Love in Action Based on Truth

Transcript

GR 1097
2/6/1983

1 John 3:11-18
Gil Rugh

That's an exciting thought that tonight could begin eternity. That Jesus Christ could call us to be with Himself and eternity for us would have begun. Now you have to remind yourself. You get caught up in the routines and the activities and you forget, that's going to happen someday. The days go by and think, well, it didn't happen today but it's going to happen some day and Jesus Christ is going to call us to be with Himself and the exciting hope that we have as believers.

I John in your Bibles. I John chapter 3. Chapter in the opening verses which talked about when He comes and takes us to be with Himself and we see Him face to face. We have the privilege of anticipating being like Him because we'll see Him as He is. What John has been doing in chapter 3 is presenting to us two families and the characteristics of those family members. These two families have as their heads Satan and God and the whole human race belongs to one family or the other. You either have God as your Father or you have Satan as your father and as is true in families, you manifest family characteristics and traits and so it is in God's family and in Satan's family. The children of God manifest the character of God. The children of Satan manifest the character of Satan.

Down in verse 10 is the summary. "By this the children of God and the children of the devil are obvious:". Here is how they are presented and revealed. The one who does not practice righteousness is not of God nor the one who does not love his brother." So your conduct indicates your character. What you are is manifested by what you do. Need to be careful. You cannot turn that around. By what you do you cannot change what you are. But what you are is manifested in what you do. Now the change in what you are can only be brought about by birth. When you were born into the human family you were born with a sin nature. In effect, you were born into Satan's family because of sin and depravity and it takes the new birth to cause you to be born into God's family, partake of His character and thus begin to manifest His characteristics and traits in your conduct.

In the last part of verse 10 is the transition to what is the subject in verses 11 and following. "Nor the one who does not love his brother." Two characteristics of a child of God and a child of the devil, put positively and negatively. The children of God do righteousness and love fellow Christians.
The children of the devil do not do righteousness and do not love fellow Christians.

Now he has talked about the characteristic of righteousness in effect in the verse preceding verse 10. Verse 4. "He who practices sin practices lawlessness." Then in verse 6. "No one who abides in Him sins;" Verse 7. "Little children, let no one deceive you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous." That doesn't mean that I never do anything wrong, that I never sin. But the general characteristic of my life is righteousness in contrast to the general characteristic of the unbeliever's life which is unrighteousness. And the reason that we do not live lives of sin is because of the new birth.
That's verse 9. "No one who is born of God practices sin, because His seed abides in him; and he cannot sin, because he is born of God." In other words, I cannot live as I formerly lived. I have been transformed on the inside. I am a new person. Just as it is impossible for a child of the devil to live as a child of God. So is it impossible for the child of God to live the life of the devil. Realize that brings up questions. But that's John's point. There is a difference and God's seed abides in us. Now what he is going to do is pick up with verse 11 is the last statement, the second characteristic of a child of God, loving fellow believers. This marks you off as a child of God. Our attitude towards one another as members of God's family. The one who does not love his brother has not been born of God, is not of God. So that's the contrast and that's where he is going to move for the discussion now giving a couple of examples. Now, important. The issue here is loving fellow Christians. There is a place for manifesting the love of God to the unbeliever and our desire for their salvation but the emphases for us as believers is on our love for one another as members of the family, as God's children.

So verse 11. "For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." And you go back to Christ's earthly ministry, this is the message, John chapter 13 lays it out very clearly. And in that chapter Jesus said, "By this shall all men know that you are My disciples if you have love for the world? No. If you have love for one another. That love we have for one another as believers is what marks us off as unique and evidences the fact that we are the children of God. Now the reason that's significant is what he's going to develop. There will be something that is unlovable about us to the world. So the unbeliever finds the believer unlovable and so it is a unique mark that you are a member of God's family when you find fellow believers lovable. I realize. Don't twist the theology of that statement—that you're in love with them. We should love one another.

