Podcasts about true christ

Sunday Sermon 5/11/25 -- Rev. Billy Boyce

Hey there beautiful beings,In this episode we are talking about religion, true Christ Consciousness, awakening and the living connection and relationship we can have with Yeshua and Mother Mary Christ Frequencies.The book I mentioned is called "Anna, Grandmother of Jesus" by Claire Heartsong.To connect for a free 1:1 intro call please book here: https://sauleilonavaida.as.me/?appointmentType=72702201To Book 1:1 Quantum Healing Sessions and Courses/Workshops: https://www.sauleilonavaida.com/Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saule_ilona_vaida/Original Music and Sound Healing: https://open.spotify.com/artist/0Oeyw1C1c7n9Zs5iVR9ffq?si=2-fFdV8XTgu68eBujtIPTQPodcast: https://open.spotify.com/show/5I9q2RMyA89sicqeqsYASf?si=bbf89b2f11e4408cYoutube: https://www.youtube.com/@saulethestarseed

Tonight, our friend the spirit mom, transcending ascension is back for a breakdown on how metaphysics and Christianity work together, eradicating dogma to open ourselves to True Christ, and a 101 on Human design!! Dyanna's links:https://youtube.com/@TranscendingAscension?si=N5BDPQvlRXEzhEJ0https://rumble.com/user/Spirit_Momhttps://transcendingascension.com/Check out Forbidden Knowledge Network and support BOTH documentaries:www.forbiddenknowledge.newshttps://watch.amazon.com/detail?gti=amzn1.dv.gti.763483a7-ad3f-4990-b5b3-98897169249c&territory=US&ref_=share_ios_movie&r=webCheck out We Are Change Colorado!http://www.wearechangecolorado.com/http://www.youtube.com/user/WACCTVCheck out Gaia Avani Naturals!www.gaiaavaninaturals.comCheck out Root to Bloom!http://rtbwholehealth.com/Check out Milagro Mushroomswww.milagromushrooms.comWatch Jones Plantation!https://jonesplantationfilm.com/?fbclid=IwAR0zE6457BtHWhrH1iyHKUscUsnPCPZNkE7tS0wPfw8n3N1Jd6RakDNX38w I do not own the songCollective Soul - Shine

Sunday Sermon 5/4/25 -- Rev. Billy Boyce

Send us a textWelcome to Episode 329 of Missions Incorporated, the podcast by Practical Missions Cohort, where we dive into the heart of missions work, church planting, and living devoted to Christ. In this episode, missionary Jesse Schreck shares a powerful sermon preached to brothers and sisters at a US Army base in Italy, based on 2 Corinthians 11:1-6.Join us as Jesse unpacks the Apostle Paul's bold defense against false "super apostles" who slandered his ministry and threatened to lead the Corinthian believers astray from a pure and sincere devotion to Christ. This message challenges us to reject passivity, stand firm in truth, and live faithfully for God's glory. Learn how Paul's example speaks to us today, encouraging believers to pursue truth with zeal and remain devoted to the true Christ.Jesse also shares ministry updates, including opportunities to get involved through vision trips, a mission facility fundraiser, short-term mission trips, and roles like missionary advocate, podcast producer, or admin assistant. Discover how you can play a tangible role in reaching Italy for Christ, where less than 0.6% of the population are evangelical believers.Appreciate this content? Buy Jesse a coffee at BMC: https://buymeacoffee.com/jesseschreckLinks:Support PMcMission FacilityPartnerLong-Term MissionsPMc Short-term CohortsVision TripMissionary InternshipPMc AcademiaThe Italian Cohort - join PMc's online Discord communityServe - PMc has numerous avenues of involvementPodcast Producer - Available PositionPMc Missions BlogLike Jesus driven to His cross, so we drive ourselves to the singular task of the edification (planting) of Biblical churches in Italy.Freely join the online Discord group of PMc! The Italian CohortSupport the showDo you love God, Italians, Italy, and the church of Jesus Christ? Do you want to play a more personal role in missions work abroad? Do you want to get all our content and updates (plus bonus material no one else sees) before anyone else? We invite you to join The Italian Cohort - our online community group on Discord - and gain inside access to the work going on in Italy.

Sunday Sermon 4/27/25 -- Rev. Billy Boyce

Executed judgments reveal the true God. JESUS revealed as the Christ. Christ is the Rock.

