"Unseemly" --- Inappropriate --- Rude --- Uncouth --- Improper --- Unbecoming --- Tasteless --- Unsuitable --- Out of Place .....

I. True Christian Love And Humility Will Prevent Aspiring And Ambitious Behavior.

A. True Godly Love for others is Not Greedy of Honor for Self.

B. Doest not put forth an Appearance of being Uppermost nor Exalts Himself Above His Neighbors.

Jer. 45:5, "And seekest thou great things for thyself? seek them not:"

Rom. 12:16, "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits."

C. True Christian Love prevents Pretentious, Showy, or Flamboyant Behavior.

1. If the Truly Humble man does have any material or spiritual advantage over his neighbor, --- he does Not Make A Show of It.

2. If he had Greater Natural Abilities than others, he will Not Parade or display them so that other will Take Notice of his Superiority in this respect.

3. Nor does he attempt to be esteemed of men as an distinguished saint or a faithful servant of God.

It is a small thing to him what men think of him.

4. He is not of the Behavior of The Pharisees.

Matt. 23:5, "But all their works they do for to be seen of men: they make broad their phylacteries, and enlarge the borders of their garments, 6 And love the uppermost rooms at feasts, and the chief seats in the synagogues,"

D. We should do the Best we can and achieve the Most we can.

1. If we do Not do our Best and achieve the Most --- We are being Disobedient to God.

2. The quesiton is Not "What" or "How Much" we achieve --- but rather Our Motive.

Col. 3:23, "And whatsoever ye do, do it heartily, as to the Lord, and not unto men;"

II. True Christian Love And Humility Will Prevent An Arrogant And Assuming Behavior.

A. True Christian Love is Not Forward --- dost not insist that a great deal of Attention should be shown to him.

1. Does not leave the impression that he is More Important Than Others.

2. Does not imply that His Judgment Should Be Sought in decisions that need to be made.

3. Does Not Put On Airs --- nor take upon himself that which does not belong to him --- as though he had power where indeed he does not.

B. He Gives All Due Deference to the Judgment and Inclinations of Others.

Phil. 2:3, "Let nothing be done through strife or vainglory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves."

Instead of feeling as though he was one of the best saints in the church --- he identifies with Paul when he said in:

Eph. 3:8, "Unto me, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ;"

III. True Christian Love And Humility Will Prevent Scornful Behavior.

A. Treating others with Scorn and Contempt is one of the worst and most Offensive Manifestations of Pride.

Love Does Not Despise nor look down on those that may be beneath them --- with a Haughty Condescending Air.

B. True Christian Love does Not Treat With Scorn and Contempt what others say, nor speak of what they do with Ridicule and Sneering Comments.

C. Those with True Christian Love and Humility have Meekness and Lowliness that compels them to treat inferiors with Courtesy and Friendliness --- as being Aware of Their Own Weakness And Despicableness.

Romans 12:16, "Be of the same mind one toward another. Mind not high things, but condescend to men of low estate. Be not wise in your own conceits."

D. It is God Alone that makes one person, in any respect, to Differ Form Another.

1 Cor. 4:7, "For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why dost thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it?"

IV. True Christian Love And Humility Will Prevent Willful And Stubborn Behavior.

A. True Christian Love does Not Demand its own Will or Way --- either in public or private affairs.

1. They will Not Be Inflexible and insist that everything must go according to what they want.

a. If not, they tend to Make It As Difficult As They Can For Others --- make others Uneasy even being around them.

b. They will attempt to Prevent Anything From Being Done In Quietness if it is not according to their own mind and will.

2. Peter describes them in:

a. 2 Peter 2:10, "But chiefly them that walk after the flesh in the lust of uncleanness, and despise government. Presumptuous are they, selfwilled, they are not afraid to speak evil of dignities."

b. The Despise Any Type of Leadership other than their own --- They are bent on:

(1) Carrying out Their Own Desires.

(2) Opposing and Annoying others who would dare disagree with them.

B. True Love disposes a person to be of a Yielding Spirit to others --- for the Sake of Peace.

Rom. 12:18, "If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with all men."

C. If A Person With True Christian Love Sees Someone Who Is Stubborn And Unreasonable In His Willfulness --- He Does Not Allow That To Provoke Him To Be Stubborn And Willful In His Opposition To Him.

1 Cor. 6:7, "Now therefore there is utterly a fault among you, because ye go to law one with another. Why do ye not rather take wrong? why do ye not rather suffer yourselves to be defrauded?"

Matt. 5:40-41, "And if any man will sue thee at the law, and take away thy coat, let him have thy cloke also. 41 And whosoever shall compel thee to go a mile, go with him twain."

Rom. 12:19, "Dearly beloved, avenge not yourselves, but rather give place unto wrath: for it is written, Vengeance is mine; I will repay, saith the Lord."

V. True Christian Love And Humility Will Prevent Leveling Behavior.

A. Some people are always ready to Level those above them and Cut Them Down To Size.

However, they are Never Willing To Level Those Below Them and Bring Them Up to their own position.

B. The person with True Godly Christian Love and Humility will Recognize that there are Other People Who Are Superior To And Over Them In Authority.

1. They will Freely Acknowledge their Superiors and recognize their Authority.

2. They will Render To Them all the honor due unto them.

3. They will Not desire that all should stand upon the Same Level:

a. It is best to have a Chain-of-Command in any Civilized Society.

b. Some Should Be Honored And Submitted Unto.

