The World’s Love Is WRONG

• The Worlds definition of love is wrong. Hebrews 13:1-3

• • The world’s definition of love is increasingly different from the Bible’s definition of love.
  • We live in a culture that often defines love as unconditional affirmation/// never confronting sin/// and reshaping the Scriptures to fit the spirit of the age.///
  • The truth is, God absolutely calls us to love. But biblical love is costly, sacrificial, and life-giving.

• If you’ll embrace biblical love, you’ll walk closer with God, closer with His people, and you’ll become the kind of Christian the world desperately needs.

• Church, don’t settle for the world’s definition of love. Live the kind of love Hebrews describes

• Biblical love is loving the Brethren

• • Hebrews is coming to a close and the writer is using this final section to hit home some moral points that are important to the Hebrew reader, and us in 2026. 
  • He says- Let brotherly love continue.
  • I love that he isn’t saying it doesn’t exist, it already exists, they just need to continue in it. 
  • Like last week when we talked about gratitude, it dies when we forget, and love does too
  • We must not forget to be the most loving person in the room. In every room we are in. ///
  • And It starts in Church. We are the family of God and we need to walk it out together
  • John 13:34-35 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you… By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.
  • If people come into our Church or any church and they don’t sense an abiding love that we have for one another, it not only cheapens our witness, but we’re telling them, we’re not disciples. 
  • I’ve been to churches that clear out in 5 min, and ones where theres a buzz as you walk in. 
  • Not that that is the litmus test, but its part of it- Do these people enjoy being with each other. 

• The Bible describes biblical brotherly love quite clearly (I think FVC does a great job at this)

• • Its kindly affectionate- Rom 12:10 Its fervent 1 Peter 4:8 It lays down its life 1 John 3:16 it proves we understand God’s love for us 1 John 4:11 It has actions and truth 1 John 3:18
  • And that one right there matters. When you say you love someone, there ought to be a pattern of actions and a willingness to tell them the truth.
  • You cant say you love a brother if you never do anything for them and never tell the truth

• Now, I’m not asking you to think about people that haven’t loved YOU this way, I want you to think about people that YOU haven’t loved this way. 

• I know in my own life there are people I could do a better job loving. Maybe it’s a phone call. Maybe it’s a visit. Maybe it’s a text of encouragement. Maybe it’s taking someone to lunch. If I’m going to say I love them, there ought to be some evidence of that love.

• It also means telling them the truth. I can’t leave my brother in sin and call that love. That’s difficult, but it’s biblical.

• Now none of us can meet every need in the church. That’s not the point. The point is that every one of us should be intentionally loving someone.

• the high bar- 1 Jn 4:20-21 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar… And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

• • That means here at Faith and Victory you cant hate a brother, hold a grudge against a brother, wish ill will against them and simultaneously claim to love God. 
  • Now I’m not talking about someone who disagrees with something, or someone who occasionally gets hurt. I’m talking about someone who continually chooses to sow division and refuses to love the brethren
  • Instead of continuing to poison the pot of love in this church it would be better for them to leave

• Love is the greatest indication of our salvation. Not the only indication but according to John, one of the clearest. We must love the brethren. 

• 1 John 3:14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren…

Here’s the other part- 

• Biblical Love is loving the Strangers

• • Now it’s important to recognize the culture we’re living in today. This passage has been pulled into political debates that the writer of Hebrews was never addressing.

• Faithful Christians can disagree about immigration policy, border security, or government spending. Hebrews isn’t telling you how to vote; it’s telling you how to treat people.

• Hebrews doesn’t address government policy. It addresses the personal responsibility of believers to love and show hospitality.///

• • 2Do not forget to entertain strangers, for by so doing some have unwittingly entertained angels. 
  • The writer of Hebrews is more than likely referencing two separate stories from the Bible when Abraham and Lot both had strangers come to them, took care of them, and later realized that they had been visited by angels for a specific purpose and task (Genesis 18 and 19)
  • There’s a wonderful encouragement here. You never know what God may be doing through your hospitality.
  • Israel had clear laws about strangers- Lev 19:33-34 And if a stranger dwells with you in your land… you shall love him as yourself… Deut 10:18-19 He administers justice for the fatherless and the widow, and loves the stranger… Therefore love the stranger…
  • And those were the laws of Israel in a nomadic ancient culture that lacked the infrastructure of a 250 year old nation that spends over a trillion dollars a year to help our fellow people in need. 
  • When Jesus said- Matthew 25:35 For I was hungry and you gave Me food; I was thirsty and you gave Me drink; I was a stranger and you took Me in.

• He was talking about his disciples. Those who had gone out to preach the gospel with no support. Its important you understand this distinction because this verse isn’t govt, its YOU

• • Government may have responsibilities, but Hebrews is addressing yours.///
  • The point is that God’s people are to be people of hospitality even toward those they don’t yet know.
  • And that begins in the Church. You should see your fellow FVCers as people worthy of hospitality. Yes it takes work and it might get you out of your comfort zone, but that’s what makes us different than the world. 
  • 1 Peter 4:9 Be hospitable to one another without grumbling.
  • Hospitality dies when we’re too busy, too entitled, or too consumed with ourselves to notice the people God puts right in front of us.  
  • Crystal and I on vacation- end up in a church- greet your neighbor- it was their first time, we welcomed them to the church and encouraged them to come back next week. 
  • I work hard at getting to know everyone here- you say that’s my job and it is my job. Its my job to MODEL it for you so you can learn how to be hospitable. Learn it from us, then pass it on.
  • The bible says that’s what I should be 1 Timothy 3:2 A bishop then must be… hospitable…
  • But you also as well- Romans 12:13 Distributing to the needs of the saints, given to hospitality.

