WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:14.700 1 John. 00:00:16.839 --> 00:00:23.240 We're looking at verses 11 through 24 of chapter 3. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:41.200 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 00:00:41.740 --> 00:00:45.420 We should not be like Cain, who was the evil one and murdered his brother. 00:00:46.019 --> 00:00:47.320 And why did he murder him? 00:00:47.780 --> 00:00:51.439 Because his own deeds were evil and his brothers righteous. 00:00:52.379 --> 00:00:55.320 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 00:00:55.320 --> 00:01:01.100 We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. 00:01:01.780 --> 00:01:04.359 Whoever does not love abides in death. 00:01:05.140 --> 00:01:07.280 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. 00:01:07.879 --> 00:01:11.659 And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 00:01:12.460 --> 00:01:19.200 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 00:01:19.200 --> 00:01:28.859 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? 00:01:29.680 --> 00:01:34.820 Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. 00:01:35.560 --> 00:01:40.079 By this we shall know we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him. 00:01:40.640 --> 00:01:46.240 For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 00:01:46.239 --> 00:01:51.879 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have the confidence before God. 00:01:52.199 --> 00:01:58.679 And whatever we ask, we receive from him because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 00:01:59.799 --> 00:02:09.459 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 00:02:09.859 --> 00:02:13.719 Whoever keeps his commandments and abides in God and God in him. 00:02:13.719 --> 00:02:19.539 And by this we know that he abides in us by the Spirit whom he has given us. 00:02:19.680 --> 00:02:20.159 Let's pray. 00:02:21.719 --> 00:02:29.319 Lord, this morning we are confronted with the reality that we do not love as we ought. 00:02:29.960 --> 00:02:35.539 That we confess that we know the love of God, but we fail to love one another. 00:02:35.539 --> 00:02:37.879 Lord, speak to us through your word. 00:02:38.620 --> 00:02:46.979 Convict us and remind us that we should be the most loving of all because of what you have done through your Son. 00:02:47.519 --> 00:02:49.519 And we pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:02:49.859 --> 00:02:50.120 Amen. 00:02:51.299 --> 00:02:53.219 I apologize, I've been a little sick. 00:02:53.579 --> 00:02:56.159 So if I cough a lung, I apologize. 00:02:56.159 --> 00:03:03.759 This morning we're taking a little break, as I mentioned, from the story of the judges. 00:03:04.020 --> 00:03:06.759 So it's not as crazy, or is it? 00:03:07.519 --> 00:03:13.719 If you follow along with the Old Testament reading, there's some craziness going on there in Genesis chapter 4. 00:03:13.719 --> 00:03:18.659 But in 1 John, we're talking about love. 00:03:18.719 --> 00:03:24.240 And that contrast between the crazy of Genesis 4 and the love that we see in 1 John is evident. 00:03:25.699 --> 00:03:28.939 And today it seems timely that we're talking about love. 00:03:29.039 --> 00:03:30.479 No, this wasn't pre-planned. 00:03:31.219 --> 00:03:32.520 Here's your clue. 00:03:33.120 --> 00:03:34.539 Valentine's Day is this week. 00:03:34.539 --> 00:03:43.159 But this picture of love that we have in the scripture begs kind of the question, what is love? 00:03:43.579 --> 00:03:45.439 Does it look like Valentine's Day? 00:03:45.560 --> 00:03:50.599 And, you know, those little cards that you put in the slot on the edge of your desk if you're a kid? 00:03:51.019 --> 00:03:51.659 And candy? 00:03:51.899 --> 00:03:52.620 Is that love? 00:03:53.459 --> 00:03:55.039 Is it flowers and chocolate? 00:03:55.680 --> 00:03:56.419 Is that love? 00:03:57.319 --> 00:04:01.560 Is it my favorite bumper sticker that I see around is dog is love. 00:04:01.639 --> 00:04:02.259 Is that love? 00:04:02.319 --> 00:04:04.039 Because that certainly says that it's love. 00:04:04.539 --> 00:04:09.799 Maybe if it's not man's best friend that's a picture of love. 00:04:09.799 --> 00:04:16.279 Is it Nicholas Sparks and all of his romance novels tying together the scenes of North Carolina? 00:04:16.659 --> 00:04:17.420 Is that love? 00:04:18.139 --> 00:04:21.839 Is it a picture from the notebook where those people are kissing in the rain? 00:04:21.920 --> 00:04:22.839 Is that love? 00:04:24.420 --> 00:04:32.860 Is it a friend meeting each other on the battlefield miles from home, having not seen each other in years? 00:04:32.860 --> 00:04:36.160 Fighting for what they've left behind? 00:04:36.160 --> 00:04:39.420 Is it their love of country and their love for each other? 00:04:39.500 --> 00:04:40.400 Is that love? 00:04:41.280 --> 00:04:42.980 It's no less than love. 00:04:42.980 --> 00:04:53.000 Is it a wedding day where a young bride is so smitten with her husband and is so excited about what is to come? 00:04:53.780 --> 00:04:57.960 Not just that day of dancing and music and party and all those people there? 00:04:58.960 --> 00:05:00.100 Is that love? 00:05:00.100 --> 00:05:07.340 Is it that same bride years later when she is at the funeral of her beloved? 00:05:07.420 --> 00:05:09.860 And there's no one there. 00:05:10.360 --> 00:05:12.700 There's no dancing and there's no music. 