Love One Another

One Another

“Love One Another”

October 13, 2019

Introduction

Today, we are beginning a new sermon series entitled, “One Another.” In the Bible, there are several dozen “One Another” verses for examples, love one another, be kind to another. In this series, we will be looking at six of the “One Another” verses. Don’t worry we are not going to deal with the One Another verse that says, “Greet One Another with a Holy Kiss.”

This series is all about how we treat each other. This series is all about deeper fellowship, building greater community.

Illustration: A husband and wife could never love one another because they used to often fight over money. This man never went to work but wanted to make fast money, so he would buy lottery tickets. The wife was money minded too. She wanted her husband to get good income. Finally, fed up with the husband’s ways the wife gave him a divorce. Surprisingly, a couple of weeks after divorce the wife wrote a letter back to her husband.

“Dearest Donald, No words could ever express the great unhappiness I’ve felt since breaking our marriage. Please say you’ll take me back. No one could ever take your place in my heart, so please forgive me. I love you, I love you, I love you! Yours forever, Maria… P.S., And congratulations on willing the 1 Crore lottery.”

Today, we are going to to be looking at how we are “Love One Another.”

Read Text

Today, we are talking about Loving One Another.

1. The Priority of Love

Theological: Let’s look at this statement in verse 34. These words come out the Last Supper. Jesus is about to be arrested and crucified. These are Jesus’s final teachings to his disciples. Two others times in his teachings at the Last Supper, Jesus repeats this new command. (, )

Usually when something is repeated, it’s important. Why is this teaching on loving each other so important?

Illustration: Hate (Spam calls, broccoli, Nick Saban)

The Jews had become a people of hatred. In the Old Testament, the Jews were commanded to love their neighbor. The Jews had a restrictive view of loving their neighbor. The Jews basically took the command to mean that fellow Jews were their neighbors. And Jews hated everyone else.

Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments were to love God and love your neighbor. Someone asked Jesus, “who is my neighbor.” Jesus taught that everyone was your neighbor. Jesus told a story to illustrated the point. The story Jesus told was the story of the Good Samaritan. Now, Jews hated Samaritans. But in the story, the Samaritan is the hero. The Samaritan helped an injured Jewish man when other Jewish men passed him by. The Jews were supposed to be God’s light to the world. But the Jews had become a people of hate. The Jews hated Samaritans. The Jews hated gentiles.

Jesus is telling his disciples that things are going to be different for Christians. Jesus is telling his disciples that they were not going to be a people of hate, instead they would be a people of love. ()

Application: This command is important today. We live in a world of hatred. On average, 93 Americans are killed by guns everyday. The day I worked on this sermon, there was a shooting near a German synagogue that left two dead. We live in a world of hatred. We see this hatred every day on TV, radio, and social media. As the church, as believers, we are to a pocket of live in this world filled with hatred. Loving one another must be a priority to us. Loving one another was important to Jesus; it must be important to us.

(NKJV) And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing.

Transition: Without love, we are nothings. That’s the priority of love. We are to love one another.

2. The Pattern of Love.

Theological: Look again at v. 34. Jesus’s love for us is the pattern, the model by which we are love one another. Let me point three things about Jesus’s love for us. This is A, B, and C in your sermon notes.

A. Selfless: William Barclay said, “Even in the noblest of human loves, there remains an element of self.” But not so with Jesus.

(CSB) Adopt the same attitude as that of Christ Jesus, who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be exploited. Instead he emptied himself by assuming the form of a servant, taking on the likeness of humanity. And when he had come as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death— even to death on a cross.

That is selfless love. Barclay said, “Jesus never though of himself. His one desire was to give himself and all he had for those He loved. Jesus’s love for us was selfless.

B. Sacrificial: To see the sacrificial love that Jesus had for us, one need look only to cross. Jesus loved us so much, that he gave, sacrificed his very life for us. (). Jesus’s love for us was sacrificial.

C. Steadfast: In verse 34, the word “Loved” is in the durative meaning that Jesus’s love of us is constant, without end. Jesus’s love for us is unconditional. Jesus loves us no matter. Jesus’s love for us is steadfast.

Application: We are love one another like Jesus loved us. Jesus’s love of us is selfless, sacrificial, and steadfast. How can we possibly love one another like Jesus love us? Our love for each other is often selfish, zero sacrifices, and based on conditions. I will love you as long as these conditions are met. How can we possibly love one another like Jesus love us? We can’t on our own.

(NKJV) Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

The Holy Spirit pours out God’s love in our hearts.

(CSB) For the flesh desires what is against the Spirit, and the Spirit desires what is against the flesh; these are opposed to each other, so that you don’t do what you want.

There is a war raging within us between the flesh and the spirit. The flesh says love selfishly. The flesh says love without sacrifice. The flesh says to love with conditions. The Spirit says love like Jesus: love selflessly, sacrificially and steadfastly.

To love like Jesus, the Spirit must reign in our hearts. ()

3. The Purpose of Love

A. Love unifies.

Theological: We learn from Luke’s account of the Last Supper that at some point in the evening that the disciples started arguing over who was the greatest. Their argument was divisive. Jesus is saying here in John. You can’t get caught up in these issues. You are going to be about love. Love bridges division. Love bridges differences. Love unifies.

Application: Our church needs to hear this message on love unifying. We are looking at our building needs for the future. The kinds of issues tend to be divisive. Everyone has their opinions and preferences. Our building needs are important. It’s a big decision facing the future. But my biggest concerns have to do with obedience and unity. When it comes to unity, love is what brings us together. Love brings us together despite our different opinions and preferences. Love unifies.

B. Love identifies.

Theological: Read verses 34-35.

How do people identify you as a Christian? Is by the Christian t-shirt that you wear or the Christian bumper sticker on your car? Is the by the Bible white family Bible sitting on your coffee table? Do people identify you as a Christian by your Facebook, instagram, or twitter posts. Or is by the church you attend or the things you do at the church? teaches that love identifies.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer said, “ Love is the badge of Christian discipleship, it is not knowledge, it’s not orthodoxy, it’s not fleshly activity, But supremely, it is love that identifies a follower of Jesus Christ.”

Application: Can we be easily identified as followers of Jesus?

Illustration: State table and Ole Miss Tent

Can we be easily identified as followers of Christ? Or do we send mixed signals to the world? Love and hate, love and resentment, love and holding a grudge.

Conclusion

The new command is simple enough for a toddler to memorize and appreciate, profound enough that the most mature believers are repeatedly embarrassed at how poorly they comprehend it and put it into practice.

Bro. Sollie: Love the people.