Evaluating 40 Days of Community

The following are word-for-word transcripts from the first video in this series by Rick Warren entitled "What Matters Most." Alongside Rick's teaching, I have added my commentary in [Red].

The scripture that I think best summarizes my comments in this session are the following words of Jesus:

"So you too, when you do all the things which are commanded you, say, 'We are unworthy slaves; we have done only that which we ought to have done." Luke 17:10 (NASB)

Gal 5:6 (CEV): "If you are a follower of Christ Jesus...all that matters is your faith that makes you love others." What matters in life is one thing: the faith that makes you love other people. He says that if you missed that, then you've missed the most important thing in life. [I think that what matters most in life is a love relationship with Jesus Christ, and I can only have that if I come to Him hungering and thirsting for righteousness. The evidence of this is love, but I must seek the source - not the outcome.]

In these next 6 weeks together, we are going to focus on living a life of love in 3 primary areas:

1. the community of our church,
2. the community of our small groups, and
3. the community of the world around us.

1 Cor 13:1-13 (NIV). We are going to spend the next 6 weeks, taking this chapter apart, looking at it phrase by phrase.

God says the same thing in this chapter on love in 5 different ways. He wants us to understand that the most important thing in life is learning how to love. That's what 40 days of community is all about. Your relationships, my relationships... how we love each other -- that's what matters the most, more than anything else. [Is it true that what matters most is how we love each other? Can we love each other and not know Christ? If so, then it is imperitive that we tell people this. It must therefore not be what matters most, right?] And if that's what matters most to God, then that's what should matter most to you and me. And that's why we are going to spend 40 days on how to build a community of love.

The Bible makes 5 radical statements about love in 1 Cor 13.

1. If I don't live a life of love, nothing I say will matter. 1 Cor 13:1 (NLT). Words without love are just noise; are empty.


2. If I don't live a life of love, nothing I know will matter. 1 Cor 13:2 (NCV). What God is saying is this: You may be 5 beta cappa. You might be a Mensa member. Maybe you graduated suda cum lauday. You might be a walking Bible encyclopedia or have an incredible knowledge of math, science, literature or history. But God says, if you don't have love in your life, all you know is worthless. [What do you suppose is being spoken of here? Is it not possible that Paul in 1 Cor 13 is referring to Christ Himself?? Oddly, Rick does not mention this fact; rather, he speaks of our works, the love that we show by our actions. But is it possible to love as Christ has commanded us to? If so, then how much is enough? How much love do I need to live so that 'what I know' will matter? ...so that 'what I say' will matter? If I don't love perfectly, does this mean that the words I speak are meaningless? Is the Bible meaningless because it has been given to us as mere words on a page?]


3. If I don't live a life of love, nothing I believe will matter. There's a myth that being a Christian is just a matter of believing certain truths. [Jesus said in John 6:29 "This is the work of God, that you believe in Him whom He has sent" (NASB).] That simply is not true. Following Christ is far more than simply believing intellectual facts, or understanding and adhering to certain doctrinal truths. [True -- we must have a relationship with Christ -- no amount of good works is going to do us any good in the end without Christ.] Being a Christian, or a Christ-follower, is living a life of love in community. 1 Cor 13:2 (LB). You see, it takes more than belief, it takes more than faith to really please God. [Is Rick Warren adding to the gospel? True Faith produces works, and without that faith it is impossible to please God no matter how much you outwardly love others. All that is required is true faith -- belief, as John 6:29 states, and contrary to Calvinism, it IS a work.] He said that it takes faith that results in loving others. Religion without love doesn't matter. [Religion without Christ doesn't matter.] Its not enough to say that I believe, or even that I know my purpose. What matters is how I love God and how I love other people. That's the great commandment. [If that's what matters most, then do I think I am able to fulfill it? What of Christ's command: "Be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect" (Mat 5:48)? Can you fulfill this? The Bible tells us to "test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you--unless indeed you fail the test?" (2 Cor 13:5, NASB)] 1 John 4:8 (NIV). Think about that for a minute; people may have great knowledge of the Bible, but it says that if you don't love, you don't know God. 1 John 4:20 (NIV). If I don't live a life of love, nothing I believe will matter.


4. If I don't live a life of love, nothing I give will matter. 1 Cor 13:3 (NLT). Can you be in a relationship and give for selfish motives? Giving is not necessarily always loving. Some people give in order to give back. That's not love; its selfishness. Some people give out of a guilty conscience. Some people give to control other people. Some people give for prestige, glory or honor. But that's not love. You can give for a lot of wrong motives, and the Bible says that if I'm not giving in love, then none of my giving counts, and nothing I give will matter. [Rick Warren does a very good job here of completely tearing down every act of love that I try (or learn) to live out. If its not done to God's standards, it counts for nothing! I'm not joking that he has done a great job, here. One should now feel completely hopeless... not encouraged (at least by what Rick has said). Do you have perfect motives? If not, according to Rick, nothing you say, do, believe, give or accomplish will matter! Is that not what he states? But is not Paul saying rather that if I do not have Jesus Christ, nothing I say, do, believe, give or accomplish will matter? Thanks be to God that this is the truth! I am TOTALLY free to love in Christ! Rather than trying to find pure motives, I must find Christ. Understand Luke 7:47 and you will understand the key the scriptures are communicating.]


