Jesus was loved vol. 2

JESUS WAS LOVED VOL. 2
EDITED BY GLENN PEASE
John 21:15-17 So when they had broken their fast,
Jesus saith to Simon Peter, Simon, son of John, lovest
thou me more than these? He saithunto him, Yea,
Lord; thou knowest that I lovethee. He saith unto
him, Feed my lambs. He saith to him again a second
time, Simon, son of John, lovestthou me? He saith
unto him, Yea, Lord; thou knowest that I lovethee. He
saith unto him, Tend my sheep. He saith unto him the
third time, Simon, son of John, lovestthou me? Peter
was grieved becausehe saidunto him the third time,
Lovestthou me? And he said unto him, Lord, thou
knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee. Jesus
saith unto him, Feed my sheep.—John21:15-17.
Love to Jesus
by
Charles H. Spurgeon
(1834-1892)

This updated and revised manuscript is copyrighted ã 1999 by Tony
Capoccia. All rights reserved.
‘Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.’—John21:17
Christ rightly known is most surely Christ beloved. No soonerdo we discern
his excel-lencies, beholdhis glories, and partake of his bounties, than our
heart is at once moved with love towards him. Let him but speak pardon to
our guilty souls, then we shall not delay for long to speak words of love to his
most adorable person. It is utterly impossible for a man to know himself to be
complete in Christ, and to be destitute of love towards Christ Jesus. A believer
may be in Christ, and yet, from a holy jealousy, he may doubt his own
affectionto his Lord; but love is most assuredlyin his bosom, for that breast
which has never heaved with love to Jesus, is yet a strangerto the blood of
sprinkling. He that does not love, has not seenChrist, neither has he known
him. As the seedex-pands in the moisture and the heat, and sends forth its
greenblade—so also when the soul becomes affectedwith the mercy of the
Saviour, it puts forth its shoots of love to him and desire after him.
This love is no mere heat of excitement, nor does it end in a flow of rapturous
words; but it causes the soul to bring forth the fruits of righteousness, to its
own joy and the Lord's glory. It is a principle, active and strong, which
exercises itselfunto godliness, and pro-duces abundantly things which are
lovely and of goodrepute. Some of these we intend to mention, earnestly
desiring that all of us may exhibit them in our lives. Dr. Owenvery con-cisely
sums up the effects of true love in the two words, adherence and assimilation:
the one knitting the heart to Jesus, and the other con-forming us to his image.
This is an excellent summary; but as our designis to be more explicit, we shall

in detail review the more usual and pleasing of the displays of the power of
grace, affordedby the soul which is under the influence of love to Christ.
1. One of the earliestand most important signs of love to Jesus is the deed of
solemn dedicationof ourselves, with all we have and are, most unreservedly to
the Lord's service.
Dr. Doddridge has recommendeda solemn covenantbetweenthe soul and
God, to be signed and sealedwith due deliberation and most fervent prayer.
Many of the most emi-nent of the saints have adopted this excellentmethod of
devoting themselves in very deed unto the Lord, and have reaped great
benefits from the review of that solemn document when they have freshly
renewedthe actof dedication. The writer of the present volume conceives that
burial with Christ in Baptism is a far more scriptural and expressive sign of
dedication; but he is not inclined to deny his brethren the liberty of
confirming that actby the other, if it seemgoodto them. The remarks of John
Newtonupon this subject are therefore cautious and terse [See ‘Life of
Grimshaw,’ p.13], that we cannot refrain from quoting them at length:—
‘Many judicious persons have differed in their sentiments with respectto the
propriety or utility of such written en-gagements. Theyare usually entered
into, if at all, in an early stage ofprofession, when, though the heart is warm,
there has been little actualexperience of its deceitfulness. In the day when the
Lord turns our mourning into joy, and speaks peace,by the blood of his cross,
to the conscienceburdened by guilt and fear, resolutions are formed which,
though honestand sincere, prove, like Peter's promise to our lord, too weak to
withstand the force of subsequent unforeseentemptation. Such vows, made in
too much dependence upon our own strength, not only occasiona farther
discoveryof our weakness, but frequently give the enemy advan-tage to
terrify and distress the mind. There-fore, some persons, ofmore mature
experience, discount the practice as legaland im-proper. But, as a scaffold,
though no part of an edifice, and designedto be taken down when the building
is finished, is yet useful for a time in carrying on the work—somany young

con-verts have been helped by expedients which, when their judgments are
more ripened, and their faith more confirmed, are no longerneces-sary.
Every true believer, of course, ought to devote himself to the service of the
Redeemer;yea, he must and will, for he is constrainedby love. He will do it
not once only, but daily. And many who have done it in writing can look back
upon the transactionwith thankfulness to the end of life, recollecting it as a
seasonofpeculiar solemnity and impression, accompaniedwith emotions of
heart neither to be forgotten nor recalled. And the Lord, who does not despise
the day of small things, nor break the bruised reed, nor quench the smoking
flax accepts andratifies the desire;and mercifully pardons the mistakes which
they discover, as they attain to more knowledge ofhim and of themselves. And
they are encouraged, if not warranted, to make their surrender in this
manner, by the words of the prophet Isaiah:—“One shall say, I am the Lord's,
and another shall callhimself by the name of Jacob, andanother shall
subscribe with his hand to the Lord, and surname himself by the name of
Israel”’(Isa. 44:5).
Whateverview we may take of the form of consecration, we must all agree
that the deed itself is absolutelynecessaryas a firstfruit of the Spirit, and that
where it is absentthere is none of the love of which we are treating. We are
also, all of us, in union on the point that the surrender must be sincere, entire,
uncon-ditional, and deliberate; and that it must be accompaniedby deep
humility, from a sense ofour unworthiness, simple faith in the blood of Jesus
as the only medium of acceptance, andconstantreliance upon the Holy Spirit
for the fulfilment of our vows. We must give ourselves to Jesus, to be his, to
honour and to obey, if necessary, evenunto death. We must be ready with
Mary to break the alabasterbox, with Abraham to offer up our Isaac, with
the apos-tles to renounce our worldly wealthat the bid-ding of Christ, with
Moses to despise the riches of Egypt, with Danielto enter the lion's den, and
with the three holy children to step into the furnace. We cannot retain a
portion of the price, like Ananias, nor love this present world with Demas, if
we are the genuine followers ofthe Lamb. We consecrateour all when we
receive Christ as all.

The professing Church has many in its midst who, if they have ever given
themselves to Christ, appear to be very oblivious of their solemn obligation.
They can scarcelyafforda fragment of their wealthfor the Master's cause;
their time is wasted, or employed in any service but that of Jesus;their talents
are absorbedin worldly pursuits; and the absolute waste oftheir influence is
thought to be an abundant satis-factionof all the claims of heaven. Can such
men be honest in their professions ofattach-ment to the Lamb? Was their
dedication a sincere one? Do they not afford us grave sus-picion of hypocrisy?
Could they live in such a fashion if their hearts were right with God? Can they
have any right idea of what the Saviour deserves?Are their hearts really
renewed? We leave them to answerfor themselves;but re must entreatthem
also to ponder the following questions, as they shall one day have to render an
accountto their Judge. Does not God abhor the lying lip? And is it not lying
againstGod to profess that which are do not carry out? Doe not the Saviour
loathe those who are neither cold nor hot? And are not those most truly in
that case who serve God with half a heart? What must be the doom of those
who have insulted Heaven with empty vows? Will not a false professionentail
a fearful punishment upon the soul forever? And is he not false who does not
serve the Lord with all his might? Is it a little thing to be branded as a robber
of God? Is it a trifle to break our vows with the Almighty? Shall a man mock
his Maker, and go unpunished? And how shall he abide the day of the wrath
of God ?
May God make us ever careful that, by his Holy Spirit's aid, we may be able
to live unto him as those that are alive from the dead; and since in many
things we fall short of his perfect will, let us humble ourselves, and devoutly
seek the moulding of his hand to renew us day by day. We ought always desire
a perfect life as the result of full consecration, eventhough we shall often
groanthat ‘it is not yet attained.’ Our prayer should be—
‘Take my soul and body’s powers;

Take my memory, mind, and will;
All my goods, and all my hours;
All I know, and all I feel;
All I think, or speak, ordo;
Take my heart—but make it new.’
[C. Wesley]
2. Love to Christ will make us ‘timid and tender to offend.’—We shall be most
careful lestthe Saviour should be grieved by our ill manners. When some
much loved friend is visiting our house, we are everfearful lest he should be ill
at ease;we therefore watchevery movement in the family, that nothing may
disturb the quiet we desire him to enjoy. How frequently do we apologisefor
the homeliness of our provisions, our own apparent inattention, the
forgetfulness of our servants, or the rudeness of our children. If we suppose
him to be uncomfortable, how readily will we disarrange our household to
give him pleasure, and how disturbed are we at the leastsymptom that he is
not satisfiedwith our hospitality. We are grieved if our words appear cold
towards him, or our acts unkind. We would soonerthat he should grieve us
than that we should displease him. Surely we should not treat our heavenly
Friend worse than our earthly acquaintance;but we should constantly
endeavour to please Him in all things who did not please himself. Such is the
influence of realdevotion to our precious Redeemer, that the more the mind is
saturatedwith affection to him, the more watchful shall we be to give no
offense in anything, and the more sorrow shall we suffer because ournature is
yet so imperfect that in many things we come short of his glory. A believer, in
a healthy state of mind, will be extremely sensitive; he will avoid the
appearance ofevil, and guard againstthe beginnings of sin. He will often be
afraid to put one foot before another, lesthe should tread upon forbidden
ground; he will tremble to speak, lesthis words should not be ordered aright;
he will be timid in the world, lest he should be surprised into transgression;
and even in his holy deeds he will be watchful over his heart, lesthe should

mock his Lord. This feeling of fear lest we should ‘slip with our feet,’ is a
precious feature of true spiritual life. It is to be greatly regrettedthat it is so
lightly prized by many, in comparisonwith the more martial virtues; for,
despite its apparent insignificance, it is one of the choicestfruits of the Spirit,
and its absence is one of the most de-plorable evidences ofspiritual decay. A
heedless spirit is a curse to the soul; a rash, presumptuous conversationwill
eat like a cancerdoes. ‘Too bold’ was never Too-wisenor Too‑ loving.
Careful walking is one of the best securities of safe and happy standing. It is
solemn cause fordoubting when we are indifferent in our be-haviour to our
best Friend. When the new creature is active, it will be indignant at the very
name of sin; it will condemn it as the murderer of the Redeemer, and wage as
fierce a war againstit as the Lord did with Amalek. Christ's foes are our foes
when we are Christ's friends. Love of Christ and love of sin are elements too
hostile to reign in the same heart. We shall hate iniquity simply because Jesus
hates it. A gooddivine [John Brine] writes:—‘If any pretend unto an
assurance offorgiveness through the merits of Jesus, without any experience
of shame, sorrow, and hatred of sin, on accountof its vile nature, I dare boldly
pronounce such a pretensionto be no other than a vain presumption, that is
likely to be followedby an eternalloss of their immortal souls.’
He that is not afraid of sinning has goodreasonto be afraid of damning.
Truth hates error, holiness abhors guilt, and grace cannotbut detest sin. If we
do not desire to be cau-tious to avoid offending our Lord, we may rest
confident that we have no part in him, for true love to Christ will rather die
than wound him. Hence love to Christ is ‘the best antidote to idolatry;’ [James
Hamilton] for it prevent any objectfrom occu-pying the rightful throne of the
Saviour. The believer dares not admit a rival into his heart, knowing that this
would grievously offend the King. The simplest way of preventing an
ex-cessive love ofthe creature is to set all our affectionupon the Creator. Give
your whole heart to your Lord, and you cannot idolize the things of earth, for
thou will have nothing left with which to worship them.

