"Love one another"

Well, friends, would you turn with me to the book of 1 John?

1 John, we're looking at chapter 3, verses 10 through 24 today.

That's page 960 in the Pew Bible.

John chapter 3, verses 10 through 24, page 960.

John 3:10–24

We'll have it on the screen so as I read it the first time,

but it'll be good to have it open as we continue to meditate on this passage today.

As we come to God's Word, let me pray for us.

Our Father in heaven, what a wonderful and needed reminder it is

that it is you who has a hold on us long before we ever took hold of you.

God, your love is always the first love in our lives.

It always precedes any love that we respond and give back to you,

and that is a great comfort and a great joy.

So, Lord, as we approach your Word this morning,

help us to see your Word as just another sign of your first love for us

and help us to receive it by your Spirit

and help us to live it out in his power.

For Jesus' sake, amen.

All right, 1 John chapter 3, verses 10 through 24.

1 John 3:10–24

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 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.

If anyone has the world's good 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.

By this we shall know that we are of the truth

and reassure our heart before him.

For whenever our heart condemns us,

God is greater than our heart,

and he knows everything.

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us,

we have confidence before God,

and whatever we ask,

we receive from him

because we keep his commandments

and do what pleases him.

And this is his commandment,

that we believe in the name of his son,

Jesus Christ,

and love one another,

just as he has commanded us.

Whoever keeps his commandments

abides in God and God in him,

and by this we know that he abides in us

by the Spirit whom he has given us.

All right.

Well, as we've seen this summer,

1 John, as a book,

in its own sort of evolving,

sort of elliptical way,

presents three ways

or three kind of signs that are evident,

three things that are evident in someone

or in a church

that has genuine faith in Christ.

And those three signs that John describes

are doctrine, obedience, and love.

In other words, doctrine,

believing the truth about Jesus' person and work,

that's one sign.

Obedience, a willing to follow God's commands,

that's the second.

And love.

Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ?

Now, it's important to note

that those three things that John talks about,

they don't make you a Christian.

It's not as if doing those things

will earn you favor with God.

No.

It's more like the fruit of a tree.

Those things are kind of the evidence.

They're the outgrowth.

They're the things that show

that you've come through the gospel

to really receive God's love and favor

and be born again in Him.

These three things are a bit like a three-legged stool.

And if you're missing one of them,

what happens?

If you have a three-legged stool with two legs,

it falls over, right?

It doesn't stand.

Think about it.

Obedience and love

without believing that Jesus is the Christ,

well, that's not much more

than just kind of moralistic deism, right?

Or if you have love and belief without obedience,

well, that's what we call antinomianism.

You just do whatever you want.

But belief and obedience without love,

you see, that also falls over.

Because belief and obedience without love

is just a cold and joyless, dry legalism.

So in this book,

John wants to commend all three

as a whole picture

of what genuine spirituality looks like.

And here in our text today,

we're looking at that third leg of the stool.

We're looking at love.

And John's big idea here,

you see it in verse 10 and in verse 11,

is that true Christians must love one another.

Brotherly love,

that is love for one's fellow brothers

and sisters in Christ,

brotherly love is an essential mark

of genuine Christianity.

A Christian who doesn't love the brothers

is no Christian at all, John says.

Now, John's going to unpack this

in this passage in four ways.

And we're going to look at those four things

as we sort of unpack

this third critical leg of the stool.

First, John talks about the necessity

of brotherly love,

the necessity of it.

And we see this in verses 12 through 15.

John brings before us

the negative example of Cain.

Now, you probably remember

the story of Cain and Abel

from Genesis 4.

You know, if you've ever tried

reading through the Bible

in the whole year,

you know, you probably at least

got to Genesis 4

before you petered out

somewhere in Leviticus, right?

You know, so you remember Cain and Abel.

Cain and Abel were the very first brothers

in the Bible.

And what happens?

They grow up,

and in the course of time,

they both offer sacrifices to God,

but we're told that God accepts

Abel's sacrifice,

but he does not accept Cain's.

