the new commandment
1 john • Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 9 viewswe need to love god corectly but we also need to love others correctly
Notes
Transcript
Sermon Tone Analysis
A
D
F
J
S
Emotion
A
C
T
Language
O
C
E
A
E
Social
introduction:
introduction:
we started down the road through 1 john a few months ago and stopped because thats what the adult Sunday school class was learning, but i think it is too important that i finish the study for me to move on to something else....
we started with the introduction to the book,
then went to the facts of why the book was written us being totally depraved and sin filled
then we looked at the facts of sin and righteousness
and last time we were in 1 john we were looking at do we keep His commandments and today we are going to look at a new commandment...
how do we know if we really know god?! that was the question when we started but one of the ways we can see or tell if we love god correctly is do we love our neighbors correctly
i have news for you, no matter how much you claim you love god if your not loving your neighbors rightly then you’re not loving god rightly either...
how we love others is a strong test and indicator of if we love god correctly
if god is love, which we know he is, then the people of god are bound to be a loving people...
tonight we need to keep an open mind in this situation of loving neighbors because it is really easy to sit back and take the lazy view when it comes to love and just think as long as we are civil we must be showing love....
us baptist have a long standing idea when it comes to love that we don’t need to go out of our way or to intentionally love people for them to see the love of god in us...
but the truth is we need to start intentionally loving or purposefully loving others for god’s love to be seen...
lets look at the text:
II. the test we need to take here
II. the test we need to take here
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
do we follow the supreme commandment to love our neighbors? look at a few things about these verses
this isn’t a new commandment, but it is an old one....
john here doesn’t come right out and say he talking about love here he just lets them know the commandment he is talking about is not a new one but an old one
and that its a commandment they had heard since the beginning of time...
one of the first things god ever said to man was that he was to love others (or love their neighbors)
Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
why then didn't john just go ahead and mention this commandment? and why did he take a kind of backdoor approach when it came to this subject?
because what john was about to say was something the people needed to hear and he didn't want anyone to question where it came from...
he did what preachers still do today and made sure when he was about to broach a subject where people will get upset or disgruntled about that is was grounded in the Bible and that they knew it was grounded in the holy scripture
but it was also a new command john was giving here.... (v8)
it was an old commandment but also a new one because something new was given for the example of love and that was christ...
love was no longer a law thing it was a grace thing and at this point in history we (they) had the savior as our example of love to man
jesus gave love a new meaning because:
he loved his enemies not just his friends; he loved bad people; he love the sinners; he loved those that were not acceptable to be loved and who wouldn't accept love; he loved not the clean but the dirty...
look at what jesus said on the matter of love..
mt 5:
Ye have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbour, and hate thine enemy. But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you; That ye may be the children of your Father which is in heaven: for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust.
this was a totally new concept of love for these people because man has and still does feel like they have a right to mistreat others if they had the inclination to especially if they had mistreated him...
we think he can hate, strike back, hurt, ignore, criticize, and retaliate when we feel the need to...
but thats not what jesus says about the situation and we are supposed to be followers of the christ right???
jesus says no matter what they have done or how you feel about it we must love everyone...
he says we must be the examples of love to the lost and to the people whom we want to hate… don’t believe me turn to
A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
jesus says the only way people will know we are his people is if we love the right way… and as usual the only right way is his way...
the person who really follows after christ will be a person who has the love of god in him and cant help but show it...
keep in mind the rest of this passage here the word darkness or dark because its important as an analogy here
the darkness refers to mans old idea of love and what love is… its how man thinks he can not love those not like him or that he doesn’t like...
but jesus is the light of the world right?!? and if he is the light and he is in you then the darkness is overrun with the light of christ in you
the light erases the darkness in a follower of christ...
again keep in mind god is love… and if we really are his people we need to be a loving people not a hate filled people...
we are to love our neighbors no matter what our neighbors do...
and even no matter what they have done and how much we dont like it...
we are to be vessels of light ot the dark world… we are to be vessels of love to this loveless world...
the test is simple do we love men like christ loved men??? (sure we wont die for them but will we introduce them to the man who did??)
so we know the test but look at the examples given for the test with me...
