Well, friends, would you turn with me to the book of 1 John?
1 John, we're looking at chapter 3, verses 10 through 24 today.
That's page 960 in the Pew Bible.
John chapter 3, verses 10 through 24, page 960.
We'll have it on the screen so as I read it the first time,
but it'll be good to have it open as we continue to meditate on this passage today.
As we come to God's Word, let me pray for us.
Our Father in heaven, what a wonderful and needed reminder it is
that it is you who has a hold on us long before we ever took hold of you.
God, your love is always the first love in our lives.
It always precedes any love that we respond and give back to you,
and that is a great comfort and a great joy.
So, Lord, as we approach your Word this morning,
help us to see your Word as just another sign of your first love for us
and help us to receive it by your Spirit
and help us to live it out in his power.
For Jesus' sake, amen.
All right, 1 John chapter 3, verses 10 through 24.
By this it is evident who are the children of God
and who are the children of the devil.
Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God,
nor is the one who does not love his brother.
For this is the message you have heard from the beginning,
that we should love one another.
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.
By this we know love,
that he laid down his life for us,
and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
If anyone has the world's good 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.
By this we shall know that we are of the truth
and reassure our heart before him.
For whenever our heart condemns us,
God is greater than our heart,
and he knows everything.
Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us,
we have confidence before God,
and whatever we ask,
we receive from him
because we keep his commandments
and do what pleases him.
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.
Whoever keeps his commandments
abides in God and God in him,
and by this we know that he abides in us
by the Spirit whom he has given us.
All right.
Well, as we've seen this summer,
1 John, as a book,
in its own sort of evolving,
sort of elliptical way,
presents three ways
or three kind of signs that are evident,
three things that are evident in someone
or in a church
that has genuine faith in Christ.
And those three signs that John describes
are doctrine, obedience, and love.
In other words, doctrine,
believing the truth about Jesus' person and work,
that's one sign.
Obedience, a willing to follow God's commands,
that's the second.
And love.
Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Now, it's important to note
that those three things that John talks about,
they don't make you a Christian.
It's not as if doing those things
will earn you favor with God.
No.
It's more like the fruit of a tree.
Those things are kind of the evidence.
They're the outgrowth.
They're the things that show
that you've come through the gospel
to really receive God's love and favor
and be born again in Him.
These three things are a bit like a three-legged stool.
And if you're missing one of them,
what happens?
If you have a three-legged stool with two legs,
it falls over, right?
It doesn't stand.
Think about it.
Obedience and love
without believing that Jesus is the Christ,
well, that's not much more
than just kind of moralistic deism, right?
Or if you have love and belief without obedience,
well, that's what we call antinomianism.
You just do whatever you want.
But belief and obedience without love,
you see, that also falls over.
Because belief and obedience without love
is just a cold and joyless, dry legalism.
So in this book,
John wants to commend all three
as a whole picture
of what genuine spirituality looks like.
And here in our text today,
we're looking at that third leg of the stool.
We're looking at love.
And John's big idea here,
you see it in verse 10 and in verse 11,
is that true Christians must love one another.
Brotherly love,
that is love for one's fellow brothers
and sisters in Christ,
brotherly love is an essential mark
of genuine Christianity.
A Christian who doesn't love the brothers
is no Christian at all, John says.
Now, John's going to unpack this
in this passage in four ways.
And we're going to look at those four things
as we sort of unpack
this third critical leg of the stool.
First, John talks about the necessity
of brotherly love,
the necessity of it.
And we see this in verses 12 through 15.
John brings before us
the negative example of Cain.
Now, you probably remember
the story of Cain and Abel
from Genesis 4.
You know, if you've ever tried
reading through the Bible
in the whole year,
you know, you probably at least
got to Genesis 4
before you petered out
somewhere in Leviticus, right?
You know, so you remember Cain and Abel.
Cain and Abel were the very first brothers
in the Bible.
And what happens?
