Monthly Archives: March 2011

Learning Compassion

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Learning Compassion

Characteristics of the Christian
by Bob Burridge ©2001, 2011

In the Presidential campaign of the year 2000, George W. Bush was able to win some of the support that gave him his slim victory by calling himself a “compassionate conservative”. Voters were very hungry for a type of politics that responded with sincere concern for the people being governed. Of course all the candidates claimed to be the real “compassionate” ones, and accused each of the others of using the word compassion while they were really being oppressive and opportunistic.

In a world guided more by impressions than by God’s word, ideas like compassion are hard to define, and even harder to sort out from the self-serving motives that often lie behind people’s words and actions. Though it is often confused by our fallen hearts, it is the common testimony of all sorts of people that sincere compassion is an important quality.

Compassion is obviously an important attitude
if we are to live together in any kind of civility.

We need to be truly concerned for the well-being of others. People need encouragement, companionship, sympathy, advice, and help in times of calamity.

God created us, and redeems us, to be his earthly kingdom, his family, his flock, his church. We are called the human race. That doesn’t mean we are all racing against one another to beat one another. We are made in the image of God and justified by the death of Jesus Christ so that we can represent God’s love, mercy, and compassion among one another. This means living in community with other people. The difficulty is the sin problem we all have in common.

When our brothers and sisters in the Lord have needs, we are called by God to help them. This mandate from God is summarized in Colossians 3:12-15

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

Notice that compassion is something we are told to “put on” like our clothing. It is our duty, something we are commanded to do. We don’t just assume that because we are Christians we somehow have all the compassion we need. If it’s there it has to show itself.

Compassion isn’t like a condition without symptoms! When you’ve got it, those around you ought to be able to see its evidences. It is our job to work on those evidences by making sure the cause that produces them is really there in our hearts.

Our fallen nature counterfeits compassion
with something quite its opposite.

What is mistaken for compassion is often just a concern to ease a person’s own troubled conscience. It can show itself as superficial gestures that appear to show concern, but it’s done for the benefits it brings to the person’s own reputation. That does little to really help. Insincere compassion may actually hurt the person more.

The other extreme is when someone condemns superficial gestures in others to appear superior to them. Again, it does nothing to help those in need.

We need to learn how to follow God’s mandate. False compassion doesn’t do what is really good for people. It may look good, and feel good, but in reality it may cause more harm and hurt to those we say we are helping.

    True compassion is not …

  • telling someone whatever makes them feel good even though its a lie.
  • giving a person everything he thinks he ought to have.
  • giving children all the sweets they crave.
  • helping someone ignore their conscience when they have done wrong.
  • paying others to do good in our place, and then think we’ve done our part.
  • leaving our neighbors to the care of government agencies or charities.
  • spending money on solutions that really only prolong a problem.
  • paying able people to stay unemployed when they could be helped to find work.
  • allowing babies to be aborted, when we should be helping the child’s parents deal with challenges. They need to be encouraged to love their babies, and to avoid unwanted pregnancies.
    It’s harder …

  • to tell the truth in tough situations.
  • to help a person understand that what he craves may be harmful to him.
  • to help a person face his faults when he would rather find excuses or blame others.
  • to befriend our disabled neighbors, and to help them with housework, yard work, or to get to the store.

It is not surprising that a society made up of unsanctified souls tends toward false compassion. Fallen people define compassion by what they believe it ought to be. God’s word shows us what true compassion is, and how we can put it on.

God’s method of compassion can be divided into four lessons. I will quote several portions of God’s word here. He says it much better than I can. By reading through these passages it makes it clear that this is God’s method, not one dreamed up by us fallible humans.

Lesson One: We need to understand that
true compassion is only possible in the redeemed.

In our fallen condition, no one is capable of sincere concern for others and for God’s honor.
Romans 3:12 “… There is none who does good, no, not one.”

The First Epistle of John is a detailed study of how love manifests itself in God’s children. It makes the point that true God-honoring compassion can only be found in those who are redeemed by Christ.

Showing compassionate concern for others is one of the marks of a true Christian. If there is no compassion, a person should be very concerned about the reality of his salvation.

1 John 2:10-11, “He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”

1 John 3:10-11, “In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,”

A lack of compassion weakens our own confidence that we belong to the Lord.

1 John 3:14-17, “We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?”

If a person is redeemed by Christ, then love and compassion should evidence itself.

