The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.

Have you ever said something to someone simply to get a rise out of them? I know I have. My words to a certain male deathscort come to mind: “Did Huxley give you permission to speak?” I think about my workplace, where any activity or word which produces irritation in a person is often used as a a stick to poke and prod the aggravated one into a frustrated frenzy. I have observed, as I am sure many of you have, Facebook being used as a means to stir up the easily angered people on your friends list. There is even a term for when we post something controversial meant to stir the pot, and people react….”triggered”. Now, we are called to speak the truth. As Christians, we cannot shy away from sharing hard truths with those around us. To do so would be unloving. However, we know from experience that no matter how well we craft our words, someone will always be offended. We can speak the truth, giving qualifications for every point along the way, and yet someone will be ready to pounce in offense. Jesus said that the world hated Him because He testified that their works were evil, and if we are to be like our teacher, it is unavoidable that we will be hated. However, should we not examine our motives when sharing the truth? The proverb today says that: For the churning of milk produces butter, And pressing the nose brings forth blood; So the churning of anger produces strife.
Strife is an angry or bitter disagreement over fundamental issues. Various proverbs deal with the issue of strife. (Proverbs 16:28) A perverse man spreads strife, And a slanderer separates intimate friends. (Proverbs 18:6)
A fool's lips bring strife, And his mouth calls for blows. (Proverbs 20:3)
Keeping away from strife is an honor for a man, But any fool will quarrel. (Proverbs 26:17) Like one who takes a dog by the ears Is he who passes by and meddles with strife not belonging to him. (Proverbs 26:21) Like charcoal to hot embers and wood to fire, So is a contentious man to kindle strife. (Proverbs 28:25) An arrogant man stirs up strife, But he who trusts in the LORD will prosper.
Matthew Henry says this about stirring up strife:  “We must not irritate the passions of others. Some are so very provoking in their words and conduct that they even force wrath, they make those about them angry whether they will or no, and put those into a passion who are not only not inclined to it, but resolved against it. Now this forcing of wrath brings forth strife, and where that is there is confusion and every evil work. As the violent agitation of the cream fetches all the good out of the milk, and the hard wringing of the nose will extort blood from it, so this forcing of wrath wastes both the body and spirits of a man, and robs him of all the good that is in him. Or, as it is in the churning of milk and the wringing of the nose, that is done by force which otherwise would not be done, so the spirit is heated by degrees with strong passions; one angry word begets another, and that a third; one passionate debate makes work for another, and so it goes on till it ends at length in irreconcilable feuds.”
Listen, we know that speaking the truth, in love, will anger folks, and make them want to drive us off cliffs and stone us. This passage of scripture  cannot be speaking of how unbelievers rage against the truth when it is presented in a way that honors God and is loving towards our neighbor. If it is, then we would never be able to share the gospel with a lost person for fear of provoking them to anger. What this refers to, are our motivations when speaking the truth. Do you desire the edification of the person, or are you simply trying to win the debate? Do you long to see the person come to an understanding of the truth, or are you piling on someone like a shark in a feeding frenzy? Is the desire for conflict what drives you, or a desire to see the gospel advance? Are your words spoken out of obedience to Christ, or a desire to increase the likes on your Facebook page?
Have you ever watched someone churn milk before? It’s hard work, demands repetition and an intentionality. Milk does not turn into butter by itself, and in the same way strife does not simply arise out of thin air. We have to work to produce strife. The proverbs I read earlier said that those who kindle strife, are contentious, arrogant, foolish, and perverse. Is that you this morning? Are your words, both written and spoken, like healing salve to broken souls, or are they like spurs meant to prod and provoke? Are you motivated out of compassion for the one trapped in bondage and error, or are they nothing more than a foe to be vanquished with a keystroke. There was one last point of emphasis that Matthew Henry made, that I would like to leave you with this morning, and I suspect there will be some who may disagree, but know that I save this point for the end because I love you, and it is something that I struggle with mightily. He says “Let nothing therefore be said or done with violence, but every thing with softness and calmness.” That grates against us doesn’t it? We are bold. We speak the truth anytime, anywhere, and if someone gets riled up or offended, well, that just reveals their sin and error to their shame. Ephesians 4:29 “Let no unwholesome word proceed from your mouth, but only such a word as is good for edification according to the need of the moment, so that it will give grace to those who hear.” Brothers and sisters, let us be motivated by love, like Christ, not by our sinful desires and passions.
If you are able, let us kneel and confess how we often use our words for the stirring up of strife.
Heavenly Father, Your Word is sharper than a two edged sword, yet far too often we seek to use our words, not for building up, but for slicing and piercing. Frequently our words are used to produce strife, delivered with arrogant, foolish motives, rather than love. Father, we have the truth, and instead of displaying Your Son and His glory and majesty, so that the unbeliever might taste and see that He is good, we use the truth like a blunt instrument to win arguments, get likes on Facebook, and elevate ourselves. Please grant us repentant hearts O LORD. Please be merciful towards us sinners. Father, please help us to follow after Christ, being persecuted as for imitating Him, rather than for our own sinful practices. It’s in Jesus Name we pray. Amen.
 Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: 

