Discipleship in Practice

1 John 3:11-24

Opening Illustration: Several years ago, a journalist visited two homes in the same neighborhood — same income level, same size homes, same basic circumstances.

In the first house, everything looked perfect. Clean. Organized. Impressive. But as he sat there, he noticed something—there was tension. Coldness. The family barely spoke. When they did, it was sharp and distant.

In the second house, things weren’t nearly as polished. There were toys on the floor, dishes in the sink, and dust on the furniture. But there was laughter. Conversation. Warmth. You could feel something alive in that home.

Later, the journalist wrote: “One house looked alive but felt dead. The other looked messy but felt alive.”

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That’s exactly what John is getting at in our passage for today (1 John 3:11-24, go ahead and turn there if you have your Bible or grab your mobile device and get there in your favorite Bible App). In fact, these verses are the inspiration for the title of this series: Belief and Love—A study of 1 John.

Let’s jump to the end first because it gives us the central truth that will guide our time together today:

1 John 3:23–24 “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.”

True disciples of Jesus are marked by both right belief and real, active love.

Without both, something is missing.

You can have all the right beliefs—but if there is no love, something is dead.

You can even do good things—but if it’s not rooted in Christ, something is incomplete.

John tells us: A true disciple believes in Jesus and loves like Jesus.

And for our time today, we are going to unpack this and hopefully make it really practical! If you’re not taking notes, I would encourage you to take notes. This is going to be a pretty heavy message that will take some time to digest!

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Let’s start with belief and then we’ll unpack love.

We Must Believe Jesus’ Whole Nature and Character

...as far as it is known to us.

Therefore, we must be in Scripture. And Scripture reveals some incredible things about Jesus!

He is the Son of God...he stands in relation to God in a way that no other person in the universe ever stood or ever can stand. Jesus is the only one who can perfectly reveal God to men and that he is the Savior of our souls.

To believe in the name of Jesus, is to accept him for who he truly us!

And his command to us: To love one another!

As we put these two things together, we find the great truth of the Christian life. We must believe the truth about Jesus while also conducting our lives in the way that he has commanded us to conduct our lives. Our belief is exhibited by our love and our love is the evidence of our belief. Now John spends a lot more time on love...probably because love is hard to live out.

Let’s begin reading: 1 John 3:11–13 “This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another. We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you.”

The Call to Love is NOT Optional

This isn’t new. This isn’t advanced Christianity and discipleship. This is foundational. Yet we must continuously remind ourselves and each other about this call!

When we first come to Christ, we’re not just saved from sin and given a new life and a new purpose—We are welcomed into a family. And that family has a specific mark, the mark of love. No one should love better than this family!

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Illustration: Team Identity — Think about a sports team. You can always tell who’s really on the team—not by the jersey, but by how they play together.

A selfish player stands out immediately. One who is trying to call attention to himself rather than work for the good of the team actually weakens the whole team, no matter how talented he is. The player who is there for himself, is disconnected from the team

In the same way, love is the “team play” of the Christian life. Someone who does not love, stands out immediately and a Christian family who does not love well, is featureless and provides no alternative to the way that human naturally behave.

After this initial, command, John takes a sharp turn down a rabbit trail.

Talks about Cain who hated Abel for doing what was right. John wants his readers to know that just because you love and do what is right, it doesn’t mean that everyone will applaud you. Sometimes doing what is right creates tension. Sometimes the good person is a walking rebuke to the evil person.

But even if the people around us respond with hate, we as disciples of Jesus must respond in love. It’s the only way.

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John continues:

1 John 3:14–15 “If we love our brothers and sisters who are believers, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead. Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers don’t have eternal life within them.”

Love Is the Evidence of Life

Love is not extra credit to Christianity—it is EVIDENCE OF SALVATION!

No love = no life.

Think about the times that you go to the doctor. What does the nurse always check? Your pulse, your breathing, your blood pressure. Why? Because they are signs of life!

When you go to Dr. John to talk about your walk with Christ, he’s going to check your love! Love is the spiritual pulse of a believer. If you have an elevated pulse, labored breathing, or blood pressure that is off the charts, you know something is seriously wrong. In the same way, if there is no love in Christian life—Something is seriously wrong!

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John echoes Jesus’ teachings here.

Matthew 5:21–22 ““You have heard that our ancestors were told, ‘You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.’ But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.”