B. If we love the Lord Jesus we shall be obe-dient to his commands.—False,
vain, and boasting pretenders to friendship with Christ think it enough to talk
fluently of him; but humble, sincere, and faithful lovers of the Lord are not
content with words—theymust be doing the will of their Master. As the
affectionate wife obeys because she loves her husband, so does the redeemed
soul delight in keeping the com-mands of Jesus, although compelledby no
force but that of love. This divine principle will render every duty pleasant;
yes, when the labour is in itself irksome, this heavenly grace will quicken us in
its performance by reminding us that it is honourable to suffer for our Lord.
It will induce an universal obedience to all known commands, and overcome
that criticalspirit of rebellion which takes exceptionto many precepts, and
obeys only as far as it chooses to do so. It infuses not the mere act, but the very
spirit of obedience, inclining the inmost heart to feel that its new born nature
cannot but obey. True, old corruption is still there; but this only proves the
hearty wil-lingness of the soul to be faithful to the laws of its King, seeing that
it is the cause ofa per-petual and violent contest—the flesh lusting againstthe
spirit, and the spirit striving againstthe flesh. We are willing to serve God
when we love his Son: there may be obstacles, but no unwillingness. We would
be holy even as Godis holy, and perfect even as our Fatherwhich is in heaven
is perfect. And to proceedyet further, love not only removes all unwillingness,
but inspires the soul with a delight in the service of God, by making the lowest
act of service to appearhonourable. A heathen [Seneca]once exclaimed, Deo
servire estregnare—‘to serve Godis to reign:’ so does the renewedheart
joyfully acknowledge the high honour which it receives by obedience to its
Lord. He counts it not only his reasonable, but his de-lightful service, to be a
humble and submissive disciple of his gracious Friend. He would be unhappy
if he had no opportunity of obedience—his love requires channels for its
fullness: he would pray for work if there were none, for he includes his duties
among his privileges. In the young dawn of true religion this is very
observable—wouldthat it were equally so ever after! Oh! how jealous we
were lest one divine ordinance should be neglected, or one rule violated.
Nothing pained us more than our own too frequent wanderings, and nothing
gra-tified us more than to be allowedto cut woodor draw waterat his
bidding. Why is it not so now with all of us? Why are those wings, once
outstretchedfor speedy flight, now folded in sloth? Is our Redeemerless

deserving? Or could it be that we are less loving? Let us seek by greater
meditation on the work and love of our Saviour, by the help of the Holy Spirit,
to renew our love to him: otherwise our lamentation will soonbe—‘How the
gold has become dim! How the glory has departed!’ (Lam. 4:1).
4. Love to Christ will impel us to defend him againsthis foes.—
‘If any touch my friend, or his goodname,
It is my honour and my love to free his blasted fame
From the leastspot or thought of blame.’ [Herbert].
Goodmen are more tender over the reputation of Christ than over their own
goodname; for they are willing to lose the world's favourable opinion rather
than that Christ should be dis-honoured. This is no more than Jesus has a
right to expect. Would he not be a sorry brother who should hear me insulted
and slan-dered, and yet be silent? Would he not be destitute of affectionwho
would allow the characterof his nearestrelative to be trampled in the dust,
without a struggle on his behalf? And is he not a poor style of Christian who
would calmly submit to hear his Lord abused? We could bearto be trampled
in the very mire that He might be exalted; but to see our glorious Head
dishonoured, is a sight we cannottamely behold. We would not, like Peter,
strike his enemies with the sword of man; but we would use the swordof the
Spirit as wellas we are enabled. Oh! how has our blood boiled when the name
of Jesus has been the theme of scornful jest! How we have been ready to
invoke the fire of Elijah on the guilty blasphemers!Or when our more carnal
heat has subsided, how have we wept, evento the sobbing of a child, at the
reproachcastupon his most hallowedname! Many a time we have been ready
to burst with anguish when we have been speechlessbefore the scoffer,
because the Lord had shut us up, that we could not come forth; but at other
seasons, withcourage more than we had consideredto be within the range of

our capability, we have boldly reproved the wicked, and sent them back
abashed.
It is a lovely spectacleto behold the timid and feeble defending the citadelof
truth: not with hard blows of logic, or bombardments of rhetoric—but with
that tearful earnestness,and implicit confidence, againstwhichthe attacks of
revilers are utterly powerless.Over-thrown in argument, they overcome by
faith; coveredwith contempt, they think it all joy if they can only avert a
solitary stain from the escutcheon[shield-shapedemblem bearing a coatof
arms] of their Lord. ‘Call me what you will,’ says the believer, ‘but do not
speak ill of my Beloved. Here, plough these shoulders with your lashes, but
spare yourselves the sin of cursing him! Yes, let me die: I am all too happy to
be slain, if my Lord's most glorious cause shall live!’
Ask every regenerate child of God whether he does not count it his privilege to
maintain the honour of his Master's name; and though his answermay be
worded with holy caution, you will not fail to discoverin it enough of that
determined resolution which, by the blessing of the Holy Spirit, will enable
him to stand fast in the evil day. He may be carefulto reply to such a question,
lest he should be presumptuous; but should he stand like the three holy
children before an enragedtyrant, in the very mouth of a burning fiery
furnace, his answer, like theirs, would be, ‘We have no need to answeryou in
this matter. If that is the case, ourGod whom we serve is able to deliver us
from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us from your hand, O king.
But if not, let it be known to you, O king, that we do not serve your gods, nor
will we worship the gold image which you have set up’ (Dan. 3:16-18).
In some circles it is believed that in the event of another reign of persecution,
there are very few in our churches who would endure the fiery trial: nothing,
we think, is more unfounded. It is our firm opinion that the feeblestsaint in
our midst would receive grace for the struggle, and come off more than a

conqueror. God's children are the same now as ever. Realpiety will as well
endure the fire in one century as another. There is the same love to impel the
martyrdom, the same grace to sustainthe sufferer, the same promises to cheer
his heart, and the same crownto adorn his head. We believe that those
followers of Jesus who may perhaps one day be called to the stake, will die as
readily as any who have gone before. Love is still as strong as death, and grace
is still made perfect in weakness.
‘Sweetis the cross, above all sweets,
To souls enamoured with His smiles;
The keenestwoe life ever meets,
Love strips of all its terrors, and beguiles.’
[Madame Guion]
This is as true today, as it was a thousand years ago. We may be weak in
grace, but grace is not weak:it is still omnipotent, and able to endure the
trying day.
There is one form of this jealousyfor the honour of the cross, whichwill
always distinguish the devout Christian:—he win tremble lest he himself, by
word or deed, by omis-sionof duty or commission of sin, should dishonour the
holy religion which he has professed. He will hold perpetual controversywith
‘sinful self’on this account, and will loathe himself when he has inadvertently
given occasionto the enemy to blaspheme. The King's favourite will be sad if,
by mistake or carelessness, he has been the accomplice oftraitors: he desires
to be beyond reproach, that his Monarchmay suffer no disgrace from his
courtier. Nothing has injured the cause ofChrist more than the
inconsistenciesofhis avowedfriends. Jealousyfor the honour of Christ is an
admirable mark of grace.

5. A firm attachment to the person of Christ will create a constantanxiety to
promote his cause.
With some it has produced that burning zeal which enabled them to endure
banishment, to brave dangers, and to forsake comforts, in order to evangelise
an ungrateful people, among whom they were not unwilling to suffer
perse-cution, or even death, so that they might but enlarge the borders of
Immanuel's land. This has inspired the evangelistwith inex-haustible strength
to proclaim the word of his Lord from place to place, amid the slander of foes
and the coldness of friends; this has moved the generous heart to devise liberal
things, that the cause might not fade for lack of temporal supplies; and this, in
a thousand ways, has stirred up the host of God, with various weapons and in
severalfields, to fight the battles of their Lord. There is little or no love to
Jesus in that man who is indifferent concerning the progress of the truth. The
man whose soulis saturated with grateful affectionto his crucified Lord will
weepwhen the enemy seems to get an advantage;he will waterhis couchwith
tears when he sees a declining church; he will lift up his voice like a trumpet
to arouse the slumbering, and with his own hand will labour day and night to
build up the breaches of Zion; and should his efforts be successful, with what
joyous gratitude will he lift up his heart unto the King of Israel, extolling him
as much—yes, more—formercies given to the Church than for bounties
conferredupon himself. How diligently and tirelesslywill he labour for his
Lord, humbly conceiving that he cannotdo too much, or even enough, for one
who gave his heart's blood as the price of our peace.
We lament that too many among us are like Issachar, who was describedas ‘a
strong donkey, lying down betweentwo burdens,’—too lazy to perform the
works of piety so urgently demanded at our hands: but the reasonofthis sad
condition is not that fervent love is unable to produce activity, but that such
are deplorably destitute of that intense affectionwhich grace begets in the
soul.

