1 John 3, we'll start with verse 9, and we'll read through verse 18. 1 John 3, starting with verse 9. Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for his seed remains in him, and he cannot sin because he has been born of God. In this, the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain, who was of the wicked one, and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? because his works were evil and his brothers righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us, and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. But whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. Amen. You may be seated. We know that there is no shortage of sermons or messages today on the subject of love. It's not a neglected subject. Now, we also recognize that many, if not most, of the messages are not truly biblical. The love that is exalted is a humanistic love, a man-centered love. We could call it the love of man rather than the true love of God. Now, in recognizing this, we should not downplay, though, still, the importance of love, the call to love that we see in this passage and many other passages. We observed earlier that perhaps the central verse of 1 John is 1 John 1.5. 1 John 1.5, this is the message which we have heard from him and declare to you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all. So the holiness of God is at the heart of 1 John, indeed, that's the theme of all of Scripture, the holiness of God, but certainly not in any contradiction or competition, is the theme of love. And in this short book, 1 John, the verb to love is used at least 28 times, and the noun used another 18 times. So 2818, I think that's 46 times you find a reference to love either as a command or as a description, as I say, in a relatively short book. I think of all the books of Scripture, no other book speaks as often as love. So if 1 John 1 5 is a key verse for the book concerning the holiness of God, then I think we can say that 1 John 3 16 is a key verse concerning love. 1 John 3.16, the reference is easy to remember, isn't it? We know John 3.16, and 1 John 3.16 we can describe as a beautiful parallel to that verse. By this we know love. By this we know love. That, or because he laid down his life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. I mentioned again last week that 1 John is a challenging book to outline. I've chosen, following the outline of Robert Yarbrough, verses 9 through 18 as our text. This is probably not how your Bibles have outlined these verses, not that those outlines in Scripture or in commentaries are inspired, but verses 9 through 18, though not an inspired section, do show a pattern that we find throughout Scripture. As you look at verses 9 through 18, there's a pattern that John presents in these verses that we can say is at the heart of Scripture. What is that pattern? The pattern is there is a way of life and a way of death. a way of righteousness, a way of sin. You are either a child of God or you are a child of the devil. And we know the world hates binary divisions today. The world cannot even tolerate that there's male and female. So even more, the world hates this idea of truth and lie, righteousness and unrighteousness. So the world hates this truth, but it's the truth that we confess. Verses 9 through 18, we can see that John is presenting this division, we could call it this antithesis, in three related ways. In verses 9 and 10, we have children born of God and children born of the devil, so two different paternities. Children of God and children of the devil. Then verses 11 and 12, two options. There is the way of love and the way of Cain. Then verses 13 through 18, there are two paths we can describe them as. Two paths, the path of life and love and the path of death and hatred. It does make sense, though it's not inspired, not the only way you could look at these verses, but to take verse nine through verse 18 as a section. Now, I studied these verses that way, but as I reflected on them, rather than just going verse by verse from the beginning, I thought I would present five points from these verses. So we'll look at verses nine through 16, but five points that I believe come from the text. And the first point is this. God's work of regeneration is the basis then for true love. God's work of regeneration, that is the basis for true love. And we see that in verse nine and 10, and then again in verses 14 and 15. Now last week, we looked at a very challenging verse, verse six, whoever abides in him does not sin. And then we have a similar statement in verse 9, whoever has been born of God does not sin. And then John even goes beyond that, for his seed remains in him and he cannot sin because he has been born of God. So again, how do we understand this verse nine, verse six, the fact that the believer does not sin? And I presented last week, there are different solutions. They have some overlap, but three different solutions. One is grammatical. We call it the grammatical solution because it recognizes that the verbs that are used in verses four, six, and nine are present tense verbs. And so some suggest they mean the believer no longer habitually sins, no longer just has this pattern of continual sin. That's one way of understanding what John is saying. Slightly different but related is more of a theological explanation. You might say it's based on the grammar, but