Loving one another is our topic. We have been marching through a series on the church and It's interesting as we discuss the church. We've already noted that the church is not a place. It's not a location the church is a people and God's people the church have a an express command Because the church was decreed to be built by our Savior and Lord Jesus himself based on his once-for-all sacrifice of his precious blood as the perfect sinless substitute. It is precious and valuable to God. So before I launch into our message this morning, as we track through the series, let me remind you, friend, you are precious and valuable to our great God. If you don't know Jesus Christ as Savior this morning, I can't think of a better message than what Pastor Stephen has already preached this morning. Our great high priest Jesus, once for all, paid the final penalty for your sin, and he is waiting for you to call on him, to hold fast, to draw near, and to become one of his very own. You are precious. You are loved. And friends, if you're not yet a child of God, would you become so today? Would you place your faith in the one and only substitute for your sins, Jesus Christ? Would you turn in repentance from your sin and to your Savior, Jesus Christ? Please do so today. If you are indeed already a believer, then this message is going to follow that wonderful decree into a declaration of command. Jesus has commanded us now, based on His intrinsic calling for us to be a disciple, making disciples, that we the church, His people, ought to bring Him glory in an actualized way. by being disciples, making disciples. And so as our walk through what the church is and what their responsibility is, has really culminated in this very potent mini series on the one and others. Now, I had the privilege of introducing this topic to you two weeks ago, and we took the 16 one and others the 16 love one another's, and we congealed them into a mini, a single sermon. What does love one another congealed look like as hands and feet? As a primary identifier, and we went to the very first passage that we were told that we are identified by our love for one another, and that is John chapter 13. And in John's gospel chapter 13 verses 34 and 35, Jesus himself told us that we were commanded to love one another. And in fact, he says that all people will know that we are his followers, his disciples, by our love for one another. As I mentioned last week in that part one of this three-part series, that the one another's exist in the New Testament in a package deal. There are nearly 100 of them. the verb or the word all alone shows up nearly 100 times in the New Testament. 59 of them become express commands for the church, but all of them fall under the umbrella of this singular one that Jesus said, and it was said in the New Testament 16 times, love one another. So as a primary identifier of God's people, we are to be the hands and feet of that expression, to love one another. And as we noted last time, that identifier, that ability to be identified, actually shows who we really are, who we belong to. But today, following up Pastor Stephen's wonderful insertion into this mini-series on serving one another from 1 Peter 4, if you haven't watched that or listened to that message, I'd encourage you to go online and follow up, listen to Pastor Stephen's message. It was a wonderful message on 1 Peter 4 and how we're to fulfill the service aspect of the one another, which is undergirding the love one another aspect. Today, we are actually going to take a look in a bit of a topical exercise as we finalize this mini-series. We're going to see what the Bible says from A to Z in the New Testament about our obedience to the one another commands. And as we do so, we're going to notice that as we have one Lord, We are one family. And as one family, we are motivated by our love for each other. Not only are we identified by our love for one another, but scripture tells us that that identifier also becomes a motivator. As we take a walk through the passages that are before us, and there are a lot of passages we're going to look at this morning. get your fingers nimble to flip pages or to use your tablet this morning, we're going to ask and answer this question. How do obedience to the one another commands reveal our gospel commitment? Oh, thank you. I did forget that. Not only is our love for one another a primary identifier, but our love for one another becomes a primary motivator. in our service for Jesus, our King. It becomes a command that reveals or shows to others our gospel commitment. And so as we look at the text this morning, in our brief mini series, we have learned since April that the church, as we gather together made under one Lord, that is Jesus, we know that we ourselves must answer this question, how do obedience to the one another commands reveal our gospel commitment? And so as we walk through the passages in a moment, we're going to find that how we choose to love shows our gospel commitment. How we choose to love shows our gospel commitment. And as we see that, we are gonna note this, that as we, the family of God, have a love for the Son of God, who is our Savior, who has connected us to each other, the one and others, and commanded us to be identified under the banner of love for one another, we're going to see that our love for our church family enacted through these one another commands will reveal the depth and the sincerity of our relationship with Jesus. In fact, I've said this often, you cannot have Christ without His church. You cannot have his church, the communion and fellowship of church without Christ. And that becomes a vital reality that is just intrinsic and intricately woven into the fabric of the New Testament. People often argue, well, pastor, you can't point to a chapter and verse in black and white or red ink where you are commanded to join a local church. And from a modern 2024 perspective, that is true. But I can point to you nearly 100 passages in the New Testament that tell us that as the church, we are to one another be serving, loving, honoring, giving deference, submitting. And we're going to see today just a full staccato, rapid fire succession from A to Z of what the New Testament says in both positive commands, and we're going to finalize in negative commands about the one another's. And as we asked our question, we are going to answer it