Beloved, Be Loving

If you would open up your Bibles to John chapter 13, it's page 1070 of your pew Bible.

John 13 · chapter mention

And while you're turning there, I have a question for you.

What do you want to be known for?

You personally, what do you want to be known for?

Maybe you want to be known for being hardworking, being kind, being reasonable, being fair.

Maybe you want to be known for being athletic or being funny or being a sharp, snappy dresser.

Maybe you're sitting there saying, I want to be known for Jesus.

Do I have an amen?

Amen.

The question is how?

How will you be known for Jesus?

Jesus, Christ the King Church, what do we want to be known for?

Better yet, in light of the new commandment that we're going to read this morning, Jesus says,

just as I have loved you, you love one another.

In light of that, what must we be known for?

We must be known for our namesake, Jesus.

Amen?

But how?

How are we to be known for Jesus?

Well, in a word, it's the word love.

We identify ourselves as being followers of Jesus Christ by the way we love one another.

Our love for one another should set us apart from everyone else.

Our love for one another is an otherworldly love.

But the contrary is also true.

If we don't love one another just as Jesus has loved us, we're just going to blend in with the rest of the world.

And it's going to be confusing.

Because the world will conclude, you're just like everybody else.

What makes any difference?

Why bother with Jesus?

Two weeks ago, we saw Jesus give an object lesson on servanthood.

He washed his disciples' feet.

And he said to them,

If I then, your Lord and teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

So he starts with himself and he gives his disciples an example.

Well, today in a similar way, Jesus commands us to love one another.

He says,

Just as I have loved you, you are to love one another.

This is part of a bigger passage in John 13 through 17 called the Farewell Discourse.

And so this command to love one another is just, he gave it just hours away from his own death.

And so this morning, I am going to be surgical.

We've got a big passage in one sense.

It's chapter, oop, I'm in 1 Corinthians.

13, 21 through 38.

But I'm going to really focus on verses 34 and 35.

And what I want you to see are four distinctions of this love with which we are to love one another.

And here they are.

This love is a required love.

This love is a new kind of love.

This love is a Christ-like love.

And this love with which we are to love one another is an identifying love.

So let me just read verses 34 and 35.

These are Jesus' words to us.

A new commandment I give to you, Christ the King Church, 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.

So let's look at this first distinction, a required love.

Loving one another is a command.

It's required of all who belong to Jesus Christ.

We are to love one another.

And that may sound strange in your ears.

Because we often think of love as an emotion or a feeling.

Anybody familiar with the lady Tina Turner?

What's love got to do with it?

What's love but a second-hand emotion?

Well, this command that Jesus is commanding us is not commanding us to feel a certain way.

This is a command to love one another, which means each of us are responsible to love one another.

It's better thought of love as a commitment.

A commitment to one another.

And that's how we must define this kind of biblical love.

Now, God is love.

That's His very nature.

It's not that He is in a constant state of feeling loving.

He is love.

He commits.

You know, one of the things that I get to do on a regular basis is to marry people.

And we got a marriage of a couple coming up in the next couple weeks.

And one of my favorite things is to walk them through their vows.

And so let me just give you a little section of the vows that I will lead this couple through.

I, groom, take you, bride, to be my wedded wife.

To have and to hold from this day forward, for better, for worse.

It's called a commitment.

For richer, for poorer.

For poorer, commitment.

In sickness and in health.

Commitment to love and to cherish till death do us part.

That is a lifelong commitment.

According to God's holy ordinance.

And thereto I pledge you my faith.

These vows of a marriage ceremony.

Which, it explains the kind of commitment a husband is making to a wife.

And a wife to a husband.

They capture what love is.

Love is at its core a commitment.

So what we need to be clear on moving into this passage on the new commandment is what love is.

Jesus is calling us to commit to one another in a certain kind of way.

So the new commandment is a new commitment.

What kind of commitment Christians make to one another.

And it raises the question that distinction number two answers.

What kind of commitment are we talking about?

In the passage we read, a new commandment I give to you.

That you love one another.

What's so new about loving one another?

If you're familiar with your Bibles in Leviticus 19.18.

