Prayer Meeting 3/9/2024

Living Like A Christian Is To Love Like God - Part 1

(Hugh Binning)

Watch the Full Sermon HERE.

Well tonight I want to move on from the work of Thomas Manton on his treatise on self-denial. But I want to stay in a similar theme, and also in the vicinity of the subject of love.

Tonight, and over at least the next time we meet, I want to bring a teaching from not a puritan, but by Scottish covenanter: Hugh Binning, who wrote a treatise on ‘Christian Love’.

As we haven’t spoken of Binning before during these meetings and teachings, let me give you a quick biography of Binning.

Hugh Binning was born in 1627 in Dalveen, Ayrshire. Born into wealth; he had a wonderful education where he truly excelled.

Wait till you hear this: He went to university at age 13 to study philosophy in Glasgow. By the age of 18 he was appointed professor of philosophy, due to all other applicants being too intimidated by Binning’s intellect to have him as a student. While teaching as a professor at Glasgow university he studied theology. He was known as a phenomenal teacher where his lectures where packed with students.

He was ordained in 1650, and became minster of Govan church. For the next three years he taught God’s Word and preached with both a depth and practicality that made him a much admired speaker.

His preaching was very informative, warm, and often very experiential. He had a gift of tapping into the conscience of his listeners.

Sadly, Binning died at the age of a mere 26 years old, of tuberculosis. His writing was prolific, but not one was published until he had died.

Tonight, as I said, I want to delve into his treatise on ‘Christian Love’. Before we do, let’s read a puritan prayer. Which is from ‘The Valley Of Vision’ page 250 on the leather version and page 137 of the paperback, entitled ‘Christian Love’. I’m not saying Binning wrote this, but he could have.

O Lover of the loveless, It is thy will that I should love thee with heart, soul, mind, strength and my neighbour as myself. But I am not sufficient for these things. There is by nature no pure love in my soul; Every affection in me is turned from thee; I am bound, as slave to lust, I cannot love thee, lovely as thou art, until thou dost set me free. By grace I am thy freeman and would serve thee, for I believe thou art my God in Jesus, and that through him I am redeemed and my sins are forgiven. With this freedom I would always obey thee, but I cannot walk in liberty, any more than I could first attain it, of myself. May thy Spirit draw me nearer to thee and thy ways. Thou art the end of all means, for if they lead me not to thee, I go away empty. Order all my ways by thy holy Word and make thy commandments the joy of my heart, that by them I may have happy converse with thee. May I grow in thy love and manifest it to mankind. Spirit of love, make me like the loving Jesus; give me his benevolent temper, his beneficent actions that I may shine before men to thy glory. The more thou doest in love in me and by me, humble me the more; keep me meek, lowly, and always ready to give thee honour. 

Binning draws from many verses in his treatise, but the anchor verses are:

Matthew 22:37-39 (ESV)

And he said to him, “you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: you shall love your neighbour as yourself.”

And John 13:34-35 (NKJV)

“A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

Binning starts by writing about divine love and how all love springs from that love. All love of others springs from our love of God. Which ties in from what I’ve said recently: ‘can love be love at all if it’s not holy?’ And of course, Binning again confirms that as a ‘no’.

Binning writes:

Sin has cut in pieces that divine love that knit man to God.

He then adds:

And in dissolving of this hath loosed that link of human society, love to our neighbour, and now all is rents, rags, and distractions, because self-love hath usurped the throne. The unity of the world of mankind is dissolved.

We could, and you could, spend days just reflecting on that statement alone from Binning. What is he saying (and what I portray here, I have to say will be weaker than his wonderful capture) - but just to help you grasp it, as you have no time at the moment to reflect on what I just read….

Binning is saying that our lack of love for one another, and our obsession with self, and our own desire to self-love is caused by our separation from God. Sin had separated us from God and that separation results in us not being able to love anyone but self. And put self on the throne.

The opposite is that when we are connected to God, when we are grafted back in, and Christ becomes our connection back to Christ, then love for one another and self-obsession goes, and our divine purpose re-engages. Therefore to be saved and be self-obsessed, and not to love, is truly going against all we are in Christ. It shouldn’t be dissolved but re-birthed.

For love not to be the law in which we flow and live from, is to truly fight against our very saved divine nature. However, as we know, we still must deal with indwelling sin, that self-love that is now a part of us, that is always trying to sabotage that purity of love.

