Verses 11-18 1 John 3 1 John 3. This is God's holy Word, inspired and fallible, and given for you, His people. Give it now your full attention as it is read. See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. Beloved, we are God's children now. And what we will be has not yet appeared, but we know that when He appears, we shall be like Him, because we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who thus hopes in Him purifies himself, as he is pure. Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness. Sin is lawlessness. You know that He appeared to take away sins. and in Him there is no sin. No one who abides in Him keeps on sinning. No one who keeps on sinning has either seen Him or known Him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as He is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God's seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. By this it is evident who are the children of God and who are the children of the devil. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 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. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know, love, that He laid down His life for us. and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 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? Little children, let us not love in word or talk, but in deed and in truth. Amen. Thus far the reading of God's word. Let us pray. Gracious Father, we thank You for blessing us with Your Holy Word, especially from this portion of 1 John 3. We do pray that You add Your blessing to the reading and preaching of Your Word, Your primary means of grace to Your people. May we grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ through it. We pray in His name. Amen. If you want to get to know someone better, maybe someone you've met for the first time, What kind of questions do you ask them to try to get a grasp on where they fit in your spectrum of things? What peg you should hang them on? You may ask, what do you do? Very general, broad question. What is your job? Where do you work? Where do you go to school? Depending on the age group. What are your hobbies and interests? What are you good at? What kind of music do you like to listen to? What kind of podcasts do you follow? What kind of websites do you visit? What kind of books do you like to read? Who are your favorite authors? What's your favorite band? What's your favorite movie? What kind of car do you drive? Where did you grow up? What TV shows do you like to watch? Or for us pastor types, are you infralapsarian or superlapsarian? You ask these typical questions because you're trying to get a picture of who this person is that you want to get to know better. What they enjoy. What their interests are. What kind of things they spend their time pursuing. What they spend their time doing. But do these things get at the truth of what defines you as a person? Is your job who you are? Do your tastes define who you are as a person? No, they don't. Do any of you like to eat nuts? Changing the subject a little bit. I do. I like to eat nuts. All kinds. Peanuts, almonds, walnuts, pecans, cashews. All kinds of nuts. I love them. What is the most important part of the nut? Is it the shell? Do you like nuts because of what their shells look like or what their shells taste like? Do you throw the inside part away and just crunch on the peanut shell all day long because that's what you like? No! You get the nut because you like what's on the inside. The chewy, tasty part that's hidden or protected inside the outer shell. This is the important part of the nut. This is the substance. the actual seed or the fruit of the tree that it bears. This is what we eat and enjoy, what is on the inside. The same is true of us as people. All the different things that we often concern ourselves with when we want to learn about others is just part of the outer shell. It's just part of what's on the surface, what's on the outside. It's not completely unimportant, I mean, you can learn some things from people about those things, but it's also not what is most important. Don't focus only on the outer shell because you'll never get to know the true nut that lies within. So what is the defining characteristic of your life as a Christian? What is the one defining characteristic of your life in Jesus Christ? If you had to name one thing, just one thing that defines you as a believer, what would that be? Think about it. Some possible candidates would be knowledge. Knowledge of the Bible. Knowledge of who God is. Or holiness. Justification by grace through faith alone. The fact that God Almighty has declared me to be righteous based on Christ's work. Or even something like the Gospel. That defines me as a Christian. Or my Christian obedience. My walk. Day-to-day living as a Christian. Or maybe even the answer to the first Catechism question. Man's chief end is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever. While these are all things that should characterize your life as a Christian, we have not yet mentioned the one thing of first importance that should define your life in Christ. This defining characteristic is Christian love for one another. Christian love for one another. Here in chapter 3, verses 11-24, you are called to love one another. You are to love one another in light of two things that we're going to be looking at. First, the hatred of the world in the first part of this section. And secondly, the love of Christ. We read in verse 11, For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. John wrote previously in chapter 2, saying, Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. John has been reiterating the words of Christ that he heard firsthand when he said, A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this, all people will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." Children of God, love one another. This is a vital part of your life as a Christian. Christian love is the defining characteristic of the Christian life. This is the one thing that Christ points to, that we just read from John 13, that will identify you to the world around you as His disciple, and is held forth as a matter of first importance throughout the Scriptures. We read, Having purified your souls by your obedience to the truth for a sincere brotherly love, love one another earnestly from a pure heart. 