To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!

The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received. This is the word of God. It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.

I am going to cut to the chase. We live in a nation filled with father hungry men, and women who are desperate to be loved, by anyone. Why do you suppose the proverb today says that the earth QUAKES under an unloved woman when she gets a husband? Because dear brothers and sisters, marriage is a glorious picture of Christs relationship to the Church, His Bride, and when a man leaves his father's house and joins with his wife and the two become one flesh…..It. Is. GLORIOUS! When we see a once unloved woman, who desires nothing more than to be loved, join with a man in Holy Matrimony, and observe as he lays down his life for her, it shakes the foundations. The powers of darkness see that and tremble. We know Satan and his children hate marriage, because it is a picture of man’s salvation and redemption, two things they will never attain. The world looks at marriage in wonder, unable to comprehend it, because the natural man does not understand the things of the Spirit. Sinners of all stripes try to mimic it yet fall horribly short: think “Sister wives”, “Gay Mirage” and the ever popular practice of “Cohabitation”. You know, when a man and a woman live together, enjoy all the benefits of being a husband and wife, but always have an option to bail out, because, actual marriage takes hard work, sacrifice, and the fruits of the Spirit. We treat Christ, the Groom of the Church, in the same way, do we not? He is to be our only portion in life, yet we often seek other means of joy and peace. Christ is the head of the Church, the way Husbands are head of the wife, but just as the order in marriage is often subverted, we seek to usurp the Throne and rule where only Christ can. Men, loving your wives the way Christ loves His bride and laid down His life for her has real, immediate ramifications in our lives. “You husbands in the same way, live with your wives in an understanding way, as with someone weaker, since she is a woman; and show her honor as a fellow heir of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered." (1 Peter 3:7). Is your prayer life stale and stagnant? Do you find yourself asking with David “ How long O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?” (Psalm 13:1,2).
How might we fail to display the glorious truths of marriage in our lives?
When we as men fail to love our wives, choosing instead to pursue the lusts of our flesh, rather than the heart of our wife, and all the world sees it and despises Christ and His Bride because of it.
When wives more readily submit to their boss, their children, and society’s expectations for them, rather than to the husband who loves them and seeks to lay down his life for her.
When we hold marriage in low esteem, engaging in grumbling and gossip about wives and husbands, forgetting that our Lord Jesus Christ would NEVER let a disparaging remark about His Bride go unanswered. Remember, He is a Jealous God, and we should be jealous for our marriages as well. When we are not, it cheapens marriage, and marrs that beautiful picture.
Where we have fallen short, let us repent. If you are able, let us kneel at this time and confess our sins to Almighty God, those that are hidden, unintentional, and presumptuous.
Most Gracious Heavenly Father, we bow before You this morning, thankful for our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, the Groom of the Church. Thankful, yet realizing that we frequently take this marriage for granted. We neglect the means of grace that You provide. We often chase after idols, seeking to join with the world, and submit to the lusts of our flesh, rather than loving Your Son Jesus as a once unloved woman loves her husband. Please forgive us when we bring shame upon You by how we distort the true picture of marriage with our selfishness and pride. Father, please forgive us husbands when we forget that our wives are the weaker vessel, and please forgive the wives when they seek to rule over their husbands. Please be with all of the married couples here today, and help us display this beautiful picture so that our children, and others watching, might glorify Your Son and love Him and the Church because of it. It’s in Jesus Name we pray, Amen.
Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: 

