In Steve Hopkins' sermon titled 'Forgive, Receive, Love One Another,' the focus is on the biblical commands to love one another, as found in Scripture, particularly in the books of John and Romans. Hopkins emphasizes that true love among believers can only stem from experiencing God's love firsthand. This divine love compels believers to engage in various 'one another' acts such as forgiving, serving, and bearing each other's burdens. The sermon underscores that these acts require self-sacrifice and a measure of dying to self. Hopkins references passages from Galatians, Thessalonians, and Romans to illustrate the importance of bearing one another's burdens, comforting each other in times of trial, and preferring others above oneself. Disputes over non-essential matters, such as dietary practices in the early church, are discussed with a call to pursue peace and edify one another. Forgiveness is highlighted as a crucial aspect of love, urging believers to hurl away offenses as God forgives us. The sermon concludes with a prayer for divine assistance to embody Christ's love and serve one another.

Again, we took a break from our study of the book of Romans a couple of weeks ago to look at the topic of love in the book of 1 John, and we have taken the opportunity to begin to look at one another's of Scripture, the opportunity afforded by the several commands in 1 John to the people of God to love one another. If you would stand with me for the reading of the word of the Lord, John 13 and verse 34. Let's read together. A new commandment I give unto you that you love one another as I have loved you that you also love one another. Let's pray.

Father, we bless your holy name for your greatness is beyond the comprehension of finite man. You know the hearts of everyone here. You know the hearts of all men. And Lord, we ask for your help again this afternoon that as we open your word you might give the Spirit to change us more into the image of Christ who has loved us. That we might love every one of your children and receive every one of your children and serve every one and be at peace with every one and pray for everyone and forgive every one for we ask it in Jesus name amen let's be seated I said in our last session that every one of the one another's commanded the people of God and Scripture fall under the category of love.

It is impossible to have real love one for another unless one has experienced the love of God himself or herself. The unsaved man or woman may labor under constraint to serve others and to pray for others and to be patient with others and forgive others and submit to others and prefer others, etc., etc. But the child of God wants to, the child wants to engage these one-anothers with the people of God, to forgive others, to submit to others, to prefer others, to serve others, to be at peace with others, to care for others in the family of God because He's experienced the love of God. He knows the love of God firsthand and the power of that love upon his own life. And because the love of God indwells him, so the love of God compels him.

We read last week in 1st John 3 16, and I think Eric also mentioned it earlier, this passage, hereby perceive we the love of God. That is, by this, we know what real love looks like, because Jesus laid His life down for us. Because Jesus laid his life down for us. Because Jesus laid his life down for us, we not only know what real love looks like and acts like and lives like, as I said in our last session, we know what real love dies like and how we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. And I noted that all the one another's of Scripture commanded of God to the people of God require a measure of self-sacrifice, A measure of dying to self.

We began to look at some of them beginning with our opening passage, John 13, 34, a new commandment Jesus said, I give unto you that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. The law of God in the Old Testament commands us to love our neighbor as ourselves. But Jesus says that we who are the members of the family of God are to love our brothers and sisters in the family of God as Christ also has loved us. I quoted Spurgeon last week, a nobler kind of love altogether to the love which we are to manifest to our neighbors is called for. That love is the love of benevolence, but what God requires of His children is a love of affinity that is a close relationship, a love that involves a higher degree of self-sacrifice than was commanded by the law of Moses." to love our brothers and sisters in Christ as Christ has loved us requires self-sacrifice, it requires self-denial, it requires a daily measure of dying to self, And every one of the one another's of Scripture proves that.

We looked first at Galatians 6-2 where Paul writes, "'Bear ye one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. We're members of a family. And we're members of a family that were never intended to bear the weight of the burdens of this life on our shoulders alone. As the children of God, we seek the things that are above, but are many times so oppressed with the things of earth below. And many times staggering under our daily load, we cry out to God, and he hears us, and praise God, help is sent down.