Example. "Not as Cain who was of the evil one." What he's going to do is give two examples. One, an example that is negative. A child of the devil, Cain. When you get down to verse 16 he'll give the positive example, Jesus Christ, that does manifest the love of God. It's another indication to me that we're talking about believers and non-believers. Cain was of the evil one. What is he talking about when he talks about being of the evil one? Was Cain a saved man? No, he was not. And we find no repentance, no change of heart in Cain's attitude. A record of him in Genesis." Cain was of the evil one and slew his brother." So Cain was of Satan. He was Satan's child. He manifested that, didn't he? What did he do? He killed his brother. What is one of the marks of Satan? He is a murderer from the beginning, Jesus said. He was a murderer from the beginning. What happens? His children manifest his character.

Just a little aside. You say, well, I know a lot of people that aren't Christians that they don't murder and that's true. Not every unbeliever is as bad as he could be. You say, he's bad off as he can be because he's totally depraved. But he doesn't manifest always the depth of depravity that he is capable of. But isn't it interesting when the restraints are removed what happens in places like Ireland where there is a breakdown of law, how murder becomes rampant. We see an example of this even in the recent strike that is going on. It becomes an example for people to break the law, to attack physically other people with less fear of being caught. What happens? The true character of man begins to manifest itself. It's given an opportunity for an out and people become afraid to even be on the highways. Why? You don't know what somebody's going to do to you. We say, oh, here's the reason. That's not the reason. That's the excuse. You see the true character of the heart now bubbling out because you know what keeps us in line? The government that God has established and ordained, human government helps to keep things down. If there was no punishment and no fear of reprisal this world would become unlivable and much of that will go on during the Tribulation period.

So here Cain manifests his character. He was of the evil one and slew his brother. Now here comes to understand that it's in the context of love. For what reason did he slay him? Why did Cain slay his brother? The word here means to slice his throat. It was used of the slaying of the sacrificial animals where the throat was cut and they indicate how Cain killed Abel. Perhaps in anger over the fact that Abel's sacrifice was acceptable. Cain murdered him as a sacrifice would be slain. At any rate, that's the expression used here. Why did he do that? Note the reason. Because his deeds were evil and his brother's were righteous. You note that. What happens? The children of God do righteousness. The children of the devil do not. The children of the devil are antagonized by the righteousness of the children of God. They do not find the righeousness manifested in the life of the child of God desirable or lovable. Abel, Cain was antagonized by Abel's righteousness Because Abel was more righteous, he killed him. Now you begin to see why it becomes a mark of a believer that you love other believers. If you love this believer that's a mark of righteousness in your life because the unbeliever does not find the believer desirable or a person that he wants to become involved with necessarily.

Verse 13. "Do not marvel brethren if the world hates you." And "if the world hates you" is a first class condition. It assumes the reality of something. Do not marvel brethren since the world does hate you. Now this is a fact. Now important thing is for Christians not to be amazed by this. So you see there is a line being drawn again. We are to expect that fellow Christians love us. We are also to expect that the world will hate us. That helps me resolve the dilemma. Constantly trying to be loved by the world. The world only loves me when I become like the world. Some of you who have been saved recently have found that out. Where those who you would party with and become involved in sin with. They enjoyed you until you became a believer. But now that your life is characterized by righteousness, they don't desire your company necessarily. Don't marvel brethren if the world hates you. Now this hatred of the world is not always manifested in the same way and sometimes the manifestation is more clear, sometimes it is more subdued. But at heart the child of the devil and the child of God are eternal enemies. One represents God. One represents Satan. We are set in a conflict. The enmity is there. We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren. There is a mark of our salvation. I know that I have passed, undergone the transition from death to life, because I love fellow Christians. I love believers.