Moses commands Israel to love your neighbor as yourself.

So in one sense, the command to love is not new.

It's old.

So what's new about this new commandment here?

Well, there's a number of things that are new.

The first one is we have a new person giving the commandment.

Moses gave the command to love your neighbor as yourself.

But someone greater than Moses is speaking this commandment.

Jesus.

And if you were to go back to John chapter 5.

John 5 · chapter mention

Jesus says some very interesting things about his relationship to Moses.

In fact, he, Jesus himself said,

Did you know that Moses, he wrote about me?

You see, Moses was a sinner just like us.

Who needed the forgiveness that comes only through the death of Jesus.

What makes the new commandment new is who's giving it.

God incarnate.

The king of the kingdom of life.

The greatest lover of all.

So the first aspect, the first kind of dimension of this new kind of love

is the one giving the command, Jesus.

The second is that this love has a new goal.

A new aim.

A new end.

It's a new kind of commitment with a new aim.

New goal.

Now, before we became Christians,

we exercised more or less a self-serving kind of love.

It was somewhat contractual.

I love you if you love me.

I'll scratch your back if you scratch mine.

Our commitment to others was more often about

what we could get out of a relationship.

But Jesus,

when we see who he is and we believe in who he is,

what happens to a Christian is that Jesus radically reorients our loves.

We no longer live for ourselves,

but for him who for our sake died and was raised,

which means we love one another unto Christ.

A new aim.

A new goal.

Our commitment to one another isn't just for someone else's good.

We are loving someone to Jesus.

Their greatest good.

So the best thing I can do for you,

Christ the King Church,

is love you to Christ.

And the best thing that you can do for me

is to love me to Christ.

In other words,

the best thing that we can do together

is to treasure Jesus above all else together.

The best thing that we can do together

is to functionally make Jesus

the controlling center of our lives.

our one consuming passion,

our all governing reality.

And when Jesus is functioning that way in our lives

because he is that wonderful,

all of a sudden,

lives change.

There's a new kind of love in town.

We're not loving others for ourselves.

We're not even loving others for them.

We're loving them unto Christ.

So this new commandment has a new goal.

Jesus.

Treasuring Jesus is the goal.

When you have a bunch of people

who are making Jesus

the functional center of their lives,

both personally and corporately,

what I mean by that,

as a people,

as a church,

when Jesus is the controlling center of our lives,

the treasure center,

you know what you got?

You got a church.

This new commitment,

the third kind of aspect

is that this new commitment

is to a new people.

One of the things about our church

that I delight in

is our growing diversity as a church.

We have a variety of cultures represented,

a variety of ethnicities,

a variety of socioeconomic backgrounds,

and as we know,

with diversity

comes different experiences,

perspectives,

and preferences.

And with that comes some challenges.

But that's life together.

And when Jesus is the goal

of loving one another,

you quickly kind of lay down your preferences.

You quickly kind of hold more loosely

the things that you value

out of love for Jesus

and out of loving people to Jesus.

I like to think about it this way.

I've been a pastor at a larger church,

and that church,

whom I love deeply,

was by and large kind of a monoculture.

And they were seeking to bring glory to Jesus.

There are a lot of different churches out there

that are primarily one culture,

one ethnicity.

And they are seeking to glorify God.

And that's great.

So don't hear me as saying something other than that.

But here's why I'm interested

in being a pastor of Christ the King Church.

One of the many reasons.

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ

I believe that the Lord Jesus Christ

gets a greater glory

when there is a diverse group of people

coming together to worship Jesus.

It makes no sense.

It makes no sense

from a worldly perspective.

Why would these white people

and these black people

and these brown people

come together?

Because of Jesus.

We're a new people

with new values,

a new aim,

a new king.

And we know that

Jesus is at work right now

bringing a people

all around the world

from every tribe, tongue, and nation

together

under his name.

And so one of the things

I love about our church

is that we get to practice

loving one another

with people from different backgrounds

unto Jesus.

We're a new people.

And so this new commandment

is to us,

the new people of God.

which brings me now

to kind of the last aspect

of this new kind of love.

And often it's

a new to you kind of love.

Here's the last aspect.

And I'm guessing you're feeling this.

