Love Has Boundaries

1 John 3:18 tells us to love in action and truth.  Love in action is easy to figure out.  Love in truth needs some thought.  Just as love is to be expressed in concrete actions or it's not true Biblical love, so love must be expressed within the boundaries of Biblical truth or it's not true Biblical love.  If we step beyond the boundaries of truth in our attempt to love, we fail to love.  I'll explain.

In 1971 the cult known as the Children of God passed through our city.  The cult's young ladies prostituted themselves as a means of enticing men to find Jesus.  Their prophet, Moses David, taught that this was their ultimate expression of love to lost men.  I'm sure you would agree that prostituting one's self steps way beyond the boundaries of Biblical truth and thus is not a true expression of Biblical love.   

The Apostle Paul commented on the idea that Christians are to live within the boundaries of truth.  In 1 Corinthians 10:26 he said that he had the freedom in Christ to eat all kinds of meat, something Jewish Christians didn't believe they had the freedom to do.  In verse 27 he advised all believers not to ask questions about the meat they would eat when invited to a Gentile home for a meal.  Gentiles would often buy meat at the market that was left over from pagan worship services where animals were sacrificed to pagan gods.  If Jewish believers knew that the meat they were about to eat was used in a pagan ritual, they would refuse to eat it.  Paul, on the other hand, would sit down, ask no questions, and enjoy his dinner. 

Paul's freedom to eat meat did have boundaries.  He would not eat meat in the context of a pagan worship service where the meat had been offered to pagan gods (verse 20).  That would be worshipping demons.  For Paul, entering into the worship of demons in an attempt to love pagans would be stepping way beyond the boundaries of Biblical truth.   

Paul's teaching is relevant for us today.  There is a growing number of Evangelicals who are joining in worship with Muslims as an expression of love for Muslims.  The truthful Biblical fact is that Muslims do not worship the God of the Bible.  According to 1 Corinthians 10:20 this expression of love is in fact worshipping demons and steps way beyond the boundaries of Biblical truth.  It's not much different from the cult girls prostituting themselves in the name of loving men into the Kingdom of God .  As Christians we can be friends with Muslims, provide shelter for Muslim refugees, join with them in humanitarian projects, dialogue with them, but we cannot worship with them. 

The same applies to those who consider themselves part of the LGBQT community.  We can join with them in humanitarian efforts and be their friends.  We can do many things together, but we cannot participate in the sacred ceremony of marriage with them.  As difficult and heart wrenching as it is, a father cannot give his daughter away in marriage to another man's daughter.  That would be stepping beyond the boundaries of Biblical truth.  That sounds cold hearted and unloving, but Jesus did warn us that association with Him could cause division within a family (Matthew 10:34).  A pastor, therefore, cannot officiate a religious or civil wedding for a LBGQT couple.  I believe the same applies to a wedding photographer or any other wedding orientated business person. 

I know many will disagree with me on this issue.  What I've written seems so archaic, so culturally incorrect, so unloving, but, if I understand 1 John 3:18 correctly, love must be expressed within the boundaries of Biblical truth.  We either stand on the side of Biblical truth or on the side of our anti-Christ culture. 

Biblical love has boundaries.  If we step beyond these boundaries in our attempt to love, we no longer love, or so I believe.