1 John 4:7-13, “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has seen God at any time. If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us. By this we know that we abide in Him, and He in us, because He has given us of His Spirit.”

Our own compassion is the seal of God’s compassion upon us.

1 John 4:16-21, “And we have known and believed the love that God has for us. God is love, and he who abides in love abides in God, and God in him. Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. We love Him because He first loved us. If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.”

So the first step in learning to be truly compassionate, it to make your salvation sure. Regeneration alone enables us. There is no other cause for true compassion. All else is a false compassion moved by selfish concerns, needs, and desires.

If we expect to see true compassion expand in our neighborhoods, country, and the world, we need to evangelize with the gospel of Christ.

Lesson Two: We must know how God defines compassion.

God’s word is filled with help about how we can show true care for others. When we know the truth about God and about others as his creatures, and when we remember that all the redeemed are our brothers and sisters by grace, then we will have a foundation for learning to appreciate what is really best for others.

Colossians 3:12-15 describes the elements of that compassion. It must include mercy, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. To be compassionate we need to put up with one another, and be forgiving to each other with love, peace, and thankfulness.

2 Corinthians 1:4 explains how God’s mercies enable us. It is our Savior who comforts us in all our affliction so that we may be able to comfort those who are in affliction. We offer the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.

1 Peter 3:8-9 puts it this way, “Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers, be tenderhearted, be courteous; not returning evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary blessing, knowing that you were called to this, that you may inherit a blessing.”

The love chapter, 1 Corinthians 13, shows how this kind of compassion is part of love. In verse 4 it tells us that love is kind. In the next verse Paul continues saying that love “does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil;” When self is our center, our compassion is just a means to making us, not others, to feel good.

Paul, in Philippians 2:3 writes, “Let nothing be done through selfish ambition or conceit, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than himself.”

These verses show us that true compassion not only puts up with rudeness of others, it also responds with kindness. Instead of treating them the way they deserve, compassion treats them as God commands us. This means that the best thing we can do for others, is to help them live by the principles God gives us in his word, and by helping them with their needs inwardly and outwardly as they struggle along.

Lesson Three: Learn what biblical compassion looks like.

It is good to know how the Bible describes compassion. As humans, it also helps us to have examples to follow. The Bible is filled with them. We have examples of compassion and godly models for us to see.

In captivity, Daniel didn’t refrain from forbidden prayer to avoid getting people upset with him. He didn’t disobey God to show what some would think was “compassion” for his captors. He knew it would not be good for them if he hid his prayers to make the pagans feel better about him. Their only hope of real blessing was if they learned God’s ways. True compassion is to humbly and kindly remain a faithful example of godliness. He put that duty above seeking comfort for himself.

Paul didn’t tell the Thessalonians to keep giving food to those who were out of work if they were able to do their part. In sincere and godly compassion he told them in 2 Thessalonians 3:10 “… if anyone will not work, neither let him eat.” It was best for them to help the habitually dependent to learn the importance of work and personal responsibility.

Aquilla and Priscilla were thanked in Romans 16:4 because they risked their lives for Paul. They could have just prayed and minded their own business. They could have just repaired tents and lived quiet lives. But that would not have been the compassionate thing to do.

Jesus is of course our greatest example. His whole life is an example of compassion. But he didn’t hide the truth to draw more followers. In John 6:65-66, Jesus said,”… ‘Therefore I have said to you that no one can come to Me unless it has been granted to him by My Father.’ From that time many of His disciples went back and walked with Him no more.”

He knew it was best for these people to hear the truth. He cared for them so much that he knew it would not be compassionate to keep hard to accept things from them just to make them feel better about themselves.

There are many other examples that could be drawn from Christian history and from the Christian community.

One Christian writer tells of the time when he was riding a subway on a cold Chicago day. An elderly woman shuffled into the subway and took a seat. Her clothes were ragged, barely able to protect her from the bitter Chicago winds. She hunched herself against the cold gripping a worn shawl around her. He said her hands appeared to be white, cracked, and bony.

In contrast a healthy looking young man energetically got on the train. He noticed the pain of the old woman sitting in quiet misery. Three stops later the man left the train leaving his pair of brown leather gloves in her lap.

The writer then says, “He saw her need and responded with compassion while I just sat there. It never occurred to me to give her my gloves. That young man showed compassion in a way I’ll never forget.”

Lesson Four: We need to live by
what we learn about compassion.