Look over in John chapter 5. John's Gospel chapter 5:24. "Truly, truly I say to you. He who hears My word and believes Him who sent Me has eternal life and does not come into judgment but has passed out of death into life. Now that's what John is talking about. We know that we have passed out of death into life. What does it mean to pass out of death into life? One who has come to believe in Jesus Christ. The evidence that you have passed out of death and the realm of Satan which is a realm of condemnation and judgment, into the realm of life, a relationship with God, is that you manifest love towards other believers, fellow Christians.

While you're in John you might as well look at John 13 which I eluded to earlier. John chapter 13:35. "By this all men will know that you are My disciples if you have love for one another." The standard of that love is verse 34 which we're going to come to in I John 5, I John 3, so note it while we are here. "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another even as I have loved you that you also love one another." This would be characteristic of us. Is a self-sacrificing love. The focal point of the love we're talking about is not the emotional feeling but the willingness to give yourself in service for other believers. That's what Jesus Christ demonstrates in the giving of His life. Now that's to characterize our dealings with one another as believers. Whatever is necessary for your well-being as a believer I am willing to do and sacrifice myself for.

Over in Ephesians chapter 2. This transition has passed from death to life is laid out a little more in detail in Ephesians chapter 2 and the opening verses. Ephesians 2:1 "And you were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, of the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. Among them too we all formerly lived in the lust of the flesh, indulging the desires of the flesh and of the mind and were by nature children of wrath even as the rest. But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us " Then he goes on down into verses 8 and 9. "By grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves. It is the gift of God, not of works, lest any man should boast." We were dead. We lived and dwelt in the realm of death which is the realm and domain of the prince of the power of the air, according to verse 2. The spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience. That's the realm of death. We passed from that into the realm of life by faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ. So, from being one who lived in a personal relationship with Satan to one who lives in a personal relationship with God. That's the transition we have undergone from Satan's family to God's family.

Come back to I John 3. Verse 14. "We know that we have passed out of death into life because we love the brethren." And that "love the brethren" is crucial. There are unbelievers who can come and even attend the service and so on but love, that self-sacrificing serving of one another, is a characteristic of believers. People who throw themselves into the work, so to speak. Who throw themselves into the ministry in one another's lives. They are evidencing the love that is a manifestation that they are believers. And you see it. You look around among believers and you see believers who sacrifice themselves for the benefit of other believers. And you see the work of God in their life, the testimony to them personally and to us, that they belong to God. The negative side of this. He who does not love abides in death. There's that word "abide" used of the unbeliever. If you do not love, you abide. The realm in which you live is death. I take it in light of the background that we read in the Gospel of John you'd say he is an unbeliever. Jesus, we read in John 5:24, you pass from death to life by faith in His Word. Now those who abide live, dwell, in the realm of death, have to be unbelievers. They haven't passed out of that realm. Manifested by the fact he does not love. Now the love in the context here, love the brethren. He who does not love the brethren is what he has just mentioned in verse 14, does not have that love for fellow Christians, that self-sacrificing service for fellow Christians abides in death. That's the realm in which he lives. You see we both, all of us, we belong to one of two families. We live in one of two places. You abide either in God in life or in Satan in death. But everybody lives someplace. Either the family of God or the family of Satan. Verse 15. "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." Everyone who hates his brother— what he is doing is picking up on the issue of Cain. See what he has done. He is taking a striking clear example. The character of Cain is seen without question as a child of the devil manifested very clearly in his actions as well as his attitude. Well, verse 15. "Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, is of the same character of Cain who was of the same character as Satan. You know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. This is similar to Jesus' discussion back in Matthew chapter 5. In Matthew chapter 5:21,22. In other words, what is going on is God is going beyond the action to the situation in the heart. Cain's real problem was not that he killed his brother. That was the manifestation of the problem. The real problem was he hated him in his heart. Now what happened for Cain was opportunity came to manifest that hatred by killing his brother. But the hatred of the heart was the problem which was indicative of the fact he had not a relationship with God.