When we lose sight of our love for God, we can always repent and come back to Him. #theloriclineshow Interested in learning more about becoming a devoted follower of Christ? Go to follow.lifeword.org! ~~~ Have you lost that lovin' feelin'? Is it gone, gone, gone?  Could your heart be like this balloon? In one moment it's full of possibilities and then the next (LET THE BALLOON GO) it has left the building, leaving you empty and deflated.  The Righteous Brothers recorded, You've Lost That Lovin' Feelin' in 1964. It resonated with hearts across the country so much that it shot up the charts to number one and people are still singing it today thanks to radio, television and top gun.  If by chance you've been living under a rock and do not know the song, it basically describes behaviors that seem to reveal a love, which was once strong and passionate, that has lost its fizzle. A heart is drifting and it's showing. The connection is no longer what it was. When it comes to relationships and love, some might say if you've lost that lovin' feelin', then the feelin' you had was probably not TRUE love. True Christ like love, which is described so beautifully in 1 Corinthians 13, stands the test of time. A love that fades is most likely infatuation, which has been described as unreasonable and short-lived passion. Isn't that often where our hearts are recklessly drawn? We settle for short-lived passions that fade and leave us empty.  We are quick to give our heart away to things and people that don't deserve it and then we wonder why we are left holding the pieces. Our heart, the most precious part of who we are, is what God desires. Jesus said in Matthew 6, ​​”seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.” He also said, “​​For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”  Every new day our heart must first be filled with Christ. This realigns us to follow and treasure HIS way and His word over our own. We hear His voice above the worlds. Still, our hearts are prone to wander. Our time with Jesus decreases and our time with the world and the cares and temptations of it increases. We drift and our first love begins to be replaced with cheap imitations of what God ordained.  The love of God FOR us is faithful and steadfast, but our love for Him over and over proves to be fading and faithless. The marriage of the The Old Testament prophet Hosea and his wife Gomer puts on full display the example of our wandering hearts. We give our heart to Jesus and then over and over we redirect that love and offer it FULLY to whatever idol the day may bring. God forgive us and may we get back to our first love and commit to it with our whole heart.  Revelation 2:4-5 Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place. Jesus, through the Apostle John, addresses the church of Ephesus in Revelation chapter 2. This church is referred to as the ‘loveless' church. The church, of which Jesus is the cornerstone, has always been God's plan to display His grace, love, truth and mercy to not only the world as we know it but also to the angels we can't see. (Don't take my word for it, see Ephesians chapter 3.) So the church matters, so much so that Jesus addresses the seven churches in Asia at that time and his message STILL applies to us today. He tells the loveless church, along with you and me, you've lost your love for me! You've fallen out of love and replaced your devotion and affection for me with whatever your fleshly heart desires.  Repent. Come back to your first love. Our life and heart falls to pieces and we wonder where IS God in all of it. Friend, He never left. We wandered off. He does not. We choose our own way and ignore His. We are faithless and He is forever faithful, lovingly waiting for our return. That's the truth.  No matter where your heart may be right now, give it back to Jesus. Maybe you've never given it to Him in the first place. Today's the day. What a beautiful day to discover a love that never leaves you, is never ending and never fades. Call on the name of the Lord and be saved. Seek that love first and everything else will follow.  I'm Lori Cline.

Jim Valekis is today's guest to discuss his latest book ‘The Christian In The Cult.' Jim is also a pastor of 28 years.The Christian In The Cult: https://www.amazon.com/Christian-Cult-Discovered-Humanity-Christ-ebook/dp/B0D5VVCJJ7/www.worldviewmatters.tv© FreedomProject 2024