  To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!   

(From the 2/17/2019 liturgy of Sovereign King Church written by Aaron Sabie.)

Our King, Jesus Christ promised to grow his Church throughout the world and to enable it to prevail against the gates of hell. As Christians, we are blessed to be united to his family found throughout the world and throughout all of time.  Because this universal family can not all meet at one time and one location,  the Bible teaches that Christians should gather together where they are located in local churches for worship, fellowship, discipleship, and accountability. Being united to a local church and submitting to the officers that God has established in these local churches is vital for the life of a believer and for obedience to God’s commands. In short, church membership is important. It is important for you and your walk with the Lord and for the growth of the kingdom.


We live in a time when many even well-meaning people may have questions and objections to the necessity of local church membership. I thought it would be helpful to strengthen your resolve to be a committed member of a local church if I took a moment to answer a few of these objections.

Objections:
Informalism rules the day in our culture. Many have an aversion to what they negatively call “organized religion.” You may have heard some people trying to appeal to the culture say that Christianity is about a “relationship not a religion.” This is a false dichotomy. It is taking two things that are not mutually exclusive and acting as if they are. The truth is that the relationship that many speak of is multifaceted. It is the relationship of a father to his son and of a king with his servants. This King, Jesus Christ, has established his religion. Christianity is a religion built upon a relationship with God almighty through Jesus Christ. The true dichotomy is not between relationship and religion but between true religion and false religion. True religion is founded upon the Lordship of Christ. Its adherents love God and their neighbors. They are subject to their king even in even minor things like their speech and also in greater things like how they care for the less fortunate (James 1:26-27).
The real problem behind the false dichotomy between relationship and religion is hyper-individualism. Christianity becomes all about me and my desires. Someone might say “I can worship God well on my own or with my family in my own home, I don’t need to go to a building with professional pastors.” But when Christ is our King, we know that he commands us to love God and to love our neighbors. The religion that Christ establishes is both personal and corporate. It will impact you individually and also relationally. The word religion is revealed this way in James 1:27, “Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world.” The true religion of Christ involves obedience to his commands. He clearly commands in his word for his people to be a part of the church(Ephesians 4:15-16), to serve the church (1 Corinthians 12:12-27, Galatians 6:10) to worship him corporately regularly (Hebrews 10:24-25, Colossians 3:16, John 4:23) , and to submit to the leadership (Hebrews 13:17, 1 Peter 5) and the discipline of the church (1 Corinthians 5, Matthew 18:15-18).
Another common objection heard today is that church membership is legalistic. There are two forms to this argument, one being more sophisticated than the other. The first and simplistic argument is that anything that sounds like rules or commandments is considered legalism, therefore a command to join a church is legalistic. Of course, this is a misunderstanding of what legalism is. Legalism is whenever someone attempts to earn their salvation by any good work or deed. It is an attempt to make salvation into a button where I do this one thing and then God is bound to give me heaven because I did that one thing. We are declared righteous not by any good deeds of our own but by the life and death of Christ. We are saved by grace through faith scripture says. And it is all a gift of God including the faith. Scripture also goes on to say that our salvation is for a purpose (Ephesians 2:10). God saves us not by good deeds but for good deeds. We are saved for obedience. Therefore, when we are saved, we will want to obey God and we will strive to do so. It is not legalistic to strive to keep Christ commandments.
There is a second type of legalism that we are to be on guard against. This type of legalism is replacing or adding to the commandments of God with the commandments of men. It is this definition of legalism that some use to object to church membership. They argue that there is no bible verse that says explicitly “thou shalt fill out an application and become a member of a local church.” They are correct in as far as there is no verse that says that specific statement. Part of understanding God’s commands for us means reading through scripture and obeying what it explicitly says but we also are to obey what it implies. A really wise group of men in the 17th century put it this way “the whole counsel of God concerning all things necessary for his own glory, man's salvation, faith and life, is either expressly set down in Scripture, or by good and necessary consequence may be deduced from Scripture.” When we look at what all of scripture says we may be necessarily led to deduce certain things from scripture and these things that we deduce we are to obey. When it comes to local church membership, the bible is full of instruction that teaches us that church membership is a command.