II. the professing man
II. the professing man
He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
this man professes to know god but hates his brother.... that brings with it a lot of problems...
if we are honest how many of us fit here… or how many of us know ppl who fit here?
the perosn we are talking about is a person who says he is in the light is a person who says he is in christ...
they are people who come to church, have been baptized, have been serving, prays, gives, often teaches, and lives for christ outwardly...
but they are also people who marginalize things by saying i don’t hate my brother i just dot like him… that brother makes me uncomfortable, he did me wrong, he looks like this and that makes me feel like that...
these are the people who believe in segregation of races in church, they believe that certain types of people don’t belong worshipping next to them, they think some people because of whatever are passed saving...
let me be completely honest here… as independent baptist we are these people more often then we even see...
we have a history of racism and bigotry in our churches when truth be told we don’t have a right to say ho can worship where and who can be saved and who cannot
we have for whatever reason decided the drug addict needs to go to that church ad the person who knows the church words, and church ways can come to this one...
we have decided single moms and homosexuals are not welcome in church because they have sin issues and pretend we don’t have sin issues
we have made a mockery of the love christ showed on the cross by pretending we are better then anyone and deserve special treatment over others...
here is some history… incase you’re a racist in this church.. jesus wasn’t white when he walked this earth...
here is some truth in case you think you’re better than anyone… you’re a wretched vile depraved sinner… but by the grace of god that isn’t you doing those things and having those thoughts that cause others to fall
real love shown by the church will change lives because it will bring people to the truth of salvation offered through the love of our god...
our hatred and contempt of others though drives them farther into the world and farther into sin and farther away form the love of god...
III. the obedient man is shown too
III. the obedient man is shown too
He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
1 j 2:10
this is the man who loves his brother… and we see some awesome things here...
this is a man who abides in the light… or in christ
he walks and lives in obedience to christ… and that means something, at least it should
this person is patent, kind, not jealous, not vain, not puffed up,
this person behaves themself, seeks not their own, isn’t easily provoked, doesn't think evil of others
this person rejoices not in iniquity, believes faithfully , and endures faithfully (those are all biblical characteristics of love btw)
this is also a man who had no occasion of stumbling in him
he doesn't keep things to make him stumble, trip up, fall, or hurt himself… he isn't perfect, but he is faithful...
think about it with me...
god is love so a man who loves correctly is a man who follows closely after god
he will know his need of him, have learned to trust and lean on him, and understand he needs to protection and provision of god in his life
let me tell you when we become a people like this there isn’t anything that can hurt us… but we often take our eyes off god and put them onto self… which isn’t obedience
the great need of man is love… real love...
man absolutely craves and desires real love form god thats why the world is so wicked and so hate filled when the world doesn't know god
not the Walt Disney love but the real love that covers our sins and lifts the weight of these sins off our lives on hearts
the kind of love that brings men together as one not the sin that isolated them and separates them
the man who loves god will love his neighbor and introduce them to this type of love that fills the greatest need ever...
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
if we don’t love people they wont know we are christs....
if they don’t know that then how will we share the gospel with them??
Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.
we need to love without hypocrisy… or without division… or without division...
we need to love no matter what...
And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:
1 the
when we are a people who love correctly we will grow closer to god...
our love will grow as a effect of the closeness to god...
and all men will know it, see it, and want to know about it....
iv. then there is a bitter hate filled man
iv. then there is a bitter hate filled man
But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
this is different than the professing man because this person doesn’t profess to know god here...
this is a man who is totally lost in the darkness of the world and a lot is seen in this verse...
he is in darkness and walks in darkness as well
he isn't in the light or not in Christ
he doesn't know god and he doesn't even profess to know god
he is wrapped up and focused only on himself and the world
when it comes to christ and god he could care less...
he takes what he can and accumulates the worlds goods with no though to eternity
he lives for the pleasures and lusts of the world
his neighbors (fellow man) are irrelevant unless it suits him
he has no direction and he is blind
he has little meaning if any to life because he is without life
its all about comforts, pleasure, and self.... never god christ and others
this person is often blinded and bitter because they have no sustainable love in their life
we all know this person who is so consumed with the world and desires of the world and so distanced from the real love of god that they are hateful and bitter towards anything godly and righteous
sometimes they come from a church background and sometimes they dont
sometimes they even use the word Christian when describing themselves but have very little fruit if any in their life
this person is blinded to the spiritual truths of life because they have not opened them selfs to the love of the savior....
this person is lost dying on on their way to hell.... and can be described also in
Having the understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God through the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart:
they have chosen to reject the love and life offered from the savior...
conclusion:
conclusion:
so with that in mind where are we today???
do we love like we should?
do we need some work in that department?
are we loving our neighbor (fellow man) so they can see Christ in our lives?
or do they see anger, bitterness, and judgment in our lives?