Love Believeth All Things

Title: Love Believeth All Things                       Text: I Corinthians 13:7

Introduction: Read I Corinthians 13:1-8a –

I. The meaning of love “believing all things”:

Believeth – Pisteuo – “to have faith (in, upon, or with respect to, a person or thing), i.e. credit; by implication, to entrust (especially one’s spiritual well-being to Christ):–believe(-r), commit (to trust), put in trust with” (Strongs).

“Love is completely trusting” (Barclay)

“Love is not suspicious” (Hodge)

Believeth all things – “That does not describe credulity at all. That is not the idea. But it is the absence of suspicion in the nature. What a great thing that is. Some people are always suspicious. Love-mastered people are never suspicious” (G.C. Morgan, p.165).

“Believeth all things points to that quality which is always ready to allow for circumstances, and to see the best in others (cf. Moffatt, ‘always eager to believe the best’). It is easy to think the worst, but love retains its faith. It is not implied that love is deceived by the pretences of any rogue, but that love is always ready to give the benefit of the doubt” (Leon Morris, p.185).

What does suspicion lead to? False accusation because you don’t have all the facts or you are not seeing the whole picture.

Seeing a real sin problem in someone’s life and not dealing with it because you don’t want to be suspicious is to error to the other extreme.

II. Bible examples of suspicion that led to false accusations:

A. Against Moses by Korah – Numbers 16:3,13

B. Against the priest Ahimelech by Saul – I Samuel 22:11-16

C. Against David by Michal Saul’s daughter – 2 Samuel 6:16-23

We need to guard against imputing motives to people when we don’t understand what they have done or are doing.

III. Developing a life of not being suspicious but speaking the truth in Love when someone is in the wrong:

A. Be seeking wisdom that is from above: James 3:17 “But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrisy.”

B. Be speaking the truth in love – Ephesians 4:14-15 “But speaking the truth in love …”

C. Be a servant of the Lord – II Timothy 2:24-26

Conclusion: Have you been suspicious without a cause? Have you jumped to judge someone’s motives before you understood the situation and had all the facts? Folks, that is not loving. Love believeth all things – it is not suspicious! It gives people the benefit of the doubt.

Other notes:

“Believeth all things. The whole scope of the connection and the argument here requires us to understand this of the conduct of others. It cannot mean that the man who is under the influence of love is a man of universal credulity; that he makes no discrimination in regard to things to be believed; and is as prone to believe a falsehood as the truth; or that he is at no pains to inquire what is true and what is false, what is right and what is wrong. But it must mean, that in regard to the conduct of others, there is a disposition to put the best construction on it; to believe that they may be actuated by good motives, and that they intend no injury; and that there is a willingness to suppose, as far as can be, that what is done is done consistently with friendship, good feeling, and virtue. Love produces this, because it rejoices in the happiness and virtue of others, and will not believe the contrary except on irrefragable evidence.” Barns

“Believeth all things; that is, charity inclines a man to believe the best of his neighbour, till the contrary appears; it interprets every thing in the best sense, and makes the fairest construction of every man’s case and condition. Not that a charitable man is a credulous man, and can believe whatever he pleases; but he believeth all things, so far as either reality or probabilty, so far as truth or appearance of truth, will encourage him to do it. A charitable man is very willing to believe that things are meant as they are spoken, and intended as they are done.

Oh, how uncharitable then, and unjust, are they who believe all is ill, when they know nothing ill; and think and speak ill of them, in whom they never saw any thing but what was good!

It is not sufficient that we do not judge our neighbour maliciously, but we must not judge him ignorantly; it is an injurious and unworthy jealousy, when a person’s actions are fair, to suspect his intentions.” (William Burkitt)