WHAT IS LOVE? LOVE IS A VERB!
1 JOHN - Walk In The Light • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 5 viewsThose who truly belong to God in Christ will live and love after the pattern of Jesus rather than the pattern of the world.
Notes
Transcript
THE SHIFT IN FOCUS
THE SHIFT IN FOCUS
FIRST SECTION: “LIGHT”
Up until now, John’s epistle has focused on the fact that God is LIGHT and we are called to walk in the light.
5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.
We’ve seen the basis of Christian Fellowship laid out before us.
What draws us all together? What unites us?
Different ages, ethnicities, vocations, socio-economic statuses, grades in school.
The LIGHT OF THE GOSPEL UNITES US!
We were like the children of Israel that the LORD promised the Messiah to through Isaiah
2 The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light; those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.
We have been called out of darkness…1 Peter 2.9-10
9 But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.
10 Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.
THE LIGHT HAS COME:
We have “seen the light”.
God is Light.
We walk in the LIGHT.
We have the possibility of deep and meaningful relationships because of the LIGHT…
Our fellowship has meaning because of this principle of the light of God’s truth
And we abide in HIM / John has pointed to abiding in His LIGHT up to this point
And now, this book makes a decided shift in its focus.
From the basics of fellowship to the BEHAVIOR of our fellowship.
From the conditions and cautions of our fellowship to the CHARACTERISTICS & CONSEQUENCES of our fellowship.
AND ALL OF THAT, is folded into one word: LOVE!
If the LIGHT of God brought us into fellowship, LOVE is why we’re still here together!
TRANSITION
TRANSITION
In 1 John, the Bible uses quite a bit of contrasts to help make a picture clearer.
PERSONAL: One of the books I’ve read to some of our children as they were little was a book of opposites.
“BIG - small”
“TALL - short”
“UP - down”
“LIGHT - dark”
The Holy Spirit had John doing that all throughout this epistle.
Walking in darkness / Walking in the light
Antichrist / Christ
Children of the Devil / Children of God
and now…
hating a brother (from last week’s sermon) and loving his brother (our text today)
The first thing we’ll see is what…
1. LOVE IS NOT…
1. LOVE IS NOT…
Our Information on love shows us what it is NOT!
1 John 3:11-15
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.
Before telling his audience precisely what love is, he first tells them what it is not.
LOVE does NOT produce the kind of action Cain exhibited toward his brother Abel.
Cain murdered his brother (Gen. 4:8) and in that action he was of the evil one.
Let’s look at that text:
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.
The reason for this murder was that Cain’s deeds were evil and he hated that his brother’s weren’t.
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.
The Bible’s word for “murder” here in the Greek means “to butcher or slaughter.”
Rendered literally, it would be translated “to cut the throat.”
Abel died a violent death at the hands of his own brother.
Often the nature of the wicked HATES THE RIGHTEOUS!
Where does this type of hatred come from? The evil one.
Cain failed the test of love for his brother.
The MURDEROUS HATEFUL IDEOLOGY OF CAIN is alive and well in our world today!
It is easy for the believer to recognize in the murderous ideology of the Pro-Abortion crowd. Their deeds are evil, from the evil one himself, it results in murder.
It is easy for us to see in the very loud and proud violently vocal minority that is committed to advancing a lie, denying reality and basic truth, and attacking those who would dare to speak Biblical truth in love to this
It is easy for us to see with the monstrous rise of Islam and its murderous ideology to spread the caliphate (the rule of Muhammed) all over the world to see the extermination of Jews, Christians, and all other religions.
Those are easy amens. Those are real threats.
But Jesus said,
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.
There’s some “Cain” in:
sibling rivalry that goes too far
parents that lose their tempers and react in rage
fraternities and sororities that are be hotbeds of exclusivism, racism, and violence in hazing
workplace backstabbing
contempt for others because they have a status we don’t
I believe there may be some traces of Cain in our sarcasm - that kills intimacy with people. (PAUSE)
I believe there are some traces of Cain in the humor and entertainment that we find when others fall or fail.
(PAUSE)
This is NOT the way of LOVE! This is the way of the world…
…that leads to hatred…that leads to death.
And the world is aligned against TRUTH, LOVE, and BEAUTY!
13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you.
When the church tries to water down its theology to attempt to asuage this hatred, EVERYONE LOSES.
The world must hate the Christian fellowship. NOT BECAUSE WE TRY TO BE OFFENSIVE - NO! Only the Gospel and the Truth should offensive.
God’s people shouldn’t be TOXIC - that’s the way of Cain. But make no mistake, THIS BOOK IS TOXIC - TOXIC TO SIN AND TO EVERYTHING THAT WOULD EXALT ITSELF AGAINST THE LORD JESUS CHRIST!
We know this! We’ve known this from the beginning.
We are of the light…the world is shrouded in darkness.
We feel it. We know we’re increasingly a minority…“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.”
Remember it is a CONQUERED WORLD which seeks to terrify us; it is indeed a CONDEMNED HATRED which attacks us.
So, the information that John gives us on love here…what the Bible is showing us in these handful of verses is WHAT LOVE IS NOT!
TRANSITION:
Now, he’ll point us to WHO LOVE IS!
If we’re to LOVE in such a way that it is one of the OUTWARD EVIDENCES that we belong to JESUS…it would serve that Jesus Christ is our example!
11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.
LOOK AT VERSE 16
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
2. LOVE IS…
2. LOVE IS…
Our INSPIRATION to love comes from Christ Himself!
WE KNOW: BECAUSE OF THE TRUTH FROM GOD’S WORD!
THAT HE: THE LORD JESUS CHRIST
LAID DOWN HIS LIFE: JESUS CAME TO SERVE; CAME TO LOVE THE WORLD TO DEATH; WILLINGLY GAVE HIS LIFE AS A RANSOM;
FOR US: THAT’S YOU AND ME! GOD HAS DRAWN SINNERS TO THE SAVIOR!
