“Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children; And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.”– Eph. 5:1-2

In chapter four of Paul’s letter to the saints in Ephesus urges us to walk worthy. Now he tells us what that looks like -“walk in love“. That is a lifestyle that is sure to get attention. More than that it gains God’s approval. That should be every Christian’s goal. In these two verses we see three things that are of great importance.

I. A PATTERN TO IMITATE – “Be ye therefore followers of God”
It is a sad fact that most people admire and are influenced by the wrong people. But as Christians we are to imitate, follow, Christ. He is the standard, model, example we are to follow. It isn’t good enough to be as good, or better, than others. Our goal is likeness to Christ ( Rom. 8:29). The word “followers” means “imitate”. We are to do as He does. Just as a child naturally bears some resemblance to his parents others should see something of our Father in us.

II. A PRECEPT TO INITIATE – “And walk in love”
There is no better word than “love” to describe how we should live. That is the path God has set before us. It sums up all we are to do. Where love is lacking likeness to Christ is missing (Matt. 5:43-48). The word “walk” is a present imperative – a command regarding our daily conduct, not something we do occasionally. It speaks of our conduct, our manner of life. In this case, a life characterized by love.

III. A PICTURE TO ILLUSTRATE – “as Christ also hath loved us”
Having seen a command and a challenge, we now see a comparison. We are to live a life of love, and this is what it looks like – “as Christ also loved us“. That’s an illustration with inspiration! Nothing should excite us more than thinking about the greatness of His love for us. And nothing should encourage us more to love others. How can we fail to love those for whom Christ died? The Bible explains and Christ exemplifies what it means to live a life of love and we don’t have the right to redefine it. Simply put, it is to “walk in love as Christ also loved us, and hath given himself for us”. True love is the choice to give ourselves unto others to meet their needs, although they do not deserve it. – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.”– 1 John 3:1“In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.”– 1 John 4:9

“Behold” he says, which means give your full attention in every possible way. And seeing the subject, “what manner of love the Father hath bestowed”, it is easy to see why! When you think of love you might think of many things– such as a mother’s tender touch, or a soldier’s sacrifice, or a friend’s faithfulness. But to get the best, the perfect, picture of love you have to look back to the old rugged cross where Jesus suffered, bled , and died. You can’t miss seeing it there!

It is there that we see the Best give the most for the worst who deserve the least. It’s called “grace”. It was there that God gave His Son who gave Himself as the sacrifice for sinners. As bad as we are, He gave His blood to redeem us out of the bondage of sin and bring us into the family of God. Indeed, as the song writer said, “What love is this?”. We cannot measure such love, for it is infinite. We cannot comprehend such love, for it is immutable. We cannot deny such love, for it is indisputable. We cannot lose such love, for it is indestructible. And we need not doubt such love for it is insured. Confirmed by the One who cannot lie.

Although the greatness of His love “passeth knowledge” (Eph. 3:19), we can experience and enjoy it. Regardless of the depth of our depravity we are assured that God loves us. He loves the world! Let us then look at the cross where we see — the Father’s will obeyed
– the curse endured
– the penalty paid
– the justice of God satisfied
– the enemy defeated
– redemption provided
– reconciliation secured
– the way to God opened
– love displayed

No sweeter words were ever heard than Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.” There are no words to describe the greatness of His love toward us. It is immeasurable!. As someone said, “He cannot love you more and He will not love you less!”.  Let us then be always and forever “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” ( Heb. 12:2). It is in seeing Him “lifted up” ( John 12:38) that we are drawn to Him. It is at the cross we see His love and “We love him, because he first loved us” ( 1 John 4:19). – HDS
David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.”- Rom. 12:9

It is an obvious oxymoron to speak of love with hypocrisy. There is no such thing. True love is pure, not pretentious. But sadly there is much masquerade today. Like Judas, many are wearing a mask pretending to love when they don’t really love at all. Rather than concern for others their chief interest is for self. It is for some personal advantage, other than 30 pieces of silver, that they pretend to love others. But true love looks out for the welfare of others – putting the needs of others ahead of it’s own.