Compassion isn’t defined by just a set of facts. It is a way of life. It is true kindness toward those God created to bear his image. It is good intentions put into practice. The Bible says that we must “put it on.” We need to slip into the clothing that honors Christ as we reach out to really help others to see the transforming power of what our Savior accomplished on the cross for his lost and otherwise hopeless people.

In practical terms here are 4 steps that might help us develop Christ-like compassion in our lives once we have been regenerated by his redeeming grace.

1. Become aware of needs in those around you. Pay attention to where they might benefit from your help and encouragement. Perhaps as you pray for each friend and family member this week, you could consider where they would benefit from your personal encouragement and support.

2. Think carefully to know how God would be honored by your help towards them. That means not just doing what they expect from you, or what will cover their pain for the moment. It’s what in the long run will encourage them to develop in love and good works (Hebrews 10:24). Your help should not be given in a judgmental or superior manner. That is arrogance not love. Look for ways that will help, not discourage (Galatians 6:1).

3. Keep studying God’s word prayerfully to fill your thoughts with godly examples. What we occupy our minds with is what we will become (Philippians 4:8).

4. Pray that God will enable you to show true compassion in your life. Once your basic needs are met, set aside your own extravagances, so that you can build up the whole kingdom of God in this world.

Note: The verses in this lesson are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

Living Thankfully

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Living Thankfully

Characteristics of the Christian
by Bob Burridge ©2001, 2011

It’s encouraging when people remember to thank others for what they have done for them.

“Thank you” is a very important expression.

It can be a sincere way to show appreciation for a kindness done. Sometimes words don’t even need to be spoken. It can be said with a smile, a hug, or a shed tear of gladness. Yet it helps to say what’s on our hearts so that our gratitude won’t be missed.

Sadly, a “thank you” can also be said in a mechanical or hollow way.

We’ve seen children prodded into thanking someone when it is not in their hearts to do so. They look down at their shoes, fidget with their hands, and mumble the words quietly. Of course it is all part of the process of learning how to treat others with respect. Our hope is that our children will develop this as an important natural habit in their lives.

Sometimes the words can be said in a sarcastic way. Someone not appreciating what somebody else did may say “Well, thanks a lot!” They say it so the person knows they didn’t do good when they should have. Leave it to our sin filled hearts to turn a good expression into an insult.

As Christians we should learn another dimension to giving thanks.

A “thank you” should be an acknowledgment of a person’s part in God’s blessings toward us. Living gratefully ought to be a characteristic of every Christian’s life.

Tragically, in our fallen nature, self replaces God as the center of what concerns us most. Fallen souls pervert thankfulness into its opposite. The absence of gratitude is an attitude of presumption or entitlement.

In 1 Corinthians 4:6 Paul warned the believers that no one should become arrogant having received something. He then asked in verse 7, “… why do you boast as if you had not received it?”

People often act as if they deserve all they get. Good things are taken for granted. Warren Wiersbe once told about a ministerial student who was part of a life-saving team.

In 1860, a ship went aground on the shore of Lake Michigan near Evanston, Illinois. Edward Spencer waded again and again into the ice cold waters to rescue 17 passengers. In the process, he damaged his own health permanently. Years later at his funeral, it was noted that not one of the people he rescued ever thanked him.

A good deed is often spoiled by seeing its flaws instead of its intended good. One devotional booklet tells the story of an old man who approached a young stranger in the post office and asked, “Sir, would you address this postcard for me?” The young man gladly did just as he was asked, then offered to write a short note for the old man. Finally the stranger asked, “Now, is there anything else I can do for you?” The old man thought a moment and said, “Yes, at the end could you add, ‘Please excuse the sloppy handwriting.’ ”

Fred De Witt Van Amburgh once wrote: “None is more impoverished than the one who has no gratitude. Gratitude is a currency that we can mint for ourselves, and spend without fear of bankruptcy.”

Henry Ward Beecher said, “Pride slays thanksgiving, but an humble mind is the soil out of which thanks naturally grow. A proud man is seldom a grateful man, for he never thinks he gets as much as he deserves.– ”

Thankfulness begins with knowing what we have to be thankful for. It is an appreciative acknowledgment of a benefit received from another

Originally the English word “thank” come from “a think” it was “a thought”. It was a consideration of a kindness received.

In Old Testament Hebrew, ‘thanks” is todah (תודה). It comes from yadah (ידה) meaning “to throw, to cast”. It is the casting of praise or gratitude toward someone.

