"Am I My Brother's Keeper?"
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Scripture Reading:
Scripture Reading:
Tonight We’re Going to Talk about this Phrase:
“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”
“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”
This Morning, We Looked at…
The First Time the Word “Sin” is Found in Scripture
Sin is Personified as a Beast Lying Outside the Door
It’s Desire is to Rule Over & Control Us
But We Need to Rule Over it
God Speaks of Sin in this Way…
To the Firstborn Son of Adam & Eve, Cain
He’s Angry & Jealous of His Brother, Abel
And if He isn’t Careful, Sin will Overtake Him
And Instead of Choosing to Do What is Right…
And Rule Over Sin…
Cain Chose to Let Sin Rule Over Him
And He Murdered His Brother Abel
That’s When We Read this:
Genesis 4:9 (NASB95)
9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” And he said, “I do not know. Am I my brother’s keeper?”
God Knew Exactly Where Abel was…
But He was Giving Cain the Opportunity to Confess His Sin
But Instead, Cain Responds with a Very Snide, Disrespectful:
“Am I to Keep/Watch Over/Guard My Brother?”
“It’s Not My Job to Watch Over Him!”
“It’s Not My Job to Take Care of Him!”
This is the Kind of Attitude the Curse Produced Within Humanity
An Attitude & Mindset that is All about Self
Before the Fall, Those Types of Words would Never have Been Spoken
But Here Humanity is, Thousands of Years Later:
Still Speaking Those Words
Still Having that Attitude
Still Caring Only about Self
But Jesus has Shown Us a Better Way:
A Way of Loving Neighbor as We Love Ourselves
A Way of Service & Compassion
A Way of Self-Sacrifice
And Those Who Pledge Allegiance to Him…
Are Called to Live Our Lives in that Same Way
To Live in Community as if the Curse Never Happened
“Am I My Brother’s Keeper?”
When We Look at the Life & Teachings of Jesus…
The Answer is an Overwhelming “Yes”
I Am My Brother’s Keeper
If I were to Ask You…
What is the Number 1 Indicator…
That a Person is a Follower of Jesus/Child of God?
What Would You Say?
Did You Know that Jesus Answers that Question for Us?
John 13:35 (NASB95)
35 “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Christians are Identified By the Love They have for Their Siblings
John Goes into More Detail on this in His 1st Letter
1 John 3:10–23 (NIV)
10 This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not God’s child, nor is anyone who does not love their brother and sister.
How to Figure Out if Someone is a Child of God:
Do They Live Righteously?
Do They Try to Do What is Right in Any Given Situation?
That’s a Dead Giveaway of a Child of God
Do They Love Their Siblings?
That Also is a Dead Giveaway of a Child of God
But What Does Loving Siblings Look Like?
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 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. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.
14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death. 15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
We can Know that We have Eternal Life…
If We Love One Another
But, Again, What Does Love Look Like?
Let’s Follow John’s Logic for a Minute:
The Opposite of Love is Hate
And to Hate Your Sibling is to Be a Murderer
If the Opposite of Love Leads to Taking the Life of Another…
Then What Does Love Lead to?
Giving One’s Own Life for Another
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 and sisters.
Jesus Showed Us the Ultimate Act of Love:
To Love is to Lay Down Your Life for Another
Of Course, that’s Speaking in Extreme Language
What Does Love Look Like on a Day to Day Scale?
17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Love is about Self-Sacrifice
The Ultimate Act of Love…
Is to Lay Down Your Life for Another
But Everyday Acts of Love…
Involved Sacrificing Ones Own Wealth/Possessions…
To Help Someone in Need
Am I My Brother’s Keeper?
If I’m Going to Love Like Jesus, Then I Am
Love that is Spoken is Good
But Love that is Practiced is Even Better
Do We Simply Say that We Love Our Siblings in Christ…
Or Do We Show it By Our Sacrificial Care for One Another?
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.
Would You Like to Know that You Belong to the Truth?
Would You Like for Your Heart to Be at Rest in His Presence?
Does Your Heart Ever Condemn You…
And Cause You to have No Confidence Before God??
Here’s How You can Know You Belong to the Truth…
Have Your Heart at Rest in His Presence…
And have Confidence in Your Relationship with Him:
Believe/Trust in Jesus as the Christ
Love Your Siblings in Christ
If You Trust in Jesus as Lord/Savior/King…
And Your Obedient Lifestyle Proves that…
And You have a Self-Sacrificial Love for Your Siblings in Christ…
Then You can have Full Confidence in Your Salvation
There May Be Times When Your Heart Condemns You…
But God is Greater Than Your Heart
Trust the Scriptures When They Say:
You are a Child of God if You:
Trust in Jesus
Love One Another
You can have All the Confidence in the World…
If You Hold to this Statement:
I Am My Brother’s Keeper
I Am My Brother’s Keeper