For example, the book of Hebrews chapter 13 verse 17 says “Obey your leaders and submit to them, for they are keeping watch over your souls, as those who will have to give an account. Let them do this with joy and not with groaning, for that would be of no advantage to you.” Two questions immediately come to mind. If there is no biblical requirement to belong a local church, then which leaders should an individual Christian obey and submit to? The second question is, who are those whom leaders are to watch over and be held accountable for? As a pastor, this is an important question for me. The Scriptures clearly commands elders to care for and exercise oversight over a specific people (1 Peter 5:1-5, Acts 20:29-30) Am I responsible to exercise oversight over every person who claims the name of Christ? There are churches all throughout southern Indiana and Louisville. Will I be held accountable for the work and teaching of these churches?  Will I have to give an answer for the souls in these churches?  Or could it be that I am held responsible for a certain group of believers who I am to shepherd?
Coming back around to the first question, Christians are commanded to submit to and honor their elders as we just saw in Hebrews 13:17 and can see elsewhere (1 Timothy 5:17; Matthew 18:15-18). If there is no understanding of local church membership, then who are we to submit to and obey? While Christians should honor the office of pastor and elder of any true church, are they also called to submit to and obey anyone with the title “elder” from any church?
Think about the issue of church discipline. This is an issue that many do not want to consider but Jesus taught that discipline is a function of the church (Matthew 18). Scripture gives us an example of this being carried out in 1 Corinthians 5:1-12. There was a man in this church committing wicked and unrepentant sexual sin with his mother-in-law. The church was a very tolerant church, but Paul confronts their tolerance. They thought they were being gracious, but Paul rebukes them. Their “tolerance” was nothing to boast about. They should have been mourning and should have dealt with this cancerous evil in their midst. He tells them to hand the man over to Satan and put him out of the church. It is obvious that in order to be kicked out of something, someone must be in it. If there is no commitment to a local church, no church membership, how do you remove someone from that membership? Church discipline is predicated on the idea of church membership.
Furthermore, we see in scripture the concept of membership rolls or records of who belongs. In the book of Acts, over and over again we are given a numerical record of those who were being added to the number of the church. In Acts 6:1-6, we see elections take place in order to address a specific problem in the local church. This signifies that there was organization in helping different groups within the church. In Romans 16:1-16, there are various members of different churches mentioned by name. In regard to rolls, Paul instructs Timothy on adding widows to an official list aka roll for the church. The church is organized and organizing in the New Testament. There are a host of other texts that we could go to in both the New and Old Testament to bring together this concept of church membership, but it should be clear by now that membership of a local church is commanded by God and is set forth in the example of the New Testament church. It is God’s plan that we be connected to and accountable to a local church for growth in maturity, for service to others, and for the building up of Christ’s body, the Church.
So what about applications, church membership packets, membership interviews, and membership vows? Sure, church membership is biblical but aren’t all these things legalistic? It doesn’t say we have to fill out an application or go through an interview process in scripture. The same wise men in the 17th century that I quoted above also said this “there are some circumstances concerning the worship of God, and government of the Church, common to human actions and societies, which are to be ordered by the light of nature, and Christian prudence, according to the general rules of the Word, which are always to be observed.” What they are saying is that there are some things that God has left up to the leaders of the church to work out according to wisdom. These things are common not just to the church but to any organization. Sometimes God gives us instructions but doesn’t specify some of the incidental details.
For example, we are told to gather for worship weekly. We are not told the exact material of the building we should meet in. We aren’t told whether we should use pews, chairs, or mats to sit on. We aren’t given a command on whether the song lyrics should be in a book or projected on a screen. These things should be decided using wisdom instructed from God. Depending on the location in the world, your building materials might be different. You might not meet in a dedicated church building but in a basement of a home. When it comes to church membership, we know that it is required. How we structure it should be based upon wisdom and principles gathered from God’s word and creation. The membership process from church to church may look different based upon the needs of the church. These things are to be decided wisely by the elders of the church. And we are commanded to submit to the leadership of the elders of the church. In these incidentals, we should obey unless they clearly contradict the word of God.
I have dealt somewhat at length with these objections to show from scripture that church membership is a command from our Sovereign King. There are many other reasons that people have for avoiding obedience to this clear command. Fear of commitment or dealing with hurt from other bad situations in the past are not good excuses to avoid the instructions of scripture. We all know someone or have been the someone who has been hurt by others in a church. Churches are made up of sinners and until the end of time when Christ returns we will be dealing with the consequences of sin. But God has determined that we are still to be a part of the church. It is in the church where we will sin and be sinned against, but it is in the church where we can learn to forgive and be forgiven. It is in the church where we encourage others to grow and are encouraged to grow. It is in the church where we serve and are served. It is in the church where we love and are loved.

