1 John 3:11-24
Notes
Transcript
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. 13 Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
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. 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.
19 By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; 20 for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. 21 Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; 22 and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. 24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
We are going to continue looking into the question “How do you know if you are saved?” Tonight we are going to look at evidence of salvation which is evident by how you love people. This is looking at how you habitually love people.
1. We KNOW!
1. We KNOW!
14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
We know that once we are saved we are brought from death to life. As someone who has experienced salvation you can know the grace of God at a completely different level than lost people because you know it to be true. By experiencing God’s Grace you can know it.
This is can be explained better like this if you had never felt tasted a steak. People have told you what a steak taste like and what a steak looks like and all of the heavenly things that comes with eating a steak. They can explain the consistency of a steak to the point of even explaining how each doneness of a steak differs. But until you actually taste a steak you do not know what it truly taste like or feels like.
When a Christian is saved they then experience God’s Grace and know it to be true. Once you have experienced it you no longer disregard it as being fake or false.
We also know that we are saved by how we love the church and people. Someone who is saved has a different love for people because they love people based on their spiritual condition rather the outward appearance. Does that mean that you love people all the time and do not get mad at them? No it doesn’t because we are still in the body of a sinner.
This does mean that we want to share the LOVE that God has shown us to the rest of the World. When you are saved you should have a burden for the lost. You should have a burden for those who don’t know Christ. You should have a burden for people.
Christians KNOW that they are saved by how they love others. How do you love being with people of the church?
How do you love being with other believers?
How do you love lost people? Do you have a burden to share Christ with them?
2. Love in Action
2. Love in Action
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.
Christians should love in action not just in word only. It is easy to tell someone that you love people but until you actually show it there is no proof to the love. It is pointless to talk about loving people and not showing it to them.
Love always brings about action! If I told Breanna that I love her but yet beat her every chance I get then is there really love? I mean I tell her I love her but unless those words take action then there is no love.
Our Christian life should be demonstrated in the same way. We cannot say that we love people without demonstrating that same love for them. This is seen so evidently in today’s culture because people are all about themselves and would rather watch someone suffer rather than help them out. We demonstrate this exact same tragedy when we don’t share our faith with others.
I am just as guilty of it as you are I promise! We get to a point in our lives where we want to be too busy to witness to people. We are not showing love in action but by golly we are going to say that we need to love people all day long in church and among our friends. But saying you love people is completely different from showing it!
How do we love in action? Sharing our faith with others.
God demonstrated HIS love for us through action. That Action was when Jesus came to this Earth in order to take on the full wrath of God. This was done so that we can be made righteous or be made friendly with God through our faith.
This love that was demonstrated should drive us to love others. There is no love except through God because God is love. Through us experiencing God’s love we should be demonstrating it for the world to see.
3. We Love so we Obey!
3. We Love so we Obey!
24 Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.
As a Christian we experience God’s love then when we experience we should then keep the commandments our of our love for God. This is not saying that you have to keep the commandments in order to be saved or else you lose your salvation. This is saying that we show our love for God by keeping HIS commands. This is not just keeping the Ten Commandments which are good but this is keeping what God commands us to do in our everyday life.
God calls us to share him!
We need to be sharing Christ with everyone! We need to obey this commandment because it has eternal impacts and are said in a universal implication. This command is applicable to all people throughout all times. This is unlike foot washing that was circumstantial even though Jesus said for the disciples to continue on this traditions.
12 When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? 13 You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. 14 If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. 15 For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you. 16 Truly, truly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master, nor is a messenger greater than the one who sent him.
Jesus says that they should continue the example of being a servant to all. Not necessarily washing of others feet. That is a command that is constant throughout scripture of being a servant to all. We should live our life in obedience to Christ and through HIS guidance in all that we do. This guidance is manifested in the importance of us evangelizing to others. There are many different religions that are founded on evangelizing but are preaching the false gospel but WE know the true Gospel yet we are not sharing it with others.