And many times that help is sent down in the form of a brother or a sister who has moved to help us in our time of need, we know not how. The call of God upon the family of God is to bear one another's burdens, and the law of love is fulfilled in us when we share the load with our family members in Christ. Setting aside our own burdens many times. Brothers and sisters, to look to the needs of our family members, our brothers and sisters in Christ. We say, I have many pressing burdens at present, but here's a brother, here's a sister in the Lord who is carrying a heavier load.

I will set my burden aside for a time and help him, help her. And I noted in our last session how this passage, in the context of this passage, when it speaks of bearing the burdens of one another, the context is actually the context of a brother or a sister who falls into sin, who is caught off guard, who stumbles into sin, is overtaken in a fault. And how we should seek to restore him, to restore her, to help that brother or sister to get to their feet again and in a spirit of meekness, considering our own weakness and vulnerability, lest we also be tempted. Then we looked at 1st Thessalonians chapter 4 in verse 18 in the command to comfort one another where we read the words of the Apostle Paul speaking by the Spirit of God, wherefore comfort ye one another with these words." What words? Believers are commanded to comfort their fellow Christians in their times of trial, in their hour of affliction, in their day of adversity, when they're walking through the valley of the shadow of death by reminding them that Christ is one day coming back for them, and of their future resurrection to glory, to which no trial on earth can compare.

Brothers and sisters, the darkest valley any one of us will ever go through, will ever walk through, can last no longer than a lifetime. And in comparison to eternity, it will be as a single night. The psalmist says in Psalm 30, weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning. There is a bright morning coming for the Christian that will shatter every vestige of the darkness. When the dead in Christ, the Scripture says, will rise first.

And we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them, the dead in Christ, to meet the Lord in the air and so shall we ever be with the Lord. Wherefore comfort one another with these words, " Paul says. Comfort one another with these words in their time of trial and their time of affliction and their time of adversity when they're walking through the valley of the shadow of death. Then we looked at Romans 12 10 and the call to prefer one another Ball says be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love and honor Preferring one another the word that the Apostle uses here and the Greek is translated prefer in the English, means literally to lead the way. It is a Christ-like virtue to lead the way in honoring others before ourselves.

Or as the ESV puts it, to outdo one another in showing honor. But if we would lead the way in showing honor to our brothers and sisters in Christ, something must necessarily take place first. Our estimation of ourselves must decrease and our estimation of our brothers and sisters in Christ must increase. In Philippians chapter 2 and verse 3 we read, let nothing be done through vain glory or strife or vain glory, but in lowliness of mind let each esteem others better than themselves." If our estimation of others is higher than our estimation of ourselves, remember estimation has to do with value that's placed on something. Our estimation of others is higher than our estimation of ourselves.

It's easy to love them. It's easy to honor them. It's easy to serve them. A note in my Bible commentary says, quote, humility accepts a place of service. Humility accepts a place of service.

Jesus said, the Son of Man came not to be served, but to serve. And then he girded himself with a towel and got on his knees and washed the feet of the saints. In Galatians 5 13 Paul says, by love serve one another. By love serve one another. I read Paul's words from Ephesians 4 in our last session where he admonishes us as the children of God to walk worthy of the vocation wherewith we've been called with all lowliness and meekness and with long suffering, putting up with a lot, forbearing with one another in love, endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bod of peace.

And I asked how many churches have we all known or had some contact with or information about in the past that have been split or altogether disintegrated because a handful of members refused to walk in lowliness and in meekness one with another. So many. So many. In this passage we are commanded with all humility and gentleness and with much patience to show forbearance one toward another in love, to bear with one another in love. To forbear, as I said in our last session, is to quote exercise patience and indulgence.

It is, in the words of Webster, 1828, it is a ceasing or restraining from action. To forbear one another in love, according to one translation, is to make, quote, allowance for others' faults because of our love for them. A note in my Bible commentary I mentioned last week says that to forbear in this sense is to endure pain and annoyance with self-control. Patient forbearance applies the brake pedal. It pulls the reins on the tongue and applies the brakes on actions.

In a word, it responds in humility with understanding and exercises patience and self-control, while enduring the infirmities and weaknesses of others in the body of Christ. And Paul says endeavoring, that is making every effort to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. The psalmist said seek peace and pursue it. Romans 14 19 is our next passage. Pursue the things that make for peace and edify one another.

