Christian Love.

CHRISTIAN LOVE. St. John 4: 7-21

This passage of John the Apostle is an intriguing one, and I trust you find it as interesting as I found it. It speaks of love, that very important word in the Bible, used ever so frequently by Jesus. St. John, His beloved Apostle, goes deeply into the subject as we shall see. It is important here for us to be reminded of the famous passage of love, found in 1st Corinthians chapter 13, where St. Paul, describes Christian love in the most eloquent way. It has become the standard for Christian love, and so I felt that in order to put Christian love in the right perspective, it would help if we had a fresh look at that passage. We cannot appreciate or understand what St. John is telling us without understanding what St. Paul said. Having the two of them fresh in our minds would help to better understand what we are talking about. And so I am obliged to repeat most of it here. It will give us some reference to understand what St. John is talking about. In 1st Corinthians 13. Paul makes it plain that there is no Christian virtue to equal love. That all the important gifts of prophesy, knowledge, tongues etc. they are nothing in comparison to love. In verse 4 of that chapter it tells us what love is about: He says “ Love suffers long, and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself; it is not puffed up; it does not behave rudely; it does not seek its own; it is not provoked; it thinks no evil; it does not rejoice in iniquity; but rejoices in the truth. It bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. And He says: “Love never fails but whether there be prophesies, they will fail, whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away; And he ends by saying “Now abideth faith, hope and love, these three, but the greatest of these is love.

But this passage in 1st John, chapter 4, St. John describes the love that God has for us His fallen creatures. A love that is beyond measure and without equal. In fact, it baffles the mind. It is incomprehensible. No one can understand how God can send His only begotten Son to this sin-cursed world to die for us. And he makes the passionate plea that we have a duty to reciprocate that love. We have a duty to love God in return, but more than that, we have a duty to love our brothers and sisters with a love that surpasses knowledge and understanding. It is our duty to do so, and when we don’t we have failed. I find this passage fascinating, and I suggest that you read it for yourself more carefully when you have the leisure at home. It is intriguing to know that our God is love, and if we can comprehend that and He enables us to attain that gift, it will be the answer to all our problems. It is fascinating to know what can be gained by the love of God, and it is important for us as Christians to seek to attain it. I invite you to join me this morning as we try and navigate this important passage.

THE IMPORTANCE OF CHRISTIAN LOVE.

Love is the one element that binds all human relationships together. Whether it be in the church, in social gatherings, in lodges, in political groups, or whatever form people may unite in, without the element of love it is bound to fail. Sociologists and marriage councillors will tell us that the one element that binds marriages together is love. Of course there are other factors like having interests in common. But when the element of love is missing the marriage will not last, and when it is present husband and wife will stay together even under the roughest of conditions. Jesus once said: “By this shall all men know that you are my disciples - that you have love one towards another.” He expected His disciples, and every follower of His, in any part of the world, and at any time, to display Christian love in everything they do.

Some time ago I read a book on the life of John Wesley, and I recall a section that recorded his stay among the Moravians in Germany. Wesley was impressed with that group, because he met them on a ship that he was on on one of his trips across the Atlantic, going to America. The weather was bad and everyone thought the ship would sink, but those Moravians had no fear. While all the other passengers were fearful for their lives, thinking that the ship would sink, the Moravians were singing and praising God all the time. This impressed Wesley, and he felt that he should spend some time with them in order to find out their secret. He experienced a lot living with them, but what I remember most from that story was that they were such a model community. The German Government said that they wished every citizen was like those Moravians They were a model community. There was no crime, or any of the other problems that communities normally go through. This was so because of their lifestyle. They lived in complete in unity, governed by the principles of Christian love. They didn’t quarrel; they didn’t fight among themselves; they took no one to court. And they were peaceful and happy.

St. John started off by saying: “Beloved , let us love one another, for love is of God.” St. John was saying if we want to display the Christlike qualities that are so important to us, and necessary in order to live the Christian life, and if we want to reap the benefits that God has for us, we need to love one another. Show it in our actions, in our demeanour, and in our relationship with each other. The Spirit of God is love. In Galatians 5:22 we read: “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, kindness, generosity, faithfulness.” Those are the qualities we need to acquire and display if indeed we want to be the children of God. And trust me, if that is our goal; if that is what we desire, God will assist us to attain it. “God is not slack concerning His promises.” God knows that some traits are difficult to drop. He knows where we have difficulties. He is not going to hold that against us. What He will hold against us is our stubbornness to hold on to them. Show Him that we want to get rid of them, and we will be surprised how quickly, and how easily they will disappear.

THE EVIDENCE OF CHRISTIAN LOVE.

