Latest / Reformed Thinking / Love Me | John Piper

Transcript

Love Me | John Piper · Reformed Thinking

• 0:00
  You're listening to Reformed Thinking, a program dedicated to
• 0:03
  exploring the truths of God's Word.
• 0:05
  Hello and welcome to the Deep Dive.
• 0:07
  I'm host speaker. And I'm expert speaker.
• 0:10
  You know, we often wrestle with what it means to truly love,
• 0:14
  don't we? Is it just a choice or a
• 0:16
  feeling? Maybe an action?
• 0:19
  It gets complicated. And then Jesus commands us.
• 0:21
  Love me. That can feel like a real
• 0:24
  puzzle, especially when, well, our emotions seem all over the
• 0:28
  place, where our affections aren't quite where they should.
• 0:30
  Be right. How do you command something
• 0:32
  that feels so spontaneous? That's what we're getting into
• 0:35
  today. We're kind of tearing down some
• 0:36
  common ideas about love and diving deep into what Jesus
• 0:39
  really means by this command. We're drawing on John Piper's
• 0:41
  look at Jesus's commands, specifically his section called
• 0:45
  Love Me. Our goal today is to unpack what
• 0:48
  this Love Actually involves, where comes from, and why it's
• 0:51
  so central for anyone following Christ.
• 0:54
  So get ready, you might hear a different perspective on love
• 0:57
  than you expect. OK, let's start unpacking this.
• 1:00
  When we hear Jesus commanding love, I think a lot of us, our
• 1:02
  first thought goes to actions, things we do.
• 1:05
  Yeah, like keeping the commandments, serving others,
• 1:08
  that sort of thing. Right, And there's this common
• 1:10
  argument you hear that love can't be a feeling, precisely
• 1:15
  because feeling seems so unpredictable.
• 1:18
  You can't just command them on demand.
• 1:19
  So the logic goes, if love is commanded, it must be just an
• 1:23
  act of the will, a decision, a deed.
• 1:26
  A deed, yeah, without necessarily involving our inner
• 1:29
  world, our affections. It's a neat argument.
• 1:31
  Makes things seem simpler maybe? It does seem logical on the
• 1:34
  surface, but the source material we're looking at really pushes
• 1:37
  back on that. It says hold on, that basic
• 1:40
  assumption might be wrong. The assumption that feelings
• 1:42
  can't be. Exactly that common argument, As
• 1:45
  the material clarifies, it kind of rests on a shaky foundation.
• 1:49
  A false premise, really. So what's the counter?
• 1:51
  Well, it points out that Jesus absolutely does command
• 1:54
  feelings. He gives direct instructions
• 1:56
  about how our emotions should be oriented.
• 1:58
  It's not just about our outward behavior, but very much about
• 2:01
  how we feel inside. OK, can you give some examples?
• 2:05
  Because that feels counterintuitive still.
• 2:08
  Sure. Think about the Sermon on the
• 2:09
  Mount, Matthew 5. Jesus tells his followers
• 2:13
  rejoice and be glad when they're persecuted for his sake.
• 2:16
  Right. Rejoice because your reward is
• 2:18
  great in heaven. Precisely.
• 2:20
  That's a command directed squarely at the emotion of joy,
• 2:23
  of gladness. In really difficult
• 2:26
  circumstances, no less. It's definitely commanding a
• 2:28
  feeling. What else?
• 2:29
  OK Luke chapter 12. Jesus commands us who to fear.
• 2:33
  Don't feel those who can only kill the body.
• 2:36
  But fear him who can cast into hell.
• 2:37
  Right, He's redirecting the emotion of fear towards its
• 2:40
  proper object, a holy reference for God that's commanding an
• 2:43
  emotion. Or Luke 9.
• 2:46
  He commands us not to feel shame over Him or His words.
• 2:50
  That's about an inner attitude and an emotional posture of
• 2:53
  loyalty. An internal burden, as you could
• 2:55
  say. Yeah, and then Matthew 18,
• 2:57
  forgive from the heart, not just saying the words, but a genuine
• 3:01
  internal release that's a command about the state of our
• 3:03
  heart or feelings towards someone.
