FIGHTING DEATH WITH LOVE

 

There are two principal actors on the stage of history. These are Jesus Christ and the devil.

 

According to 1 John 3:8, the Bible says for this cause the son of man was manifested that He might destroy the works of the devil.

 

In other words the contest in this world is between Christ the champion, the true King of kings and Satan that usurped the world.

 

According to 1 John 3:9-10, just as we have two captains, Jesus Christ the real champion and the devil who is the pretender, there are also supporting actors they are also in two distinct groups.

 

These are: the people on the side of our Lord Jesus Christ and those on the side of the devil.

 

You must know the group to which you belong. As a disciple, you should belong to the side of Jesus Christ. In 1 John 2:15-19, you discover that these two groups of supporters can also be grouped into two distinct categories, viz, lovers of God versus lovers of the devil, or winners versus losers.

 

If you are a lover of God, you are a winner, but if you are a lover of the devil, you are a loser.

 

In Romans 8:2, we also discover that there are two principal laws governing the contest on the stage of life.

 

Whenever there is a contest, there are rules governing the contest. The two laws governing the contest on the stage of life are:-

1. The law of life that is in Christ Jesus
2. The law of sin and death that is in Satan.

 

These two laws are also called by other names. In Galatians 5:1, they are the law of liberty versus the law of bondage.

 

In 1 John 3:4, these two laws that control the contest in the world are called the laws of life and death. “And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.”

 

I John 3:4 says,

“Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law.”

 

In Romans 5:5, we discover that there is a love within. In John 15:9,10 there is an external love, it is a kind of enveloping love. It is the kind of love you can swim in.

 

When the love within is linked with the love without, we become surrounded and swallowed up in love; then, like God, we can say we are true partakers of divine love.

 

 

A similar illustration is that of a fish surrounded by and swimming in water.

 

From time to time, the fish swallows this water. There is water both within and around the fish.

 

When the love within us is linked up with the love surrounding us, so that when people look at us, the only thing they see is love, then we become partakers of the divine nature because God is love, within and outside.

 

According to 2 Peter 1:4, we are expected to be true partakers of this divine nature. The only way you can be totally surrounded by something and at the same time be full of that thing without dying is if that thing is the very essence of your life.

 

A good physical example is the air we breathe. We are surrounded by it, and we take it in because if we don’t breathe, we will die.

 

The most important thing for the God kind of life is love. You must be full of love within and be swallowed up by love.

 

 

In 1 John 4: 16, the Bible says if you abide in God and God abides in you, that is, you are surrounded by God and also filled with God, then God becomes the very essence of your life and God is love.

 

In John 14: 9, Jesus said, Any man who has seen Him has seen God. This means that within and without, Jesus Christ is also love.

 

When we talk about external love, it is a settled matter with many of us. We find it easy to love on the exterior. It can be said with the mouth.

 

The kind of love that is difficult to have is internal love. It is the genuine love that comes right from the inside of you.

 

It is when you have this kind of love, and it now combines with the external love, that real love can be expressed from the bottom of your heart.

 

In 1 Corinthians 10:24,32, it becomes abundantly clear that if all disciples are swallowed up in love, sin will decrease. If you love your brother, you won’t want to hurt him or offend or sin against him.

 

Children who are brought up in the atmosphere of love never become criminals. You will be able to discern from their attitudes and way of life, that they were brought up in love.

 

In Ephesians 1:3-4, we discover that every creature is a loving creation. It is the love of God that brings you out of sin and makes you a saint. When you step out of love, you step into the devil’s territory.

 

Love produces light, drives away darkness, produces holiness, and overcomes sin. So when you step out of love, you step out of light and out of holiness into sin. That is, you step into the devil’s territory.

 

Like the example of Samson, the moment the enemy captured him, the first thing they did was to pluck out his eyes. This is because the eyes are the light of the body.

 

They took away his light, and he never regained this light. Don’t stray out of love. No matter what anybody does to you, don’t let them lure you into hatred.

 

What else will love do? In Isaiah 53:4, the Bible says, Jesus (who is love) carried our burden for us. That is what love does; love helps people to carry their burdens.

 

In Galatians 6:2, the Bible says we are to carry the burdens of others out of love. What the Bible is saying here is that you are to carry the overload of others.

 

Some people are carrying more loads than they can bear, and you can help them. You are to carry them in love.

 

How did Jesus do it? According to Hebrews 2:15, Jesus died to conquer death and satan, the controller of death.

 

Now, what are we to do as disciples who have received the mantle? According to Galatians 6:1, we are to rally round the wounded soldiers to bring them back on

 

their feet, and the battle against the enemy continues. For many of us Christians, rather than rallying around the backslidden Christian, we begin to gossip and spread the bad news.

 

That is not love, if somebody you love falls, you will want to look for ways to cover him up; for the Bible says love covers a multitude of sin. This kind of love comes from within.

 

We are to rally round wounded soldiers, especially disciples that have drawn back from the school of disciples.

 

Romans 12:1 says, sacrifice every and all things to bring everybody to Christ. Anyone who is not born again is over loaded. He has burdens that he can’t carry alone.

 

Every soul that is not born again is defeated. But if you will preach Jesus Christ to them and bring them to Christ, the burden bearer, He will carry their burdens.

 

A sinner has burdens that he cannot ever express in words. Sinners are walking corpses. We are to bring life to them if we love them sufficiently.

 

You need to ask God to fill you with His love so that you can be enveloped in His kind of love, and thus be a conqueror of death.

 

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