Now, Genesis 4 doesn't seem to tell us

why Cain's sacrifice wasn't accepted,

but the Apostle John here in our text

tells us that Cain's deeds were evil

and his brother Abel's righteous.

If you go to the book of Hebrews

in the New Testament,

chapter 11, verse 4,

it suggests something similar.

We're told there that Abel

offered his sacrifice in faith,

that is, out of love and trust for God,

and presumably Cain did not.

So it would seem then,

as we put these pieces together,

that God doesn't accept Cain's sacrifice then,

because in this instance,

Cain's outward religious actions,

his sacrifice, as it were,

that outward religious action,

wasn't matched by an inward heart

of love and obedience towards God.

Rather, Cain's life was marked

by unrighteousness

and a lack of inward trust in God.

So God doesn't accept his sacrifice.

It reminds us of what God will say

through the prophet Isaiah many years later,

seeing the same problem

in the people of Israel

at the time of Isaiah.

He says,

this people honors me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from me.

So Cain, it seems,

was honoring God with his lips,

with an outward sacrifice,

but his heart was far from God.

And how did Cain respond to all this?

Well, in Genesis 4,

we see that God pleads with Cain.

God comes to him

and calls him to repentance.

He warns him.

He says,

Cain, this is not the path.

This is a path that leads to death.

But instead of responding to God

in repentance and in faith,

Cain grows angry

and jealous and bitter.

And he calls his younger brother Abel

out into the field

and he strikes him down.

He murders him.

Now, coming back to 1 John,

we might think this example of Cain

is pretty extreme, right?

I mean,

not many of us here

have probably murdered someone.

But John,

you see,

the Apostle John,

he wants us to look at the heart.

Look at the end of verses 14

and verse 15 in this paragraph.

Whoever does not love

abides in death.

And whoever hates his brother

is a murderer.

And you know that no murderer

has eternal life abiding in him.

John wants us to look

at the heart here.

And he also wants us to realize

that, you know,

there's no neutral ground

in the spiritual life.

Well, you know,

we like to think,

we like to think

that there's kind of plenty

of neutral ground

in the spiritual life.

You know,

on the one hand,

there are these really awful,

murderous people over there

like Cain.

And then there are these

really amazing,

loving people over there

like Mother Teresa

or whoever.

And then the rest of us

are just kind of neutral.

We're in the middle.

We're neither all that good

or all that bad.

But you know,

that's not how the Bible

depicts the spiritual life.

The Bible doesn't say

there's any neutral ground.

You either abide

in the house of love

and life

or you abide

in the house of hatred

and death.

And without love,

John says,

you're not living

in neutrality.

You're living

in the house of death,

of hatred,

and yes,

even murder.

Remember what the Apostle Paul

says to the Corinthian church

in 1 Corinthians 13,

1 through 3.

He says,

if I speak in the tongues

of men and of angels

but have not love,

I'm a noisy gong

or a clanging cymbal.

And if I have prophetic powers

and understand all mysteries

and all knowledge,

and if I have all faith

so as to remove mountains

but have not love,

I'm nothing.

If I give away all I have

and if I deliver up my body

to be burned

but have not love,

I gain nothing.

Now we're familiar

with that passage, right?

1 Corinthians 13.

We've heard it read

at weddings

and things like that.

I remember a friend of mine

in Australia,

Australia,

not a very Christianized place,

right?

He had a friend

who was asked to read

1 Corinthians 13

at a wedding

but he read

1 Chronicles 13 instead.

That must have been

a great wedding.

But anyway,

1 Corinthians 13.

It's not just this sort

of fluffy passage, right?

There's actually an edge to it.

Without love,

we're nothing.

Like Cain,

we can offer up

religious externals

and these externals

might look wonderful

or powerful

or even significant

but without love,

we gain nothing.

We are nothing.

And you know what was happening

at the church in Corinth

that didn't have love?

Jealousy, bitterness,

animosity, hatred.