• 3:05
  Forgiving from the heart. That's key.
• 3:07
  It is so the material makes the point.
• 3:09
  If a feeling is appropriate, if it aligns with God's Kingdom and
• 3:12
  character, Jesus can and does command it.
• 3:16
  So the problem isn't the command itself, it's us, our inability
• 3:20
  to just produce those feelings on cue.
• 3:22
  That seems to be the implication our moral inability, our natural
• 3:26
  resistance to feeling joy in suffering, or godly fear or
• 3:29
  heartfelt forgiveness. That inability doesn't make the
• 3:32
  command invalid or remove our guilt.
• 3:34
  It doesn't excuse us. No, instead it actually
• 3:37
  highlights our corruption, doesn't it?
• 3:39
  It shows how deeply sin effects even our emotions, putting them
• 3:43
  out of step with God's design. And that points to our need.
• 3:46
  Our desperate need for a new heart, for a fundamental change
• 3:49
  within, which thankfully, is what Jesus offers through the
• 3:52
  new birth. Our weakness doesn't cancel the
• 3:55
  command. It shows why we need his
• 3:57
  intervention so badly. So what does this all mean for
• 4:00
  us as Christians then? Our emotional life isn't just
• 4:02
  like a side effect of faith. Not at all.
• 4:05
  The materials adjust that. How a Christian feels is part of
• 4:08
  the very essence of being a Christian.
• 4:10
  It's not optional. Emotional life is a necessary
• 4:13
  part of faith. So we're supposed to actually
• 4:15
  feel the attitudes of the Kingdom.
• 4:17
  Yes, and these feelings, these right emotions, are presented as
• 4:22
  a direct result of sound theology of truly understanding
• 4:25
  and believing who God is and what he's done.
• 4:28
  That lines up some historical figures, doesn't it?
• 4:30
  Thinking about the importance of affections.
• 4:32
  Oh. Absolutely.
• 4:33
  Think of Jonathan Edwards. He famously argued that true
• 4:36
  religion largely consists in holy affections, not just
• 4:40
  thinking right thoughts, but having the heart engaged,
• 4:43
  delighting in God. He saw a cold doctrine without
• 4:46
  heartfelt feeling as dead religion.
• 4:48
  Exactly. And others too, like Calvin
• 4:50
  Agustin, they understood that faith wasn't just intellectual
• 4:53
  ascent or external duty. It involves our deepest
• 4:56
  feelings, joy in God, sorrow over sin, love for his
• 4:59
  character, hope and his promises.
• 5:01
  These are vital signs of life. OK, so if love does involve
• 5:04
  feelings and it's this commanded central aspect of faith, what
• 5:09
  kind of feelings are we actually talking about when we talk about
• 5:11
  loving Jesus? Is it just, you know, a general
• 5:13
  positive vibe or is it deeper? It's definitely deeper.
• 5:16
  The sources clarify that loving Jesus involves more than just
• 5:19
  deep feelings, but it certainly doesn't involve less.
• 5:22
  It's described as a rich, heartfelt affection with several
• 5:26
  facets. Like what?
• 5:27
  Well, first, strong feelings of admiration for him, for who he
• 5:30
  is, his character, his attributes.
• 5:33
  A real sense of awe and appreciation.
• 5:35
  Not just knowing he's good, but feeling admiration for his
• 5:38
  goodness. Right then, an abiding enjoyment
• 5:41
  of his fellowship, a deep, settled satisfaction in just
• 5:44
  being with him, connecting with him.
• 5:46
  Like enjoying time with a close friend, but infinitely more
• 5:50
  profound. And related to that, an undying
• 5:53
  attraction to his presence, a genuine longing to be near him,
• 5:57
  to know him more. A pull towards him.
• 5:59
  Yes, also a warm affection for his kinship, seeing him as our
• 6:02
  brother, part of our divine family.
• 6:04
  There's a warmth. There.
• 6:05
  And gratitude seems huge, too. Absolutely strong gratitude
• 6:08
  because He loved us first. Recognizing our love is always a
• 6:12
  response to his initiative, His grace.
• 6:14
  So it's this whole complex of deep, engaging affections.