8 but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.
23 For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
This love was from the Father, through the Son, crowned with His Spirit.
Here is love, vast as the ocean
Loving kindness as the flood
When the Prince of Life, our Ransom
Shed for us His precious blood
Who His love will not remember?
Who can cease to sing his praise?
He can never be forgotten
Throughout Heaven's eternal days
1 Timothy 1 tells us that Jesus Christ, the King of Glory, Heaven’s Treasure
Came to Save Sinners (v15).
That’s ALL OF US - You are NOT GOOD & MORAL ENOUGH to earn your way into Heaven.
Even the worst of sinners (v15).
Your sinfulness is no match for God’s grace!
Jesus came to display his patience as King of the ages, immortal, invisible, and the only God (vv16-17)
(Paul is reminding Timothy that His salvation was not for him alone - The Gospel came to you on the way to someone else!)
To be glorified forever by those given eternal life through faith and repentance (v17)
How can we display this new life to those OUTSIDE the Church.
[back to our text in 1 John 3:16]
16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.
AND WE OUGHT TO LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOR THE BROTHERS:
We respond to this LOVE, to this LIFE, to this GIFT, not just as consumers or takers…but as givers! Not as sponges…but as conduits.
Dear friend, LOVE IS AT THE VERY HEART OF THE GOSPEL…and it marks our lives if they’re to be Gospel-revealing.
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.
10 Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor.
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law.
13 For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
9 Now concerning brotherly love you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love one another,
Look at verses 14 and 15 of our text. This kind of love is linked to eternal life!
“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers…and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
Eternal life is NOT earned by loving others, but loving others - specifically brothers and sisters in Christ - is EVIDENCE that we already have eternal life.
Love is NOT on the world’s terms marked with love of self that equals a murderous hatred for others.
Love is EXPRESSED IN AND THROUGH JESUS CHRIST - He is our example to follow in loving one another - specifically His bride.
3. LOVE ACTS/DOES…
3. LOVE ACTS/DOES…
Our Exhortation is to SHOW that we LOVE by our deeds!
17 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?
18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
DC Talk / Luv is a verb
Words come easy but don't mean much
When the words they're sayin' we can't put trust in
We're talkin' 'bout love in a different light
And if we all learn to love it would be just right
I’m sure that ALL OF US WANT to live out the Great Commandment.
(Mark 12:30-31)
“…you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” Jesus said, “There is no other commandment greater than these.”
Most of us would say “ WE LOVE OUR NEIGHBOR” or at least we want to.
Can we prove it?
Most of us would say, “We LOVE OUR CHURCH FAMILY”.
Can we prove it?
PROOF: More than just words. The evidence is NOT just in our words and talk but in our DEEDS AND TRUTH! Just like Jesus!
The Scriptures here point us to Jesus’ death as the ultimate example of an act of love.
“He laid down His life for us, and so we should lay down our lives for others.”
This doesn’t mean we’re not loving unless we’re dying. It does mean that love isn’t something to share just when it’s easy.
Sometimes we’re better at making excuses for why we can’t act out in love rather than getting out of our comfort zone and loving sacrificially.
10 So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.
15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that?
One writer writes,
Real love, God’s love, is shown as well as spoken.
It is tangible and not theoretical.
In today’s world, we think about love, talk about love, write about love, and sing (a lot!) about love.
We like to make grandiose claims about love - saying things like “I would die for you!”
that may be totally true, but likely will never present itself as an opportunity.
Imagine saying that to a hungry person. “Thank you for being willing to die for me, but would you give me something to eat?”
A brother or sister in need - while grateful for your convictions night ask,
“Could you share an extra shirt or better yet, a coat, or pair of shoes?
“Could you let me sleep on your couch until I get back on my feet?
“Could you help out with a few meds for my sick kids?”
In all likelihood, they don’t need us to die FOR them, they just need us to DIE TO SELF and remember that Love is a Verb!
As Christians, WE KNOW…
LOVE IS NOT defined on the world’s terms!
LOVE IS expressed perfectly in Jesus!
LOVE DOES more than love talks!
—-
MOTHER’S DAY MOMENT
Categorically, moms do this best!
They teach us what Love is NOT.
They show us who LOVE IS (even non-Christian mothers who love their children help shape this sacrificial love in meaningful ways).
They LOVE by doing…many by sacrificing!
In the weeks leading up to the second Sunday of May, we’re surrounded by flowery cards filled with sappy sentiments about how wonderful our mothers are.
In church, we’re often pointed to the example of “the Proverbs 31 woman,” who gets up early, stays up late, and somehow manages to perfectly balance self-care, motherhood, and a career.
But for many women this ideal looks nothing like their real lives, and the disconnect leaves them feeling broken, hopeless, and like failures.
But the Scripture points us to all types of mothers.
Some are exalted: Mary the mother of Jesus, and Timothy’s mother and grandmother (2 Timothy 1:5).
We also find examples of mothers with struggles:
Sarah and Elizabeth, mothers who longed for children for many years…before their prayers were answered (see Genesis 21; Luke 1).
We read of mothers celebrating, grieving, and doing whatever they can to keep their children alive in the midst of tyrannical decrees and famine (see Exodus 1:1–2:10; 1 Kings 17)
Yet all these types of mothers, loved.
Today is a great day to thank God for any glimpse of love you had from your Mother. For husbands to celebrate wives who are lovingly mothering - maybe even while struggling.
There’s something special about a mother’s love.
It ultimately points us to the perfect, unconditional, sacrificial love of the LORD Jesus Christ…who fills us with His Spirit, so we can put love in action!
