Sacrificial Love
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
After the U.S.S. Pueblo was captured by the North Koreans, the eighty-two surviving crew members were thrown into a brutal captivity.
In one particular instance thirteen of the men were required to sit in a rigid manner around a table for hours.
After several hours the door was violently flung open and a North Korean guard brutally beat the man in the first chair with the butt of his rifle.
The next day, as each man sat at his assigned place, again the door was thrown open and the man in the first chair was brutally beaten.
On the third day it happened again to the same man.
Knowing the man could not survive, another young sailor took his place.
When the door was flung open the guard automatically beat the new victim senseless.
For weeks, each day a new man stepped forward to sit in that horrible chair, knowing full well what would happen.
At last the guards gave up in exasperation.
They were unable to beat that kind of sacrificial love.
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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 16 through 18.
Our message this morning is called, “Sacrificial Love”
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Today we will be focusing on on what the true meaning of love is.
The world has its own definition...
But the world has a lot of opinions about a lot of things...
It is not about what the world “thinks” love is...
It is about what God “says” love is...
God tells us what love is by the truth found in His Word...
And He tells us what love is by modeling it for us.
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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
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
17 But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) Christ's Sacrificial Love
1) Christ's Sacrificial Love
Verse 16 (a): By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us,
If you read your Bible at all and are familiar with the truth it contains...
Then the first half of a verse like this may be passed by too quickly...
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But we need to slow down a bit when we are in God’s Word.
We need to take our time with it.
We need to break down words and define them biblically.
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Volume 12 of The Expositor’s Bible Commentary sheds light on a few of these terms in this first half of verse 16.
I would like to share with you a few of those insights that will help us better understand the truth being presented here.
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First, let’s take a look at the word “this”:
“The test of true love is identified as willingness to sacrifice one’s life for one’s brother.
The demonstrative ‘this’ that begins the statement points backward to the negative example of Cain [remember Church, we covered this last week] and forward to the positive example of Christ.
Love is used absolutely and its reference point is Christ’s death. The demand for love thus arises from his command, and the meaning of love is found in his example.”
So, the word “this” when John says “by this we know” is pointing to both the positive and negative examples he just mentioned to the readers.
We see true hate in the form of Cain’s actions and we see true love in the form of Christ’s actions.
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Secondly, let’s see what this commentary has to say about the phrase “we know”:
“In the Greek [the word] ‘we know’ is in the perfect tense.
It shows that the knowledge that is involved belongs to the historical event of Jesus Christ.”
Christ’s sacrifice at Calvary is a historical event.
John was an eye witness...
And the people of his time knew this event as a historical event.
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If you recall from out first study on 1 John back in July...
We talked about how this letter was written in the late 1st century.
That fact alone makes it impossible for anyone to make up the story of Jesus dying on the cross for there would be way to many eye witnesses who lived in Jerusalem during that time...
That means if anyone lied of made up this event they they could easily disprove it.
That is why it takes a minimum of 100 year for a legend to be made up and possibly accepted.
Based on archaeological finds and the dates of the earliest New Testament books...
We are confident that the event of the crucifixion of Jesus is as historical as it gets and that is why even atheists and non believers...
If they are well studied in archaeology and history cannot deny that the historicity of the crucifixion of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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So, when John says “we know” that is what he means.
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And thirdly let us look at the word “love”...
In Greek there are multiple words for love and each one has a different meaning...
Like romantic love or brother love...
But here John uses the Greek word “Agape” to describe unconditional love.
“Agapē [which is the Greek term for ‘love’ in this verse] cannot be derived from some intuitive grasp of an idea but is known in the historical event in which Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.
His sacrificial death thus distinguishes agapē love from all other loves by its costliness, its unconditional acceptance of another, and its ‘accomplishment.’”
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Next let us look at the phrase “laid down.”
It should be noted that John is known for using the term “laid down” regarding Christ’s sacrifice throughout his writings...
This gives the meaning that Jesus volunteer gave His life...
So, let there be no mistake...
Jesus is the one who laid down His own life...
It was not taken from Him...
Therefore, it shown that event at Calvary was an act of perfect and unconditional love.
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I love how Ephesians 3:17–19 put it:
17 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love,
18 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth,
19 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.
The love of Christ is no ordinary love...
He love us while we were His enemies...
And He love us unconditionally.
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And this love...
To say it is powerful is an understatement...
This all consuming love holds us unto Him and He will never let us go...
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You see Church...
It is not about us holding on to Christ...
For is that was the case then we would all fail...