St. John makes the important statement “God is love.” It’s a statement we have heard over and over again. It sounds simple, but as we look at what he says, we will have to admit that it is everything that God is. It is the length and breath and height and depth of God. That is my expression, but as I studied this passage this is how Matthew Henry puts it: “He is the fountain, author, parent and commander of love.” Love is the totality of God. It is a powerful passage, and as simple as it sounds, I believe there are very few, even among the those who profess to be the greatest Christians, that possess that level of love John speaks about. It was God’s love for mankind that caused Him to send His only Begotten Son to this sinful world to die for us. Romans 5: 8 says” But God proved His love for us in that while we were still were sinners Christ died for us.” He loved us with an everlasting love, and He knew that the only way to redeem us was to do so at the price of the death of His beloved Son. And as the song reminds us: “If that isn’t love.”

The love that we have for Christ and for our brothers and sisters distinguishes us as true Christians. Many, many years ago I think I preached a sermon entitled “The Hallmark of a Christian.” and the emphasis was on love. Love, like faith, is a product of God’s Holy Spirit. So whenever we see love manifested in the actions of a person we know that that person is a Christian, and God’s Spirit is in him. It is the tell-all sign. It is the mark of a Christian. It is the evidence that God dwells in them. In Chapter 5:1 John reminds us that “Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the parent loves the child.” That belief, as borne out in this passage by St.John seals a person as a child of God, and as we will see later, secures that person to the day of judgment. Throughout this passage St.John makes the point that one who does not display Christian love cannot be considered a true Christian, because it demonstrates that God does not dwell in him. St. John makes the further point that the evidence that God’s Spirit is among Christians is demonstrated in the love they show one for the other. The way Christians conduct their lives, primarily one towards the other, is the evidence that they have been born again, and Christ lives in them.

St. John goes on to make the point that no one has seen God, so when we say that God is among us, it is not that He can be seen physically. No one has ever seen God physically. We are told that God is Spirit, and they that worship Him must worship Him in Spirit and in Truth. The manifestation of God is through His Spirit, and that is demonstrated by the loving interaction that Christians have one with the other. I don’t know about you, but there are times in our services when I can feel the presence of His Spirit. I know for sure that He is here with us. That demonstrates that God is among us. God actually lives in us and His love is made complete in us. And He does so by His Spirit. His Spirit brings love, peace, joy, calm, assurance, boldness etc. When He is present it unmistakable.

THE BENEFITS OF CHRISTIAN LOVE

I believe I can say with surety that all of us want to be with Jesus when this life ends. We have all heard, and the Bible backs it up, that “He who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ shall be saved.” That is incontrovertible, but as I studied this lesson I am made to understand that that must be backed up with the Love of God inhabiting our whole being, and continuing to the very end. In verse 18 of this passage we read: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. Why did St. John make this point? The one who fears is not made perfect in love. Let me hasten to say that there is freedom in love. When we are governed by Christian love there is no reason to fear anything. We should not be fearing any man, we should not be fearing the virus, AND we should not fear the Judgment to come. I think the Bible explains that Judgment Day is a scary day, as I reminded us recently. People will be running to the hills to fall on them, in the hope that that would enable them to escape the Judgment. But nothing will prevent that day. It will come, and we all must face it. Out fate will depend on what we do now. The life that we live now. But I understand that if we love God, as we should or profess to do, then there is no need to fear. It is like seeing your mother or father punishing the children who did wrong, but you know you haven’t done anything wrong so you can approach them in a fearless, loving way, and not expect any punishment. So, Christians at Judgment Day should have nothing to fear because they are facing a God whom they love, and His Spirit has taken away that fear. That is what is meant by “Perfect love casts out fear.” We should be able to look Jesus in the eye, with a smile on our face, confident that we love Him and He knows it, and will not condemn us. Now it will be different if we had been bluffing. If we had been counterfeits. We will know that He knows and we will be afraid to approach Him, and will run away seeking a hiding place. I trust that none of us will be like that.

CONCLUSION:

I trust that we all understand the importance of possessing Christian love. And I want to repeat that we do not born with it. The Bible reminds us that “We were all born in iniquity.” It is something that we acquire by the power of the Holy Spirit. It comes through faith in His Son as the Son of God, and that He alone has the power to save us. Thereafter, we have to show that we desire His love to fill us and to govern our lives, and trust Him to do the rest. And believe me He will. No one promises that the journey will be easy. It is a moment by moment, hour by hour journey. It is taking little steps at a time. He promised: “Take my yoke upon you and learn of Me, for my yoke is easy and my burden is light.” He is willing; He is able, and He is ready to hold our hand and enable us to make the journey, even to the end.

I urge all of us this morning to make that determination to take that stand. Do so in the secret of your own heart, between you and God. Mean it and try it, and you will experience the difference in your life. He promised that fear will vanish and joy will take its place. Happiness will replace sorrow, and sadness, and boredom, and fatigue, and hurt and anger, and all the things that rob you of your joy. Let us live the life that God expects of us. He wants us to live in love, and He promised to supply it liberally to all who want it, and ask for it. We don’t have to be bashful. And so I urge all of us again to draw near to Him and He will draw near to us. That is another promised He made, and we can trust Him to keep His promises.

I say this to us in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. AMEN.