Binning writes:

If the love of God and one another had kept the throne, there had been a coordination and co-working of all men in their actions for God’s glory and the common good of man.But now self-love having enthroned itself, every man is for himself and strives by all means to make a concurrence of all things to his own interests and designs.

You see, when we don’t have God, we truly don’t have each other. It’s not that I can’t love you beyond my love for myself, which is a truly evil, and yet very common teaching. It’s that I can’t love you beyond my love of God.

It’s the love of God in me that makes me one with a fellow believer and allows me, and drives me, and is part of that nature to not self-serve but to love in a godly way. My love for you is born from the same branch as my love for God.

Binning writes:

The first principle of love would have made all men’s actions and course flow into one ocean of divine glory and mutual edification.

Meaning: ‘loving our God with all our heart and mind and soul’ will make loving others an inseparable addition.

It is Jesus that restores this lost law and ordinance into our souls and heart. Jesus is the restorer of that which has been broken and breached.

We are not saved to love people. We are saved to be reunited with God, to be restored to our rightful nature, and that nature leads to having the loving nature of Christ; Christlike love.

The simple truth is brothers and sisters, to be not alright with man, is to be not alright with God. One flows in the same river, along the same path.

1 John 4:20-21

If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? And this commandment we have from him: that he who loves God must love his brother also.

John 13:35

“By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”

People will know you’re a believer, by your love of others. Therefore, to not love is to be separate from God.

We truly bring God glory when we love others as He has loved us. When we forgive, we bring God glory. When we are patient to others we bring God glory. When we build others up we bring God glory. When we are merciful we bring God glory. When we are kind we bring God glory. When we bless those who persecute us, we bring glory to God.

Why? Because they are attributes of the very nature of God.

Well, that is scraping the first chapter of Binning’s treatise. Where really, he is laying a solid foundation.

Before we close, I’m just going to touch on some things Binning writes of in chapter two, firstly on humility.

Binning writes:

Love has a humble mind, else it could not stoop and condescend to others of low degree, therefore Christ exhorts above all to lowliness.

Binning then quotes: Matthew 11:

Matthew 11:28-30

“Come to me, all you who labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”

Binning then writes:

If a man be not lowly to sit down below offences and infirmities, his love cannot rise above them. Self-love is the greatest enemy to true Christian love.

If we think of ourselves too highly, how can we ever come down to the level of loving others who don’t either make us happy, or aid our plight?

We only see us in the equation, when pride and self runs the show.

Binning says:

Pride is the mother of passion, humbleness the mother of meekness.

Also, this which I love

An unmeek spirit is like a boiling pot, it troubles itself and annoys others.

Isn’t that the case, that any lack of humility doesn’t just become poison that embitters ourselves, but it torments and force-feeds others with prideful expectations? Rather than humbly lowering ourselves to the needs of others, and being patient (long suffering: μακροθυμέω – ‘Makrothomeo’).

Self-love has no enduring patience, it needs it, and it needs it now, it has no time to sit lowly and wait, and serve and love and build up.

I will conclude with what I read of Binning on Sunday when is quoted him in saying:

Pride is a self-admirer, and despises others, and to care for itself, it does not care to displease others.

Binning goes on:

There is nothing so incomparable in humans of Christian society so apt to alienate others affections. For the more we take of our own affections to ourselves we shall have less from others.

He concludes:

Oh these golden rules of Christian walking.

There is a better way for us as believers to walk. There is a greater thing to seek above any other thing.

Paul tells the Corinthians that at the end of chapter 12, before he enters into his instruction on love in chapter 13.

1 Corinthians 12:31

But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way.

Earnestly desire:  Ζηλόω - zela-o – meaning: zeal.

To hold onto to it above any other thing. It means to exert oneself so intently that you could never be torn from it.

We must put it above any pain, want, loss, offence, gift, knowledge, desires.

How easily is love snatched from you, by your own self-love, by your own pride, by your own lack of humility.

Let’s be people that hold tight to love, and earnestly fight for it never to be torn from our hearts or spirits.

Some of us just give in way too easily to self. And in that, we stop pleasing and walking in the ways of Christ.

Binning says:

We are called to be priests to people.

Unfortunately, we are anything but at times.

Amen.