In Matthew 5:21 "You have heard that the ancients were told "You shall not commit murder and whoever commits murder shall be liable to the court. But I say to you, 'Everyone who is angry with his brother shall be guilty before the court.' Whoever shall say to his brother, 'Raca' shall be guilty before the Supreme Court. Whoever shall say 'you fool' shall be guilty enough to go into the hell of fire. "

What you have here is judgment not of the action but of the attitude behind the action and so the condition of the heart is being judged and so you see the condition that perhaps I have hatred in my heart. I haven't murdered. You know why I haven't murdered those that I have hated? I was afraid. I didn't want to be executed myself or I didn't want to spend my life in prison. But the condition of my heart is no different than one Who carried out an act of murder except I was a coward and he wasn't. I was afraid to do the intentions of my heart perhaps. I'm not saying it's better to kill somebody. I'm saying the condition of the heart is that which is going to be judged by God and the sinful condition of the heart is manifested by the hatred that resides there. So from God's perspective you're a murderer because a murderer is simply one who carries out the desires of his heart. Others harbor it there, afraid to carry out that desire or wait for the right opportunity to do so.

So back to John. I John 3. "No murderer has eternal life." And since one who hates is a murderer we conclude that anyone who hates is without eternal life." That's his line of reasoning. Anyone who hates is a murderer. Murderers don't have eternal life, therefore anyone who hates doesn't have eternal life. So if you don't love fellow Christians but you hate them, you're manifesting you don't have eternal life.

Now that's a simple test. Now right away I think, well, wait a minute. There's some Christians who get on my nerves. And then there's some Christians I like better and I think that's true. Obviously it's true. We're all human. There are people that we enjoy being with. There are people we enjoy being with less. I can put it in a positive way. There are people I could get along fine if I never am with and there are people who think if they are never with me they are better off and we're believers. The difference in that in hating. The picture here is of the antagonism that is there. Now that doesn't mean that you don't enjoy the company of one Christian better than another. But the unbeliever at heart is in a relationship of antagonism with believers in contrast to believers. That's the general character.

Okay. We move on. Verse 16. What we're doing. We're manifesting this love as we're manifesting the love of God. So verse 16. Here's the example of true love. We had the example of Satan's hatred in Cain. Here's the example of god's love in Christ. "By this—we know love by this, that He laid down His life for us and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." So that's the point. It's a self-sacrificing love, agape love is the kind of love. Acting for the good of another Christian. Jesus Christ is the ultimate example. Giving everything is giving my life. I mean, that's the ultimate that I could do— to lay down my life for you would be the ultimate demonstration of love. Well, that's what Jesus Christ did. Now we are to be willing to lay down our lives for the brethren. That's the mark of a Christian. Now, I don't mind that because in our society right now I'm not called to give my life for you, so I don't mind that test really. But he brings it then into the concrete realm. You know what we often do. We often go to the extremes. Sure, I'd give my life for you, but....

Verse 17. "Whoever has the world's goods, and beholds his brother in need and closes his heart against him, how does the love of God abide in him?" I said I'd give you my life, not my possessions. But you see, that's the point. If I am willing to give sacrificially for your good even to the point of laying down ny life, well anything less than that then ought to come readily available. So how can I claim to have God's love when I see a fellow Christian who has needs and the indication here. Beholds his brother in need, present tense, there is the awareness. I realize you can't meet the needs of everyone. God has brought you into a situation where you are being constantly made aware of the need of a fellow Christian. But you close the door of your heart and that's the picture here. He closes his heart. Expression that would be used of closing a door. You shut the door. Well, how does that manifest the love of God? I decide it will cost me something. Therefore I decide not to do it. You know what I'm measuring? I'm measuring how it affects me, not how it affects you and agape love determines what is best for the other person and does it regardless of personal cost. But if I look at your need, then I sit down and I can come up with a whole list of reasons why that's your problem and not mine. You know that's all irrelevant. The only thing that's relevant is you have a need and God has made me aware of it. That's the only thing that's dealt with here. I can look. I says, well, if he had been smart. Well, if they had done this. Well, if they had saved like this. Well, if they had done that. You know what I’m doing? I'm pulling the door closed on my heart. I'm coming up with all these good reasons why I shouldn't have to help you. You know why? It costs me something. I say, look, I have worked hard for what I've got.

