Let's turn to 2 Peter and chapter 1, 2 Peter chapter 1. as we are returning to our series on Sunday mornings entitled Christian, Grow Up. And I always emphasize that I'm dealing with you as an individual and not you collectively. And hence the statement is in the singular. Christian, grow up. What we've been doing thus far has been to look at those graces that are mentioned in verse 5 down to verse 7 of 2 Peter chapter 1. in order for us to see whether we are having these graces increasing in our individual lives. But let's begin reading again from verse 13, rather verse three, as we make our way all the way to verse seven, where we are. So 2 Peter chapter one, verse three. His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who calls us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature. having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desires. For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness. and steadfastness with godliness and godliness with brotherly affection and brotherly affection with love. That's where we are as we are considering these graces. What you will remember is that we mentioned the fact that the way they are queued up, you are actually making your way to the top when you get to godliness, and then godliness pours downstream through brotherly kindness and love. And ultimately, it is simply saying, pours downhill through love. The only difference there that is being made is that the first is within the family of God, and so it is brotherly affection, but it does not stop there. Where there is genuine godliness, that love pours out beyond the confines of the church and touches neighbors and friends everywhere as the Lord provides opportunity. Now last week, rather two weeks ago, I've just come in from Kenya, two weeks ago we were looking at the same love and the statement being add love to your brotherly affection and we were at that point introducing what that love is all about. We began to look at how it is different from brotherly affection. We also went on to look at its primary character from 1 Corinthians 13, so that we stop thinking that it is simply giving out alms. It is much more than that. It is the very character of the person. It's you oozing with love rather than simply dishing out things that people need. And then thirdly and lastly, we looked at its source, and we saw that its primary source spirit working in our lives. He is the one who enables us to love in this particular way. Well, today, I want us to go one step further and consider the intellectual reasons that should compel us to resolve to add love to our brotherly affection, to go beyond loving my brothers and sisters in Christ. What are the intellectual reasons that should compel us to do so? Now, before we plunge into that, let me just make one statement that we ought to appreciate as a general statement, and it is this, that Christianity does not start with reason. It doesn't begin there. It begins with revelation. It is God revealing to us who he is, revealing to us his ways, revealing to us his laws, revealing to us his method of salvation. It is a given faith. However, this is the point I want to make. that although Christianity begins with revelation, it is in itself very reasonable, very reasonable. In other words, when you then begin to understand what God has revealed, it is most satisfying to your capacity to reason. your logical capacity. And that's one reason why you find that Christians, mature Christians, are individuals who have a growing capacity to reason and also to show wisdom in life. It is because they have been enabled, as it were, to stand on the sun the solar system of truth in perfect symmetry. So it doesn't begin with reason. As the Bible itself tells us, if the people of this world had had that wisdom, they would not have crucified the King of Glory. They wouldn't have done so, because they were beginning with worldly wisdom. And in the end, they thought that taking Jesus to the cross was an opportunity to get rid of an enemy. They did not know they were playing into God's hands. It was according to plan. However, you and I today studying the cross and what took place at Calvary, it is the most mentally satisfying truth. when you realize that what God was doing there was substitution, the innocent for the guilty, the righteous for the unrighteous, the living taking the place of the dying that we might be able to live. And so it is intellectually satisfying. Well, we can apply it to love as well. It is God who has commanded, as we shall see in a moment. It is revealed in scripture that we ought to add love to brotherly affection. But I want to give at least three reasons this morning as to why it is the most reasonable thing to do. First of all, we are to love our non-Christian neighbors simply because the Lord God has commanded us to. That's the first reasonable process we should be able to go through. My God has commanded it, therefore I ought to do it. And we see this from the way in which the Lord Jesus Christ answered the Pharisees in Matthew and chapter 22. Matthew 22 verse 34 to verse 40. Just quickly turn with me there. Matthew 22. verse 34 and to verse 40. We are told there, Matthew 22, but when the Pharisees heard that he had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered together and one of them, a lawyer, asked him, referring to Jesus, a question to test him. Teacher, which is the great commandment in the law. And he, Jesus, said to him, you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. with all your mind this is the great and first commandment and then it doesn't end