Hate-worthy Love
Notes
Transcript
Introduction
Introduction
Let’s refresh our memories of where we’ve been up until this point...
John is writing to believers in a group of churches that fellowship together
There is a group that has gone out/SEPARATED from them but is not of them (the TRUE CHURCH) (they are spreading heresies)
Saying they are without sin
Saying they are without guilt
Denying the deity/humanity of Christ
Denying the need for repentance
Living in sin yet claiming the title of Christian
Spreading lies yet claiming to be in the truth
Walking in darkness while claiming to be in the light
John is writing to believers so that they may know...
The truth
Those who are truly in the light, abiding in Christ, children of God
Those who are truly in the darkness, abiding in death, children of the devil
THESE ARE THE SIGNS OF LIFE
Just like you check for (physically)
breathing
pulse/heart beat
brain function
These are things to check for (spiritually)
loving God
abiding in God
loving others
confessing sin/pursuing righteousness
THAT YOU MAY KNOW
If there’s one thing I want you to get out of this whole series, it’s the ability to know the signs of a Christian and the signs of an unbeliever.
Be able to diagnose, “I see these things, it’s consistent with ____________”
Tonight, we are going to look at another sign/characteristic of believers; tonight we are going to look at what I like to call “HATE-WORTHY LOVE.”
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 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. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
For context, let’s look back because John starts this section by saying FOR, he’s building on his prior statements...
9 No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10 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.
THE BELIEVER PRACTICES RIGHTEOUSNESS AND LOVES HIS BROTHER
the two of those go hand in hand. If you are going to practice righteousness, that will take place in the context of loving your brother (or your sister).
John says, “on the topic of love…you’ve heard it from the beginning, we should love one another!”
He’s said that a lot...
“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning”
1 That which was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have seen with our eyes, which we looked upon and have touched with our hands, concerning the word of life—
7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard.
24 Let what you heard from the beginning abide in you. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, then you too will abide in the Son and in the Father.
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
EXPLAIN
37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
34 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. 35 By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
So guess what...
you want signs of life?
you want assurance?
you want to know who’s truly of God?
LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
This is the sign of life, this is a command that you need to follow, point number 1 is this...
1. Follow God’s command to love like Christ (v. 11).
1. Follow God’s command to love like Christ (v. 11).
(Love is the command)
(Love is the command)
THE FIRST COMPONENT OF THIS “HATE-WORTHY LOVE” is love. Love like Christ.
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
SO WHAT IS THIS LOVE, AND WHO ARE THE “ONE ANOTHERS”?
EMPHASIZE
LOVE
I want what’s best for you (in alignment with God’s Word), and I’m willing to sacrifice my life to achieve your best interest.
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
13 Greater love has no one than this, that someone lay down his life for his friends.
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 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 am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing. 4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
Love is
uncomfortable
painful
costly
inconvenient
time-consuming
difficult
the opposite of what your flesh wants to do
ONE ANOTHERS
In this context, John is referring to other believers.
Are we called to take the gospel to unbelievers and show love to them? Yes. Is that the focus of this passage? No.
John is saying that the mark of a true Christian, that you may know, what you are commanded to do: love your brothers and sisters in Christ.
This sounds easy right? A bunch of other believers, we all believe the same things, love the same God, want the same goals, should be great!
Nope. It. Is. Hard.
People who are very unlike us, different, weird, awkward
People who take up a lot of time and don’t return the favor
People with different convictions on grey areas
People of different maturity levels in the faith
People who still struggle with sin (pride, anger, complaining, gossip, lies, etc.)
BECAUSE, WHILE THE BELIEVER IS PUTTING OFF SIN AND IS BEING SANCTIFIED, THEY STILL HAVE FLESHLY BODIES AND THEY ARE NOT GLORIFIED YET.
ILLUSTRATE (sibling-church family similarity)
Think about your siblings, did you pick them? Nope. Are you called to love them? Yep.
Think about your church “siblings,” did you pick them? Nope. Are you called to love them? Yep.
It is evident who is a child of God and who is not by how you love one another (specifically God’s people)
APPLY
So how do we apply this?
You love others by the things you do
BUT you also love others by the things you don’t do
You love others by the things you do
Ask: what are their spiritual needs?
How can you pray for them?
What can you share with them from Scripture?
What truths/promises do they need to be reminded of?
Ask: what are their physical needs?
Are they in need of help with projects?
Are they in need of time?
Are they in need of resources?
