"Life is all about Love!"
Sermon Series: Walk in Faith (6 of 10)
1 John 3:11-23 (NIV)
Pastor Jerry Ingalls
First Baptist Church-New Castle, Indiana
February 21, 2010
We are continuing in our sermon series "Walk in Faith". We are in our 6th teaching time on First John. Please open your Bibles, pull out your sermon notes, and grab a pen. Let's dive in!
God's Word to us this morning from 1 John 3:11-23 (NIV)
11This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. 13Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you. 14We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him. 16This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. 17If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? 18Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth. 19This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence 20whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
[Prayer]
This Scripture lesson is a continuation of what we learned last week --We have been adopted into love by God the Father. We have been given the right to be called Children of God for a mission and today we will unpack that mission. Simply stated: We were adopted into love by the One who is Love for the mission to love! Our lifestyle of love is what defines us as Children of God! "Life is all about love!" Let's now look at our passage to learn more about this love.
AS GOD'S CHILDREN WE ARE TO LOVE...FROM THE HEART! (1 John 3:11-15)
In 1 John 3:11, the Apostle John starts with his bottom line up front. He states, "This is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another." As we saw in 1 John 2:10 and again in 1 John 3:10, John is reminding us of our mandate to love one another. To such a point that in the previous verse (1 John 3:10) John says you are not a child of God if you do not love your brother!
Brothers and sisters in Christ, this is foundational! Christian love must start with love for one another in the church, but it cannot nor should not stay confined by the artificial walls of a church building…the love of Christ is for the entire world so our love must go out to our neighbor who may not enter this Worship Center. Truly, you may be the only sermon they ever hear! Make it a good one!
In 1 John 3:12-13 the Apostle John emphasizes the foundational importance of this commandment to love one another by giving a negative illustration of brotherly love. He reminds us with a warning, "Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother's were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you."
Let's look at this story from Genesis 4. We have the first humans in Adam and Eve and after the Fall they have their first 2 children: Cain and Abel. Cain is the first born and he was a farmer. Abel was the younger brother who was a shepherd. Cain and Abel both bring an offering to God and the story continues in verse 4-8,"The LORD looked with favor on Abel and his offering, but on Cain and his offering he did not look with favor. So Cain was very angry, and his face was downcast. Then the LORD said to Cain, 'Why are you angry? Why is your face downcast? If you do what is right, will you not be accepted? But if you do not do what is right, sin is crouching at your door; it desires to have you, but you must master it.' Now Cain said to his brother Abel, 'Let's go out to the field.' And while they were in the field, Cain attacked his brother Abel and killed him."
Cain, in a way that is not spelled out in the biblical narrative, did not do what was right in the eyes of God causing his offering to not be acceptable. He then saw that his brother Abel was accepted by God and jealousy burned inside of him to the point that He murdered Abel! The Apostle John is pointing out to us that his motive for murder was envy! The devil takes Cain's envy and twists it into the cancer of hatred.
The devil is doing the same in and out of the church today; in fact this disease has mutated in our world today and has led to a holocaust of epic proportions as hatred has spawned jealousy, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, and pettiness that destroy the unity of marriages, families, churches, and communities!
Where has the love gone? Have we, the Church of Jesus Christ, lost our mandate to be the light and the source of love for couples, families, communities, and nations? [pause]
Have we compromised the mandate of this radical love of Christ so that we will be found acceptable by this world that crucified Jesus Christ? Have we compromised to such a point that we are surprised when the world disapproves of us and hates us!
John states in verse 13, "Do not be surprised if the world hates you." If we love with radical love of Jesus Christ then the powers and principalities of this world will treat us as Cain treated Abel—it will hate us; just as the world hated Jesus Christ! The powers of this world at odds with God will seek to remove us so that it will not be reminded that it has not been accepted in the eyes of God!
But the enemy is not only on the outside, the enemy is working from the inside of church congregations throughout the world. Jealousy, bitterness, unforgiveness, hatred, and resentment twist our hearts and allow sin to crouch at the door of our lives. To allow hatred to settle into our hearts is to break a clearly stated and positive commandment of Jesus Christ who taught us from the beginning that we must love one another!