there because the Lord Jesus Christ realizes that that's half the answer the other half must be included and so he says and a second is like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself That's when obedience to God is complete. It is when you love God and when you love your neighbor. If all you do is love God, then you are not completely obeying him. It is both. And notice the way he summarizes it in verse 40. On these two commandments depend all. the law and the prophets. In other words, you can read your whole Bible if you want. And if you can imagine that these two commandments are like plates, one plate here and another plate here, you will find that everything that the Bible ever commands you to do can be put into one or two of those plates. There won't be a single one that you'll say, ah, it doesn't quite fit in any of these two, let me put it elsewhere. So if I am loving God, but is seeking to do so, and pursuing it with my mind, my heart, my soul, and my strength, and I'm loving my neighbor, and again, I am seeking, I'm pursuing this, as I love myself, I'm obeying God. I'm obeying God. And so if you are to try and just summarize what the Christian life is in the simplest, simplest way, it is simply love God and love your neighbor. That's it. The whole world of God's truth settles there. Usually when friends are coming into Zambia and I'm trying to introduce them to the keys to surviving, I often say to them, especially when they're trying to learn either Bemba or Nyanja, I say that there is a single word that you must know which can open almost every door. And if it's Bemba, I say to them, it's Emkwai. It doesn't matter what questions are being asked. Most likely, 90% you can get away by just answering mkwai. Even if you don't know what they are saying. They welcome you at their home, what do you say? Mkwai. They say, can we bring you some juice? Mkwai. Even when you're about to leave and they're seeing you off and so on, and they say bye, again, you just have to say, mkwai. And they don't know you haven't understood what they're saying. Just keep saying it, mkwai, mkwai, mkwai. And if it's Nyanja, I normally just say, zikum. It will stand you in good state. Just remember, zikumu. They offer you some water to drink, what do you say? Zikumu. Are you trying to make your way through a crowd? The same thing, zikumu, zikumu, zikumu, and you get away with it. So just keep this one word with you in your most difficult situation, and you may just find you get away with it. Well, friends, when it comes to Christianity, the one word you can hang on to and say, with this one, I hope I won't be wrong, is the word love. The word love. That's it. Love God. Love your neighbor. There may be a few other mistakes you may make along the way. Love God. Love your neighbor. And you can be sure that most likely the Lord will receive you to be with him. I mean, think, for instance, concerning the second part of the Ten Commandments, which says you shall not commit murder, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not steal, you shall not bear false testimony against your neighbor, and you shall not covet. Again, those speak in terms of your love for other people. In other words, it's because you love them that you want to avoid hurting them. because you love them. And therefore, you won't want to hurt them in a physical or spiritual way directly. You will not want to hurt their marriage or their family. You will not want to hurt them in terms of the property that they have. You will not want to hurt them in terms of their reputation. You will not want to hurt them. So by you loving them, you are already obeying each one of those commandments as they are written. But as most of you also know, although the commandments are written in the negative, they are actually meant to be very positive. And what is it that makes you refuse to be content with simply that I am not harming anybody? I haven't harmed anybody. What is it that makes you say, I must do more than that? I must protect my neighbor. I must protect my neighbor's marriage and family. I must protect my neighbor's property, and so on. I must protect my neighbor's reputation. What is it that's going to be like a combustion engine that's driving you positively, maybe even sacrificially, in order to do good to your neighbor? Well, the answer is obvious. It's love. It's love. Love enables you to obey God's command. It takes you beyond the immediate context of church members. You know that my neighbor is not simply that individual that I'm sitting with in the pew. My neighbor, as we shall go on to see in a few minutes, is whoever it is that the Lord brings in my path that is needy. But that's the first reason. We love our non-Christian neighbors because the Lord God has commanded us to do so. And we deliberately want to obey God. The second reason we do so is because we have a lot in common with our neighbors. We love our non-Christian neighbors because we have a lot in common with them. First of all, the most obvious one is we are made in God's image. We are all made in God's image. And that's what gives us sympathy with one another. We are of the same stock, not only the same stock in terms of Adam, but also the same stock in terms of God himself. He has imbued us with his image. But we need to go through at least three major loops beyond that, which are historical in nature. First of all, it is the fact that we are under a common condemnation, a common condemnation. When God said to Adam, you shall surely die, when he said thorns and thistles will break out upon you. All that was not just for