with this statement, how we choose to love shows our gospel commitment. And of course, the context is the one and others. So, as we walk through and answer this question, as we think about where we are going this morning, let me remind us, when we choose to love each other at crossroads specifically, we choose to obey Jesus' command. We choose to walk in obedience. We choose to produce the fruit of the Spirit, which is displayed in our self-sacrificial care for each other that draws us into close fellowship and association with each other. Now, of course, I speak as a man. Spiritual fruit is produced by the Spirit and by our connection to Jesus Christ, the vine. He is the one who produces the fruit. The vine dresser, the Father, is the one who prunes the vine and cleans the vine. We don't have to prune and clean one another. God does that. But oftentimes, He will use us in the process of care for the vine and for one another to meet each other's needs. And so how we choose to love in our local assembly shows our gospel commitment. Are you committed to Jesus? Then you will be committed to one another. That's what the scripture says. And I wanna prove that this morning as we walk through the texts. So first we're gonna note, the Bible commands us, the New Testament commands us that from A to Z, how we are to apply the one another commands which reveal our gospel commitment. So how do we obediently treat one another? That's the question. And what we're going to see from God's Word this morning in staccato fashion is how to obediently treat one another from A to Z to reveal our gospel commitment. So the first one we're gonna look at, and these are the positives, and this first point is the biggest point, just because the Bible says more about the positive commands than the negatives. So stay with me, the main body of the message this morning is gonna be under the positives here. The first one is one another, A, okay? What are the A's? What does the Bible say about one another's as far as from A to Z? Well, first of all, we understand because how we choose to love shows our gospel commitment. Here we find the very first command to love one another showcases itself in acceptance. Accept one another. So go ahead and look at Romans 15. We're going to be jumping around, but go ahead and look in Romans 15. As we look at the end of Paul's letter to the Romans, we're going to find that Paul says in Romans 15, verse seven, therefore receive one another or accept one another just as Christ also received or accepted us to the glory of God. Now we're told that our acceptance in the beloved is based on Jesus Christ. And when God accepts or receives us, so we too must accept and receive one another. You think about that. God is the one who brought you here to Crossroad. God is the one who connects each and every one of us biblically together. It's not our connection. So our social network, our social networking does not depend as far as the local church on our preferences. We are to accept one another, we are to receive one another like God in Christ has received us. That means you've come to a church with imperfect people. If I burst your bubble today, I'm sorry. This church is full of imperfect people, but it's a place where you as an imperfect person, because of your relationship with Jesus Christ, can and should be received and accepted by one another. So how do we obediently treat one another from A to Z? Well, first of all, we are to accept one another. We are to receive one another as God in Christ has received us. Notice also in verse 14 of the very same chapter, we are to admonish one another. Now I myself am confident concerning you brothers, verse 14, that you are full of goodness, filled with all the knowledge, able to admonish one another. Nevertheless, brethren, I have written more boldly to you on some points, reminding you because of the grace given to me in Jesus. And he continues to talk about ministering to the Gentiles through the gospel work. And so that admonishing one another is an admonishment and a reminder to gospel love, gospel activity, hands and feet in ministry. We admonish one another and our love for one another comes in accepting one another for who we are. not attempting to change someone to be more like us, but allow the Holy Spirit of God to change them to be more like Jesus. And as we focus on sharing the love and hope of one another, as we bear one another's burdens, I'm getting ahead of myself into the B section here, but as we connect in that regard, as we accept one another, there will be times where we have to and should positively admonish one another. Now, this is a famous passage in Colossians, but you're welcome to turn there if you would. 316 is where this secondary passage comes. And it's interesting because the context of this, Pastor Stephen already preached through it once before. Notice it says that we are to admonish one another, how? By letting the word of Christ dwell in us richly in all wisdom, teaching and admonishing one another in what? Psalms. hymns and spiritual songs, which produces a singing of grace that ministers to one another. That singing of grace is not just grace that is heard by every listener from the Psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. It is not just doctrinally based, but it comes from the heart that Jesus has changed to be more like him. And that heart is a heart that has received and is producing the grace of God. Are you a grace speaker? Are you a grace singer? Do you share the grace of God? Is your speech gracious to one another when you admonish one another? Sometimes we think admonition is always negative, but no, here we are told admonition is positive. But what is admonition based on? It is based on the truth of God's word. the character of God, the nature of God that is written and then sung as it first dwells in us through Jesus Christ. So from A to Z, how we choose to love shows our gospel commitment. Do you choose to accept the people at Crossroad Baptist Church? Do you choose to admonish them in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, singing out of the grace that God has given to you? You see, scripture reminds us from A to Z that we are first and foremost to accept and admonish one another. And as we love one another, our love is a love that accepts those whom God has accepted in Christ and one that admonishes them to walk