Love One Another
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
In a boiler room, it is impossible to look into the boiler to see how much water it contains.
But running up beside it is a tiny glass tube, that serves as a gauge.
As the water stands in the little tube, so it stands in the great boiler.
When the tube is half full, the boiler is half full; if empty, so is the boiler.
How do you know you love God?
You believe you love him, but you want to know.
Look at the gauge.
Your love for your brother is the measure of your love for God.
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So, please turn your Bibles to 1 John.
We will be conducting our study in Chapter 3 and focus on verses 11 through 15.
Our message this morning is called, “Love One Another”
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Today we will be focusing on this test in our lives...
This test to see if we are true when we say that we love God...
This test to reveal if our faith in christ is genuine...
Today we will be examining what it means to truly love one another.
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Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
12 We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) Brotherly Love
1) Brotherly Love
Verse 11: For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
Beloved, this is no new command...
This is not new for us and it was not a new command to John’s audience.
This is a truth found in both the Old and New Testament.
For example, Leviticus 19:18 says:
18 You shall not take vengeance or bear a grudge against the sons of your own people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself: I am the Lord.
In this verse it was talking about the community of believers in the Old Testament...
It was talking about the Jews who were God’s chosen people...
And as the Gospel message was later spread to include the gentiles too...
We see that Jesus commanded this to all of His followers...
Both Jew and gentile who had genuine faith...
This is seen in John 13:34-35 which says:
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
So, we can take away plenty of additional truths from this passage...
First, the love we display to our fellow brothers and sisters in Christ is a result of the outpouring of love that we receive from Christ.
Second, the love we display to others, especially within the community of faith, will act as evidence of our allegiance to Christ.
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You see church, what we speak with our lips does not always align with what is in our hearts...
But our actions are very good at revealing our hearts.
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Keep in mind now that the love we have for one another does not make us disciples of Christ...
But this act acts as evidence of whether we ever really had a genuine conversion experience.
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The followers of the Way have been freed from the bondage of the Devil and of sin...
So, we are to use our freedom to love and serve others, especially those who are now part of our new royal family...
Remember what Paul said in Galatians 5:13-14:
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
14 For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
Church, I can’t stress this enough...
You must love your neighbor as yourself.
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You must treat other the way in which you would want to be treated...
Treat other with kindness...
Treat others with mercy...
Treat others with compassion...
Treat others with Christ-like love.
For the power of godly love has the ability to cover a multitude of sins as it says in 1 Peter 4:8:
8 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins.
Look at what Peter is saying...
We are not to love passively...
We are not just to tolerate others...
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We are instead supposed to earnestly love one another...
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That means we are to go above and beyond in our love for others...
We are to mold our love after the perfect and all consuming love of God...
And to do our humanly best to reflect that tremendous love to all...
That is whether they deserve it our not...
That is to especially love them this why when they are acting unlovable...
For God loved us that way when we rebelled against Him...
For God the Father loved us that that way when He sent His Son to die for ruined sinners.
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This display of godly love is in complete opposition to the behavior of those who practice lawlessness...
For they are like their father the devil who practices murderous hatred.
And this takes us to our next point.
2) Devilish Hate
2) Devilish Hate
Verse 12: We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous.
So, John is talking about the events covered in Genesis 4:1-8.
Let’s read this together, Church.
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.”
2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground.
3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground,
4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering,
5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen?
7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.”
8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
Cain murdered his brother in cold blood.
The word “murder” in our verse we are studying gives the meaning of a violent murder...
So you could say that Cain slaughtered his brother Abel.
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From this passage we also see that it is not the act of murder that made Cain of the Devil...
But instead Cain was of the Devil and that is why he responds to someone doing good with jealously and a blind hatred.
This hatred ultimately took the form of a heartless murder.
So, Cain’s actions reveal what is secretly in his heart.
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But I want you all to see how this murder came about.
All murder that is intentional always comes from a place of hate first.
That hate is what grows and results in a situation like this where someone is murdered.
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It is worth noting Jesus’ teachings on murder that showcases this truth.
In the Gospel accounts...
In Matthew 5:21–22 Jesus said:
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’
22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.
It is harmful to believe as long as we did not participate in a act of murder then our thoughts and feelings are irrelevant.
Jesus says hatred...
Even if it is just something you contain in your mind...
Is liable for Hellfire.
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Hate leads to murder...
And murder comes from hate...
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Some people don’t commit the crime of murder due to the fear of the legal consequences.
Other don’t commit murder because they don’t think they will get away with it.
But often times hate grows to the point that although some may not act upon it...
In their mind they fantasize about people being hurt or enjoy when other experience misfortune.
But Christ made it clear that that type of thinking is of the devil.
For if a mind broods all day about hatred...
It should be no surprise that this leads to the act of murder.
For to hate is to act like the one who was a murder from the beginning.
Just take a look at John 8:44:
44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies.
And it is the father of lies...
And the murder from the beginning that devices this world.
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And this is the reason that the world hates those who practice righteousness...
And this takes us to our next point John is making.
3) Hated By the World
3) Hated By the World
Verse 13: Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
John is not pulling punches here, Beloved.