00:05:13.400 --> 00:05:18.300 In fact, it's snowing and there's nobody even in attendance except for the officiant. 00:05:18.300 --> 00:05:19.819 Is that love? 00:05:22.560 --> 00:05:23.759 What is love? 00:05:24.259 --> 00:05:29.280 Even when I ask that question, some of you immediately respond with that 90s song, right? 00:05:29.400 --> 00:05:31.139 What is love, baby, don't hurt me? 00:05:31.420 --> 00:05:33.540 Is that actually what love is? 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:34.560 I don't know. 00:05:35.939 --> 00:05:39.180 Certainly no less than not hurting one another. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:45.019 But it's a very important question, not just for this week, but because this text addresses it. 00:05:45.019 --> 00:05:51.899 We have all these images that swirl in our minds about love and what it is and what it should look like. 00:05:52.659 --> 00:05:53.979 We know that it's important. 00:05:55.120 --> 00:05:57.879 We know that it's important even from this text. 00:05:58.120 --> 00:06:02.500 There's kind of a preamble that precedes this section, and it happens in verse 10. 00:06:03.419 --> 00:06:03.699 It says, 00:06:03.699 --> 00:06:09.299 By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. 00:06:09.300 --> 00:06:15.860 Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. 00:06:16.319 --> 00:06:17.720 So that we know it's important. 00:06:17.879 --> 00:06:22.780 John's telling us it's important from this text because it's one of the distinguishing marks 00:06:22.780 --> 00:06:27.699 between those of the children of this world or the children of the devil and the children of God. 00:06:28.680 --> 00:06:31.300 The mark is, do we love one another? 00:06:31.740 --> 00:06:33.860 Do we love, does he love his brother? 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:39.560 So it's important, of course, not just because it's Valentine's Day this week. 00:06:41.020 --> 00:06:46.139 It's important because it's a mark of what a true Christian is. 00:06:46.780 --> 00:06:49.580 That's the question that keeps popping up in 1 John. 00:06:50.020 --> 00:06:52.240 Do I know that if I'm a Christian? 00:06:52.460 --> 00:06:53.639 How do I know, though? 00:06:54.439 --> 00:06:57.560 How do I know that I have been saved? 00:06:57.680 --> 00:07:01.300 How do I know that I'm abiding with him and have eternal life? 00:07:01.300 --> 00:07:04.620 It's a question that some of us have. 00:07:04.900 --> 00:07:09.639 How do I know in my darkest moments that I have faith in Christ? 00:07:10.300 --> 00:07:11.699 John answers that for us. 00:07:11.740 --> 00:07:15.800 He says, do you have love for your brother? 00:07:17.280 --> 00:07:26.600 This morning, the driving force behind that question of what is love is the idea that a true Christian truly loves. 00:07:27.300 --> 00:07:28.980 A true Christian truly loves. 00:07:28.980 --> 00:07:32.540 And as we look at that, we're going to do it in three ways. 00:07:32.680 --> 00:07:34.800 First is we're going to look at what love is not. 00:07:35.200 --> 00:07:36.400 What true love is not. 00:07:37.080 --> 00:07:39.220 Then what true love is. 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:42.400 And then the true effects of love. 00:07:43.300 --> 00:07:48.740 So what true love is not and what it is and the effects of true love. 00:07:48.740 --> 00:07:54.139 The first chunk of our text this morning deals with that call for the Christian to love. 00:07:55.060 --> 00:07:58.980 But it says, love, but don't be like Cain. 00:07:59.259 --> 00:08:00.420 That seems obvious, right? 00:08:01.160 --> 00:08:02.500 Verse 12 says this. 00:08:02.879 --> 00:08:06.160 We should not be like Cain, who was the evil one and murdered his brother. 00:08:06.400 --> 00:08:07.400 And why did he murder him? 00:08:07.759 --> 00:08:11.280 Because his own deeds were evil and his brothers were righteous. 00:08:11.279 --> 00:08:14.239 Now remember, this comes right after the fall. 00:08:15.019 --> 00:08:19.000 There's so much anticipation about what that next generation is going to be like. 00:08:19.199 --> 00:08:25.319 We've had this monumental shift in God's kind of organization or the organization of humanity. 00:08:25.579 --> 00:08:27.859 And we don't know what's going to happen next. 00:08:28.319 --> 00:08:29.139 And what do we have? 00:08:29.139 --> 00:08:31.740 It's the same kind of stuff in Judges. 00:08:32.460 --> 00:08:37.139 Murder, blood spilt, and hatred. 00:08:38.860 --> 00:08:40.899 And there's so much sadness. 00:08:42.419 --> 00:08:43.539 Genesis 4 says this. 00:08:43.539 --> 00:08:47.240 And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering. 00:08:47.659 --> 00:08:50.399 But for Cain and his offering, he had no regard. 00:08:50.779 --> 00:08:54.360 So Cain was very angry and his face fell. 00:08:54.740 --> 00:08:57.620 And the Lord said to Cain, why are you angry? 00:08:57.620 --> 00:08:59.539 Why is your face falling? 00:09:00.019 --> 00:09:02.139 If you do well, will you not be accepted? 00:09:02.320 --> 00:09:05.440 If you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. 00:09:05.840 --> 00:09:08.080 And its desire is contrary to you. 00:09:08.159 --> 00:09:09.560 But you must rule over it. 00:09:10.200 --> 00:09:11.799 And Cain spoke to Abel, his brother. 00:09:11.980 --> 00:09:16.279 And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother, Abel, and killed him. 00:09:17.019 --> 00:09:18.919 At first glance, it's kind of a tough story. 