The priority is spiritual needs; but often times we get the opportunity to love in the spiritual needs while loving in the physical needs.
You love others by the things you don’t do
COMPLAINING
DISRESPECTING YOUR PARENTS
murder - hating
lying
stealing
coveting
adultery - lusting
9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
The question we should be asking ourselves before, during, and after each interaction with another person is this: “How can I better love like Christ?”
What is the opposite of loving one another, loving your brothers and sisters in Christ? The opposite of love is hate, and a heart of hate leads to murder.
John then uses an illustration from Scripture (Genesis 4) to show the opposite of loving one another...
EXPLAIN
12 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. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
Hate should have no place among God’s people, towards God’s people
We already are going to have the world hating us, we don’t need our own brothers and sisters hating us too (and we don’t need to add to that hate)
John’s instruction/command from God to love one another addresses two things:
you should love, rather than hate your brothers and sisters in Christ
The world is going to hate you for loving like Christ, for loving righteousness.
Don’t act like the world by adding hate against believers
Brace yourself for the hate of the world.
This leads to the second component of the love we’re talking about, “hate-worthy love.”
If you love like Christ, it is going to provoke the hatred of the world
Let’s write it down this way for point number two...
2. Prepare to be hated because you love like Christ (vv. 12-13).
2. Prepare to be hated because you love like Christ (vv. 12-13).
(Love is counter-cultural)
(Love is counter-cultural)
12 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. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
John refers back to Cain and Abel, so let’s look at that narrative...
1 Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” 2 And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. 3 In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 4 and Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat portions. And the Lord had regard for Abel and his offering, 5 but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell. 6 The Lord said to Cain, “Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? 7 If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is contrary to you, but you must rule over it.” 8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him.
Should have been a relationship of love
Abel was righteous, a sacrifice that pleased the Lord
Cain was evil, his sacrifice was not pleasing, he was not righteous like Abel
Rather than try to pursue righteousness, he hated the righteousness of Abel
Cain was set on his ways and hated that Abel and his ways were accepted by God.
Abel’s righteousness, Abel being accepted by God, condemned Cain’s actions as wrong, unacceptable to God.
Cain was committed to his sinful ways, and so he hated Abel/his ways, and that hate led to murder.
JOHN BRINGS UP THIS EVENT, FOR TWO REASONS:
Don’t hate like Cain, it’s the way of the world
Be prepared for the world to hate you BECAUSE you love one another and BECAUSE you walk in the light/pursue righteousness.
APPLY
None of you are murderers, BUT, you may have the same heart as a murderer...
21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 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. 23 So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, 24 leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. 25 Come to terms quickly with your accuser while you are going with him to court, lest your accuser hand you over to the judge, and the judge to the guard, and you be put in prison. 26 Truly, I say to you, you will never get out until you have paid the last penny.
If you are holding onto anger in your heart towards someone, look out, that is the heart of a murderer, it is the heart of Cain
WHAT DOES THIS LOOK LIKE?
I would challenge all of you, examine your heart to see how you respond to righteousness and the way people live for God, it can reveal a lot about your heart and your love.
For believers:
do not be surprised when the world hates you.
Mentally prepare for your love, righteousness, and kindness to be met with hatred
The love of the believer—the love of Christ—will not be warmly accepted by everybody. On the contrary, it will be vehemently opposed.
Christ, the most loving, was met with the strongest of hatreds IN RESPONSE TO his love
Don’t expect to have a warmer welcome than your Lord. In fact, if you’re doing it right, people are probably going to hate you for it.
WHY? Not because you’re trying to rile people up. I’m not saying you should go push people’s buttons, and bug people in such a way where they hate you and you go “man, I’m loving just like Christ).
No. What I’m saying is your righteousness, your love will expose/condemn others and it will bring about hate..
WHY MUST WE PREPARE FOR THIS?
think of the disciples when Jesus was crucified
assurance to keep going in the face of persecution
JOHN TELLS US THIS TO GIVE US CONFIDENCE/ASSURANCE TO KEEP GOING
EXPLAIN
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
3. Live with eternal confidence when you love like Christ (vv. 14-15).
3. Live with eternal confidence when you love like Christ (vv. 14-15).
(Love is confident evidence of faith)
(Love is confident evidence of faith)
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
EMPHASIZE
8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.
2 By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments.
If you love, praise God for that loves is from God!
If you love, have confident hope because you can’t love if you are not abiding in God
ILLUSTRATE
APPLY
Closing
Closing