What Must We Do?

March 2

“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? (21) And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also,” I John 4:20-21.

This verse makes it quite clear—God will not allow us any loophole in our heart-felt attitude or in the way the intent of our heart is played out in our relationships with other men. We cannot claim to love and serve the Holy One who inhabits eternity if we do not have a profound love for His children, especially those He calls our brothers, those who are members of the household of faith.

We are reminded here of Jesus’ own word in the matter, “Love one another as I have loved you,” John 15:12. In John 13:34, 35, the Lord stated emphatically, “A new command I give you, Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. 35 By this everyone will know that you are My disciples, if you love one another.”

It is most interesting that Jesus did not say that all men would know His disciples by their doctrine but He said all men would recognize those who are His own by their love. Today, and for centuries past, there have been doctrinal differences within the Church, and those doctrinal disputes have caused much fractioning of the Body of Christ.

Churches have split over minute differences in perception of points of doctrine and points of ritual. In so doing, they have undone the unity which could have been the strength of the Church.

And that is not to say that organizations and individuals should not hold fast to sound doctrine. We know that in the last days, “perilous times shall come, 2For men will be lovers of self, lovers of money, boastful, arrogant, revilers, disobedient to parents, ungrateful, unholy,” II Timothy 3:1, 2, and “The Spirit clearly says that in the later times some will abandon the faith and follow deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons,” I Timothy 4:1.

In a day characterized by deception, “the love of many shall become cold,” Matthew 24:12. The Word is certainly cautioning us against that day! If we are indeed even casual observers of what is going on around us, it becomes clear to us that the day here described is upon us.

We see a falling away of those who were once stalwart in the faith. We see an embrace on the part of many of doctrines of devils. We hear it officially proclaimed that “good is evil and evil is good,” Isaiah 5:20, and we comply with the laws that declare it so.

What must we do in the face of such wanton rebellion against the authority and the truth of our Holy God who “is the same yesterday, today and forever”? Hebrews 13:8. We must do the thing He has told us to do—we must love our brother who we have seen so it will be clear to all men that we love our God.