00:09:19.899 --> 00:09:26.480 And if we're not careful, we get in this dilemma of like, why has God spurned Cain? 00:09:26.480 --> 00:09:28.200 And why has he chosen Abel? 00:09:30.000 --> 00:09:33.960 But we see it subtly in the question that the Lord asked Cain. 00:09:34.200 --> 00:09:37.180 If you do well, will you not be accepted? 00:09:38.519 --> 00:09:41.680 And if that wasn't clear enough, Hebrews helps us here. 00:09:42.039 --> 00:09:48.200 It says that by faith, Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain. 00:09:48.720 --> 00:09:53.800 And Cain then is angry that his sacrifice wasn't accepted by God. 00:09:53.799 --> 00:09:56.199 But what is the condition of acceptance, right? 00:09:56.359 --> 00:09:57.539 It's by faith. 00:09:58.399 --> 00:10:00.479 And then he gets angry and then he murders his brother. 00:10:01.759 --> 00:10:04.839 That's surely what true love is not. 00:10:05.679 --> 00:10:07.359 It's not hatred. 00:10:08.099 --> 00:10:10.019 It's not murder. 00:10:10.019 --> 00:10:21.659 John appears in these next couple of verses to take a pause and make some comments about this intense battle between good and evil, between love and hate and what they actually are. 00:10:21.899 --> 00:10:27.039 However, he's making a connection for us between love and hate. 00:10:27.699 --> 00:10:30.240 Or he's maybe drawing a difference for us. 00:10:30.240 --> 00:10:36.480 The difference between love and hate is the result of that sin. 00:10:36.720 --> 00:10:43.100 And he does this in light of the contrast of a Christian who's called to love his brother. 00:10:44.100 --> 00:10:50.560 And when he does, he will not win the admiration of the world. 00:10:50.559 --> 00:10:57.479 Instead, it's this admonition, hey, a warning, if you will, that if you love, the world's going to hate you. 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:00.359 So we've confused everything here. 00:11:00.539 --> 00:11:09.559 We've drawn this contrast between love and hate and then told if we're love, if we love as Christ is love, then we're going to be hated by this world. 00:11:10.579 --> 00:11:14.419 But he's pointing us back to something very important in the Gospels. 00:11:14.419 --> 00:11:21.240 He's pointing us back to when Jesus talked to his disciples and the two commands that he gave them or the two warnings. 00:11:22.000 --> 00:11:27.679 One was to love one another and the other was the warning that if you do so, that you'll be hated. 00:11:29.479 --> 00:11:34.639 And John gives us an equally stern warning here at the end of verse 14. 00:11:35.459 --> 00:11:38.299 Whoever does not love abides in death. 00:11:38.879 --> 00:11:41.620 Murder, hate and death. 00:11:42.339 --> 00:11:43.199 Sounds like judges. 00:11:43.200 --> 00:11:51.140 John is kind of dogpiling on this idea that all of these things do not coincide with eternal life. 00:11:51.240 --> 00:11:55.840 They do not coincide with faith in Christ and they do not look like love. 00:11:57.020 --> 00:11:58.820 And hate and murder are related. 00:11:59.320 --> 00:12:00.780 We know that from the Beatitudes. 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:05.720 You know those things that Jesus says to them where he takes the law and he expands it out and says, 00:12:05.720 --> 00:12:10.120 if you do this in your heart, in fact, you're guilty of these things. 00:12:10.120 --> 00:12:15.320 And Cain doesn't simply murder, but he hates. 00:12:16.560 --> 00:12:19.100 But John's words here are to us. 00:12:19.259 --> 00:12:20.539 Look at verse 15 with me. 00:12:21.100 --> 00:12:23.379 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer. 00:12:23.940 --> 00:12:28.060 And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 00:12:28.460 --> 00:12:30.379 It's not just Cain anymore that murders. 00:12:30.379 --> 00:12:33.539 It's anybody that has hate in their heart murders. 00:12:34.100 --> 00:12:38.120 And if you do that, you're not abiding in eternal life. 00:12:39.259 --> 00:12:46.000 It's important to note here that there's a sense in which he communicates a present action that's continuing. 00:12:46.159 --> 00:12:47.960 It's hating and continuing on. 00:12:47.960 --> 00:12:48.700 Right. 00:12:48.740 --> 00:12:59.519 If you're not troubled by that hate in your heart and called to repentance by the witness of the spirit or your wife or a friend or God's word. 00:13:00.960 --> 00:13:04.700 Then if we continue on in that hate, that's what he's talking about. 00:13:04.780 --> 00:13:07.060 An ongoing failure to love. 00:13:07.059 --> 00:13:10.119 That's what true love is not. 00:13:10.579 --> 00:13:17.500 I think often we think about love and hate and or ideas in scripture that are opposed to each other and their differences of degree. 00:13:17.799 --> 00:13:17.939 Right. 00:13:18.000 --> 00:13:19.419 Just like shades of gray. 00:13:20.179 --> 00:13:22.799 But love and hate are two opposite things. 00:13:23.339 --> 00:13:26.319 They cannot be further from each other than they are. 00:13:27.439 --> 00:13:31.779 When I was a kid, I grew up in Germany for a large part of it. 00:13:31.779 --> 00:13:36.980 And my parents were really concerned when I moved from Germany to South Carolina. 00:13:37.600 --> 00:13:38.399 They should be, right? 00:13:39.220 --> 00:13:40.839 They don't seem very similar. 00:13:41.179 --> 00:13:46.679 And so they were concerned that my brother and I were so kind of homesick. 