They grow up,
and in the course of time,
they both offer sacrifices to God,
but we're told that God accepts
Abel's sacrifice,
but he does not accept Cain's.
Now, Genesis 4 doesn't seem to tell us
why Cain's sacrifice wasn't accepted,
but the Apostle John here in our text
tells us that Cain's deeds were evil
and his brother Abel's righteous.
If you go to the book of Hebrews
in the New Testament,
chapter 11, verse 4,
it suggests something similar.
We're told there that Abel
offered his sacrifice in faith,
that is, out of love and trust for God,
and presumably Cain did not.
So it would seem then,
as we put these pieces together,
that God doesn't accept Cain's sacrifice then,
because in this instance,
Cain's outward religious actions,
his sacrifice, as it were,
that outward religious action,
wasn't matched by an inward heart
of love and obedience towards God.
Rather, Cain's life was marked
by unrighteousness
and a lack of inward trust in God.
So God doesn't accept his sacrifice.
It reminds us of what God will say
through the prophet Isaiah many years later,
seeing the same problem
in the people of Israel
at the time of Isaiah.
He says,
this people honors me with their lips,
but their hearts are far from me.
So Cain, it seems,
was honoring God with his lips,
with an outward sacrifice,
but his heart was far from God.
And how did Cain respond to all this?
Well, in Genesis 4,
we see that God pleads with Cain.
God comes to him
and calls him to repentance.
He warns him.
He says,
Cain, this is not the path.
This is a path that leads to death.
But instead of responding to God
in repentance and in faith,
Cain grows angry
and jealous and bitter.
And he calls his younger brother Abel
out into the field
and he strikes him down.
He murders him.
Now, coming back to 1 John,
we might think this example of Cain
is pretty extreme, right?
I mean,
not many of us here
have probably murdered someone.
But John,
you see,
the Apostle John,
he wants us to look at the heart.
Look at the end of verses 14
and verse 15 in this paragraph.
Whoever does not love
abides in death.
And whoever hates his brother
is a murderer.
And you know that no murderer
has eternal life abiding in him.
John wants us to look
at the heart here.
And he also wants us to realize
that, you know,
there's no neutral ground
in the spiritual life.
Well, you know,
we like to think,
we like to think
that there's kind of plenty
of neutral ground
in the spiritual life.
You know,
on the one hand,
there are these really awful,
murderous people over there
like Cain.
And then there are these
really amazing,
loving people over there
like Mother Teresa
or whoever.
And then the rest of us
are just kind of neutral.
We're in the middle.
We're neither all that good
or all that bad.
But you know,
that's not how the Bible
depicts the spiritual life.
The Bible doesn't say
there's any neutral ground.
You either abide
in the house of love
and life
or you abide
in the house of hatred
and death.
And without love,
John says,
you're not living
in neutrality.
You're living
in the house of death,
of hatred,
and yes,
even murder.
Remember what the Apostle Paul
says to the Corinthian church
in 1 Corinthians 13,
1 through 3.
He says,
if I speak in the tongues
of men and of angels
but have not love,
I'm a noisy gong
or a clanging cymbal.
And if I have prophetic powers
and understand all mysteries
and all knowledge,
and if I have all faith
so as to remove mountains
but have not love,
I'm nothing.
If I give away all I have
and if I deliver up my body
to be burned
but have not love,
I gain nothing.
Now we're familiar
with that passage, right?
1 Corinthians 13.
We've heard it read
at weddings
and things like that.
I remember a friend of mine
in Australia,
Australia,
not a very Christianized place,
right?
He had a friend
who was asked to read
1 Corinthians 13
at a wedding
but he read
1 Chronicles 13 instead.
That must have been
a great wedding.
But anyway,
1 Corinthians 13.
It's not just this sort
of fluffy passage, right?
There's actually an edge to it.
Without love,
we're nothing.
Like Cain,
we can offer up
religious externals
and these externals
might look wonderful
or powerful
or even significant
but without love,
we gain nothing.