These things were growing

like wildfire.

And as a result,

the church was dying.

Why?

Because jealously,

bitterness,

animosity, hatred,

you know, externally,

those things might sort of look

or actually be a mile away

from murder.

But internally,

in the heart,

they're one and the same.

Isn't this what Jesus himself

taught in the Sermon on the Mount?

Matthew 5.

Jesus says,

You've heard that it was said of old,

you shall not murder

and whoever murders

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,

that is despising them

in your heart,

will be liable

to the hell of fire.

So for our Lord Jesus,

hatred,

animosity,

contempt,

these things were all tantamount

to murder in the heart.

Without love,

we abide in death.

Love is the necessary mark

of real Christianity.

It has to be there.

Now, there are two ways

we can apply this point

about the necessity of love

as John presents it here.

And I think the first way

we need to apply it

is through self-examination.

Friends,

outward show

is no evidence

of inward transformation.

Cain and Abel

offered very similar

sacrifices externally.

One brought livestock,

the other brought produce

from the field,

but that's not what made

one acceptable

and the other unacceptable.

Because you know,

in the rest of the Old Testament,

God commands both animals

and produce

to be brought as sacrifices.

So both Cain and Abel

looked externally

religious,

spiritual,

worshipful.

Both of them

came to the house

of the Lord as it were,

but only one

of those two brothers

was living or abiding

in the house

of eternal life.

The other one

was abiding

and living

in the house

of death.

Both in the house

of the Lord,

but both living

in very different houses

spiritually.

How about you, friend?

You've come

to the house

of the Lord today.

You've sung songs.

You've prayed prayers.

You've heard the Bible read.

You're now hearing

God's Word preached.

But these external actions

on your part

do not necessarily mean

that you have eternal life

living in you.

These external actions

are certainly important,

even wonderful things to do.

They're not to be

despised or neglected,

but they are not

certain evidence

that you are

in a saving relationship

with Christ.

Christ.

In Matthew 7,

Jesus even says this.

He says,

On that day,

many will say to me,

Lord, Lord,

did we not prophesy

in your name

and cast out demons

in your name

and do many mighty works

in your name?

Then Jesus says,

I will declare to them,

I never knew you.

Depart from me,

you workers

of lawlessness.

You see what the Lord

is saying?

The external

religious acts,

even seemingly

miraculous deeds

are not certain evidence

of saving faith.

There must be

brotherly love.

Love for one another

in the family of God.

That's the necessary sign.

That's the necessary evidence.

Friend, do you have that?

If not,

then plead to God for mercy.

Ask God for Christ's sake

to forgive your sins.

And to forgive your attempts

at making yourself

look good on the outside.

Ask God

to make you new

from the inside out.

Jesus says,

anyone who comes to me,

I won't cast them out.

Come to him

and ask him

to forgive your sins

and receive him.

Now there's another way

that John applies

this first point

about the necessity

of brotherly love

and we see it

in verse 13.

He writes,

don't be surprised,

brothers,

that the world hates you.

Now just as Abel

was the target

of Cain's hatred,

bitterness,

and jealousy,

John's saying,

so Christians

shouldn't be surprised

if we encounter

the same sort of treatment

today from those

outside the faith.

And the truth is,

we have to admit

that while we do

at times experience

that sort of thing

in the world,

whether it be

from coworkers

or non-Christian family members

or whatever it is,

I think we also have to admit

that there's a whole lot

of the world

inside the visible church too,

right?

Tragically,

people who claim

to be Christians

can also be full

of bitterness

and jealousy

and hatred.

But brothers and sisters,

don't be surprised.

Don't be caught off guard.

This is the landscape

of our fallen world.

And John writes

these words

to comfort us

and to prepare us

when we experience

these things.

because he knows

if we're not careful,

if we are taken by surprise,

then we too

will be tempted

to fall into bitterness

and hatred ourselves.

So don't be surprised.

Be prepared.

Well,

after telling us

about the necessity

of brotherly love,

John goes on to show us

the nature of brotherly love.