In New Testament Greek, it is eukharisteo (ευχαριστεω) meaning a good favor or grace offered to someone.

Our first thankfulness ought to be for what we receive from God

This is the most obvious, and foremost duty of gratitude. Ultimately every good thing we receive is from God.

James 1:17, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.”

Paul pointed out to the ungodly pagans at Athens that God deserves the thanks of all men;

Acts 14:17, “… He did good, gave us rain from heaven and fruitful seasons, filling our hearts with food and gladness.”

Therefore, we should always thank God for all good things we receive.

  • for his amazing and beautiful creation,
  • for his merciful and full preservation of all that he made, including us,
  • for a gracious salvation (forgiveness from our sin and guilt, and the promise of eternal blessing)
  • for our daily provisions and the abundance we enjoy beyond our basic needs.
  • for our opportunities, and our ability to take advantage of them.

The Bible is filled with the giving of thanks to God. For example …

Psalm 116:17, “I will offer to You the sacrifice of thanksgiving, And will call upon the name of the LORD.”

But, while not detracting from God as the cause of the goodness done by others …

we need to remember to thank the people God uses
as his means by which we are blessed.

There are many biblical examples showing that it is right and good to thank people for the kindnesses they show to us …

There was that one leper in ten who returned to Jesus to thank him for healing him.

Luke 17:11-19, “Now it happened as He went to Jerusalem that He passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee. Then as He entered a certain village, there met Him ten men who were lepers, who stood afar off. And they lifted up their voices and said, ‘Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!’ So when He saw them, He said to them, ‘Go, show yourselves to the priests.’ And so it was that as they went, they were cleansed. And one of them, when he saw that he was healed, returned, and with a loud voice glorified God, and fell down on his face at His feet, giving Him thanks. And he was a Samaritan. So Jesus answered and said, ‘Were there not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? Were there not any found who returned to give glory to God except this foreigner?’ And He said to him, ‘Arise, go your way. Your faith has made you well.’ ”

Notice that the first direction of gratitude was toward God. But the thankful leper also wanted to thank the means God used, the person of Jesus. So rather than being satisfied with just a private thanks to God in prayer, he was commended for turning back, going out of his way, to thank the agent of his blessing.

The Apostle Paul remembered to thank those who had helped him. He sent his thanks to his friends in Rome whom he had known when they were in Corinth and Ephesus. He thanked them for their help in risking their lives for him. He saw them as true, responsible agents in the hand of God.

Romans 16:3-4, “Greet Priscilla and Aquila, my fellow workers in Christ Jesus, who risked their own necks for my life, to whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.”

He showed his appreciation for their goodness to the church in Philippi.

Philippians 1:3-6, “I thank my God upon every remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine making request for you all with joy, for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of this very thing, that He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ”

When Paul was teaching the believers in Colossae about Christian character he said in Colossians 3:12-15 …

“Therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, put on tender mercies, kindness, humility, meekness, longsuffering; bearing with one another, and forgiving one another, if anyone has a complaint against another; even as Christ forgave you, so you also must do. But above all these things put on love, which is the bond of perfection. And let the peace of God rule in your hearts, to which also you were called in one body; and be thankful.”

Paul listed these 7 important attitudes and behaviors they should develop. Beyond all the specifics he mentioned, they should put on love, the sum of the other attributes. He told them in verse 15 to let the peace of God rule in their hearts, then he ended by telling them to … “be thankful.”

These examples show us how important it is
for us to thank others for their goodness.

When neighbors, family members, or friends act as God’s agent to do something good for you, even the smallest kindness, you ought to show gratitude, and not take it for granted. It is important to let them know you appreciate what they did, and that you recognize them as God’s honored means.

We need to notice the good that others do and how God uses them. Not just thanking them for gifts or cards they give us on birthdays and holidays. But for their daily kindnesses, encouragements, and fellowship. Learn to treasure these little things, and build others up in the Lord because of them.

This is something we can do everywhere:

  • In the home: between husbands and wives, children and their parents, brothers and sisters.
  • In the extended family: including the parents of parents, cousins, uncles, and aunts.
  • In the church: all who are both members, and leaders of our spiritual family.
  • In the community: all who work together, support one another, and do business with one another.

In our imperfections we often do more complaining when we should be appreciative and thankful.

