Love without Holiness
Revelation 2:19 (ESV)
I know your deeds, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
The church in Thyatira was known for its love, faith, and good works. They were passionate, active, and compassionate. But Jesus wasn’t just measuring activity; He was measuring purity. Their love had grown, but their holiness had weakened. It’s possible to be full of good intentions and still be far from the truth. Love that isn’t anchored in holiness becomes human sympathy rather than divine compassion. When we trade conviction for comfort, we end up loving people straight into the same bondage Christ came to free them from.
Jesus didn’t rebuke Thyatira for what they were doing right; He affirmed it. But He also reminded them that love without holiness is incomplete. True love doesn’t ignore sin; it confronts it with grace. The cross is the clearest picture of this balance. God’s holiness demanded justice, and His love provided it. In other words, holiness is not the absence of love; it’s love perfected.
In a culture that celebrates tolerance over truth, the Church must rediscover what it means to love and lead. We can’t call people to Christ if we’re afraid of offending the culture. Real love tells the truth, even when it costs something. Jesus didn’t come to make us comfortable; He came to make us holy. And holiness will always cost us more than comfort ever will.
Prayer:
Lord, teach me to love the way You love, full of grace yet full of truth. Guard my heart from becoming tolerant of sin under the disguise of compassion. Help me to stand for holiness while extending mercy to others. May my life reflect Your purity and Your patience in everything I do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
I know your deeds, your love and faith and service and patient endurance, and that your latter works exceed the first.
The church in Thyatira was known for its love, faith, and good works. They were passionate, active, and compassionate. But Jesus wasn’t just measuring activity; He was measuring purity. Their love had grown, but their holiness had weakened. It’s possible to be full of good intentions and still be far from the truth. Love that isn’t anchored in holiness becomes human sympathy rather than divine compassion. When we trade conviction for comfort, we end up loving people straight into the same bondage Christ came to free them from.
Jesus didn’t rebuke Thyatira for what they were doing right; He affirmed it. But He also reminded them that love without holiness is incomplete. True love doesn’t ignore sin; it confronts it with grace. The cross is the clearest picture of this balance. God’s holiness demanded justice, and His love provided it. In other words, holiness is not the absence of love; it’s love perfected.
In a culture that celebrates tolerance over truth, the Church must rediscover what it means to love and lead. We can’t call people to Christ if we’re afraid of offending the culture. Real love tells the truth, even when it costs something. Jesus didn’t come to make us comfortable; He came to make us holy. And holiness will always cost us more than comfort ever will.
Prayer:
Lord, teach me to love the way You love, full of grace yet full of truth. Guard my heart from becoming tolerant of sin under the disguise of compassion. Help me to stand for holiness while extending mercy to others. May my life reflect Your purity and Your patience in everything I do. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
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