Love to Christ smoothes the path of duty, and dispatches the feetto travel it:
it is the bow which impels the arrow of obedience;it is the mainspring moving
the wheels ofduty; it is the strong arm tugging the oar of diligence. Love is the
marrow of the bones of fidelity, the blood in the veins of piety, the sinew of
spiritual strength—yes, the life of sincere devotion. He that has love can no
more be mo-tionless than the aspentree in the gale, the withered leaf in the
hurricane, or the spray in the tempest. Likewise, as hearts must beat, so also
love must labour. Love is instinct with activity, it cannotbe idle; it is full of
energy, it cannot content itself with little things: it is the well spring of
heroism, and great deeds are the gushings of its fountain; it is a giant—it
heaps mountains upon moun-tains, and thinks it a little pile; it is a mighty
mystery, for it changes bitter into sweet;it calls death life, and life death, and
it makes pain less painful than enjoyment. Love has a cleareye, but it can see
only one thing— it is blind to every interest but that of its Lord; it sees things
in the light of his glory, and weighs actions in the scales ofhis honour; it
counts royalty but drudgery if it cannot reign for Christ, but it delights in
servitude as much as in honour, if it can thereby advance the Master's
kingdom; its end sweetens allits means; its objectlightens its toil, and
removes its weariness. Love, with refreshing influence, girds up the loins of
the pilgrim, so that he forgets fatigue; it casts a shadow for the traveling man,
so that he does not feel the burning heat; and it puts the bottle to the lip of
thirst. Have we not found it so? And, under the influence of love, are we not
prepared by the Spirit's sacredaid to do or suffer all that thought cansuggest,
as being likely to promote his honour?
He who does not desire the goodof the kingdom is no friend to the king; so he
who forgets the interests of Zion can scarcelybe a favourite with her Prince.
We wish prosperity in estate and householdto all those in whom we delight;
and if we take pleasure in Jesus, we shallpray for the peace of Jerusalem, and
labour for her increase.

May ‘the Fatherof lights’ give unto his Church more love to her Head, then
she will be zealous, valiant, and persevering, and then shall her Lord be
glorified.
6. It is a notable fact that fervent love to Jesus will enable us to endure
anything he is pleasedto lay upon us.
Love is the mother of resignation:we gladly receive buffeting and blows from
Jesus whenour heart is fully occupied with his love. Even as a dearly
cherishedfriend does but delight us when he uses freedoms with us, or when
he takes a gooddealof liberty in our house—so Jesus, whenwe love him
heartily, will never offend us by anything that he may do. Should he take our
gold, we would think his hand to be a noble treasury for our wealth;should he
remove our joys, we reckonit a greaterbliss to lose than gain, when his will
runs in such a channel. Yes, should he smite us very deeply, we shall turn to
his hand and kiss the rod. To believe that Christ has done it, is to extract the
sting of an affliction. We remember hearing a preacherat a funeral most
beautifully setting forth this truth in parable. He said:—‘A certain nobleman
had a spacious garden, which he left to the care of a faithful servant, whose
delight it was to train the climbing plants along the trellis, to waterthe seeds
in the time of drought, to support the stalks of the tender plants, and to do
every work which could render the garden a Paradise offlowers. One
morning he rose with joy, expecting to tend his beloved flowers, and hoping to
find his favourites increasedin beauty. To his surprise, he found one of his
choicestbeauties torn from its stem, and, looking around him, he missedfrom
every bed the pride of his garden, the most precious of his blooming flowers.
Full of grief and anger, he hurried to his fellow servants, and demanded who
had thus robbed him of his treasures. Theyhad not done it and he did not
charge them with it; but he found no solacefor his grief till one of them
remarked:—“My lord was walking in the gardenthis morning, and I saw
him pluck the flowers and carry them away.” Thentruly he found he had no
cause for his trouble. He felt it was wellthat his masterhad been pleasedto

take his own, and he went away, smiling at his loss, becausehis lord had taken
them. So,’said the preacher, turning to the mourners, ‘you have lost one
whom you regardedwith much tender affection. The bonds of endearment
have not availedfor her retention upon earth. I know your wounded feelings
when, instead of the lovely form which was the embo-diment of all that is
excellentand amiable, you behold nothing but ashes andcorruption. But
remember, my beloved, THE LORD has done it; He has removed the tender
mother, the affectionate wife, the inestimable friend. I say again, remember
your own Lord has done it; therefore do not murmur, or yield yourselves to
an excess ofgrief’ There was as much force as well as beauty in the simple
allegory:it would be goodif all the Lord’s family had grace to practice its
heavenly lesson, in all times of bereave-ment and affliction.
Our favourite master of quaint conceits [Herbert] has singularly said in his
poem entitled ‘Unkindness’—
‘My friend may spit upon my curious floor.’
True, most true, our Belovedmay do as he pleases in our house, evenif he
would break its ornaments and stain its glories. Come in, you heavenly guest,
even though eachfootstepon our floor should crush a thousand of our earthly
joys. You are yourself more than sufficient recompense for all that you can
take away. Come in, you brother of our souls, eventhough your rod comes
with you. We would rather have you, and trials with you, than lament your
absence eventhough surrounded with all the wealththe universe can bestow.
The Lord’s prisoner in the dungeon of Aberdeen thus penned his belief in the
love of his ‘sweetLord Jesus,’and his acquiescencein his Master’s will:—

‘Oh, what owe I to the file, to the hammer, to the furnace, of my Lord Jesus!
who hath now let me see how goodthe wheatof Christ is, which goeththrough
his mill, to be made bread for his own table. Grace tried is better than grace,
and more than grace—itis glory in its infancy. When Christ blesses his own
crosseswith a tongue, they breathe out Christ's love, wisdom, kindness, and
care of us. Why should I start at the plough of my Lord, that makethdeep
furrows upon my soul? 1 know that He is no idle husbandman; He purposeth
a crop. Oh, that this white, withered lea‑ ground[pasture] were made fertile
to bear a crop for him, by whom it is so painfully dressed, and that this
fallow‑ groundwere broken up! Why was I (a fool!) grievedthat He put his
gar-land and his rose upon my head—the glory and honour of his faithful
witnesses?I desire now to make no more pleas with Christ. Verily, He hath
not put me to a loss by what I suffered; he owethme nothing; for in my bonds
how sweetand comfortable have the thoughts of Him been to me, wherein I
find a sufficient recompense ofreward!’
7. To avoid tiring the reader with a longerlist of ‘the precious fruits put forth
by the Sun’ of love, we will sum up everything in the lastremark—that the
gracious soulwill labour after an entire annihilation of selfishness, and a
com-plete absorption into Christ of its aims, joys, desires, and hope. The
highest conceivable state ofspirituality is produced by a concentrationof all
the powers and passions ofthe soul upon the personof Christ. We have asked
a greatthing when we have beggedto be wholly surrendered to be crucified. It
is the higheststage of manhood to have no wish, no thought, no desire, but
Christ—to feelthat to die would be bliss, if it were for Christ—that to live in
poverty, and woe, and scorn, and contempt, and misery, would be sweet, if it
were for Christ—to feel that it matters nothing what becomes ofone's self, as
long as our Masteris exalted—to feelthat though we are like a withered leaf,
we are blown in the blast, we are quite carelesswhere we are going, so long as
we feel that the Master’s hand is guiding us according to his will; or, rather, to
feel that though like the diamond, we must be cut with sharp tools, yet we do
not care how sharply we may be cut, as long as we are made fit jewels to
adorn his crown. If any of us have attained to this sweetfeeling of self-
anni-hilation, then we shall look up to Christ as if He were the sun, and we

shall say within ourselves, ‘O Lord, I see your beams; I feelmyself to be—not
a beam from you—but darkness, swallowedup in your light. The most I ask
is, that you would live in me—that the life I live in the flesh may not be my
life, but your life in me; that I may say with emphasis, as Paul did, ‘For me to
live is Christ.’
A man who has attained this high position has indeed ‘entered into rest.’ To
him the praise or the censure of men are both contemptible, for he has learned
to look upon the one as unworthy of his pursuit, and the other as beneath his
regard. He is no longer vulnerable, since he has in himself no separate
sensitiveness,but has united his whole being with the cause and person of the
Redeemer. As long as there is a particle of selfishness remaining in us, it will
mar our sweetenjoymentof Christ; and until we geta complete riddance of it,
our joy will never be unmixed with grief. We must dig at the roots of our
selfishness to find the worm which eats awayat our happiness. The soul of the
believer will always pant for this serene conditionof passive surrender, and
will not be con-tent until it has thoroughly plunged itself into the sea of divine
love. Its normal con-dition is that of complete dedication, and it regards every
deviation from such a state as a
mark of the plague and a breaking forth of disease. Here, in the lowestvalley
of self-renunciation, the believer walks upon a very pinnacle of exaltation;
bowing himself, he knows that he rising immeasurably high when he is sinking
into nothing, and, falling flat upon his face, he feels that he is thus mounting to
the highestelevation of mental grandeur.
It is the ambition of most men to absorbothers into their own life, that they
may shine all the more brightly by the stolenrays of other lights; but it is the
Christian's highest aspira-tionto be absorbedinto another, and lose himself in
the glories ofhis sovereignand Saviour. Proud men hope that the names of
others shall only be remembered as single words in their own long titles of
honour; but loving children of God long for nothing more than to see their

own names used as letters in the bright records of the accomplishments of the
Wonderful, and the Councillor.
Heaven is a state of entire acquiescencein the will of God, and perfect
sympathy with his purposes;it is, therefore, easyto discern that the desires we
have just been describing are true promises of the inheritance? and sure signs
of preparation for it.
And now, how is it with the reader? Is he a lover of Jesus in verity and truth?
or does he confess thatthese signs are not seenin him? If he is indeed without
love to Jesus, then he has goodreasonto humble himself and turn unto the
Lord, for his soul is in as evil a condition as it canbe this side of hell; and,
alas!will soonbe, unless grace prevents it, in a plight so pitiable, that eternity
will scarcelybe long enough for its regrets.
It is more than probable that some of our readers are troubled with doubts
concerning the truth of their affectionfor Jesus, althoughthey are indeed his
faithful friends. Permit us to address such with a word of consolation.
You have some of the marks of true piety about you—at least, you can join in
some of the feelings to which we have been ex-pressing—butstill you fear that
you are not right in your heart towards Christ. What then is your reasonfor
such a suspicion? You reply that your excess ofattachment towards your
friends and relatives is proof that you are not sincere, for if you truly loved
Jesus, you would love him more than these. Your complaint is:—‘I fear I love
the creature more than Christ, and if so my love is hypocritical. I frequently
feel more vehement and more devoted longings of my heart to my beloved
relatives than I do towards heavenly objects, and I therefore believe that I am
still carnal, and the love of God does not inhabit my heart.’

