Do I Really Love Jesus?

FEBRUARY 10, 2021 STUDY NOTES I JOHN 3:16-18 BIBLE TEACHER: CLIFTON JONES DO I REALLY LOVE JESUS? A good question, especially for the day in which we are now living Do we know the answer? If we say yes, what proof do we have? Do others know whether we love Jesus or not? If so, how do they know? John tells us how we can know for sure that we love Jesus John tells us how others will know that we really do love Jesus WE MUST KNOW WHAT LOVE IS 1Jn 3:16 Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. “Hereby perceive” means, this is how we know what we know, we know “the love of God” “OF GOD” is in italics in the KJV meaning that it was added by the translators to make it clear But the meaning is clear enough, John speaks of the “love of God,” it can be none other than God’s love “We” refers to the Christian, the only one who can “perceive” the love of God We know what love is by coming to know the love of God through our salvation, which is our new life “We” know through our personal experience of salvation that God loves us, 1Jn 4:10 Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. When we were saved, we learned the truth of God’s love, Joh 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Perception of God’s love comes from the experience of knowing that “He really loved us” We have come to recognize and understand God’s love because we have experienced it Christians have received the love of God and there is no question, no doubt about it, God loves us We have come to know God’s love, we know it now, and we should never forget it We know His love is a personal love, God loved “me,” He is still loving “me,” He will always love “me” God’s love is an eternal truth and a permanent possession, God’s love is an eternal love Because we know what God did for us, we know of His love, it is real, He really loved even me So how do we really know as much about God’s love for us as we do? because he laid down his life for us: John explains what God’s love was willing to do for us, and how far God’s love goes for others John is going to show us that others must learn of God’s love through those that know God’s love They need to know that God’s love goes as far for them as it did for us We must tell others that Jesus is the supreme example of the truth of God’s love We personally know of God’s love from the fact that He gave His life for “us” “HE” is of strong emphasis, the uniqueness of this one, referring to the one and only Jesus Christ Jesus is the greatest example of what love is, Jesus is the highest expression of God’s love Compare John 3:16 with 1 John 3:16, give serious thought to the parallel you find God gave us His Son because He loved us, His Son gave His life for us because He loved us When we receive the life of Jesus, we receive His love, and we begin to live in the realm of God’s love Gal 2:20 I am crucified with Christ: nevertheless I live; yet not I, but Christ liveth in me: and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me, and gave himself for me. Paul said, I know that Jesus loves me, He sacrificed Himself for me, He sacrificed His own life for others Jesus paid the ultimate price that we might receive the eternal benefit, God’s love Page 1 of 5 God knew what we needed the most and Jesus did the most for us, Rom 5:8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. “For us” is another strong point, He did it for “us” When He loved us, we were not lovable children, but “His Love” wanted us to be “His children” As His children He wants us to learn more and more about His love, is there more to learn? There is much more that we can learn about His love and He gave us a way to learn more God has provided a way for us to learn more and it is the same way that the world will learn more There is no end to the love of God unless the Christian lets it end with them and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. “WE” refers to a special group, those who know the love of God from personal experience God doesn’t expect others, those without Christ in their life, to do what John tells “us” to do And we can’t expect others to do what John says must be done But God does expect Christians to be obedient to John’ words, why us? Because “We” have learned what love really is from the example of Jesus We can now learn more about the love of God by being an example of God’s love through Jesus The life of Jesus explained love to us, and our life is now to be an explanation of His love for others When we practice “Divine Love” we come to know more about how great God’s love really is As Christians we have learned what love is and it now becomes a progressive knowledge Every day that we share the love of God with others we learn more about God’s love “WE” have a moral obligation, it is a Divine necessity, we are indebted, we owe love unto others “WE” have a responsibility, “WE” have a duty that must be performed We are to “lay down our lives for the brethren,” “LAY DOWN” is the same word used of Jesus’ death But we cannot do for others what Jesus did for us To lay down our life does not mean that we must die, it means that we must live We are not to die for others, we are to live for others John speaks of an experience of life, a living service unto others, Paul said it this way, Rom 12:1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service. There is a death involved, self must die, self must be denied, ego must be crucified We must be willing to deny self for the benefit of others, and not asking or expecting something in return Loving others involves the “Sacrifice of self,” we must be willing to sacrifice our own interests John will begin to explain what he means in the next verse--DWELLING IN GOD’S LOVE 1Jn 3:17 