1 John 3:11-18

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Love One Another
This section is not asking us to do something…it is telling us what TRUE Christians do. They LOVE ONE ANOTHER!
Christ laid down his life for us while we were still sinners.
He loved his enemies…us
Doesn’t he have the right to ask us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ?
Lets look at our text:
1 John 3:11–18 ESV
For this is the message that 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. 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? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Verse 11 is adding on to what he said at the end of verse 10.
“Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother”
The false teachers were telling this church of a “NEW” teaching…a secret knowledge. Remember, this started in the church. It was a whisper in the back, “after service come over to my place for lunch and I’ll tell you about real ‘knowledge’ that he isn’t telling you”.
But John’s gospel, Paul’s gospel, Peter’s gospel was never told in secret. They made it known in public. That’s the real gospel. We don’t have to tell in secret.
Romans 1:16 ESV
For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
Look at again:
1 John 1:5 ESV
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.
In Him there is no darkness AT ALL…we don’t hide our message. And that message is a message of LOVE!
The message that the apostles always taught was a message of Love.
That message of Love goes all the way back to and it goes deeper with Christ. He did not change it he took it deeper.
Love your neighbor
thats somewhat doable…maybe, not really but we all like to believe we can do that pretty well. I’ll just choose my neighbors and stack the deck in my favor. I’ll stay away from some of “those” people and give this a go...
Jesus says, “love your neighbor as yourself”. And if you are like me, and you are, you love yourself. Jesus says to Love anyone who needs your love, your compassion, or your help. And if that isn’t enough, love your enemies also.
Christ loved His enemies. At one point we were his enemies and He died for us.
The False teachers here that John is up against hated him. They hated him and everyone else in the church that stood for the truth of God’s Word. They claimed to know what they were talking about. They claimed to “know” God. They were convincing but John calls them out...
Look at who he compares the false teachers to...
Look at Verse 12-13:
1 John 3:12–13 ESV
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.
:12
Wow! He compares these false teachers to Cain! That’s strong right there. Don’t you want to know why? You know why He compares them to Cain? Seriously, you know why? Im seriously asking because I have no idea...
Lets find out why…turn to .
Genesis 4:1-
Genesis 4:1–5 ESV
Now Adam knew Eve his wife, and she conceived and bore Cain, saying, “I have gotten a man with the help of the Lord.” And again, she bore his brother Abel. Now Abel was a keeper of sheep, and Cain a worker of the ground. In the course of time Cain brought to the Lord an offering of the fruit of the ground, 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, but for Cain and his offering he had no regard. So Cain was very angry, and his face fell.
Was it because he was suppose to give an animal sacrifice?
The example was set by God himself in 3:21
Genesis 3:21 ESV
And the Lord God made for Adam and for his wife garments of skins and clothed them.
Is it because he wanted to bring what he brought forth by the sweat of his brow? Did he want to prove that he was good enough, that he was better than his brother?
that sounds like a religious person doesn’t it?
its “look what I’ve done”
That sounds like the false teachers
its “look at what I am doing”
Here is what we do know about Cain and Able
Cain:
in verse 3 .
original text is saying, “he brought some of the fruit of the ground”, he brought a “portion of his crop”.
Able:
brought the best of all of his firstborn goats, or sheep and he also brought the fat portions which were the most valuable parts.
Able had to kill these sheep before he offered the fat portions.
He slit its throat and killed an innocent animal and offered it to God as a sacrifice.
He brings his best because he knows what God desires of him he can not do. Able recognizes himself as a sinner before a Holy God.
I bet Able listened well to his Mom and Dad as they told him and his older brother Cain about God in the Garden. His holiness, His presence and the peace they felt when they were with him. How he hated sin but how GRACIOUS he was toward them.
says that Able’s offering was accepted because of FAITH
Cain
His offering didn’t cost him much it seems. He brought “some” of the firstfruits of his crop
He didn’t think his sin was that serious that He would need to bring the best of what He had to God to offer it to him
That sounds like religion doesn’t it?
Religion, the religious never see their sin for what it is.
They see themselves as better than other people
There is always someone to look down on
There is always someone to “help” but it is for the wrong reasons..its to prove themselves to God as to win his favor…Its never because they truly LOVE the person.
But why did Cain kill Able?
It says, “because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous”.
This is why God calls us to obedience from the heart.
Religion does things so they can get something from God
Christians do things because of what God has already done for them.
We only see the actions of people, we see the smiles, the hugs…we can’t see the heart.
God sees our heart people.
So when we love people, we must genuinely love them in our heart. This is the message that they have heard from the beginning. This is the message you have heard from the beginning. When we first heard of God, we heard of his love for us.
This is how Cain treated his brother. Cain offered sacrifices to God, religious. Able offered sacrifices to God in faith, gospel.
These people John is writing to are probably baffled that some have left them and now HATE them for not listening to their “new teachings”…John says, “Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you”. This is the same thing Jesus faced from the religious in his day.
Look at
John 15:18–20 ESV
“If the world hates you, know that it has hated me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love you as its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you: ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word, they will also keep yours.
1
Its not shocking that the people in the world hate us for the most part…its shocking when those who claim to know God hate us. John says, “do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you”.
He is referring to the false teachers, the religious.
It was the religious who had Jesus Christ put on a cross, don’t forget that.
Remember
1 John 3:14–15 ESV
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.
1 John 3:
True followers of Jesus Christ, those of us who have passed from death to life, want to be in fellowship with other believers. We want to worship together, pray together, study the Word together. Christians who have passed from death to life love one another.
No true believer in Christ Jesus can HATE his own brother or sister in Christ.
No true believer can murder his brother or sister in his heart.
No true believer can destroy the reputation and character of a brother or sister in Christ.
I confess that I have done this…I have struggled and failed at this at times. And I repent of it. I know many of us if not all of us have struggled with this in the past and some may be struggled with it right now...
Let the Word sink down in your heart like it has mine. We must love one another. Remember Christ’s words on this…love your neighbor as yourself, love your enemies....this love is a self sacrificing love. None of us in here can love this way on our own…we must submit to the Spirit within us to be able to do that…the flesh is too weak.
Look at verses 16-18
1 John 3:16–18 ESV
By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 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? Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.
Cain gives us the perfect example of hate
Christ gives us the perfect example of Love.
Cain: took a life
Christ: gave his life.
Hate leads to murder (whether physical or in the heart)
Love leads to self-sacrifice
We may never find ourselves in a position where we may need to give our life for someone else but we will find ourselves in a position today, tomorrow, this week to help someone in need. When those opportunities come our way let us prove our love for one another. Let people see our love and not just hear of our love.
I want to end with this…turn to
1 Peter 2:19–23 ESV
For this is a gracious thing, when, mindful of God, one endures sorrows while suffering unjustly. For what credit is it if, when you sin and are beaten for it, you endure? But if when you do good and suffer for it you endure, this is a gracious thing in the sight of God. For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps. He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
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