00:13:47.139 --> 00:13:48.959 They took us to this town in Georgia. 00:13:49.159 --> 00:13:54.319 And probably some of you have been to this town where in October it kind of replicates Bavaria. 00:13:54.799 --> 00:13:57.319 You know, that state in Germany that everybody thinks of. 00:13:57.740 --> 00:14:01.240 And we went after living in South Carolina for a few months. 00:14:01.240 --> 00:14:06.220 And when we arrived, my brother and I tried to talk to people in German. 00:14:06.580 --> 00:14:08.320 You know, the guy's wearing lederhosen. 00:14:08.419 --> 00:14:10.080 Of course he speaks German, right? 00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:11.960 No, he did not. 00:14:12.759 --> 00:14:13.039 Right. 00:14:13.379 --> 00:14:18.159 The food, we thought it was going to be great and remind us of what we thought of as our home. 00:14:18.879 --> 00:14:19.500 It did not. 00:14:20.680 --> 00:14:23.560 We thought the scenery would remind us of Bavaria. 00:14:23.700 --> 00:14:27.039 You know, these tall mountains with all this snow. 00:14:27.440 --> 00:14:28.100 It did not. 00:14:28.519 --> 00:14:31.000 Because after all, it's in Georgia. 00:14:31.240 --> 00:14:32.820 It's not Germany. 00:14:33.399 --> 00:14:37.779 It's not this thing where hate and love. 00:14:38.100 --> 00:14:40.419 Hate is not pretending to be love. 00:14:40.759 --> 00:14:43.560 It's not hell in Georgia pretending to be Germany. 00:14:45.159 --> 00:14:51.080 Georgia and Germany are as different as hate and love. 00:14:51.080 --> 00:14:53.379 Yes, they're filled with people and all those things. 00:14:53.720 --> 00:14:55.280 But they are so different. 00:14:55.700 --> 00:15:00.580 They have a different culture, a different language, different people, different scenery, different food. 00:15:02.100 --> 00:15:04.860 They're as different as hate and love. 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:08.120 And we have to remember that when we come to sections like this. 00:15:08.120 --> 00:15:12.440 Because as Christians, we often struggle with hating in our own heart. 00:15:12.519 --> 00:15:15.139 And we think, ah, the difference can't be that much. 00:15:15.539 --> 00:15:16.840 It's just a difference of degree. 00:15:17.659 --> 00:15:18.100 No. 00:15:18.100 --> 00:15:21.240 In fact, they're as complete opposite as you can be. 00:15:22.259 --> 00:15:24.519 Love is not hate. 00:15:25.000 --> 00:15:26.680 Hate is not love. 00:15:27.379 --> 00:15:34.000 Now, the connection, if you notice here in Cain, what makes Cain's sacrifice different than Abel's? 00:15:34.700 --> 00:15:36.500 Abel's is done in faith. 00:15:36.500 --> 00:15:38.000 We see that in Hebrews, right? 00:15:40.120 --> 00:15:47.600 Acting out of faith and out of faith, an unrighteous or righteous sacrifice is accepted. 00:15:48.419 --> 00:15:52.639 Without faith, that unrighteous sacrifice is not accepted. 00:15:53.700 --> 00:15:56.860 If you're here this morning, you're not acting out of faith. 00:15:56.919 --> 00:16:00.120 If you do not have faith in Christ, John is clear. 00:16:00.519 --> 00:16:01.519 You abide in death. 00:16:02.200 --> 00:16:03.559 It's a really stern warning. 00:16:03.559 --> 00:16:05.599 It's not a difference of degree. 00:16:06.500 --> 00:16:09.819 And in fact, those two things are as opposite as they can be. 00:16:09.899 --> 00:16:12.559 As far as east is from the west. 00:16:12.899 --> 00:16:15.019 You do not abide in eternal life. 00:16:15.679 --> 00:16:17.919 But in fact, you abide in death. 00:16:19.979 --> 00:16:23.279 Cain is this picture of what true love is not. 00:16:24.239 --> 00:16:26.759 So that kind of begs the question, what is true love? 00:16:27.319 --> 00:16:29.799 Is it all those examples that we saw earlier? 00:16:30.079 --> 00:16:31.699 You know, when we think of Valentine's Day? 00:16:31.700 --> 00:16:36.120 John goes right back to this source of ultimate love. 00:16:36.280 --> 00:16:38.060 This picture of ultimate love. 00:16:38.240 --> 00:16:39.080 Look at verse 16. 00:16:40.580 --> 00:16:44.940 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us. 00:16:46.200 --> 00:16:47.580 And then he goes on. 00:16:49.060 --> 00:16:49.740 Who's the he? 00:16:49.960 --> 00:16:51.340 It's obviously Jesus, right? 00:16:51.640 --> 00:16:56.280 The ultimate picture of love is the picture that we have in the gospel. 00:16:56.279 --> 00:17:00.419 That Jesus has died for the unrighteous. 00:17:00.740 --> 00:17:02.360 And he's done so out of love. 00:17:02.459 --> 00:17:07.899 Not because it's transactional and I can bring something to him or you can bring something to him or anyone. 00:17:09.279 --> 00:17:11.980 But out of his mere good pleasure. 00:17:11.980 --> 00:17:18.019 God in the flesh laid down his life for those that would follow him. 00:17:18.940 --> 00:17:21.259 Unjustly bearing the punishment for sin. 00:17:21.640 --> 00:17:24.299 Even though he was sinless. 00:17:24.980 --> 00:17:27.160 That is the picture of love that we have. 00:17:29.960 --> 00:17:31.519 And how are they to love? 00:17:32.000 --> 00:17:35.980 They are to love because they know this truth. 00:17:36.180 --> 00:17:37.680 That's the second part of verse 16. 00:17:37.680 --> 00:17:41.640 And we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 00:17:44.660 --> 00:17:48.980 Now, we might read that next verse and think. 00:17:49.380 --> 00:17:53.880 Or that next part of that verse of 16 and think. 00:17:54.080 --> 00:17:55.259 Good grief, John. 00:17:55.960 --> 00:17:57.820 I don't know what that means. 