We are nothing.
And you know what was happening
at the church in Corinth
that didn't have love?
Jealousy, bitterness,
animosity, hatred.
These things were growing
like wildfire.
And as a result,
the church was dying.
Why?
Because jealously,
bitterness,
animosity, hatred,
you know, externally,
those things might sort of look
or actually be a mile away
from murder.
But internally,
in the heart,
they're one and the same.
Isn't this what Jesus himself
taught in the Sermon on the Mount?
Matthew 5.
Jesus says,
You've heard that it was said 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,
that is despising them
in your heart,
will be liable
to the hell of fire.
So for our Lord Jesus,
hatred,
animosity,
contempt,
these things were all tantamount
to murder in the heart.
Without love,
we abide in death.
Love is the necessary mark
of real Christianity.
It has to be there.
Now, there are two ways
we can apply this point
about the necessity of love
as John presents it here.
And I think the first way
we need to apply it
is through self-examination.
Friends,
outward show
is no evidence
of inward transformation.
Cain and Abel
offered very similar
sacrifices externally.
One brought livestock,
the other brought produce
from the field,
but that's not what made
one acceptable
and the other unacceptable.
Because you know,
in the rest of the Old Testament,
God commands both animals
and produce
to be brought as sacrifices.
So both Cain and Abel
looked externally
religious,
spiritual,
worshipful.
Both of them
came to the house
of the Lord as it were,
but only one
of those two brothers
was living or abiding
in the house
of eternal life.
The other one
was abiding
and living
in the house
of death.
Both in the house
of the Lord,
but both living
in very different houses
spiritually.
How about you, friend?
You've come
to the house
of the Lord today.
You've sung songs.
You've prayed prayers.
You've heard the Bible read.
You're now hearing
God's Word preached.
But these external actions
on your part
do not necessarily mean
that you have eternal life
living in you.
These external actions
are certainly important,
even wonderful things to do.
They're not to be
despised or neglected,
but they are not
certain evidence
that you are
in a saving relationship
with Christ.
Christ.
In Matthew 7,
Jesus even says this.
He says,
On that day,
many will say to me,
Lord, Lord,
did we not prophesy
in your name
and cast out demons
in your name
and do many mighty works
in your name?
Then Jesus says,
I will declare to them,
I never knew you.
Depart from me,
you workers
of lawlessness.
You see what the Lord
is saying?
The external
religious acts,
even seemingly
miraculous deeds
are not certain evidence
of saving faith.
There must be
brotherly love.
Love for one another
in the family of God.
That's the necessary sign.
That's the necessary evidence.
Friend, do you have that?
If not,
then plead to God for mercy.
Ask God for Christ's sake
to forgive your sins.
And to forgive your attempts
at making yourself
look good on the outside.
Ask God
to make you new
from the inside out.
Jesus says,
anyone who comes to me,
I won't cast them out.
Come to him
and ask him
to forgive your sins
and receive him.
Now there's another way
that John applies
this first point
about the necessity
of brotherly love
and we see it
in verse 13.
He writes,
don't be surprised,
brothers,
that the world hates you.
Now just as Abel
was the target
of Cain's hatred,
bitterness,
and jealousy,
John's saying,
so Christians
shouldn't be surprised
if we encounter
the same sort of treatment
today from those
outside the faith.
And the truth is,
we have to admit
that while we do
at times experience
that sort of thing
in the world,
whether it be
from coworkers
or non-Christian family members
or whatever it is,
I think we also have to admit
that there's a whole lot
of the world
inside the visible church too,
right?
Tragically,
people who claim
to be Christians
can also be full
of bitterness
and jealousy
and hatred.
But brothers and sisters,
don't be surprised.
Don't be caught off guard.
This is the landscape
of our fallen world.
And John writes
these words
to comfort us
and to prepare us
when we experience
these things.
because he knows
if we're not careful,
if we are taken by surprise,
then we too
will be tempted
to fall into bitterness
and hatred ourselves.