But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? “This world’s good” refers to the things of our daily life that we need for living in this world It is the means of our life, the basic necessities of life, that which sustains our daily life Our daily food, clothing, shelter, and money, things which our world values so highly What we call our living or the means of living and that which allows us to live as we need to daily John is not just speaking to those who are wealthy and have more than one normally would need He is not referring just to those who have an abundance of material possessions He is speaking to all Christians who have some of the “world’s good” The thought is not having all that you want all of the time and the desire to have more Today we all have some of those things and usually more than necessary most of the time So, we probably all qualify as those “who have this world’s good” Page 2 of 5 He speaks to us when we have more than it is going to take for us to survive today He speaks to us when we see the one who needs it more than we do and seeth his brother have need, To “see” your brother means that you have looked with interest Meaning that you have been interested enough to look, you really are concerned about others This is not a quick gaze or a hasty glance and then turning to look another way Some very important points are identified for us in these words Christians should be interested enough to look for those who have needs We should even put forth an effort to “see” those who have needs God’s love in us obligates us to search for an opportunity to love one another A great opportunity to love one another is to meet the needs of others Understand that the need is the world’s goods, those things that are necessary to sustain their daily life You see it, you know that the need is there, the evidence is plain, you are well aware of the need Today it is easy to see someone who “says” that they have a need without us “seeing” the need There are many professional bums in our world today who want us to “hear” of their wants We see some who stand on the side of the road with a sign begging for wants instead of needs What the sign says may or may not be true, we must be cautious, but we must not neglect our duty We need to see more than a painted sign that someone is holding which indicates a need John first instructs us to “see” the need and then we are to follow his instructions--and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, Again, John explains what he means by the way of contrast, saying, “this is not it” Verse 17 is the very opposite of what John is telling the Christian to do in verse 16 As Christians we must careful not to become “hard-hearted,” as a result of being careless or cautious God’s love will not flow through a closed mind, a blind eye, or a deaf ear John says be careful or you will be unconcerned, without feeling for others, and without pity If you have no desire to meet their needs, you are not allowing God’s love to flow through you God’s love does not turn and walk away from the opportunity to meet the needs of others how dwelleth the love of God in him? The key word is “dwelleth,” same as “abide,” John’s favorite word for making his point His point is, God’s love has found no home in your life when you neglect the needs of others You are not living daily in the realm of God’s love, love is not the habitual path of your life If the love of God is in control of our life it is impossible to act like this It is the love of God “dwelling” in us that will take the action that John has stated must take place Are your personal goods of this world more important to you than the needs of other people? Do not announce, “I love God” unless you are seeking to love others Do not say, “I love everybody” unless you are ready to “help somebody” We can compare what John says concerning love with what James says concerning faith John is telling us that real love results in real action, James tells us real faith results in real works Jas 2:14 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? (The word “say” is a key word for James, the “say-so” faith is only a matter of words) Words which are all coming forth from the tongue, a “wordy” faith, the claim is, I have a real faith A “say-so” faith has no evidence of being real without works, a “workless” faith is a “worthless” faith The next verse reveals that James has in mind “works” that meet the needs of others “Works” are the fulfilling of our Christian duty, works are a result of Christian love Page 3 of 5 Those who are saved are those who are to be helping those in need James has in mind the same people that John does, Jas 2:15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, (They have need of this world’s good) James specifically speaks of the members of the family of God who need the basic necessities of life “Naked” has the meaning of poorly clad or in rags, they did not have adequate clothing They had no food for the day, therefore they would be hungry In such a case, what should the attitude of the Christian be? James and John both agree Words alone do not meet the needs of the helpless, Jas 2:16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? Our words must be more than a customary farewell, more than “good bye,” have a blessed day There is nothing wrong with those words, but words alone will not meet the needs of the helpless We must do more than say, I pray that someone will help you and give you food and clothing More than, I pray that you will not go to bed hungry tonight and that you will sleep well and warm Too often the thought is, I will pray that your needs will be met, but let someone else do it Today we often hear, “Good luck to you,” “I am praying for you, brother,” may