Yes — love is central to Christianity because it sent Christ to the cross and it is the guiding force for everything a believer does.
Les Feldick teaches that the cross was the epitome of God's love, and that same love is imparted to believers. Love keeps believers within God's commandments, makes their sacrifices meaningful, and is the greatest of the three abiding Christian virtues in 1 Corinthians 13.
1 Corinthians 13:13 — Shows that love, or charity, is the greatest of the enduring Christian virtues.
Romans 13:10 — Shows that love toward one's neighbor fulfills the law.
The Bible presents love as the greatest of the lasting Christian graces. In 1 Corinthians 13:3, Paul says that even if a person gives all his goods to feed the poor and gives his body to be burned, it profits nothing without charity. First Corinthians 13:13 then declares, "And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity." Scripture also connects love with obedience to the law. Romans 13:10 says, "Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Love is also the motive behind Christ's saving work. Second Corinthians 5:14 says, "For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead." Romans 15:2-3 tells believers to please their neighbor for edification and points to Christ, who pleased not Himself.
Les Feldick teaches that love is not just one Christian virtue among others; it is the foundation of the entire Christian faith. He points to the cross as the clearest evidence, asking, "What put Christ on the cross? Love" (Clip 3). God's love for lost mankind was the motivating force behind Christ's death, and that love is the same love imparted to believers (Clips 2 and 3). In his teaching on 1 Corinthians 13, Les says that without this agape love even the most extreme sacrifices are worthless, and that everything believers say, think, and do with family, neighbors, and business partners must be based on love (Clip 4). Les also stresses the practical, everyday role of love. Love for God and love for other people is what keeps believers within the guidelines of God's commandments (Clip 1). When love is operating, a believer will not avenge a neighbor but will leave that to God (Clip 3). Of faith, hope, and love, Les says love is the greatest, and without love it is impossible to please God (Clip 5). Christ's own motivating love led Him to choose the cross (Clip 6), and the love of Christ still constrains and drives believers in their daily walk (Clip 7). This love is not the erotic love Hollywood promotes; it is God-centered agape love, which only true believers can truly exercise (Clip 4).
Les Feldick says the cross was the epitome of love. "What put Christ on the cross? Love" (Clip 3). It was His love for lost mankind that set His eyes as flint to the cross and caused God to pour out mercy at Calvary (Clip 3). The whole crux of the work of the cross was the love of God showered on mankind when heaven's best was sent to the cross (Clip 2). Christ could have rejected it, but out of motivating love He chose to go to the cross and purchase salvation (Clip 6). This same love constrains believers in their daily walk (Clip 7).
Les pictures the believer as confined by two lines: love for God and love for other people. These keep him within the guidelines of God's commandments (Clip 1). When love is operating, a believer cannot harm his neighbor and will not take vengeance; he leaves that to God (Clip 3). Paul also says to please one's neighbor for his good to edification, and Les points to Christ as the primary example of not pleasing Himself (Clip 6). Everything a believer says, thinks, and does in relation to family, wife, neighbors, and business partners must be based on this premise of love (Clip 4).
Les draws on 1 Corinthians 13 to show that love outranks even the most impressive acts. Giving all goods to feed the poor or giving one's body to be burned is nothing without love (Clip 4). Of faith, hope, and love, Les says love is the greatest, and without love it is impossible to please God (Clip 5). He even connects faith to love: since love "believeth all things," and the other word for believe is faith, our faith is based on love (Clip 2).
Should You Eat Meat Offered to Idols? 1 Corinthians 8 Explained
Hello and welcome to Through the Bible with Les Feldick. An Oklahoma rancher and farmer, Les Feldick has been teaching homestyle Bible classes for 20 years in Iowa, Oklahoma, and Texas. Les Feldick's unique style of Bible teaching has made the books of the Bible come to life. When Les is teaching, it's so interesting that people say time just seems to fly by. And now, here is Les Feldick.
Love Keeps Believers in the Straight and Narrow
Les teaches that love for God and love for other people is what confines believers within the guidelines of God's commandments.
The Cross as the Crux of God's Love
Les explains that the whole crux of the work of the cross was God's love, and that faith itself is based on love.
Love Fulfills the Law
Les says love is the fulfilling of the law, that love nailed Christ to the cross, and that this love becomes the believer's attitude toward others, even enemies.
Without Love Everything Is Nothing
Les teaches that even total self-sacrifice is worthless without love, and that agape love must be the premise for all family, neighbor, and business relationships — and only true believers can exercise it.
Love Is the Greatest
Les says love is the greatest of faith, hope, and love, and that without love it is impossible to please God.
Christ's Motivating Love
Les says Christ died because He loved mankind; out of that motivating love He chose the cross, and He is the example of pleasing one's neighbor for edification.
The Love of Christ Constrains Us
Les teaches that the love of Christ constrains and drives believers, making it part of the fundamentals of everyday Christian living.
1 Corinthians 13:3: And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, and have not charity, it profiteth me nothing.
Paul shows that even the most extreme sacrifices are worthless if love is absent.
1 Corinthians 13:13: And now abideth faith, hope, charity, these three; but the greatest of these is charity.
Scripture ranks love above faith and hope as the greatest enduring virtue.
Romans 13:10: Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
Love toward one's neighbor is what fulfills the law.
2 Corinthians 5:14: For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead:
Christ's love is the constraining motive behind the believer's new life.
Romans 15:2: Let every one of us please his neighbour for his good to edification.
Believers are told to love their neighbor in a way that builds him up in the Christian life.
Romans 15:3: For even Christ pleased not himself; but, as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproach thee fell on me.
Christ's self-giving love is held up as the believer's example.
Les Feldick says that of faith, hope, and love, love is the greatest, and without love it is impossible to please God (Clip 5). Scripture confirms this in 1 Corinthians 13:13, where love is called the greatest of the three.
Les Feldick emphasizes that the love described in 1 Corinthians 13 is not the erotic love Hollywood promotes. It is agape love, which is God-centered, and only true believers can really have and exercise it; the unsaved world cannot comprehend it (Clip 4).
Les says it was Christ's love for lost mankind that set His face like flint toward the cross. Love nailed Him there and caused God to pour out mercy at the cross (Clip 3). Christ chose out of motivating love to go to the cross and purchase salvation (Clip 6).
If love is operating, a believer will not do his neighbor harm or avenge him, but will leave that to God (Clip 3). Paul also says to please one's neighbor for his good to edification, and Les points to Christ as the example (Clip 6).
Watch the Teaching: Should You Eat Meat Offered to Idols? 1 Corinthians 8 Explained