Pure love is costly. It is a death sentence to self – a price not everyone is willing to pay. Love denies self that it might delight others. It causes us to do without so others won’t be without. And that’s what the world needs! The problem is that sometimes even Christians can be deceived into thinking they love people when they don’t. They fail to understand what true love is. They have a self-imposed limit to which they are willing to go, lest they become uncomfortable, in giving to others. But true love goes above and beyond the call of duty. It goes the extra mile. It gives cheerfully rather than begrudgingly.

We need to recognize love for what it truly is, rip off the mask of pretense, and resolve to love others sincerely. It is then and only then that others “will know” (John 13:35) that we are the disciples of Christ. Forget about trying to project an image so as to profit from your pretense. Get real. Walk the talk by having “fervent charity” ( 1 Pet. 4:8) “out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned” (1 Tim 1:5). That’s pure love. That’s what will please God, profit others, and prove that you are a child of God! – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“And we know that we are of God, and the whole world lieth in wickedness. And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” – 1 John 5:19-20

We live in a confusing world and there are many questions begging to be answered. Sadly there is far too much guessing. Admittedly there are things we can’t know. but there are certain things we could and should know. Here’s some examples:

DO YOU KNOW ABOUT JESUS? Without a knowledge of His person and work, who He is and what He has done, we could never be saved. To have faith in Christ we must have the facts about Christ. You can’t just conjure up in your mind a “Christ” created by your imagination as some do. That’s no better than the man made religions of the world.

DO YOU KNOW JESUS? It’s one thing to know about Jesus and another thing to actually know Him. You could study the life of the President and learn much about him without ever actually meeting or knowing him. Sadly that’s the way it is with some people regarding Christ. They can rehearse many facts about him, but they do not have a relationship with Him. Christ is more than a subject to be studied. He is a person to be known. That demands trust as well as truth, faith in addition to facts. Do you know Him as your Lord and Savior?

DOES JESUS KNOW YOU? This might seem like an odd question, but it’s legitimate. Matt. 7:21-23 describes some who thought all was well when it wasn’t. It’s the same with many today who will hear Him say, “I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity“. (vs.23). Knowing His title and traits isn’t the same as trusting Him. Even sincerity isn’t sufficient. Religion is no substitute for a relationship. The question is, “Do you know that Jesus knows you?” He knows all those who have received Him through faith. Upon that you can rely! You can know that He knows you. As 1 John 5:13 says, “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”- HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346

“I marvel that ye are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace of Christ unto another gospel: Which is not another; but there be some that trouble you, and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we, or an angel from heaven, preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have preached unto you, let him be accursed.” – Gal. 1:6-8

We live in a corrupt and confused world. It is no wonder considering that “the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not” ( 2 Cor. 4:4). That’s why Paul said, “if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost” ( 2 Cor. 4:3). It is to such people that we have been sent to “be witnesses” ( Acts 1:8). You would think that as simple as the gospel is that everyone would understand it, but they don’t. And those who are most blind to the truth, and the hardest to reach, are those who think they know the truth and don’t. Being convinced that they are right they close their ears to the truth.

It is no wonder that people are confused. There are many voices clamoring for our attention and much debate about who is right and who is wrong. Trying to wade through all the different beliefs of so many religions it would take a life time of study to fully understand them all. That would be a waste of time. Rather than that, you can weed them out in a hurry by finding out what they believe about salvation. If they are wrong on that stay away! And you might be surprised to learn that the vast majority of so called “Christian” denominations are in error in this regards. That makes them no better than any of the false religions — even those who deny Christ altogether. Being an unsaved member of a so called Christian church is no better than being a Muslim, or a Buddhist, etc. Without a knowledge of the gospel they all are lost.

They are lost because they depend on works of some sort, rather than salvation “by grace through faith” (Eph. 2:8). Anyone who is trusting anything other than that is unsaved. If a person is depending on works of any kind –baptism, prayer, behavior, service, etc., they are unsaved. Salvation is based on what Jesus did, not what we do. It is based on believing rather than behavior, mercy rather than merit.

Don’t be fooled, these folks can be very devoted to what they do and come across as being very sincere and sure of their position. However, feeling sure and being sincere about your beliefs doesn’t make you safe. You might be satisfied with them, but if God isn’t it’s all in vain. There is no salvation apart from faith in the shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Add anything to it and you have perverted the gospel. – HDS

David Stone
Lakeway Baptist Church
5801 FM 1960 E
Humble, TX. 77346