• 6:18
  That paints a really full picture, much more than just
• 6:21
  liking Jesus. But then the sources hit us with
• 6:24
  something even more challenging. Yes, the comparison to family
• 6:27
  love. Right.
• 6:28
  This love for Jesus has to surpass the love we have for our
• 6:32
  own family members, our parents, our children.
• 6:34
  That sounds incredibly difficult to wrap our heads around.
• 6:38
  How does that even work? It is a very high standard and
• 6:41
  Jesus is incredibly direct about it.
• 6:43
  Matthew 10.37 Whoever loves father or mother more than me is
• 6:48
  not worthy of me, and whoever loves son or daughter more than
• 6:51
  me is not worthy of me. He doesn't mince words.
• 6:53
  Not at all. And think about the kind of love
• 6:55
  we usually have for family. It's deep, right?
• 6:58
  Full of affection, instinct, sacrifice.
• 7:00
  It's not typically just a decision or a duty.
• 7:03
  No, it's heartfelt, often overwhelmingly so.
• 7:05
  Exactly. And Jesus says the love we have
• 7:07
  for him needs to be even greater than that.
• 7:10
  Not less intense, but more intense, more primary.
• 7:13
  So he's not saying love your family less.
• 7:15
  No, it doesn't seem so. It's about priority.
• 7:18
  His place in our affections must be supreme.
• 7:21
  Our deepest loyalty, our ultimate delay, has to be found
• 7:24
  in Him, above even those incredibly precious human bonds.
• 7:28
  Wow, that really underscores his unique place.
• 7:31
  It's a love that reorders everything else.
• 7:34
  It does. It shows the intensity He calls
• 7:36
  for a love greater than our closest, most natural human
• 7:39
  ties. OK, let's shift slightly.
• 7:42
  There's a common idea, maybe a simplification, that loving
• 7:46
  Jesus is keeping his commandments like they're the
• 7:48
  same thing. You hear that a lot.
• 7:49
  Obedience equals love. But the material draws A
• 7:52
  distinction based on John 14.1. Fine, what's the nuance there?
• 7:56
  It's a crucial clarification. Jesus says If you love me, you
• 7:59
  will keep my commandments. The sources emphasize this does
• 8:01
  not mean love is obedience. They aren't interchangeable.
• 8:04
  So what's the relationship then? The teaching is that keeping His
• 8:07
  commandments comes from our love for Him.
• 8:09
  It flows out of it. Love is the root.
• 8:11
  Obedience is the fruit. OK.
• 8:14
  Root and fruit. That's helpful. 1st we love him,
• 8:17
  that admiration, enjoyment, gratitude we talked about and
• 8:20
  because of that deep overflowing affection, we then naturally
• 8:24
  willingly do what he says. So the actions are driven by the
• 8:27
  affection. Precisely.
• 8:29
  Deeds aren't separate from love, they're connected.
• 8:31
  But love comes first and fuels the actions.
• 8:35
  Obedience isn't the love itself, but the result of it.
• 8:39
  The heart's disposition is primary.
• 8:41
  So the outward acts are obedience.
• 8:43
  They're evidence of that inner love, a natural outflow.
• 8:47
  That's a good way to put it. Evidence or an outflow.
• 8:50
  And this kind of heartfelt love produces various kinds of fruit,
• 8:53
  various practical results in a believer's life.
• 8:56
  What sort of fruit are we talking about?
• 8:57
  Well, obviously it produces the fruit of obedience to his other
• 9:00
  commandments. Because we love him, we
• 9:02
  genuinely want to live his way. It's not grudging compliance,
• 9:06
  but a glad response. OK, general obedience.
• 9:09
  What else? It also inclines us to fulfill
• 9:11
  the ministry He gives us. Whatever task or calling He
• 9:13
  assigns, our love motivates us to do it, to serve Him
• 9:16
  willingly. Like Peter being told to feed
• 9:19
  Jesus's sheep after affirming his love.
• 9:21
  Exactly that passage in John 21. The love was the prerequisite,
• 9:25
  the fuel for the ministry command.
• 9:26
  Love makes us want to be useful to Him.