*This article is indebted to 9 Marks.org

The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.

The author of this Proverb declared 3 things too wonderful for him, and 4 which he did not understand. I will admit right now, for those of you who don’t already know: I am a simple man, and I can assure you, there are way more than 3 or 4 things which are too wonderful for me and beyond my understanding. One of those things, is God’s grace towards sinful men, women, boys, and girls. His unmerited, undeserved favor. Think about it. Apart from the Lord Jesus Christ, we stand guilty of high treason against a Holy, Just God Who hates sin. If not for God granting us eyes to see, ears to hear, taking out our heart of stone and putting in a heart of flesh, we remain dead in our sins and trespasses. Brothers and sisters, we were wretched, poor, blind, and trapped in our sins, yet our Father showed us grace and delivered up His Son to pay for our trespasses. We deserve nothing but wrath from the hand of God, but instead, He sent Jesus, the very image of the invisible God, full of grace and truth, to save us from the penalty of sin, removing the sting of death, and granting  eternal life to those who believe.
Maybe you are here today and have not experienced this grace before. You are trapped in your sin, and see no means of escape. Unwilling to forgive those who have sinned against you, you cannot perceive that a holy God could possibly wash away your sins. Maybe there was a time in your past when you had tasted that He is good, but the cares of this life, trials, heartache, loss, and sin have weighed you down and have you bound in shackles of despair, shame, and guilt, feeling as if you are too deep in rebellion, too far removed from God’s grace to have any hope. I would like to share a quick story with you.
In the spring of 1995, my then 27 year old cousin, Greg, died in an alcohol related accident. From what I understand, he was ejected from the car and died in horrific fashion. He would have been 51 years old this year. His mother, my Aunt Linda, suffered horribly with his death for years. Last month Aunt Linda had a heart attack, and my family had the opportunity to visit her in the hospital. While there we were blessed to hear testimony about how it was that she was relieved to be alive, yet did not fear death. I asked her to explain this, and her answer was too wonderful for me to grasp. It was so simplistic, yet more profound than what I typically hear coming out of people’s mouths these days: “ I don't fear death because Jesus is my savior and He is the only hope I have”. There was no appeal to good works, no pointing to good deeds, or her baptism, or her prayer life; just a recognition that she was a sinner who needed a savior and His Name is Jesus. This is too wonderful, isn't it? That is God's grace at work! To be filled with the Holy Spirit and able to say with the apostle Paul “O death where is your victory, o death where is your sting?” The story ain't over. Remember how I started talking about my cousin Greg, dead for 24 years? He was the love of Aunt Linda's life. Her firstborn child. Her baby. Can you imagine the grief she carried for years? Do you know about this kind of grief? Let me offer you hope. My aunt Linda was lying in a hospital bed, mostly immobile, had just finished telling us about how God is good and salvation is from the Lord, then she got serious. She begins to talk about her long dead son Greg, how he made a profession of faith as a child, but had grown into a man with an alcohol problem. She warned him of the dangers but no avail. She looked right at us, and with a mixture of joy, confidence, peace, and bittersweet honesty, told us that thinking back on his life, though she maintains hope for a reunion with her son one day, she is no longer certain that he was saved because the life he lived did not conform to the confession he had made. She went on to say that whether she sees him again one day, or he is condemned to hell, she knows this for certain: there are no tears in heaven where she is going, and she will praise God either way. Brothers and sisters, that is grace, and it is too wonderful, and incomprehensible, yet it is by this grace that we are saved, through faith. It’s not of ourselves, it is a gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast.
            Amazing grace! how sweet the sound,
  That saved a wretch; like me!
I once was lost, but now am found,
  Was blind, but now I see.


