This is my second thought regarding the Sunday sermon from Calvary Fellowship Church (first thought here) regarding 1 Peter 4:7-11

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The second thought that I want to point out is that God provides us the strength to serve!!  Just as the grace given to us upholds us in faith and gives us the faith to see God’s truth–God’s grace gives us strength to serve!  Whatever our gift is that God has given us, we must use it to serve.  This service is God using us to show grace to those in the church and out of the church (depending on our gift) but above all we are to glorify God through Jesus Christ!!  Our service is to bring the one who Created all glory and honor forever.

Praise God!!

This week’s Sunday sermon at Calvary Fellowship Church, titled Serve–apart of the series Mindshift, was taken from 1 Peter 4:7-11

7 The end of all things is at hand; therefore be self-controlled and sober-minded for the sake of your prayers. 8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 9 Show hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 As each has received a gift, use it to serve one another, as good stewards of God’s varied grace: 11 whoever speaks, as one who speaks oracles of God; whoever serves, as one who serves by the strength that God supplies—in order that in everything God may be glorified through Jesus Christ. To him belong glory and dominion forever and ever. Amen.

The main point was that we need to serve, that each of the spiritual gifts that are given us are to be made use of to uplift and build the church.  However, I want to point out two things that I see from this passage.

First, 1 Pet 4:8 tells us to keep loving “since love covers a multitude of sins.”  The key work I would like to focus in on is “since.”  This isn’t tell us that if we love we can keep on sinning, as Paul said “so that grace may increase.”  In fact the “since” here is a modifier that is hinging the phrase prior to the “since” to the phase after.  We, as Christians, are to love one another earnestly.  Why?  Because love covers a multitude of sins.  What love is being talked about here?  It isn’t an effect of our loving, it is the cause.  Jesus’ death on the cross paid the ultimate penalty for our sins.  Paul tells us that “while we were still sinners, Christ died for us” and in Rom 5:5 we see that God is the one who poured His love into us, through the Holy Spirit and because of Jesus Christ.  1 John 4:7-12 tells us

7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.  11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us.

We “love earnestly” because God first loved us!!  Amen!!