John is strongly pointing out that in the same way that our love demonstrates we are Children of God, our lack of love will demonstrate that we are not truly believers of Jesus Christ!
As we learned last week, a good tree cannot bear bad fruit! You are either DEAD in your sin or you are alive in Christ! There is no middle ground! You either love or hate your brother! The Apostle John reminds us of this lesson again in verse 14 stating, "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death."
We have the assurance of eternal life through Jesus Christ and His atoning sacrifice on the Cross of Calvary. And we know this assurance is true in our lives when we love one another! This love is only possible through a spiritual regeneration; what we commonly refer to as being "born again."
I hammered this point home last week (if you missed the teaching I strongly recommend you listen on line or get a copy at the resource desk after service), but let me remind you that the Bible is very clear that prior to knowing God through Jesus Christ you and I are dead in our sin. It is only through believing and putting our faith in Jesus Christ that we pass from death to life. We go from being guilty of sin to being righteous in the eyes of God through a double imputation (transference).
This need for spiritual regeneration is emphasized by Jesus Christ in the Gospel of John 5:24, "I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life."
Love for one another is the evidence of our spiritual life, not the basis! The foundation for any spiritual life is the love of God triumphantly demonstrated in Jesus Christ! It is in God's love that we are born again into love, so it makes sense that if we do not have this love we were not born again into it and we remain in death!
The Apostle John then takes it to the heart level in verse 15, "Anyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him."
John is simply restating what he heard from His master. Love is a matter of the heart! It is not enough to have the appearance of love, we must love! Love is from the heart and it's to the heart that God looks!
Jesus taught in his famous Sermon on the Mount from the Gospel of Matthew 5:21-22a, "You have heard that it was said to the people long ago, 'Do not murder, and anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.' But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment."
Jesus Christ defined the true nature of hatred! Hatred is murder! For us to truly experience the cleansing from this cancer that has been and continues to destroy creation at epic proportions, then we must have the true nature of hatred exposed and displayed for all to see! Hatred is sin!
Hatred is incompatible with spiritual life! Jesus Christ came to free us from the bondage of the devil, who is the one who has been sinning from the beginning and incited us to envy and hate. Jesus Christ came to lead the Victory Charge in God's Ministry of Reconciliation--the Mission of God!
On the Cross of Calvary, Jesus Christ demonstrated what the primary weapon in God's limitless arsenal is. It is LOVE and as Children of God we are to wield this weapon in our everyday actions!
AS GOD'S CHILDREN WE ARE TO LOVE...IN EVERYDAY ACTIONS! (1 John 3:16-18)
John transitions to the paramount illustration of what love is by declaring in verse 16, "This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers."
This is exactly what John heard from His master in the Gospel of John 15:12-14, "My command is this: Love each other as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends."
Here's the point: Love is defined by the action of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who laid His life down so that we may pass from death to life. And for us today, love means to be our brother's keepers and take care of his or her needs. To love selflessly and sacrificially!
A quick illustration: If I am sitting on the edge of the dock fishing and a person comes up to me and tells me that he loves me and then jumps in the water and drowns, then I am at a loss for how that is an expression of anything other than his own insanity.
But, if I fall in the water while fishing and a person jumps in to save me and in the process of saving my life gives his own then I know that He loved me in a way that I now live my life in gratitude for such a selfless and sacrificial expression of pure love!
In this illustration we see that there must be a necessity for the sacrifice! Jesus Christ died on the Cross because it was the only way to reconcile humanity back to God. It was the only way for all of humanity to pass from death to life and it remains true still in 2010, with all of our progress and advances in technology, Jesus Christ is still the only way to God. He will never go out of style and we can not advance or progress out of this fundamental need!
Brothers and sisters, Jesus Christ died once and for all for God's Children! We cannot atone for another's sins by dying for them on the cross, that is not what Jesus nor John is teaching, but we must be prepared to meet the needs of others whatever the cost in self-sacrifice, personal comfort, or reputation! We are to carry our cross and imitate Jesus Christ in His attitude and self-sacrificial love for humanity!