The Word of God is clear that in the last days there will be a great falling away from the faith. People will give heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons as they embrace a false gospel that only leads to a false christ and ultimately creates a false conversion. In this Podcast, Dr. Caleb Cooper will reveal the Apostle Paul's warning of a bewitching that comes upon people as they embrace another gospel. He will expose biblical signs of being bewitched as well as signs of someone who introduces the true Christ.  Click here listen to listen to one of the latest sermons on Caleb Cooper Ministries YouTube Channel called “Spiritually Armed For Righteousness" Subscribe to Caleb Cooper Ministries YouTube Channel YouTube.com/CalebCooperMinistries You can now Pre-Order Dr. Caleb Cooper's latest book called "Armed With the Weapon of Prayer: Defying the Natural With the Supernatural"  Look for other Books and E-Books,    Visit calebcooperministries.com   E- Courses Available: Click Here For A FREE E-Course: Kingdom Foundations: Exploring Fundamentals of the Faith    Click Here: Spritiual Warfare: Dressed for Battle in the Inivisible Realm     Click Here: Holy Spirit Fire: The Making of A Firebrand     Finally, you can now become a Monthly Partner with Caleb Cooper Ministries and recieve monthly gifts as well access to different minsitry resrouces. CLICK HERE TO PARTNER WITH US TODAY! 

Rev. Kenneth Bomberger gives today's prayerful thought based on the day's Scripture readings.

Rachel Bowyer - WHO DO YOU SAY I AM? -The True Christ - Matthew 16 by Life Church Sunday messages

A new VIDEO from Harvest Bible Church is now available on SermonAudio with the following details: Title: True Worship of the True Christ (Lk20) Subtitle: Luke Speaker: Lance Waldie Broadcaster: Harvest Bible Church Event: Sunday Service Date: 1/7/2024 Bible: Luke 20:39-21:4 Length: 49 min.

gosple song,health talk,knowldege,sermon.

✨ --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/eden-millionn/message

We want the people in our lives to be moral, ethical, kind and loving. We don't love it when people are immoral, unethical, unkind and hateful. In our culture these values are typically referred to as "Christian values." (To be accurate, these values are Judeo-Christian values.) When people say that they espouse "Christian values," they're saying that they are moral, ethical people. So what's wrong with that? Aren't these values a good thing? Of course, these values are good, and we want to aspire to live up to these values. But let's be clear. There is an enormous distinction between Christian values and being a Christian. Christians have access to the power of God, the Creator of the Universe. This cannot be underestimated. God's power is alive and real. People who live with Christian values but who are not Christian do not have access to God's power, wisdom, patience, peace, joy and all of the other aspects of His character that is made present in the person of Jesus Christ, His only son. They are never able to fully plug their "natural" into God's "supernatural" for the maximum fulfillment of God's plans for their lives. They may have a moral compass, but it may not be pointing "true north." Let's talk for a minute about people who profess to be Christian who don't conduct themselves morally, ethically, etc. Of course, no one is perfect. We all make mistakes, but we've all known people who check the box as Christian or who wear a cross around their necks who act like jerks. Just to be clear, these people aren't doing Christianity right. Let's not get confused about this. True Christ followers can be identified by the good things in their lives, which just so happen to be the same measurements of fulfillment of one's purpose. They are healthy relationships, peace, joy, contentedness and financial provision. True Christians do their best to love God and love others. The best way to do this is to actively seek and follow the leading of God's Holy Spirit every day. THIS IS THE ONLY shortcut to finding and fulfilling God's perfect purpose and plans for you. If you aren't a Christian, give Jesus a chance. Suspend your disbelief or doubt and choose to believe, give Him a fair shot at directing you to the purpose for which you were born and perfectly matched, and then watch what happens. Living your purpose every day for the rest of your life is your antidote to depression, sadness, despair and all the problems that can be associated with those things. Living your purpose is real success, and it includes healthy relationships with good people, peace, joy, wellness, financial stability and a sense of contentedness that cannot be attained any way other than through living your purpose. So please listen every week as we continue to move toward finding and living the purpose for which you were born and perfectly matched.    If you haven't already done so, PLEASE LIKE, SUBSCRIBE, COMMENT, AND SHARE wherever you get your podcasts, at ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.findyourpurposenow.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠YouTube ⁠⁠@rhondasciortino⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.    Please join the conversation on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Twitter⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠, ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linkedin⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @rhondasciortino and on ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Pinterest⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ @rhondasciortino1.  If you would like to share a comment or suggestion, please send a voice note to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://anchor.fm/findyourpurposenow/message⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ or a message at  ⁠⁠www.rhonda.org/connect⁠⁠. For other PURPOSE resources go to ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠www.rhonda.org⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠.   You are not an accident. You are an "intentional!" YOU MATTER and your purpose matters. There are people who need YOU.   #purpose #meaning #beyou #youmatter #yourrealsuccess #succeed #success #live #love #thrive #happiness #peace #joy #podcast --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/findyourpurposenow/message

When Jesus was led away to a trial, Peter followed Him at a distance to see the outcome. Following Jesus has a great cost. True Christ followers will endure the loss of their reputation, relationships, and earthly privilege. In a hatred of the convicting power of the gospel, people will malign those who preach it. While the world seeks fairness, the Christian shines the light of the gospel by turning the other cheek, enduring injustice, and welcoming persecution. How closely will you follow this Christ?

