The text for Pastor John's message this morning comes from 1 John chapter 4

verse 20 through chapter 5 verse 5.

If anyone says I love God and hates his brother he is a liar

for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. In this commandment we have from him that

he who loves God should love his brother also. Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is a child of God.

And everyone who loves the parent loves the child.

By this we know that we love the children of God when we love God and obey his

commandments. For this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his

commandments are not burdensome. For whatever is born of God

overcomes the world and this is the victory that overcomes the world

our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world our faith. Who is it that overcomes the world but he who believes

that Jesus is the son of God?

Suppose that you have a Christian friend who you think is doing something wrong, at least wrong as far as you can judge from scripture.

How would you answer if he said in response to your admonition,

I know that it's not what the Bible specifically commands, but I think it is the most loving

thing and since love is the highest ethical norm in scripture therefore I think what I'm doing

is right.

That kind of reasoning is very widespread among Christians today.

It's a kind of catchphrase ethics, I call it.

You go into the scriptures, you find a catch phrase like justice, peace, love, kingdom of God. You draw it out, you fill it up with the meaning of your agenda, you turn it back on scripture, and you cancel out specific commands with it.

In other words, a principle that has biblical sanction is taken out, but the detailed

contours of the principle that are provided by the specific commands of scripture are neglected or ignored

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