To Love As Jesus Loved: “Charity Rejoiceth In The Truth”

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…   And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these [is] charity. (1 Corinthians 13:3-8, 13)  
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As we continue looking at events in the life of Christ that set a wonderful example for us of Scriptural love. In this devotional, we will see Christ’s great desire for sincerity and the proclamation of the truths of God…   Christ’s Life:  

The Characteristic of Scriptural Love: Desires Sincerity and The Truths Of God

  The need for sincerity in Christian service is very closely related to the need to proclaim the Truths Of God to others. Both are necessary for an effective Christian witness.  
A sincere belief motivating the proclamation of error is false teaching.
Insincerity in the proclamation of truth is, simply, hypocrisy.
The only effective, Godly witness involves the proclamation of truth about God that flows from a genuine heart of belief.   This is a mark of true love toward the Lord and those around us.   Christ gave us the perfect example of this type of divine witness as He lived His life among us…  
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth…For the law was given by Moses, [but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared [him].(John 1:14, 17-18)  
In this section of Scripture, we see that Christ was the epitome of a perfect, divine witness. He was “full of … truth” (ie perfectly sincere) while living a life that “declared” the truths of God the Father to those around Him. In other words, Christ was a very genuine, sincere, Revealer of the truths of His heavenly Father. 
In doing so, He was opening the channel of both grace and truth to a lost and spiritual dead world… “[but] grace and truth came by Jesus Christ.”   Christ, in His teachings emphasized the importance of the Word of God as the singular source of revelation for the salvation, sanctification and adoption of those who come to Him in saving faith…  
“Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth. As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth. Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;That they all may be one; as thou, Father, [art] in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me. And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one: I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.”   (John 17:17-23)  
Not only did Christ reveal the importance of truth for the lives of those around Him, but He also clearly revealed His hatred for hypocrisy and insincerity in His address concerning the Pharisees…  
“Take heed that ye do not your alms before men, to be seen of them: otherwise ye have no reward of your Father which is in heaven.   Therefore when thou doest [thine] alms, do not sound a trumpet before thee, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and in the streets, that they may have glory of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.But when thou doest alms, let not thy left hand know what thy right hand doeth: That thine alms may be in secret: and thy Father which seeth in secret himself shall reward thee openly. And when thou prayest, thou shalt not be as the hypocrites [are]: for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men. Verily I say unto you, They have their reward.But thou, when thou prayest, enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy door, pray to thy Father which is in secret; and thy Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee openly. But when ye pray, use not vain repetitions, as the heathen [do]: for they think that they shall be heard for their much speaking.Be not ye therefore like unto them: for your Father knoweth what things ye have need of, before ye ask him.” (Matthew 6:1-8)    
Our Lesson To Be Learned:  
Folks, Do we love our Lord? If so, let us shun all false teachings and hypocritical attitudes as we honor Him though presenting His Word to others through our words and actions.  
Do we love others? If so, we should have a genuine desire to present the truths of God to them, knowing that it is only through a knowledge and faith in these truths that a person can come to salvation, entrance into His family and entrance into eternity in the very presence of God…  
“For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? and how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? and how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things! But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report? So then faith [cometh] by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.”   (Romans 10:13-17)    
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