Well, let's take our Bibles this evening and turn to 1 Corinthians chapter 13. 1 Corinthians chapter 13. And as you are opening your Bibles and turning to 1 Corinthians chapter 13, I want to begin tonight's message by noting that the more I read, meditate, study, and consider the truths given in this one chapter, I am becoming more and more persuaded that what God has preserved in these 13 verses are the most important, most instructive, most convicting, most challenging, most straightforward, strong, corrective and piercing words recorded in the entirety of the Bible. And by reflecting on what is said in 1 Corinthians chapter 13 this week, I am convinced more than ever that while this chapter may be one of the most familiar chapters in the whole canon of Scripture, it is unquestionably one of the most unappreciated and misunderstood chapters in the entirety of God's Word. And by this I mean what is written in this chapter is frequently and thoughtlessly slapped on the sides of coffee mugs, repeatedly and casually printed on greeting cards, and regularly and traditionally read and quoted in weddings, while its true meaning and application is foreign and absent from the minds and lives of those who often read, write, and hear the words given in 1 Corinthians 13. And I don't think it would be an exaggeration to say that what is written by Paul to the Corinthian church by the divine influence of the Holy Spirit in this one chapter is the heartbeat of the Christian faith. I don't think I would be theologically wrong or practically mistaken to declare that 1 Corinthians 13 is the sum and substance of every Christian life and every Christian church. If we could sum up the entire Christian life, if we could give a suitable description of who God is, and what the Christian life is all about, what the essence of the church is to be, and how we are to relate one to another, if we could do so in one word, I believe it could be all summed up in the word charity, emphasized here in 1 Corinthians 13. If there is one word that provides a condensed commentary to the core message of Genesis 1 to Revelation 22 and everything in between, it would be this word charity. Charity is the heartbeat of the Christian faith. Charity is the blood that gives life to every part of the believer's physical and spiritual existence and influence. Charity is not only the heartbeat and the blood that gives life to believers physically and spiritually, but charity is the believer's spiritual oxygen that helps our spiritual organisms grow and our spiritual immune system to be strengthened. Here in chapter 13, Paul is going to show us that the elements of Christian love are the spiritual ligaments and tendons that hold the individual parts of Christ's body together. So that being said, in the time that we have together tonight, my aim is to zoom out from the passage before we zoom into the passage. Before we consider everything that Paul says in its context, I want to hold up this word charity to the sunlight of God's character as a diamond and reflect upon it in its beauty and its brilliance. So, you should be there by now. 1 Corinthians 13. Notice what God says to us beginning in verse 1. Paul writes, though I speak with the tongues, of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding brass or a tingling cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains and have not charity, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned and have not charity, It profiteth me nothing. Charity suffereth long and is kind. Charity envieth not. Charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil, rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things. Charity never faileth, but whether there be prophecies, they shall fail. Whether there be tongues, they shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part. But when that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as a child. I understood as a child. I thought as a child. But when I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then shall I know even, as also I am known. And now abideth faith, hope, charity. These three, but the greatest of these is charity. And as I stated before the reading of this text, so I state again, before we begin to unravel all the implications and applications of this chapter on charity, it is essential that we understand something about what this word charity means. So as I said, let me zoom out from this text and have us consider first the biblical explanation of charity. The biblical explanation of charity. If you're taking notes, that's point number one. The biblical explanation of charity, or to phrase it another way, what charity is according to God. And you need to understand that when I say that I want to give the biblical explanation of charity and I want to consider what charity is according to God, that I'm selecting my words carefully and purposely to set it against what secular culture thinks charity is and how various philosophical scholars define charity. Secular culture? Humanistic psychology and unregenerate anthropologists and sociologists will tell you whether directly or indirectly that love is a changing emotion that is rooted in love for self. In fact, we came across an example of this in a children's book we got from the library on Lucille Ball this past week. It was stated in this biographical book on Lucille Ball, the main star in I Love Lucy, the one, by the way, who named her show I Love Lucy, that she lived by the following motto that she crafted herself, quote, love yourself first, and everything else falls in line. You really have to love yourself to get anything done in this world. End quote. Lucille Ball's motto. Lucille Ball, the main actress and star in I Love Lucy, the one who made that show I Love Lucy. And if you know anything about Lucille Ball's life, you know that after being married for 20 years to her husband, Desi Arnaz, Ricky Ricardo, she filed for divorce because supposedly Arnaz had a drinking problem, a gambling problem, and was allegedly unfaithful in his marriage relationship. And the mystery to me about how things ended in this marriage that I'm trying to still figure out is, what gives Lucille Ball the right to divorce a man who was living by her motto? Why divorce a man who was loving