Far be it from us to plead the cause ofsin, or extenuate the certain fault which
you thus commit; but at the same time it would be even further from our
design to blot out at once all the names of the living family of God. For if our
love is to be measuredby its temporary violence, then we fear there is not one
among the saints who has not at some time or other had an excessive love to
the creature, and; who has not, therefore, upon such reasoning, proved
himself to be a hypocrite. Let it be remembered, therefore, that the strength of
affectionis rather to be measured by the hold it has upon the heart, than by
the heatit displays at carelesstimes and seasons.Flavelvery wisely observes,
‘As rootedmalice argues a strongerhatred than a sudden though more violent
passion, so we must measure our love, not by a violent motion of it, now and
then, but by the depth of the root and the constancyofits actings. Be-cause
David was so passionatelymoved for Absalom, Joabconcludes that if he had
lived, and all the people died, it would have pleasedhim well; but that was
argued more like a soldierthan a logician.’
If your love is constantin its steadfastness,faithful in its actions, and honest in
its character, then you do not need to distrust it on accountof certain more
burning passions, whichtemporarily and wickedlyinflame the mind. Avoid
these as sinful, but do not therefore doubt the truthful-ness of your
attachment to your Master. True grace may be in the soul without being
apparent, for, as Baxter truly observes, ‘grace is never apparent and sensible
to the soul but while it is in action.’Fire may be in the flint, and yet be unseen
exceptwhen circumstances shallbring it out. As Dr. Sibbs observes in his
Soul's Conflict, ‘There is sometimes grieffor sin in us, when we think there is
none;’ so may it be with love which may be there, but not discoverable till
some circumstance shall leadto its discovery. The eminent Puritan pertinently
remarks:—
‘You may go seeking for the hare or partridge many hours, and never find
them while they lie close andstir not; but when once the hare betakes himself
to his legs, and the bird to her wings, then you see them presently. So long as a

Christian hath his graces in lively action, so long, for the most part, he is
assuredof them. How can you doubt whether you love God in the act of
loving? Or whether you believe in the very act of believing. If, there, you
would be assuredwhether this sacredfire be kindled in your hearts, blow it
up, get it into a flame, and then you will know;believe till you feel that you do
believe; and love till you feelthat you love.’
Seek to keepyour graces in actionby living near to the author of them. Live
very near to Jesus, and think much of his love to you: thus will your love to
him become more deep and fervent.
We pause here, and pray to the most gracious Fatherof all good, that he
would acceptour love, as he has already acceptedus, in the Beloved;and we
humbly crave the kind influence of his Holy Spirit, that we may be made
perfect in love, and may glorify him to whom we now present ourselves as
living sacrifices, holy, acceptable unto God, which is our reasonable service.
‘Jesu, thy boundless love to me
No thought can reach, no tongue declare;
O knit my thankful heart to thee,
And reign without a rival there:
Thine wholly, thine alone, I am;
Be thou alone my constantflame!
O grant that nothing in my soul
May dwell, but thy pure love alone:
O may thy love possess me whole,

My joy, my treasure, and my crown;
Strange flames far from my heart remove;
My every act, word, thought be love!’
TO THE UNCONVERTEDREADER
Again we turn to you; and are you still where we left you? Still without hope,
still unforgiven? Surely, then, you have been con-demning yourself while
reading these signs of grace in others. Such experience is too high for you, you
can no more attain unto it than a stone to sensibility; but, remember, it is not
too high for the Lord. He can renew you, and make you know the highest
enjoyment of the saints. He alone can do it, therefore de-spair of your own
strength; but He can accom-plishit, therefore hope in omnipotent grace. You
are in a wrong state, and you know it: how fearful it will be if you should
remain the same until death! Yet most assuredlyyou will unless Divine love
shall change you. See, then, how absolutely you are in the hands of God.
Labour to feel this. Seek to know the power of this dreaded but certain fact—
that you lie entirely at his pleasure; and there is no-thing more likely to
humble and subdue you than the thoughts which it will begetwithin you.
Know and tremble, hear and be afraid. Bow yourself before the MostHigh,
and confess his justice should He destroyyou, and admire his grace which
proclaims pardon to you. Do not think that the works ofbelievers are their
salvation;but seek first the root of their graces, whichlies in Christ, not in
themselves. This you canget nowhere but at the footstoolofmercy from the
hand of Jesus. You are shut up to one [standing at the?] door of life, and that
door is Christ crucified. Receive him as God's free gift and your undeserved

blessing. Renounce everyother refuge, and embrace the Lord Jesus as your
only hope. Put your soul in his hands. Sink or swim, let Him be your only
support, and he will never fail you.
BELIEVE 0N THE LORD JESUS CHRIST, AND YOU WILL BE SAVED.
Added to Bible Bulletin Board's "SpurgeonCollection" by:
Tony Capoccia
Bible Bulletin Board
LOVEST THOU ME? NO. 117
A SERMON DELIVERED ON SABBATHMORNING, SEPTEMBER7,
1856, BYTHE REV. C. H. SPURGEON,AT NEW PARK STREET
CHAPEL, SOUTHWARK.
“Jesus saidto Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonas, lovestthou me more than
these? He said unto him, Yea, Lord; you know that I love you. He saidunto
him, Feed my lambs. He saidto him againthe secondtime, Simon, sonof
Jonas, lovestthou me? He said unto him, Yea, Lord; you know that I love you.
He said unto him, Feedmy sheep. He said unto him the third time, Simon, son
of Jonas, lovestthou me? Peter was grievedbecause he said unto him the third
time, lovestthou me? And he said unto him, Lord, you know all things; you
know that I love you. Jesus saidunto him, Feedmy sheep.” John 21:15-17.

HOW very much like to Christ before His crucifixion was Christ after His
resurrection!Although He had lain in the grave, and descendedinto the
regions of the dead, and had retracedhis steps to the land of the living, yet
how marvelously similar He was in His manners and how unchanged in His
disposition. His passion, His death, and His resurrection, could not alter His
characteras a man any more than they could affectHis attributes as God. He
is Jesus foreverthe same. And when He appearedagain to His disciples, He
had castaside none of His kind manners, He had not lost a particle of interest
in their welfare, He addressedthem just as tenderly as before, and called them
His children and His friends. Concerning their temporal condition He was
mindful, for He said, “Children, have you any meat?” And He was certainly
quite as watchful over their spiritual state, for after He had supplied their
bodies by a rich draught from the sea, with fish (which possibly He had
createdfor the occasion), He inquires after their souls’ health and prosperity,
beginning with the one who might be supposed to have been in the most sickly
condition, the one who had denied his Masterthrice, and wept bitterly—even
Simon Peter. “Simon, son of Jonas,”saidJesus, “lovestthou me?” Without
preface, for we shall have but little time this morning—may God help us to
make gooduse of it!—we shall mention three things. First, a solemn
question—“Lovestthou me?” Secondly, a discreetanswer, “Yes, Lord, you
know that I love you,” and thirdly, a required demonstration of the fact, “He
said unto him, Feedmy lambs,” or again, “Feedmy sheep.” I. First, then, here
was a SOLEMN QUESTION, whichour Savior put to Peter, not for His own
information, for, as Petersaid, “You know that I love you,” but for Peter’s
examination. It is well, especiallyafter a foul sin, that the Christian should
well probe the wound. It is right that he should examine himself, for sin gives
grave cause for suspicion, and it would be wrong for a Christian to live an
hour with a suspicionconcerning his spiritual estate, unless he occupythat
hour in examination of himself. Self-examination should more especially
follow sin, though it ought to be the daily habit of every Christian, and should
be practiced by him perpetually. Our Savior, I say, askedthis question of
Peter, that he might ask it of himself, so we may suppose it askedof us this
morning that we may put it to our own hearts. Let eachone ask himself then,
in his Savior’s name, for his own profit, “Lovestthou the Lord? Love you the
Savior? Love you the everblessedRedeemer?” Note whatthis question was. It

was a question concerning Peter’s love. He did not say, “Simon, son of Jonas,
fear you Me.” He did not say, “Do you admire Me? Do you adore Me?” Nor
was it even a question concerning his faith. He did not say, “Simon, sonof
Jonas, believe you in Me?” But He askedhim another question, “Lovestthou
me?” I take it that is because love is the very best evidence of piety.
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Love is the brightest of all the graces, andhence it becomes the best evidence.
I do not believe love to be superior to faith, I believe faith to be the
groundwork of our salvation, I think faith to be the mother grace, and love
springs from it, faith I believe to be the root grace, and love grows from it. But
then, faith is not an evidence for brightness equal to love. Faith, if we have it,
is a sure and certainsign that we are God’s children, and so is every other
grace a sure and certain one, but many of them cannot be seenby others.
Love is a more sparkling one than any other. If I have a true fear of God in
my heart, then am I God’s child, but since fear is a grace that is more dim and
has not that halo of glory over it that love has, love becomes one of the very
best evidences and one of the easiestsigns ofdiscerning whether we are alive
to the Savior. He that lacks love must lack also every other grace in the
proportion in which he lacks love. If love be little, I believe it is a sign that
faith is little, for he that believes much loves much. If love be little, fearwill be
little, and courage for God will be little, and whatsoevergracesthere be,
though faith lies at the root of them all, yet do they so sweetlyhang on love,
that if love is weak, allthe restof the graces mostassuredlywill be so. Our
Lord askedPeter, then, that question, “Lovestthou me?” And note, again,
that He did not ask Peteranything about his doings. He did not say, “Simon
Peter, how much have you wept? How often have you done penance on
accountof your greatsin? How often have you on your knees soughtmercy at
My hand for the slight you have done to Me, and for that terrible cursing and
swearing wherewithyou did disown your Lord, whom you had declaredyou