1 Peter 1.22 Above all, keep loving one another earnestly, since love covers a multitude of sins. 1 Peter 4.8 The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith. 1 Timothy 1.5 Paul prays for the Christians in Thessalonica saying, And may the Lord make you increase and abound in love for one another and for all as we do for you. 1 Thessalonians 3.12 What John is talking about and what these verses are teaching is love among Christians. The focus here is your love for your church family, your brothers and your sisters in Jesus Christ. Not only are you to be affectionate towards one another, as the family of God, but you are to live out your love for one another in loving actions, works of kindness, grace, mercy, hospitality, generosity. Why is this command repeated so often and so strongly throughout Scripture? The reason you are commanded to love one another is that you are often tempted to not love one another. You are tempted to fight, to quarrel. You experience strife, jealousy, and rivalries that lead to dissensions and divisions in the body of Christ. These are temptations that Paul lists as the lust of the flesh in Galatians 5. But then he continues in the rest of that chapter by contrasting them with the fruit of the Spirit. And in that transition, he says, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. And the first aspect of the fruit of the Spirit's work in your life, of course, is love. Even as love is held forth in 1 Corinthians 13 as greater even than faith and hope. John continues to teach on love in verses 12-13 of our chapter by pointing to the evil example of Cain as we consider the hatred of the world. He says, 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. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. Cain murdered his brother because he hated him. The physical act of murdering him flowed out of a heart filled with hatred. Cain's deeds were evil because he was of the evil one, John tells us. And he hated Abel because his deeds were righteous. And the Lord loved him and looked favorably upon him and his offering. The sin of hatred can consume you. Cain's hatred of Abel is a picture of the world's hatred for you. The world does hate you because it hates Christ and it hates all who are in Christ. Don't be surprised when you are looked down upon for your faith, viewed as weak or ignorant. When you are not included, when you are ridiculed because of your faith in Christ. Stand strong in Christ and stand up for Jesus. Stand firm when you experience the hatred of the world, because you are resting in the love of God. John says at the end of verse 14 to 15, whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. The world is characterized by their hate. The hate of the truth. Hating Christ. Hating Christians. Hating the church. But you are to be characterized by your love for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Those who hate abide in death. They do not have the new life in the Spirit. He who hates is a murderer and does not have the Spirit. He does not have the eternal life of God abiding in him. In his Sermon on the Mount in Matthew 5, Jesus says in verses 21-24, you have heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder. And whoever is angry will be liable to judgment. 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. So if you are offering your gift at the altar, and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there, before the altar, and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. How you treat other people is important. Notice that no mention is made here by Christ of how others treat you. But instead, Jesus focuses on your responsibility to pursue reconciliation when your brother has something against you. It is hard to live in a family, isn't it? Children, I want you to pay special attention here, little ones. Do you ever fight with your brothers and sisters? Yes, you do, don't you? You get on each other's nerves sometimes, you do things that make each other angry, and then you act out in your anger by hurting each other. What happens when you fight? You hurt each other's feelings by saying mean things, And sometimes someone gets hurt physically by a push, a pinch, or maybe even a punch. Is it right and good to do and say mean things to your brother or your sister? Is that right or good? No. No, you are supposed to love each other and to care for each other in a family. Do you want your family to always be fighting with each other? No, you don't. Because that's not fun for anybody. Not even for mom and dad. Fighting brings sadness and hurt. Anger brings more anger. Did you know that the same is true for your church family? When we fight with our church family, people get hurt. God says you are to love your family, your physical family and your spiritual family. your church family. God the Father sent Jesus to save us from sin and death so that we can live forever as part of God's family. It is God's will for you to love and care for the family He has given to you and He has given you too. Be thankful that God loves you so much that He has given you a loving family. And think of ways that you can show love to your family. To live it out every day. Do you know one way? I'll give you one thing that you can do to express your love for your church family. Pray for them. There are times when someone treats you bad. People sin against you. However, it is never okay to respond in kind. to try to get back at them, to repay evil for evil. We read in Romans 12, live in harmony with one another. Do not be haughty, but associate with the lowly. Never be conceited. Repay no one evil for evil, but give thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. If possible, so far as it depends upon you, live peaceably with all. Beloved, never avenge yourselves, but leave it to the wrath of God. For it is written, Vengeance is mine. I will repay, says the Lord. To the contrary, if your enemy is hungry, feed him. If he is thirsty, give him something to drink. For by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head. Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. When you are tempted to hate your brother, to respond in kind, to get even, to lash out, to seek selfish satisfaction, you must deny yourself. and instead commit yourself to loving them instead. Recall what Jesus said, if you know your brother has something against you, then you need to take the initiative. You need to pursue reconciliation, to seek to mend the broken relationship. Don't allow yourself to say, well, it's his problem, let him deal with it. I didn't do anything. Why should I have to go talk to him? As a Christian, it is your duty to pursue reconciliation whenever your relationships are harmed by sin. It is always your responsibility to love your brother, especially when you don't feel like it. The world is characterized by hate, murder, and death. In Christ, you are to be filled with love, and life with grace and mercy and truth. The reason you can overcome the hatred of the world and love your brother is only because of the love of Christ. John writes in verse 14, we know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brothers. You are a new creation in Christ. You have a new heart, a new nature, a new master. Your new life in Christ is to be characterized by love for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Satan loves nothing more than for Christians to be at war with one another. For the body of Christ to be torn apart from the inside. If you are all committed to loving one another, this can never happen. Do you want to know why most churches split? Do you want to know why there is unrest in fighting divisions and factions in the body of Christ? Well, most churches don't split because of doctrinal differences. It happens, but that's not the primary reason why most churches split. Most of the time, It is because Christians are not committed 100% to loving one another no matter what. Somebody does or says something you don't like, whether they're right or wrong, you make a decision to scratch your itch and to go to war against your brother. There will always be a hundred excuses, a hundred reasons why you're in the right, and you can justify every single one of your sinful actions, and why they're in the wrong. And you will find yourselves completely justified in your sin as the church begins to devour itself. Churches fail for the same reason that most marriages fail. Selfishness. Paul, in his famous marriage seminar in Ephesians 5, addresses the issue of both marriage and how it points to Christ. In verse 25-26, he addresses husbands directly, saying, Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave Himself up for her, that He might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the Word. Sacrificial love is the key to marriage and the key to the Christian life. It is rooted in Christ's sacrificial love for you. This is your high calling in Christ. Love for your church family is a hallmark of the Christian faith. And it is tied to your new nature in Christ. It sums up your Christian service as it is even the fulfillment of the law. We read in Romans 13, O no one anything except to love each other. For the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. The commandments, you shall not commit adultery, you shall not murder, you shall not steal, you shall not covet, and any other commandment are summed up in this word, you shall love your neighbor as yourself. Love does no wrong to a neighbor, therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. John continues in verse 16, he says, "...by this we know love, that He laid down His life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers." Consider God's grace given freely to you in Jesus. Think of the magnitude of your sin, your debt to God's holiness, to His justice, How great is your debt to God? It is great enough to require the Son of God to take to Himself a human nature, to provide perfect obedience for you in this life, to suffer the temptation of sin, the agony of death, to spill His blood, to suffer the torment of the wrath of God, and to rise victorious over sin and death in order to reconcile you to the Father. Christ laid down His life for you, and He calls you to lay down your life for your brothers. Considering the debt you have been forgiven by grace, you ought to be overflowing with grace, mercy, and forgiveness for others. Jesus sacrificed Himself for you because He loves you. Your love for your brothers and sisters in Christ must also be sacrificial. You must sacrifice your pride, your desires. All selfishness must be thrown away. And pride must be no more. Not only are you called to sacrifice your pride, but you are also to be generous with your finances, with your possessions with one another. John says in verses 17-18, 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? Little children, let us not love in word and talk, but in deed and in truth." Here, John strikes at the heart of our selfishness, the love of our possessions. Remember Paul's words to Timothy. He says, Now there is great gain in godliness with contentment. For we brought nothing into the world, and we cannot take anything out of the world. But if we have food and clothing, with these we will be content. If you are truly thankful and content with food and clothing, that the Lord has provided for all your true needs, and let's face it, nobody really needs an iPod. then you should delight to share out of your abundance with those who are in need. Remember what Jesus said about the day of His return and the blessing upon His servants. He says, Come, you who are blessed by My Father. Inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. For I was hungry, and you gave Me food. I was thirsty, and you gave Me drink. I was a stranger, and you welcomed Me. I was naked, and you clothed Me. I was sick, and you visited Me. I was in prison, and you came to Me. Then the righteous will answer Him, saying, Lord, when did we see You hungry and feed You? or thirsty and give you drink? And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you? And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you? And the King will answer