some stream of human beings and the rest of us are saved from it, not at all. All of us as human beings are under that condemnation that was put upon Adam. We experience, for instance, disease and death. We do. All of us, we do. And therefore, because we are in this together, we seek to help others who are suffering with us. especially those who are suffering worse than we are. Think, for instance, of slaves being carried out of the midst of Africa, and chains being taken to the coasts. and given a little soup along the way to drink, a little soup, and then the neighbor on that same chain, as he tries to drink the soup, because he's unwell, he's shaking, the soup spills to the ground, and you are next to him. I know what you'll do. You will share your soup. You won't just say, oh, too bad. We hope you survive. There's a sympathy that makes you feel we are together in this. We need each other. And therefore, the little that I have, let me share with him. Perhaps it might enable both of us to go the full journey. That's the way it is in life. You find that individuals that are together in prison Whether it's because they caused the mischief and found themselves there, or because they are prisoners of war and consequently have been locked up, you find that they have a comradeship that they share together in the midst of that prison. They are suffering together, and consequently, they help one another. Well, friends, that's true in this world. It's a world of injustice, where we are unjust one to the other. Individuals lose their employment. They get expelled from work. They are abused in different ways by the powerful ones. And ultimately, because you've been there, you feel for them. and want to help out, to do something for them. And ultimately, that's the reason. We're not simply under a common condemnation, but it's because in the midst of that common condemnation, we have a better lot. They are sick, we are well. They don't have money for school fees. We've got money in the bank. They have been robbed and are traumatized. I have a period of peace and tranquility. And therefore, Being in a season where I am advantaged compared to them at that point, my heart goes out to them. And I seek to do what I can to rescue them, to make their lot better. Now, if you've ever watched Any movie that's depicting a shipwreck, a sinking ship, and individuals with smaller boats arrive to rescue people, one of the things you will almost inevitably see is that when a person gets rescued and jumps into this boat, He turns around to hold the hand of the person who was behind him. They don't just get out of the boat into the new one and go, whew, at least me have survived. And then go and, no, no, no. They were relating to people on that ship. And therefore, their hearts cry out in sympathy that they might help out to get as many of the other individuals out of that sinking ship before it finally sinks. That's what love is. It is this sense that we have a lot in common. with these who don't, at this point, have the advantage I have. And consequently, let me do what I can. Let me move that one step further. And it is the realization that the individuals who are still in the worst situation than I am, listen to this, have the same potential in life that I have. the same potential. And therefore, we want to give them the chance to reach where we are. And that's what you are doing when you are rescued and then you reach out again and want to bring the other person into the lifeboat. It's because you realize, look, the person hasn't died yet. And if he can jump into this place, he will have the same privileges, the same opportunities that I already now possess. And consequently, you are reaching backwards. Now this is especially the case with helpless babies, helpless children, and helpless youths. Compared to those of us who are older, it moves you. Because you say, I was once there. I was once a little helpless baby that was in desperate need of an adult to look after and reach out. I was once a child who did not know my left from my right, and I could have easily been swept off my feet. I could have easily fallen into the hands of criminals and so on. I was once a teenager whose Hormones were running riot and consequently I would have fallen into anyone's hands who promised me love. I was once there. Now that I'm in my 50s and 60s and 70s, I'm not going to turn a blind eye to those babies, those children, those youths, and simply say, well, at least I've got my marriage. I've got my family. I've got my grandchildren. I've got my everything. I've got my house. I've got my beautiful car. I've got my pension. Let's just go on. I won't do that. I look back. And I want to do what I can. for those orphaned children, that they too may have the opportunity that I have had to reach where I have reached. I want to love the youth that are along my streets, the youth that are in that college and university. I want to love them. I want to invite them home. I want to be an elder brother. I want to be a father to them, that they too might cross over the difficult teenage years. I want to give them a free book on sexuality that they might be armed against the vouchers that are there in their world today. They don't have the money to pay for these books. I'm going to buy the books and give them. Why? Because I was once there. And I know that many of my peers died along the way because they lacked an adult to care for them, to love them, and to bring them to where I am. I will not be negligent. They have the same potential that I had. I want them to be where I have been. And by the way, that's