God bless you That goes along with the belief, (actually excuse) “Remember, God helps those who help themselves” James is not referring to someone who has a sincere desire to help but is not able to help James and John both speak of someone who has no desire or no intentions to help They have in mind someone who can give to those in need but refuse to do so Paul agrees with them, Gal 6:10 As we have therefore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith. Again, the point is, as we are able and see the opportunity, our faith and love must go to work James and John both present to us the same question, “If we don’t, what good have we done?” Nothing is gained when there is nothing done, a sincere prayer will do more than pray You may not be able to do more than pray for the needs of others, then pray the prayer of faith Pray sincerely for their needs to be met and God will direct you to those who can answer your prayer No one benefits when there is nothing to benefit from, Jas 2:17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. “Works” is a performance that achieves something, something is accomplished through love that works Faith or love that does not accomplish something is worthless and lifeless “Dead” refers to that which is inactive or inoperative Having no action because there is nothing to encourage the action That which is lifeless because there is no life, therefore useless and without value So, both John and James agree, the Christian life must be an active life, a life of action LOVE IN ACTION 1Jn 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. “My little children,” John once again uses that term of affection which reminds us of who we are It is John’s favorite way of identifying with his readers, it is a term of affection for a loved one John speaks from a heart of love to the Christian who is to love others from their heart It is because of who we are that we are to do what John tells us to do, now what are we to do? A “say-so” love, meaning words alone, are not sufficient for the needs of others Love is more than words of sympathy and more than just a communication of concern It is easy for the tongue to talk, but we must walk the talk, action speaks louder than words A real need requires a real deed, deeds are the proof of genuine love Love in action is the truth of love, you tell it like it is through the deeds of love Page 4 of 5 Good works are the evidence of God’s love, deeds say “this is the way that God loves” Sometimes no one else will see or know about your deeds of love, but God sees them all No one else may notice the little things that you do day by day because of love No one may applaud you or pat you on the back and say well done, but love will sacrifice CONCLUSION What we know about God’s love is not to be limited to what He said about His love We know of God’s love because of what He did for us, He took care of the greatest need of our life We would not have personally known of God’s love for us without the love of Jesus on the cross But because we have learned the truth of God’s love, God has provided a way for us to learn more We can learn more about the love of God as we love others in word and deed And others will learn from our actions of love that God loves them If we are going to love others as John has instructed it can only happen because we love Jesus Do you love Him more now than you ever have? Now is the time to love Jesus! Christians are now faced with the greatest opportunity to reveal God’s love that we have ever seen I have often said, Satan is using the Coronavirus pandemic in an attempt to destroy the Christian witness Satan is working to destroy the importance of the church to the Christian life, church is a witness Convincing many churchgoers, that church is not as essential as eating out, or many other activities But church is essential to our spiritual life and the duties of our spiritual life, Heb 10:24 And let us consider one another to provoke unto love and to good works: “Love and good works” is exactly what James and John instructed us to do and how it must be done We must also hear what Hebrews is telling us, Heb 10:25 Not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together, as the manner of some is; but exhorting one another: and so much the more, as ye see the day approaching. Without church Christians will soon find themselves guilty of what James and John warn us about Even though good works may continue they will become no more than works of the world It is time for Christians “to be exhorting one another,” it is time for us to learn what that means Exhorting means to encourage someone, to help in some way, to be a comfort to someone It also has the meaning of excitement, as Christians we do have a “Ministry of Excitement” By coming together, we have the opportunity to excite one another Come to church excited and stir up excitement among others It is time for Christians to hear, “not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together” It is time to pay attention to “and so much the more as ye see the day approaching” Christian, if you cannot “see the day approaching” you have a spiritual eye problem It has been almost a year since many churchgoers have attended a church service You cannot fulfill your part of Hebrews 10:24-25 in T.V. church and Satan knows it I know that there are those with health problems and must be cautious concerning coronavirus But for many, coronavirus is not a reason for not attending church, it is an “excuse” It is time for every Christian to give serious thought to the question, DO I REALLY LOVE JESUS? Can you honestly sing, “If ever I loved thee, my Jesus tis now?” Watch the screen, listen to the song, go ahead and sing with it Page 5 of 5