WALKING IN LOVE

1. “Yet if your brother is grieved because of your food, you are no longer walking in love. Do not destroy with your food the one for whom Christ died.”
2. Therefore do not let your good be spoken of as evil;
3. Therefore let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another.”
   Romans 14:15,16,19 (NKJV)

• When we come to Christ, accepted Him as Savior and Lord; we become His disciples and our lives belong to Him.

• A disciple is a learner or pupil who accepts the teaching of Christ, not only in belief but also in lifestyle (John 8:31).
• It means one’s lifestyle should be like that of the Master– Jesus Christ.
• You live your life to please Him, to expand His Kingdom on the earth 🌍 (John 15:16; 2 Corinthians 5:15).
• It means people can see Christ in you– in your way and manner of life; in your talking, dressing, comportment and everything (Acts 11:26).

1. “For none of us lives to himself, and no one dies to himself.
2. For if we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. Therefore, whether we live or die, we are the Lord’s.”
   Romans 14:7,8 (NKJV)

• Christ should live through you that people can see Christ in you, even without you telling them that you are a Christian (Galatians 2:20; Acts 11:26).

• A believer in Christ should not think or seek his own but consider the well-being of the body of Christ– other believers.
  “Let no one seek his own; but each one the other’s well-being.”
  1 Corinthians 10:24 (NKJV)
• You do not think about your personal comfort or satisfaction alone, you think about others. You consider what you are about to do, whether it will affect another brother or sister negatively.
• If you want to eat you consider other brethren, ‘Would my food cause others to stumble?’ In your dressing as a Christian sister, ‘Would my dressing fans lust in brothers and men in general i.e. would it cause them to commit immorality?’
  “It is good neither to eat meat nor drink wine NOR DO ANYTHING BY WHICH YOUR BROTHER STUMBLES OR IS OFFENDED OR IS MADE WEAK.”
  Romans 14:21 (NKJV)

• If what you do is causing offense, making other brethren sin, then you are not walking in love (Romans 14:15).

• What you do may not be a blatant sin, you may be sincere in your heart; however, you should be sensitive, if your action or word is wounding somebody’s heart– causing the person to go down in faith, then you need to change.

• Walking in love

• A believer should walk in love. Walking in love is not only about giving somebody material things or greeting somebody courteously or being charming; it includes seeking the well-being of others.
• You seek the well-being of others by not causing offense, not making others stumble, and by not weakening the faith of others (Romans 14:21; 1 Corinthians 8:13).
• The Bible admonishes us to pursue things which make for peace, aim for harmony; and the things one may edify– build each other up (Romans 14:19).

• You must always ask yourself, as a believer in Christ Jesus, ‘Am I building other people up?’ ‘Do I build other people up through my ways and manners of life?’

• As a Christian, if you are not conscious of this fact and you are less concern about it, it means you are not walking in love.
• It means you do not care, even if your behavior, what you do or say, caused other people to fall!

• Inability to consider other people’s weaknesses, what may be the outcome of your deeds, is a sign of immaturity, lack of love – not being sensitive to the well-being of others.
“Do not destroy the work of God for the sake of food”
Romans 14:20 (NKJV)

• In other words, do not destroy the work of God because of your inability to be sensitive to others.

1. “Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself; is not puffed up (arrogant);
2. does not behave rudely, DOES NOT SEEK ITS OWN, is not provoked, thinks no evil (keeps no account of evil).
3. does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth;
4. bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
5. Love never fails.”
   1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NKJV)

• The Scripture urges us not to owe anyone anything, but to love one another. In other words, we owe others love, we have obligation to love other people (Romans 13:8).

• Love is the fulfilment of the law (Romans 13:10).

• If you live in love, express the love of God poured out in your heart by the Holy Spirit, you will not need to strive to keep the Old Testament Laws (Romans 5:5).
• If you love your neighbor as yourself you will not do harm to him/her.
• Love is the New Testament Law, New Commandment given us by the Lord Jesus Christ (Mark 12:30,31).

1. “Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law.
2. For the commandments, “You shall not murder’, “You shall not steal,” “You shall not bear false witness,” “You shall not covet,” and if there is any other commandments, are all summed up in this saying, namely, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
3. Love does no harm to a neighbor; therefore, love is the fulfilment of the law.”
   Romans 13:8-10 (NKJV)

• If your attitude or character, what you do, is causing offense, making others stumble, then you need to change.

• God wants us to walk in love, think about others, care for our brothers and sisters in Christ– do things by which we may edify, build up another in Christ (Romans 14:19; 15:2).
  “For he who serves Christ in these things is acceptable to God and approved by men.”
  Romans 14:18 (NKJV)
  “Providing honorable things not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the sight of men.”
  2 Corinthians 8:21 (NKJV)

• You will not fail in Jesus’ name.
Peace!