Topical Bible: Love to God: They Who Love not Others, are Without

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In the Christian faith, love for God is intrinsically linked to love for others. This principle is deeply rooted in Scripture and is a fundamental aspect of Christian doctrine. The Bible emphasizes that genuine love for God cannot exist in isolation from love for one's neighbor. This entry explores the biblical basis for this teaching and its implications for believers.

Biblical Foundation

The command to love God and others is central to the teachings of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew, Jesus summarizes the Law and the Prophets with two commandments: "‘Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.’ This is the first and greatest commandment. And the second is like it: ‘Love your neighbor as yourself’" (Matthew 22:37-39). These commandments are inseparable, indicating that love for God is demonstrated through love for others.

The Apostle John further elaborates on this connection in his epistles. In 1 John 4:20-21, he writes, "If anyone says, 'I love God,' but hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And we have this commandment from Him: Whoever loves God must love his brother as well" . This passage underscores the hypocrisy of claiming to love God while harboring animosity towards others.

The Nature of God’s Love

God's love is the model for how believers are to love others. The sacrificial nature of God's love is exemplified in the sending of His Son, Jesus Christ, for the redemption of humanity. John 3:16 states, "For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life" . This divine love is unconditional and selfless, setting the standard for human relationships.

The Fruit of the Spirit

The Apostle Paul, in his letter to the Galatians, lists love as the first fruit of the Spirit: "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). The presence of the Holy Spirit in a believer's life produces love, which is manifested in actions and attitudes towards others. This love is evidence of a genuine relationship with God.

The Parable of the Good Samaritan

Jesus' parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:25-37) illustrates the practical application of love for others. In response to the question, "And who is my neighbor?" Jesus tells the account of a Samaritan who shows compassion to a wounded man, contrasting with the indifference of a priest and a Levite. The Samaritan's actions demonstrate that love transcends ethnic and social boundaries, embodying the command to love one's neighbor.

Warnings Against Lovelessness

The Bible warns against the dangers of lovelessness. In 1 Corinthians 13, often referred to as the "Love Chapter," Paul emphasizes that without love, all spiritual gifts and acts of service are meaningless: "If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal" (1 Corinthians 13:1). This passage highlights the emptiness of religious activity devoid of genuine love.

Practical Implications for Believers

For believers, the call to love others is a reflection of their love for God. It requires active engagement in the lives of others, characterized by compassion, kindness, and forgiveness. The Apostle James challenges believers to demonstrate their faith through actions: "If a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food and one of you says to them, 'Go in peace, stay warm and well fed,' but does not provide for their physical needs, what good is that?" (James 2:15-16). This call to action is a tangible expression of love.

In summary, the biblical teaching that those who do not love others are without love for God is a profound truth that challenges believers to examine their hearts and actions. Love for God and love for others are inseparable, and the authenticity of one's faith is evidenced by the love they show to those around them.

Torrey's Topical Textbook

1 John 4:20
If a man say, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar: for he that loves not his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?
Torrey's Topical Textbook

Library

But they Answer and Speak, Saying, "If the Will of Man Without any ...
... sufficient the will of them which love the respiting ... this life that, without aid
of God, they should in ... a lie, lest confessing their misdeeds they be ordered ...
//christianbookshelf.org/augustine/on patience /13 but they answer and.htm

Love
... sins of others, and laugh at them; but they surely have no ... Does he love his father
who can laugh to hear him ... visible sign is, that he who loves God, labours to ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/the ten commandments/1 2 love.htm

Treatise on the Love of God
... THAT DIVINE LOVE MAKES THE VIRTUES IMMEASURABLY MORE AGREEABLE TO GOD THAN THEY
ARE OF ... THAT THERE ARE SOME VIRTUES WHICH DIVINE LOVE RAISES TO A HIGHER ...
//christianbookshelf.org/francis/treatise on the love of god/

The Tests of Love to God
... These are the fruits of love to God. Happy are they who can find these fruits
so foreign to their natures, growing in their souls. ...
//christianbookshelf.org/watson/a divine cordial/the tests of love to.htm

Robert Hall -- Marks of Love to God
... narrow circle of time and sense; or do they make frequent ... Unless you are destitute
of love to God you can never be ... child of dust, and yet visited by God in the ...
/.../kleiser/the worlds great sermons volume 3/robert hall marks of.htm

Love and Discernment.
... 3:3). "Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God" (Matthew 5:8 ... who are
nevertheless full of profound spiritual wisdom because love to Christ ...
/.../thomas/the prayers of st paul/ix love and discernment.htm

The Realization of Selfless Love
... If you love people and speak of them with praise until they in some way ... speak of
them with dispraise, you are not governed by the Love which is of God. ...
/.../allen/the way of peace/the realization of selfless love.htm

xiv. Upon the Love of God.
... are within such a nearness; nay, if they are not ... power in the original, who is the
God of judgment ... Thus love, reverence, desire of esteem, every faculty, every ...
//christianbookshelf.org/butler/human nature/sermon xiii xiv upon the.htm

Latimer -- on Christian Love
... "Love swelleth not, is not puffed up"; but there are ... are so high, so lofty, insomuch
that they despise and ... God rules not them with His good spirit; the evil ...
/.../various/the worlds great sermons volume i/latimer on christian love.htm

God's Love for Man
... Fallen men are placed where, through connection with Christ, they may indeed become
worthy of the name "sons of God.". ... The matchless love of God for a world ...
//christianbookshelf.org/white/steps to christ/chapter 1 gods love for.htm