The Necessity of Love

The apostle Paul made clear the absolute necessity of loving God when he said, “if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be Anathema Maranatha” (1 Corinthians 16:22). Paul makes it clear here that no man who does not love the Lord will be saved.

Without love, even great things (that is, things which with love are very great) are actually worthless. Paul made clear that without love (1) even great oratorical ability in preaching the word becomes as sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal (1 Corinthians 13:1), (2) even if one has spiritual gifts which can result in great deeds, the possessor of those gifts is “nothing” (that is, not pleasing to God (1 Corinthians 13:2) if he does not love, and (3) even tremendously sacrificial acts of benevolence (giving goods to the poor, giving one’s body to be burned), if done without love, profits the sacrificers nothing (1 Corinthians 13:3).

I. No One Can Become A Christian Without Love

No man can be saved without knowing God (John 17:3). And, if a man does not love God, he does not know God (because God is love) (1 John 4:8). Thus, if one does not love God, then he is not saved (cf. 1 Corinthians 16:22).

One cannot receive the remission of his past (alien) sins‑‑that is, those committed before he became a Christian‑‑unless he loves God. Loving God is essential to (prerequisite to) one’s being born again (1 John 4:7).

One can be a believer in Jesus Christ as the Son of God and yet still be lost. This is the case because one can be a believer and yet not be obedient to the Lord. Some rulers among the Jews believed on the Lord, but they would not confess that faith because they loved the praise of men more than they loved the praise of God (John 12:42‑43). Yet, no one can be saved who refuses to confess Christ (Matthew 10:32‑33; cf. Romans 10:9,10).

If one loves the Lord, he will obey Him insofar as he understands His will. Jesus Himself said, “if ye love me, ye will keep my commandments” (John 14:15). He made clear that it is the man who knows and keeps (obeys) His commandments who truly loves Him (John 14:21).

There is no way to demonstrate either faith or love other than in obedience to God’s word (Hebrews 5:8‑9; John 14:15,21; 1 John 4:8; John 17:3; et al.).

So, the man who claims to believe in and to love the Lord but who refuses (1) to honestly, sincerely, and diligently study His will and (2) having learned that will, to obey it, does not really love the Lord. And, let it be repeated, no man who does not love the Lord can become a child of God.

II. No One Can Live A Faithful Christian Life Without Loving Both The Lord And His Own Brethren In Christ

Love is at the very heart of the Christian life. John said, “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God, and every one that loveth is born of God and knoweth God, He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love” (1 John 4:7‑8).

John goes on to say, “if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?” (1 John 4:20) Thus, it is clear, in the light of this passage and common human practice, that it is among the worst sort of self‑deception for one to give himself credit for loving God while he is jealous of, envious of, and malicious toward his fellow man.

It is clear to me, from observations made during my almost thirty‑seven years of preaching the gospel, that one of the most disgusting scenes to behold is one with the following elements: a man standing for a time in the pulpit preaching (apparently with great love) on the necessity of loving one’s fellow man (especially his brother in Christ, Galatians 6:10) only to step down from that pulpit to engage in a veritable campaign of hatred and destruction of the reputation and life of a faithful gospel preacher, elder or other brother.

Can one truly be a lover of God Almighty (which he must be in order to be pleasing to God) while he is a hater of his brother? The Bible makes clear that such is impossible (1 John 4:20).

While recognizing clearly his own sins (and, thus, his own need for God’s mercy daily), this author is possessed of the fear that some brethren seem to be able to give themselves credit for righteousness (recognizing no real need for mercy in their own cases at all) while they “dig” constantly in the garbage cans of gossip, rumor, half‑truth, etc., seeking to find something with which to strike at the reputation of another brother. All of us must remember that while the Pharisee confessed nothing but good about himself and nothing but evil about the Publican (who confessed not the sins of the Pharisee‑although, no doubt he could have‑‑but only his own sins by crying, “God be merciful to me a sinner”), it was the Publican, not the Pharisee, who “went up to his house justified” (Luke 18:9‑14).

Since the Bible clearly teaches that one cannot go to heaven if he does not love the Lord (1 Corinthians 16:22) and that one cannot love God (whom he has not seen) if he does not love his brother (whom he has seen) (1 John 4:20), then it seems clear that members of the church who spend their lives, not in doing kind deeds of love toward their brethren, but in doing hurtful, unkind deeds out of hearts filled with jealousy, envy, malice and hatred, will be surprised, when their lives on earth are over, to learn that they will be spending eternity not with God and the saved but with the devil and the wicked.

Since none of us is without sin (Romans 3:23), then none of us is without the need of God’s mercy (John 3:16). Since none of us is without the need of God’s mercy, let us spend our years of probation (our years on this earth) in love toward all men‑‑and especially toward our brethren in Christ.

God intends for the church to be His society of mutual love (that is, it is God’s will that every child of God should love every other child of God).

Let none of us think that God will regard lightly acts of hatred and malice toward our brethren in Christ. (There is a great deal of difference between showing that a doctrine which has been taught by a brother is false and in actually trying to hurt a brother personally (Jude 3, et al.)! While God delights in the prayers of the righteous, the sacrifice of the wicked is an abomination to Him (Proverbs 28:9). Some wicked men, by their bearing of false witness, separate others who have been the closest of friends for almost a lifetime (cf. Proverbs 17:9).

Let each of us remember, in these days of so much rebellion against God, not only will all murderers, idolaters, unbelievers, sorcerers, et al., be lost, but all liars will also be lost (Rev. 21:8). No child of God who hates his brother will be saved. It is the prayer of this writer that every brother will carefully weigh this truth. Nothing is important enough to warrant one’s going through life with hatred for his brother in his heart.

Conclusion Love is necessary. One cannot become a child of God without it. One cannot live a faithful life (as a child of God) without it. May God help us all both to learn and to remember the necessity of love (Gal. 5:6).