more closely with their Savior. What about the one and others following our track here? B, and by the way, I don't have A through Z. There's not 26 points here, okay? Just so you know, I've congealed them down and tried to solidify them here, but there are several under each point, all right? And this is one of the longer ones. So we find that not only are we to accept one another and admonish one another, but secondarily, we are to bear one another's burdens. We are to bear with one another. You say, why did you split hairs on that one? Well, because I want you to see the distinction. Go with me to Galatians chapter six. Now, obviously with a topical message, I can't give you all of the background for every passage that we're in, but just suffice it to say the book of Galatians is an action-packed, powerful exposition against adding something to the gospel, adding legal, works-based, righteous effort to the gospel. He's preaching to Judaizers in the Church of Galatia, men who were formerly Jews, who are attempting to synchronize the gospel plus their law and works. By the way, there's a modern adaptation of that. There's multiple modern adaptations of that. That is an old lie by the old serpent himself, Apollyon, the accuser of the brethren, the serpent who is the devil. And that old lie is taking a little bit of truth and adding a little bit of error to it. and mixing those two to deceive the nations. Roman Catholicism, Mormonism, these conflate the gospel plus work, and they denigrate the finished work of Jesus Christ. And so what we are to do when we bear one another's burdens, the Galatians, Paul is telling the Galatians that you get Christ plus nothing, that your salvation comes from Jesus alone, by faith alone, in Christ alone. Did I mention that? And so by the time he gets to the end of the book, he says, look, real hands and feet gospel, how you choose to love is shown in your gospel commitment to one another, and you therefore will bear one another's burdens. In Galatians 6, verses 1 and 2, he says, hey, you spiritual ones, and he's not talking to the pastors or the deacons of the church. He's talking to every single member. Because when you and I receive Jesus Christ, we are born of the Spirit of God. We have been given new birth. We become spiritual ones. And so he says, you spiritual ones, when you see a brother overtaken in a fault, you who are spiritual, restore him. Restore him or her in a spirit of gentleness, considering yourself, lest you also be tempted. And bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ." What's the law of Christ? Love one another. So how we choose to love shows our gospel commitment. Do you bear one another's burdens? You say, well, pastor, I don't know how I can do that. This economy is horrible. Inflation is outrageous. Trust me, I get it. Our budget has taken a hit. Things are really tight. It's hard to financially bear a burden, but this burden is not just a financial one. Can you pray for your brother and sister? Can you grab a prayer sheet out of the bulletin? and take it home with you and work through it every day, section by section? Even if you haven't met that brother or sister from Crossroad yet, or you haven't connected the face with the name that's in the bulletin, can you lift them up and bear their burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ? And I think you and I both know the answer to that question. Yes, and we should. Because our choice to love them showcases our genuine gospel commitment. Are you committed to Jesus? Then you will be committed to His church. You can't have Christ without His body. You can't have Christ without His family. You can't have Christ without His nation. You can't have Christ without His vineyard. You can't have Christ without the bricks in His building. You can't have Christ without his church. Bear one another's burdens. Now, what's the difference between bearing one another's burdens, and I hope you held your finger in Colossians 3, because we were just there. What's the difference between bearing one another's burdens and fulfilling the law of Christ, and in Colossians 3, bearing with one another? Well, if you've ever had a sibling, I think you know the difference. Sometimes the idea of bearing with has the idea of putting up with. one another. And that doesn't necessarily mean in a negative sense, but it has the idea of though bearing their burden means coming under the weight of their burden, whereas bearing with them often means putting up with their habits and their personalities that can be a challenge to you because they're different than you. And he says specifically bearing with one another if they've, the idea in the context here is if they sinned against you. Notice he says in verse 13, bearing with one another and forgiving one another if anyone has a complaint against another, even as God in Christ has forgiven you. To forbear or to bear with means to be long suffering, to be forgiving, to care enough about another brother or sister that you in Christ are willing to forgive them the sin that they might have committed against you. Bearing with them means being forgiven and being forgiving. What about being devoted one to another? Back to Romans chapter 12 and verse 10, being devoted to one another. I might have put this with the Ds, but I thought it fit nicely with the Bs. be devoted to one another. In verse 10 of chapter 12, this passage is one of the main passages that displays the spiritual gifting that Pastor Stephen introduced us to and how we use the spiritual gifting to serve one another, that gifting that the Spirit supplies. We see in verse 10 that we are to be kindly affectionate to one another with brotherly love. And I'm going to finish the rest of the verse in a little bit, because I'm going to go back to what it means to honor one another. But this idea of kindly affection to one another with brotherly love has the idea of a regular faithful devotion to one another. If you care for the members of your church, then you will be kindly affectionate. You will be devoted to their spiritual well-being. in prayer and daily connection, weekly attendance, regular iron sharpening. Right? Also, we're told in Ephesians 4.32 that we're to be kind and compassionate one to another. In fact, that is the put off, put on passage, and here's the Christian reason why. We put off sin, we put on, be renewed in the