Loving One Another

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Good morning, if you a Bible I want to invite you to open with me to 1st John Chapter 3. We are continuing our series on Authentic - Learning what it means to be a true follower of Christ.

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WE ARE FAMILY.

I want to help you love others within the body of Christ. From the people you admire the most to the people that perhaps you maybe you don’t mesh with.

The dyanmic thing we see here is this....We have a vertical relationship with the Lord where we have this love relationship with him, but we have a horizontal relationship with the church and community around us where we love them.

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MBL: Believers are to love one another, not just in word, but also in deed.

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11 For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.

So John opens this up an he gives us this initial command that we have heard since the beginning, which is that you should love one another. We see this idea expressed in New Testament with Christ giving us the Greatest Commandment which is to love the Lord your God with all of you heart, soul, mind, and strength . And then to love your neighbor as yourself. Its a time-tested principle of God’s word.

And you’ll notice here, this is how the section begins, and this how this section ends. So he is making the case for you to love one another. But even in a bigger perspective, that we should love each other. Its not a singular action, but its a community action. This word for Agape, love, in here is the plural, Agapemen, to show that it is a church-wide thing, not just one person. But we all carry the responsibility to love one another.

This agape, love is found 18 times in 1 John. And you’ll notice something here to help us understand what that actually means. Because more often that not, we say, hey, we are supposed to love one another. Obviously, he’s not speaking romantically. (Unless some of you single folk here this morning for more than one reason). But its this relational, genuine love thats reflective of the love of the Father towards us.

Let me give you a quote that’ll preach.

Bill Mounce said it best, “A BIBLICAL DEFINITION OF LOVE BEGINS WITH GOD, NEVER WITH US. GOD IS LOVE ITSELF; IT’S HIS CHARACTER THAT DEFINES LOVE.” So for us to properly understand love, we have to look to the perfect example of live love, and that is our Father, who sent his son to die for sinners, and to reconcile the lost back to him and be found. THat is love! Its not just the affection, but its the action of the Father towards us. Not just word, but deed.

So John begins to wisely illustrate this reality. He says...

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.

He points back to the beginning of Genesis with Adam and Eve’s first sons, Cain and Able. And the Old Testament story goes as both of the them presented offerings to the Lord and Abel’s was pleasing to the Lord, Cain’s was not. And in anger, Cain murdered his borther able. And he did this not because of his lack of love towards Abel, and primarily becaues of the evil within him.

Now I know what you are thinking here, I haven’t killed anyone! CHECK. Love my brothers. But hold up now. Just consider the word’s of Christ here.

21 “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ 22 But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. - Matthew 5:21-22

The temptation is to think, well I’m not murdering folks, so obviously I love everyone in my church. But is that true? Jesus cuts to the heart in the sermon on the mount and asks not if you are murdering, but are you angry at someone? And for us, in this church especially. You may not be a murderer, but if you are angry towards someone, he says you are still liable to judgement in the same way as if you murdered someone. The Pharisees were murderers, not on the outside, but from within their hearts. I just want to humbly ask you, are you the same?

To prove this point, look at verse 15...15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

Hate is equivalent to murder. To you say you hate your brother, a part of the family of God, is a dangerous game. Because if you truly hate someone, in an unrepentant way, he says as bluntly as he can...eternal life doesn’t abide in you. So I want to be real careful with how I say… if you have a genuine hate towards someone in this fellowship, you have a genuine problem...and its not just with that person, its with the Father.

I understand conflict arises, I totally get that, however, the way you respond to it matters. If you choose to hate someone, write them off forever, do you realize that your hate is the complete opposite of the Gospel message? That while Christ in his love died for sinners, you in your hate murder the faithful. Its the exact opposite of the truth that we proclaim in this place. If you are at odds with a believer, I couldn’t give you a stronger encouragement to go in the love and model of Christ to restore that relationship.

How do know what that looks like then?

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.

You want to know how to love within the body of Christ? Follow the example of Jesus. He laid down his life for us. We lay down our lives for each other. The ultimate example of Agape love, is this sacrificial love. To be willing to do whatever it might be for each other, within the church, no matter the after-effects.

Illustration:

Are you will to sacrifice for one another? This is how we display and show the love of God.

Agape love is not just about what you say, its also about what you do.

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.

John heads to the actions even further. If there is someone around you in need but you have the ability to turn your face away, again, he says, how can God’s love abide in you. Because if it does, you would be compelled to help and serve them. He exhorts them, don’t just show love with your words, but in deed and in truth. With your actions.

Application…what you say with your words, should be verified by your actions.

Finally...

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.

Closing

THe Gospel - While we were still sinnners, Christ died for us.

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Trent Young shoutout