Hello
I disagree. Love is selflless! Not selfish:
1 Cor 13.
3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails.
There is no room for fear in love because perfect love casts out all fear! God is love.
Fleshly love can be selfish. The love described in the Bible is part and parcel of the fruit of the Spirit cannot be selfish. Sadly, when many liberals speak of loving your fellow man they mean it in more of a fleshly sense of the word. Of course, there is more to the fruit of the Spirit than just love. Galatians 5 is a good chapter to read. Not only does it reference the fruit of the Spirit, but also cautions believers against turning Christian liberty into a spirit of licentiousness which gives way to satisfying the flesh. Oftentimes, liberal Christians operate on the premise of licentiousness and call it liberty. It's the premise of, "hey, whatever feels good, it's cool. Jesus doesn't judge and I won't either, because that's the Golden Rule".
I think what you are describing is not love, rather some seemingly good works done because of insecurity, an obsessive and irrational fear of hell, an obsessive compulsion about sins and holiness which in the end does not lead to holiness. Insecure people do not become holy. It either leads to self-righteousness or burn out.
I've heard that argument before, but it doesn't hold water. A person is not washed in the regeneration of the Holy Spirit unless they are born again. Your desire for holiness and good works based on striving for holiness (not sinlessness!) is a supernatural occurrence that is part and parcel of being born again, which means you have been granted eternal security from hell. I'm not saying there aren't Christians who think their good works keep them from hell or that a slip-up in sin will cause them to lose their salvation, but I don't believe that way. I believe once a person is saved they have eternal security from hell and that holiness is an outward demonstration of obedience and love for Christ, because that is what the Bible calls for. "Be ye holy, as I am holy".
Holiness is given by Jesus, he was made sin so that we would become the righteousness of God. We cant earn it, only receive it as a gift.
God Bless
You are right, we cannot earn it. The problem is that many liberal Christians don't even try to live it most of the time. The pervasive attitude of general permissiveness even among brethren shows a severe lack of understanding Christ's commands. Holiness is something we strive for not because we fear hell, but because we want to live to exemplify Christ. I don't recall Christ telling people, "go, and continue in your sin, because I came to pay the price for your sins once and for all". He called people to repentance. Many liberal Christians call people to over look grievous sins in their own congregations, because Jesus loved everyone.
Yes, Jesus loved everyone, but He called them to repentance and holiness as well. He didn't sup with sinners and tax collectors because they were the cool people to hang out with. He did it to testify of Himself being the prophecy fulfilled, manifested in the flesh, but still a part of the Godhead. He didn't sit with the prostitutes and lepers just to make them feel good. In fact, His message was often considered offensive, because He convicted people of their sin.
Love is not general permissiveness and dismissal of what other believers do in their lives. The Bible completely contradicts this tolerance for everything = love = being a true follower of Christ.
1 John 5:3 says:
3 In fact, this is love for God: to keep his commands. And his commands are not burdensome,
This verse both disproves the liberal notion that the only thing we have to do in order to be a good Christian is love everyone, regardless of how they are living and the notion you presented that striving for holiness is done only out of fear and ultimately leads to burn-out. It won't in the life of a believer, and I don't mean someone who merely believes in a "higher power" or that Jesus was a cool cat who did exist at some point. I'm talking about Bible believers.
2 Peter 2:1
But there were also false prophets among the people, just as there will be false teachers among you. They will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the sovereign Lord who bought them—bringing swift destruction on themselves.
Psalm 97:10
Let those who love the LORD hate evil,
for he guards the lives of his faithful ones
and delivers them from the hand of the wicked.
Romans 12:9
9 Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good.
Ephesians 5:11
11 Have nothing to do with the fruitless deeds of darkness, but rather expose them.
Luke 13:5
I tell you, no! But unless you repent, you too will all perish.”
Acts 2:38
Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
There was a baptist driving to his sunday service who swerved to miss a cat crossing the road and went into a tree. The baptist was now injured and called out for help.
A car load of other baptists drove by but didnt stop because they didnt want to be late for church. Being late would make them look unholy.
The assistant pastor drove by but didnt stop because he wanted to be seen at church, he hoped to be made full pastor one day. Not being on the platform at kick off time would make him seem unholy.
Finally two lesbians drove by and stopped, they called 911 and put the injured man in the recovery position. Later in the hospital they waited to see if the man was ok.
Now which of these was a good neighbour to the man?
Once again, this does not hold water. Nobody has said that a car load of people heading to church are any better than a couple of lesbians or that gay people or atheists or liberals or anyone else aren't capable of good deeds. What we're saying is that you have a group of people whom you would never know by their behaviors and manner of speaking that they are Christians. They trash the in errancy and sufficiency of the Bible as the authority, the manner in which the Holy Spirit speaks to us in very tangible ways. They trash other Christians for simply striving for holiness. They prefer the company of non-believers. They favor the local coffee house meet-up of free-thinkers over the general assembly of believers in Christ. They don't know much about the Bible, but they know just enough to try and pretend isolating one verse and pretending to be really knowledgeable about Greek puts them in a position of spiritual authority over those who strive to let the Holy Spirit speak to them through the Scriptures. They claim conservative evangelicals are the ones who use Bible verses to "clobber" others, only they are far too eager themselves to engage in the same thing.
