Love

Jesus Christ told his disciples in John 13:34-35 that the world would know that they were his disciples by their love for one another. One of the greatest ways that we can show Jesus to the lost and dying world is to love each other. More specifically, to have each other's back, to serve one another, to consider each other better than ourselves, to confess sins to one another, to pray for each other, to provide for one another when in need, to spur one another on toward love and good deeds, to challenge and confront each other when needed, etc.

Mark Dever writes in his book the Deliberate Church that "Showing distinctively Christian love for one another, then, is a critical evangelistic tool for the spread of the Gospel and growth of the church". As a community of saints, our corporate witness to non-believers hinges a great deal upon our love for each other. Furthermore, our vocal witness will be annulled unless we take Christ's words in John 13 seriously and begin biblically loving each other through the working power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

Once this corporate love comes to fruition, the proclamation of the Gospel that flows from our lips will be consistent with the way we treat each other and love the brethren.

And that my friends is very powerful.