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if love be absent. “ I am nothing." Such faith is not for all; b u t love is. 4. Benevolence, or Charity. Even such an exaggerated benevolence' as would give away every last penny to feed the poor may not am ount to any th ing in God’s records, and will not if the motive prompting th e gift he o ther th a n love. Men have given away all in o rder to purchase salvation, and th e ir giving “ profited them noth ing .” O thers have made large contributions to relief funds, and fam ine funds, and o th er “ fund s” to make a good showing among men or to get rid of th e solicitors; b u t they got no credit on H eaven’s ledger. Remember Ananias and Sapphira, Acts 5. 5. Martyrdom . This seems to me th e h ard est saying of all, and yet th ere it is w ritten. A man may lay down his life and it profit him nothing to have done so, if love were not the impelling motive. B etter to live loving th an to die unloving. Love more im p o rtan t th a n courage and fortitude. II. The M anifestation of Love. 1. Seven things love does n o t do. Does not envy o thers; does not boast of one’s self; does no t behave in an ungentlem anly or unladylike m a n n e r; does not always claim its own righ ts recognizing th a t the Christian has the rig h t to give up his rig h ts; does not keep an account book record of evil done him (Matt. 18:21, 22), nor say, “ I ’ll forgive, hu t I cannot fo rg e t;” does not get angry on one’s own account; does not feel glad when some one falls into sin bringing disgrace and discredit upon him. “Lord who shall stand if Thou shouldest m ark in iq u ity !” - 2. Six things love does do. Love is p atien t and long-suffering; love is kind (2 Samuel 9 :3 ) ; love is tru stfu l and unsuspicious; love is hopeful, despairs of no m an; love is brave— “ endureth all th in g s ;” love is joyful— “ rejoiceth w ith the tru th .” Does it no t rem ind you of
tu re and childish minds. Even th e elo quence of some w onderful o rator, like Apollos, was enough to induce them to constitute a little society of th e ir own, and named afte r him (1 Cor. 3 :4 ). Such foolishness and- evident carnality were so distastefu l to th e Spirit-filled Apollos, th a t he was unw illing to visit Corinth (1 Cor. 1 6 :1 2 ). The g ift of “ tongues” w ithout th e life being ruled by love is bu t empty, unmeaning noise. The phonograph may make sweet, h a r monious music, or deliver eloquent speeches; h u t it is only a piece of won derful machinery, it does no t (for it cannot) love. Machinery w ears out. It is never constructed for the other world. 2. Prophecy and Knowledge. This embraces declaring the m ind and will of God now; no t merely revealing fu tu re events, though it is commonly used nowadays of th e la tte r. The preacher is, or ought to he, God’s prophet. Even th e ability to read the ancient prophecies, to in te rp re t the seventy weeks of Daniel and th e seals, and vials, and trum p ets of Revelation, adds nothing to a man if he is not possessed by love. Perhaps folks would he more ready to heed our in te rp re ta tions of Jo h n ’s w ritings if we showed by our m anner th a t we ourselves had heeded Jo h n ’s exhortation “ love one an o th er” (1 John 3:14, 18, 23; 4:7, 8, 11, 20, etc.). 3. F aith . The faith h ere referred to is not th e faith th a t tru sts for salva tion th rough th e finished work of Christ, which is p rim ary and absolutely indispensable. I does refer to th e faith th a t changes things, th a t lays hold of God’s prom ises and works astonishing things. Such faith “may move m ountains, b u t it tak es *love to move men.” ' Perhaps P a u l’s followers (fo r you will remember th a t th e re was a P auline p arty in Cor inth, 1 Cor. 3 :4 ) were exulting in his m iracle w orking power. But P au l says th a t mountain moving faith is no th ing
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