If you are able, please kneel as we ask God to show us grace, for the forgiveness of our sins, through the blood of His Son Jesus.
 O GOD OF GRACE,

Thou hast imputed my sin to my substitute,
and has imputed his righteousness to my soul,
clothing me with a bridegroom’s robe,
decking me with jewels
of holiness.
But in my Christian walk I am still in rags;
my best prayers are stained with sin;
my penitential tears are so much impurity;
my confessions of wrong are so many aggravations of sin;
my receiving the Spirit is tinctured with selfishness.
I need to repent of my repentance;
I need my tears to be washed;
I have no robe to bring to cover my sins,
no loom to weave my own
righteousness;
I am always standing clothed in filthy garments,
and by grace am always receiving change of raiment,
for thou dost always justify the ungodly;
I am always going into the far country,
and always returning home
as a prodigal,
always saying, Father, forgive me,
and thou art always bringing forth the best robe.
Every morning let me wear it,
every evening return in it,
go out to the day’s work in it,
be married in it,
be wound in death in it,
stand before the great white throne in it,
enter heaven in it shining as the sun.
Grant me never to lose sight of
the exceeding sinfulness of sin,
the exceeding righteousness of salvation,
the exceeding glory of Christ,
the exceeding beauty of holiness
the exceeding wonder of grace.
(From the Valley of Vision, titled “Continual Repentance”)
 
 Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: 

To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts!   

(From the 2/10/19 liturgy of Sovereign King Church.  Written by Aaron Sabie.)

The Psalm writer wrote:  Open my eyes, that I may behold Wonderful things from Your law. As we come before a Holy God and hear his word, may we have eyes open to the wonderful and fearful things from his law. May it move us to repent and seek forgiveness, fear disobedience, and live in light of the grace we have received.   This is the word of God.  It is eternally true and applicable for all of life.