• 9:28
  Makes sense. And 3rd, this love produces A
• 9:31
  genuine longing for Jesus himself to be honored and
• 9:34
  blessed. We find joy when He is
• 9:37
  glorified, when His name is lifted high.
• 9:39
  Our affection makes us desire His exaltation.
• 9:42
  So it moves beyond just our own relationship with Him to wanting
• 9:46
  His glory recognized everywhere. Yes, it's demonstrated in
• 9:50
  wanting his father honored through him, wanting his value
• 9:53
  seen. It's an outward focused result
• 9:55
  of that deep internal affection. It's very clear this love for
• 9:58
  Jesus is radical. It surpasses other loves.
• 10:01
  It fuels obedience. It desires his glory.
• 10:03
  But it also seems unnatural for us in our fallen state.
• 10:06
  That's a critical point. If it's so contrary to our
• 10:09
  sinful nature to love this way, how does it even start?
• 10:12
  Where does the capacity for this kind of love come from?
• 10:14
  We can't just conjure it up, can we?
• 10:16
  No, we absolutely cannot. The material is explicit.
• 10:19
  Loving like this is not in our fallen human nature, it's just
• 10:21
  not there. Our default setting is self love
• 10:24
  or disordered loves. Jesus himself pointed this out,
• 10:27
  didn't he? He did.
• 10:28
  In John chapter 8. He tells those who didn't love
• 10:31
  him. If God were your father, you
• 10:33
  would love me. His point was sharp.
• 10:35
  A lack of love for him showed they weren't truly in God's
• 10:38
  family. So not loving him means you lack
• 10:41
  the the family resemblance, the family spirit.
• 10:45
  That's the idea presented. You lack the family nature, the
• 10:47
  family spirit, the family heart, preferences, tendencies,
• 10:50
  inclinations. You don't have the spiritual
• 10:53
  disposition that naturally resonates with the sun, which is
• 10:56
  why, which is why a new nature or a new heart is absolutely
• 10:59
  necessary. It's not just desirable, it's
• 11:01
  essential. Our old hearts are incapable of
• 11:04
  this kind of love. We need a supernatural change.
• 11:07
  A new nature? That sounds like a pretty
• 11:09
  fundamental transformation. How do we get that?
• 11:12
  How is it provided? It's provided by Jesus himself.
• 11:15
  He came, the sources say, to give fallen sinners the
• 11:17
  opportunity to become non divine sons of God.
• 11:20
  Non divine sons of God. That's an interesting phrase.
• 11:23
  What's the significance there? It emphasizes that while we're
• 11:26
  adopted into God's family, given His Spirit and share in His
• 11:30
  nature, in a sense we don't become God.
• 11:32
  We remain creatures, but we're given hearts and ways that
• 11:35
  reflect His, like children resembling a parent.
• 11:38
  OK, so how does this happen? John chapter one verse 12 is key
• 11:43
  here. Quote to all who did receive
• 11:46
  him, who believed in His name. Jesus gave the right to become
• 11:49
  children of God. So it's through receiving Jesus,
• 11:53
  believing in him, yes. Through that new birth, brought
• 11:56
  about by the Spirit, through faith, Jesus grants both the
• 11:59
  status of being God's children and the inclinations that go
• 12:02
  with it. And right at the center of those
• 12:04
  new inclinations is love for Jesus, God's own Son.
• 12:07
  So the new nature is a gift received through faith,
• 12:10
  providing the capacity to love him properly.
• 12:12
  Exactly. It's not earned, it's given.
• 12:14
  OK, so the new nature gives the capacity, but how does that
• 12:17
  capacity get well switched on? How is this great Love Actually
• 12:22
  awakened in US? What lights the fire?
• 12:24
  It's awakened primarily when we see the glory of Jesus's love
• 12:28
  for us. That's the spark.
• 12:29
  It's not about just trying harder to love him more.
• 12:32
  It starts with his love for us. Yes, it comes alive when our
• 12:36
  hearts are genuinely broken over our own sin, when we see our
• 12:39
  need. And then in that state, we taste
• 12:43
  the incredible sweetness of His forgiving love.
• 12:46
  It's a response to grace. So.