also partly what motivates us to evangelize sinners. Why? We were once there. As we see them in the arms of prostitutes, as we see them staggering out of bars, as we see them up to mischief in the workplace, and destroying their lives, we remember that we were once there. But somebody cared sufficiently and reached out to us. We want to do the same. So that's the second reason. We love our non-Christian neighbors because we have a lot in common. Our hearts reach out, cry out, as we see them behind us in need. And we say, that's me, but for the grace of God. But here's the third, equally important. We love our non-Christian neighbors because all men, good men and bad men, All men need this love. In other words, everyone needs this love. When I was speaking about babies, and then I went into children, and then I spoke about youths, and so on, I mean, it's all of them that need this love. So this last point is seeking to answer the question, why should we love all men indiscriminately? Why should we not keep our love only for fellow believers or only for those who've been well-cultured in terms of manners? Why can't we just keep our love only for them? And brethren, let's face it. We have no problems loving those who've loved us. We've got no problems. We're basically paying back a debt. Our greatest difficulty is loving someone who has harmed us, someone who is a sworn enemy to us. Someone who wants our downfall in the workplace, in the school, in whatever else it might be, your community. That's where we have a real problem. The challenge is to love, and I'm deliberately using phrases here that we don't like, the al-Qaeda. the Al-Shabaab, the Boko Haram. That's where the difficulty is, to say. Let me pray for them. Let me do what I can that the Lord might open their eyes, that the Lord might save them, that the Lord might do good to them instead of retribution. That's where the difficulty is. And Jesus dealt with this question in Luke chapter 10. Let's quickly go there, Luke and chapter 10. and verse 25. It's a slightly lengthy passage, but I will make the point as we go along. Luke 10 and verse 25. And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test. The last story had a lawyer. This one also has a lawyer. Yeah, we hope we have lawyers in heaven, eh? But anyway, let's follow the story. stood up to put him to the test, saying, teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? He said to him, what is written in the law? How do you read it? And he answered, we shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, and with all your soul, and with all your strength, and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself. The guy's got it straight. He's hit all the poles in the right places. And he, that is Jesus, said to him, you've answered correctly. Do this, and you will live. And he, that's where the problem comes in, desiring to justify himself, says to Jesus, and who is my neighbor? In other words, you know, it's not straightforward, this commandment, you know, love your neighbors yourself. How do you know who your neighbor is? It's tricky. Jesus says it's not tricky. And the way he answers him is by a story. Jesus replied, a man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and he fell among robbers, stripped him, and beat him, and departed, leaving him half dead. Now, by chance, a priest was going down that road, and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. So likewise a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. Now, before we come to the Samaritan, let me explain how Jesus is building the story here. Between Jericho and Jerusalem, you would have had the city in which priests and livers would have lived, and you would have had Jerusalem where the temple was. And so here are individuals who are either rushing to work or have knocked off and are tired. So let's not be too quick to judge them. Because by now, that's now sounding like us every day. And consequently, they see a situation and they sort of quickly rationalize and say, well, look, I'm sure somebody else will come and handle this, and zoom, off they go. But what is worse is this, that they actually work in a place that is about loving God. And they failed to make the connection that loving God, the temple, is only one half of the story. The other half is loving this person who's in need. And it's what they do for a living. But somehow in that moment, there is a disconnect. and they bypass a human being made in the image of God, whom they are seeing, and they rush to go and prepare the place for worship for a God they don't see. Thirdly, most likely, as we shall go on to see in the next part, the person is actually a Jew. It's a fellow kinsman that they treat in this way with hardly any sympathy. Well, guess who comes now? It is a Samaritan. Before we read this account, the Samaritan It is like a tribal cousin. It's individuals that if there was an opportunity to give them a wish, they probably would have wished the Jews out of existence. Because there was always this competition between them. The Jews always claiming that they're the ones who have God's word correctly and that worship is to be on the mountain, on the temple, and so on. Whereas for them, the Samaritans were like their cousins. They had another place that they had put up for their own worship and things to that effect. And this was always in conflict. So Jesus, building his story of all people, brings in a Samaritan. Verse 33, but a Samaritan. Now you can be sure as he was speaking like that to the lawyer and those who were around, they would have felt very differently