I can't do that.

I don't love like that.

I don't want to be around other people

not like me.

I like to avoid people.

I don't like talking to people.

You want me to do what?

You see, this new commitment

also has a new power.

What we're talking about here

is the new covenant.

God's new way of relating

to a new people

under a new promise

established through the blood of Jesus

and with the new covenant,

we know it from like Ezekiel 36

and then it shows up

pronounced way

in Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

that the Holy Spirit of God,

the third person of the Trinity

who Jesus will teach us about

later in the farewell discourse,

he comes in and dwells

each of us

to empower us

to live for Christ

as the controlling center

of our lives.

and you know what

he's going to do?

He's going to empower you

to love

one another

in a way that you have

never loved anybody before.

the first fruit

of the fruit of the Spirit

in Galatians 5.22.

The fruit of the Spirit

is love,

joy,

peace,

patience,

kindness,

goodness,

gentleness,

faithfulness,

and self-control.

These are all fruit

of the Spirit

that has to do

with relating

to one another

and it starts

with love.

The Spirit of God

is seeking to empower us,

Christ the King Church,

because we don't have it

in ourselves.

He's seeking to empower us

to love people

like us

and unlike us

to Christ.

Christ,

that's high calling.

That's worth

giving your life to.

That's worth

saying,

yes,

Lord.

Do you know

what it means

to not love others

then?

If the Holy Spirit

is seeking

to bring this

about in us,

then to not love us

is to grieve

the Holy Spirit.

More on that later.

This new kind of love

is a new to us love

because it comes

with becoming

Christians

and this new commitment

is from a new person,

Jesus,

a new goal,

Jesus,

a new people,

the Jesus people,

a new power

that Jesus gives,

the Holy Spirit,

which brings us now

to the third distinction.

You could call it

a new precedent,

Christ-like love.

We need the Spirit

to love like this.

It's a new precedent.

In Leviticus 19,

Moses tells us

to love your neighbor

as yourself.

Here,

Jesus is saying,

just as I have loved you,

love one another.

We've got a new precedent.

The Jesus kind of love.

How has Jesus

loved his disciples?

Earlier in this chapter,

we saw Jesus

love his disciples

by washing their feet.

In love,

he considered

his disciples

more important

than himself.

It's the way

of humility.

You can't love

someone like Jesus loves

without humbling yourself.

So this humility

is essential

to the new commandment,

loving one another.

To say it crassly,

it's to say it like this.

Christ-like love

is not a me-first love.

Christ-like love

is a you-first love.

It's a commitment.

So you cannot insist

on your own way

and be loving

like Jesus loves.

But there's an even

greater demonstration

of Jesus' love.

And we all know

what that is,

and it's his death

on the cross.

his self-sacrifice,

his giving of himself

so that we could be

forgiven of our sins

and that we could be

granted eternal life

and that we can experience

a relationship

with the living God

that we never knew

we could.

So this death

of Jesus

is the way

that we are

to love one another.

We are to sacrifice

ourselves

for the good

of others.

And remember,

that good of others

is Jesus' joy.

It's treasuring Jesus.

It's a new precedent.

This is a Jesus

kind of love

and he is requiring

it of us.

It's not optional.

There's an example

in Ephesians chapter 5.

Ephesians 5 · chapter mention

It's this new commandment,

Christ-like love

applied to marriage.

Specifically,

it's applied

to husbands

and how they are

to love their wives.

Husbands,

love your wives

as Christ loved the church

and gave himself

up for her.

It's the new commandment

applied

to how husbands

love their ladies.

just as Jesus

gave himself up

for his bride,

the church,

so that the church

thrives.

So we give ourselves

husbands

so that our brides

thrive.

That's the kind of love

we're talking about.

That's how we live it out.

Other places,

this is described

as headship

in the home

and this headship

is not oppressive.

It's life-giving.

So I can say,

based upon the authority

of scriptures,

brothers,

love your wives

and children

unto Christ

by laying yourself down

so that they thrive.

the greatest thing

that they need

is not you.

It's Jesus.

And this is how you set

a Christ-rich atmosphere

in your home,

brothers,

by loving your family

as Christ has loved you.