Anger, bitterness, hatred—these are not small things. They are heart-level issues.

You don’t have to physically harm someone to violate love! You do it with your words...your attitude...your indifference

Is there somebody you’ve written off? Someone you avoid? Someone you’ve decided doesn’t deserve you love?

John would tell you, “That matters more than you think!”

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Let’s keep reading:

1 John 3:16–18 “We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters. If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions.”

Love Looks Like Jesus

Now John removes all confusion about what love looks like for the Christian.

If you ever wonder what love looks like, look at Jesus!

Love is — Sacrificial, selfless, and active. It’s not a just a feeling — It’s a decision to give yourself for others.

We’ve all heard reference to the story of a soldier who throws himself on a grenade to save others.

But not all of us will have the opportunity and John acknowledges that!

You may never be asked to die for someone. But you will absolutely be asked to: Give your time...share your resources...show compassion!

John uses the specific example of seeing someone in need and if you have the means, helping them!

Here there is a tension to manage: Helping someone doesn’t always mean that we give them what they want—It’s helping them move toward Christlikeness. We must help those in need and show compassion. But I believe that the aid we give should be given in the context of real relationship. If you are just giving to get somebody out of your hair, of if you are giving lazy without any expectation to come closer to Christ, I actually believe compassion can become disregard, because we are not truly helping them.

Imagine telling you family that you love them, but all you do is give them money when they ask for help?

Eventually, the money will be empty and hollow. Saying I love you but never showing up, never helping, and never engaging is worthless.

Love that isn’t live out isn’t love—it’s talk. And talk is cheap...

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Let’s continue reading

1 John 3:19–22 “Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. Even if we feel guilty, God is greater than our feelings, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him.”

Something really incredible happens when we choose the act of love (notice it’s not the feeling of love).

Love Assures Our Hearts Before God

The Word translated feelings in these verses is actually the Greek word Kardia, or heart. John doesn’t mean the blood pumping muscle. He is talking about the inner person. And if we are truly in touch with our inner person, our feelings will condemn us. We know the plans we have made and failed...the evil thoughts...the actions we have taken.

And John wants his readers to know, those guilty feelings do not override the power of Jesus’ grace and mercy!

There is no doubt that guilty feelings come at times. But John wants us to know, those guilty feelings do not have the last word!

And when we come to God, obeying him in love, we will begin to have a certain confidence in prayer.

Not because God is a vending machine and if you put all the right things in, you will get out what you want.

No, because obedience shapers our desires, as we compassionately love others, then our hearts begin to align with God’s heart. And the more we walk with him, the more we begin to ask for what he wants!

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So lets read the final two verses of our passage again

1 John 3:23–24 “And this is his commandment: We must believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as he commanded us. Those who obey God’s commandments remain in fellowship with him, and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the Spirit he gave us lives in us.”

Now, I want you to think about belief and love as Two Wings of a Plane

A plane cannot fly with one wing. And so you cannot life as a disciple without belief and love

Belief without love = cold, lifeless religion

Love without belief = religion that is practiced with no foundation

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Conclusion: Call to action

Illustration: When you get on a plan, you give someone your driver’s license/ID card. In order to get that card, you have to produce proper documentation. Birth Certificate, proof of residency/citizenship.

But what about when somebody asks, “Are you a follower of Jesus?”

John would say, proof of your baptism, or a theology paper would not be sufficient.

What you hand them is your life (in fact, this is what you are handing people every day).

And the question is: Does your life show love?

Is your faith visible through your love?

Not just:

What you believe and what you say

But also:

How you treat people...how you respond to the needs of others...how you handle difficult relationships.

Three Takeaways:

1. Identify One Person

Someone in your church, your life, maybe even someone difficult

Ask: How can I intentionally love them this week? How can my belief in who Jesus is be worked out in the way that I treat this person?

2. Take One Tangible Action

Not just words. A meal...a conversation...generosity...forgiveness. Make your love for them visible.

3. Examine your heart

Ask honestly: Do I truly believe in Jesus—not just intellectually, but personally? Is that belief shaping how I love others?

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Don’t settle for belief without love...or love without Christ. Step fully into both, because that is what a true disciple looks like.

Now, may our God and Father himself make your love increase and overflow for each other and for everyone else. May he strengthen your hearts so that you will be blameless and holy in the presence of our God and Father when our Lord Jesus comes again. Amen