When Jesus was led away to a trial, Peter followed Him at a distance to see the outcome. Following Jesus has a great cost. True Christ followers will endure the loss of their reputation, relationships, and earthly privilege. In a hatred of the convicting power of the gospel, people will malign those who preach it. While the world seeks fairness, the Christian shines the light of the gospel by turning the other cheek, enduring injustice, and welcoming persecution. How closely will you follow this Christ?

During our street preaching we strive to engage in conversation with those who pass by. Graciously communicating that Jesus is not just a man but He is The God Man who saves His people from their sins. This enraged this women and she started to cuss us and tell us we were wrong. In multiple attempts to reason with her and show her folly, she refused to listen and refused to say we need salvation from our sins. She also mentions that she made Jesus her personal Lord and Savior when she was 30 and gave me the date. But could not tell me what He saved her from. Please pray for her and that God would open her eyes to the True Christ and her need to be saved from her sin and Gods wrath.

Rev. Kenneth Bomberger gives today's prayerful thought based on the day's Scripture readings.

Fr. Dan Reehil expounds on his early discussion about anitchrist. What to look for and how will he deceive. Father also talks about how to stay close to the One True Christ, Jesus during these times. Join Fr. Dan Reehil in Medjugorje! Register here: https://www.tektonministries.org/pilgrimage-to-medjugorje-april-20-2023/ Stream live episodes of Battle Ready with Fr. Dan Reehil at https://radiomaria.us/ at 9:00 am cst or tune in on radio in Louisiana (580 AM Alexandria, 1360 AM New Iberia, 89.7 FM Natchitoches, 91.1 FM Lake Charles) in Ohio (1600 AM Springfield, 88.7 FM Anna, 103.3 Enon/Dayton) in Mississippi (88.1 FM D'Iberville/Biloxi) in Florida (91.9 Hammocks/Miami) in Pennsylvania (88.1 FM Hollidaysburg/Altoona) in Texas (1250 AM Port Arthur) in Wisconsin (91.3 FM Peshtigo) Radio Maria is a 100% listener supported radio station. If this broadcast has touched your life, please consider donating at https://rmusa.civi-go.net/donate Download the Radio Maria Play app to any smart device: Android: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.radiomaria.v3&hl=en_US&gl=US&pli=1 iOS: https://apps.apple.com/us/app/radio-maria-play/id848153139

Pastor Kirk Hall continues teaching through the Gospel of John. Today's scripture passage is John 13:31-38.

Often we think of the New Testament—and specifically, the four gospels—when we are in the Christmas season. But did you know that the birth of the Messiah was proclaimed long before? The Old Testament is full of promises and prophecies concerning the coming of the Messiah. A good question to ask would be, What did the Old Testament saints think of the coming of the Messiah? What can we learn from them?Rodgers Atwebembeire brings you uplifting answers in this special message.Originally aired on COU Family TV.

The Glory and Redemption of God flows through one man, the Son Of God Jesus Christ. Which Jesus are we sharing, and what is the critical part of the Gospel that should be proclaimed?   The post Glory and Redemption: The True Christ appeared first on Faith Community Church Lakeside.

Rev. Kenneth Bomberger gives today's prayerful thought based on the day's Scripture readings.

This morning we witnessed in the preceding verses, that Christ is the true Rock of the Church.Then Christ goes on to reveal that the True Christ must be -rejected, suffer, be killed, and be resurrected. This is all too much for Peter to take on board and he rebukes Christ, Who in turn reproaches his wicked outburst--1- Peter's Overzealous Reaction-2- Christ's Sharp Rebuke

One mark of a true Christ follower consists of a rescue story. This week, Tony Carter, our resident pastor, breaks down Paul's Damascus road experience, and how that signifies his ability to preach the Word.