00:17:58.039 --> 00:18:02.460 Does that mean that I'm giving my life for other people at Shine Mountain Presbyterian? 00:18:02.460 --> 00:18:08.039 Does that mean I'm giving my life away that I might lose it for a fellow believer? 00:18:09.960 --> 00:18:11.600 Don't you think that's a little extreme? 00:18:12.759 --> 00:18:14.360 What you're asking of me? 00:18:15.460 --> 00:18:17.319 Like, what am I supposed to do with that? 00:18:18.420 --> 00:18:19.100 Don't worry. 00:18:19.220 --> 00:18:21.360 John gets real practical in 17. 00:18:21.640 --> 00:18:23.200 He says it might be that. 00:18:23.880 --> 00:18:26.120 But it looks like this. 00:18:26.119 --> 00:18:32.219 If anyone has the world's goods and sees his brothers in need, yet closes his heart against him. 00:18:33.919 --> 00:18:37.419 How can God's love abide in him? 00:18:37.899 --> 00:18:45.199 Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. 00:18:45.200 --> 00:18:53.440 It's important to note here that he bases this in the love that God, the love that Christ has shown. 00:18:53.539 --> 00:18:55.779 The example that Christ has done. 00:18:56.220 --> 00:19:01.740 And if we have that sense of love, we should desire to meet every need that we see. 00:19:03.299 --> 00:19:06.100 Maybe even give our lives for others. 00:19:07.279 --> 00:19:11.640 But very quickly we become overwhelmed and exasperated at that. 00:19:11.980 --> 00:19:12.840 That's so big. 00:19:12.900 --> 00:19:14.039 The task is so huge. 00:19:14.100 --> 00:19:14.779 What do I do? 00:19:15.799 --> 00:19:19.480 And John kind of reigns that in and says, hey, it looks like this. 00:19:20.519 --> 00:19:24.940 It doesn't mean that we don't go to the ends of the earth like the Great Commission says. 00:19:25.059 --> 00:19:25.960 Yes, we do that. 00:19:27.120 --> 00:19:31.539 But love looks real practical and tangible in these ways. 00:19:31.539 --> 00:19:39.559 He says that if you have a need, if you can see that need among your brothers, 00:19:39.940 --> 00:19:43.840 if you can see it and you have the means to alleviate and you know about it, 00:19:43.839 --> 00:19:45.159 then you're to do so. 00:19:45.500 --> 00:19:47.199 And we should want to do so. 00:19:47.399 --> 00:19:49.240 And if you don't, then you're in trouble. 00:19:49.439 --> 00:19:53.579 Because it means that you don't understand the love that God has shown you. 00:19:53.579 --> 00:20:01.199 You know, we've talked a lot about in our vision for Shine Mountain, this idea of thick community. 00:20:01.720 --> 00:20:03.279 That's what he's talking about here. 00:20:03.279 --> 00:20:10.759 It's being known by other Christians so intimately that we know when others have needs. 00:20:11.019 --> 00:20:16.559 And we meet those and desire to meet those because of the love that God has shown us. 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:19.980 And if we don't do that, then there's a problem. 00:20:25.019 --> 00:20:28.200 That's kind of the scope of our love for the brothers. 00:20:28.879 --> 00:20:31.259 Now, in practice, this is what it looks like. 00:20:31.539 --> 00:20:34.480 It looks like giving to one another when they're in need. 00:20:35.339 --> 00:20:36.899 He says, how could you not, right? 00:20:36.900 --> 00:20:43.800 He says, if you have the ability to know the need and you pass by it, then there's a problem. 00:20:43.940 --> 00:20:46.460 You don't know the love of Christ. 00:20:47.840 --> 00:20:55.820 And oftentimes, and especially in a spiritual environment, especially when we take the Bible seriously, 00:20:56.200 --> 00:21:01.340 there can be this temptation that we're hesitant to get involved in people's lives. 00:21:01.340 --> 00:21:06.460 We kind of stiff-arm people and do this, yes, I will pray for you. 00:21:06.460 --> 00:21:13.319 But if that is the extent of our love and we continue on as we stiff-arm that need that we can clearly see, 00:21:13.519 --> 00:21:17.120 then we don't really know the love of Christ. 00:21:17.620 --> 00:21:25.160 And if we give that answer, oh, I'll pray for that as I bypass a physical need and continue on from a brother, 00:21:25.360 --> 00:21:27.000 that is not true love. 00:21:28.299 --> 00:21:29.940 John says that in verse 18. 00:21:29.940 --> 00:21:35.440 He says, little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:37.200 In deed and in truth. 00:21:37.340 --> 00:21:39.960 Or in deed and truly loving. 00:21:40.460 --> 00:21:41.680 In true action. 00:21:42.059 --> 00:21:43.400 That's what he's talking about. 00:21:43.799 --> 00:21:47.480 James, the book of James, talks about this exact scenario where he says, 00:21:47.480 --> 00:21:53.059 if a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, 00:21:53.539 --> 00:21:59.200 go in peace, be warmed and be filled without giving the things they needed for the body, 00:21:59.500 --> 00:22:00.519 what good is that? 00:22:01.579 --> 00:22:02.779 John answers that question. 00:22:02.880 --> 00:22:04.940 He says, that has no good. 00:22:05.160 --> 00:22:05.940 That's nothing. 00:22:05.940 --> 00:22:15.279 The call to lay down our lives in love is real, and it's practical, and it's tangible, and it's sacrificial, 00:22:15.620 --> 00:22:20.799 and it takes money, and it takes time, and it takes resources. 