spirit of our mind, we put on bad thoughts, put on good thoughts through the Word of God, and then those good thoughts that are the Word of God show up in good actions, and those actions are a long list in Ephesians chapter 4 from putting off lying, speaking the truth, putting off stealing, but rather working with your hands so that you can give, putting off sarcasm or cutting down speech and building up one another, no corrupt communication, and it goes on to putting off anger, but rather not giving the devil a foothold, but putting on kindness instead. Here he says that you be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, kind and compassionate, Ephesians chapter four, verse two. Then he goes on to say back in Romans 15, that we are to be like-minded towards one another. And the idea of like-mindedness is the idea of putting yourself in another one's shoes, having the mind of understanding and compassion. You say, well, pastor, I don't have the gift of mercy. I'm not good at crying with people who cry. I don't have empathy. Well, you know what? I know someone who does. He was a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. His name is Jesus. And if you have Jesus Christ's spirit in your heart, if you are in Christ, then you can have Christ's compassion. So as you're kind and compassionate to one another, as you're like-minded towards one another, you are putting yourself in another man or another woman's shoes, being tenderhearted, being like-minded. Notice he also goes on in Ephesians 4, 2, we are to be patient one another, with one another. The idea there in Ephesians 4 is that you're to bear up with each other. In Colossians 3, again, bear up with one another. Be patient. How many times do you or have you experienced someone being patient with you? And especially as it relates to a job opportunity at work. You're learning the ropes and your boss or your employer is patient with you. And yet, like Jesus in his parable of the unjust or the unrighteous servant who was forgiven much and went out and threw his brother into debt in debtor's prison, though he only owed him a hundred denarii and he had owed millions upon millions of daily wages. And so with one another, we are to be patient. with one another. We are to bear with one another. We're to build one another up as well. Build one another up has the idea of edify. Romans 14 reminds us in verse 9 that we are to build one another up. For to this end, Christ died and rose again, that he might be Lord of both the dead and the living. But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat. of Christ. He says all the way down in verse 19, therefore, let us pursue the things which make for peace and the things by which one may edify another. God expects us to build one another up. 1 Thessalonians 5.11 reminds us of the very same thing. In 1 Thessalonians 5.11, we are told by the apostle Paul, therefore, comfort each other and edify one another just as you also are doing. comfort and edify, build one another up. And so as we walk through these A to Z New Testament commands of one another, and we see them as the Holy Spirit reveals to you, our responsibility to one another and our obedience to these commands actually reveal our commitment to the gospel, to Jesus, and to the people of Jesus. What about C, one another's in the C category? We are told in 1 Corinthians 12, verse 25, that we are to care for one another. Care for one another. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 25 reminds us that we are to care for one another. And it says that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. If one member suffers, all the members suffer with it. Or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it. Care for one another. Now, one of the most obvious connections to this is how Jesus cares for the church. In Ephesians chapter five, we are told that marriage is a picture of Christ in the church, that Jesus nourishes and cherishes the church. And so a man must nourish and cherish his wife as he cares or nourishes and cherishes or cares for his own body. I'll never forget in Greenville, South Carolina, I was picking up a side job. I used to paint, work for a company, painted houses professionally, and I was picking up a side job. I was pressure washing my next door neighbor's house, and it was After work for me, which meant it was toward the tail end of the summer, it stayed lighter later, so it didn't get dark till around 8 p.m., and it was about 6.30, 7 o'clock at night. I was tired. I'd had a 12-hour shift, but here I was pressure washing my neighbor's house for a job. He was paying me to do so. And my pressure washer was a much smaller caliber than the one my boss used. And the wand that was on my washer was only a 36-inch wand. The one that I used at work was a 48-inch wand. Now, that foot difference didn't seem like much until I started using it in earnest quickly so that I could get home to my house next door and eat with my lovely wife and play with my then-only child, Elizabeth. And I remember being on the ladder next door blowing out gutters. By the way, gutters are little things you stick on houses that collect things. because there's something called rain. And rain can flow off of a house and cause damage. I know we don't have any of that here in Arizona. Just in case you don't know what gutters are, that's what they were. And I was blowing out leaves from the gutter. And as I grabbed in a hurry, I actually was doing something I shouldn't do. I was taking the ladder, leaning it back, and bouncing it over, leaning it back. I was young and dumb. And as I was doing that, I was grabbing the handle and blowing it out. Leaning it back, leaning it forward, grabbing and blowing. All right. So what ended up happening is one of those moments as I was grabbing onto the ladder, and it was leaning farther than it should, and I was steadying it, when I pressed the trigger, I did not quite have the end of the the gun. And instead of grabbing the gun, my hand went through the stream, which at the time was a 25 angle, 25% angle, very, very steep. And it actually blew through my gloves and through my finger with my ring on it. And it went right to the knuckle, right to the bone. Instantly, I knew I'm in big trouble. My finger was about three times its normal size. I jumped off the ladder, ran to the house, banged on the door, said, honey, call 911. She