Love Bound
Do We Give “Love” a Bad Name?
2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Introduction
Yes, Valentines Day and yet another lesson on “love”
We’ve been snow bound the past few weeks
a. What does that mean?
b. What was that like?
c. What did you do?
Being “love bound” is in some ways like being snow bound
a. Being “love bound” means to have limits placed on you
b. Being “love bound” means to be overwhelmed with a good thing
c. Being “love bound” means doing what love compels you to do
Love compels us to live new lives!
When we fail to do as we are compelled, we give love a bad name
2 Corinthians 5:14-17
Paul wants us to be bound by love
a. To be bound by love invigorates us
b. To be bound by love obligates us
Questions for Consideration
a. What do you think Paul means by “the love of Christ”?
b. What do you think Paul means by “the love of Christ compels” or “constrains” or “controls us”?
c. What is the nature of a person who is “compelled” or “constrained”?
d. How do old things become new? What does that look like?
"Love is not blind; that is the last thing it is. Love is bound; and the more it is bound the less it is blind." G. K. Chesterton
Point 1. Love Bound: Are We Dead or Alive?
2 Corinthians 5:14-15
Love leaves us dead or alive in that we are either compelled by love to pursue the beloved, or we are repelled by love and reject him.
a. If we reject love, we remain dead
b. If we allow love to control us, we receive new life
In this passage Paul mentions the Love of Christ: Two possibilities to understand this phrase
a. Our love for Christ (1 John 4:19)
b. Christ’s love for us (1 John 4:10, 16-17)
c. Could Paul mean both? Christ’s love compels us to love him and be like him
Paul says that this love “Controls” or “Compels” or “Holds Together”
Sunecho—We are love bound if we are in Christ! We are bound to the love of Jesus and to love as he loves us
Paul concludes that as One died for all, so all died
Christ died for our sins (Romans 5:8; cf. 3:23; 6:23)
What does Paul mean by “all died” then?
a. Probably not a reference to the wages of sin, Christ’s death took care of that
b. Might be a spiritual reference (Ephesians 2:1-2)
Those who remain dead have not been made alive by the love of Christ, they have chosen to remain in their old way of life. For those of us who died with Christ (Romans 6), we have been raised to a new life.
What is the nature of dead things?
a. Don’t do much, stuck in their ways
b. Decay, it slowly falls apart
c. Stench
What is the nature of a “live” thing?
a. Moves about, sometimes tries new things
b. Growth
c. Has the ability to produce more life
Jesus died so that we could live for him who rose again for us
He died so that we could live on his behalf as he died and rose again on ours
"We cannot help conforming ourselves to what we love." Francis de Sales
Are you dead or alive?
To be bound by love invigorates us
To be bound by the love of Christ is to be truly alive
We ought to be alive in love, not dead in sin
Point 2: Are you living in the Old or the New?
2 Corinthians 5:16-17
“Therefore” or “For this reason” or even “Because”
Because we are invigorated by Christ’s binding love, Paul now reminds us that we are obligated to live a new way
The compelling love of Christ causes us to see things differently
a. We no longer see in a worldly or purely human way
b. No more focus on what is best for me
c. No more looking out for number one
d. No more making friends only for personal benefit
By the love of Christ we must trade the old way for a new way of life
a. We must care for those who can’t repay us
b. We must put ourselves at risk for others
c. We must care for those that have no one to defend them
1 John 4:7-12; Ephesians 2:8-10
"Our love to God is measured by our everyday fellowship with others and the love it displays." Andrew Murray
To be bound by love obligates us to live a new way
We are obligated to leave the old way of life behind
What do I do now? Points of Application
Many Christians live as though the love of Christ has no constraint on them. They act as though their “fire insurance” or “get out of hell free” card is the primary thing for which Jesus died and rose again. They give love a bad name by the way they live!
If we genuinely believe that the love of Christ is binding for us, that it compels us, that it is a constraining force in our life, what should we do in response?
This week
a. Spend some time in 1 John 4 and Ephesians 2. Focus on what we are called to do as well as the means by which we are saved
b. Ask the hard questions—Do the people in your life know you love Jesus or have been loved by Christ by the way you treat them? Does Christ’s love have an impact on how you treat others? Friends? Enemies? The weird people everyone tries to avoid?
c. Look for opportunities to love others: Give where no one expects it, do a random act of kindness, pray for your waiter or waitress while he or she is there, go out of you way to bless those who will not or cannot bless you back
d. Look for those who need to be loved back to life, or need the grace of God to produce new life in the place of the old death. Then, share that love and that grace with them
e. Share God’s message of life over death and new ways for old ways
f. Let God’s love bind you, compel you, constrain you to do the things you know you should
Be Love Bound
Some Things to Consider
a. What does Christ’s love mean for you? What does his death and resurrection mean for you?
b. What effect does Christ’s love have on your love for Christ? How about on your love for others?
c. What about Christ’s love invigorates you?
d. In what way does Christ’s love bind or compel you?
e. What old things passed away when the love of Christ became real in your life? What new things showed up as a result of this love?
f. How does Christ’s love obligate you?
g. Who in your circle of influence needs new life or love? What will you do to share it with them?
Live Love Bound This Week
Thanks for reading!
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