the idea of deliberate habitual sin versus what you might call it involuntary sin, or the distinction between sins that lead to death versus sins that do not that we see at the end of chapter five, or some would suggest John is speaking about what is possible rather than just what is actual. So that's one approach, and then another understanding is to explain these verses based on the context or the situation that John and his readers were facing. The context or the situation. we can understand this to mean the Christian does not sin in the ways that John especially is warning against in this section. The Christian does not join with the devil, does not join with the forces of antichrist in terms of denying the deity of Christ, in terms of just engaging in outright rebellion in failure to love God and others. So there is some overlap. in these positions, though there are some differences. Well, anytime you're studying scripture and you come across a difficulty, sometimes you spend more time on that difficulty than you do on what is clear. That's just the nature of study and effort. But we have to be careful not to let the things we don't know overwhelm what we should know. We should not let the unclear dominate what is clear. And so we should focus, even when we have a question, we should focus on what is in that text or that passage, what is very clear that should dominate our discussion. And we can say this, what is clear in this passage is that John is speaking of the fact that God's work of regeneration is the basis for love and obedience. It is God's work of making us alive, making us his children. We can call it regeneration and adoption. That is the basis for true love. So there's nothing in 1 John, nor anywhere else in scripture, that would say love is the way to salvation, that love is the way to God. That's not what John is saying. Looking at verse 14, but applies to other verses here, wrote this. When the apostle says that it is known by love that we have passed into life, he does not mean that man is his own deliverer, as though he could, by loving the brethren, rescue himself from death and procure life for himself. For he does not here treat of the cause of salvation, but as love is the special fruit of the Spirit, It is also a sure symbol of regeneration. And then later he says, but it would be preposterous for anyone to infer hence that life is obtained by love, since love is in order of time after to it, posterior to it. Love comes after life. Love doesn't proceed this new life. So what is John's point in these verses? We can say he's making this theological point of regeneration and adoption, that's part of it, but John is identifying those who belong to God and those who belong to the devil. And how do we know the difference? Those who have been regenerated, they will show this in their actions, in the way that they live, in the way that they love, those who belong to the devil. They also show that they have not been regenerated, and they show this in their unrighteousness, they show this in their lack of love, the fact that they hate the brethren. So John is identifying for his readers and for us that there is these differences. Now we ask the question, does this mean we can always easily identify the children of God versus the children of the devil? Is it always easy to spot the difference? And I think John would say, no, it's not always easy to spot the difference. In fact, as John writes, those who were false teachers at one time were part of the church. They identified, we see that in 219, they went out from us, but they were not of us. So at one time they pretended to be part of the body. In the course of time, it was seen very clearly they were not. They left, and when they left, it showed what? That they were truly not of us, excuse me, they were not of us, even though they were with us for a time. So John is helping his first century readers and us deal with the fact that there are people who are deceptive, who are manipulative, who cause great trouble, and yet what? They still want to claim the name of Christ, even though they deny the name of Christ. And John is saying, you can't have it that way. You can't have it both ways. Now, I don't think this is John's main point here, but we can make another statement based on what John has said. Since God is the source of true love, than when we recognize a lack of love in our own lives. When we are convicted that we are not walking as we should, where do we turn? We have to turn to God and seek His strengthening and grace. We can't look within. There is no love ultimately that comes just from within us. The love always comes from without. Further, we can also say this, if there is any good, If there is any love in us, then this is all God's sovereign working in your heart. Look at verse 14. Verse 14 of chapter 3. We know that we have passed from death to life. because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. When you see that you are loving the brethren, that indicates what? God has made you alive. You have passed from death to life. And we ask the question, how could anyone pass from death to life? Only through God's sovereign work in making you alive, making you part of his children. So all the praise and glory. has to be given to God alone. Because when we speak of the subject of love, it is easy to think that we originate that love. And