Peter emphasizes to us the importance of imitating Christ's attitude and living by this new ethic of life in 1 Peter 4:1-2 & 8-9, "Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling."
Peter is teaching us to live a habitual lifestyle of Christ-likeness where we regularly put other people's needs before our own; only then will we become free of sin and live for God's perfect will to be made known here on earth. We become living embodiments of the Lord's Prayer: "Your will be done on earth as it is in Heaven"! This is when love becomes our primary motive, over our own fleshly desires! We are to love one another! I praise God for 1 Peter 4:9, "Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling." God knows us so well…we like to grumble! People really have not changed a whole lot in 2000 years. J
What is this hospitality that Peter is speaking about? It is the koinonia of the church! We read in Acts 2:44 that we are to have "all things in common", meaning we are to share what we have so our brothers and sisters do not go hungry, thirsty, cold or uncared for.
John unpacks these everyday acts of love in verses 17-18, "If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth."
Verses 17-18 put some every day implications on the high ideals and loftiness of verse 16. Yes, I want to raise my hand and say that I am willing to lay down my life for my brother. I consent to high and lofty ideals at the slim chance that I will actually have to lay down my life. Possibly I could muster the courage and conviction to do so in one final and fatal demonstration of love, but I must ask myself, "am I willing to be bothered today, to be made uncomfortable, to die a social or occupational death for the sake of caring for my brother?" [pause]
The moment is right here and right now to show your love for Christ by putting your faith in action in real and relevant ways! The moment is NOW! If you see a brother or sister, neighbor or coworker, friend or family member in need and you show no pity on him or her then how is the love of God possibly in you?
James unapologetically declared in James 2:16-17, "If one of you says to him, 'Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,' but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead."
My fellow children of God, this is messy and painful work if we are truly to be the Spirit-filled missional Church of Jesus Christ! Brace yourself and be prepared to be disturbed because if you are not willing to be disturbed then it's time for a heart check!
Love requires us to get out of our comfort zones!
Christian love is love which goes to and gives to those in need. And if we have it and our brother does not and we turn away from his or her need then we are lacking the love which is the one essential evidence that we truly are the Children of God!
It is time for us to demonstrate the extravagant love of Christ together as a band of brothers and sisters bound together by God's love with the mission to share God's love! And we are to do so with confidence!
AS GOD'S CHILDREN WE ARE TO LOVE...WITH CONFIDENCE! (1 John 19-23)
John starts in verses 19-20, "This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything."
I am thankful to God for these verses following such challenging and convicting proceeding verses. We have seen in verses 14-15 that any hint of hatred in our hearts makes us a murderer in God's eyes and unacceptable in His sight for eternal life.
We then see in verse 17 that if we do not help every brother in need then the love of God is not in us.
At this point, it's easy to start to feel paralyzed by insecurity, doubt, and condemnation wondering if you are doing enough and if you really know Jesus.
The Holy Spirit wants us to have an assurance of eternal security so that we don't live our lives insecurely. It is a selfish way of life to always be wondering about our own salvation rather than living in the assurance of salvation loving and blessing others. You see, the devil has won a victory in your life as long as your eyes are on yourself and you are feeling insecure and shameful about your spiritual state.
Paul teaches a very similar teaching in 1 Corinthians 4:3-5, "I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself. My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me. Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men's hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God."
Brothers and sisters in Christ, the Holy Spirit wants you to have the assurances of Jesus Christ so that you can be in mission for God and love with confidence.
We are to love others more than ourselves and loving for the sake of having a clear conscience is not love at all…it is works-based religion and not the personal relationship with God that Jesus Christ died for so that we can live in freedom and love with confidence!
Do you feel guilty or shameful that your love is not pure enough; that your actions are not significant enough? [pause] It is inevitable that our hearts will condemn us, but God is greater than our hearts; He knows all things!
God says, "Rest in my presence! I am bigger than your heart, than your own expectations of yourself, of your own plans that you never quite go through with, of that old tape you keep playing over and over again in your mind that says you are not good enough and will never amount to anything. I am bigger; trust Me!"