On Sunday we will finish John 10 as we come to a climactic moment in John's Gospel, where Jesus enters the temple once more only to find that all the sheep are gone. Last week, we discovered that Jesus is the Good Shepherd. And as the Good Shepherd he is calling his sheep to follow him. This week, we will see that when he enters Solomon's Colonnade that he is confronted by a group of unbelievers challenging his words and his works. Unlike John 5 where Jesus entered the Colonnade to bring salvation to the invalid, now he finds only opponents who seek to stone him and then arrest him. Once more, then, the themes of salvation and judgment run through this chapter. And importantly they show us what it means to be a sheep and what it means that Jesus is the Son of God. On Sunday we will look at John 10:22–42, as we finish up this section of John. As you have time, read John 10 again, as well as Ezekiel 8–10 and Psalm 82. These two Old Testament passages give some context for John 10 and will help understand and apply this important chapter. As the Lord allows, I look forward to seeing you Sunday and worshiping the King who walks among his sheep. For His Glory and your joy, Pastor David ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Discussion & Response Questions: John 10:22-42 1. John 10:22 begins a new “season.” But how does this passage relate to John 8:12–10:21? 2. What is the Feast of Dedication (v. 22)? What difference does that timing make? 3. Does the location of this conversation matter? 4. What have you learned in John about place and time? How does that apply today? (Hint: All Scripture is fulfilled in Christ). 5. When Jesus is asked to speak plainly (v. 24), what does he say? Why doesn't he do more to explain himself? 6. What do we learn about sheep (John 10:27–29)? 7. What does the salvation of the sheep reveal about God? 8. Jesus's final words cite Psalm 82:6. What does this Psalm say? How does it help us read John 10? 9. What does John 10 teach us about salvation? Who is saved? How are they saved? Who has ears to hear? 10. How does John 10 motivate us to evangelism? 11. Where do the people believe (see v. 42)? Why does this location matter? 12. What other observations or questions do you have from John 10?

Washington Presbyterian ChurchSermon Date: June 19, 2022Speaker: Antonio PalmaTitle: Complete Joy in the True ChristBible Text: 1 John 1:1–4 https://archive.org/download/sermon-2022-06-19/sermon%202022%2006%2019.mp3

We conclude where we began, asking what it means to follow, not a “comfortable” or merely “admirable” Christ, but the true one. Here at the first discovery of His resurrection we find clear hints of what following that true Christ means, and it has...

John begins his epistle by clarifying Christianity is based on the true Christ. Many know about Christ, but few know Christ, they know facts on Christ, but have no faith in Christ. John explains that the only way to heaven is via a personal encounter with Jesus, the God-Man, who offers a pathway for sinners to be saved.

Pastor Matt Surber walks us through the story of Stephen and challenges us to surrender ourselves to God's mission and will for our lives.