• 12:48
  It's not us initiating. Never the sources quit the
• 12:51
  principle. We did not love him first, He
• 12:53
  loved us first. Our love is always, always a
• 12:57
  response, a grateful echo of his initiating undeserved love for
• 13:01
  us. That really connects to the
• 13:03
  story Jesus told the one about the two debtors and the woman
• 13:05
  washing his feet with her tears. Oh, absolutely.
• 13:07
  That parable in Luke 7 is a perfect illustration of this
• 13:10
  very point. It vividly shows how
• 13:12
  experiencing great forgiveness ignites great love.
• 13:15
  Can you walk us through that again?
• 13:16
  The contrast is so stark. Right you have Simon the
• 13:19
  Pharisee, very proper, invites Jesus over, but offers minimal
• 13:22
  courtesy. No water for feet, no kiss, no
• 13:25
  oil. He's likely judging Jesus
• 13:26
  internally. Then the woman comes in,
• 13:28
  identified as a Sinner, probably a prostitute.
• 13:31
  And her response is completely different.
• 13:33
  Weeping. Washing his feet with tears,
• 13:36
  drying with her hair, kissing his feet, anointing them with
• 13:39
  expensive ointment. It's extravagant, uninhibited
• 13:41
  affection. And Simon is scandalized.
• 13:44
  He is. He thinks if this man were
• 13:46
  prophet, he'd know who she is and wouldn't let her touch him.
• 13:49
  He's focused on her past sin and perceived ritual impurity.
• 13:53
  But Jesus uses it to teach Simon about love and forgiveness.
• 13:56
  Exactly, he tells the parable of the two debtors.
• 13:59
  One owes a huge amount, maybe years, of wages.
• 14:02
  The other owes much less. Both debts are cancelled.
• 14:05
  And Jesus asks Simon who will love the money lender more?
• 14:09
  Simon correctly answers the one, I suppose, for whom he cancelled
• 14:13
  the larger debt. It's logical.
• 14:15
  And then Jesus applies it. He applies it directly.
• 14:18
  He contrasts Simon's lack of basic hospitality with the
• 14:21
  woman's lavish affection. And he says, essentially, her
• 14:24
  many sins are forgiven. That's why she loved much.
• 14:26
  But he who is forgiven little, loves little.
• 14:29
  Wow, so her great love wasn't the reason she was forgiven?
• 14:32
  No, it was the result of knowing she was forgiven.
• 14:35
  Much the depth of her awareness of her sin, met by the depth of
• 14:38
  His grace, produced that outpouring of love.
• 14:42
  Our love for Jesus grows as our sense of His forgiven, living
• 14:45
  love for us grows. The more we grasp our debt, the
• 14:48
  more we cherish the cancellation.
• 14:49
  That's it. It's the experience of His grace
• 14:52
  that awakens and fuels our love. Let's circle back to that phrase
• 14:55
  in Matthew 10.37 about being worthy of Jesus if we love Him
• 14:59
  supremely. Whoever loves Father or mother
• 15:02
  more than me is not worthy of me.
• 15:04
  That word worthy can trip people up.
• 15:06
  It sounds like we have to earn His acceptance.
• 15:08
  Yes, it can easily be misunderstood and the sources
• 15:11
  are careful to clarify this. It does not mean worthy in the
• 15:15
  sense of deserving. Jesus, like a worker, is worthy
• 15:18
  of his wages, earning payment through merit.
• 15:20
  So we're not earning our place by loving him enough.
• 15:22
  Absolutely not. We can never earn his favor that
• 15:25
  way. Instead, worthy here means
• 15:27
  something more like suitable or fitting suitable.
• 15:30
  Fitting. How so?
• 15:31
  It means that Jesus himself deserves this kind of supreme
• 15:35
  love because he is infinitely valuable.
• 15:38
  Our worthiness in the sense means that He has worked in us
• 15:41
  by His grace to produce effective actions and actions
• 15:44
  that are suitable to His infinite worth.
• 15:46
  They correspond properly to His value.
• 15:48
  So our love and life begin to match His value.