himself? She's the one that said, love yourself first, and everything else falls in line. So why slam him for being an alcoholic, a gambling addict, and a womanizer? Perhaps he was drinking, and unfaithful in the marriage relationship, because behind the scenes he was tired of Lucille loving herself. I cannot say for sure, but I bring this up to make a point. And my point is, we live in a world that believes the essence of love is a sappy, emotional, warm, fuzzy feeling that is embedded in selfishness and dependent upon circumstances. It's true. Our world doesn't have the slightest clue what love is. People say they love each other one day, And then unashamedly and unapologetically say that they hate each other the next day. People get married and promise to love each other in sickness and in health, in poverty and in wealth till death do them part. And if over time their needs are not met or their spouse becomes unlovable, then somehow they fall out of love with that person. And I know I've told you this before, but this is my beef with Valentine's Day. On Valentine's Day, men will buy chocolate, jewelry, gigantic stuffed bears, and take their loved one out to a nice dinner so, catch it, he can look like he's the best man on social media. So he can manipulate his girl into getting a few extra smooches at the end of the day. Meanwhile, the woman is selfish in this too, because when she is lavish with nice gifts on Valentine's Day, she gets to brag to her girlfriends about how loving her loved one is. Couples make sure to gift each other with sappy cards and expensive presents on February 14th to make it look like everything is good to the eyes of others when the reality is other than birthdays, Christmas and anniversary celebrations, most relationships are cold, distant and constantly on the brink of separation. And here's my problem with Valentine's Day. A husband can buy his wife flowers at random times throughout the months, surprising her with nice cards at unexpected times and doing little things to show that he truly adores the one he is married to. But if he doesn't do anything on February 14th, he looks to be a selfish, heartless monster. This is our culture. We have to make sure to put a day of love on our calendar, and we have to pressure each other into, quote, loving others. Otherwise, we won't do it. Don't get mad at me, it's true. You might be saying, man, Pastor sure is a hard nose. His poor marriage, poor Becky. Hey, listen, I just went to Carl's Jr. this week and bought my wife those jalapeno poppers that she loves so much. But she would rather have that than a Valentine's Day card. My brother-in-law and I were out once, and he wanted to romance his wife, and he said, I'm going to stop at See's Candy, because every time I see a See's Candy, I always buy my wife chocolates. How romantic. So in the same parking lot, I saw an Olive Garden. And I said, well, my wife likes Olive Garden breadsticks. I'm going to buy her some breadsticks. who buys their wife breadsticks. My wife loves them. So, he goes in with chocolate, I go in with breadsticks. And it wasn't on February 14th. So, I say that to prove our point. I'm not a Valentine's Day yippie promoter. But throughout the years, you ask my wife, I'm looking for opportunities to show love. Well, the Beatles and other musicians urge the world that all they need is love, while the world doesn't have the slightest clue as to what true love is. People throw around the word love so flippantly and casually. People only love so long as they are being loved. They only love if someone seems worthy of love, and they only love if they feel like loving. But I want us to understand tonight, this is not the biblical explanation of love. This is not God's definition of the word charity here in 1 Corinthians 13. The word charity in 1 Corinthians 13 expresses itself in self-sacrifice that endures regardless of worth or circumstances. The definition of love given in God's Word does not rest in an emotion, but in unselfish actions that has the goodwill of others in sight. Love according to God is not a love that is based on merit, but a love that is rooted in undeserved grace and mercy. The love that is given by God and the love that is to be exhibited by God's people is a love that is unearned. A love that loves despite how the person who is loving feels or how those being loved respond to it. And this leads us to our second main point. which is the divine exemplar of charity. Having considered what charity is, let's take what we've considered from the definition of charity and see what charity looks like. What is love according to God? Well, John the Beloved tells us two times in 1 John chapter 4 that God is love, teaching us that God's very nature is to be charitable. Everything God does flows from his love, which leads us to consider this question. How does God demonstrate his love for others? Does he merely relish in some sappy, sentimental feeling? Does he prove his love simply by verbalizing to others that he loves them? Does God remain separate from humanity and write, I love you in the clouds while keeping distance from the world? How does God display his love? Looking to scripture, we find that God exhibits his love not merely by feelings, not merely by words, but through grace motivated sacrificial actions. Grace motivated sacrificial actions. Let's think of it as it relates to the triune person of God demonstrated in the work of salvation. Beginning with the Father we read, John chapter 3 verse 16, that God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life. 1 John 4, verse 10, herein is love. You have our attention. What is love? Herein is love, John says, not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 1 John 4, verse 14, and we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. And what was the motivating factor in the Father sending the Son? It was love. Romans chapter 3 verses 24 and 25, being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus, whom God hath sent forth to be a propitiation through faith in His blood. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 21, for He, God, made Him, Jesus, to be sin for us, who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him." So, as it contains the Father, and His love, and the demonstration of His love, He demonstrated His love by sending His Son to sacrifice Himself. And turning our attention from the Father, and placing our eyes on Jesus Christ, the Son, we find love demonstrated in the same way, through grace-motivated, sacrificial actions. The Bible tells us that Jesus did not remain in heaven and drop leaflets from the sky telling the people of this world that He loves them. The Bible tells us that Jesus made Himself of no reputation, and took upon Him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." The Bible tells us that Jesus, though He were rich, willingly and joyfully became poor for our sake, that we, through His poverty, might be rich. In John chapter 15 verse 13, Jesus tells us that the greatest expression of his love is through the laying down of his life for his friends. In Mark chapter 10 verse 45, Jesus declared that the Son of Man did not come to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give His life a ransom for many. Romans chapter 5 verse 8, but God commended, God demonstrated His love towards us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. And that word for simply means He died in our place. It was a substitutionary death. We deserve to taste the wrath of God and Jesus on Calvary's cross endured the wrath of God in the believer's place. 1 Peter 3 verse 18, For Jesus Christ also hath once suffered for sin, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit. And there is the love of the Spirit, the third person of God mentioned. The Spirit demonstrates His love by convicting lost sinners of sin. righteousness and judgment to come. The Holy Spirit exhibits His love by illuminating the depraved understanding of men to who God is and what Christ has done for sinners. The Holy Spirit displays His love by awakening those who are dead and trespasses of sins out of our spiritual lifelessness and birthing them into God's kingdom. The Holy Spirit exemplifies His love by taking residence inside the believer, sealing them unto the day of redemption and helping the believer in all matters of life. And this is what true love is. This is what true love looks like. Can we just take a moment to appreciate the love of God given to us through each divine person of the Godhead? Think about it, that the creator of the world, That He who is infinite and almighty should love puny, little, finite, created beings like us is something unspeakable. The Bible says it is beyond knowledge. Yet such love is the love of God expressed to those who have been saved and those who will be saved. And I haven't even unraveled all the ways God demonstrates His love to the whole world in His common goodness and grace. Like it's been an entire message speaking of many ways God demonstrates His love apart from salvation to all of mankind from the time mankind was first created. But for sake of time, I'll leave that for you to ponder after this message. But the truth I want to screw into your mind under this second point is the truth that true biblical love contains gracious, sacrificial action. True biblical love comprises loving others selflessly. True biblical love involves loving those who don't deserve love. Who did God in Christ by the Spirit love? Worthy people? Good people? Morally faithful people? No, the Bible says God loved his enemies. God loved the ungodly. Excuse me, I'm speaking of you and me. God in Christ loved the unlovable, the selfish, the rebellious, the ignorant, the blind, the hard-hearted, and those who deserve to be cast away from His presence for all of eternity. We love Him only because He first loved us in our miserable, wretched, shameful, ugly, depraved condition. And this leads us then to our third and final point, which is the Christian expectation and exhortation to exhibit charity. Having considered the biblical explanation of charity and the divine exemplar or divine example of charity, let me conclude by having us note the Christian expectation to exhibit the same kind of charity we've experienced from God to others. Throughout the whole of Scripture, the Bible not only appeals Christians to practice a Christ-like, grace-motivated, sacrificial love to others, it assumes they will. The narrative of Joseph's love toward his brothers at the end of Genesis is not just a nice story about a nice man who lived a long time ago. The story of Joseph is an illustration of Christ's love for us and the type of love God's people ought to have toward those who have hurt them. Likewise, the parable of the unforgiving servant in Matthew 18 and the parable of the good Samaritan in Luke 10 have not been divinely preserved in our Bible for some personal sentimental enjoyment or entertainment. They have been put into our Bibles to show us what God expects of His people. God expects His people to reflect something of His love in every aspect of life. In your marriage, And in your home, in your community, and in your church, to your saved spouse, and to your unsaved spouse, to your friends, and to your enemies, toward those who agree with you politically, toward those who disagree with you politically, God commands that you and I be kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving, even as God, for Christ's sake, hath forgiven you. God expects that you esteem other better than yourself, not looking to your own things, but looking to the interests of others. Jesus said the greatest commandment in the law is to love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, soul, mind and strength and to love your neighbor as yourself. Jesus said by this, all men shall know that you are my disciples. If you have love. One for another. Paul tells the church in Rome that their love for each other is to be sincere. Romans 12, 9, Peter exhorts his readers to let brotherly love continue. In fact, Peter says, above all things, they are to have fervent charity among themselves. Both James, James chapter 2, and John, among the first chapters of 1 John chapter 1 and 2, write in their epistles that the reality of our love for others is confirmed with our actions, not by our affirmations. A man can say that he loves God all he wants. A man can say he is a Christian until he is blue in the face. But the reality of his faith does not rest in what he says. It rests in