The French call it l'esprit d'escalier—which means something like ‘the wit of the staircase'. It's that clever thing you wished you'd said but only thought of after the conversation was over. After last week's post on faith, I had two of these moments—one I thought of myself and one pointed out by a friend. After a comment from a friend, I really wished I'd made more of the fact that ‘faith in a word of promise' is the character of the Christian life because it is the character of the God we relate to. He is the covenant-making, promising, speaking God, and so the primary way we relate to him is by accepting and trusting his word. I kind of implied this at various points in last week's post, but never actually came out and said it (which leaves me shaking my head on the staircase).Making the connection between God as a speaker and our response of faith is important because it helps us discern false versions of how the Christian life unfolds. It helps us see, for example, that Christian experience is not mystical (where we feel our way towards a wordless force or power); nor is the Christian life lived by sight (neither in the need to see miraculous signs, nor in representing God visually); nor is it a prosperity cult (where God is a capricious non-communicative power that you have to please in order to be blessed). The God of the Bible is personal and verbal, and that's why the primary way we relate to him is by trusting what he says. And by talking to him. That's the second thing I wish I'd included in last week's post—and thought of almost immediately after I pressed ‘Publish Now'. Possibly the most important implication of ‘faith' as the foundational virtue of the Christian life is prayer. Prayer is faith put into words. It's our trust in God verbalized in the midst of life—as we call on him, make our requests to him, cast our cares on him, and generally express the fact that we depend upon him for everything. And so faith is strengthened as we hear the word of God and as we exercise our faith in prayer. (I'm hoping to turn these posts into a little book about the Christian life in due course, and so these staircase thoughts won't be completely wasted.) But enough apologies about last week. Time to think about the second virtue of the three—love. And because love is more complicated than it first appears, it's going to take two Payneful Truths to cover it even moderately well. Here's part 1.The two lovesI'm lovin' it. Love your work. Love what you've done to your hair. I love my wife. I love golf and lazy Saturday mornings. What's love, but a second-hand emotion? If ‘faith' is a saggy, middle-aged word that has put on too much weight around the middle,  what are we going to say about ‘love'? It's so bloated with meanings, associations and cliched usages, we hardly recognise it any more.  Perhaps this is why we don't talk as much these days about ‘love' as the summary and capstone of Christian living—even though the Bible does repeatedly. Maybe it just feels too vague and soppy, like a soft-focus picture of puppies on a 1 Corinthians 13 poster. In fact, even if we do want to be biblical and talk more about love, 1 Corinthians 13 illustrates our problem. Just what is ‘love' in this passage? We're given lots of adjectives—that love is patient and kind, and not arrogant or rude or resentful. We're told what love does (rejoices with the truth, bears all things, and so on) and what it doesn't do (boast or insist on its own way). But what sort of thing is love itself? We're fond of saying that love is an action, not a feeling—and given the general romanticisation of love in our culture, that's a fair enough corrective. But love is not really reducible to an ‘action' in 1 Corinthians 13. Love is certain things, and does certain things. It drives action, and is seen in action, but it is not simply an action.Then again, we also wouldn't say from 1 Corinthians 13 that love was primarily a feeling or a sentiment, since feelings don't act as such—they just are.  So love seems to be something else. Perhaps it is a description of attitude or character. For example, when we say that someone is ‘laid back', we're describing something about that person that sums them up—their habitually relaxed way of acting, their easy-going orientation to life in general, their chilled way of responding to things. Is that what ‘love' is—a cumulative description of someone's habitual way of being and acting? Is it a description of ‘character'? That seems a bit closer, and to fit with 1 Corinthians 13 a bit better. But there are still problems. For example, a description of someone's character is a summary seen from the outside and after the fact. It's an evaluation of how we observe someone acting and behaving over time. I judge you to be laid-back because of certain things I've repeatedly seen you do. But what are those ‘certain things' in relation to love? What sort of actions (repeated over time) would lead me to describe you as loving? What, in other words, is the defining characteristic of an action, the repeated performance of which might lead me to describe you as having a ‘loving' character? Defining what ‘love' actually means or requires turns out to be quite a bit trickier than first appears (as Love Actually itself illustrates, in the confused claptrap of its sentimentality). And we are hardly the first people ever to notice this. In the history of Christian thought and ethics, there has been considerable debate about the nature of love (both God's love and ours). In particular, the debate has often been about the relationship between two kinds of love, captured in the two Greek words eros and agape. Is love fundamentally a desire or longing for something good (eros)? Or is love primarily an unconditional benevolence that acts for the sake of others, regardless of whether they are good (agape)? As gospel people, we are immediately drawn to the second alternative. True Christ-like love, we would say, loves the unlovable. God's love for us is not drawn forth by our goodness or lovableness. In fact, quite the opposite—God's love is spontaneous and uncaused by us. God's love is seen in giving his Son to die for his enemies, for those who are dead in sin.The Lutheran theologian Anders Nygren is well-known for having argued that this agape-love of God is true Christian love, and is the antithesis of eros-style love. Eros is a desire for something that I value. Eros sees something it regards as good, and is drawn to it, longs for it, desires it. Eros, argued Nygren, is inevitably self-centred. It is sub-Christian. True agape-love, according to