He is serving up truth straight just like Jesus did in John 15:18 when He said:
18 “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you.
Jesus was not crucified because He was nice and made everyone feel good about His message.
Jesus was crucified because He spoke truth boldly and faithfully no matter the cost.
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I promise you...
If you do that too...
You will be hated just like Christ.
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But be reassured...
You will be blessed for being hated by the world as it says in Luke 6:22:
22 “Blessed are you when people hate you and when they exclude you and revile you and spurn your name as evil, on account of the Son of Man!
When you are hated for Jesus’ name...
It will not go unseen by our Lord and Savior...
He experienced hatred in the worst form.
So, He knows what it is like to be hated by the world...
To be slandered by the world...
To be reviled by the world...
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But for those who endure to the end...
They reveal something too...
That they are a part of the royal family...
That they are children of God...
As Matthew 10:22 says:
22 and you will be hated by all for my name’s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.
For the one who is saved...
They have passed from death to life...
And this is what we will be discussing now as we make it to our next point.
4) From Death to Life
4) From Death to Life
Verse 14: We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.
Consider this quote regarding this verse by biblical scholar Daniel Akin says:
“The absence of Christian love indicates that one has not passed into the state of spiritual life but remains in the realm of spiritual death.
They walk in the darkness, not in the light.
This state of spiritual death is one into which a person is born and continues to exist if regeneration does not occur.
Whatever one claims, the absence of love proves that one still remains outside the sphere of the life of God and in the realm of death and darkness.
This statement serves as a stern warning for anyone at anytime who finds an absence of love in his heart.
For those in the community of faith, it should be an occasion for soul searching and careful examination ‘to see whether you are in the faith.’”
So, from this verse we see that if we do not love our brothers and sisters in Christ...
Then it is a revelation that we still remain in death...
That we remain in the darkness.
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However if we do love our brethren...
Then it is proof we have left the darkness and now abide in the light.
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So the million dollar question is...
Where do you find yourself...
Are you in the light or the darkness?
Are you on the road to life or are you still lost in the darkness?
Are you the child of God or the child of the Devil?
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To answer that you must examine yourself as it says in 2 Corinthians 13:5:
5 Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!
What I love so much about this letter from John is that he keeps presenting multiple tests that an individual can take to reveal if they are in Christ or not.
If one is honest with themselves then this letter will be of great service to them...
It will lead to a stronger assurance of genuine faith...
Or it will reveal that one is in risk of eternal Hellfire...
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For those now confident in their walk with the Lord...
They are better able to serve others.
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For those warned of their wickedness...
They can either repent and believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ in an act of surrender...
Or they can continue to shake their fist at God and in the end experience the full wrath of God on their own.
As Jesus says in John 5:24:
24 Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death to life.
Remember...
If is not just about what you confess with your mouth...
It is about what you do in your life that reveals your true colors...
That reveals what team you are really playing for.
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John will later in this epistle say in 1 John 4:20:
20 If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen.
You see...
Simply put...
Love and hate cannot mix...
righteousness and wickedness are no friends.
And as will see with our final point...
Hate can never lead to life.
5) Hate Can’t Lead to Life
5) Hate Can’t Lead to Life
Verse 15: Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
You don’t have to physically murder someone to be a murder in God’s eyes.
If you hate some one you reveal that you are a murderer at heart...
And that you have never had fellowship with God.
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This is most serious...
To be a murder is to walk the road that leads to second death...
Just take a look at Revelation 21:8:
8 But as for the cowardly, the faithless, the detestable, as for murderers, the sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their portion will be in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
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Does anyone hear listening to this message hate someone?
I want you to examine yourself and really be honest with yourself?
Do you have hatred for someone else?
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If you do then today is the day to repent and believe?
Today is the day to let go of that devilish mindset and surrender to a new and better Master...
A Master who will never reject you if you approach Him with humility.
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Only those who love their brothers and sister in Christ can without hypocrisy say they are in the light.
But if you have hatred for anyone in the Body of Christ...
Then you reveal you are still in the darkness as John previously said in this letter in 1 John 2:9:
9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness.
The one who hates is a murder...
The one who hates is still in the darkness...
And that mean the one who hates continues to walk in darkness...
And they have no idea where they are going...
For when walks in the darkness they can not see...
And they are totally blind to the truth...
for they have never experienced God’s light.
Just take a look at the truth that John says in 1 John 2:11:
11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
As this message comes to a close, I want to share this quote from one of the earliest Christians in church history, Tertullian:
“It is our care for the helpless, our practice of lovingkindness, that brands us in the eyes of many of our opponents.
‘Look!’ they say.
‘How they love one another!
Look how they are prepared to die for one another.’”
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Tertullian’s quote is something we should ponder...
The love we have for one another should be sacrificial...
It should be Christ-like...
It should be pure and holy like our Heavenly Father...
For when other see our love for one another...
They will see we are not like the world...
We are brand new creations...
Who now have the Holy Spirit living in us.
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So, church go out today and show the world you are a follower of Christ by your love...
Share the Good News of Jesus Christ by sharing the Gospel message...
And back that truth up with a life that aligns with the character of Christ...
For we are called to be righteous...
And we are called to love.
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.
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