Paul says, let us therefore follow after, that is pursue, the things which make for peace and things wherewith one may edify or build up another." This was a response to a controversy. Romans 14, 19 was Paul's response to a controversy that arose in the early church concerning the eating of meat and vegetables. We might say that sounds kind of funny today. There was a disagreement in the church that might seem kind of odd to us today between believers who ate meat and those who believed that they were to eat only vegetables. And those who ate meat despised those who didn't.

And those who didn't eat meat judged those who did. And yet this applies to so many things in our world today, in the church today, and controversies within the churches today as it has throughout all of history. Paul was concerned for those on both sides of the issue. Think about this. He wanted them to walk charitably, that is, with love one toward another.

It isn't a sin to eat meat, and it isn't a sin not to eat meat. It was a matter of indifference. And Paul was saying, don't judge each other on matters of indifference. You don't have a command here. There's no law concerning this matter.

It is a matter of indifference. In 1st Corinthians chapter 8, in a similar controversy, some Christians were disassociating themselves from fellow Christians who bought and ate meats sold in the markets that had previously been offered to idols. They were convinced that to do so was a sin. Paul says, no, an idol is nothing. It isn't a sin to buy the meat.

It isn't a sin to eat the meat. It isn't a sin to not buy the meat. It isn't a sin to not buy the meat, it isn't a sin to not eat the meat. But if the weaker brother is emboldened to eat the meat when he's convinced it is a sin to do so, even though the thing is not a sin in practice, he's sinning against his conscience. And Paul tells the more mature believers, look, you're not doing this.

Don't glory in your liberty. You have liberty to go to the markets, you can buy that meat, you know that an idol is nothing, you can buy it, you can eat it, you have liberty, your conscience shouldn't be defiled. But abstain of the presence of the weaker brethren. Don't put a stumbling block in his way. It's lawful, Paul tells them, but not expedient because it doesn't edify.

The Apostles teaching on on both issues was essentially the same. Look, he's saying the weaker brethren should not impose their opinions concerning things indifferent on others in the church and the more mature believers shouldn't flaunt their freedom in the face of the weaker brethren be at peace one with another dr. Sprola has gotten a lot of time from the pulpit today. In his sermon, The Tyranny of the Weaker Brother, he says, quote, how many Christians have been taught that it is sinful to do things that God has not declared to be sinful. They've been told that some matters indifferent are actually not indifferent.

How do you deal with the weaker brothers? Do you laugh at them? Do you criticize them? Do you jump on them with criticism? Or do you respect their consciences and say, I know you have this scruple.

I don't want to make you stumble and entice you to do something that you're convinced is a violation of God's law. This is what Paul was willing to do. First Corinthians 8, 9 through 13. Paul was willing to give up meat altogether for the sake of his weaker brother. That's what he said, until the end of the world.

If a person has a scruple I do not share and it is a scruple unto the Lord, then I need to bend over backwards to be caring and not flaunt my liberty in their face, " says Sproul. He says, I should do the act that is indifferent but offends another believer in private. Our freedom in Christ is not an autonomy, Sproul goes on, whereby we can do anything we feel like doing. It must always be accompanied by a charitable sensitivity towards those who have scruples. But what happens, he goes on, when weaker brothers want to elevate their personal scruples to a level of a moral standard for Christianity.

Supplies to so many things today. You can't do this, you can't do that, you can't do this other thing. Why? Because I have this scruple, and then it's elevated as though it's a command of God that all consciences are supposed to be bound by. I broke away from Sproul here.

But what happens, he says, when weaker brothers want to elevate their personal scruples to a level of a moral standard for Christianity. Here the weaker brother begins to take a personal scruple, that's something that they, you know, really feel strongly about, and bind the consciences of people destroying Christian liberty. He goes on, we have to be very sure that the standards we impose on others in the church are biblical standards and not just our own scruples. Once a person with a scruple tries to make his opinion, his scruple, the rule of the church, then he must not be allowed to enforce a law where God has set us free. We must apply the gospel wisely and in love so that we might be patient with the young in faith, But at the same time, we cannot let the weaker brother impose his view on others." Close quote.