00:22:21.980 --> 00:22:29.160 But it's not a burden because it's born out of love, and it's a spiritual good as well. 00:22:29.840 --> 00:22:33.740 That physical alleviation is a spiritual work. 00:22:33.740 --> 00:22:37.940 And in doing so, what does that do? 00:22:38.019 --> 00:22:44.160 We know from the Gospels that that organic witness of the body is actually evangelistic. 00:22:44.319 --> 00:22:50.660 People see that and think, why in the world would I want to give to that person? 00:22:51.039 --> 00:22:51.859 This is what got me. 00:22:52.000 --> 00:22:53.779 This is how I was converted, got me. 00:22:54.299 --> 00:22:57.059 This is how I came to know the love of Christ. 00:22:57.059 --> 00:23:05.399 I could not explain as a high schooler and a college-age person why anyone would want to hang out with adults. 00:23:05.859 --> 00:23:08.480 Why would I want to hang out with people that weren't like me? 00:23:08.960 --> 00:23:13.559 Why would I want to hang out with people that were clearly a little bit odd? 00:23:15.039 --> 00:23:22.559 The answer is the love that those people had for one another when I couldn't make sense of why they were together. 00:23:22.559 --> 00:23:26.700 There has to be something there that I'm missing. 00:23:27.179 --> 00:23:33.539 And I was missing this fact that the love that Christians have for one another is attractive. 00:23:33.819 --> 00:23:37.599 People see that on some level, and they have to explain it. 00:23:38.240 --> 00:23:45.240 Now we have to hold that in tension with what Jesus said, that if we love one another, there still will be hatred from the world. 00:23:45.240 --> 00:23:50.359 But if the Spirit is working in people, they will be attracted to that idea. 00:23:50.920 --> 00:23:52.539 They will see it for what it is. 00:23:53.099 --> 00:23:56.140 They will see it as God's love on display. 00:23:57.700 --> 00:23:59.120 That's what true love is. 00:24:00.120 --> 00:24:05.220 John sets this vision of this picture of Jesus laying his life down for Christians, and he says, 00:24:06.000 --> 00:24:07.099 Follow me in this way. 00:24:07.539 --> 00:24:08.880 Lay down your life for others. 00:24:08.880 --> 00:24:17.540 And this command could be up to laying down your own life, but it looks real and practical like helping people in this room. 00:24:19.200 --> 00:24:24.240 And we are known, Christians are known, for the love that we have for others. 00:24:25.120 --> 00:24:30.820 And we should see needs and hear about needs and desire to alleviate them. 00:24:31.300 --> 00:24:32.860 So how do we reign that in? 00:24:32.859 --> 00:24:39.719 Because if we look at all the needs around the world through all these ways that we hear about them, it can be overwhelming. 00:24:40.979 --> 00:24:47.039 Tim Keller, before he was Tim Keller of New York City, was Tim Keller of Small Town Church in Virginia. 00:24:47.859 --> 00:24:49.019 And he wrote about this. 00:24:49.199 --> 00:24:53.079 Not what he was doing, but what his deacons were doing. 00:24:53.179 --> 00:24:58.699 You know those people that are called to equip and serve those physical needs by loving others? 00:24:58.700 --> 00:25:03.860 He wrote about that first, we must look in this community. 00:25:04.220 --> 00:25:06.960 That's the love of the brothers that John is talking about. 00:25:07.660 --> 00:25:13.059 We should see those needs on the outside, all across the world, and we should be moved by compassion. 00:25:13.580 --> 00:25:19.420 But we have duty and responsibility to love those people within the church and then beyond it. 00:25:19.420 --> 00:25:25.440 Otherwise, we see all these things out there, and it can become like that fair game. 00:25:26.019 --> 00:25:32.200 You know, where you have the mallet, and the little groundhog pops up, or the mole pops up, and you try to whack that one. 00:25:32.519 --> 00:25:33.340 And then what happens? 00:25:33.400 --> 00:25:36.300 You see this need over here, and I'm whacking that one. 00:25:36.960 --> 00:25:38.320 And then I'm smashing this one. 00:25:38.560 --> 00:25:45.920 Never really taking care of the moles and groundhogs that pop up in the near term. 00:25:45.920 --> 00:25:52.360 If we focus here, that has a corporate witness to those that are out there. 00:25:53.500 --> 00:25:55.300 This isn't a new idea at all, right? 00:25:55.380 --> 00:26:00.279 We see that in what Jesus says to his disciples, but it goes back even further than this. 00:26:00.519 --> 00:26:02.320 This grand vision of compassion. 00:26:03.779 --> 00:26:04.800 Deuteronomy says this, 00:26:04.800 --> 00:26:11.920 You shall give to him, the man that's in need or poor, freely, and your heart shall not be grudging when you give to him. 00:26:11.920 --> 00:26:17.800 Because for this, the Lord your God will bless you in all your work and all that you undertake. 00:26:18.420 --> 00:26:21.019 For there will never cease to be poor in the land. 00:26:21.800 --> 00:26:28.519 Therefore, I command you, you shall open wide your hand to your brother and to the needy and to the poor that are in your land. 00:26:29.680 --> 00:26:31.340 That is the call for the Christian. 00:26:31.339 --> 00:26:39.799 That we are to care and we are to love one another and to alleviate physical needs as we know about them. 00:26:40.779 --> 00:26:44.740 And as we see them and as we have ability to do so. 00:26:45.699 --> 00:26:51.179 The question is, most often for us in this room is, are we actually making time for other people? 00:26:51.180 --> 00:26:56.940 Or are we so busy with everything that's going on that I'm running from this activity to that activity? 