• 15:51
  Exactly. It's about a fitness, a
• 15:53
  correspondence. The sources compare it to Luke
• 15:55
  3.8. Bear fruits worthy of
• 15:58
  repentance. That means produce actions that
• 16:01
  are suitable to that properly reflect genuine repentance, not
• 16:05
  earning repentance, but demonstrating it appropriately.
• 16:08
  So being worthy of Jesus means our love, enabled by Him, is a
• 16:12
  fitting response to His supreme value.
• 16:15
  It reflects his worth back to Him.
• 16:16
  Precisely. It's not about our inherent
• 16:18
  merit, but about a heart transformed by grace to finally
• 16:21
  recognize and respond appropriately to His infinite
• 16:24
  value. That makes so much more sense.
• 16:26
  It takes the pressure off earning and puts the focus on
• 16:28
  responding appropriately to His greatness, which He enables.
• 16:31
  OK, so putting it all together, why does Jesus even command us
• 16:35
  to love Him? If He's infinitely worthy?
• 16:37
  Shouldn't love just happened by the command?
• 16:39
  Is it just establishing His authority, or is there something
• 16:42
  more for us in that command? That's a great question.
• 16:44
  The answer presented is really quite beautiful.
• 16:46
  The command to love him is actually shown as another
• 16:49
  expression of his love for us. How so?
• 16:51
  His command is an act of his love.
• 16:53
  Yes, 2 main reasons are given. First, he commands it because he
• 16:58
  is infinitely worthy to be loved.
• 17:00
  His value demands it. Essentially, loving Him is the
• 17:04
  most fitting, right and appropriate response the human
• 17:07
  heart can have because He is the supreme good.
• 17:10
  So the command directs us towards what is intrinsically
• 17:14
  right and good, loving the highest objects.
• 17:16
  Exactly. And 2nd, and maybe even more
• 17:18
  personally, our love for Him involves our enjoyment of His
• 17:22
  glory, His presence, His care. To love Jesus is to find our
• 17:26
  deepest satisfaction and delight in Him.
• 17:28
  So when he commands us to love him.
• 17:30
  He's essentially commanding us to find our greatest joy.
• 17:32
  He's pointing us towards the only source of true, lasting
• 17:35
  happiness and fulfillment himself.
• 17:37
  Loving him isn't a burden, it's the pathway to our deepest
• 17:39
  flourishing. So the command itself is an
• 17:41
  invitation to joy. That's how the material presents
• 17:44
  it. His command that we love him is
• 17:46
  one more way His own love overflows to us, inviting us
• 17:49
  into the ultimate joy, the joy of knowing and delighting in him
• 17:52
  forever. It's a command for our benefit.
• 17:55
  Wow, that really reframes the whole idea of the command to
• 17:58
  love him. So as we wrap up, what really
• 18:00
  stands out from this whole discussion.
• 18:02
  For me, it's that this love Jesus commands isn't just about
• 18:06
  actions, It's deeply about our affections, our feelings.
• 18:09
  And it's a supreme love rightly placed above all others.
• 18:12
  And it's a love we can't produce ourselves.
• 18:13
  Yeah. It requires that new heart, that
• 18:16
  new nature given by him. Right.
• 18:17
  And it's ignited not by our effort, but by seeing and
• 18:20
  experiencing his incredible, forgiving love for us first.
• 18:24
  So this love is ultimately a response, a fitting response to
• 18:28
  his infinite worth, a response He himself works in US.
• 18:32
  It's not earned, but given. So as you, our listener, think
• 18:36
  about this, consider the well, the freedom and the sheer joy
• 18:40
  that comes from a love like that.
• 18:41
  Love not based on your performance, but on His grace.
• 18:44
  A love given through a new heart that actually leads you to your
• 18:47
  greatest possible enjoyment, delighting in Him.
• 18:49
  This kind of love for Jesus. Seen this way, it's not just a
• 18:52
  heavy demand, it really is a gift.
• 18:54
  We really hope this deep dive into Jesus's command to love me
• 18:58
  has maybe brought some new clarity, perhaps a fresh
• 19:01
  appreciation for the very heart of our faith.
• 19:03
  Until next time, on the deep dive within Reformed thinking,
• 19:07
  we wish you God's grace.