so we must forsake any praise or esteem that we would give to ourselves. So our first point is love is not found in ourselves, it's found in God's work of regeneration. Number two, and we see this in verses 11 and 12, the way of Cain is not far removed. The way of Cain is not far removed from us. Let's look at verse 11 first. In verse 11, John speaks of the message that we have received, and the only other place where John uses the word message is chapter one in verse five. Maybe it emphasizes how important this is. In 1 5, this is the message that God is light, in him is no darkness. Then here in verse 11, the message is that we should love one another. We've heard this from the beginning. That is, since we've come to an understanding of the truth, we've heard this from the beginning. This is, again, not something new. And the phrase love one another is rather common in the New Testament. It's used at least 11 times. Jesus, three times in John's Gospel, gave this command. Listen to Romans 13, eight. Oh, no one anything except to love one another. For he who loves another has fulfilled the law. Another passage to notice, 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 9. 1 Thessalonians 4 verse 9, Paul writes this, but concerning brotherly love, you have no need that I should write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another. So John says, you've heard this from the beginning. Paul, at least to the Thessalonians says, you have been taught by God to love one another. John is saying the command to love is essential, it's foundational. Now it's not the message of the gospel, but those who have embraced the message of the gospel must embrace this command. So that's what John says in verse 11, then he turns right in verse 12, not as Cain, who is of the wicked one. And we might ask the question, why is the command to love emphasized so often? And based at least here on first John three, we might say the answer is that the way of Cain is not far from us. Now the believer has been given new life. We have now the ability to love God. We have the ability now to love others. We don't want to downplay the importance of our regeneration and our salvation. And yet on the other hand, we recognize in ourselves, in our own sinfulness, we're not far from Cain. Now Cain, mentioned in Genesis 4, is only mentioned three times in the New Testament. The writer of Hebrews speaks of Cain and speaks of Abel. The blood of Abel speaks better things. Jude 11 also speaks of Cain. An interesting reference, it parallels what we have here. Jude 11, woe to them, for they have gone in the way of Cain. have run greedily in the air of Balaam for profit and perished in the rebellion of Korah. So the author there, Jude, he brings in not only Cain, but Balaam and Korah and says that those stories from the Old Testament are, as it were, being reduplicated at his own time. So we are called to love, verse 11, and then verse 12, not as Cain, and that should be obvious, but I think maybe John is highlighting the fact the way of Cain is not far from us. Now, verse 12 in our translations has not as Cain who murdered his brother. Some other translations emphasize that you could translate this as brutally murdered or slaughtered his brother. Now how many of us would compare ourselves to Cain? We would never want to be identified as Cain. And yet the reality in our own flesh, the way of Cain is not far from us. Jesus in Matthew 5. One example of this, Matthew 5, 22, Jesus said, whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. Whoever says to his brother, Rachah, shall be in danger of the council. Whoever says, you fool, shall be in danger of hellfire. So verse 11 and the warning of verse 12 is a reminder, it's not in our nature to love as we are called. It's not in our nature to do what God commands us to do. The way of Cain, that's the natural way. That's the path we would normally follow were it not for God's saving and sovereign work. So the way of Cain is not far from us. Third, then, from verse 13, True love then brings the hatred of the world. True love then brings the hatred of the world, verse 13. And the words of verse 13 are not surprisingly just one of the many connections in 1 John with the words of Jesus. And we see that repeatedly in 1 John. Think of two passages from Matthew 5, for example. Not contradictory, they're part of the full picture of our Lord's instruction in Matthew 5, but let me first give the more positive picture. Matthew 5, 16, Jesus said, let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. That's an interesting passage. Men will see your good works and glorify your Father in heaven. And Peter says something very similar to that, again, following the words of Jesus. And so we can say this, it's never in vain that we serve the Lord. And yet, as Jesus said earlier in Matthew 5, what John says here, when we serve the Lord, we will also face the hatred of the world. Jesus in Matthew 5.11, you know this verse, blessed are you when they revile and persecute you, say all kinds of evil against you falsely for my sake. On one hand, we can expect this hatred. On the other hand, some will see the good works and bring glory to our Father in heaven. So what John is saying here in verse 13, do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. Now, this is obvious. It's not something that takes long to realize. So John