00:26:57.299 --> 00:27:04.019 Or I get confused and I think the spiritual work is only these academic things. 00:27:04.100 --> 00:27:05.440 I can only read my Bible. 00:27:05.539 --> 00:27:07.460 That's the only spiritual work that I'm doing. 00:27:08.240 --> 00:27:09.240 John says, no. 00:27:09.900 --> 00:27:18.440 That actually caring for people and loving others in demonstrable, practical, tangible ways. 00:27:18.779 --> 00:27:20.160 That is spiritual work. 00:27:20.160 --> 00:27:24.019 But that presupposes or assumes that we know each other. 00:27:25.860 --> 00:27:33.860 And it presupposes that we have compassion for others because God has compassion for us in the gospel. 00:27:35.519 --> 00:27:40.560 Is your heart too cold to help one another? 00:27:41.460 --> 00:27:44.220 Or are we so smitten by what Jesus has done? 00:27:44.220 --> 00:27:49.920 I see everything before me and I have to rein it in to those that are around. 00:27:50.160 --> 00:27:54.380 I can't but help love others. 00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:59.480 True love is definitely not pictured in what Cain did. 00:28:00.220 --> 00:28:04.040 True love is definitely pictured in what Jesus has done. 00:28:04.039 --> 00:28:10.019 And true love has effects in our own lives as Christians. 00:28:10.019 --> 00:28:16.400 Some of you will remember the old videos about grammar. 00:28:17.200 --> 00:28:18.819 I think they appeared on PBS. 00:28:19.039 --> 00:28:21.740 I only got them in school because I said I lived in Germany. 00:28:22.220 --> 00:28:25.559 And it was, I think, Schoolhouse Rock. 00:28:26.119 --> 00:28:30.559 And one of the very famous was conjunction, junction, what's your function? 00:28:31.119 --> 00:28:31.319 Right? 00:28:32.059 --> 00:28:38.240 And yeah, if you're above the age of like 25, you're like singing it in your mind and watching the cartoon. 00:28:38.939 --> 00:28:41.939 But it teaches us something that's very important. 00:28:42.419 --> 00:28:47.720 That conjunctions give us moments for pause to figure out what's going on. 00:28:47.939 --> 00:28:50.659 And especially as students of the Bible, we should do that. 00:28:50.660 --> 00:28:53.500 And it doesn't really look like a conjunction to us. 00:28:53.940 --> 00:28:56.180 But John's doing this a couple times in this. 00:28:56.820 --> 00:28:59.620 He starts out with, in verse 11, for this. 00:29:00.140 --> 00:29:02.800 And then in 16, by this. 00:29:02.920 --> 00:29:03.900 Kind of looks a little same. 00:29:04.680 --> 00:29:07.900 And then in 19, he says, by this again. 00:29:07.900 --> 00:29:12.820 It's showing us that there's some coordination going on. 00:29:12.900 --> 00:29:15.740 There's something going on, but we can't put our finger on it. 00:29:16.300 --> 00:29:19.120 And it seems like he's not talking about love anymore. 00:29:19.480 --> 00:29:20.700 So what's it doing there? 00:29:21.460 --> 00:29:26.460 He's advancing this argument that we've heard over and over in 1 John. 00:29:27.220 --> 00:29:31.420 That the big question is, how do we have confidence? 00:29:31.640 --> 00:29:33.200 How do I know that I'm a Christian? 00:29:33.340 --> 00:29:35.620 We saw that in the preamble to this section. 00:29:35.619 --> 00:29:37.959 It's marks our love. 00:29:38.739 --> 00:29:40.459 That's the one that we're focusing on here. 00:29:40.899 --> 00:29:42.379 But how do we know we're really a Christian? 00:29:42.459 --> 00:29:43.619 If we love one another. 00:29:44.239 --> 00:29:47.939 But this conjunction in verse 19 starts with it. 00:29:48.299 --> 00:29:53.319 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him. 00:29:53.799 --> 00:29:54.819 Okay, that makes sense. 00:29:55.039 --> 00:29:58.279 We're advancing this argument of how do we know we're really a Christian? 00:29:58.479 --> 00:29:59.779 Because we love. 00:30:01.379 --> 00:30:04.099 But then it kind of gets sideways on us. 00:30:04.099 --> 00:30:05.199 Look at verse 20. 00:30:05.619 --> 00:30:10.899 For whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 00:30:11.459 --> 00:30:15.019 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God. 00:30:15.579 --> 00:30:22.859 And whatever we ask, we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what is pleasing to him. 00:30:22.859 --> 00:30:27.179 What's John talking about there? 00:30:27.179 --> 00:30:31.500 John's talking about the inward wrestling that we all have. 00:30:32.139 --> 00:30:36.399 I know that I'm supposed to love, but do I do it? 00:30:37.219 --> 00:30:38.259 And what do I do? 00:30:38.599 --> 00:30:40.839 What does that say about my heart when I don't do it? 00:30:40.839 --> 00:30:45.859 He's realizing, gosh, I'm not sure that is me. 00:30:46.119 --> 00:30:55.439 And when we do see ourselves loving believers in real, tangible ways, what does that mean? 00:30:55.559 --> 00:30:57.599 How do I put those two things together? 00:30:57.599 --> 00:31:06.659 He's saying that we're confirming that God is at work, even when I don't see that in my life, even when I don't see that in my own heart. 00:31:06.879 --> 00:31:11.019 That God is actually greater than my own heart. 00:31:11.019 --> 00:31:19.859 He's at work in us, and yet his work is not complete in our lives and in our hearts. 00:31:20.259 --> 00:31:27.539 God is working to make us more and more like Christ, more and more loving, but we're not finished. 00:31:28.039 --> 00:31:29.000 We're not done. 00:31:30.539 --> 00:31:33.000 Reflecting on this passage, one theologian wrote this. 00:31:33.000 --> 00:31:37.420 And when he says meanness, he means like not lovingness. 