Adding Brotherly Love: full transcript and answers

▶ 0:36 We’re again going to 2 Peter chapter 1 verses 4 through 5, and we’re going to be talking about adding brotherly love to godliness, self-control, knowledge, virtue, and faith. The Bible definition of brotherly love is to love the true church, the true church’s membership, the true believer. Brotherly love is confirmation of being born again—is going to be our first look at brotherly love. It’s a confirmation of being born again. Born again is a change from wrong behavior and thinking to a right behavior and thinking by the Scriptures. In 1 Peter chapter 1 verse 22 and 23, you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto a genuine brotherly love. See that you love one another with a pure heart fervently—enthusiastically. See that you love one another with enthusiasm. Being born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, by the word of God.

▶ 2:03 Most people understand that in John chapter 3 we are born again by the Spirit, but you also got to understand in John Jesus said my word is spirit. And not only does the Spirit come and personally change our lives, but the word of God comes and changes our life and moves us to apply the things of God in our life. So brotherly love is the confirmation that you’ve really been born again. Brotherly love is taught by God himself and his apostles.

▶ 2:38 In 1 Thessalonians 4:9 through 12, concerning brotherly love, you have no need that I write unto you, as you are taught by God to love one another. God has taught you personally by Spirit when you got born again to love one another, and you do to all the brethren in Macedonia. You do that. But in 1 Timothy 6:3, if any man teach and consent not to wholesome words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ—okay, what did Jesus teach? John 13:34, love one another as I have loved you. Tells us how to love one another as he loved us. By this shall all men know you’re my disciples. He says there is an end result of loving one another, loving the true church, and is that other people outside will know that you are my disciplined ones, my pupils, my disciples.

▶ 3:54 John 16:13, the Spirit of truth will guide you into all truth. So the Spirit comes and teaches us, Jesus comes and teaches us, God comes and teaches us himself to love the church of the living God. He goes on to say in 1 Thessalonians 4:9, we urge you—now it’s the apostles talking—we the apostles urge you, brethren, to increase more and more. Don’t just love the brethren in Macedonia. Just don’t love people in your same culture, your same nationality, whatever, but increase more and more. Go on to the next state. Go on to the next nation. Love the brethren worldwide. Increase more and more. And he says we also aspire you—we seek that you lead a quiet life. You’re not a lawless people doing violence and killing people and robbing—a quiet life—and take care of your own affairs, working with your own hands. Drive your own self to work. Don’t expect other Christians to do things for you. Pay your own bills. Balance your own checkbook. Get your act together and work, as we commanded you.

▶ 5:17 And number one, he says the result is you will walk properly to those who are outside. They’ll see that and say that’s good. And you may lack nothing. You can pay your bills. You can feed yourself. And we’ve got to live within our means to do that. And that’s the apostles talking. Acts 2:42, they continued steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine. Okay, what’s one of the apostles’ doctrine? 1 John 4:20, he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? You see, the apostles taught brotherly love. God himself comes to us and teaches us to love the true church. Now loving the brethren, the church, is loving Jesus. Loving the brethren, loving the church, is loving Jesus.

▶ 6:21 We’re going to go to Romans chapter 12 verse 10 through 13. Be kindly affectionate one to another with brotherly love. And then he tells us how to do it: in honor giving preference—they’re number one. You make your brother number one. Not lagging in diligence—working hard at making your brother number one and loving your brother. Fervent in spirit in loving your brother and making them number one. Serving the Lord. Rejoicing in hope. Patient in tribulation. Steadfast in prayer. When the church goes through trouble, just hang tight. Be patient with your brothers and sisters. Distributing to the needs of the saints and given to hospitality. Invite people to your house to put them first and to encourage them in the things of God.