But this is an example

of this precedent,

this Christ-like love

specifically applied

to husbands.

If we back up

and go back to

John 13, 34, and 35,

this is being commanded

to all followers

of Jesus.

We are to love

one another

with this kind

of Christ-like love.

Now, if you're thinking,

okay,

I'll give myself

for you.

I'll follow my sword.

It sounds miserable.

And there's no question

dying to yourself

is not easy.

Do I have an amen?

But check it out.

Hebrews 12,

speaking of Jesus,

for the joy set

before him,

he endured the cross.

When you're loving

people to Jesus

and you're laying

yourself down

so that people

will treasure Jesus,

do you know what

strange thing happens?

Your woe is me

turns to glory

to Christ.

Now,

I take joy

in watching

the people

I love most

thrive in Jesus.

All glory be

to his name.

And so,

there's no question

that there is

pain

in dying

to yourself.

But it's

not,

the end

is not you

dying to yourself.

The end

is others

thriving in Christ.

So,

we sacrifice

our time

with joy.

We sacrifice

our money

with joy.

joy.

We sacrifice

our comfort

with joy

so that others

would treasure

Christ with us.

Do I have an amen?

Who wants to be part

of a church like that?

I do.

This isn't complicated,

is it?

It's just hard

because you've got

to die to yourself

for the joy

of Jesus.

Which brings me

to the last

distinction

of this

new

commandment

love,

identifying

love.

When we commit

to loving one

another in this

required,

new,

Christ-like

way,

good things

happen.

The church,

Christ,

Christ is magnified,

the church is built

up and strengthened,

and non-Christians

take notice.

They notice

because

these Christians

are experiencing

relationships

with themselves

that God

intended.

That

that's

otherworldly.

It's not

their experience.

Beloved

of Christ,

be loving

like Christ.

You see,

our love

for one another

is an equalizing

love.

And in our

culture,

it's bizarre.

The kind

of love,

this kind

of love

is like

the incoming

tide

that raises

all the boats

in a harbor.

when we

love one

another

with this

Christ-like

love,

everyone

in a church,

they get

built up,

they're dignified,

they are

respected,

they're valued,

everyone.

one.

So when an

entire church

is loving

one another

like this,

we're all

edified.

It doesn't

matter in

your DNA,

it doesn't

matter about

your culture,

your ethnicity,

your history

with the law,

it doesn't

matter your

age or

your sex.

When we

love one

another like

Christ loved

us,

all experience

dignity.

Everyone is

valued.

Everyone is

said,

you are

deeply

loved.

And they

mean it.

Christ the

King Church,

Jesus is

calling us

to be

equal

opportunity

lovers of

one another.

And when

we're loving

one another

like this,

it's a

protection

against

something.

Something we

read in

James 2.

It's called

the sin of

partiality.

The sin of

partiality

preferences

people,

other people

based upon

their wealth

or how

well they're

dressed,

their success

in life.

Or

it doesn't

preference

them based

on the way

they smell,

the way

they look,

what neighborhood

they're from.

And so

this kind

of loving,

what it

does is

it flies in

the face

of the world.

it protects

us from

valuing

people based

upon worldly

standards.

And this

identifying effect

has another

aspect to it

that I just

want to

touch on

briefly.

And it gets

noticed.

It's how we

speak the truth

to one another.

It's how we

talk to each

other.

that gets

noticed.

We use

our words

to love

one another

unto

Jesus.

So we're

very selective

of what we

say

because it

matters.

Sometimes

out of this

new commandment

love,

we will say

hard and

even hurtful

things for

someone's

greatest good

to treasure

Jesus.

there are

words spoken

we know

from the

Proverbs

that are

like sword

thrusts

that are

violent

and damaging.

Those are

unloving

words.

And then

there are

words spoken

that are

surgical.

That they

are intended

to heal.

We see

Jesus confront

people throughout

the Gospels

in order to

rescue them

and heal

them and

grant them

health.

Remember the

story of the

rich young

ruler who

had everything

and Jesus

said,

hey,

just go sell

everything you

got and

follow me.

He's offering

life.