I think that was very well articulated, very well put. Paul's teaching, that's a close quote, is that Christians should always be aiming for peace in the body and pursuing the things that tend to peace and the mutual building up of one another. Let us therefore follow after the things which make for peace, Paul says, and things wherewith one may edify another." Which brings us to Romans 15 7. It says right on the heels of this controversy, wherefore receive ye one another as Christ also received us to the glory of God. Paul says look you guys that are pulling apart from each other this strife or this division over non-essentials You need to stop it.

You need to receive one another. You need to stop being so offended that you don't accept one another, receive one another. Do you break fellowship with others in the body over minor matters? Do you not wanna be around them? You refuse to keep company.

There are essentials of the Christian faith, and there's non-essentials. Minor issues should not separate believers in the body. A note in my Bible again says, Christ received us as sinners to the glory of God's grace, so we ought to openheartedly receive imperfect saints. We're imperfect saints too. We should, it goes on, rebuke blatant sin and rebellion, but should exercise restraint and gentleness towards those who are young in the faith and those who need encouragement in the ways of the Lord, rather than condemning them for every defect arising from ignorance or a misguided conscience." The love of God for his children is the same whether they are weak or strong in the faith, more mature spiritually or less mature spiritually.

God doesn't love the one more than the other and neither should we. And neither should we. We must embrace all those whom Christ has embraced. Hospitality next. 1st Peter 4 9, maybe the last one we get to this week.

Use hospitality one to another without grudging, Peter says. Most of us know what hospitality is. Webster again defined it back in 1828 as, quote, the act or practice of receiving and entertaining strangers or guests without reward, with kindness and generous liberality. Hospitality is a qualification of pastors in 1 Timothy 3, too, but it's a requirement of every believer. The Greek word Paul uses here means to be fond of guests or strangers.

Peter uses the word here with regards to the people of God, not the strangers. I'm grateful to be a member of a church that practices hospitality. Some churches have members who really don't know each other. When I was a boy growing up in the Independent Baptist churches, the pastor would often tell everyone to stand up and turn around maybe between a hymn and shake hands with the person that was behind you and and you know shake hands with them maybe ask their name or whatever and his intent was for was for the people of the church in the church to get to know each other and I remember many times thinking I didn't even know this person existed who was sitting right behind me, let alone know that he was a member of the church. One of the reasons that church members don't know each other is because They see each other only on Sunday and they don't practice hospitality.

They live as acquaintances, not as members of the same family. Many of them have never had anyone in their church in their home, nor have they been invited to the home of any other member. And I know people have reasons for that, right? All of these one another's that we've been talking about. All these irritating things about those who are not like us, just like us.

There's always some reason. There's always some reason. When we open our homes to to each other we practice hospitality one to another it is a command of Scripture brothers and sisters and Paul says use it that is practice it without grudging. Your version might say show hospitality one to another without grumbling or complaining. One version puts it or translates it, open your homes to one another without complaining about it.

But why the qualification here? Why this qualification to show hospitality one to another without grudging or grumbling or complaining. If you had the text open here, I think the previous verse answers the question. Peter proceeds the call to hospitality among the people of God in verse 8 with a call to love and to forgiveness. Above all, he says, have fervent charity among yourselves, that is, fervent love among yourselves, for love covers the multitude of sins.

That's why people don't engage in hospitality. No one will use hospitality in a grudging, reluctant, I don't really want to be doing this complaining kind of way if love is the motivating factor, the kind of love that covers the multitude of sins, that is the kind of love that forgives minor offenses, which are the multitude of causes for which churchgoers avoid one another. When we don't forgive minor offenses, they become grudges. And when we hold grudges against members of God's family, we typically express it by avoiding fellowship with them. Fervent charity or love, on the other hand, covers the multitude of sins because the multitude of sins are petty.

They're minor irritations which brings us to the call to forgive one another. Ephesians 432, be kind one to another, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. In Matthew 18 verses verses 21 and 22, Peter comes to Jesus seeking some clarification on this thing of forgiving the brethren, and he asks Jesus, Lord, how often am I supposed to forgive this person, this brother who comes to me and says, you know, he's sorry about this or that. How often can he sit against me and I have to forgive him seven times? Jesus answers I say not until seven times but until seventy times seven.