Years ago a magazine told the story of a young man named Ben. He was a complainer. He grumbled about the weather, found fault with his family and friends, and let the littlest things upset him. But his life was changed by a little rhyme he read:

“When you have truly thanked the Lord for every blessing sent,
then you’ll have very little time to murmur or lament.”

He realized that in his discontent he had overlooked the gifts God showered on him daily. Ben determined to overcome his habit of complaining, with God’s help. Whenever he became irritated or started to complain, he would stop and thank God for the many good things he was enjoying. Soon, by centering his attention on praising rather than pouting, he found it much easier to avoid his grouchy mood. He found thankfulness by following the principle of Philippians 4:8.

“Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy — meditate on these things.”

I like this simpler rhyme which might help:

“The humble don’t grumble, they think on the good.
They thank for each kindness, because God says they should.”

Our thanks as children of God should not be vain flattery or mechanical thanks . They should be real attempts to honor God, and to encourage those who are God’s instruments by the good he does through them.

In situations this week …


Look for good things that others do. Make sure you appreciate it, and tell them so. Learn to see others as agents of God in bringing his blessings into your life.

While you direct all the glory to Christ, remember to thank the person God has used, and encourage them in their good. Help them understand the honor they have in being used by God to do good.

Note: The verses in this lesson are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

Living Lovingly

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Living Lovingly

Characteristics of the Christian
by Bob Burridge ©2001, 2011

2 Corinthians 5:17, “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.”

There are specific characteristics that should be seen in the life of every Christian. Our interest isn’t just to define them, but to learn to do two things:

1. to develop these attributes in our own lives
2. to encourage them in those around us.

A good way to begin is to look at
what it means to love one another.

Love is the first item in the list of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in Galatians 5:22. Jesus himself said that love was the summary of all the law and prophets. In Matthew 22:37-40, Jesus was asked what was the foremost of all the commandments. His answer, quoting the Law of Moses in Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18, was this …

“Jesus said to him, ” ‘You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.’ This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”

Love is so important in Scripture, it would require a whole series of studies to do it justice. Love is the word the Bible uses to summarize the way believers should live. We we need to look at what exercises will strengthen the love Christ put in us by his grace.

There is a divine command that God’s children should learn to love.

Jesus said that loving one another was a mark of discipleship. John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

If all men know we are Christ’s disciples by our love, then we need to know what it means to love, and what love looks like when we do it.

Love has many meanings the way we use it generally. We should define it the way God uses the word love in his word. I suggest this definition:

“Love is a disposition implanted into needful human hearts by the prevailing grace of God whereby we are enabled joyfully to obey the revealed desires of our Creator; both toward the Lord himself, and toward others.” (Pastor Bob Burridge)

Obeying God’s desires as to how we should behave toward him and toward others involves a lot. We need to know how to be loving at home, at school, at work, at play, in worship, socially, shopping, and while we are fixing things. We need to know what it means to love in every situation. It needs to become a part of what we are, and of what we do all the time.

Love is described in some depth in 1 Corinthians 13 (we will use the New King James translation). The old KJV uses the word “charity” instead of “love.” In 1611 AD charity meant love at its noblest.

This chapter doesn’t tell us everything about love, but it is a good summary of what our lives should be like when we love.

If love is a fruit produce by the Holy Spirit working in us, we should know how to nurture this fruit. We need to know the seed that begins the growth of love in us, the labor needed to cultivate it to its fullest yield, and the good harvest our labor can reap from this important seed.

What is the seed that makes love begin to grow in us?

Biblical love as a disposition is alien to our fallen human nature. Left to our inclination at birth, human love lacks an essential quality. It does good to others so that it can improve it’s own situation.

The self-centeredness of fallen human love is obvious. It wants companionship, help, sex, and opportunity. For those reasons it focuses on what it can do for others to get these things for itself.

It loves other people as long as it gets what it wants. When hurt comes along, or when the companionship is strained, what the world calls love produces accusations, arguments, and fightings. Sometimes it leads to infidelity, gossip, divorces, law-suits, and defamation. In extreme situations it even leads to perjury and violence. This kind of love isn’t just artificial, it is a cruel costume for selfish evil.

Biblical love begins when the seed of spiritual life is implanted in regeneration. Only when the fallen creature is restored by grace through Christ can anyone begin to realize love as the Creator intended it to be.

The Bible says, “we love because He first loved us.” If God hadn’t first sent his Son to redeem us, love as God reveals it would be completely unknown in our world.