Nygren, doesn't correspond to the goodness or value of its object. It creates that goodness and value by loving it unconditionally—God's love for sinners being the prime example.So far, so good, we might think. But there are problems. What about our love for God—the great and first commandment? Does our love for God have no relation to the goodness of God? Do we just graciously decide to love God unconditionally, as if there is nothing good about God himself that calls forth our love? That can't be right. Or for that matter, what of other good things we love in the world—a husband's love for his wife, for example? Does my love for Ali have nothing to do with any qualities she possesses? I must of course seek to lay down my life for her, as Christ does for the church, regardless of whether she deserves it at any given moment. But when I tell Ali that I love her, should I add, “Of course, there is nothing at all objectively good or attractive about you that makes me say that—it's just my gracious decision to love an otherwise unlovable object”? This doesn't sound right either (and would very likely result in cold shoulder and burnt tongue for dinner for quite some time). We can see why Nygren wants to make love independent of wanting or desiring ‘the good' (because that seems to be how God loves us), but his approach isn't an adequate explanation of love as a whole. In fact, if we over-emphasize the spontaneous, unconditional nature of love, and say that love has nothing to do with the goodness of its object, then we find other problems emerging. ‘Situation ethics', for example. This approach to ethical thinking (propounded by Joseph Fletcher among others) suggests that a benevolent love for others should be the driving force of our morality, not rules or laws of behaviour. It's a very modern and recognizable ethic—just do whatever love drives you to do in the situation. So if you judge that it would be more loving to leave your marriage (in which you are both unhappy), and shack up with someone else, with a net total increase in love and joy all round, then go for it. Don't let an old-fashioned ‘thou shalt not' stand in your way. The problem with ‘situation ethics' is that making unconditional love the sole criteria for action just kicks the can down the road. My intention to love is all well and good, but how that is expressed depends on more than the intention alone. It requires me making judgements about the situation and what sort of action would be loving action here and now. It requires us, in other words, to think about what ‘the good' would be in this situation, not just about my motivation to be loving.Love, in other words, cannot entirely exist within me (within the subject), as an undifferentiated beam of kindness or affection that flows out onto everyone and everything around me. It must also have some reference to its object—to ‘a good' that we're perceiving or seeking in the thing or person that we're loving. Love does have some connection with seeking ‘the good', and therefore with ‘desire'.   But then that throws us back on the problem of God's love for un-good people like us, his gracious, self-sacrificial love for the undeserving. And how does all this talk about the nature of love relate to faith? Faith is the foundational virtue of the Christian life (as we've seen), and is ‘worked out' in love (as Gal 5:6 says). How does that work? What is it about love that makes it dependent in some way on faith? Well, dear reader, so many questions. But having (hopefully) helped you see the problems, and cleared some of the ground, we might be ready for some answers … in next week's Payneful Truth. PSWe've skated over some deep waters in today's post, and missed out some interesting examples and byways. For example, the idea of love being more about desire has made a bit of a comeback in recent times. Writers like Charles Taylor and James KA Smith have argued that we are driven far more by our desires than by knowledge and rationality, and that (accordingly) people will come to love God not through preaching and rationality and arguments, but through a deep, sub-rational change in what they want. A new and growing love for God will be achieved (Smith suggests) not through rational persuasion or words but through being ‘schooled' in a new set of desires, through the habits of Christian worship and liturgy. We'll come to love new things (i.e. God) by practising wanting and loving them over time. There is some truth in this (as well as significant problems). It's true that our desires and our knowledge or reason often work in different directions. We are much more than thinking machines. And we are fallen and complicated, and don't always respond to rationality—in fact, we are often driven by desires or preferences that we can't easily explain, or that run counter to what we know to be good and true. But what Romans 7 describes as a wretched state—of our desires and our knowledge working in different directions—Smith seems to accept as the unchangeable norm. The sword of the Spirit (the word of God) seems powerless to make any impression on the desire-dominated human heart. The best we can hope for is to train Christians like circus animals to want something different.   And of course that ‘something different' is not contentless, just as desire is never contentless. It is always and inevitably based on some perception, no matter how inarticulate, of something good and desirable. And if the thing desired is a person—who is only revealed or known as he speaks—then desire or longing for that person can never be separated from listening to him and knowing him as he really is. (Incidentally—how surprising that a liberal Catholic like Charles Taylor should come up with a theory of love and knowledge of God that looks like this, and that ends up with the practices of the church being the mediating power that really changes me. This is hardly shocking. What is more surprising is how many Reformation types have embraced him.)But I get ahead of myself. More on love and knowledge and how the gospel is the foundation of love … next time. I was very tempted to use a Tina Turner image for this week's post (‘What's love got to do with it?'), but couldn't find one that was suitable for a Christian newsletter. And then searched for images illustrating ‘two loves' and found lots of LGBT pics. So I settled for this one, the Alan Rickman character in Love Actually, who gets into trouble because of ‘two loves'. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit www.twoways.news/subscribe

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