C. He is content with this Divine Arrangement.

Rom. 13:7, "Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honour to whom honour."

Titus 3:1, "Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work,"

D. Children's Lack of Respect For Their Parents or Other Adults Today .....

VI. True Christian Love And Humility Will Prevent Self-Justifying Behavior.

A. While many get offended and upset when the Preacher reads something from God’s Word that may apply to them -----

1. The person with True Christian Love & Humility will Freely Acknowledge His Fault and take the Shame of It To Himself.

2. It is Not Hard To Bring Him To A Sense of His Sins at all.

B. I am Not talking about the Prideful Pharisee that says:

1. "We need to pray for each other because none of us are perfect. We all have weaknesses and faults in our lives."

2. It makes you want to ask, "Yea, How About Naming Just One of Your Sins?"

3. He may answer, "Well, right now I can’t think of any but I am sure I have one somewhere."

4. We pray, "God Forgive Me of My Sins." --- God answers and says, "Yea, Which Ones?"

C. James 5:16 Applies To Others But Never To Him.

James 5:16, "Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much."

1. It is pride that makes them so Exceedingly Backward that they are Not Able To Confess or Admit Their Faults or Rededicate their lives to God.

2. It is Pride that makes men feel Uneasy when they are Reproved.

2 Tim. 4:2, "Preach the word; be instant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort with all longsuffering and doctrine."

D. When reproved, some will become Angry and manifest great Bitterness of Spirit.

1. Love & Humility will cause them not only to tolerate such reproofs --- but to Esteem And Prize Them As Marks of Kindness And Friendship.

2. David --- Psalm 141:5, "Let the righteous smite me; it shall be a kindness: and let him reprove me; it shall be an excellent oil, which shall not break my head: for yet my prayer also shall be in their calamities."

A. All Grace is wrought in the heart through the Knowledge of God’s Love.

1. A sense of God’s greatness and perfection, Without The Sight of His Love, will Not perform a work of Grace in our hearts.

2. It is the Sense of God’s Love that makes us truly Humble and Loveable.

3. We must sense that there is a Great Distance Between Him And Us In His Loveliness.

4. You may have a sense of the awful greatness of God and yet have No Humility --- because you have No Sense of His Great Love.

B. Because we do Not Recognize God’s Loveliness --- we do not recognize the great distance between Him and us.

1. It is a Sense of the Infinite Distance of The Creature From The Creator In Loveliness, that causes true humility.

2. True Christian Love is but the disposition of the heart toward God As Lovely.

3. From this Love To God arises a Christian Love To Man.

C. When we truly love God, we love him as An Infinite Superior.

1. We do Not love God as An Equal --- we Honor Him As God.

2. If we truly love God as Infinitely Superior to ourselves --- that love comes from Us As Infinite Inferiors and therefore is a Humble Love.

D. Divine love not only implies Humility in its nature, but also tends to Cherish And Produce It In Us.

1. True Christian Love creates in our heart that Spirit and Behavior that is Becoming A Servant.

2. We are willing to Honor and Acknowledge and Prefer Others Before Ourselves --- Is this not what Christ Did For Us.

E. The Gospel leads us to love God as an Infinitely Condescending God --- A Crucified Saviour.

1. God sent His only-begotten Son to die for us That We might be Forgiven, Elevated, Honored, and brought into Eternal Fellowship with Him.

2. Humility on our part is the proper reaction to His Condescension.

3. It is His Condescension that draws forth Humility From Us --- How could we be otherwise and call ourselves Christians.

In His Condescension, Christ poured Contempt On All The Earthly Glory that men so greatly desire.

Matt. 11:29, "Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls."

Phil. 2:6-8, "Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: 7 But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: 8 And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."

4. It does not become the Servant to be Prouder or less abased than his Master.

Matt. 10:24-25, "The disciple is not above his master, nor the servant above his lord. 25 It is enough for the disciple that he be as his master, and the servant as his lord. If they have called the master of the house Beelzebub, how much more shall they call them of his household?"

John 13:13-16, "Ye call me Master and Lord: and ye say well; for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; ye also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that ye should do as I have done to you. 16 Verily, verily, I say unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord; neither he that is sent greater than he that sent him."

Matt. 20:25-28, "But Jesus called them unto him, and said, Ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great exercise authority upon them. 26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister; 27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant: 28 Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many."

F. If you Fail To Humble Yourself before God and your fellowman ---

1. You have a Proud Spirit rather than a spirit of grace.

2. You are lifting yourself up against God, in Refusing To Submit your heart and life to him.

3. You are disregarding or Defying God’s Sovereignty.

4. You are Contending With Your Maker.

5. You are proudly casting Contempt On God’s Authority.

6. You are Refusing To Be Conformed to His will.

7. Example: --- Prayer Is The Outward Expression of Our Inward Dependence Upon God.

a. How Much Time We Spend In Prayer Is In Direct Proportion To Our True Dependence Upon God.

b. How Little Time We Spend In Prayer Is In Direct Proportion To Our Self-Sufficiency And Independent Spirit.

G. If you have True Christian Love and Humility --- then ---

1. Distrust Yourself And Rely Only Upon God.

2. Renounce All Glory Except From God.

3. Yield Yourself Heartily To His Will And Service.

4. Avoid An Aspiring, Ambitious, Assuming, Arrogant, Scornful, Stubborn, Willful, Leveling, Self-Justifying Behavior.

H. Humility Is The Most Essential And Distinguishing Trait of True Christian Love.