In the book 1984 by George Orwell, the Ministry of Truth was a large bureaucratic institution whose main role was to shape public opinion by manipulating reality through news and entertainment, across all mediums of communication. Language, both written and spoken, was highly regulated. The lengths that the government went to in order to control perception was so oppressive that body language, and thought itself, was subject to the restrictions placed upon this society by the Ministry of Truth. One of their most powerful means of distortion was by changing the definition of words, and when possible, eliminating words altogether.
Perhaps this sounds a little outlandish to you. Maybe you believe this makes for good science fiction, but there’s no way something like that could happen in real life.
In Episode 7 The Plodcast, titled “The battle for the dictionary”, Pastor Douglas Wilson says this: “In this great post modern revolution that is following the ways of humpty dumpty, a word doesn't mean anything until I determine what it’s going to mean. This is a collision, a tussle, a battle, a war, over who is going to be in charge of all your nouns, who is going to be in charge of all your verbs, who is going to be in charge of what you call “it”. This is where hate speech comes in. Let’s say you are admonishing someone about sin in their life with tears in your eyes. You are pleading with them to repent and turn to Christ, and by every biblical metric you are demonstrating your love for this person….what the people who are demanding control of the dictionary have said is that ‘No, what you’ve just done is hate speech’. It’s hate speech, and they are saying that ‘we are going to call love, hate; what God calls love, we are going to call hate’.
Brothers and sisters, the battle for the dictionary, for language, for our ability to effectively communicate the truths of God’s Word, is raging. Our government promotes homosexual lifestyles which destroy men’s mind, body, and souls, as healthy, normal expressions of human sexuality. The social justice warriors have redefined abortion to be good for society, and necessary, a fundamental human right, not murder. Culture defines truth, as this morphing, slithering, nebulous thing, that is always in flux, and can differ from person to person based upon how that person feels. In the last two days I have witnessed on Facebook what has to be one of the most prevalent and tragic abuses of our language taking place right now and it’s rooted in what the definition of love is. If as a Christian you correct anyone with an objective standard, the bible for instance, regarding any behavior, lifestyle, or decision with language that makes the person feel sad, or makes that person feel shamed, or makes that person feel as if they have been judged….you are being mean, hateful, unloving, and you are not a Christian. It is the person affirming the destructive sin of another who is the compassionate, loving individual, and the sinner trapped in their sin, is actually the victim, of your bullying.
If you plead with the homosexual to repent and seek abundant life in Christ….you are a Homophobe. A Hater.
Refuse to go along with the imaginations of a transgender person….bigot. Hate monger.
Beg a black mother to keep and love her child….racist, woman hating, mansplainer.
The Proverb tells us that Every word of God is tested; He is a shield to those who take refuge in Him. Do not add to His words Or He will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar.
How does standing up to the “mean bully” speaking the truth to a sinner add to the words of God, you ask? Because, it is God, not us, who defines what love is. It is God, and the truth of His Word, which must serve as the foundation for all of our relationships, not how we feel about a particular person or their sin. We are like Agur at the beginning of this Proverb: stupid, without understanding and wisdom. Seeking to redefine things after God has already set the standard, is adding to the Word of God. What results are definitions which call evil good, and good evil. Woe to the one who does this. Death and destruction are the byproducts of manipulating and adding to the Word of God. Here are a few common manifestations of the distortion of the word love:
If I am speaking out against someone who is causing pain to another, isn’t the one being “mean” the hateful one, and I am the one who is being loving?
 I have friends who are homosexuals, friends who have had abortions, friends who are LGBTQ+, and when Christians tell them it’s sin, it causes them pain, makes them sad. I want to keep my friends, so I go right along with them in their sin, stand up for them, and by default, give approval to them. Isn’t that loving?
 Aren’t the people making the marginalized group (homosexuals, oppressed women, ethnic minorities) feel sad the fake Christians, because God doesn’t want people to be sad, and I am the loving one?