John continues to explain this truth in verses 21-22, "Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him."
When we rest in God and know that He is bigger then we are free from the condemnation of the devil. Paul declares in Romans 8:1, "Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"! In Jesus Christ, as a Child of God, we have the full confidence to approach God in prayer because in the Light we have perfect fellowship.
This communion with God is nothing we have done, but it is the gift that God has lavished onto us as His Children. His has chosen us in love to bear the fruit of love in this world!
We read this in Jesus' words from John 15:16, "You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last. Then the Father will give you whatever you ask in my name."
God does not want our prayer intimacy blocked with false guilt and condemnation from the devil nurtured in our own conscience. He chose us and it is His mercy and forgiveness that are the grounds for our confidence; not our hearts nor how we feel!
Our confidence is in God; not in ourselves! Do you put your trust in Jesus or in yourself? [pause]
John brings us back to where we started with verse 23 stating, "And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us."
Let me declare to you this morning that we have an assurance of eternal life in Jesus Christ!
Our confidence to love as Christ loved and show the world that we are His disciples is fully anchored in the ROCK of God's character!
When the Bible uses the phrase, "the name of …" it is invoking not just a name, but the entire nature and character of God.
It is referencing all that we know of God including His covenant love, His promise of forgiveness, His mercy and compassion, His power and might, His righteous judgment and His promises to right every wrong!
We see this in Psalm 124:8, "Our help is in the name of the LORD, the Maker of heaven and earth."
And to believe in the Name of Jesus Christ, who is the Light to the World and the Hope of Humanity, the Perfect Passover Lamb, the Alpha and the Omega, is to put your trust in all that has been revealed of God in His dynamic love affair with humanity!
You can have the confidence this morning by putting your hope in Jesus Christ and asking Him into your life. If you want this assurance, this confidence to love from the heart, then it starts with a prayer from the heart to ask God into your life through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. Our ability to love other people is completely dependent on receiving the love of God through Jesus Christ!
Are you ready to put your trust and hope in God through Jesus Christ?
RESPONSE TIME: Pastor Ken and his team are now going to lead us in a time of response.
Let's pray together. [Pray]
I loved what you had to say about Cain and Abel today; I think that's the most accesible teaching I've heard on that story. Because of how bare-bones the details are, it's easy to feel as though the story doesn't really apply to us very well. I mean, WE would never kill our own brother, right? That's crazy! But today you drove home the point that even hatred and anger in our hearts towards someone else is murder. I had a thought about that, and a question. My question is, what is a good definition of hatred? The word conjures up some extreme things in our minds (genocide, suicide bombers, Ku Klux Klan rallies), so extreme that it's easy to think "hatred" doesn't really apply to us personally. It's not a very relatable term. Can you share a definition that would be helpful for us as we do a heart-check?
ReplyDeleteThanks Katie! It's important to teach the Bible and we can not assume people know the stories from the Old Testament that the New Testament writers reference. The days of assuming biblical literacy in or out of the church in America are gone!
ReplyDeleteHatred is animosity ("bitter hostility") towards someone. I see it as a dislike to the point that you wish the person would not be in your life. A desire to remove them from your life; whether emotionally, relationally, spiritually, or physically. Moving from seeing value in someone else's different viewpoint to wishing they or their viewpoint did not exist.
We use the word as Christians commonly to refer to sin: to hate sin is the desire to remove it or cut it off from your life so that it has no part of you, no grip on your mind, heart, or soul.
In the same way, hatred is when we dislike a person or a group of people to the point that we want them removed.
Is there anyone in your world that you don't want in it?
It is easy (and dangerous!) for us to push off hatred as only an emotion that suicide bombers feel, but when the verdict comes in I feel it is rooted deeply into many of our hearts. Though it is not kindled by idealistic distortions that allow it to manifest in such hateful ways as killing people because of their race, gender, religion, or nationality, the seeds of hatred (if not the raw emotion of) manifest in jealousy, envy, bitterness, resentment, unforgiveness, and pettiness which are ravenous wolves inside our marriages, families, churches, and communities.
I pray God leads each of us deeply into a humble posture of formation in His loving embrace!