So don't be surprised.
Be prepared.
Well,
after telling us
about the necessity
of brotherly love,
John goes on to show us
the nature of brotherly love.
What does this sort of love
look like?
If it's essential
that we have it,
how do we recognize it
in our lives?
So this is John's second point,
the nature of brotherly love,
the nature.
We see this in verses 16
through 18.
Verse 16,
by this we know love,
that he,
that is Jesus,
laid down his life for us
and we ought to lay down
our lives
for the brothers.
So after the negative
example of Cain,
John now points us
to the positive example
of Christ.
Cain was sort of
the worst older brother
in the entire Bible,
right?
And yet now he points us
to Jesus,
the true older brother.
Christ who laid down
his life
shows us
the nature of real,
genuine love.
This is love
that we lay down
our lives
for our fellow Christians.
Now, of course,
the love of Christ
compels us
to do good
to everyone,
like the good Samaritan
on the road to Jericho
who shows love
to someone
who culturally
would have been
considered his enemy,
right?
Just like that good Samaritan,
so we show love
to everyone.
Even those culturally,
we might think
they're our enemies
or other people
might think
that we're enemies.
We show love
to everyone,
but we do have
a special regard
and a special obligation
and a special love
for fellow believers.
The Apostle Paul
captures this balance
so well
in Galatians 6.10.
He writes,
So then,
as we have opportunity,
let us do good
to everyone
and especially
to those
who are of
the household
of faith.
So what does
this self-giving love
look like?
How is it expressed
in everyday
Christian living?
And you know,
here John
is very down to earth.
He doesn't want us
to think
that laying down
our lives
is something
that only happens
in extraordinary
once-in-a-lifetime moments.
No,
look at how
this should play out
practically for us.
Look at what John says
in verses 17 and 18.
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.
So here's the question
John's answering,
or here's the question
John's asking.
This is what
self-giving love
looks like.
Do you share
what you have
with brothers
and sisters in need?
Do you share
what you have
with brothers
and sisters in need?
I remember
getting a phone call
at the church office
not too long ago
from a church member
and they were calling
because they had
a bunch of extra food
in their pantry.
They were kind of
cleaning it out
and making some room
and they gave
the church office
a call
because they wanted
to know
who in the church
might be in need,
that they might
give it to them.
Now,
on the surface
that sounds really simple,
right?
Maybe even simplistic
or too easy,
right?
Such a simple thing.
But according to John,
that's an example
of real love.
When we take
the world's goods
that we have,
whether it's money
or resources
or influence,
and when we see
the real needs
of our Christian
brother or sister,
and when we open
our heart
to meet that need
with what we have.
Now,
I wonder,
did you want
the apostle
to give
a more flashy
explanation
or application
of self-giving love?
Something more dramatic,
more attention-getting,
right?
But that's just it.
This kind of love,
it's not about
being flashy
or dramatic
or extravagant
or attention-grabbing.
If that's what you're after,
we're really just
doing it for ourselves.
If we want something
flashy or dramatic
or extravagant
or attention-grabbing,
then aren't we
just doing those things
to look good
or to feel good?
No,
real self-giving love
lays down
even that desire
to be seen
and admired
for doing a great
act of love.
Real self-giving love
is self-forgetful.
It's more tuned in
to the real needs
of the brother or sister
right before me
and how
what God has given me
might be used
to meet that need.
Well,
if this is the nature
of brotherly love,
well,
how do we go about
putting it into practice then?
Well,
first,
notice that John says
we must be able
to see
our brother or sister
in need.
We see them.
In other words,
we need to be in enough
regular contact
and relationship
with fellow believers
that we can actually identify,
actually see
what the needs are
when they arise.
Practically,
if you're able to
and you don't
regularly come to church
on Sundays,
if you're able to
and you don't
regularly fellowship
with a small group
or another smaller fellowship
of church members,
then it's going to be
very difficult
for you to love
in the way
John describes here.