What does this sort of love

look like?

If it's essential

that we have it,

how do we recognize it

in our lives?

So this is John's second point,

the nature of brotherly love,

the nature.

We see this in verses 16

through 18.

Verse 16,

by this we know love,

that he,

that is Jesus,

laid down his life for us

and we ought to lay down

our lives

for the brothers.

So after the negative

example of Cain,

John now points us

to the positive example

of Christ.

Cain was sort of

the worst older brother

in the entire Bible,

right?

And yet now he points us

to Jesus,

the true older brother.

Christ who laid down

his life

shows us

the nature of real,

genuine love.

This is love

that we lay down

our lives

for our fellow Christians.

Now, of course,

the love of Christ

compels us

to do good

to everyone,

like the good Samaritan

on the road to Jericho

who shows love

to someone

who culturally

would have been

considered his enemy,

right?

Just like that good Samaritan,

so we show love

to everyone.

Even those culturally,

we might think

they're our enemies

or other people

might think

that we're enemies.

We show love

to everyone,

but we do have

a special regard

and a special obligation

and a special love

for fellow believers.

The Apostle Paul

captures this balance

so well

in Galatians 6.10.

He writes,

So then,

as we have opportunity,

let us do good

to everyone

and especially

to those

who are of

the household

of faith.

So what does

this self-giving love

look like?

How is it expressed

in everyday

Christian living?

And you know,

here John

is very down to earth.

He doesn't want us

to think

that laying down

our lives

is something

that only happens

in extraordinary

once-in-a-lifetime moments.

No,

look at how

this should play out

practically for us.

Look at what John says

in verses 17 and 18.

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.

So here's the question

John's answering,

or here's the question

John's asking.

This is what

self-giving love

looks like.

Do you share

what you have

with brothers

and sisters in need?

Do you share

what you have

with brothers

and sisters in need?

I remember

getting a phone call

at the church office

not too long ago

from a church member

and they were calling

because they had

a bunch of extra food

in their pantry.

They were kind of

cleaning it out

and making some room

and they gave

the church office

a call

because they wanted

to know

who in the church

might be in need,

that they might

give it to them.

Now,

on the surface

that sounds really simple,

right?

Maybe even simplistic

or too easy,

right?

Such a simple thing.

But according to John,

that's an example

of real love.

When we take

the world's goods

that we have,

whether it's money

or resources

or influence,

and when we see

the real needs

of our Christian

brother or sister,

and when we open

our heart

to meet that need

with what we have.

Now,

I wonder,

did you want

the apostle

to give

a more flashy

explanation

or application

of self-giving love?

Something more dramatic,

more attention-getting,

right?

But that's just it.

This kind of love,

it's not about

being flashy

or dramatic

or extravagant

or attention-grabbing.

If that's what you're after,

we're really just

doing it for ourselves.

If we want something

flashy or dramatic

or extravagant

or attention-grabbing,

then aren't we

just doing those things

to look good

or to feel good?

No,

real self-giving love

lays down

even that desire

to be seen

and admired

for doing a great

act of love.

Real self-giving love

is self-forgetful.

It's more tuned in

to the real needs

of the brother or sister

right before me

and how

what God has given me

might be used

to meet that need.

Well,

if this is the nature

of brotherly love,

well,

how do we go about

putting it into practice then?

Well,

first,

notice that John says

we must be able

to see

our brother or sister

in need.

We see them.

In other words,

we need to be in enough

regular contact

and relationship

with fellow believers

that we can actually identify,

actually see

what the needs are

when they arise.

Practically,

if you're able to

and you don't

regularly come to church

on Sundays,

if you're able to

and you don't

regularly fellowship

with a small group

or another smaller fellowship

of church members,

then it's going to be

very difficult

for you to love

in the way

John describes here.

Imagine I never

sat down

with my family

at the dinner table

to eat with them.

Every night,

I would stay in the office

to work

or watch TV

or go for a walk,

you know.

I was just never

present with them.