stood there and just was completely, totally terrified. So I said, give me the phone. I called 911. Suffice it to say, after a long and grueling wait in the waiting room, they had to cut my ring off. Thankfully, I bought it at a pawn shop. I only wore a little gold band. I didn't wear my nice wedding ring when I was painting. But they cut off my gold ring. I never did get that back, by the way. I'm sure somebody hawked that for some money. But I never got it back. But I waited in the ER, they wanted to x-ray it and make sure there was no damage to the joint. I still have a really gnarly scar here. But I never forget after that, weeks later as it was healing, they didn't want to stitch it closed. They wanted to butterfly it closed because they wanted to make sure all of the, no infection would get into the joint. I actually had to care for my finger regularly, multiple times a day. I had to change the bandages and I had to put a special antibacterial ointment on it. And I remember I was reading in my devotions, Ephesians chapter 5, and the idea of cherishing my wife as I cherish my flesh was a real, visible, visceral reminder. And when you don't care for someone in the body or something in the body, it can get really bad. It can be painful. It can gangrene. It can need to be removed and thus cause damage elsewhere. And so often in our churches, we do not understand what it means to care for one another because we don't practice what scripture teaches us to practice. Nourish and care for one another as God has nourished and cared for you. Not only are we to do that, but I preached on this and Pastor Steven did last week, clothe yourselves with humility one to another. Why? Because God resists the proud, but he gives grace to the humble. So from A to Z, our choice to love one another shows our commitment to the gospel. Do you comfort one another? Do you clothe yourself with humility? Do you care for one another? This morning, I found a lot of that happening around the church. I noticed that Jen was out in the lobby praying with Grandma and Grandpa because of Hunter, and there was some comfort and some caring happening in the lobby. This morning, we were talking about some of our missionaries, and Pastor Stephen paused our 9 a.m. and said, let's go ahead and pray. Who would volunteer to pray? And so, I realize I'm preaching to the choir this morning, Yet the Word of God exhorts us that a real church that is really committed to Jesus will also be committed to one another. And these commands are not just suggestions. They're not just mere guidelines. They are commands of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ. And notice in James 5, verse 16, not only are we to care for one another, clothe ourselves with humility toward each other, comfort one another in distress, we are to confess our faults to one another. You say, but pastor, I can't tell somebody that I've sinned against them. I don't want their thought or their idea of me to diminish. Well, they already know that you're a sinner. News slash, okay? What is far greater is for them to know that you are a sinner who's confessed and forsaken your sin to God and are willing to do that to your friend. And so we confess our faults to one another and we are restored, James says. And then consider others better than yourselves. Consider others better than yourselves. What about D? And I need to move a little bit faster here. We are told then, excuse me, E, we are told then to employ the gifts that God has given us for the benefit of one another. For that, you can listen to Pastor Stephen's sermon last week. We are also to encourage one another. Not only are we to comfort one another, but we are to encourage one another. Have you ever been discouraged, brother or sister in Christ? What is it that comforts and encourages? When someone comes alongside and tells you something about God's nature, God's goodness, and God's plan, Or when they sit next to you and they cry with you, they laugh with you, they listen to you. Sometimes encouragement comes in a kind word. Sometimes it comes in a compassionate period of crying, right? But encouragement should be through the body of Christ. And then, as we mentioned, exhort one another. This also goes to Hebrews 10. Pastor already read that in verse 9, Pastor Stephen did in our communion service this morning. But exhorting one another means to call out for the purpose of correction. Call out for the purpose of correction. Exhort one another. In Hebrews 3.13, we are told later in the passage that we are to exhort one another while it is today, as much as we see the day of the Lord approaching. Because Jesus Christ could come at any time, we want to exhort one another to love and good works. Here in Hebrews 3.13, we are told that we are to beware, brothers, lest there be any of you in an evil heart of unbelief and departing from the living God, but exhort one another daily while it is called today. Lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. Sometimes our devotion to one another means we call out unbelief. Hey, you're approaching a deadline or a difficulty in life, and you don't see how God is bigger than your problem. As a brother and sister, we come alongside and say, you know what? I've been through that before. And I can tell you, here's how God got me through it. And I encourage you, I exhort you, I plead with you, trust God because He's bigger than your problem. That is an appropriate method of exhortation because guess what he's referring to in Hebrews chapter three? Those wicked Israelites who saw God do mighty works, but they refused to believe in him and they died in the wilderness in their unbelief. Sometimes we Christians must call each other to belief in the power of God, even when we can't see his mighty acts. That's what it means to exhort. What about, as we go through the A to Z here, what about F? I've already mentioned this two weeks ago, forgive one another, even as God in Christ has forgiven you. You see, when we choose to love one another through forgiving one another, we are showing our gospel commitment. Jesus himself said, if you don't forgive your brother and sister, neither will your Father in heaven forgive you. Friends, we cannot receive the forgiveness of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, for all of our sins, past, present, and future, that nailed Him to the cross and then