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It is instead about Christ holding on to us...
For His sheep will never be separated from Him.
Romans 8:35-39 confirms and clarifies this truth when Paul says:
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
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Next, let’s take a look at the second half of our verse...
Let’s take a look at the remainder of verse 16 and see what God is revealing in His Word that we should do with this vital truth.
2) Like Master, Like Servants
2) Like Master, Like Servants
Verse 16 (b): And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
So, based on the truth of the unconditional and sacrificial love that was poured out on us...
We need to do likewise...
Especially to our brothers and sisters in Christ.
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In fact, Jesus spoke about this truth often.
In John 15:12 He said:
12 “This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
We are to love like Christ.
We are to be unconditional in our love for others...
We are to be sacrificial in our love for others.
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This is no suggestion.
This is a command from God.
And the very next verse shows what that great love looks like as Jesus continues and says in John 15:13:
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
As you all know...
Jesus did not just say it...
He modeled it perfectly.
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That is why we call Jesus the Good Shepherd.
He is not like a hired hand that runs away from danger.
He is not like the hired hand that is selfish and care only for his well being.
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Jesus is the Good Shepherd for He is willing to voluntary and purposely...
Die in our place.
As Jesus Himself said in John 10:11:
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
As Christ modeled love for us...
We should, as His servants, act out that same love for others.
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So, that means we are to be willing...
If that time ever comes...
To sacrifice our life for others.
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But that is not all.
In fact, many of you will probably never be put in a situation where you have to physically sacrifice your like for someone else.
Now at different times in history or in different countries the threat of losing your life for Christ is greater...
But even in our part of the world in our lives...
This passage is very relevant...
John makes it clear with the very next verse in our study that to be willing to lay down your life for some one means sacrificing of your time, energy, and resources.
Remember...
Before Christ died for us...
He lived for us...
You see Church...
There would be no payment of sins if Jesus did not first live an obedient and sinless life.
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So, if you say you are willing to die for someone then you must also be willing to meet the need of others...
No matter what that need may be if you have the ability and resources to...
And this takes us to our next point.
3) Closing Off One’s Heart
3) Closing Off One’s Heart
Verse 17: But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?
Beloved, I want you to notice the shift in tense for the word “brother.”
In verse 16 John uses the word “brothers” in the plural sense...
But in the next verse...
The one we are studying now...
He shifts to the singular form...
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This is completely intentional by John.
He is saying something here that G. P. Lewis also observed we he said:
“It is easier to be enthusiastic about Humanity with a capital ‘H’ than it is to love individual men and women, especially those who are uninteresting, exasperating, depraved, or otherwise unattractive.
Loving everybody in general may be an excuse for loving nobody in particular.”
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Let me repeat that last line again...
“Loving everybody in general may be an excuse for loving nobody in particular.”
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John makes it clear that we are not just to love people as a whole group of people...
Yes, that is necessary...
But we can’t forget that loving others also consists of loving particular individuals...
These are the individuals God has put in your life.
So, if you see a need and you have the resources to meet that need...
Go ahead and do it.
The reality is that we as the Body of Christ must be loving other as a whole by meeting personal needs.
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Now don’t get this confused with the world’s version of helping others...
It is not the same.
Regarding this passage, pastor and teacher John MacArthur says this:
“The children of the Devil often have the world’s goods (material wealth) at their disposal.
When they do give sacrificially to anyone else, they are motivated by selfishness.
Unbelievers’ philanthropic efforts are usually merely to pacify their consciences, satisfy their emotions, or bring honor to themselves rather than glory to God...
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True love is not limited to supreme sacrifices, but shows up in lesser ones.
Genuine Christian love expresses itself in sacrificial giving to other Christians’ needs.
It is a practical love that finds motivation in helping others.
Where it does not exist, it is questionable that God’s love is present.
If that is so, it is also questionable whether the person is the Lord’s child.”
Our motivation really shows if we are loving sacrificially or if we have an ulterior motive for our deeds.
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Consider also what is says in Proverbs 28:27
27 Whoever gives to the poor will not want, but he who hides his eyes will get many a curse.
“Hiding one’s eyes” or like our passage says “closing one’s heart” means deliberately neglecting the need of someone else that you have personally observed...
And this need that you have have observed can be meet by your own resources and abilities for you yourself are not in any want...
That is the meaning here...
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In the Greek the word literally means to “close or lock a door.”
So the way we would say it today in our language and in our expressions would be to...
“slam the door” in the face of someone in great need.