Could I really say

that I love them

if I never sit down

to be with them?

And can I know

what's going in that…

Can I really know

what's going on

in their lives

enough

to really serve

and love them?

No.

We have to be present

to one another.

Faithful church attendance

matters.

Faithful small group

attendance matters.

As an aside,

this is one of the many

reasons we practice

formal church membership

so we can actually know

and identify

with one another

as brothers and sisters

in the same spiritual family.

In membership,

we're saying,

I'm not just an attender.

I'm not just a consumer.

I'm a member

of this family

ready to serve

and be served

by my fellow brothers

and sisters.

So first,

in order to practice

brotherly love,

we need to be present

with each other

so we can actually

see each other's needs.

Second,

we need to view

our worldly goods

as a means

of blessing others.

We need to look

at our finances,

for example,

and ask,

how much can I give

to others in need?

The world wants us

to push

to the limits

of our spending,

right,

so that we can have

a certain lifestyle

and that lifestyle

is supposed to bring us

joy, happiness,

peace,

and like nirvana

on earth,

you know.

But as Christians,

we need to ask,

what if I actually

live a simpler lifestyle

so that I can free up

more of the resources

God has entrusted

to me

to help my brothers

and sisters

in need?

Now,

we need to be careful

not to judge one another

in this matter,

right?

But this is a question

we all need to be asking

of ourselves.

How can I be viewing

my worldly goods

not as things

that I possess

to use for my own ends,

but as gifts

to bless others?

As a church,

we set aside money

in our annual budget

for this very reason.

We have what's called

the Deacon's Benevolence Fund,

and that is money

that we've set aside

as a church family

to give practically

to those church members

and church regular attenders

and those who are

in our midst

to give to them

to help meet practical,

tangible needs

as they arise.

And I know that many of you

give generously

to the Deacon's Benevolence Fund

so that we can do that work

more and more,

and many people,

probably more than you know,

have been blessed very deeply

through that generosity.

But you know,

this doesn't just happen

formally as a church family

through the Deacon's Benevolence Fund.

It can happen informally

through all of us.

As we hear about needs

in our small group,

as we learn about needs

in our everyday relationships

in the family of God,

we can express the kind of love

that John is describing here

when we view

whatever worldly goods we have

not as something

for our disposal,

but as something God

has entrusted to us

that we might bless others.

And of course,

this dynamic of identifying needs

and giving generously,

it doesn't just stay

within the bounds

of our local church, right?

It extends globally.

Just think of the missionaries

that we support as a church.

The Tidwells in South Asia

serving in hospital work

and healthcare there,

meeting very practical needs.

Our missionaries in Central Asia

who were just visited

a couple weeks ago,

caring for persecuted believers

in that part of the world.

Very real needs

that they are seeking to meet.

Even Greg and Kim King

in Austria,

who are doing work

among Turkish immigrants

in Vienna

who recently were in need

of housing,

you know,

as they continue

their work of outreach.

That was a very real need

and we as a church

were able to give to that need.

So this dynamic

of seeing brothers and sisters

in need,

whether they're persecuted believers

in Central Asia

or missionaries in Vienna,

seeking to use

our worldly goods

to meet that need,

this dynamic

that John's describing,

it extends out

from us globally.

So practically then,

first,

we need to be present enough

to see the needs

of our brothers and sisters

and second,

we need to view

our worldly goods

as a means

to bless others.

But there's a third thing,

practically.

Look again at verse 17.

John writes,

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?

The third thing

we need practically then

is an open heart,

a heart that doesn't close,

a heart that doesn't close

whether out of fear

or busyness

or a critical,

judgmental spirit.

We need hearts

that are open,

open to give,

open to sacrifice.

But what is it

that opens our hearts

in this way?

How do we get

this opened heart?

Well, John tells us here,

doesn't he?

It's the love of God

for us.

If God's love

abides in us,

then our hearts

will open

towards others.

And this brings us

to the third

big idea,

main point of our passage.