failed to forgive those who have sinned against us. It is an unbiblical disconnect. Forgiveness is essential to our commitment to one another. And our love chosen, the way we choose to love and show our love, showcases our gospel commitment. Are you committed to Christ? then you ought to be committed to forgiving one another. You say, but pastor, you have no idea how so-and-so hurt me. You're right. I probably don't. But again, vengeance is mine, says the Lord. I will repay. Do you believe God is a good God and in his good character is willing to keep a ledger book of wrongs against you? And he will take care of each and every one of them. because there is one judge who will judge the living and the dead at his glorious appearing, and his name is Jesus. And one day the heavens will flee away, and every man will stand, those who have not received Christ will stand before him while he sits on a great white throne, and there will be books opened of every word, deed, and thought that has ever been committed, and Jesus Christ will measure out the justice that is rightly deserved. Friends, forgive one another even as God in Christ has forgiven you. You owe Jesus your forgiveness because he has forgiven you much. What about the G in the alphabet here? We're to greet one another. Now, Romans 16, 16 talks about greeting each other with a holy kiss. Please don't start that practice here at Crossroad Baptist Church. We're going to have to start giving you lip sanitizer. No, the point really, really was that this was a normal cultural greeting. I'm Italian. And I can tell you at our wedding day, it was hilarious. We decided to dismiss everybody by row. Somehow we thought it was a great idea to dismiss 500 people in a large auditorium row by row as a couple. We thought that was going to be a great idea and a wonderful time saver. But I'm Italian and about 280 of the people there were from my family. And so it was hilarious about two thirds of the way through, I look over my poor wife's face is bright red on both sides of her cheek. And it wasn't because of blush that she had put on that day. It's because she just had 280 people kiss her face. And then I started thinking, you know, I'm about to kiss that face. 280 people have kissed that face. That's kind of gross. So do each other a service here. And when you think about greeting one another, maybe refrain from the heavenly kiss on the cheek, OK? But perhaps a good hearty handshake, OK? Maybe a little side hug, OK? Maybe whatever is culturally appropriate. And we can stand to learn from each other, because each culture has a different form of greeting, don't they? And so it was really a fun day to get married into her British aristocratic Welsh family. She marries into this loud and proud and somewhat obnoxious Italian family with a Russian last name. So greet one another. As we greet one another, we showcase our and demonstrate our love for each other. What about the H here in the list? Well, because we see that how we choose to love shows our gospel commitment. We are to honor one another above self. I know I have Romans 12.10 here because that's directly quoted from there, but Philippians chapter 2 reminds us that we are to be like-minded, we are to put others above self, because this is the mind of Jesus, who didn't think it something to be grasped on to, to be made equal with God, but made himself of no reputation. He took upon himself flesh. He was made in likeness of men. He took on the human instrument. He suffered under sin-cursed humanity and he submitted to the obedient death of the cross. And so because Jesus honored us and honored God by honoring us, so we ought to honor one another above self. Don't be the kind of person in the conversation that always has to give your story. You know, you're in a conversation with somebody and they're telling you about something that's really exciting or happening in their life. And all you can think about is you're one up. And you're not listening to them at all because you're listening to speak, not listening to hear what they have to say. That's not honoring one another. It's okay if at that time you don't get a chance to share your story with them. It's okay if you give them the benefit of the doubt and you honor them at that moment. So honoring one another above yourself, we're told. What about the L here? Live in harmony with one another, Romans 12, verse 16, and look to the interests of one another. This goes back to what I just said in Philippians 2. So living in harmony with one another. Now, nothing better illustrates this than siblings. Have you ever tried to get in between siblings and divide them? You are probably a dead man, right? The love of siblings, if you are going to... Now, they can fight all they want amongst themselves, but if you step in, forget it, you're toast. And that is the way that the church should be. We should be living in harmony and unity with one another. Nobody should step into our house and put down our loved one in our community. We should be living in harmony with one another. We should look to the interests of one another. What about the P in the A to Z? We're to pray for one another. James 5.16 reminds us, we mentioned in other words, after confessing our faults to one another, we pray for one another so that we might be healed. And I think the reference there is spiritual primarily. But there is a reference to physical sickness in that text as well. There's a process of anointing with oil, having the leaders of the church pray over someone. We've had those services here at Crossroad and we've seen God's hand of blessing and faith increase in those who've suffered physically for it. And yet the point here is that we are to commit to pray one another. And I don't mean like, you know, thank you Jesus for my food. Please be with sister so-and-so in Jesus name, amen. Now, if that's the best you can do, we'll take it. But prayer for one another is far more than just a casual memory or remembrance of what's going on. Prayer for one another is a communication and connection with God, bringing their needs before God so that our almighty God can hear and answer and bless. And as you pray for someone, by the way, it's much harder to be angry at and with and to gossip and slander someone when you're praying for them. And so part of the one another's and our commitment to Christ, our love that we choose and the way