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Sermons from 1 John |
THE TIMELESS MESSAGE OF LOVE |
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Other sermons from 1 John
Sharing The Word Of Life (1:1-3) Other sermons in this study is being added as they are prepared & preached.
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Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, in 1888, due his health, went to live in Samoa of the South Pacific. Stevenson once moving there involved himself in the lives of the Samoan people. He took great interest in the people and their community. On one occasion, several tribal chiefs were imprisoned over some political problems. Stevenson visited them on a regular basis, bringing gifts and encouragement. When the chiefs were freed, they felt such gratitude for all Stevenson had done for them they determined to find some way to express their appreciation. When it was suggested that they could cut a road through the dense brush to Stevenson’s house, they immediately went to work building the road. Finally, after much labor and sacrifice, the road to Stevenson’s house was completed. The natives call it, “The Road of the Loving Heart.” In 1 John 3:11-18, John speaks of the road of the loving hearts of Christians. John has already addressed the subject of love in his letter. He said in chapter two and verse 10, “He that loveth his brother abideth in the light.” Once again he picks up the subject and deals with it in greater detail. One of the marks of the early church was the love that was seen and shared among believers. Tertullian, one of early church fathers and leaders wrote, “The heathen are wont to exclaim with wonder, see how these Christians love one another! They are more ready to die for one another, and the heathen are more ready to kill for one another.” Jesus often spoke of the love that is to be seen and shared among Christians. He said in John 15:12, “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.” In John 13:35 He said, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” The Bible says in Romans 13:8, “Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law,” and in 1 Thessalonians 4:9, “But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.” In our last two studies we saw the contrast between the children of God and the children of the devil. In verse 10, John makes loving one another a part of that contrast. We read, “In this the children of God are manifest, and the children of the devil: whosoever doeth not righteousness is not of God, neither he that loveth not his brother.” Loving one another is a mark of a true child of God. One of the distinguishing marks of a child of the devil and a child of God is the absence and presence of love. As we look at verses 11-18, we find that John expands on the statement made in verse 10. He says in verse 11, “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” Loving one another is not a new message. It is one that has been around from the very beginning. It is a timeless message. Let’s notice what he says about loving one another. First, we see that he speaks of: 1. THE LACK OF LOVE In verse 12 John takes us back to the beginning and gives us a classic example in which love for one another was missing. He draws our attention to Cain and history’s first murder. We read, “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.” John draws our attention to Cain because in him we see an: (A) Illustration of the Lack of Love We find the story of Cain and his murder of his brother Abel in Genesis 4:8, “And Cain talked with Abel his brother: and it came to pass, when they were in the field, that Cain rose up against Abel his brother, and slew him.” The word “slew” gives us a hint of how Cain murdered his brother. The word means “to butcher,” like a person who would butcher an animal. It is a word that speaks of slaughtering, killing violently. The word seems to suggest that Cain did more than hit his brother over the head. He, in a moment of rage, violently slaughtered Abel. In recent days, the nation’s attention has been riveted on the murder of Laci Peterson. Her body was found decapitated and all or part of her limbs was missing. It would seem that whoever killed her, mutilated her body. When the Bible says that Cain “slew” his brother, it would seem to suggest that he mutilated the body of Abel. History’s first murder was a very violent one. To say there was a lack of love is to put it lightly. Secondly, John draws our attention to Cain, not only because in him we have an illustration of the lack of love, but also in his actions there is the: (B) Indication of the Lack of Love Notice the question John asks in verse 11, “And wherefore slew he him?” John asks why Abel would violently kill his brother as he did. John gives the answer. Cain “was of that wicked one,” and “his own works were evil, and his brother’s righteous.” Cain’s behavior and actions only revealed his true identity. As we saw in our previous studies, a child of the devil and a child of God are manifested by their behavior. Abel was righteous and it was revealed in his actions. Cain was unrighteous and it was revealed in his actions. Cain’s murder of his brother only indicated that he was unrighteous. The same is true for each of us. John says in verses 13-14, “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. [14] We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” John tells us that we should not be surprised if the world (unsaved people) hates the Christian or treats others in an hostile way. It is their nature to hate, therefore we should not be surprised if they hate. The word “hate” means “to detest,” and “to persecute.” It is to have certain feelings and to express those feelings in a certain behavior. The Genesis account of Cain killing his brother tells that he became “wroth” (Cp. Genesis 4:5-6). The word “wroth” means “to glow” and speaks of anger blazing up. On the inside Cain was white hot with anger and it his anger spewed out in the brutal murder of Abel. But on the other hand, it is the nature of a Christian to love one another. We know that we have been brought out of darkness into light and out of death into life, because we love the brethren. Hate is the nature of a lost person. Love is the nature of a saved person. The point John is making is that what is in a person comes out of a person. Cain did not know God and it was expressed in his actions. If there is unrighteousness in the heart it comes out in deeds and actions of unrighteousness. If righteousness