John showed us

the necessity

and the nature

of brotherly love,

but he also points us

to the source

of brotherly love,

the source.

And we see it right here

in the same paragraph

we've been considering,

verses 16 through 18,

but especially

in verse 16.

By this we know love,

that he laid down

his life

for us.

You see,

friends,

Jesus Christ

isn't just

a moral example

for us to follow.

If your understanding

of Jesus

stops there,

then you don't

really understand

who Jesus is

or what he himself

understood his mission

to be.

If you only understand

Jesus as a moral example,

then you also

don't really understand

the love of God

for you.

Because Jesus

didn't just come

to show us

how to live

a loving life.

He didn't lay down

his life merely

as an example.

No,

John says Jesus

laid down his life

for us.

When Jesus died,

he accomplished

something for us

in our place

that we could not

accomplish.

Jesus himself

put it this way

in Mark 10,

Mark 10:45

verse 45.

He said,

for the Son of Man

came not to be served

but to serve

and to give his life

as a ransom

for many.

Did you catch that?

Jesus says

he didn't come

to just give his life

as an example

for many

but as a ransom

for many.

Now,

what's a ransom?

Well,

a ransom is a payment,

right,

that sets you free.

You see,

friends,

all of us,

apart from Christ,

we're enslaved

in sin

and in spiritual poverty.

We owe God

a debt

that we can't

possibly pay

and we stand

condemned.

but Christ

came to pay

our ransom,

to make the payment

to set us free.

The Apostle Paul

put it this way

in 2 Corinthians 8,

9.

He said,

for you know

the grace

of our Lord Jesus Christ

that though

he was rich,

yet for your sake

he became poor

so that you

by his poverty

might become rich.

the king of heaven,

the only son

of the Father

in the splendor

of eternity

came to this earth

in poverty.

He was born

in a manger,

right?

I mean,

mangers aren't like

the cute things

you see in nativity scenes,

right?

Like animals eat

out of mangers,

that's what they're for

and that's where

the king of the universe

was born

when he took on

flesh for us.

Jesus came to this earth

in poverty

and then he died

a criminal's death

on a cross

in your place.

Why?

So that we,

through his poverty,

might become

spiritually rich.

What are those

spiritual riches

that we gain

through Christ's poverty?

The spiritual riches

of having all

of our sins forgiven,

having a perfectly

clean and clear

conscience before God.

The spiritual riches

of being adopted

into God's family

to be beloved

as a daughter,

as a son,

to be assured

of the fatherly's favor,

father's favor over us

and for us

all of our life.

The spiritual riches

of being given

a new heart,

a new nature

by the Holy Spirit

to have new desires

planted in us

for life and joy

and holiness.

The spiritual riches

of being given

the indestructible promise

of eternal life.

Friend, ask anyone

on their deathbed

if they would give

all of their money

and all of their wealth

and all of their fame

away

to not face

the abyss of death

and what would they say?

In a heartbeat.

And yet,

what has Christ given us?

The spiritual riches

of eternal life.

Through his poverty,

you've become rich.

And do you see now

how much God loves you?

He didn't just send

his son as your example,

but as your savior.

He paid the debt

that you owed.

He lavished his heavenly riches

upon you

when you didn't deserve it.

He rose from the grave

on the third day

to prove that your debt

of sin had been erased.

Done!

And that the glories

of heaven now belong

to you

and to everyone

who will simply repent

and believe in him.

Friends,

that,

that is the source

of brotherly love.

That is the thing

that opens up our hearts

when we see

that his poverty

has made us rich.

When we see

that we don't earn

God's favor

through showing brotherly love

because we never could,

right?

But that God has freely

given us his favor.

You see,

brotherly love

is not what makes us

a Christian.

It's the other way around.

No,

we show brotherly love

because we've been given

God's favor freely

by grace.

Brotherly love

is not the cause

of God loving us.

It's the result

of God's loving us.

Brotherly love

is the evidence

that God's first love

has taken hold

of our hearts.