And the

rich young

ruler goes,

wow,

I'm going

home.

Jesus was

speaking a

word,

a loving

word to

him.

When we

love those

unlike us

and like us

as Jesus

loved us

and when we

speak the

truth and

love to

one another,

it gets

noticed.

Something

different,

there's

something

different about

you based

upon your

language choice.

There's

something

different about

your church

and the way

that they are

embracing

everyone.

What is

going on?

we need to

be able to

give a reason

for the

love that

is in

us.

And that

reason is

we have

been loved

by Jesus

himself.

And so

now we

love others

with the

love with

which we've

been loved.

Do you know

what that's

called?

That's called

proof is in

the pudding.

it's what

Francis Schaeffer

called the

final apologetic.

You can talk

about Jesus

all you want

but it shows

up in the

way you love

people.

So our

Christ-like love

for one

another, it

identifies us

with Christ.

Now let me just

take a second

and pan out

because I

want you to

see something

happening in

this passage.

In verses

21 through

30, Jesus

speaks of the

betrayal of

Judas.

Look what he

says in verse

21.

Truly, truly,

I say to

you, one of

you will

betray me.

Is betraying

someone loving

or unloving?

Unloving.

Now look down

at verses 36

through 38.

Peter is about

to deny him.

Verse 38,

truly, truly,

I say to

you, the

rooster will

not crow till

you have denied

me three times.

Is denying

someone loving

or unloving?

Unloving.

So here you

have Jesus

calling his

disciples to

love one

another in the

midst of he

himself being

betrayed and

denied.

Isn't that

amazing?

What a lover

is that?

That's the one

who loves you.

That's the one

who loves me.

And that's the one

who wants us to

love others as

he has loved us.

And so here's the

point of this

passage.

Beloved of

Christ,

be loving one

another like

Christ.

Beloved of

Christ, be loving

one another like

Christ.

Christ.

So let me apply

this in four

ways.

You ready?

The first one is

me loving you

surgically.

We need to

repent of not

loving one

another.

You just can't

ignore your

unloving sin.

You got to

repent of it.

Are you bitter

towards someone?

It's not

loving.

It's unloving.

Are you

avoiding someone

because they're

a different

color skin than

yours or they

have a different

personality type

than yours?

That's not

loving.

That's sinning.

Are you

dismissing

someone else

because you

think that

they're dumb?

That's not

loving.

That's sinning.

Are you

involved in

sexual immorality

with someone?

That's not

loving.

That's sinning.

Are you

gossiping?

That's not

loving.

Holding a

grudge,

blame shifting?

Are you

overbearing?

Are you

abdicating

responsibility?

These are not

ways in which we

love one another.

These are ways

in which we

sin against

one another.

And these are

things that we

must repent of.

sinning.

These are the

sins that

happen between

people.

And they're

always sinning

not just against

someone else

but against

God.

So in those

moments,

not only are we

disobeying the

new commandment,

we're confusing

our witness to

the world.

And we're

grieving the

spirit.

spirit.

Anybody ever

attend a shop

class in high

school?

AJ, this is

for you.

Anybody attend

a shop class?

Nobody?

Two people?

Thank you.

You're taught

how to sand

a board.

You sand

with the

grain.

If you sand

against the

grain, you get

scratches.

Yucky.

When we love

one another, we

are loving

each other with

the grain of

the spirit, what

he is wanting

to do in our

midst.

And when we

don't love one

another, we're

sanding, loving,

unloving against

the grain of the

spirit.

That's why

Ephesians 4.29

says in a

passage about

relating to

one another, that

that grieves

the spirit.

You are working

against the

very thing God

is wanting to

do in us.

It's serious

business.

Jesus didn't

save us so we

could sin

against each

other.

Jesus saved

us so that we

would love one

another.

So repent of

not loving one

another.

Is there a

particular area

that God is

bringing to your

mind right now?

That's him

loving you so

that you love

with a holy

love.

Two,

peacemaking is

loving one

another.

We must not

sweep our sinning

against one

another under the

rug.

That's not

loving one

another.

Peacemaking is

when we seek

to make wrongs

right with one

another.

It's conflict

resolution.