is writing this, don't be surprised, because when it happens, it still is not easy to experience. Just, we know the truth, but living that truth doesn't mean that it is always easy. So do not marvel, because that's our tendency, to marvel when we experience this difficulty. Do not be surprised. Now thankfully we can say this, we've been insulated from much of this, and yet we consider how many the endless listing of those who have lived for Christ and have died for Christ that prove this verse over and over again. So do not marvel if the world hates you. Then number four, from verses 17 and 18, it's much easier to love with our lips than to love in action. And I take this from verses 17 and 18. And John, again, illustrates a truth we know very well if we're honest. with just observing our own lives, how much easier it is to speak in a loving way, though sometimes that isn't always the case, but much easier to speak in a loving way than to demonstrate that love in action. And so John asked the question, how does the love of God abide in us if we refuse to help those with needs? Now, we don't know the exact situation in 1 John, but we might ask the question, were there more needy believers at the time of John? Are there more needy believers today? Well, one thing that we have today is an awareness of how many Christians are in need, how many Christians around the world do suffer because the gospel has spread, and communication allows us to know what is going on around the world in ways that They didn't obviously have at this time. On the other hand, we can say this. In John's day, there were probably many needy Christians, and these Christians didn't live hundreds or thousands of miles away. They were much closer to home. The situation is different, and we recognize we cannot help every single person that is in need, can we? There's no way. And yet, so what can we do? And the answer is we have to follow the teaching of Scripture on this. We might say God gives subjective and objective guidance in terms of giving. What do I mean by subjective? By that I mean the call for every believer is not identical in this. God has blessed some with more and they have a greater duty. If God has given you a greater blessing, that means you have an even greater duty. So that's the subjective aspect. In some sense, it depends on how God has blessed you. Objectively, God has given standards. It's not just all our own feeling. One of those objective standards would be we are all to give generously. And I believe God has established the tithe as the basic guideline. That's the basic guideline for giving, and as we fulfill that basic duty, then we are able to help many people around the world. Now, it's not just restricted to that, obviously, but as we think the need is much greater than any of us could fulfill, part of the way we fulfill that is through obedience to God's word and those gifts, even small gifts can be used by the Lord to help many others. I came across a story, a young child was given $2 by her father, one condition, she could spend $1 however she wanted. $1 she was to give to God on Sunday and the little girl happily took the money and she dreamed of what she could buy with that $1. This must be an older story. And as she's walking along, one of the dollars blows out of her hand It blows into the storm drain and the little girl responded, Lord, there goes your dollar. And so we might ask the question, do we say the same ourselves? We'll look at verse 18. John asks the question, because it must be a relevant question, then in verse 18, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. John cannot be saying we should never speak kind words. It's a contrast. Let us not just simply love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. And as we think of that pairing of words, It may be what John is saying is this, your tongue is what produces words. And so it's the truth that should produce in you deed, action. I think that's a good way of understanding it. It's not manipulation. It shouldn't be emotion. It's the truth of the gospel. It's the truth of the reign of Jesus Christ. That is what should motivate you in your giving and in your serving. Not the manipulation of man, but the glorious truth of what God has done for you, the glorious truth of how God calls you. That should be the basis then for love and service. Love in action according to God's truth. Well then finally, verse 16, I've saved this for last. By this we know love. By this we know love. I would argue this is the central verse. The central verse in this section, maybe indeed the whole book as it concerns love. And we'd say this is a summary of the gospel message and then its application. John, as you have noted, writes a lot about knowing. And there's two different verbs, but they're related about how we know this, how we know that. And so that stands out here in 1 John 3, 16. By this, we know what love is. And notice the verb that John uses, the description. He laid down his life for us. Now, we rightfully speak of Christ dying for us. But what is significant that John says he laid down his life for us? Not simply that he died for us. And we can say this, it indicates that Jesus' death was what? It was sacrificial. It was voluntary. Now, again, we can say Jesus died for us, but here the emphasis is on Jesus willingly voluntarily gave himself for us. As one