading love. The true Gospel is not only "a Gospel motivated by the love of God, but a Gospel that nevertheless strikes a piercing blow to the confidence and arrogance of man; a message that is to cause a person to realize he is a sinner, and, that unless he repents, he will face a Christless eternity in hell."
That is true love and is the "love" that is greatly unknown because it ain't "popular." How quickly would the numbers dwindle if Mega church poster boy Joel Osteen spread this kind of "love"?
Posted by: 4ever4given | March 27, 2006 12:45 AM