It's making

sure that all

is right in

relationships with

other people.

And sometimes

that means owning

your sin for

offending someone

and that sometimes

means going to

someone when

they've offended

you and say,

hey buddy,

that hurt.

And then you get

to ask for their

forgiveness and

then they forgive

you.

Peace,

biblically

speaking,

is not just the

absence of

tension in the

relationships and

many of us settle

for that.

Peace is not

just the absence

of tension,

it's fullness

of trust,

of joy,

of mutual

care.

And Jesus is

the ultimate

peacemaker.

Through his

death, he made

peace between us

and God,

between us and

ourselves,

between us and

others.

And one day,

with all of

creation,

talk about a

powerful display.

We are to

love one another

by pursuing

peace with one

another.

Romans 12,

18 says this,

as far as it

depends on you,

be at peace

with everyone.

And you know

what that follows?

Romans 12,

9,

let love be

genuine.

peace making

is a way we

love one

another.

Is there

someone God

is bringing to

your mind

right now

that you need

to pursue

peace with,

that you need

to love?

Follow the

Spirit.

He's leading

you.

and if you

need help

in figuring

that one

out,

give me a

call.

Two others,

applications,

and they

might be

surprising.

Third

application,

membership

is loving

one another.

Church

membership

is at

its core

a commitment

to love

one another.

Church

membership

is essentially

one Christian

saying to a

bunch of other

Christians,

I am committed

to you,

and the bunch

of other

Christians are

saying to that

one Christian,

and we're

committed to

you.

Committed to

do what?

Together follow

Jesus, to

treasure him

above all

else.

this kind

of

commitment

that church

membership

represents.

It's a

formalized

commitment.

It's,

there's an

accountability

to it,

and it

flies in the

face of our

modern culture's

fear of

commitment,

our modern

culture's

trying to

keep all of

your options

open,

our modern

culture's

view of

relationships

as like

podcast

subscriptions

that you

can discontinue

anytime you

want.

Membership

is loving

one another,

and we have

a membership

class starting

in just a

couple weeks,

and if you're

not a member

of our

church,

we would

welcome you

to come

through our

membership

class,

so you can

find out

who we are,

where we're

going,

and how we're

going to get

there.

And if you

are a member,

are you

seeing your

membership as

loving others,

as a

commitment to

other people,

other Christians

in your

church?

The third,

the fourth

way,

and again,

this might be

a surprise,

is gathering

weekly is a

way we love

one another.

Just showing

up,

just showing

up and being

together is how

we love

one another.

Something sweet

happens when

we're together

Sunday after

Sunday, and

we're singing

truth together,

we're under

God's word

together, we're

praying together,

we're doing

things together,

we're seeing

each other,

we're in each

other's presence,

we love one

another when we

gather.

Let me ask you

this question.

What would you

think of a

family member

who showed

up to maybe

one family

gathering every

ten years?

You'd be like,

oh, we're

related by blood,

but they're

functionally not

a part of the

family.

This gathering,

think of it as

our weekly family

gathering as a

church.

Don't miss it.

Love one another.

So don't think

about your coming

to church simply

as something that

you benefit from.

Think about it as

coming so that

others benefit too

just by you being

here.

How about that?

We'll experience

joy.

Do you know what

the second fruit of

the Spirit is?

Love.

Joy.

Joy.

Beloved of Jesus,

be loving one

another like Jesus.

It's required.

It's new.

It's Christ-like.

And it identifies

us as belonging

to Jesus.

It's not

complicated,

but it is hard

because you need

to die to yourself.

But it's for joy.

Treasuring Jesus

together.

It's a high and

glorious calling.

So the question

before us

this morning

is not

what do we want

our church

to be known for?

The question

is what does

Christ require

our church

to be known for?

Beloved of Christ,

be loving

one another

like Christ.

Let's pray together.

Lord Jesus,

help us

love one another.

We come up

short.

We hurt each

other often.

We drop

into selfish

motives.

Save us

from us.

And would you

pour out your

Spirit upon us

that we would

love one another

in a Christ-like

way.

In your name

we pray,

Jesus.

Amen.

Amen.

Amen.

may

!

may