Love is an essential evidence of our belonging to Christ. That is why Jesus said, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (John 13:35)

When you grow a plant, its life is in the seed. But to make it grow to its fullest, there are things you need to do. It needs water, soil, nutrients, proper lighting, and protection from disease, insects and hungry animals. When God implants this love in us there are things we are called upon to do.

What labor is needed to cultivate love to its fullest yield?

The Bible speaks of love as an action. It is a command. God says you should love your neighbor as yourself. He tells husbands to love their wives, and he commands us all to love one another. So when people say “I just can’t love that person”, they imply that God makes unreasonable demands of us. Love is first an obedience before it becomes a feeling. This is good news. It means there is something we can do when love doesn’t seem to be there.

God doesn’t say, feel love for your neighbor, or husbands feel love for your wives. He doesn’t say fall in love with others. He tells us to love them. It’s a direct command. Do you have trouble loving others? Then here is a message of hope. You can do something about it.

God’s word tells us specific things to work on to nurture love to grow in us. It defines what we do toward God when we love him, and toward others when we love them. This seed implanted in us by grace requires these obediences as it grows. The same grace that implants love enables and moves us to grow in our obedience to God’s word. We need to do loving things while trusting in God’s promises to succeed.

Paul presents 16 qualities of love in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8a

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails. …”

Notice that this love isn’t presented in some abstract, ideal environment. It is shown acting in the real world, a world where bad things happen. It responds to being provoked, wronged, and generally attacked. We see how love bears up in the midst of adversity and selfishness.

People who are loving in these ways, show that its seed has been planted in their heart. Love is directly defined in the Bible as doing what God has commanded toward others:

John 14:21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them, it is he who loves Me. And he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and I will love him and manifest Myself to him.”
John 15:12, “This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.”
John 15:14, “You are My friends if you do whatever I command you.”
John 15:17, “These things I command you, that you love one another.”
1 John 5:2-3, “By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments. And His commandments are not burdensome.”

This is what we need to do when there is a lack of love in our lives. We need to learn God’s moral law, and determine by Christ’s enablement to obey the biblical commandments toward God and toward our fellow humans.

When the seed of love is implanted in regeneration, and when it is cultivated by the means of obeying God’s instructions, we will enjoy the full harvest of this fruit of the Holy Spirit.

What good harvest can our labor reap from this small seed?

When we do what God commands, he blesses us with that feeling of love. The general form of his covenant promises is this: “Do and be blessed.” This does not imply that God waits for our efforts. It means that God uses the power of his word and the work of the Holy Spirit to produce our efforts. It is all by his grace. When we are made aware of the need, and of the way God has ordained for the need to be met, and when we obey lovingly with confident expectation of success, we discover the work of God active in our hearts. As we then do what we are moved to do, the full blessings of love in our marriages, homes, communities, and church family will be realized. We will feel the love God promises that we will experience.

It is this effect of love, the feeling, that the world craves. But fallen man wants the feeling without faith, without the obedience. So he becomes frustrated at the work of conjuring up a feeling. He runs from church to church, from job to job, from marriage to marriage, community to community, club to club … looking for love and finding no reward.

Our duty before God is without dispute.

First: We need to make sure we are made alive by Christ, and that we are humbly thankful for that work of grace. By faith, lay hold of the promises God makes, and trust in his enablement. If the seed is not planted, love cannot grow to what it ought to be.

Second: We need to cultivate implanted love by obedience to God’s word. We must learn to keep God’s commandments toward one another, and toward God himself. Without the evidence of obedience, there is no reason to believe the seed has been planted. Of course all of us are imperfect in our obedience. So another part of our obedience is to help others to love, and we should forgive their failures as we are forgiven by our God.

Third: We need to expect God’s blessing when we obey him, and treat others as he says we should knowing that God will give the increase.

When we are patient and kind, and are not envious, braggardly, arrogant, rude, or self-seeking, and are not easily provoked, or take wrongs into account, and we do not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rather we rejoice in truth, bear all things, believe all things, hope in all of God’s assurances, and endure all things, and when we do all this persistently, then God will bless us with all the rich feelings of love in our hearts.

Note: The verses in this lesson are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.

Wouldn’t Badges Be Easier?

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Wouldn’t Badges Be Easier?

Characteristics of the Christian
by Bob Burridge ©2001, 2011

We are called upon to make the glory of our Creator’s Lordship known. He is the Maker and King over all that is. He is the standard that defines what is good and holy. He is the loving Redeemer of all his people in all ages. This is good news, so we call it the gospel.