would follow even to prison and to death?” No, it was not in reference to his
works, but in reference to the state of his heart that Jesus said, “Lovestthou
me?” To teachus this, that though works do follow after a sincere love, yet
love excels the works, and works without love are not evidences worth having.
We may have some tears, but they are not the tears that God shall accept, if
there be no love to Him. We may have some works, but they are not
acceptable works, if they are not done out of love to His person. We may
perform very many of the outward, ritual observances ofreligion, but unless
love lies at the bottom, all these things are vain and useless.The question,
then, “Lovestthou me?” is a very vital question, far more so than one that
merely concerns the outward conduct. It is a question that goes into the very
heart, and in such a way that it brings the whole heart to one question, for if
love be wrong, everything else is wrong. “Simon, sonof Jonas, lovestthou
me?” Ah! dear beloved, we have very much cause for asking ourselves this
question. If our Saviorwere no more than a man like ourselves, He might
often doubt whether we love Him at all. Let me just remind you of sundry
things which give us very greatcause to ask this question: “Lovestthou me?”
I will deal only with the last week. Come, my Christian brother, look at your
own conduct. Do not your sins make you doubt whether you do love your
Master? Come, look overthe sins of this week, whenyou were speaking with
an angry word and with a sullen look, might not your Lord have touched you,
and said, Lovest thou me?” When you were doing such-and-sucha thing,
which you right well knew in your conscience wasnot according to His
precept, might He not have said, “Lovestthou me?” Canyou not remember
the murmuring words because something had gone wrong with you in
business this week, andyou were speaking ill of the God of providence for it?
Oh, might not the loving Savior, with pity in His languid eye, have said to you,
“What speak you? Lovest you Me?” I need not stop to mention the various
sins of which you have been guilty. You have sinned, I am sure, enough to give
goodground for self-suspicion, if you did not still hang on this, that His love to
you, not your love to Him, is the sealof your discipleship. Oh, do you not
think within yourselves, “If I had loved Him more, should I have sinned so
much? And oh, canI love Him when I have broken so many of His
commandments? Have I reflectedHis glorious image to the world as I should
have done? Have I not wastedmany hours within this week that I might have

spent in winning souls to Him? Have I not thrown awaymany precious
moments in light and frivolous conversationwhichI might have spent in
earnestprayer? Oh! how many words have I uttered, which if they have not
been filthy (as I trust they have not), yet have not been such as have
ministered grace to the hearers? Oh, how many follies have I
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indulged in? How many sins have I winked at? How many crimes have I
coveredover? How have I made my Savior’s heart bleed? How have I done
dishonor to His cause? How have I in some degree disgracedmy heart’s
professionof love to Him?” Oh, ask these questions of yourself, beloved, and
say, “Is this your kindness to your Friend?” But I hope this week has been
one wherein you have sinned little openly as to the world, or even in your own
estimation, as to open acts of crime. But now let me put another question to
you, Does not your worldliness make you doubt? How have you been occupied
with the world, from Monday morning to the lasthour of Saturday night?
You have scarcelyhad time to think of Him. What corners have you pushed
your Jesus into to make room for your bales of goods? How have you stowed
Him awayinto one short five minutes, to make room for your ledger or your
day-book? How little time have you given to Him! You have been occupied
with the shop, with the exchange, and the farmyard, and you have had little
time to commune with Him! Come, just think! remember any one day this
week, canyou say that your soul always flew upward with passionate desires
to Him? Did you pant like a hart for your Savior during the week? Nay,
perhaps there was a whole day went by, and you scarcelythought of Him till
the winding up of it, and then you could only upbraid yourself, “How have I
forgottenChrist today? I have not beheld His person, I have not walkedwith
Him, I have not done as Enochdid! I knew He would come into the shop with
me, I knew He is such a blessedChrist that He would stand behind the
counter with me, I knew He was sucha joyous Lord Jesus that He would walk

through the marketwith me! but I left Him at home and forgot Him all the
day long.” Surely, surely, beloved, when you remember your worldliness, you
must say of yourself, “O Lord, you might well ask, ‘Lovestthou me?’”
Consideragain, I beseechyou, how cold you have been this week atthe mercy
seat. You have been there, for you can not live without it, you have lifted up
your heart in prayer, for you are a Christian, and prayer is as necessaryto
you as your breath. But oh! with what a poor asthmatic breath have you lived
this week!How little have you breathed? Do not you remember how hurried
was your prayer on Monday morning, how driven you were on Tuesday
night? Canyou not recollecthow languid was your heart, when on another
occasionyou were on your knees? You have had little wrestling, perhaps, this
week, little agonizing, you have had little of the prayer which prevails, you
have scarcelylaid hold of the horns of the altar, you have stoodin the distance
and seenthe smoke at the altar, but you have not laid hold of the horns of it.
Come, ask yourself, do not your prayers make you doubt? I say, honestly
before you all, my own prayers often make me doubt, and I know nothing that
gives me more grave cause ofdisquietude. When I labor to pray—oh! that
rascallydevil!—fifty thousand thoughts he tries to inject to take me off from
prayer, and when I will and must pray, oh, what an absence there is of that
burning fervent desire, and when I would come right close to God, when I
would weep my very eyes out in penitence, and would believe and take the
blessing, oh, what little faith and what little penitence there is! Verily, I have
thought that prayer has made me more unbelieving than anything else. I could
believe over the tops of my sins, but sometimes I can scarcelybelieve over the
tops of my prayers—foroh! how coldis prayer when it is cold! Of all things
that are bad when cold, I think prayer is the worst, for it becomes like a very
mockery, and insteadof warming the heart, it makes it colderthan it was
before, and seems evento dampen its life and spirit, and fills it full of doubts
whether it is really an heir of heaven and acceptedof Christ. Oh! look at your
cold prayers, Christian, and say is not your Saviorright to ask this question
very solemnly, “Simon, son of Jonas, lovestthou me?” But stop again, just one
more word for you to reflectupon. Perhaps you have had much prayer, and
this has been a time of refreshing from the presence ofthe Lord. But yet,
perhaps, you know, you have not gone so far this week as you might have done
in another exercise ofgodliness that is even better than prayer—I mean

communion and fellowship. Oh! beloved, you have this week had but little
sitting under the apple tree, and finding its shadow greatdelight to you. You
have not gone much this week to the banquet house, and had its banner of
love over you. Come, think yourself, how little have you seenyour Lord this
week!Perhaps He has been absentthe greaterpart of the time, and have you
not groaned?
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Have you not wept? Have you not sighed after Him? Sure, then, you can not
have loved Him as you should, else you could not have borne His absence, you
could not have endured it calmly, if you had the affection for Him a sanctified
spirit has for its Lord. You did have one sweetvisit from Him in the week,
and why did you let Him go? Why did you not constrainHim to abide with
you? Why did you not lay hold of the skirts of His garment and say, “Why
should You be like a wayfaring man, and as one that turns aside, and tarries
for a night? Oh! my Lord, You shall dwell with me, I will keepYou, I will
detain You in my company, I cannot let You go, I love You, and I will
constrainYou to dwell with me this night and the next day, as long as I can
keepYou, I will keepYou.” But no, you were foolish, you did let Him go. Oh!
Soul, why did you not lay hold of His arm and say, “I will not let You go.” But
you did lay hold on Him so feebly, you did suffer Him to depart so quickly, He
might have turned round and said to you, as He said to Simon, “Simon, son of
Jonas, lovestthou me?” Now, I have askedyou all these questions because I
have been asking them of myself. I feel that I must answerto nearly every one
of them, “Lord, there is great cause forme to ask myself that question,” and I
think that most of you, if you are honest to yourselves, will say the same. I do
not approve of the man that says, “I know I love Christ, and I never have a
doubt about it,” because we oftenhave reasonto doubt ourselves, a believer’s
strong faith is not a strong faith in his ownlove to Christ—it is a strong faith
in Christ’s love to him. There is no faith which always believes that it loves

Christ. Strong faith has its conflicts, and a true believer will often wrestle in
the very teeth of his own feelings. Lord, if I never did love You, nevertheless, if
I am not a saint, I am a sinner. Lord, I still believe, help You my unbelief. The
disciple can believe, when he feels no love, for he can believe that Christ loves
the soul, and when he has no evidence he can go to Christ without evidence
and lay hold of Him, just as he is, with naked faith, and still hold fast by Him.
Though he sees not His signs, though he walk in darkness and there be no
light, still may he trust in the Lord, and stay upon His God—but to be certain
at all times that we love the Lord is quite another matter, about this we have
need continually to question ourselves, and most scrupulously to examine both
the nature and the extent of our evidences. II. And now I come to the second
thing, which is A DISCREETANSWER.“Simon, sonof Jonas, lovestthou
me?” Simon gave a very goodanswer. Jesus askedhim, in the first place,
whether he loved Him better than others. Simon would not saythat, he had
once been a little proud—more than a little—and thought he was better than
the other disciples. But this time he evaded that question, he would not say
that he loved better than others. And I am sure there is no loving heart that
will think it loves even better than the leastof God’s children. I believe the
higher a man is in grace, the lower he will be in his own esteem, and he will be
the lastperson to claim any supremacy over others in the divine grace oflove
to Jesus. But mark how Simon Peter did answer, he did not answeras to the
quantity but as to the quality of his love. He would aver that he loved Christ,
but not that he loved Christ better than others. “Lord, I cannotsay how much
I love You, but You know all things, You know that I do love You. So far as I
can aver, as to the quantity of my love, I cannotsay much about it.” But just
notice, again, the discreetmanner in which Peteranswered. Some of us, if we
had been askedthat question, would have answeredfoolishly. We should have
said, “Lord, I have preachedfor You so many times this week, Lord, I have
distributed of my substance to the poor this week. Blessedbe Your name, You
have given me grace to walk humbly, faithfully, and honestly, and therefore,
Lord, I think I can say, ‘I love You.’” We should have brought forward our
goodworks before our Master, as being the evidences of our love, we should
have said, “Lord, You have seenme during this week, as Nehemiahdid of old,
‘Forgetnot my goodworks. O Lord, I thank you, I know they are Your gifts,
but I think they are proofs of my love.’” Thatwould have been a very good

answerif we had been questioned by our fellow man, and he had said, “You
do not always love your Savior,” but it would be foolishfor us to tell the
Masterthat. Peter’s answerwas wise, “Lord, You know that I love You.” You
know the Mastermight have said to Peter,
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had he appealedto his works, “Yes, you may preach, and yet not love Me, you
may pray, after a fashion, and yet not love Me, you may do all these works
and yet have no love to Me. I did not ask you what are the evidences ofyour
love, I askedyou the fact of it.” Very likely all my dear friends here would not
have answeredin the fashion I have supposed, but they would have said,
“Love You Lord? Why, my heart is all on fire towards You, I feel as if I could
go to prison and to death for You! Sometimes, when I think of You, my heart
is ravished with bliss, and when You are absent, O Lord, I moan and cry like
a dove that has lostits mate. Yes, I feelI love You, O my Christ.” But that
would have been very foolish, because althoughwe may often rejoice in our
own feelings— they are joyful things—it would not do to plead them with our
Lord, for He might answer, “Ah! you feel joyful at the mention of My name.
So, no doubt, has many a deluded one, because he had a fictitious faith, and a
fancied hope in Christ, therefore the name of Christ seemedto gladden him.
You say, ‘I have felt dull when You have been absent.’That might have been
accountedfor from natural circumstances, youhad a headache, perhaps, or
some other ailment.” “But,” you say, “I felt so happy when He was present
that I thought I could die.” Ah! in such manner Peter had spokenmany a time
before, but a sorry mess he made of it when he trusted his feelings, for he
would have sunk into the sea but for Christ, and eternally damned his soul, if
it had not been for His grace, when, with cursing and swearing he thrice
denied his Lord. But no, Peterwas wise, he did not bring forward his frames
and feelings, nor did he bring his evidences, thoughthey are goodin
themselves, he did not bring them before Christ. But, as though he shall say,

