January 26, 2020

All Scripture from NIV unless otherwise documented.

1 John 3: 11 –24
“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 brothers 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. 24Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.”

Some people see the Bible as a book of do’s and don’ts? Some people see the Bible strictly from a theological perspective. Still, others see the Bible as a love letter from God to mankind. I guess that you could say that the Bible is comprised of all three of these elements. But as we know, when Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was, He said, “Love God and Love neighbor as yourself. “There is a great emphasis concerning love in the Bible, particularly in John’s writings, both the gospel and in his epistles. This morning I want to begin a series of messages that will take us through February on the topic of love.

John said: “The message which you have heard from the beginning,”referring to the beginning of the Gospel, is a message of love. Not only did Jesus teach that to Love God and to love neighbor were the two greatest commandments, but He demonstrated ultimate love by laying down His life for you. Throughout His entire ministry, Jesus demonstrated His love by the things He did for others. Love and compassion caused Him to feed the hungry multitude, and to heal the sick and the lame, to raise the dead, and so much more. Jesus life was life of selflessness, always giving of Himself to others.
In contrast to that John mentioned the life of Cain, the firstborn son of Adam and Eve. Cain was a tiller of the ground and his brother Abel was a herdsman. They both brought sacrifices of their labors to God. God was pleased with Abel’s sacrifice, but He rejected the sacrifice of Cain.

The text doesn’t tell us specifically why God rejected Cain’s sacrifice, but it intimates that Abel brought a sacrifice from the best of his flock, while Cain simply brought some of his crop. John said that his deeds, referring to the sacrifice that Cain brought, were evil. When his sacrifice was rejected by God, Cain’s anger and jealousy resulted in the sin of hatred toward his brother Abel, which then led to murder. Cain’s attitude and his actions were consistent with his spiritual condition and his position as a child of the evil one. Contrast that with Jesus words as He hung on the cross, looking down upon those who had crucified Him. He said, “Father forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing. “Luke 23: 34

Love for God and love for man is revealed many different ways in a Christian’s life. John lists several identifying factors for love in contrast to hate.
First, he said that love is revealed by the world’s hate for you. Jesus said in John 15: 18 -19. 18“If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first. 19If you belonged to the world, it would love you as its own. As it is, you do not belong to the world, but I have chosen you out of the world. That is why the world hates you.”

Just as the world hates Jesus, the world also hates Christians. The Gospel message is a message of the love that God has for man, and yet people fear that message and hate those who would share it with them. Why? I think in part because they have been deceived by Satan into thinking that religion is bad. Being a Christian takes all the fun out of life. Being a Christian asks too much of our time, our devotion and our material goods. Being a
Christian just requires too much from a person. It’s just too great a sacrifice to make.

And they are right to a certain extent. Being a Christian does demand sacrifice. God does want your time and your devotion, and yes, a portion of your material goods. But mostly, God wants first place in your life. And if you give Him first place, He promises you so much more in return.
Another identifying factor that we find about love is that it is sacrificial. Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice by laying down His life for the sins of mankind. Romans 5: 8says:“But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. “God didn’t
wait for man to get it all together. He knew that that wasn’t ever going to happen if left up to his own will and schemes. Think about that for a minute. While we were yet sinners, Christ, God’s Son, died for us. He took our place so we might have life. If that isn’t love, what is?

And John said that we ought to be willing to do the same thing for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Chances are that we will never be called on to demonstrate love in such a manner. But there are other sacrifices that we can make. Vs 17 -18say: 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.”

James said something similar when he wrote:“15Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. 16If 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? “James 2: 15–16 James was emphasizing the relationship of our Faith to Works. How do we demonstrate love? One way is by meeting the needs of others.

Another way we can know that we have the love of God in our lives, according to John is by answered prayer. John wrote: “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. 24Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us. “If we can come before God without our heart condemning us, we can have confidence before God, and can ask of Him anything, and will receive it. How do we gain an uncondemning heart and have confidence before God? John suggests two things. First, by keeping His commandments and second by doing the things that are pleasing in His sight.

What are the key commandments that we are to keep? Here is where we come full circle with John. His commands are to believe in the name of His Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another. In other words, Love God, and love neighbor. So whatever else you might gain from the Scriptures in the way of theology or doctrine or guidelines for living, the foremost thing that you can learn is to love one another.

We all want to have assurance of our faith. One of the true tests of assurance is that of loving one another. You may not like me for one reason or another. Maybe you don’t like the way I dress or the way I cut my hair, or how I preach ora host of other things that you don’t like about me. But if you are going to really be a child of God, you will love me, and you will care about me and you will express that love through your deeds. Not just to me, but to all other Christians regardless of church affiliation. Jesus calls you to love this morning. That love is expressed through your faith in Christ as Lord of your life. I invite you to accept Jesus as Lord of your life today.