A Bible study on love, one of the fruits of the Holy Spirit.

A Christian's foremost responsibility is to love God wholeheartedly. A decline similar to the Ephesians' loss of their first love affected the first-century church.

There is a direct relationship between loving Christ and doing the right works. God's love for us places us under a compelling obligation to reciprocate.

Love doesn't become 'love' until we act. If we don't do what is right, the right feeling will never be formed; emotions are largely developed by our experiences.

He who loves God must love his brother, including every fellow human being. Our closeness with God transcends the other human relationships.

Love is the first fruit of the Spirit, the one trait of God that exemplifies His character. The Bible defines love as both what it is and what it does.

The opposite of selfishness is not self-hatred, but mature self-love, loving ourselves as a responsible, caring parent would (or should) love a growing child.

If we love another person, we like to think about him/her, to hear about him/her, please him/her, and we are jealous about his/her reputation and honor.

Only by combining the head, heart, and will can we attain full growth and maturity, godly character, and a mirror image of Jesus Christ.

Our carnal nature's desire to satisfy an addictive self-centeredness can eventually overrule the Christian's loyalty to God and His commandments.

Works demonstrate our faith, our response to God's calling and His freely given grace. Reciprocity is always a part of our relationship with God.

Jesus set the bar very high when it comes to love. We no longer live for ourselves, but to Christ, who commands us to love everyone, including our enemies.

We cannot become weary of well-doing, allowing our first love to deteriorate, looking to the world for satisfaction. Here are 8 tests of our love for Christ.

As God's people keep God's law in its spiritual intent, they begin to think like the Father and His Son, both of whom habitually do good.

Faithfulness is living continually by faith, acting even though doing so may cost us. Love is not primarily a feeling, but faithfulness in applying God's Word.

Fellowship with God is the only antidote to overwhelming feelings of despair, doubt, and self-condemnation.

We can know for sure that we know Him intimately by keeping His commandments and practicing loving kindnesses.

All the New Testament writers warned about false prophets trying to sever the symbiotic relationship between law and grace, law and faith, law and works.

Like the Ephesians, the weary veterans in Hebrews were becoming apathetic through outside pressures, losing their former zeal and devotion to Christ.

We are obligated to show compassion and mercy to all, refraining from gossip, exercising righteous judgment, forgiving others and applying the Golden Rule.

If God is sovereign and promises salvation to believers, why does it matter how believers live? How significant are our choices in the grand scheme of life?

Rather than having an apathetic relationship toward God, we must ardently, earnestly, and fervently seek God in order to imitate His behavior in our lives.

One aspect of sovereignty that causes some confusion is predestination. God's sovereignty does not remove a person's free moral agency — we must still choose.

Before anyone can have fellowship before God, the obstacle of sin must be eliminated, which is a permanent barrier between us and God.

We earn God's favor by obedience; there is a direct tie between submission to His will and His favor. The more one submits, the more favor and grace accrues.

We have the obligation to bear spiritual fruit, heeding the lessons of the cursing of the fig tree, and the parables of the barren fig tree and the talents.

God handpicked us for a specific purpose, just as He did Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Noah. God also handpicked second-generation Church members.

In the matter of godly standards for dress, we must adopt the humble, childlike, sincere, unassuming, and teachable attitude, loving God intimately.

Like businessmen reviewing plans, making forecasts, and anticipating accountability, God expects us to define and follow through on spiritual objectives.

In this time of confusion and rapid change, we have a desperate need for something solid to hold onto. Some of the most secure things are the promises of God.

The marriage covenant was designed to bring incomplete components of the God image together in one flesh, from which other relationships developed.

Simply watching out for the so-called "big sins" suggests that we are not genuinely interested in conforming to God—just in not crossing a major red line.

The offerings have a great deal to do with our relationship with God. How closely do we identify with Christ? Are we being transformed into His image?

The Trinitarian controversy surrounding I John 5:7-8 overshadows the record of what Jesus Christ did. It also hides key characteristics of God's children.

In the unsettling letter to the Laodiceans, Jesus paints a picture of Himself in relation to the church that reveals His people care about other things.

When God calls us and redeems us through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, we suddenly come under obligation—a debt we cannot pay but overshadows all we do.

God has provided the God-plane marriage relationship to teach us how to submit to one another, sacrificing our self-centeredness for the benefit of our spouse.

The free-will God has allowed mankind has led to some tragic consequences or disruptions, but none of these are outside of His control.

God's Ten Commandments are the divine law and standard that regulate human conduct. As our world testifies, they are still very much needed today!

Abraham's resolute intent to sacrifice Isaac displayed his unreserved devotion to God's purpose for him. We must display the same kind of tenacity.

Worship is required for all events in our lives, including the trials that build character within us. Anything that displaces God must be rooted out.

Much of Protestantism misconstrues the significance of the New Covenant as a 'free pass into Heaven' without paying attention to the Law within the Covenant.

God's people are the precious jewels (or the private, personal possessions) of God, obligated to conform exclusively to His will and purpose.

When people allow fear to rule them, they lose their mind. Fear of God, however, is not mind killing, but inspires a reverential awe of the Creator.

We may feel sorry or even guilty when we sin, but have we actually repented? The Scriptures show that true repentance produces these seven, distinct fruits.

When the U.S. Congress wanted to put 'In God we Trust' on currency, the Seventh Day Adventists objected, arguing that the U.S. has never been a Christian nation.

Just as we have been forgiven a huge, unpayable debt, so must we extend forgiveness to those who owe us, showing that we appreciate what has been done for us.

Even though a Christian's potential is so wonderful, it is still necessary for God to motivate His children to reach it. This begins with the fear of God.

We will not be prepared to rule in the Millennium unless we are experientially persuaded of God's faithfulness to His Covenant and His intolerance of evil.