God is love, right? Love is love, so who am I or anyone else to tell someone who, or how they must love somebody?
 Isn’t it an act of love and mercy to abort a disabled, poor baby so they will be spared a life of suffering?
Isn’t it loving to simply keep my mouth shut and keep the peace, even though I know my family member or friend is walking off a cliff straight into hell?
Brothers and sisters, these very common examples of how people in our culture express love towards one another, are completely foreign to the scriptures. A person who uses the term love in this fashion, is guilty of adding to the Words of God because He is the One Who defines what love is. God’s Holy Word tells us that love does no wrong to a neighbor (Rom 13:10), love does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices with the truth (1 Cor 13:6); greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for His friends (John 15:13), But God demonstrates His own love towards us, in that while we were yet still sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
Do you hear a pattern in these verses? Love is not pictured here as cushy, warm, butterfly kisses. Love isn’t presented as this nebulous fleeting feeling that comes and goes, dependant upon your mood. The love seen here isn’t keeping your mouth shut as your so called loved one is walking off a cliff because you are afraid they might be offended and ditch you as a friend. Love is presented as action. Love is self sacrificing. Love works for the good of the one you say you love. In scripture, the act of loving someone is a reflection of God Himself, His very nature, and as Christ laid down His life, we are to lay down our lives for those we love, even if it costs us a relationship with that person.
Voddie Baucham gives this definition of love rooted in scripture, he says:
“Love is an action, often but not always, accompanied by emotion, which acts on behalf of the object of that love, for the good of the object.”
In other words, to love someone means acting for the good of the one you love. Love is not flowery words of approval, and giving consent to whatever lusts the sinner is in bondage to.  God’s Word serves as the standard for what is good for the sinner in danger of hellfire: the gospel, repentance, and confession of sin. When we truly love someone, pointing that person to the cross of Christ is the most loving thing we can do, because it was in His death that He displayed His love for us.
If your definition of love is selfish, based upon your fluctuating emotions, leads you to compromise with sin, and requires the manipulation of scripture in order to justify it, you are guilty of adding to the Word of God. If this is you, God will reprove you, and you will be proved a liar. “Not today!” you say. “I have everyone fooled. No one suspects. I wrap everything up in my definition of love, so who can judge me? I love my sin. I love my friends. They approve of my sin, so I love them back by giving approval to their sin. It works out quite nicely, because sinning is what I love to do.”
Romans 1:28-32 NASB
And just as they did not see fit to acknowledge God any longer, God gave them over to a depraved mind, to do those things which are not proper, [29] being filled with all unrighteousness, wickedness, greed, evil; full of envy, murder, strife, deceit, malice; they are gossips, [30] slanderers, haters of God, insolent, arrogant, boastful, inventors of evil, disobedient to parents, [31] without understanding, untrustworthy, unloving, unmerciful; [32] and although they know the ordinance of God, that those who practice such things are worthy of death, they not only do the same, but also give hearty approval to those who practice them.
In as loving a way as a can say it this morning, please, repent lest you likewise perish. You do not have to die in your sins. Look to Christ Jesus and live. Let us kneel and pray, and ask God for repentant hearts.
Dear Merciful heavenly Father, far too often we continue in sin believing that Your grace will abound. We twist Your Word to carve out a niche for our sin, give approval to the sin of those around us, call it love, and wind up falling into the pit we have dug. Father, as we seek to redefine your Word, we wind up blinded by our own pride, lusts, and finite wisdom, thinking that we are free to live as we choose, and failing to see that we are really slaves to our passions. Please be merciful to us Oh Lord. Please grant us clean hearts which cry out to You for mercy. Please give us eyes to see, and ears to hear, that we may see Your narrow way before us, hear Your voice, and follow after You. It’s in Jesus Name we pray, Amen.
Listen now to the comforting assurance of the grace of God, promised in the gospel to all that believe: 

To all those who thus repent and seek Jesus Christ for their salvation, your sins are forgiven in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. Lift up your hearts! 
'(From the 2/3/19 liturgy of Sovereign King Church. Written by Aaron Sabie.)