It's the evidence

that the self-giving love

of Jesus Christ

has captivated us

and transformed us

and that we've given

our life to him

and his love.

This source

of brotherly love

doesn't come from ourselves.

It comes from God

and it comes from

seeing with fresh eyes

what Jesus has done

for us,

that he laid down

his life for us.

And the more you

behold him

in his self-giving glory,

the more you behold him

doing that for you,

that's what opens

your hearts.

That's what's going

to open our hearts

even when we're afraid

or distracted

or selfish

because when we see

how much Christ

has loved us,

well then friends,

what do we have to fear?

Why do I have to cling

to this world's goods

when I know

what Christ has done

for me?

If he gave himself

for me,

if he gave his own self

for me,

will he not continue

to take care of me?

And so our hearts

continue to open

and then we are able

to love just like

he loved us.

So John tells us

the necessity

and the nature

and the source

of brotherly love.

But lastly,

he wants to tell us

about the assurance

of brotherly love,

the assurance.

And this is the last paragraph

of our passage,

verses 19 through 24.

You know,

what sort of result

in our lives

comes about

when we love

in this way,

when we're living

in this kind of love

in response

to the gospel,

what then is the dynamic

in our lives?

Remember,

John is writing this letter

to a church

that's troubled and doubting,

right?

They're wondering

whether or not

they have the real thing

spiritually.

And those troubles

and doubts arose

because a group

had kind of broken off

from their midst

and began teaching

that Jesus hadn't really

come in the flesh

and that the key

to spirituality

was secret knowledge

that only they could give,

right?

But John wants

to come to this church

and reassure them.

He doesn't want them

to believe those lies

and to live in fear

and doubt

that they've missed

the real thing.

No,

he wants them

to live in joy

and freedom

and love

and confidence

that they do know

God in Christ.

So he writes

this final paragraph here

so that we might enjoy

our relationship with God.

Look at verse 19.

By this,

that is,

by seeing the fruit

of brotherly love

in our hearts,

we shall know

we are of the truth

and reassure

our heart before Him.

And we see this evidence

in our lives,

as we see this evidence

in our lives,

it brings assurance.

And that joyful assurance,

it does three things,

as John outlines here.

First,

he says it's a bulwark

against self-condemnation.

Look at verse 20.

Whenever our hearts

condemn us,

God is greater

than our heart

and He knows everything.

You know,

you might look at your life

and not see much

that's spectacular

or dramatic.

You might not be

a great teacher

of flashy spiritual gifts.

You might struggle

to read the Bible.

Prayer might not

come naturally to you.

And at times,

your heart almost rises

up against you

condemning you.

How can you say

you're a Christian?

But John wants

to come alongside of you

as a loving pastor

and say,

no, no, no.

You're looking

in the wrong direction.

What does God say

is the mark

of a genuine Christian?

Flashy spiritual gifts?

No.

Ability to teach

or memorize

long passages of Scripture?

No.

Being able to hold

all-night prayer vigils?

No.

What does God say?

Verse 23,

and this is His commandment,

that we believe

in the name

of His Son,

Jesus Christ,

and love one another

just as He has commanded us.

Are you trusting in Jesus

and not yourself?

Are you loving

your brothers and sisters?

That's what God says.

And God is greater

than your heart

because God knows everything

and your heart does not.

Last time I checked.

So when the self-condemnation comes

with standards and criteria

that aren't in the Bible

wanting to condemn you,

look at Jesus.

Trust in His love.

Then out of that love,

love your brothers and sisters.

That's the criteria.

No more, no less.

But this assurance

isn't just a bulwark

against self-condemnation.

It also, John says,

brings wonderful confidence

in prayer.

Verse 21,

Beloved,

if our heart does not condemn us,

we have confidence before God.

And whatever we ask,

we receive from Him

because we keep His commandments

and do what pleases Him.

And this is His commandment

that we believe

in the name of His Son,

Jesus Christ,

and love one another

just as He has commanded us.