them, Truly I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these My brothers, you did it to Me. James says, If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, And one of you says to them, go in peace, be warm and filled. Without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. We live in a very affluent society. There is only a small percentage of people who are without food or clothing. However, we are called to reach out to those in need with the love of Christ, sharing what we have with them. One way in which we do this is through the deacons' important work of mercy ministry. As you have opportunity to support their work, do it. You may also have other opportunities to serve those in need. Whether it's helping someone you know in your own life, people you are acquainted with, or by volunteering at a homeless shelter or a soup kitchen, serving people that you've never met before. You also support the presbytery and denominational diaconal work through your offerings, carrying out mercy ministry around the world, as well as mercy ministry in places where you can't even imagine the kind of poverty that people live in day to day. Dr. Jim Knox is your missionary doctor in Uganda, who daily cares for those who otherwise would die from their sickness, because there is no other hospital. There is no other place for them to go. Christ has given everything in His perfect love for you. He has provided Himself as the sacrifice for your sin and has provided His perfect righteousness to your account by which you are declared to be holy by the Father. And He has given you His Spirit to make you holy. He has given you new life, purpose, joy, an unfading eternal hope, and every spiritual blessing. Christ loves you and died for you just as you are. Even while we were dead in sin, we read, Christ died for us. When you were unlovely, He loved you and saved you. Show that kind of love to others who are not perfect, but who are precious in God's sight. Remember that we love because He first loved us. Jesus says, if you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples. As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love. If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love. just as I have kept My Father's commandments and abide in His love. These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full. This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. Greater love has no one than this, that someone lays down his life for his friends. John 15, 7-13. Sin, selfishness, and fighting cause pain and sadness in the body. The love of Christ, on the other hand, brings joy. Jesus wants your joy to be full, He says, by obeying His commandment to love one another as He has loved you. Christ has held out a perfect standard for you to follow. You must strive to love one another sacrificially, unselfishly, and generously. You need the love of Christ to live this out. If you look at your own heart, and your own life, and you see that you do not have the love of Christ, and so you do not love His brothers and sisters, You do not have a deep sacrificial love for your church family. Then Christ calls you to repent and to believe the gospel so that your joy too may be full. Take your eyes off of yourself and fix them on Jesus. Then you will know true love, true joy, and true peace. Christians, you need God's help to love one another. You need to seek to grow in Christ so that you can grow in love for one another. And I encourage you today to do this in three ways specifically. First, read your Bible. You need to be in the Word of God in order to better live out God's love in your life. It is God's Word of life for you. It is living and active and sharper than a two-edged sword. It will not return to the Lord void, but it will accomplish every purpose He has for it in your life. Secondly, pray. Pray for your church family. Pray for your church leaders. If you have something against someone else, you feel sinned against, Or maybe they just got under your skin and rubbed you the wrong way. You must be faithful in praying for them. You will find that although they may not change in their behavior, the Lord will change your heart toward them. Thirdly, live out your love. Love does not only exist in the heart and in the mind, but if it is real Christian love, It will show itself in tangible ways. Love one another in how you speak to each other. And how you act towards one another. Seek and find ways to serve each other. The world says practice random acts of caring and kindness. I'm sure you've seen that bumper sticker. Christ tells you to practice intentional acts of love. Not random. but intentional. Create opportunities to show your love to someone else. Whether it's visiting someone who's in the hospital, helping somebody with a need around their house. There's any number of examples we could talk about. But you're not going to find the opportunities if you're not looking for them. Create opportunities to show love to others. Have a kind word ready to say to others. Find a need in their life that you can help meet. Even something as small as a little card, a note, or a phone call can show someone that you are thinking about them, that you care about them, and that you love them. Share with others what the Lord has so generously given to you in His precious gospel. Remember that the body of Christ is not a social club or a civic organization. We're not the rotary. We are not a random association of individuals. But we are a family. Love one another in Christ as the family of God. Amen. Let's pray. Father, we are amazed at Your love for us. We do not deserve it. There's nothing in us that would attract You. There's nothing good in us that we could ever earn Your love, or Your loving kindness, or Your grace, or Your mercy. But You have freely given it to us instead, while we were Your enemies. While we hated You, You sent Your Son to die for our sins. Father, we pray that You would fill us with love for one another. That the watching world would see that as the hallmark in our lives. that we love each other and care for each other, and we act without selfishness and with great generosity and compassion towards one another.