Imagine I never
sat down
with my family
at the dinner table
to eat with them.
Every night,
I would stay in the office
to work
or watch TV
or go for a walk,
you know.
I was just never
present with them.
Could I really say
that I love them
if I never sit down
to be with them?
And can I know
what's going in that…
Can I really know
what's going on
in their lives
enough
to really serve
and love them?
No.
We have to be present
to one another.
Faithful church attendance
matters.
Faithful small group
attendance matters.
As an aside,
this is one of the many
reasons we practice
formal church membership
so we can actually know
and identify
with one another
as brothers and sisters
in the same spiritual family.
In membership,
we're saying,
I'm not just an attender.
I'm not just a consumer.
I'm a member
of this family
ready to serve
and be served
by my fellow brothers
and sisters.
So first,
in order to practice
brotherly love,
we need to be present
with each other
so we can actually
see each other's needs.
Second,
we need to view
our worldly goods
as a means
of blessing others.
We need to look
at our finances,
for example,
and ask,
how much can I give
to others in need?
The world wants us
to push
to the limits
of our spending,
right,
so that we can have
a certain lifestyle
and that lifestyle
is supposed to bring us
joy, happiness,
peace,
and like nirvana
on earth,
you know.
But as Christians,
we need to ask,
what if I actually
live a simpler lifestyle
so that I can free up
more of the resources
God has entrusted
to me
to help my brothers
and sisters
in need?
Now,
we need to be careful
not to judge one another
in this matter,
right?
But this is a question
we all need to be asking
of ourselves.
How can I be viewing
my worldly goods
not as things
that I possess
to use for my own ends,
but as gifts
to bless others?
As a church,
we set aside money
in our annual budget
for this very reason.
We have what's called
the Deacon's Benevolence Fund,
and that is money
that we've set aside
as a church family
to give practically
to those church members
and church regular attenders
and those who are
in our midst
to give to them
to help meet practical,
tangible needs
as they arise.
And I know that many of you
give generously
to the Deacon's Benevolence Fund
so that we can do that work
more and more,
and many people,
probably more than you know,
have been blessed very deeply
through that generosity.
But you know,
this doesn't just happen
formally as a church family
through the Deacon's Benevolence Fund.
It can happen informally
through all of us.
As we hear about needs
in our small group,
as we learn about needs
in our everyday relationships
in the family of God,
we can express the kind of love
that John is describing here
when we view
whatever worldly goods we have
not as something
for our disposal,
but as something God
has entrusted to us
that we might bless others.
And of course,
this dynamic of identifying needs
and giving generously,
it doesn't just stay
within the bounds
of our local church, right?
It extends globally.
Just think of the missionaries
that we support as a church.
The Tidwells in South Asia
serving in hospital work
and healthcare there,
meeting very practical needs.
Our missionaries in Central Asia
who were just visited
a couple weeks ago,
caring for persecuted believers
in that part of the world.
Very real needs
that they are seeking to meet.
Even Greg and Kim King
in Austria,
who are doing work
among Turkish immigrants
in Vienna
who recently were in need
of housing,
you know,
as they continue
their work of outreach.
That was a very real need
and we as a church
were able to give to that need.
So this dynamic
of seeing brothers and sisters
in need,
whether they're persecuted believers
in Central Asia
or missionaries in Vienna,
seeking to use
our worldly goods
to meet that need,
this dynamic
that John's describing,
it extends out
from us globally.
So practically then,
first,
we need to be present enough
to see the needs
of our brothers and sisters
and second,
we need to view
our worldly goods
as a means
to bless others.
But there's a third thing,
practically.
Look again at verse 17.
John writes,
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?
The third thing
we need practically then
is an open heart,
a heart that doesn't close,
a heart that doesn't close
whether out of fear
or busyness
or a critical,
judgmental spirit.
We need hearts
that are open,
open to give,
open to sacrifice.
But what is it
that opens our hearts
in this way?