study Bible notes, Jesus was always completely in control of the situation surrounding his arrest, trials, and crucifixion. He was not just a victim of the powerful forces, the evil of his day. He willingly gave his life. And we know that he gave his life not for those who deserved, that he do so. It is a beautiful testimony to read about those in the armed services and the sacrifices that you often see in the context of battle. Hard to believe, but we're coming up on the 50th anniversary of the capture of the USS Pueblo, December 23, 1968, 50 years ago. the capture of that ship, which we know is still in North Korean hands. There were 82 crew members who survived the capture, and as you know, their captivity was a horrible time. And in one example that I read recently, 13 of the sailors were particularly singled out, and they were required to sit around a table for hours, and then after that time of sitting, a guard would come in, and he would beat the man in the first chair. And this took place the next day and the following day. It was always the man sitting in the first chair. And then a sailor recognized that that sailor would not be able to receive the beating the following day. So a new person sat in that first chair. That person then voluntarily took the beating, and apparently this then happened for weeks, that a new man stepped forward to receive the beating until the North Koreans realized they could not overcome this type of love. Now, we don't want to discredit those acts of love and courage, but we can say this. What Jesus did was far more than just take a bullet or a beating for his friends. He died for ruined and lost sinners, not for his buddies. He died for those who would never give anything ultimately in return that's equal. That's the call to love, to love as he loved, not because others are loving to you, not because others are giving to you. No, lay down your life for your brethren, expecting nothing in return. A pagan Greek writer, the next century after John wrote the New Testament, said this about the Christians that he knew. His name was Lucian. He wrote this. It's incredible to see the fervor with which the people of that religion help each other in their wants. They spare nothing. Their first legislator, Jesus, has put it into their heads that they are brethren. And Tertullian, who lived also in the second century after Christ, also part of the third century, said this. It is our care for the helpless, our practice of loving kindness, that brands us in the eyes of our opponents. Look, they say, how they love one another. Look how they are prepared to die for one another. We ask what could be said of us. We're not in the same situations, but we have to honestly ask, am I loving as I am commanded? Where maybe am I failing in this command? Maybe we need to prayerfully ponder this passage and ask where is it that I'm just loving in word and deed, but failing to love in truth? Let me bring two other points in closing. As you read the book of Ephesians, and we've commented on this before, the book of Ephesians is a wonderfully positive book. The Christians there seem to be mature, they are growing, they're receiving the truth. Paul does give commands, but there's nothing that's really critical in Ephesians. And then you turn to Revelation 2, and you see there in Revelation 2, Jesus tells the church in Ephesus, I have this against you, you have lost your first love. You have lost your first love. A faithful church, sometime later, had lost its first love. And one thing to consider is, how does 1 John fit into that? The book of Ephesians, we would say, comes first. Maybe the book of Revelation comes next. Maybe 1 John is written after that. We can't be dogmatic in that, in that timing. But we can say this, in some cases, churches change for the worse. Churches can mature and grow. In other cases, churches can change for the worse. The warning then of Revelation 2, the exhortation of 1 John 3 is always relevant for a congregation. And then I would leave you finally with this, the phrase, by this you know love. By this you know what love is. There is so much we know in the world that's not true love. And so the focus is always of Christ. As we think of as men and women, we don't love in identical ways. As children, maybe we don't love in identical ways. But what should unite us is the picture of Christ. It's not this worldly softness or sentiment. It's also not detachment or coldness or just raw duty. It's the sacrifice, the strength that Christ showed without limit by this You know love. Let the example of Christ burn into you. That's how we know love. That's the example for us to follow. Let us pray. Lord, we rejoice in your truth. Being convicted, being encouraged, being directed. May we continue to think upon these things as a congregation, individually and corporately. Work in us, for we know these are fundamental commands, but we also confess we cannot do this in our own strength. Even that which is familiar, we will fail. if we follow just in our own strength. We need to be strengthened in your grace. We need to have our focus upon our Lord and Savior. So may every man, woman, and child that is here respond to this calling. Those that you have brought new spiritual life, may that be demonstrated, continue to be demonstrated in our love, in our obedience for you. We pray all of this. In Jesus' name, amen.