WordLive - Year OneSample

Prepare: ‘Love … rejoices with the truth’ (1 Corinthians 13:6). How does this challenge you? True love In this little letter, the shortest book in the entire Bible, John insists that love should not be blind. Love for God means living in – and living out – the truth that finds its most perfect expression in the person and saving work of Jesus Christ. As John sees it, if we desire to ‘live in love’, there are at least two consequences. One is obedience (compare verse 6 with John 15:10 and 1 John 5:3): love for God must be turned into concrete action (see also Romans 12:9–13; 1 John 3:16–18). The other is discernment, exercised towards teachers and the teaching they bring. No compromise The instruction not to welcome spurious teachers into one’s house (v 10) meant not giving them an opportunity to spread their ideas. Remember that the early church met mostly in private homes and didn’t own church buildings. The gospel can be compromised not only by those who deny its core truths (v 7), but also by those who add to them (v 9). Often false teachers can be spotted because they are worldly minded, seeking either power, money or both (v 7). Today, many modern societies insist that tolerance is the way to live. But while tolerance is blind, genuine Christian love is not. Respond: Think through some of those situations where you find it difficult to hold love and truth together. How does this letter inform your approach? http://www.wordlive.org/Session/Classic/2012-10-04