Okay 486, 487, 488, 489, 490, no more forgiveness for you. That's not what Jesus is talking about. Forgiveness offenses committed against us by fellow believers is the commandment of Christ to forgive something means literally to Hurl it away You see something like spinning off, right? If something is hurled away, it's no longer remembered against someone sound familiar Because of what Christ did for us on the cross, our sins have been put as far as the east is from the west, no longer to be remembered against us. Hurl it away.

Hurl it away. Our sins for Christ's sake have been hurled away into the sea of forgetfulness that is never to be remembered against us again. God remembers everything, right? He doesn't lose his memory, but he doesn't remember them against us. And that for Christ's sake.

And we are to repeat that, imitate that. Because God for Christ's sake has forgiven us, let us hurl away offenses of others. Colossians 3.13 says, if any man has a quarrel with any, even as Christ forgave you, so also do ye.'" But man, it was a hot debate, you know? Like people get into, you know, over eschatology, and then they separate from each other in churches. If any man has a quarrel against any, even as Christ forgave you, forgive him.

John Gill comments here, he forgives as God has forgiven him so as to forget the injury done him and remembers it no more and having once forgiven it he thinks of it no more. End quote. Sounds pretty simple. I'm not thinking about this anymore. Why?

Because I forgave it. Why would I continue to think about it? Why would I continue to lay there in my bed and mull over it or be disturbed by it or let it disturb my peace. Why would I wake up in the middle of the night thinking about, no, it's been forgiven. I'm not going to think about it anymore.

But one might ask, what if that brother or sister has never asked my forgiveness? Jesus said in the Gospel of Luke, if my brother comes to me saying, I repent, I must forgive him, but what if he doesn't? Answer? If it is something that rises to the level where you can't forgive a brother or sister in Christ, then it probably rises to the level where confrontation is required, private confrontation, as we read of in Matthew 18, and the beginning of the church discipline process. As it rises to that level, okay I've got to go to this brother, it rises to that level.

But if it doesn't rise to that level, hurl it away. Minor offense. Love covers the multitude of sins. Again, because the multitude of offenses taken are petty. Minor offenses or irritations that every one of us commit, and many times unintentionally.

Sometimes, on the other hand, we just need to exhort or encourage a brother or sister in the right direction. Hebrews 3.13, exhort one another. Eric read this earlier. Encourage one another, exhort one another daily while it's still called today. Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin, look at the concern there.

I don't want you to be hardened in sin. I've got to go to this person. I'm not trying to get something off my chest. I care about you. I want to encourage you to obedience and a closer walk with the Lord.

If a relationship is strained or you can't seem to let go of something, go to the person and talk with them. Talk with your brother or sister in Christ. You'd be surprised how many things go go south in letters and emails and texts that are resolved quickly in face-to-face meetings. Oh, I didn't understand what you're saying. Now I understand.

Emojis are not good enough expressions to really depict what you're feeling. So meet with someone when there's when there's something you just saying you can't let go of it or it just keeps bothering you meet with that person and seek peace and pick up next week in our next session. Submit to one another, confess your faults one to another, provoke one another to love and good works, bear with one another, pray for one another. But for now let's close in prayer. Father, we do need your help God, We acknowledge that we can't do any of these things that were commanded in our own strength.

Christ is divine. We are the branches. Apart from Him we can do nothing. We need your help Father. We need the help of the Holy Spirit to be more like Christ and less like us.

Help us, Lord, to love one another as Christ also loved us. And by love to serve one another and bear each other's burdens Lord and comfort one another and receive one another accept one another and have others in our homes and forgive one another and and be at peace with one another For the glory of the name of your Son, our Lord Jesus, who died for our sins, who paid the penalty for our sins, forgiven us all trespasses, and reconciled us to you God. For Christ's sake help us Lord to grow in in His likeness in conformity to Him who saved us from our sins through the sacrifice of Himself. For we ask it in His Holy Name, Amen.