“Lord, I appeal to Your omnipotence. I am not going to tell You that the
volume of my heart must contain such-and-such matter, because there is such-
and-such a mark on its cover, for, Lord, you can read inside of it, and,
therefore, I need not tell You what the title is, nor read over to You the index
of the contents. Lord, You know that I love You.” Now, could we, this
morning, dear friends, give such an answeras that to the question? If Christ
should come here, if He were now to walk down these aisles andalong the
pews, could we appeal to His own divine Omniscience, His infallible
knowledge ofour hearts, that we all love Him? There is a testpoint betweena
hypocrite and a real Christian. If you are a hypocrite, you might say, “Lord,
my minister knows that I love You, Lord, the deacons know that I love You,
they think I do, for they have given me a ticket, the members think I love You,
for they see me sitting at Your table, my friends think I love You, for they
often hear me talk about You.” But you could not say, “Lord, You know that
I love You,” Your own heart is witness that your secretworks belie your
confession, foryou are without prayer in secret, and you can preach a twenty
minute prayer in public. You are niggardly and parsimonious in giving to the
cause ofChrist, but you can sport your name to be seen. You are an angry,
petulant creature, but when you come to the house of God, you have a pious
whine, and talk like a canting hypocrite, as if you were a very gentlemanly
man, and never seemedangry. You can take your Maker’s name in vain, but
if you hear another do it you would be mighty severe upon him. You affect to
be very pious, and yet if men knew of that widow’s house that is sticking in
your throat, and of that orphan’s patrimony which you have takenfrom him,
you would leave off trumpeting your gooddeeds. Your own heart tells you
that you are a liar before God. But you, O sincere Christian, you can welcome
your Lord’s question, and answerit with holy fear and gracious confidence.
Yes, you may welcome the question. Such a question was never put to Judas.
The Lord loved Peterso much that He was jealous over him, or He never
would have thus challengedhis attachment. And in this kind does He often
appeal to the affections of those whom He dearly loves. The response likewise
is recordedfor you, “Lord, You know all things.” Can you not look up,
though scornedby men, though even rejectedby your minister, though kept
back by the deacons, andlookedupon with disesteemby some—canyou not
look up and say, “Lord, You know all things, You know that I love You”? Do

it not in brag and bravado, but if you can do it sincerely, be happy, bless God
that He has given you a sincere love to the Savior, and ask Him to increase it
from a spark to a flame, and from a grain to a mountain. “Simon, sonof
Jonas, lovestthou me? Yea, Lord, You know all things; You know that I love
You.”
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III. And now here is A DEMONSTRATIONREQUIRED—“Feedmy lambs:
feed my sheep.” Thatwas Peter’s demonstration. It is not necessarythat it
should be our wayof showing our love. There are different ways for different
disciples. There are some who are not qualified to feed lambs, for they are
only little lambs themselves. There are some that could not feedsheep, for
they cannot at present see afaroff, they are weak in the faith and not qualified
to teachat all. They have other means, however, of showing their love to the
Savior. Let us offer a few words upon this matter. “Lovestthou me?” Then
one of the best evidences you can give is to feed My lambs. Have I two or three
little children that love and fear My name? If you want to do a deed, which
shall show that you are a true lover, and not a proud pretender, go and feed
them. Are there a few little ones whom I have purchasedwith My blood in an
infant class? Do you want to do something which shall give evidence that you
are indeed Mine? Then sit not down with the elders, dispute not in the temple,
I did that Myself, but go you, and sit down with the young orphans, and teach
them the way to the kingdom. “Feedmy lambs.” Dearlybeloved, I have been
of late perplexing myself with one thought, that our church government is not
Scriptural. It is Scriptural as far as it goes, but it is not according to the whole
of Scripture, neither do we practice many excellentthings that ought to be
practicedin our churches. We have receivedinto our midst a large number of
young persons, in the ancient churches that was what was calledthe catechism
class—Ibelieve there ought to be such a class now. The Sabbath school, I
believe, is in the Scripture, and I think there ought to be on the Sabbath

afternoon, a class ofthe young people of this church, who are members
already, to be taught by some of the elder members. Nowadays,whenwe get
the lambs, we just turn them adrift in the meadow, and there we leave them.
There are more than a hundred young people in this church who positively,
though they are members, ought not to be left alone, but some of our elders, if
we have elders, and some who ought to be ordained elders, should make it
their business to teach them further, to instruct them in the faith, and so keep
them hard and fast by the truth of Jesus Christ. If we had elders, as they had
in all the apostolic churches, this might in some degree be attended to. But
now the hands of our deacons are full, they do much of the work of the
eldership, but they cannotdo any more than they are doing, for they are
toiling hard already. I would that some here whom God has gifted, and who
have time, would spend their afternoons in taking a class ofthose who live
around them, of their younger brethren, asking them to their houses for
prayer and pious instruction, that so the lambs of the flock may be fed. By
God’s help I will take care of the sheep, I will endeavorunder God to feed
them, as well as I can, and preach the Gospelto them. You that are older in
the faith and strongerin it, need not that careful cautious feeding which is
required by the lambs. But there are many in our midst, goodpious souls who
love the Savior as much as the sheep do, but one of their complaints which I
have often heard is, “Oh! sir, I joined your church, I thought they would be all
brothers and sisters to me, and that I could speak to them, and they would
teachme and be kind to me. Oh! sir, I came and nobody spoke to me.” I say,
“Why did you not speak to them first?” “Oh!” they reply, “I did not like.”
Well, they should have liked, I am wellaware, but if we had some means of
feeding the lambs, it would be a goodway of proving to our Savior and to the
world, that we really do endeavorto follow Him. I hope some of my friends
will take that hint, and if, in concertwith me, my brethren in office will
endeavorto do something in that way, I think it will be no mean proof of their
love to Christ. “Feedmy lambs,” is a greatduty, let us try to practice it as we
are able. But, beloved, we cannotall do that, the lambs cannot feed the lambs,
the sheepcannotfeed the sheepexactly. There must be some appointed to
these offices. And therefore, in the Savior’s name, allow me to sayto some of
you, that there are different kinds of proof you must give. “Simon son of
Jonas, lovestthou me? He said unto him, Yea, Lord; you know that I love

you.” Then preserve that prayer meeting, attend to it, see that it is kept going
on, and that it does not fall to the ground. “Simon, sonof Jonas, lovestthou
me?” See to your servants, see that they go to the house of God, and instruct
them in the faith. There is a sister: Lovestthou Christ? “Yea, Lord.” Perhaps
it is as much as you cando—perhaps it
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is as much as you ought to do—to train up your children in the fear of the
Lord. It is of no use to trouble yourselves about duties that Godnever meant
you to do, and leave your own vineyard at home to itself. Just take care of
your own children; perhaps that is as good a proof as Christ wants of you that
you are feeding His lambs. You have your own office, to which Christ has
appointed you, seek not to run away from it, but endeavorto do what you can
to serve your Mastertherein. But, I beseechyou, do something to prove your
love, do not be sitting down doing nothing. Do not be folding your hands and
arms, for such people perplex a minister most, and bring the most ruin on a
church—such as do nothing. You are always the most ready to find fault. I
have marked it here, that the very people who are quarrelling with everything
are the people that are doing nothing, or are goodfor nothing. They are sure
to quarrel with everything else, becausethey are doing nothing themselves,
and therefore they have time to find fault with other people. Do not O
Christian, say that you love Christ, and yet do nothing for Him. Doing is a
goodsign of living, and he can scarcelybe alive unto God that does nothing
for God. We must let our works evidence the sincerity of our love to our
Master. “Oh!” sayyou, “but we are doing a little.” Can you do any more? If
you can, then do it. If you cannot do more, then God requires no more of you,
doing to the utmost of your ability is your bestproof, but if you can do more,
inasmuch as you keepback any part of what you can do, in that degree you
give cause to yourselves to distrust your love to Christ. Do all you can to your
very utmost, serve Him abundantly, ay, and superabundantly, seek to magnify

His name, and if ever you do too much for Christ, come and tell me of it, if
you ever do too much for Christ, tell the angels ofit—but you will never do
that. He gave Himself for you, give yourselves to Him. You see, my friends,
how I have been directing you to searchyour ownhearts, and I am almost
afraid that some of you will mistake my intention. Have I a poor soulhere
who really deplores the languor of her affections? Perhaps youhave
determined to ask yourself as many questions as you canwith a view of
reviving the languid sparks of love. Let me tell you then that the pure flame of
love must be always nourished where it was first kindled. When I admonished
you to look to yourself, it was only to detectthe evil, would you find the
remedy, you must direct your eyes, not to your own heart, but to the blessed
heart of Jesus—to the BelovedOne—to my gracious Lord and Master. And
would you be everconscious ofthe sweetswellingsup of your heart towards
Him, you can only prove this by a constantsense of His tender love to you. I
rejoice to know that the Holy Ghostis the Spirit of love, and the ministry of
the Spirit is endearedto me in nothing so much as this, that He takes ofthe
things of Jesus, andshows them to me, spreading abroad the Savior’s love in
my heart, until it constrains all my passions, awakensthe tenderestof all
tender emotions, reveals my union to Him, and occasionsmy strong desire to
serve Him. Let not love appear to you as a stern duty, or an arduous effort,
rather look to Jesus, yield yourself up to His gracious charms till you are
ravished with His beauty and preciousness.But ah! if you are slack in the
proofs you give, I shall know you are not walking with Him in holy
communion. And allow me to suggestone profitable wayof improving the
ordinance of the Lord’s Supper. That is, while you are partaking of it, my
friends, renew your dedicationto Christ. Seek this morning to give yourselves
over afreshto your Master. Saywith your hearts, what I shall now saywith
my lips, “Oh! my precious Lord Jesus, I do love You, You know I have in
some degree given myself to You up to this time, thanks to Your grace!
Blessedbe Your name, that You have acceptedthe deeds of so unworthy a
servant. O Lord, I am conscious thatI have not devoted myself to You as I
ought, I know that in many things I have come short. I will make no resolution
to live better to Your honor, but I will offer the prayer that You would help
me so to do. Oh! Lord, I give to You my health, my life, my talents, my power,
and all I have! You have bought me, and bought me wholly, then, Lord, take