Now I realize—no working, no eating. Paraphrase the book of Thessalonians. The Christians are to work. That's the pattern. So it's not that I can lay at home and call you on the phone and say, you know what? I have some needs. But maybe I'm not able to work for a reason and then. Well, that has to be dealt with.
But the issue is very practical. You become aware of the need. You close your heart. How does the love of God abide in him?

"Little children." Term of warmth and endearment, "let us not love with word or with tongue, but in deed and in truth." Now easy to sing the songs about love. Easy to talk about love. You know what John says? Let's talk about it less. Let's sing about it less. Let's practice it more. Let's love in deed and in truth.
You know easy for us as Christians to go around and talk about how we love one another but ignore the opportunities to express and manifest that love. That's not the love that characterized Christ. It was a self-sacrificing, giving of Himself for our good and our benefit and that's what is to characterize us. "Let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed and in truth." So basically I quit thinking of myself and think of you. Our study of Philippians. We saw the same thing. In our study of Timothy. He didn't look out for his own interests but the interests of others. Many opportunities to display this.

Now it becomes inconvenient and I realize we right away think, well, where’s the line? How do I draw it? Well, I don't know. It will be different for each one of us. I feel that I'm responsible for those situations that God brings me into awareness of. Some of them that I have more of a constant awareness of. Then I have to go under the assumption that God wants me to be used to meet that need and you have to be careful because it's often easy to shift it. You know what I want to do? I want to call you on the phone and tell you about that need. Well, I have to back up and say, well maybe God wants me to meet that need. Maybe He doesn't want me to run and tell someone else that need. Maybe He wants me to meet that need. You say, oh, wait a minute. I've been saving that money for a new car. Maybe I thought so. Maybe God had me saving that money because He wanted to use it to meet the need of this fellow believer. That's the pits I No, it's not, is it? It's an opportunity to manifest the love of God because it really isn't a demonstration of love if it costs me nothing.

You know the fact that I gave a dollar here or five there or ten there. They've cost me nothing. That's not agape love. Anybody can do that. We're talking about self-sacrifice. We're talking about a love that is demonstrated that cost me something. So it does become inconvenient. John wouldn't have to write about it here if it wasn't any inconvenient kind of love, if I can use that expression. That's what marks us off as believers as different. We are looking out for one another with that kind of love and concern and interest that sets our own self-desires aside because of the commitment we have to meet the needs of fellow believers. And it manifests itself in very practical ways meeting these basic physical needs. An expression of the love of God. We're talking about the overall evidence, that willingness to sacrifice ourselves for other believers. That's a demonstration of a true relationship with God. That care and concern, that love for fellow believers manifests itself in a variety of ways, but don't exclude the very tangible monetary ones. That's the example that John uses. Someone who has physical need that would be met by material gifts and I ought to be willing and glad for the opportunity to be used of God to meet those needs.

Now we back up and say there's a clear test of a believer. Am I a child of God or am I a child of the devil? What do I think of other Christians? Do I hate them or do I love them? If I claim to love them, is that love manifest in practical ways in my conduct? Begin to transform the way we live with one another as believers wouldn't it? It's exciting to know that I've got all you people looking out for me. That gives me a security. You know that should be true for all of us. As a family like this we have many believers looking out for us.
Looking out for one another. I know it's not a great burden to sacrifice for one another. It's a great privilege to be used of God in one another's lives and it gives us the privilege of manifesting the character of God in our dealings with one another, which is simply an evidence to ourselves and a evidence to others that we belong to Christ.

Let's pray together