• Hospitality is one of the clearest marks of Christian maturity. It gets you past yourself to others

• How do you do that? Talk to people you don’t know. Invite people into your home. Help people carry burdens. Make people feel seen. Make people feel welcomed. That’s biblical hospitality.

• Love the Prisoners

• • Here’s another passage that’s often pulled into modern political debates about prison reform or criminal justice.

• Hebrews is addressing something different. “Remember the prisoners” refers to believers suffering imprisonment because of their faith

• Matt 25:36 I was naked and you clothed Me; I was sick and you visited Me; I was in prison and you came to Me. Matt25:40 Inasmuch as you did it to one of the least of these My brethren, you did it to Me. THESE ARE ALSO ABOUT BELIEVERS

• • There’s nothing wrong with prison ministry or showing compassion to inmates. The problem is using passages about persecuted believers to say something they were never intended to say.
  • When Hebrews says, ‘Remember the prisoners,’ that’s not just ancient history. 

• Today millions of our brothers and sisters live under persecution for following Christ, and thousands are imprisoned simply because they belong to Jesus.

• • This morning while we sit in comfortably padded chairs there are believers in North Korea worshiping in whispers. There are pastors in Eritrea sitting in prison cells. There are Christians in Iran meeting in secret homes. There are families in Nigeria wondering if they’ll make it through another Sunday service.
  •  Hebrews says, ‘Remember the prisoners as if chained with them.’ We must remember///
  • Paul himself experienced this. Christians imprisoned for their faith often depended entirely on family and fellow believers to bring them food and basic necessities. Remembering the prisoners wasn’t symbolic it helped keep them alive.
  • Its biblical Romans 12:15 Rejoice with those who rejoice, and weep with those who weep.
  • So for us, were here in America and very little, if ever are people imprisoned for their faith (yet)
  • But how do we we apply this to our context here in Auburn in 2026. What do we do
  • 1 pray for our brothers and sisters around the globe that are imprisoned for their faith
  • 2 financially support the church in persecuted countries. Even a little (we send $ to Pakistan)

• Most importantly, it should give us courage to live our faith boldly every day.

• We don’t receive the same response in America for being Christian. We like to say we’re living under persecution, but we’re not. We really have to go looking for it. 
• We are not facing the kind of systematic persecution our brothers and sisters endure around the world.
•  We probably should be more thankful that we have the opportunity to worship
• We should probably not take for granted that we live in a nation that allows us to worship how we want with out fear of retribution
• And we should also have a measure of courage to realize that whatever punishment we may receive, an unfriend on social media, an uninvite from an event etc, pales in comparison. 
• But here’s our heart condition-1 Corinthians 12:26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it… Which brings us to the final point. 

• Biblical love is loving the Body

• Hebrews says, love the brethren, love the stranger, love the prison- “since you yourselves are in the body also.”

• • It’s a distinctive to describe the foundation for this love: its all part of the body of Christ
  • I say it often- Christianity isn’t an individual endeavor. We are all interconnected with each other
  • You were not intended to live apart from the local church. You are not intended to sporadically or silently attend a local church. Christ did not just die for you. See your self as part of the body
  • Ro 12:4-5 we have many members in one body… so we, being many, are one body in Christ…
  • Ephesians 2:19 Now, therefore, you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God.
  • Here’s what I’ve noticed over the past 35 years of being in the church

• Individuals who are not deeply connected with others in the body of Christ rarely make it///

• • Argue with me if you want, but my data set is quite large. Disconnected disciples become depraved discontents. ——They drift into strange doctrine, grow bitter toward the church, and slowly stop looking like Jesus
  • John 15:4 Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me.
  • And Someone will inevitably say “I can abide in Christ without his church”
  • Ephesians 1:22-23 And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church, 23 which is His body, the fullness of Him who fills all in all.
  • You can’t separate yourself from the body and stay connected to Christ./// Don’t try to explain away what the New Testament says. Its scarcely possible to flourish apart from the body
  • Yes, you’re part of the global church. But the New Testament is lived out in a local church.
  • Look how impossible it is to obey the New Testament apart from the local church.1 Cor 12:25-27 that the members should have the same care for one another. And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it… Now you are the body of Christ…Gal 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ. Eph 4:15-16 speaking the truth in love- from whom the whole body-causes growth of the body for the edifying of itself in love. Phil 2:1-4being like-minded, having the same love. Col 3:12-15.bearing with one another, and forgiving one another.1 The 5:11Therefore comfort each other and edify one another. 1 Pe3:8 Finally, all of you be of one mind, having compassion for one another; love as brothers.
  • That’s  just a few. We glorify Christ and display His love to the world when we love the brethren, welcome the stranger, remember the persecuted, and live as one body.
  •  Last week we talked about receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken. This is what that kingdom looks like. It isn’t merely right doctrine. It isn’t merely right worship. 

• It is a people who love one another the way Christ loved them.

• Church, let’s be known for that. Let’s be known as the church that  loves deeply. That welcomes freely. That remembers those who suffer. That carries one another’s burdens. That refuses to let the world define love for us.
• This is biblical love. This is kingdom living. This is what Jesus died to create. Let’s walk in it.