How do we get
this opened heart?
Well, John tells us here,
doesn't he?
It's the love of God
for us.
If God's love
abides in us,
then our hearts
will open
towards others.
And this brings us
to the third
big idea,
main point of our passage.
John showed us
the necessity
and the nature
of brotherly love,
but he also points us
to the source
of brotherly love,
the source.
And we see it right here
in the same paragraph
we've been considering,
verses 16 through 18,
but especially
in verse 16.
By this we know love,
that he laid down
his life
for us.
You see,
friends,
Jesus Christ
isn't just
a moral example
for us to follow.
If your understanding
of Jesus
stops there,
then you don't
really understand
who Jesus is
or what he himself
understood his mission
to be.
If you only understand
Jesus as a moral example,
then you also
don't really understand
the love of God
for you.
Because Jesus
didn't just come
to show us
how to live
a loving life.
He didn't lay down
his life merely
as an example.
No,
John says Jesus
laid down his life
for us.
When Jesus died,
he accomplished
something for us
in our place
that we could not
accomplish.
Jesus himself
put it this way
in Mark 10,
verse 45.
He said,
for the Son of Man
came not to be served
but to serve
and to give his life
as a ransom
for many.
Did you catch that?
Jesus says
he didn't come
to just give his life
as an example
for many
but as a ransom
for many.
Now,
what's a ransom?
Well,
a ransom is a payment,
right,
that sets you free.
You see,
friends,
all of us,
apart from Christ,
we're enslaved
in sin
and in spiritual poverty.
We owe God
a debt
that we can't
possibly pay
and we stand
condemned.
but Christ
came to pay
our ransom,
to make the payment
to set us free.
The Apostle Paul
put it this way
in 2 Corinthians 8,
9.
He said,
for you know
the grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ
that though
he was rich,
yet for your sake
he became poor
so that you
by his poverty
might become rich.
the king of heaven,
the only son
of the Father
in the splendor
of eternity
came to this earth
in poverty.
He was born
in a manger,
right?
I mean,
mangers aren't like
the cute things
you see in nativity scenes,
right?
Like animals eat
out of mangers,
that's what they're for
and that's where
the king of the universe
was born
when he took on
flesh for us.
Jesus came to this earth
in poverty
and then he died
a criminal's death
on a cross
in your place.
Why?
So that we,
through his poverty,
might become
spiritually rich.
What are those
spiritual riches
that we gain
through Christ's poverty?
The spiritual riches
of having all
of our sins forgiven,
having a perfectly
clean and clear
conscience before God.
The spiritual riches
of being adopted
into God's family
to be beloved
as a daughter,
as a son,
to be assured
of the fatherly's favor,
father's favor over us
and for us
all of our life.
The spiritual riches
of being given
a new heart,
a new nature
by the Holy Spirit
to have new desires
planted in us
for life and joy
and holiness.
The spiritual riches
of being given
the indestructible promise
of eternal life.
Friend, ask anyone
on their deathbed
if they would give
all of their money
and all of their wealth
and all of their fame
away
to not face
the abyss of death
and what would they say?
In a heartbeat.
And yet,
what has Christ given us?
The spiritual riches
of eternal life.
Through his poverty,
you've become rich.
And do you see now
how much God loves you?
He didn't just send
his son as your example,
but as your savior.
He paid the debt
that you owed.
He lavished his heavenly riches
upon you
when you didn't deserve it.
He rose from the grave
on the third day
to prove that your debt
of sin had been erased.
Done!
And that the glories
of heaven now belong
to you
and to everyone
who will simply repent
and believe in him.
Friends,
that,
that is the source
of brotherly love.
That is the thing
that opens up our hearts
when we see
that his poverty
has made us rich.
When we see
that we don't earn
God's favor
through showing brotherly love
because we never could,
right?
But that God has freely
given us his favor.
You see,
brotherly love
is not what makes us
a Christian.
It's the other way around.