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Consider what James says as he put it bluntly in James 2:15–16:
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food,
16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
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This standard is not new...
The Old Testament proclaims the very same truth.
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From the very beginning....
When God gave instruction to His people...
He explicitly states the manner in which the need should be treated.
Moses wrote in Deuteronomy 15:7–8 that:
7 “If among you, one of your brothers should become poor, in any of your towns within your land that the Lord your God is giving you, you shall not harden your heart or shut your hand against your poor brother,
8 but you shall open your hand to him and lend him sufficient for his need, whatever it may be.
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You see Church...
When we see someone in need...
When we see someone who is hungry....
Someone who is thirsty...
Even if they are a stranger...
We need to serve them.
We need to serve them as if one of those in need was Christ Himself.
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Now this is not my opinion on the matter...
This is not a cleaver way fro me to try to keep you motivated...
This is what Jesus says in Matthew 25:35 when He said:
35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me,
The things that you do for people in need is like you are doing to Christ.
When you feed the hungry you are feeding the King of Kings and Lord of Lords.
When you give drink to the poor you are giving drink to the Creator of all creation.
When a stranger is alone and you welcome them then you are welcoming the Alpha and the Omega.
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As Paul wrote to the church in Rome in Romans 12:13 I will say it to you too:
13 Contribute to the needs of the saints and seek to show hospitality.
Do not think you can love with lip service alone.
The things you do reveal what is in your heart...
It reveals if you love your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ...
And it reveals if the love of God resides in you.
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So, let’s take a look at our final point.
4) Love In Deed and Truth
4) Love In Deed and Truth
Verse 18: Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
True and genuine love is always accompanied by action...
It does not matter what your skill or accomplishments may be...
If you are living your life without the love of God in you then all you are is a noisy gong or clanging cymbal...
Or as 1 Corinthians 13:1 puts it:
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
Our loving attitude toward others...
Especially to fellow believers...
Needs to follow the formula that was used by the earliest of Christians...
For they were following the model of Christ.
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How beautiful of a picture is it when we see what what Luke recorded in Acts 2:44–45:
44 And all who believed were together and had all things in common.
45 And they were selling their possessions and belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need.
Within the community of believers you could not find a person who stayed in want...
For the love found in the Christians of the 1st century was like Christ’s love...
They loved unconditionally...
They loved sacraficially.
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Each person did according to their ability.
Some did more and some did less but everyone did what they could.
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This was in no way just limited to members within one church...
This was across all churches.
For example, some churches as a whole needed more help...
So, whole congregations would help other churches even when they were located in different regions.
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The early church saw no difference...
They understood that we are all subject to the one head of the church, Christ...
And they understood that all the riches of the world belong to God anyways...
So we are just to be good stewards of what God has blessed us to have for a time.
Look what it says in Acts 11:29–30 and you can see what I mean:
29 So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, to send relief to the brothers living in Judea.
30 And they did so, sending it to the elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.
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So Beloved, do not neglect the ones who are in need...
Do not neglect the poor...
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Sacrifice what you have by sharing it with others.
Sacrifices like this do not go unnoticed by our Father who is in Heaven.
In fact, it is this kind of sacrifice that is a pleasant smell to the Lord...
It is this kind of sacrifice that is altogether pleasing to our mighty and awesome God.
So, hold on to the truth of Hebrews 13:16 and keep it true in your heart at all times:
16 Do not neglect to do good and to share what you have, for such sacrifices are pleasing to God.
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
As this message comes to a close, I want to share this tale:
A man who had been the superintendent of a city rescue mission for forty years was asked why he had spent his life working with dirty, unkempt, profane, drunken derelicts.
He said, “All I’m doing is giving back to others a little of the love God has shown to me.”
As a young man, he himself had been a drunkard who went into a mission for a bowl of chili.
There he heard the preacher say that Christ could save sinners, and he stumbled forward to accept the Lord Jesus as his Savior.
Though his brain was addled by drink, he felt a weight lifted from his shoulders, and that day he became a changed person.
A little later, seeking God’s will for his life, he felt the Lord calling him to go back to the gutter and reach the people still wallowing there.
The power of redeeming love enabled him to carry on his ministry for forty years.
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So, as this man sacrificed his time, energy, money, and most of his life to serve these people who are often neglected...
I want you to think...
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How does God want you to serve?
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Where does God want you to serve?
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Who does God want you to serve?
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Whatever that answer is...
I can promise you by the authority of His Word that He wants you to do it faithfully...
And unconditionally...
And sacraficially.
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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.