Societal definitions and understandings of “love” have created much mischief and harm, especially in recent decades, and Christians have not been immune to those influences and consequences. “Love” is regarded as largely (if not entirely) subjective and emotional, even when it’s not being used euphemistically for sexual relations of one kind or another. Along similar lines, even among sincere and well-meaning Christians, “love” is too often reduced to a kind of permissive “niceness,” which may regrettably be identified with the grace and mercy of the Gospel. Such confusion is not easily addressed or corrected, but it is important to recognize that the love of God in Christ Jesus is not permissive, licentious, nor merely “nice,” but rather does what is good and right and true, regardless of the cost, whether requited or repaid or not.
When it comes to our confession of the love of Jesus – and teaching others to know and love Him, even as He first loves us – it can be especially tempting to shy away from sensitive and potentially controversial topics, because we don’t want to be (or appear) “judgmental,” and we don’t want to scare anyone away from the Church. And to be sure, it ought to be clear that, as Christians, we do have far more to say and offer than criticisms of what we are against. We have both the Law and the Gospel to proclaim and teach, unto repentance and faith in the forgiveness of sins, that all people should be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth in Christ Jesus. That “truth” is very much at the heart of things, and it involves both God’s “Yes” and His “No,” the goodness and good order of His Creation, and the narrow way of Christ the Crucified. After the example of the Formula of Concord, we clearly and plainly set forth what we believe, teach, and confess, as well as that which we deny and reject, all on the basis of the Lord’s Holy Word.
It is of course true that we take into account the age, background, context, and maturity of those we are speaking to and aiming to love and serve with the love of Jesus. The Ten Commandments will be taught differently to second graders than to teenagers or thirty-somethings. And seminary students will certainly dig into our Lutheran theology to greater depths and with far more nuance than beginning confirmands. Yet, there remains one and the same faith in one and the same Lord Jesus Christ, which is ever living, growing, learning, and maturing in Him by the grace of God.
And the bottom line is that we can neither know nor teach – neither experience nor express – the love of Jesus, except by His Word, by the working of the Holy Spirit through His Word. Any and all attempts to love our neighbor with the love of Jesus apart from His Word are false and futile, good intentions notwithstanding. Compromising, downplaying, avoiding, or ignoring the Word of the Lord, the truth of His theology, or the clarity of His doctrine is not really “loving” at all, but actually a harmful misrepresentation of Jesus and His love. But speaking the truth in love, proclaiming and teaching the whole counsel of God, the Law and the Gospel, even where and when it may be painful and difficult, faithfully conveys the love of God in Christ Jesus, our Lord.
Some years ago, a brother pastor wrote an article on preaching in which he made the assertion that a sermon does not simply tell the hearers about the love of Jesus, but it is the very way and means whereby Jesus loves them. I’m working from memory and paraphrasing here, but that was the gist of the point, which struck me powerfully at the time and has stuck with me ever since. It is a truly profound way of thinking about the preaching task and what it is that the Lord Jesus is doing through those men whom He has called, ordained, and sent to preach in His Name. The preaching of repentance for the forgiveness of sins is fundamental to the Christian faith and life, because the preaching and teaching of the Word of God in Christ – in all its truth and purity – is the manifestation and bestowal of His life and light and love, in whom alone we have salvation!