we pray for one another shows our gospel commitment, not just to Jesus, but to our church. Notice the S here, and there's several here. We're to serve one another. In Galatians 5.13, we're to show hospitality to one another. By the way, hospitality isn't just showing someone, taking somebody out to lunch. It isn't just showing up, having them over for dinner. It's showing up to help them move. Right? Yeah, going up three flights of steps. I counted the steps into John and Danielle's apartment at least 14 times. There are 40, by the way. Yeah. You know why? Because I love John and Danielle. Why? Because I want to show them hospitality. I wanted to be there the day they moved into their new apartment. It was a joy and a pleasure. Plus, they fed me, so that helped. Show hospitality, speak the truth in love. But notice the passage in Ephesians 4.15 that you are to speak the truth. You keep speaking, you speak in love, you speak to edify or to build up and you speak to become more like Christ. If you can't speak truth in love to build them up to be more like Jesus, then don't say anything yet. Speaking the truth doesn't mean tearing them down. It means building them up. Speaking the truth doesn't mean belittling them or putting them under you. It means elevating them to Christ likeness. Speaking the truth in love. And then of course, we've already dealt with this, speaking to one another, Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Why? Because what we need the most is the word of God that dwells in us. And if the word of God isn't dwelling in us because we're not in the word of God faithfully, shame on us because we have nothing to say to our brothers and sisters. They don't want to hear your human man-made wisdom. They don't need to see cat poster platitudes from you when they're suffering. They need to hear the holy, inerrant, infallible word of God that is dwelling in you richly and comes right out of you at every moment and every day. Speak to one another in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs. Stir up, provoke, stimulate one another to love and good works, Hebrews 10, 24. I thought about putting that in the negative passage because the word stir up or provoke there is a negative word. It's used in the New Testament in a negative way every time except for that passage. So we are to hope or provoke or prod each other to love and good works. And the idea here is, hey, look, don't be complacent in your walk with God because Jesus Christ is coming and he may come today. So my love, my choice to love someone shows my gospel commitment, not just to Jesus, but to my church. He wants us to stir up one another, to provoke each other, to stimulate each other to love and a work that is revealing our true faith. And then submit to one another. Sometimes you are right, but it's better for you to submit to someone else who is equally right. than it is for you to declare your point to the detriment of your brother or sister. Husbands, you ought to practice this. Submit. Submit to each other. Submit to God. Submit to one another. And this submission is a submission that brings glory to God. Think about this. The triune God of the universe, who in the beginning created everything out of nothing, who right now holds together all things by the word of his power, by him all things consist, Colossians 3. 16 and 17, that Jesus, the second person of the Trinity, humbled himself. to the glory of God the Father. By the way, Jesus did not become lesser than God the Father when it happened. He is co-equal, co-eternal in nature, co-equal in authority and power. He humbled himself, submitting to the Father's will to bring the Father glory. And now, Paul says, because he obeyed Jesus, obeyed God the Father, God has highly exalted him and given him the name which is above all names. And see, when we submit to one another, we're giving deference to one another. We're elevating each other so that God gets the glory through us. There's one more T here, and then we're moving to the negatives. We are to teach one another. Now again, I've already dealt with this in the Admonish issue, but the teach issue, the idea of teaching is pedagogical, line upon line, precept upon precept. When you walk in the way, when you go out of the house, when you're eating breakfast, when you're at a meal, Now, I will say this, and he's not here to defend himself, and it's not a negative statement at all, but I remember Ben's senior year of high school, Ben asked me one day, Dad, how come every time we're together, you're always teaching me something? Now, in his mind, it was a little frustrating, and I had to realize that I had to back off a little bit. But ultimately, you know what I was saying? You know, Ben, it's because I love you so much, because my time is short. You're my primary disciple. You're the arrow in the hand of the mighty man, right? I'm going to send you out. You're going to be the head of your home. And I got a lot of things to share with you. And so how do we, do we feel that about one another? Do we care enough about each other that we teach and admonish one another in love, Psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs? The church should be like that. Hey, older guys in the church, you loners, because we guys are really good at being loners. You know, we like being Lone Rangers, but don't forget Lone Ranger had Tonto and he had silver too, right? There's some young men in this church that could use your guidance. They could use you coming alongside, not being prickly, not getting personal, but coming alongside and helping them learn how to be men in 2024. how to make decisions biblically, how to lead a home spiritually, how to read the word, how to pray, how to be a husband, how to be a father, how to be a faithful employee. If every church took this responsibility seriously to teach one another, and we would mentor one another, men on men, women with women, our church would be a bastion, a light, a beacon of beauty to the community. We are to teach one another. Do you care enough about each other to teach? And let me say, young people, do you care enough to look for somebody to teach you? Because there's some of older folks in here can't get out much, or as much as they used to. They have a lot to offer. Are you willing to go to them? Are you willing to hear from them? Are you willing to set aside some time out of your