"Sloppy Agape" - Phony Love

It's become rather common these days for preachers - and lots of other people - to say that we should all just "love one another" and "love your neighbor as yourself." Of course, these are good and true teachings by our Lord Jesus Christ. In fact, He taught His disciples that loving our neighbor is equal to the command to love God with all our being:

"Jesus said to him, 'You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your mind.' This is the first and great commandment. A second likewise is this, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' The whole law and the prophets depend on these two commandments." (Mat. 22:37-40) 

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"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, just like I have loved you; that you also love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35)

Our love for God and our neighbor should be unconditional: God sends His rain on the just and the unjust alike, He bestows His grace on sinners like me who don't deserve it, so we should love even our enemies. But should a Christian ever hate? Our love should not be indiscriminate: "Let love be without hypocrisy. Hate that which is evil. Cling to that which is good." (Rom. 12:9) Some things and activities must be avoided: sexual immorality, greed, filthy language, just plain stupid talk, making fun of others, idolatry, etc. -

"You have heard that it was said, 'You shall love your neighbor, and hate your enemy.' But I tell you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who mistreat you and persecute you, that you may be sons of your Father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the just and the unjust. For if you love those who love you, what reward do you have? Don't even the tax collectors do the same?" (Mat. 5:43-46) 

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"Walk in love, even as Christ also loved you, and gave himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling fragrance. But sexual immorality, and all uncleanness, or covetousness, let it not even be mentioned among you, as becomes saints; nor filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor jesting, which are not appropriate; but rather giving of thanks. Know this for sure, that no sexually immoral person, nor unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an idolater, has any inheritance in the Kingdom of Christ and God." (Eph. 5:2-5)

As we approach the end and society becomes worse and worse, those who follow Christ and strive to do what is right will come under increasing pressure. People will hate us precisely because we try to love them even when they do ugly and perverse things, but we must endure to the end, keep on loving the sinner while hating the sin:

"You will hear of wars and rumors of wars. See that you aren't troubled, for all this must happen, but the end is not yet. For nation will rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom; and there will be famines, plagues, and earthquakes in various places. But all these things are the beginning of birth pains. Then they will deliver you up to oppression, and will kill you. You will be hated by all of the nations for my name's sake. Then many will stumble, and will deliver up one another, and will hate one another. Many false prophets will arise, and will lead many astray. Because iniquity will be multiplied, the love of many will grow cold. But he who endures to the end, the same will be saved. This gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world for a testimony to all the nations, and then the end will come. When, therefore, you see the abomination of desolation, which was spoken of through Daniel the prophet, standing in the holy place (let the reader understand), then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains." (Mat. 24:6-16)

We must realize that the world has changed radically in our lifetimes, that there's been an inversion of society's value system:

"...we need to recognize that there has been an ideological culture war going on in this country for the last 40 years in an effort to control the path of history and the ultimate shape of American society. Many of the religious leaders have been engaged on the conservative side struggling to at least maintain the status quo. On the liberal side, this war has been spearheaded by Hollywood elites in two major ways: (a) In the messages propagated through the movies and TV programming beamed directly into every living room of every American household and around the world, and (b) through the lifestyles of the Hollywood stars, which the media gossip engines are constantly glamorizing.

"Thus, chipping away constantly on the moral conscience of the nation, they have set us all on a moral slippery slope. Promiscuity and sexual activity outside of marriage have moved on our moral gauge from unacceptable to being the norm. Divorce has become commonplace and a social inevitability for many of us. Substance abuse and addiction are now seen as part of the American lifestyle, and pornography has gradually taken the place of daily entertainment. In the meantime, the concepts of “marriage” and “family” are being drastically reshaped." (Is Gay Marriage Just About Civil Rights?)

People are distorting the Gospel, saying that if we just "love each other," we can do whatever we want. This is "sloppy agape" - phony love. We need to avoid such sloppy thinking that says love means the liberty to live however we choose, indulging our lusts: "For you, brothers, were called to liberty. Only don't use your liberty as an excuse to gratify the flesh, but serve one another through love. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word, in this: 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.'" (Gal. 5:13-14)

"For, uttering great swelling words of emptiness, they entice in the lusts of the flesh, by licentiousness, those who are indeed escaping from those who live in error; promising them liberty, while they themselves are bondslaves of corruption; for by whom a man is overcome, by the same is he also brought into bondage. For if, after they have escaped the defilement of the world through the knowledge of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, they are again entangled therein and overcome, the last state has become worse with them than the first. For it would be better for them not to have known the way of righteousness, than, after knowing it, to turn back from the holy commandment delivered to them." (2 Pet. 2:18-21)

The Apostle Jude, stepbrother of our Lord Jesus, warned us against such people: "For there are certain people who crept in secretly, even those who were long ago written about for this condemnation: ungodly men, perverting the grace of our God into unbridled lust, and denying our only Master, God, and Lord, Jesus Christ." (Jude 1:4) This is a rather blunt statement: perverting "grace" and "love" into "lust" is a denial of our faith in Christ!

In "What Liberals Get Wrong About the Family" we read:

"Conservatives are wrong to accuse the liberals of relativism. They are not relativists, but have fanatical attachment to certain ideals, which conservatives often fail to understand. One such ideal is autonomy, which guides their entire sexual agenda. As I argue in 'The Obligations of Family Life: A Response to Modern Liberalism,' the Left’s understanding of autonomy does much damage to marriage and family life.

"At first glance, autonomy seems to reflect the traditional American notion that all human beings are created free and equal. For example, everyone believes that marriage begins in the consent of two people and that a married couple should be able to make the most important decisions about their common life without state interference. But autonomy, as today’s liberals understand it, is about a radical form of personal independence: Everything about a truly autonomous individual’s identity must come from their free choice.

"For example, this means one should not be limited by sex or one’s body — both being givens that one did not choose. In fact, nothing besides an individual’s choice should bind him. Should the reasons for a choice become defunct, those choices should not long bind the individual. This understanding of autonomy is in deep conflict with the core experiences of procreation, love and the family. Marriage and family life require unchosen, enduring obligations that autonomy advocates cannot understand."

So we see there's a good version of love, and an evil, twisted version of love. We need to be discerning and discriminate between the two. If we confuse the two, the consequences will be disastrous!

(Linked to www.Hosken-News.info of 02 Jul. 2016.)