5. If I don't live a life of love, nothing I accomplish will matter. The Bible says that nothing that I accomplish will matter if its not done in love. [Actually, that's NOT what it says; it says that if I do not have love. There is a BIG difference. Love is a PERSON! Only that which is done in Christ will last.] 1 Cor 13:3 (MSG). [The Message corrupts the Greek -- it says "but I don't love," but again the Greek says "if I don't have love." My righteousness comes FROM GOD on the basis of faith alone in Christ alone (Phil 3:9). Otherwise I have reason to boast. Why does Paul say that he boasts in his weakness (2 Cor 11:30)? Because he can do NOTHING to please God without Christ. The word have is the same one as is used in 1 John 2:23 in reference to the Father. In 1 John 5:12, of the Son. In reference to both: 2 John 1:9.] The Bible says that its all worthless if you don't learn to love. [Do you see the problem with how he is stating this? If you learn to love, you don't need Christ!! There are a lot of worldly people who love, and ashamedly many do so more unselfishly than professing Christians do.] That's why its the most important lesson in life: learning to love. And that's why we are going to spend 40 days looking at how to build a loving community. [Christian fellowship is not built by people learning to love; rather it is immediate upon belief in Christ, and the virtues that follow are the gifts and inner working of the Holy Spirit. We learn by reading the Word of God, and apply by believing it in faith -- then we will do it. It is a new birth, not a reformation of the old.]

The Bible says that relationships are more important than accomplishments. [Of course, that depends upon which relationship we are referring to!] God says that I can have the eloquence of an orator, the knowledge of a genius, the faith of a miracle worker, the generosity of a philanthropist and the achievements of a superstar, but if I don't have love in my heart, its all worth zero. [He comes so close here... without mentioning who it is that must be in your heart. As Christians we can overlook this, but any unbelievers will only be confused or reinforced in works-based righteousness.] The only thing that matters to God is do I love Him and do I know how to love other people. All the other stuff is superfulous. THE ISSUE IS: HOW WELL DID YOU LOVE. [I find this statement very dangerous -- this is a works-based righteousness -- perfectly compatible with ALL of the world's religions!!... and humanism to boot. Do you see how saying this more clearly makes a BIG difference?]

Let me just review it one more time because this is the basis that we are building ALL 40 days on: If I don't live a life of love, nothing I say will matter, nothing I know will matter, nothing I believe will matter, nothing I give will matter and nothing I accomplish will matter. [What do you think? Is this correct?]

Now think about this. If love is that powerful, if it is the primary objective of life, if it is the supreme value of life, if it is what matters more in life... what is love? What in the world is it? [I'm shivering with the realization of just how close he gets to stating the truth finally without actually stating it. The enemy is VERY slick indeed! Is this not a fascination with love itself instead of with the person of God?]

We're going to start by giving you a couple of definitions right out of the chute. This is just going to scratch the surface, but at least its going to get us started for this week.

1. Love is a command. God commands that we love each other. That means that it is not optional -- if we don't do it, the Bible says we're sinning! [Wow, Rick really lays it on thick here... and in 1 John we read that if we continue on sinning, then we never really knew Him!! I think we really need to understand this well. How do we then obey this command? For the answer, see Luke 7:36-48.] This is not well, if you can have time for it, attach it to your schedule, make time for your relationships.... no, God says that this is what life is all about: its about relationships. Jesus said it in John 13:34 (NIV). [Doesn't it seem that although Rick lists the two commandments in the right order, everything else he says demonstrates that he places the second commandment before the first. The order is significant, and we must not get it backwards.]


2. Love is a choice. It can't be forced on anybody. Now when God commands it, that's because we have a choice to accept or reject that command. [Wait a minute... He doesn't command it because we have a choice, He commands it because it is a requirement! Unless we obey His commands, we do not love Him -- so it is merely a statement of what follows from true faith in Christ and our relationship with Him. It is the evidence of true, saving faith. Without truth, there can be no grace.] If love were a feeling, you can't command a feeling. Its like telling a little child, "I command you to be happy" and the child would say, "I'm trying to be happy!" [We are commanded to love because if we do not it is evidence that we are not truly saved. If we are trying, whether by choice or by command, we've got it all backwards. What possibly could Jesus mean by "from within you will flow springs of living water"?] You can't force a feeling, but love is not a feeling. Though it produces feelings, but love is a choice. Its part of our behaviour. The Bible says in 1 Cor 14:1 (MSG): "Go after a life of love as if your life depended on it because it does." [Are we to go after a life even if it is a life of loving deeds, or to go after Him? Wow -- if what the Message is saying is not works-based righteousness, then I don't know what is. 1 Cor 14:1 in the NASB says, "Pursue love, yet desire earnestly spiritual gifts, but especially that you may prophesy." This is not even remotely like The Message (above).] Its intentional; you must decide to become a loving person. [Is that really it? Must I not hunger and thirst for righteousness and come to Christ in repentance placing all my hope and trust in Him?] You must choose to become a loving person; you must learn to become a loving person and you must practice becoming a loving person. It is not natural. [He says this as though love that God commands is achievable.] You see, I am naturally a self-serving person. I want everybody to serve me; I want everyone to love me; I want everyone to meet my needs. [Precisely.] It is not my nature to think automatically of other people, but that's what love is all about -- its a volitional act of the will. Now, you can choose to love in spite of your feelings or circumstances, and in fact that is the most mature love. [What then is our motivation? Can it be pure if we are feeling envy but choose to love? etc.] If you are doing something to get something back, that's not love. Love is committing to the well-being of another person, or your church, or your small group, or your community without any guarantee that they are going to give back to you. And that's the kind of love that God wants you to become a pro at. [Does want == command?] He wants you to become an expert at while you are here these few days on this earth. God put you in this group to be a laboratory for love, and before you were even born, God knew that you would be in this particular small group, and the people there are intentionally chosen by God to help you learn to really love. [Are we to learn something that God has gifted to us? Is not love a gift of the Holy Spirit, or is it learned?]