No,
we show brotherly love
because we've been given
God's favor freely
by grace.
Brotherly love
is not the cause
of God loving us.
It's the result
of God's loving us.
Brotherly love
is the evidence
that God's first love
has taken hold
of our hearts.
It's the evidence
that the self-giving love
of Jesus Christ
has captivated us
and transformed us
and that we've given
our life to him
and his love.
This source
of brotherly love
doesn't come from ourselves.
It comes from God
and it comes from
seeing with fresh eyes
what Jesus has done
for us,
that he laid down
his life for us.
And the more you
behold him
in his self-giving glory,
the more you behold him
doing that for you,
that's what opens
your hearts.
That's what's going
to open our hearts
even when we're afraid
or distracted
or selfish
because when we see
how much Christ
has loved us,
well then friends,
what do we have to fear?
Why do I have to cling
to this world's goods
when I know
what Christ has done
for me?
If he gave himself
for me,
if he gave his own self
for me,
will he not continue
to take care of me?
And so our hearts
continue to open
and then we are able
to love just like
he loved us.
So John tells us
the necessity
and the nature
and the source
of brotherly love.
But lastly,
he wants to tell us
about the assurance
of brotherly love,
the assurance.
And this is the last paragraph
of our passage,
verses 19 through 24.
You know,
what sort of result
in our lives
comes about
when we love
in this way,
when we're living
in this kind of love
in response
to the gospel,
what then is the dynamic
in our lives?
Remember,
John is writing this letter
to a church
that's troubled and doubting,
right?
They're wondering
whether or not
they have the real thing
spiritually.
And those troubles
and doubts arose
because a group
had kind of broken off
from their midst
and began teaching
that Jesus hadn't really
come in the flesh
and that the key
to spirituality
was secret knowledge
that only they could give,
right?
But John wants
to come to this church
and reassure them.
He doesn't want them
to believe those lies
and to live in fear
and doubt
that they've missed
the real thing.
No,
he wants them
to live in joy
and freedom
and love
and confidence
that they do know
God in Christ.
So he writes
this final paragraph here
so that we might enjoy
our relationship with God.
Look at verse 19.
By this,
that is,
by seeing the fruit
of brotherly love
in our hearts,
we shall know
we are of the truth
and reassure
our heart before Him.
And we see this evidence
in our lives,
as we see this evidence
in our lives,
it brings assurance.
And that joyful assurance,
it does three things,
as John outlines here.
First,
he says it's a bulwark
against self-condemnation.
Look at verse 20.
Whenever our hearts
condemn us,
God is greater
than our heart
and He knows everything.
You know,
you might look at your life
and not see much
that's spectacular
or dramatic.
You might not be
a great teacher
of flashy spiritual gifts.
You might struggle
to read the Bible.
Prayer might not
come naturally to you.
And at times,
your heart almost rises
up against you
condemning you.
How can you say
you're a Christian?
But John wants
to come alongside of you
as a loving pastor
and say,
no, no, no.
You're looking
in the wrong direction.
What does God say
is the mark
of a genuine Christian?
Flashy spiritual gifts?
No.
Ability to teach
or memorize
long passages of Scripture?
No.
Being able to hold
all-night prayer vigils?
No.
What does God say?
Verse 23,
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.
Are you trusting in Jesus
and not yourself?
Are you loving
your brothers and sisters?
That's what God says.
And God is greater
than your heart
because God knows everything
and your heart does not.
Last time I checked.
So when the self-condemnation comes
with standards and criteria
that aren't in the Bible
wanting to condemn you,
look at Jesus.
Trust in His love.
Then out of that love,
love your brothers and sisters.
That's the criteria.
No more, no less.
But this assurance
isn't just a bulwark
against self-condemnation.
It also, John says,
brings wonderful confidence
in prayer.
Verse 21,
Beloved,
if our heart does not condemn us,
we have confidence before God.
And whatever we ask,
we receive from Him
because we keep His commandments
and do what pleases Him.