what and how he loves. Rather, in who or how he loves. And this is where we meet Paul in 1 Corinthians 13. Christlike charity is the heartbeat of the Christian faith. Christlike charity is to be the foundation and motivation of all that we do. For as we read in verse two, without this grace inspired sacrificial love toward others, we are nothing. Isn't that what scripture says here? What is nothing? Nothing is no thing. Valueless. Empty. Vanity of vanities. All is vanity without charity. Without charity, you are nothing. Without love for God, and love for others flowing from your love toward God. You are worthless. And herein lies our problem. It's the same problem the Corinthians had nearly 1,969 years ago. Are you ready? Here's the problem. We love ourselves. We want others to sacrificially love us, but we don't want to sacrificially love others. Come on, we've been shaking our heads in agreement as to what true love is and what ways love is to be demonstrated through the triune person of God and how we are commanded of God in Scripture to love others as Christ loved us. But when in actuality, as it comes to our day-to-day, face-to-face application of it, we tell ourselves, I know 1 Corinthians 13, and I know it's theologically correct, but... I know I should love as Christ loved, but my situation is different. God understands if I don't apply it in this particular instance. God has given me a get out of 1 Corinthians chapter 13 free card. How do I know this is the typical application of love that surrounds us? I know this because I know the sinful justification of my own heart. And I hear the sinful excuses of others. And I feel and see the lack of love in my own life and in the life of others. There's nothing new under the sun. The same ignorance and lack of application of love that exists in Paul's day is the same ignorance and lack of application of love that exists in our life, our homes and in our church. Listen, church, Paul's word meets us right where we are in our marriage relationships, in our family relationships, in our dealings with those in the workplace who are obnoxious, those in the neighborhood who get under our skin, and those in the church who try our patience. Oh, not at Calvary. We can say that we love God all we want. We can sound Christian, theologically pure. We can pray. We can read our Bibles. We can come to church. We can witness for Christ. We can be involved in ministry while remaining naive to what true love is and how true love is to be expressed. Listen, husband, you can provide for your family financially, but without love, you are nothing. Listen, wife, you can cook good meals and clean the home, but without love, you are nothing. Listen, parents, you can homeschool your parents and make sure that they do their school every day. You can make sure your kids stay off drugs and stay away from rated R movies, but without love, you are nothing. Listen, children, you can, yes, sir and yes, ma'am, your parents, as you ought to, you can do all your chores to the best of your ability, but without love for God and without true love for your parents, you are nothing, even though you think you're something. Church member, you can be faithful to every service. You can have a ministry position. You can dress up nicely, you can give sacrificially, you can be theologically correct in every detail. But without love, you're nothing. Why? Because true love does not rest in a feeling. True love does not rest in an affirmation. True love rests in sincere, grace-motivated, sacrificial actions that are inspired by God's love for us. And if you get nothing else out of this message, you get this one truth. Charity is knowing and responding to God's love so that you will reveal something of God's love to others. Charity is knowing and responding to God's love so that you will reveal something of God's love. To others, true charity is God loving others through you as Christ has loved you. Did you get it? True charity is God loving others. Who are unlovely. Through you. As Christ loved you in your ugliness and unlovable-ness. Until we understand what true love is, we cannot and will not love God and others properly. And so it's vital in this introduction to 1 Corinthians chapter 13, that we zoom in on this one word, charity. What is it? Before we unravel all the specific details and implication that Paul's going to give in this chapter, we need to understand firmly, we need to have a firm grip upon charity and what it is and what it is not, so that as we come to scripture, we will know everything he says as he repeats over and over this word, charity. So, as I conclude, let me ask, have you tasted God's love in Christ? Do you know His love in the depth of your soul? Has there been a time where your heart has been melted and overwhelmed by the love of God in Christ so strongly that you were brought to see what Jesus did for you on the cross? Have you benefited savingly from Jesus' love? Is Jesus' love the motivation of all you do? Is His love that which drives you to live your life? Or are you, this evening, still in need of a new heart that loves God and loves others? So many people who come to church, who profess faith in Jesus Christ, have nothing more than this warm, distant, fuzzy feeling about God. But they don't have true, genuine knowledge of who God is in Christ. And so, coming to Sunday is just a sentimental experience It's just something they grew up with and they love that experience. They love the atmosphere. Christmas and Easter comes around and they remember when they were children and they remember the warm times that they sat next to grandma and grandpa and dad and mom and they love the memories. But they don't love Christ. Is that you tonight? I can be maybe speaking to children who love their Sunday school class and love going to church because of their friends, but they don't love Christ. They don't know what Christ has done for them on the cross. So if that's you, look to the Lord. See his hands stretched out on the cross. and see it for you. Jesus shed his blood for your soul. So what's our response? Our response is to look to him as the Savior, to believe on him as the Lord, the promised Messiah, and then to love him with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength.