1 John 4:17-19
17 Love has been perfected among us in this: that we may have boldness in the day of judgment; because as He is, so are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 19 We love Him because He first loved us.
What is mature love, love that is all it should and can be for us? It is being as Christ in this world, without fear of death or opposition to the truth. It is boldness to fearlessly hold nothing back in telling the gospel because we absolutely know who we know, the One who has promised no more judgement (Matthew 25:46, John 5:24) to His chosen sheep. We no longer fear death’s grip on us, nor our just punishment in torment. Since we have been set free from sin’s rule over us and our required payment of our lives, we are free indeed (John 8:36) if we are in Christ and His righteousness which justifies us utterly (Hebrews 7:25). This confidence is our boldness to bear witness to the gospel and to love God and each other as He loves us. We throw fear out of the door of our hearts and minds because we no longer are condemned for our ingrained crimes against our holy God; this assurance is perfected love from God and in our acceptance and understanding of it. Yes, we love Him because He loves us first (Romans 5:8-9), and we are only able to love others as He does in this perfected love given us. This wondrous truth of our certain standing before God in Christ motivates us to love in carrying the gospel to all, for we are thankful for such an undeserved and unbreakable covenant in His blood. He made the covenant, and only the initiator of a covenant can break it; God promises never to break it, so how could we ever imagine that we could (Isaiah 43:13)? This is our bold fearlessness in Christ. We cannot lose our salvation, for He holds us in His mighty hand of grace!
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