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.
When you are secure
in your relationship with God,
when you have the assurance
that comes from believing in Christ,
something powerful happens.
Out of that assurance before God,
you start to experience
a wonderful freedom in prayer.
That's what the word confidence means here.
It's sort of freedom
to draw near to God
and ask Him
whatever is on your heart.
It's like the clouds part,
the sun shines through,
your soul begins to open up,
and like a flower
opening to the skies,
you just know
that your Heavenly Father
loves you
and He delights
to hear your prayers.
And so you go
and you ask.
And the more you ask,
the more you find
that God is answering your prayers.
Why?
Not because God is rewarding you
for your obedience,
but because your prayers
start to be more and more
in line with His will.
And so opening our hearts
to the gospel
and then letting the gospel
open our hearts
to love our brothers and sisters
comes full circle
and sends us back to God
with renewed confidence
and joy before Him in prayer.
So John says this,
brotherly love brings assurance.
Assurance,
that's a bulwark
against self-condemnation,
and it's increasing confidence
in prayer.
But lastly,
he says this assurance
doesn't just bring
increasing confidence
in prayer,
but he says it brings
richer communion with God.
Look again
at the end of our passage.
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.
Whoever keeps His commandments
abides in God
and God in Him.
And by this,
we know that He abides in us
by the Spirit
whom He has given.
This kind of assurance
that John is talking about
brings about
a deeper experience
of our loving relationship
and communion with God
that's honestly hard
to put into words.
John says,
we abide in God
and God in us.
Now that's true
of every Christian.
The mutual indwelling
of the believer in God
and shockingly,
God in the believer.
That's true
of every Christian.
But do you and I
really grasp that?
Do you get a sense
of that awesome communion
that you have
with God in Christ?
Do you have a sense
of that in your soul,
in your heart?
John says,
that sense,
that deep,
awesome reality
starts to become real
as the Holy Spirit
does His work.
by the Spirit
whom He has given us.
We start to know
that He abides in us.
And we know it
not just intellectually,
but in our affections
from the heart.
The Apostle Paul
describes this work
of the Spirit
in Romans 8.
He says,
you didn't receive
the spirit of slavery
to fall back into fear.
You've received
the spirit of adoption
as sons
by whom we cry,
Abba,
Father.
The Spirit Himself
bears witness
with our spirit
that we are
children of God.
John was expressing
something similar
when at the beginning
of chapter 3
in this book
he wrote,
Behold,
what manner of love
the Father
has given to us
that we should be
called children of God
and so we are.
You can almost hear
the Apostle John saying,
Abba,
Father.
We are in God
and God is in us.
Intimate,
loving communion
between God
and His beloved children,
you and me
in Christ.
This is what assurance
brings,
this deep experience
of this reality
of our communion
with God.
So the assurance
of brotherly love,
it silences
self-condemnation,
it opens the doors
of confidence
and prayer,
and it deepens
our experience
of communion
with God.
Friends,
are these not
great motivations?
Are these not
great things
to long for
and desire more of?
Are these not
great motivations
for us to set
our eyes on Jesus,
to behold how much
He has loved us,
and then to turn
and to love
one another?
This is the message
we've heard
from the beginning,
that we should love
one another.
Let's pray.
Holy Spirit,
would you come?
Shine the spotlight
on the work of Jesus,
transform our hearts,
and let us taste
this rich assurance
that comes
from knowing Christ
and loving one another.
Lord,
for those
who have been
troubled by this passage
because they don't see
the love of Christ
in their hearts,
Lord,
would that not lead them
to turn away from you,
but to run toward you.
Jesus,
you say you stand
at the door
and you knock,
and if we open,
you will come in
and eat with us,
feast with us.
So God,
I pray
that the opening
of that door
would be happening,
that you would grant
saving faith
to those
who are uncertain
of where they stand
with you,
and let them leave
today confident
of your love
for them in Jesus.
Amen.