Walk with this mental-attitude love

III John 1: [5] Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest to the brethren, and to strangers;

[6] Which have borne witness of thy charity before the church: whom if thou bring forward on their journey after a godly sort, thou shalt do well:

"Charity is not exclusively toward the brethren. Charity is a word that talks about the labor of love; the activities that come out of love and the motivation that comes when the love of Christ constrains us. Charity is that love in action and it's the epitome of maturity in the Christian life," explains Richard Jordan.

"Charity is love toward others that, to use I Corinthians 13 terminology, 'suffers long' with them. It's kind, doesn't behave it unseemly with other brethren, doesn't seek to get its own way, is not easily provoked, doesn't quickly assign evil to others, that rejoices not in the iniquity of others, that bears and believes and hopes and endures. It's the grace and the maturity that proves the Believer to be perfected, matured in his faith and its practice.

"It's a special word that's used on purpose and the emphasis is to demonstrate the working of Christian maturity among one another. Really, it's the thing that holds the work of the ministry together.

"Don't buy into this agape, phileo stuff so quickly; it doesn't work. And don't just flippantly say 'love' when you see the word charity in the Bible, because what you're doing is missing a real special nuance that the translators are trying to get you to see in special passages about the labor of love.

Philippians 2: [1] If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies,

[2] Fulfil ye my joy, that ye be likeminded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind.
[3] Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves.

"The word charity is far more the word esteem. The great definition of the word love is affection and esteem but the term in Philippians 2 is the mental attitude of value and esteem and that's really what you're after. Once you value and esteem someone you become affectionate toward them."

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“You have not lived today until you have done something for someone who can never repay you,” said John Bunyan. "It is profitable for Christians to be often calling to mind the very beginnings of grace with their souls.”

“Charity is the motivation of the love of Christ and not all these other kinds of things constraining us in our Christian life.

“In Colossians 3, Paul says charity is the ‘bond of perfectness.’ It’s the thing that binds maturity together. When you have perfected saints, what binds them is the fact that they instinctively look out for the benefit of the other, not for themselves.

“To walk charitably with a saint means to put his needs, his concerns above your own. Now, where does the motivation for that come from? The motivation is an understanding of God’s charity to us. Charity has to do with the motivation behind your good works.

“Charity isn’t a braggard, it’s not proud, it’s not covetous, doth not behave itself unseemly. It’s patient and suffereth long.

“Boy, you read those things and you think, ‘Wow! That’s quite a mental attitude to have!’

“Paul says ‘charity never faileth.’ So what charity is is a complete lifestyle that puts the interests of the other ahead of your own.

“I Timothy 1:5 says, ‘Now the end of the commandment is charity out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned.’

“The heart is the mentality of your soul. It’s single-minded; it’s a heart that just goes on sound doctrine. It’s not living on emotions; it’s living on the application of the truth of God’s Word rightly divided.

“We’re to have a system of norms and standards that reflects God’s thinking. You’re able to walk by faith and not by sight. That verse is a beautiful description of a mature Christian walk. And not just an individual walking that way, but a group of people gathered together and working together in the work of the ministry.

“Paul told the Corinthians, ‘As unknown and yet well known.’ I love that verse because that’s exactly what you’re . . . your spiritual power and influence far outweighs your appearance.

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“When Paul talks about ‘in spirit,’ that’s the idea of your disposition; your attitude that you do something by.

“In Ephesians 1:17, for example, he writes, ‘That the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of him.’

“He’s not talking about the Holy Spirit. That’s not the initial giving; it’s not a later ‘re-giving.’

“He talks about the spirit in the sense of the ‘spirit of slumber,’ or the ‘spirit of bondage.’ When you have the spirit of slumber, you have this disposition of being asleep at the switch. Bondage is the disposition of being controlled.

“Paul’s saying, ‘I want you to have the spirit of wisdom and revelation God has given you right here in this text. You get it in the Book.’

“The attitude with which you do things affects an awful lot. He’s saying, ‘I want you to walk around with this attitude and disposition that’s produced by understanding this great cosmic plan God has in His Son.’ ”