▶ 7:15 Now we’re going to focus in on this serving the Lord. How is that serving the Lord when I love my brother? How am I ministering to Jesus when I’m loving my brother, making them number one? And so we’re going to ask this question: How is brotherly love serving the Lord Jesus Christ? And we’re going to go to Acts chapter 9 verse 4. When Saul saw the light, Jesus appeared to Saul on the road, and he said to Saul, why are you persecuting me? And Saul says, well who are you? And Jesus replied, I am Jesus whom you are persecuting. Now Paul was not persecuting Jesus—Jesus was in heaven—but he was persecuting the church, and Jesus is plainly saying when you mess with the church you’re messing with me. And we find in 1 Corinthians 12:27 that we are the body of Christ. Colossians 1:24, Christ for the sake of his body, which is the church. The church is the body of Christ. And Matthew 25:40, as you did it to the least of these my brethren you did it unto me. You see, we are the body of Christ—the eyes, the mouth, the hands, the feet of Christ on the earth—and how we treat our fellow Christian believer, our true believer brother in Christ, is how we’re treating God.

▶ 8:50 Now knowing that, you’ve got to understand in 1 Corinthians 11 that it is taken seriously about our attitude toward the real body of Christ, toward the real church, the real believers. And he says in 1 Corinthians 11:29, you’re not discerning the Lord’s body, which is what—his church, which is Jesus. For this cause many are sick and weakly among you, and many have already died, because you have mistreated purposely the body of Christ, the people of God. So I say to Christian humanists, be careful how you treat and how you speak evil and attack the true church, because Jesus will correct you. And folks, I have seen people die early for attacking the church. I have seen people sickly and mentally depressed and cast down. God does back up his word. When you purposely, on purpose, attack God’s people, Jesus will deal with that.

▶ 10:06 Now the deeds of the saints—you see, that’s how we serve the Lord, by serving his people. Now the needs of the saints—what might the needs of the saints be besides food, clothing, shelter, and medicine? Okay. In Luke 9:11, they came to him and Jesus healed all them that had need of healing. There are people who need healing in their mind and their emotions, in their spirit and in their physical body. So the church is to be a place of healing. In Luke 10:39, Mary sat at Jesus’s feet hearing his word, and Jesus said one thing is needful, and Mary chose that good part. The church should have the word of God spoken in it—not opinions and psychology and philosophies, but the word of God, the living word of God. Luke 15:7, more joy over one that repents than 99 just persons who need no repentance. So the church should be a place where people can repent, change their thinking and change their ways. Titus 3:14, learn to maintain good works to meet the necessary needs so you will not be unfruitful, both natural and spiritual. If you get an education, get a job skill, and work hard and be honest, you will provide for yourself. If you seek God he will give you the true riches of his kingdom.

▶ 11:34 In Revelation chapter 3 verse 17, you say I am rich—this is to the church; he’s talking to believers—I have need of nothing, and you don’t know that you’re miserable, poor, blind, and naked. You’re in pain. You’re poor spiritually. You’re blind spiritually. And you are naked—you don’t have the clothes of righteousness. And remember in 2 Peter, he that lacks these things is blind and can’t see afar off. When we don’t add to our faith we become blind. 1 Corinthians 7:5, so Satan does not tempt you because of your lack of self-control. A church should be a place where people can build up their strength in controlling themselves. 1 Thessalonians 3:10, we might perfect that which is lacking in your faith. You see, we need to add virtue, knowledge, self-control, godliness, patience, and brotherly love.

▶ 12:36 Now the urgency of church services to meet the needs of the saints is very important. Hebrews 10:24, we shouldn’t be here for entertaining and socializing. We should be here for the purpose that the church is—provoke, stir up one another to love and to good works. That’s what a church service should be about. And how do we do it? Not forsaking the assembling of yourselves together, as some are, and not coming to get all the time but come to give, to stir up. He says exhort one another, encourage one another in love and good works, and so much the more as you see the day approaching. The purpose of the church is to keep building the people up from babyhood to childhood to young adulthood to fatherhood in Christ. It’s urgent and it’s important that we do that.

▶ 13:29 He goes on to say if we sin willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth there remains no more sacrifice for sins. If I purposely and intentionally do something to hurt you or speak of you to hurt you, God said there’s no more sacrifice for your sin, but a fearful looking of judgment and fiery indignation which shall devour the adversaries. I submit to you today that we need to apply brotherly love to our faith and love our brother who is a genuine follower of Christ, whether they are a baby, child stage, young adult stage, or the mature stage. God will deal with people that do not love his church. You.