me this morning, baptize me in the Spirit, let me now feel an entire affection
to Your blessedperson. May I have that love which conquers sin and purifies
the soul—thatlove which can dare danger and encounterdifficulties for Your
sake. MayI henceforthand forever be a consecratedvesselofmercy, having
been chosenof You
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from before the foundation of the world! Help me to hold fast that solemn
choice of Your service which I desire this morning, by Your grace to renew.”
And when you drink the blood of Christ, and eat His flesh spiritually—in the
type and in the emblem, then I beseechyou, let the solemn recollectionof His
agonyand suffering for you inspire you with a greaterlove, that you may be
more devoted to His service than ever. If that be done, I shall have the best of
churches, if that be done by us, the Holy Spirit helping us to carry it out, we
shall all be goodmen and true, holding fast by Him, and we shall not need to
be ashamed in the awful day. As for you who have never given yourselves to
Christ, I dare not tell you to renew a vow which you have never made, nor
dare I ask you to make a vow which you would never keep. I can only pray for
you, that God the Saviorwould be pleasedto reveal Himself unto your heart,
that “a sense of bloodbought pardon” may “dissolve your hearts of stone,”
that you may be brought to give yourselves to Him, knowing that if you have
done that, you have the best proof that He has given Himself for you. May
God Almighty bless you, those of you who depart, may He dismiss with His
blessing, and those who remain, may you receive His favor, for Christ’s sake!
Amen.

Takenfrom The C. H. Spurgeon Collection, Version1.0, Ages Software. Only
necessarychanges have beenmade, such as correcting spelling errors, some
punctuation usage, capitalizationof deity pronouns, and minimal updating of
a few archaic words. The content is unabridged. Additional Bible-based
resources are available at www.spurgeongems.org.
JOHN MACARTHUR
For this morning, we come we come to the 21stchapter of John, and this
morning we’re going to finish our study of this incredibly important gospel.
Somebody askedme if I’m always kind of glad when you come to the end of a
book and have the satisfaction that it’s completed, and the truth is I have the
very opposite reaction. I hate to let it go, because it’s likely that I’ll never be
back againto do this; and this is such an incredibly powerful life-
transforming experience, especiallyfor me, because of the intensity that I
apply to it in order to bring a messageto you on the Lord’s Day. So it’s with a
measure of sadness that we come to the end of the gospelof John, but it’s
going to be, I trust, a wonderfully helpful consummation as we look at the
final section. Thatfinal sectionof chapter 21 looks like a lot of verses, and
maybe it could be stretched out a little bit. But it is really faithful to the intent
of John not to get boggeddown here and wander off into all the world and
preach the gospeleverywhere, but to stick with the emphasis here. This
sectionis really driven right at Peter. Peter, of course, has already been high-
profile in the first half of chapter 21. Again, Peterhad acteddisobediently;
and because he was a leader, he led the other apostles who were with him into
disobedience.
You remember I told you, they were supposedto be in a mountain waiting for
the Lord, but Peterdecided that he was going to abandon his call to ministry,
if you will, and go back to fishing. There were reasons for that. He had denied
the Lord on three separate occasions. Ithink he felt inadequate. I think he felt
guilty. I think he felt weak. He also was a man who didn’t have a lot of
patience. He had not yet, along with the apostles, receivedthe Holy Spirit.

They were doubtful of their ownpower, their own ability, to sustain a
ministry he knew that he had failed so many times.
The Lord had rebuked him so many times; the others were unsure about the
future even though they had seenthe risen Christ for the third time in chapter
21 when He met them for breakfaston the shore of the lake in Galilee. So we
understand that Peterwas really vacillating in his commitment to ministry. If
the gospelendedthere we wouldn’t really know whether Peterhad an official
recommissioning, so we’re grateful for verses 15 and following, because this is
the restoration, the recalling of Peter, the reassignmentof the ministry that
God had given him through Christ at the very beginning of the ministry of
our Lord.
Back in Matthew 4:19 Jesus metthese fishermen, including Peter; told them
to drop their nets, leave it all behind and He would make them fishers of men.
You remember they all dropped everything, followedHim. This is three years-
plus later, and Peter has led his fishermen friends back to fishing in the first
part of the chapter. That’s not the Lord’s plan for them. Peteris the leader;
he needs to be restored, and behind him will come the others. God has very
significant plans for this denying, impatient, impulsive leader by the name of
Peter. And as we look at this final sectionwe’re going to see whatis essentially
a call to faithfulness for any believer, any disciple of Christ, anyone who is
going to serve the Lord. This is what a committed Christian looks like. This is
a characteristic ofcommitted Christians. To see what our Lord elicits out of
Peteris what He wants out of all of us. This is a wonderful model.
Let me begin in verse 15:“So when they had finished breakfast, Jesus saidto
Simon Peter, ‘Simon, sonof John, do you love Me more than these?’He said
to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’ And He said to him, ‘Tend
My lambs’ – or – ‘feed My lambs.’ He said to him againa secondtime,
‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’He said to Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know
that I love You.’ He said to him, ‘Shepherd My sheep.’He said to him the
third time, ‘Simon, son of John, do you love Me?’Peterwas grieved because
he said him the third time, ‘Do you love Me?’And he said to Him, “Lord, You
know all things; You know that I love You.’ Jesus saidto him, ‘Tend’ – or
feed – ‘My sheep. Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were younger, you used

to gird yourself and walk whereveryou wished; but when you grow old, you
will stretchout your hands and someone else will gird you, and bring you
where you do not wish to go.’ Now this He said, signifying by what kind of
death he would glorify God. And when He had spokenthis, He said to him,
‘Follow Me!’
“Peter, turning around, saw the disciple whom Jesus loved following them;
the one who also had leanedback on His bosom” – or chest – “atthe supper
and said, ‘Lord, who is the one who betrays You?’ So Peterseeing him said to
Jesus, ‘Lord, and what about this man?’ Jesus saidto him, ‘If I want him to
remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow Me!’ Therefore this
saying wentout among the brethren that the disciple would not die; yet Jesus
didn’t say to him that he would not die, but only, ‘If I want him to remain
until I come, what is that to you?’ This is the disciple who is testifying to these
things and wrote these things, and we know that his testimony is true. And
there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written
in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that
would be written.” Justa fascinating portion of Scripture directed at Peter.
Peteris beloved by all of us because he is like us. He has all the failures that
we are so familiar with in our own lives. He overestimates himselfand
underestimates temptation. He think he’s more committed than he is. He
thinks he loves the Lord more than he does. He thinks he can face any trial
triumphantly; finds out he can’t. By the time we get to this point, even though
he has seenthe risen Christ, he is really a brokenman.
The disciples have not yet receivedthe Holy Spirit, so they have not yet been
infused with power, and they are very familiar with their own impotence. It’s
very easyfor them, as we come to the epilogue in the gospelofJohn, to just
kind of drift back to life the wayit used to be, to go back to fishing, which this
particular group had been engagedin, with the exception of Thomas. But the
Lord is going to callhim back, and with him the rest of them, back into
significant ministry. They will subsequently be empoweredby the Holy Spirit,
and they will turn the world upside-down. But it requires a certain
commitment for them to be that useful, so here you have a call to follow
Christ. It has three components. It is a call to love Christ; it is a call to

sacrifice for Christ; it is a call to follow Christ no matter what. That is
universally the case.
For every believer, for every followerof Jesus Christ, there is the necessityof
a call to love, a call to sacrifice, and a callto obey. That is the stuff of
discipleship. So this is a very straightforward, somewhatsimple – not
simplistic, but simple in the sense that it’s very clear, “Look atwhat it means
to be a disciple.” What comes out of those three things that are very easily
articulated – love, sacrifice, and obedience – is still the factthat following
Christ is not easy. To love that way is not easy, to sacrifice that way is not
easy, and to obey that way is not easy. Salvationis not cheap, it is not easy, it
costs everything, everything. We are told by our Lord Himself in His gospel
calls that sinners are to submit completely to the Lord Jesus Christ, to find
their lives by losing them, to fulfill their lives by emptying them, to live their
lives by dying to self.
Salvationis not cheap, it is not easy. Our Lord repeatedlysaid, “It might
require you to hate your father, your mother, your sister, your brother, and
your own life. It might require you to turn from everything you possess, all
your desires, all your ambitions.” “If you want to follow Me,” – Jesus said–
“you must deny yourself, take up your cross,” – which means it may mean
death – “and follow Me.” You need to count the cost, and the costcould be
your life. The costwill be your life, and maybe your death. This is a very, very
extreme call to follow a man.
Why would people do this? Jesus was actuallycalling for people to become
His slave, to abandon their own ambition, desire, control; become slaves ofthe
Lord Jesus Christ. That is extreme. What would motivate that? Why would
someone do that? What is the compelling desire that is going to cause me or
you or anybody else to sacrifice my life for Christ, to spend my life obeying
Him? What’s the motive? Well, that’s where we begin.
The motive is love. That is the only powerthat can motivate this kind of
devotion. I think we understand that even on a human level that people who
love greatly, sacrifice greatly. People who love greatlygive up things. Love is a
powerful, powerful emotion, powerful motivation.

