Video Notes: 

• This section can be divided into three sections. The first, 9-13, addresses what love looks like between believers. The second, 17-21 addresses how Christians should treat non-Christians. 13b-16 covers some of each and some other things.
• The section starts with a statement, not a command. There’s no verb in the Greek. It can be translated as a command, but it seems more likely that it’s an opening title that is descriptive of love, rather than a command similar to 1 Corinthians 13.
• Tomorrow, we’ll talk about love, authentic love, but today let’s cover the second phrase, “Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.”
  • The better translation is continuing the description of love. “Love is genuine, abhorring what is evil and clinging to what is good.”
  • Abhor conveys a deep hatred and revulsion, even a violent hatred.
    • Sometimes we desire what is evil, but that’s something that’s a part of our sinful nature and we all understand what’s going on to some extent. Our best reaction is to recognize what is evil and our sinful desire for it and then resist that desire with prayer and, perhaps other practical efforts, like asking for help, setting up boundaries, etc.
    • There is something less obvious, though. That is our complacency with evil. We’re just kind of ok with it. “I wouldn’t do that, but feel free. It’s your life.”
    • Love isn’t ambivalent towards evil, it abhors it. It hates it. It can’t stand to see it or be a part of it. Love opposes that evil.
    • This can be a difficult thing because there is a lot of evil in the world and we only have so much time or emotional energy. We can pray, though. We can pray not only about the specific evil we see, but also that God would help us to see good and evil as He does. This may lead us to act.
  • While we abhor what is evil, we also cling to what is good.
    • The word for “cling” is elsewhere used in reference to marital or spiritual union. The idea is deeply and intimately holding on to what is good, what is of God.
    • Similar to the evil, this can be overwhelming, but through prayer and God’s guidance, we may find that there are certain aspects of good that we continually pray about, support, and do.
    • This can also be difficult because what is good is not always what we (or others) want. 
  • We can also express ourselves about what is good and evil.
    • “The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing.” 
  • Love won’t stay silent or stand by.
• Of course, all this implies we know what is good and what is evil. This is can also be challenging. The world around us often calls what is good evil and evil good. Isaiah 5:20
  • So, we must turn to the source of good, God, and His Word. This isn’t as simple as listening to a pastor or theologian, though, as there are pastors who call good evil and evil good, who seek to simply tell people what they want to hear. 2 Timothy 4:3
  • The more we know the Bible, the better we are at knowing good and evil and the better we are at identifying when a church leader is just tickling our ears.
  • The more we know what is good and what is evil from God’s Word, the more we can pray about, the more we can talk about it, the more we can do something about it.
• So, let us love one another genuinely abhorring what is evil and clinging to what is good.