"IF WE LOVE JESUS"

 

      If we love Jesus with all of our hearts we will love the things He loved! We can find out from the Bible exactly what our Lord loved. When we find out what He loved and begin to love those same things, then we can truly say that we love the Lord. Feelings do not determine whether we love the Lord. Only by allowing the scriptures to guide our lives can we really say we love the Lord.

 

      If we love Jesus we will love the church because He shed His blood for the church. (Acts 20:28; Ephesians 5:23)  Some claim to love Jesus Christ today but actually despise the church of Christ. Christ is the Savior of the church. He loved the church and gave Himself for it. (Ephesians 5:25) If we love Jesus we will love what He loved.

 

      If we love Jesus we will love the scriptures. Jesus made bold use of the scriptures in facing Satan. (Matthew 4) He strongly rebuked the religious leaders of His day for "not knowing the scrip­tures." (Mark 12:24)  If we love Jesus we will be serious students of the Bible.

 

      If we love Jesus we will love our fellowmen. Our Savior loved even His enemies. Jesus loved the souls of all men! He loved man so much that He "by the grace of God tasted death for every man." (Hebrews 2:9) Jesus loved even the "rich young ruler" even though he would not obey Him. (Mark 10) If we love Jesus we will love our fellowmen.

 

            How can we claim to love Jesus but not love the things He loved? I am a Christian (a member of the church of Christ) because I love Jesus! Today is the day when we should demonstrate our love for Jesus. Will you not receive Christ as your Lord and Savior this day? To become a Christian you must hear the gospel (Romans 10:17), believe in Jesus (John 8:24), repent of sins (Acts 17:30), confess Christ as Lord (Acts 8:37), and be baptized in order to be saved. (1 Peter 3:21) After baptism use your life to spread the gospel of Christ!

 

By Charles Box, Walnut Street Church of Christ, P.O. Box 551, Greenville, Alabama 36037 USA

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