Even earthly love is so powerful it can draw the best out of people, and it can
also draw the worst. It is love that makes people sacrifice everything to live
with one personthe rest of their life. It is love that is so powerful it can
destroy a family. It can destroy a marriage;it does all the time. It can destroy
a life. It can lead to alcoholism, drugs, suicide, murder.
Love is a powerful emotion on a human level. It is so powerful that people
sacrifice their own lives for it on the positive side, giving up their life for the
one they love, giving up their life, if need be, for the children. Some have such
greatlove for causes that are even beyond personalcauses, thatthey will give
their lives for their nation, for their neighbors.
In John 15:13, Jesus said, “Greaterlove has no one than this, that one lay
down his life for his philn, the ones He loves.” People die for love. It is a
powerful, powerful motivation. And as far as Christians are concerned,
according to 2 Corinthians 5:14, it is the love that we have for the Lord that
controls us, that’s what Paul said. It is that love that controls us. Some of the
translations of 2 Corinthians 5:14 say: constrains us, motivates us, drives us.
Reallyyou follow your love, you follow your love, the things you love; you
follow those things in life, whateverthey be, even objects that you love,
experiences that you love, as well as people that you love.
Love is a powerful, powerful motivator, more powerful than any other. And
when you move it into the spiritual dimension and the divine world, love is
what causes us to serve the Lord in an extreme actof dedication. In fact, we
go to the Old Testament, whatdo we hear our responsibility is? It is this,
reiteratedin Matthew 22:37 by our Lord Himself: “You are to love the Lord
your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.” That in itself sums up
the law. You canhave the law of God.
All His laws in the Old Testamentdirectedtoward how we respond to Him.
You can condense them into the first half of the Decalogue,whichrelates to
how we treat God, or you can condense them once more into one statement:
“You love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength.”
That is how you are to live, you are to live a life of love. The Bible never calls

for a life of legalism, a life of law, a life of dread, a life of fear; it always calls
for us to love God.
And then the secondpart of that greatcommand like it is, “Love your
neighbor as yourself.” That fulfills the secondhalf of the Decalogue andall the
other laws that God gave that deal with human relationships. Love is the
driving powerin life. It is the driving power in the kingdom as well.
Back in Deuteronomy, when our Lord was reiterating His requirements for
His people as they were on the brink of going into the PromisedLand, chapter
6, verse 4, He says, “Hear, O Israel!The Lord is our God, the Lord is one!
You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul
and with all your might. These words, which I am commanding you today,
shall be on your heart. You shall teachthem diligently to your sons, talk of
them when you sit in your house, when you walk by the way, when you lie
down, when you rise up. Bind them as a sign on your hand and on the front of
your forehead. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates.”
What are you writing? “The Lord is one and you shall love the Lord your God
with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your might.” That’s what you
teachyour children. That is the summation of all that should be said about
our relationship to God.
Listen to the 10th chapter of Deuteronomy, verse 12:“Now, Israel, whatdoes
the Lord your God require from you, but to fear the Lord your God, to walk
in all His ways and love Him, and to serve the Lord your God with all your
heart, with all your soul.” Do you see the totality of that commitment? Every
faculty, every aspectofyour being is to be loving God. And then as a result,
“If you love God with all your heart and all your soul, you will keepthe
Lord’s commandments and statutes which I am commanding you today for
good.”
Again, in chapter 11, “You shall” – verse 1 – “therefore love the Lord your
God, and always keepHis charge, His statutes, His ordinances, and His
commandments.” That’s Old Testament. It’s about loving God. That’s what
God calledthe world to do, to love Him, to love Him.

Our Lord makes it clearin the 14th chapter of John. As you remember, on the
night before His crucifixion in the upper room, verse 15, John 14, He says to
the disciples and to all of us, “If you love Me, you’ll keepMy
commandments.” Verse 21, “He who has My commandments and keeps them
is the one who loves Me; and he who loves Me will be loved by My Father, and
I will love him and disclose Myselfto him.” Verse 23, “If anyone loves Me,
he’ll keepMy word. My Father will love him; We will come to him and Our
abode with him.” Verse 28, “If you loved Me, you would have rejoice because
I go to the Father.”
It’s all about love. From the beginning, from the Mosaic revelationto the very
New Testamentand all through the New Testament, and the summation of all
that the apostles write, we are called to love God with all our faculties. It’s
about loving Him.
John makes obviously a major point of this when he writes his epistles. His
epistles are about loving God in the same way, and John extends them from
not only loving God, but loving brothers. He does that in chapter 2, chapter3,
chapter 4, chapter5 of 1 John. So when we talk about what characterizes
believers, dedicatedbelievers, it begins by saying they are driven by
compelling love for Christ, compelling love for Christ.
Love is the powerof obedience. Love is the power of duty. Love is the power
of service. Love is the power of sacrifice. Love is the power of worship. Love is
the powerof fellowship. Love is everything. So you see that in the opening
verses, verses 15 to 17, and our Lord’s dialogue with the apostle Peter. Here is
a man who needs a total restoration.
Now somebody might say, “You know, he’s going to have to have six weeks of
therapy to get him back to where he needs to be. There’s gotto be a process
here. There’s gotto be some kind of path. There’s gotto be some kind of
course he needs to run. There have to be things he needs to learn.
Sanctificationis a very complicatedthing to get him back on track. We’ve got
to have him deal with a lot of his past, and plow through and figure things out,
and assessthings, and find a way forward.”

No. The Lord asks him one question three times: “Do you love Me? Do you
love Me?” becauseyou will follow what you love. You will serve what you
love. You will sacrifice for what you love, who you love. That’s the question.
So for us to understand dedication commitment in the way that our Lord
explains it here in the illustration with Peter, we start by understanding that a
committed Christian lives a life compelledby love for Christ. This is very
practical. It’s a wonderful way to end this glorious gospelofJohn. It almost
seems, I suppose, like we’ve come down off this incredible high of the
resurrection, post resurrectionappearances,and now we’re down with the
stumbling and bumbling people in the final chapter. But you have to
understand that the glory of Christ is going to be placed in the hands of these
stumbling, bumbling people; that this treasure, as Paul says, is in earthen
vessels. And so we need to learn at the very end of this the kind of people that
God is depending on to proclaim the glory of this gospel.
Now look, Peteroverestimatedhimself a lot. But even in the upper room on
Thursday night before the crucifixion, Jesus was talking about the fact that
He was going to be leaving, verse 33:“Little children,” – John 13 – “I’m with
you a little while longer. You’ll seek Me. As I said to the Jews, Ialso say to
you, ‘Where I’m going, you can’t come.’A new commandment I give you, that
you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you love one another. By
this all men will know that you’re My disciples, if you have love for one
another.” That is not only the essenceofour relationship with God, it’s the
essenceofour relationship with eachother.
“Simon Petersaid to Him, ‘Lord, where are You going?’Jesus answered,
‘Where I go, you cannot follow Me now; but you will follow later.’ Petersaid
to Him, ‘Lord, why canI not follow You right now? I will lay down my life for
You.’ Jesus answered, ‘Will you lay down your life for Me? Truly, truly, I say
to you, a roosterwill not crow until you deny Me three times.’” And he did.
Three separate occasions, andin eachof the three occasions, there were
multiple denials. All of them happened that one night at the trial of Jesus in
the house of the high priest. Peterhad alreadyseenChrist twice, and a third
time on the shore of Galilee, so he knew He was alive. But he still had serious

doubts about himself, and our Lord had to go to the core of the issue. He had
been told to go to Galilee and wait for the Lord. Instead, he went up there for
a little while and then went back to his old career, and took all his friends with
him.
“Let’s go back to fishing.” That’s what they did before it all began. “We know
how to do that; let’s go back and do that.” That wasn’tGod’s plan for them.
That wasn’t the Lord’s will. So Peterneededto be restored, and we need to
know what happens to Peterat the end of the story.
This is a public restoration, by the way, because he’s not alone here. Back in
verse 2 you have a list of all of the other disciples who were with him: Thomas,
Nathanael, James and John, Philip and Andrew most likely – the crew, for the
most part, that were the fishermen, with the addition of Thomas. And our
Lord has prepared breakfastfor them after the wonderful, miraculous catch
of fish, and it’s now time to setthe standard for discipleship and He’s going to
start with Peter. They’ve all been disobedient; Peter’s going to be the
example.
Verse 15: “When they had finished breakfast, Jesus saidto Simon Peter,” – by
the way, John always refers to him as Simon Peter, which kind of gives us the
whole picture before and after. I think there may be one exception to that in
John’s gospel. Buthe choosesto call him Simon Peter. “But Jesus says to him,
‘Simon, son of John.’”
Now that must have gottenhis attention. That was his name before he met the
Lord, and the Lord had given him another name. “You used to be Simon, now
you’re Peter.” Peterwas the Lord’s name for him. But Peterhad fallen so far
that the Lord is using his old name, because he’s acting like his old self. This is
like when you did something wrong and your mother calledyou by your
entire name.
This must have been a shock. Peterdidn’t necessarilywant to be pointed out,
he would like to have blended into the group. But he is pointed out, the Lord
calls him out, and three times askedhim if he loves Him, one for eachoccasion
of denial. For eachtime that he denied Him, he gets an opportunity to be
restored. And here is the restoration, it’s as simple as this: “Simon, son of

John,” – or Jonas – “do you love Me?” That’s the question. That’s always the
question to ask a disobedient believer, because whatis being manifest in any
act of disobedience is love. And when you actdisobediently, you’re declaring
love for something other than Christ, and Peterhad done that.
So He says, “Do you love Me more than these?” Thesewhat, these men? No,
because they had all done the same thing. They were all guilty of a loveless
disobedience. He means nets, boats, fish. “Do you love Me more than these
things that go with your former life? Are you prepared to give this up, to
abandon all your successes, your chosen career?Are you willing to give it all
up? Do you love Me enough to do that?”
And the word He uses is agapaó. That’s that high love – the noblest, purest,
best; the love of the will. We talk about agape love; that’s a noun form of it. It
is love in its fullest sense, love in its deepestsense, love in its greatestsense,
love, I guess you could say, in its purest form – divine love.
“Do you really love Me, Peter, at the highestlevel?” That is the critical
question. And that is the key to commitment. It was John Calvin who said,
“No man will steadilypersevere in the discharge ofhis ministry unless the love
of Christ shall reign in his heart.”
“Do you love Me enough to live for Me? Do you love Me enough to walk away
from this? Are you constrainedby loving Me? Do you have a love for Me” – in
the words of Paul in Ephesians 6:24 – “that is incorruptible love? Do you
really love Me in the fullest sense?”
So Peter replies, “He saidto Him, ‘Yes, Lord; You know that I love You.’”
But he changedthe word. Jesus usedthe word agapaó,Peterusedthe word
phileó, he dropped down a notch. Phileó is a kind of brotherly love, kind of
warm affection, a friendship love.
Look, Petercouldn’t say, “Yes, You know that I love You at the highestlevel
of love.” That just wouldn’t fly. I mean he had denied Him, and now He had
disobeyed Him, and He had enough sense not to be an absolute hypocrite and
say, “Of course, I love You at the highestlevel.” So he says, “Lord, I have
greataffectionfor You.” He dared not claim agapaó, but he did claim phileó.

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