3. Love is a conduct. Its something you do; a behaviour. Love is acting. You just don't think about it; its something you do. In 1 John 3:18 (LB): "Let us stop just saying we love people; let us really love them and show it by our actions." [careful... missing "in deed and in truth"!]


4. Love is a commitment. 1 John 4:16 (CEV): "God is love. If we keep on loving others, we will stay one in our hearts with God and he will stay one with us." [This is very different in the NASB: "We have come to know and have believed the love which God has for us. God is love, and the one who abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him."] Did you know that our relationship with God is largely determined and affected by our relationship with other people? That's why we are going to do 40 days of community. If we stay in a relationship of love with those in our family, with those in our small group, in our church, and we learn to love the community around us, then we are going to stay one in our hearts with God and He'll stay one with us. [But wait a minute here -- Jesus says in Luke 14 that unless I hate my family -- even my own life, I cannot be His disciple -- a follower of Christ. Doesn't this sound different than what Rick is saying?] Why? Because God is love. Circle "keep on" loving in your study guide. You see, love keeps on loving. Its durable, its persistent, its diligent, its determined, it keeps on giving through hardship, and test and trial and tribulation. And you can be sure of this, in the next 40 days -- I'm warning you -- your love is going to be tested in ways that you have not imagined. Why? Because its like a muscle. It only grows when you stretch it. [Here we see Rick inferring that this love is within ourselves and we can work it and stretch it and make it accomplish what God commands.] Mature love is tested love, and God wants you to become like Him, and God is love. [But the kind of testing that the Bible speaks of only proves that you already have Him. 2 Cor 13:5.] Now, God is the only one that can give you a love like that; a love that will last a lifetime. [Now why doesn't he show us how God gives us this love. If there are no requirements, then everyone would have it, right?] Human love, fails. Human love runs out. Human love is not strong enough to last through all the difficulties of life. But God's love in your heart can help you through the inevitable tests of your love in the days ahead.

You are never going to learn how to love others by sitting alone reading a book in your room. That's why the small group portion of the 40 DOC is THE most important part. .... It is in your small group that you have the laboratory to practice. You only can learn love in connection with other people. [Again, another misunderstanding of the love Paul is talking about. When you have Him -- you have Him to the full; there is nothing to learn or we might be able to boast in how well we have done learning it... right?] You know what? You can't love a crowd. [But Jesus had compassion on the crowds. Is Rick saying that Jesus did not love the individuals in the crowd unless they were in His inner circle of 12?] You have to be with a smaller group of people if you are going to learn the real meaning of love. [REALLY? This is a spit in the face of many who "went about in sheepskins, in goatskins, being destitute, afflicted, ill-treated, (those of whom the world was not worthy), wandering in deserts and mountains and caves and holes in the ground. And all these, having gained approval through their faith, did not receive what was promised..." (Heb 11:37b-39, NASB).]

How many times have you thought, "you know, I need to write a letter to that person... I need to make that phone call... I need to give a word of encouragement to that person, send some flowers, offer a meal... I need to go next door to my neighbour and get to know him and do such and such." You've had all these great intentions, I know you have... of loving and showing kindness and showing unselfishness to people who can't pay you back. But you didn't do it. What happened? The opportunity bypassed you, and now its gone. And now you've missed that opportunity to grow in love. Don't miss the next 40 days.

Whenever you see an opportunity to show love to somebody, do not wait... just do it! We're going to practice loving for the next 40 days, and at the end of this 40 days you are going to have a deeper sense of community in your small group, in your church, in your neighbourhood. ... See how many acts of love and kindness that you can commit this week.
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Remember, what matters most is love. Let me pray: "Heavenly Father, nothing matters more than learning to love You and learning to love each other. We pray that as a result of these small groups that we will grow closer together in community, we'll grow more committed in our church community, and we'll reach out to the community around our church... because you loved us. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen." [Notice that he lists the commandments in the right order, but his prayer is not that we might love God, but people. We need to be very careful to magnify the love of God by using God's law to show the depth of sin. This is the gospel truth.]

May God bless the truth of His Word to your heart!