00:31:37.420 --> 00:31:42.360 God is greater than our meanness and is himself generous. 00:31:43.080 --> 00:31:49.060 And it pleases to see him when his people are acting generously and so being like him. 00:31:49.440 --> 00:31:52.420 God is greater than our own lack of love. 00:31:53.039 --> 00:31:56.360 And he is working that out even in our own hearts. 00:31:57.060 --> 00:31:58.700 That's the work of sanctification. 00:31:58.700 --> 00:32:07.819 That's the work of us being more and more loving because we know the love that we've been shown in the gospel. 00:32:09.900 --> 00:32:18.480 But what does that have to do with the command in verse 22 or even verse 23 when he says, and this is his commandment? 00:32:19.360 --> 00:32:20.380 What is the command? 00:32:20.380 --> 00:32:30.620 Well, the command is this, that we believe in the name of his son, Jesus Christ, and love one another just as he commanded us. 00:32:31.120 --> 00:32:35.040 We don't like to talk about believing and command, but John's really clear. 00:32:35.480 --> 00:32:40.140 The commandment here is to believe in Jesus and to love one another. 00:32:41.260 --> 00:32:43.620 So how do we know if we're truly a Christian? 00:32:43.619 --> 00:32:47.519 Because we obey his command to believe in Jesus. 00:32:48.219 --> 00:32:54.419 And we obey his command to love one another because we've seen what Jesus has done. 00:32:54.879 --> 00:32:57.539 And the effect of this is to abide in him. 00:33:00.219 --> 00:33:02.979 And how do we know even beyond that? 00:33:04.119 --> 00:33:09.459 He says in verse 24, whoever keeps his commandments abides in God and God in him. 00:33:09.559 --> 00:33:10.619 That's the abiding part. 00:33:10.619 --> 00:33:16.199 And by this we know that he abides in us, the spirit whom he has given us. 00:33:16.279 --> 00:33:21.319 That spirit testifies to the fact that God has worked in our hearts. 00:33:21.459 --> 00:33:27.699 And even when we can't feel it, especially in our hearts, when it condemns us and tells us, I'm actually not really loving. 00:33:28.419 --> 00:33:29.739 How do I know the gospel? 00:33:30.359 --> 00:33:31.459 Do I even know the gospel? 00:33:32.179 --> 00:33:34.099 Do I even know that Christ has died for me? 00:33:34.819 --> 00:33:35.259 Yes. 00:33:35.259 --> 00:33:42.759 Because you asking that question and wrestling through that shows that God is at work in you. 00:33:43.759 --> 00:33:46.299 God is at work to make you more loving. 00:33:47.379 --> 00:33:49.039 But we struggle with this question. 00:33:49.619 --> 00:33:52.039 The people that John wrote to struggle with this question. 00:33:53.059 --> 00:33:55.920 How do we know if we're Christians? 00:33:56.240 --> 00:33:57.720 Well, John gave them three marks, right? 00:33:57.720 --> 00:34:01.519 They know the love of Christ. 00:34:02.339 --> 00:34:03.539 They love one another. 00:34:04.299 --> 00:34:05.900 And they have the Holy Spirit. 00:34:06.180 --> 00:34:12.260 So that even when we struggle, even when we fail to obey his command to love one another, we have these two others. 00:34:12.260 --> 00:34:17.900 And even when we question, do we know, really know the love of Christ? 00:34:19.180 --> 00:34:20.600 Because I don't love others? 00:34:21.020 --> 00:34:22.260 He's given us his spirit. 00:34:24.420 --> 00:34:28.980 He's given us these three things to remind us to abide in him. 00:34:30.360 --> 00:34:33.840 Because we're not finished works. 00:34:34.360 --> 00:34:36.260 We struggle to love one another. 00:34:36.260 --> 00:34:41.780 And as we think about this, this really shows us our theology. 00:34:42.660 --> 00:34:43.960 For all of the nerds in here. 00:34:44.240 --> 00:34:47.880 It shows us, do we really understand the love of God? 00:34:48.260 --> 00:34:53.280 Because if we did, we would love one another, even when they're weird, even when we don't like them, 00:34:53.620 --> 00:34:56.940 even when we think, man, I wish I didn't have to have a conversation. 00:34:57.600 --> 00:34:58.640 It's none of us in here, right? 00:34:59.720 --> 00:35:03.260 But I still love them. 00:35:03.260 --> 00:35:06.460 And in loving them, I want to provide for them. 00:35:06.600 --> 00:35:07.760 As I see need. 00:35:07.980 --> 00:35:09.100 As I have ability. 00:35:09.780 --> 00:35:12.260 And if I don't, there's something wrong. 00:35:13.120 --> 00:35:16.640 And we need to ask that the spirit would work in us. 00:35:17.260 --> 00:35:21.520 True love is less like Valentine's Day. 00:35:22.040 --> 00:35:24.720 And more like Jesus. 00:35:25.320 --> 00:35:26.880 That's, of course, yes. 00:35:27.680 --> 00:35:28.900 That is true love. 00:35:28.900 --> 00:35:31.760 True love is shown to us in the gospel of grace. 00:35:32.039 --> 00:35:34.760 That while we were sinners, Christ died for us. 00:35:35.900 --> 00:35:38.039 That is what true love is. 00:35:38.519 --> 00:35:39.119 Let's pray. 00:35:40.860 --> 00:35:44.860 Lord, we are reminded this day of the love that you have shown us. 00:35:45.300 --> 00:35:48.920 That while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 00:35:49.180 --> 00:35:57.320 And the call is to love one another as testimony to God's love for us through Jesus. 00:35:57.320 --> 00:36:00.080 We pray that you would increase our faith. 00:36:00.500 --> 00:36:04.160 Increase our love for one another as we go out from this place. 00:36:04.840 --> 00:36:05.120 Amen.