Love One Another: The Distinguishing Mark of God’s People

1 John 3:11-18 Love One Another (The Distinguishing Mark of God’s People) Introduction: I think it was very appropriate for us to stop and consider the Love of God in making us his children before going into this next section. John continues the stark contrast he has already pointed out in verse 10 between the children of God and the children of the devil, and writes of hatred and love, life and death, murder and self sacrifice. In this next section John wants to come back to the subject of Love and he wants to elaborate on what it means to love one another, practically what does that look like? John lays it out very clearly, he wants us to know what not to do, the standard of love, and the practical carrying out of love. John first starts with the reminder that to love one another is the message that they heard from the beginning.“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. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.” - John 13:34-35 This has been the main thrust of the Apostolic preaching, - the Distinguishing Mark of Love. 1. Hate a. Cain and the World - An Example to be Avoided i. “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. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.” 1. “Just as love is the defining characteristic of the child of God, so hatred is the natural response of the world toward righteousness” a. Hate is the desire to get rid of someone, whether or not one has the nerve or the occasion to perform the act.” -Burdick b. This is obviously based upon Jesus view of murder taught in the Sermon on the Mount. “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 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. Matthew 5:21-22 2. John is obviously giving us an example of what not to do. He is telling us that hate is the distinguishing mark of the world and the Devil, and Cain is a type of both. But John might also be clearing up a possible misunderstanding. I think we consider that most of the hostility and hatred from the world comes because Christians have failed to show the love and kindness of Jesus Christ to the world. And so we think, well we know better than those stupid “uncultured” Christians that preach judgment, and we are gonna preach Jesus, full of grace and truth! We are going to have the distinguishing mark of Refuge Christian Fellowship be the Love of Jesus. But even if The Church, or our Church was doing everything perfectly.. The world would still hate us! a. Remember when John uses the term “the world” he is referring to an evil organized earthly system controlled by the power of the evil one that has aligned itself against God and his kingdom. i. John says, “Do not be surprised that the world hates you”... It hates you not because you fail to represent Jesus, but because you do represent Jesus in your love and righteousness. It hates you because you do not belong to it, but instead you belong to God. ii. Why did Cain murder his brother Abel, John asks? Because his deeds were evil and his brothers righteous. iii. The world hates true righteousness! Because it condemns all their sin and self righteousness! 1. Jesus said to his brothers, “The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify about it that its works are evil.” John 7:7 2. “If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you.” John 15:18-20 3. “Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted” 2 Timothy 3:12 a. You see the Gospel message, even (or especially) when spoken perfectly and lived out perfectly (as in the life of Jesus), still stirs up hate and animosity. Because not only is the gospel and the love of God great news but it is also a total condemnation of every attempt to justify and save ourselves apart from the power and love of God. We could not and cannot save ourselves, we need a Savior. b. The Test. i. John gives us two ways that we can know that we are not a part of this worldly system of hate. ii. How do we know that we have passed out of the realm of death, the devil, the world and hate? 1. Because we love the brothers (God’s people) 2. One of the assurances of salvation is the inner drive that leads one to care for fellow believers. iii. Now John concludes, that everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. Does not mean a murderer cannot be saved. 1. Hatred has no place in the life of the believer a. The second way we know is from the absence of hate in our lives! c. A Practical Note on Hatred i. As we are talking about hatred this morning (with this definition) “Hate is the desire to get rid of someone, whether or not one has the nerve or the occasion to perform the act.” Maybe some of you realize that you are carrying resentment in your heart towards someone? You need to repent. Remembering that Christ has paid the penalty for the sin you’ve committed and the sin committed against you. (also all sin is ultimately sin against God) Because of that we can freely forgive! Ask Christ for his power to forgive. ii. Maybe some of you feel that you have already forgiven someone their sin against you but you still struggle with resentment from time to time. You need to continually forgive that person; Every time it is brought to remembrance. Ask Christ for the ability to continually walk in forgiveness. 1. “Be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ forgave you. Ephesians 4:32 2. Love a. Christ - An Example to be Followed i. “By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” 1. I think if John were among us today what we would hear from him is not simply that we aren’t to hate (which is the distinguishing mark of the world). But that we are to be aggressive in our love, that we are to be proactive, not just passive with one another. Love is not passive, or only reactive, it is proactive! a. To show the active self sacrificial love that John is speaking of he points to the greatest example of all. The reason we know love, is because (Jesus) laid down his life for us. i. Last week we were discussing this aspect of God’s love. God’s love is an act of sheer grace. Meaning we are entirely undeserving of it. So we see that when Christ died for us he wasn’t reacting to some love in us, and he obviously wasn’t being passive. A passive attitude towards others never leads to self sacrifice. He loved us first, with a proactive, self sacrificial love. 1. “Laid down” involves a deliberate, willful act that demonstrated his love for us. Jesus death was not mere martyrdom but an atonement, a designed self sacrifice for others. a. “No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from my Father.” John 10:18 ii. After pointing to the great example of Christ love he says, “and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” 1. In the greek this phrase “we ought” is emphatic and accentuates the fact that just like him, we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. Christians have an obligation to follow the example of their Lord even unto death if such an occasion presents itself. iii. Now in no way is John saying that loving others is how we are saved. What he is saying is that those who are saved belong to God; they have been purchased by the blood of his Son and been adopted as heirs/children of God by the work of the Spirit. God’s seed abides in them. Therefore since they are children of God, they will love with the love of God. They will see others the way that God sees them, they will love others the way God loves others. 1. So they will love the brethren (the church) because God has loved them, and because God’s love is at work in them. b. Love in practice i. Now while laying down one’s life for another is the supreme act of Christlike love, John moves to a more practical, everyday scenario to emphasis the type of love he’s describing. 1. “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? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 2. The more difficult call is obviously to lay one’s life down for another. It is a lesser demand to help a brother in need. a. Let’s be honest the need to die for one another is usually not brought about in everyday circumstances. But the opportunity to help a needy brother is always before us. i. We often consider ourselves ready to lay down our lives in one great, dramatic, heroic gesture; but for most of us, God calls us to lay down our lives piece by piece, little by little in small, but important ways every day. b. John’s point is to connect the Christian call to love to the context of everyday life. i. C. S. Lewis once 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." 1. Sadly there is a way that we can and do evade the self sacrificial love that Christ calls us to! 2. John wants to keep us from this kind of hypocrisy, and that’s why he brings it so close to heart. ii. So what are the practical needs of others that are right in front of us? 1. Do we have the means to meet those needs? 2. Are we closing our heart towards those individuals; are we looking the other way? 3. Are we justifying ourselves for not helping others around us? It’s their problem, not mine, they should be more responsible.. 4. It is God’s nature to love and not only to love but to give of himself to others. Therefore how can someone that holds back love, claim to know God? a. If we see someone in need we are indebted to help that person, because God did all this and more in Christ, when he saved us! Conclusion: “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.”