There have always been those who claim to be his, who with spiritual pride do more to exalt themselves and judge others than they do to walk humbly in God’s ways and to make his glory visible.

How can we recognize the true believers and faithful churches? How does anyone know that he is not among those who are deceiving even themselves?

a warning from Jesus

Matthew 7:15, “Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.”

Jesus warned his followers about these dangerous persons. He called them false prophets, wolves in sheep’s clothing. This means they won’t be easy to recognize by their claims, and by how they present themselves at first glance.

I never saw a wolf dressed up like a sheep. I think I would be able to pick him out of a flock. However, would the sheep, not being as skeptical as a human, nor as used to recognizing a costume when they saw one, be able to spot him? How can we, as the flock of Jesus Christ, identify those who under the wool have the cunning, claws, and teeth of a hungry fox?

If you asked the deceivers, they would openly claim to be one of God’s sheep. They would tell you that they know what is right and true. Like the Pharisees, they may constantly quote Scripture, but they are not honest with themselves or others. They either add to God’s word, or distort it to come up with different meanings for what it says. They use the Bible as a tool to manipulate others, and to excuse themselves from their accountability to their Maker. They don’t view Scripture as a source of absolute truth, and as an infallible guide for holy living.

but are they recognizable?

Jesus explained in Matthew 7:16-17,

“You will know them by their fruits. Do men gather grapes from thornbushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore by their fruits you will know them.”

Twice in that passage, in verses 16 and 20, Jesus said, You will know them by their fruits.

So, what are the fruits by which we can recognize those who are not the true children of God? The Bible specifically lists what should be exhibited in every believer. Galatians 5:22-23 itemizes them for us:

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

The Apostle Paul expanded upon the characteristics of love as God sees it in the classic passage of 1 Corinthians 13:4-8.

“Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Love never fails.”

Jesus told His followers in John 13:35,

“By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

is there an easier way?

We might imagine some quick thinking marketing expert or promoter coming up with a fast and easy alternative. He might have asked, “Lord, wouldn’t it be easier if we wore badges? or a uniform? or maybe we could use bumper stickers and T-shirts?”

It certainly would be a lot easier if all we needed to identify ourselves was a T-shirt, a slogan, a badge, or a well placed bumper sticker. But that’s not God’s way.

How shall men recognize true disciples of Christ? They will be the ones who show these evidences of changed behavior in their lives. This beaming testimony is what Jesus pointed to in his Sermon on the Mount when he said in Matthew 5:16, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven.”

No one in this life will exhibit these characteristics perfectly, but all believers ought to treasure these attributes and be working on developing them in themselves. They should openly and humbly confess when they fall short, and point to the grace that restores them though they deeply offend our Holy Lord.

This means that true believers have the Holy Spirit at work in them to produce a love for God’s ways, and a quick repentance when they fall short. They will recognize the amazing grace that cleanses their souls from the stain that reveals what would emit from their lives if not for the Sovereign Power of a loving Savior.

It should deeply concern us to know these characteristics of the Christian life well, and to know how God says we are to exercise ourselves in them to strengthen their visibility in our lives for his Glory.

Those content to be Christians by mere profession, by the outward benefits they enjoy, or their outward dress, are in grave peril of discovering the hide of a wolf under their white coat of wool.

Love, that all encompassing word, is what Jesus said would mark out his people from the world. This is the first exercise of evangelism: to cultivate the evidences of the gospel in our own lives so that the work of grace will shine as a light upon the Father’s transforming power.

An outward show of words, claims, pragmatic reasoning, and a tendency to argue his way to a verbal conquest have always been the markings of the wolf dressed up like a lamb. Sticking out from under the costume will be unrepentant moments of anger, impatience, pride, selfishness, rudeness, bragging, and jealousy.

tragically these wolves don’t know who they are

Jesus went on to say in Matthew 7:21-23,

“Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father in heaven. Many will say to Me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in Your name, cast out demons in Your name, and done many wonders in Your name?’ And then I will declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness!’ “

The false prophets are ones who claim to be real spiritual believers. They cry out “Lore, Lord!” They testify that the God of Scripture is their Master. However, since they are not faithful to His ways, he is not truly their Lord.

To argue their way past the Judge, they list all the good works they believe they have done for him. They believe they have prophesied God’s word, spoken and acted in his name. They claim to have cast out demons and performed many miracles!