busy schedule to connect? It goes both ways. It's a two-way conduit, right? When you plug in the light, the electricity flows from the wall, but eventually it goes back. There's a full conduit, a strengthening there. Now let's look at a couple of negatives and almost done actually, there are not many of these. So not only are we told that how we choose to love shows our gospel commitment and there's a lot of positives that we've been through, but there's a couple of negatives. There's a couple of negatives and the first one starts with the D, do not. We're told that our love for one another should be without grumbling. Do not grumble against each other. We are also not to lie to one another and we are not to slander one another. Now the idea of grumbling is the idea of complaining. It's an interesting word. It's a word that I think is an onomatopoeia. It sounds like what it means. a grumble, kind of like a murmur, you know, like the 66 Mustang that I don't have, that I would love to have one day, that when you turn it on, all you hear is, you know, that great sound, it's a beautiful sound, wonderful sound. I don't, I have not experienced that personally in my garage. Maybe one day I'll go to somebody's garage who has one and I can enjoy it there. So they can pay the insurance and deal with the trauma of the car, right? But the idea here is that undergirding sound of murmuring and grumbling, Do we come to church and we hear brothers and sisters grumbling about each other? It should never be. We ought not to lie to one another. And that's an obvious. And then slander. Now slander is maliciously hurting someone else or maliciously lying about someone else to put them down and to elevate yourself. And here we are told these ought never to be practices in any God-fearing, Christ-honoring, gospel-saturated local assembly. As believers, we are not to grumble, lie, or slander to one another. Now there's a couple of, there's only one I here, all right? If you keep on biting and devouring each other, you'll be destroyed by each other. Do not bite or devour or destroy. This is an idea of using your speech in a wholesome way. It's a sort of a nuanced version of grumbling. Obviously, it's not literally talking about biting, but please don't bite, okay? Just saying, right? Keep your teeth off of others. But no, really it says, if you keep on biting and devouring each other, you will be destroyed. The idea here is don't grumble, don't slander, don't lie, don't get involved in other people's business for the sake of tearing them down, eating them up and destroying them, but rather edify and build up. The L here, one another's in the L's. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other. Also from Galatians, don't become conceited, provoking and envying each other. The idea here is don't get a big head. Don't get puffed up. Don't think that you've arrived. And thus, your conceit provokes others to envy. Now, James has a lot to say about this too. This is the attitude that gives us where we start looking at the outward appearance of everybody. We give preference to those who seem to be dressed well and have it all together, right? And those who, you know, don't look a little less dressed and a little more disheveled, right? We sort of give them preferential treatment. This is the idea. Those who have become conceited in what God has provided for them actually provoke others to envy, and we're not to do so. This is the last one, S, we are to stop passing judgment on one another. Now I could have gone to several passages here, Romans 14, 13 specifically, and I've already read it this morning, stop passing judgment. I'll give you two other really good passages, James chapter four, verses one to 13, and James chapter two, remind us that we are not to pass judgment on one another. We are not the law giver, and thus we are not the judge over the law. We are to love one another and not pass judgment. 1 Corinthians chapter 13 specifically says that our love is to think of others better than self. Our love is to not be envious, right? Our love is to not think evil. And the idea here is passing judgment on someone is assuming wrong motives on their part. Now, sometimes you need to go and talk to someone. Sometimes you need to kind of figure out, hey, did you do this? And if you did, did you know that it was hurtful to me? And maybe you didn't. I'm giving you the benefit of the doubt. I'm coming to have a discussion with you. And then maybe they did. Well, what do I do? Okay, well, I'm here to say that that was really hurtful. And it really bothered me as your brother and sister in Christ. I know that maybe that wasn't your intention, but maybe it was. And I want you to know it's hurt me. And I'd like for you to do something about it, right? And then of course the answer is, will you please forgive me? So as we conclude today in our mini-series, and I know this is an abnormal message here talking about the topic of loving one another and the staccato fashion of the A to Z, positives and negatives, but let me ask you this question. How committed are you to Jesus? How committed are you to Jesus? If you say you're committed to Jesus, then you will be committed to God's people in your local church here at Crossroad. As we ask this, as we conclude with James 2, 14 to 17, what does it profit, my brothers? If someone says he has faith but does not have works, can faith save him? That kind of faith, that workless faith. If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you say to them, depart in peace and be warmed and filled, but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? And the answer is nothing. Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. You see friends, there's a true regenerative faith in God that is transferring our allegiance from our sin and ourself to Jesus alone. And when we come to faith in Christ alone, by repenting of our sin, that faith will produce works that show that we belong to Jesus. And if a brother or sister, a crossroad or elsewhere comes to you and says, I have a genuine need, would you pray with me? And we aren't willing to love them enough to do so, James says you should check your regenerative faith. That's a powerful question. And so as we end this morning, how we choose to love shows our gospel commitment. Are you committed to Christ? Are you committed to each other? Let's pray. Father, we thank you.