is in the heart, it comes out in righteous deeds and actions. If love is in the heart, love comes out. If hatred is in the heart, hatred comes out. John says in verse 15, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.” What is on the inside “hate” only manifests it’s self on the outside (murder). Let me get political for a moment. I was recently reading about cities and organizations suing gun companies for the actions of gun owners. On Oct. 30, 1998, New Orleans became the first city in the nation to file suit against the gun industry. In the following year, 28 additional cities and counties in the nation joined this fight. As of April , 2003, the civil rights group NAACP had sued 165 gun manufacturers, seeking damages for the costs of gun violence. I don’t know how you may feel about gun control issues, but to me it has always seemed that such litigations were just plain downright dumb. A gun may be used in a murder, but the gun itself never takes such action upon itself. There is no such thing as hatred boiling in the chamber of a gun and then releases that anger by killing a person. It is the person who has the gun that is solely responsible. It is what is in the heart of a person that leads to murder. The gun was but the means to reveal what is in the heart. The best way I know how to say it is that the heart of the problem is the problem of the heart. The principle is the same in what John says. He that lacks love reveals that lack in their deeds and actions. On the other hand, he that has love in their heart, that love is revealed in their deeds and actions. John pulls no punches and says in verse 14, “He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” And in verse 15 he says, “Ye know that no murderer hath eternal life.” John is not saying that because one murdered another he cannot have eternal life. What he is saying is that one who lacks love only reveals they do not have eternal life and the lack of either love or eternal life is revealed in their actions. Cain actions only revealed the kind of person he was. The lack of love simply indicates that one is not a child of God. As we continue, we not only see the lack of love, but secondly we see: 2. THE LORD OF LOVE We read in verse 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.” First, John drew our attention to the classic example of one without love for others. Now he turns our attention to the classic example of love for others. He draws our attention to the Lord Jesus Christ. As we look at the Lord Jesus we see: (A) The Expression of Love John tells us that there is a way that we can know how much God loves us. The word “perceive” means “to know.” How can we know that the Lord loves us and how much He loves us? John tells us that we know He loves us “because He laid down His life for us.” The word “laid” means “to place in a passive or horizontal posture.” The word describes how the Lord Jesus willingly gave His life for us. His death was a voluntary death. His life was not taken, it was given. His death was not forced, but allowed. He “laid down His life for us.” John also reminds us that His death was a vicarious death. The preposition “for” means “in place of, instead of.” Jesus died for us. He took our place, bearing our sin and guilt. That was the greatest expression and exhibition of love this world has ever known. Jesus said in John 15:13, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.” If you want to know how much Jesus loved you, look at the cross. If you want to see love expressed, look at Jesus laying down His life. Furthermore, John speaks of: (B) The Example of Love John adds in verse 15 that because Jesus laid down His life for us, “we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.” Peter said in 1 Peter 2:21, “For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps.” Jesus is our example. As He loved others, we are to love others. John clearly tells us that we “not” to be as Cain (Cp. Vs.12), but that we are to be like Jesus. I think it would be helpful to point out the kind of love that John is describing. There are four major words for love in the Greek language. There is the word eros, which refers to sexual love. It is from this word we get our English words “erotic” and “erogenous.” There is the word storge, which refers to family love. You do not find this word in the Bible, but is a descriptive word for love in the Greek language. There is the word philia, from which we get our English words, “philanthropy,” “philharmonic,” “Philadelphia,” and others. It is a word that speaks of a strong, brotherly affection. One has described it as the highest love of man, unaided by God. The fourth word, and the word used by John, is the word agape. This is the word that is used to speak of God’s love. It is the kind of love that loves without variableness. It loves when the object of that love is unlovely or hateful. It loves even when the one loved turns away. It is a love without conditions. It is the kind of love that Jesus showed to us. It is this kind of love that we are to show to others. When it comes to loving one another, we are to be like Jesus. We not only see the lack of love and the Lord of love, but thirdly, we see: 3. THE LIFE OF LOVE John expands this kind of life in verses 17-18, “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? [18] My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.” The kind of love John tells us that we should have one for another is more than words. It is love that is manifested in actions. Notice this love. First, let me describe the: (A) The Overflow of Love In verse 15 he tells us that “no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” But on the other hand, the kind of love he is describing flows from one that has eternal life abiding in him. It is the overflow of eternal life. The life of love John describes is but that which flows out of someone who has been saved. It is an overflow of what is in a person. Again, as John as so often stressed, this overflow is but the evidence that one has truly been saved. Secondly, we see: (B) The Outflow of Love It flows out in deeds of compassion and ministry. John speaks of one seeing his brother in need. Real love reaches out in deeds and actions. Real love is more than words. Real loves puts on shoes and reaches out to others. On the other hand, as John describes, if a person sees others in need, and closes their heart to their need, it is but evidence the love of God does not dwell within them. Do you really love? I guess I should ask if you have love in you? |