We should remember that even the magicians of Pharaoh’s court, and the cultists of Canaan, did things they and others believed were supernatural acts.

Today many are taken in by claims of miracles in Christ’s name. TV and radio preachers combine their wild and irresponsible notions about God with supernatural signs and wonders. They deceive many. Paul warned the Thessalonian believers about such as these in 2 Thessalonians 2:9,

“The coming of the lawless one is according to the working of Satan, with all power, signs, and lying wonders,”

Jesus will tell the self-deceivers, and deceivers of others, that he never knew them. He will tell them to depart from him. And he will expose the wolf under the costume as those who practice lawlessness. Jesus was quoting from Psalm 6:8 where David cried out to those tormenting him, to leave him alone. God is likewise offended, not impressed, with all their outward show.

The tragedy is that there are indeed false Christians who lead many astray. How are we to distinguish the true people of God? How do we become assured by the Holy Spirit that we are truly His? Not by their claims, badges, slogans, or bumper stickers. Not by their outward show, Not by their clothes, rules, or knowledge. It’s by their fruit, the evidence that the fruit of the Holy Spirit growing inside the heart, that we recognize the true sheep and the true shepherds.

The best intellectuals, the best showmen, the best looking, the most vocal, the most active, the most envied. are not always the true disciples.

The ones whose lives show evidence of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control, these are the ones who evidence that God is at work in their lives. These are the real evangelists who exhibit Christ’s glory and salvation to the world in which God has called them to live.

the mark of the beast

There are always people discussing the mark of the beast mentioned several times in the Book of the Revelation. Sadly many see its fulfillment in tattoos, body piercings, UPC codes, and other such physical markings. Intriguing speculations about conspiracies, hidden codes, and futuristic prophesy sells books, draws audiences to TV and Radio show (not to mention the donations they elicit), and packs huge crowds into seminars and convention halls.

Few of those pop-theologians and marketers of religion deal with the full biblical significance of the mark on the head and hand which characterizes those who are followers and worshipers of what is called the beast.

There is an ancient warning in God’s word found in Deuteronomy 6:4-9. It is found in the section instructing parents to teach God’s commandments to their covenant children. In verse 8 of that section it says,

“You shall bind them as a sign on your hand, and they shall be as frontlets between your eyes.”

In the context the meaning is clear. God’s word must bind our hands, and be on our minds. In binding it on our hands, the word of God directs what we do. In binding it on our forehead, the word of God directs our thoughts.

In later times some of the Pharisees made this into a physical rule. They would tie straps around their hands and hang leather pouches over their forehead with the commandments written on them. But this outward obedience didn’t help at all in sealing their actions and thoughts with the binding power of the word of God. It was to be taught, not worn as jewelry.

The word of God must bind our lives. It should always direct our deeds and thoughts. When it does, it will produces evidences in our attitudes and lives. This is the mark of the true believer, the redeemed child of God.

Every person bears one mark or another. Either he evidences the binding of God’s word on his hands and head, or he evidences that he is still separated from God with a lost and deceived soul. The lack of the godly bonds to righteousness constitute the mark of disloyalty that brands and binds every lost soul.

Those who bear the mark of being a child of God have often been the victims of persecutions, shut out of business transactions, or denied jobs. It is increasingly difficult for young believers to find work if they determine to keep the Sabbath holy and refrain from labor as the fourth commandment requires.

Those whose acts and minds, whose hands and hearts, show that they are bound to a different standard, the standard of evil, of the beast, will find a welcome camaraderie in the world that is offended by Christ.

How much easier it is when we imagine the mark of the beast to be some futuristic tattoo or embedded computer chip in our hand or forehead. But how much it cuts to our soul when we realize that many have taken on that sign already by living and thinking according to the world, rather than as God’s word instructs us.

What then is the mark of the Christian? What characteristics set us apart and assure us that the Holy Spirit is truly at work in our hearts? It is to love the brethren which includes all the characteristics of biblical love as specified in God’s word. Jesus said in John 14:15, “If you love Me, keep My commandments”

We already saw our Lord’s words in John 13:35, “By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”

If we take these words of Jesus as our starting point, we see that badges or outward claims will not satisfy the need of identifying the true children of God. It would certainly be easier if that’s all we had to do to show Christ to others. But then again, wolves can wear badges, and they do.

Note: The verses in this lesson are from the New King James Version of the Bible unless otherwise noted.