from the rest of us here. Because the right thing for a Samaritan to do is what happens usually in our traditions when maybe a member has died and is at the funeral. the Nyanjas or Tumbukas or whatever do. They sort of put a lot of white stuff all over you and they are dancing on the grave and so on. That's the kind of thing that they would have expected, that this Samaritan will come and look and say, aha, they've done you well. But look at what the Samaritan does. But the Samaritan, as he journeyed, came to where he was. And when he saw him, here's the word, He had compassion, sympathy. He was moved in the inner man. He went to him and bound up his wounds, pouring on oil and wine. Then he set him on his own animal and brought him to an inn and took care of him. And the next day, so at least he's been there a day, he took out two denarii and gave them to the innkeeper saying, take care of him and whatever more you spend, I will repay you when I come back. In other words, I'm continuing my journey, but home is where I've come from. When I return, just give me the bill and I'll settle it. At this point, the lawyer is going, wow, wow, this must be a rare Samaritan, wow. And then he now asks him, which of these three do you think proved to be a neighbor to the man who fell among the robbers? The lawyer answered, the one who showed him mercy. And Jesus said to him, go and do likewise. In other words, in God's providence. He brings us every so often into contact with needy individuals. Sometimes it's in a physical way. You meet them physically. Sometimes it's through news that comes through various fora. You've got your text messages and your WhatsApp and phone calls and so on. And messages are coming to you. And consequently, you know that there is that needy individual, those needy individuals, when you do something for them You are being a neighbor. You are being a neighbor. It's got nothing to do with proximity or physical distance. It's got nothing to do with human kinship that we are from the same tribe and so on. It's the fact that God in his providence has brought you into contact with each other. And then as I said, remember, the last person to have helped this person was a Samaritan. But the Samaritan put aside the enmity between these two. Put it aside completely. Because there was a person who was in need. It's not about my relationship with him. It is about the person's needs. And therefore, let me do something about it. One more passage, and I must hurry on to close. Matthew, in chapter 5, still dealing with loving the outsider, loving the non-Christian, loving the bad non-Christian, the bad one. Matthew 5, verse 43. You have heard that it was said, you shall love your neighbor and hate your enemy. But I said to you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you so that you may be sons of your father who is in heaven. For he makes his sun rise on the evil and on the good and sends rain on the just and on the unjust. For if you love those who love you, and what it really means there is the little word only, if you love only those who love you, what reward do you have? Do not even the tax collectors do that? And if you greet only your brothers, what more are you doing more than others? Do not even the gentiles do the same? You therefore must be perfect, as your heavenly father is perfect. There it is. We are to love all human beings indiscriminately, whether they love us or they hate us. The issue is they need our help. God has so ordered providence that we are in a better place. We are in a better place. And consequently, we reach out to them. And that's the reason why, two weeks ago, when we were looking at the nature of love from 1 Corinthians 13, you remember it had words like this, love is patient. Love is not irritable. Love is not resentful. Love bears all things. Love endures all things. Now, that's clearly suggesting that you are loving people who rub you the wrong way. You haven't shut the door and said that they should learn to have treated me better than they are currently treating me. No. True love bears all things, endures all things. True love never ends. It does not get snuffed out. Well, friends, this is the love that Peter is referring to in 2 Peter chapter 1 and verse 7 when he says, add love to brotherly affection. Add love to brotherly affection. Is this describing you? Is this describing you? Are you an individual who's learned to summarize his life, his daily life, by love? That as I wake up this day, Lord, may there be some deed of kindness done. May there be some acts of love flowing out of my heart. May some individuals who are behind me suddenly feel a helping hand from me reaching out to them and pulling them forward. Lord, give me a heart like yours. A heart like yours. Make me the way in which you are. That savior, your dying love, that got a hold of me. may through me get a hold of so many other individuals. Does that describe you? Or is your life still being lived as that little self-centered, warped little soul that only thinks about three individuals, me, myself, and I, period? Christian, grow up. That's it. Get out of that period of being a little kid, thumb sucking and thinking the whole world revolves around me. Mommy, daddy, everybody should be running around because of screams for help. Grow up. and let your life count in this world. Let it count. Let it be reasonable. You should be able to say, what is life? And answer it with this one word. Not Eam Kwai, not Zikomo, but love. That's what life is, love. and to be able to say, Lord, help me to love more and more and more through Christ. Amen.