When you are secure

in your relationship with God,

when you have the assurance

that comes from believing in Christ,

something powerful happens.

Out of that assurance before God,

you start to experience

a wonderful freedom in prayer.

That's what the word confidence means here.

It's sort of freedom

to draw near to God

and ask Him

whatever is on your heart.

It's like the clouds part,

the sun shines through,

your soul begins to open up,

and like a flower

opening to the skies,

you just know

that your Heavenly Father

loves you

and He delights

to hear your prayers.

And so you go

and you ask.

And the more you ask,

the more you find

that God is answering your prayers.

Why?

Not because God is rewarding you

for your obedience,

but because your prayers

start to be more and more

in line with His will.

And so opening our hearts

to the gospel

and then letting the gospel

open our hearts

to love our brothers and sisters

comes full circle

and sends us back to God

with renewed confidence

and joy before Him in prayer.

So John says this,

brotherly love brings assurance.

Assurance,

that's a bulwark

against self-condemnation,

and it's increasing confidence

in prayer.

But lastly,

he says this assurance

doesn't just bring

increasing confidence

in prayer,

but he says it brings

richer communion with God.

Look again

at the end of our passage.

This is His commandment

that we believe

in the name of His Son,

Jesus Christ,

and love one another

just as He has commanded us.

Whoever keeps His commandments

abides in God

and God in Him.

And by this,

we know that He abides in us

by the Spirit

whom He has given.

This kind of assurance

that John is talking about

brings about

a deeper experience

of our loving relationship

and communion with God

that's honestly hard

to put into words.

John says,

we abide in God

and God in us.

Now that's true

of every Christian.

The mutual indwelling

of the believer in God

and shockingly,

God in the believer.

That's true

of every Christian.

But do you and I

really grasp that?

Do you get a sense

of that awesome communion

that you have

with God in Christ?

Do you have a sense

of that in your soul,

in your heart?

John says,

that sense,

that deep,

awesome reality

starts to become real

as the Holy Spirit

does His work.

by the Spirit

whom He has given us.

We start to know

that He abides in us.

And we know it

not just intellectually,

but in our affections

from the heart.

The Apostle Paul

describes this work

of the Spirit

in Romans 8.

He says,

you didn't receive

the spirit of slavery

to fall back into fear.

You've received

the spirit of adoption

as sons

by whom we cry,

Abba,

Father.

The Spirit Himself

bears witness

with our spirit

that we are

children of God.

John was expressing

something similar

when at the beginning

of chapter 3

in this book

he wrote,

Behold,

what manner of love

the Father

has given to us

that we should be

called children of God

and so we are.

You can almost hear

the Apostle John saying,

Abba,

Father.

We are in God

and God is in us.

Intimate,

loving communion

between God

and His beloved children,

you and me

in Christ.

This is what assurance

brings,

this deep experience

of this reality

of our communion

with God.

So the assurance

of brotherly love,

it silences

self-condemnation,

it opens the doors

of confidence

and prayer,

and it deepens

our experience

of communion

with God.

Friends,

are these not

great motivations?

Are these not

great things

to long for

and desire more of?

Are these not

great motivations

for us to set

our eyes on Jesus,

to behold how much

He has loved us,

and then to turn

and to love

one another?

This is the message

we've heard

from the beginning,

that we should love

one another.

Let's pray.

Holy Spirit,

would you come?

Shine the spotlight

on the work of Jesus,

transform our hearts,

and let us taste

this rich assurance

that comes

from knowing Christ

and loving one another.

Lord,

for those

who have been

troubled by this passage

because they don't see

the love of Christ

in their hearts,

Lord,

would that not lead them

to turn away from you,

but to run toward you.

Jesus,

you say you stand

at the door

and you knock,

and if we open,

you will come in

and eat with us,

feast with us.

So God,

I pray

that the opening

of that door

would be happening,

that you would grant

saving faith

to those

who are uncertain

of where they stand

with you,

and let them leave

today confident

of your love

for them in Jesus.

Amen.