Loving God and One Another

So the scripture reading today will be 1st John chapter 4 verses 7 and ending in 21 starting in verse 7.

John 4:7

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love.

In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world so that we might live through him.

In this love, not that we have loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God abides in us, and his love is perfected in us.

By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us his Spirit.

And we have seen and testified that the Father has sent his Son to the Savior of the world.

To be the Savior of the world.

Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him and he in God.

So that we have come to know and to believe that love that God has for us.

God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God and abides in him.

By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment.

Because as he is so, also are we in this world.

There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.

For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not perfected in love.

We love because he first loved us.

If anyone says, I love God, and he hates his brother, he is a liar.

For he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God from whom he has not seen.

And this commandment we have from him.

Whoever loves God must also love his brother.

The word of the Lord.

Thanks be to God.

Welcome to the service this morning, Trinity English Church.

I'm grateful that today we have membership Sunday.

We'll be inducting our first members after the sermon.

And that's very exciting for me as a pastor.

So 1 John chapter 4, 7 to 21.

1 John 4 · chapter mention

So please follow along with me as I speak from this passage.

Many of you probably know a song by the Beatles called All You Need Is Love.

Love, love, love, all you need is love.

Even if you don't listen to the Beatles, you've probably heard of it somewhere in a public location.

And that kind of captures what a lot of people think about love.

In that love is important and everybody knows what love is.

And everybody knows that love is important.

That's kind of how we think of it.

So very rarely do we find ourselves explaining to someone what love is.

Because we take it for granted that they know what love is.

But this passage that Ben just read for us suggests something that's very shocking and even offensive to some people.

Because it's teaching us that it's only those who know God and have experienced God's love really know what love is.

Love is not something that we can take for granted.

Love is not something that is common knowledge to all.

And in fact, because of that, because love is uniquely revealed to and known by those who know and love God,

John exhorts his fellow believers in this passage,

Those who have been loved by God ought to love one another.

Now that's the main idea of this passage.

Those who have been loved by God ought to love one another.

And first, he teaches us about God's love for us.

That's the first thing he tells us.

And then secondly, he teaches us about how that love of God motivates us and undergirds our love for one another.

So God's love for us and our love for one another.

I'll talk about those two things in turn.

So first, verse 7 begins to talk about God's love for us.

Beloved, let us love one another.

Love one another.

Right?

That's the first, the command, love one another.

And that's, you can tell that's the main command of this whole passage because it's repeated twice more.

In verse 21, at the end, it says again, love one another.

Right?

And then it's beginning at the end.

And then in the middle as well, in verse 11, it says we ought to love one another.

Right?

And the reason for that is in verse 7.

For love is from God and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God.

Right?

This is the reason why we love one another.

For, because love is from God and whoever loves has been born of God because love is from God.

So the converse of that statement is also true and that's in verse 8.

It's that anyone who does not love then does not know God because God is love.

And because God is love, those who obviously do not know love then cannot know God.

And this is a really famous statement, right?

That God is love.

It's a weighty statement that a lot of people use.

But it's frequently misused.

And it's very important that we preserve the order of this statement that God is love as well.

And we can't say that love is God.

Right?

Because God is love is found in Scripture and it's backed up in many different places in Scripture.

But the converse of that, love is God, is never found anywhere in Scripture.

And the reason for that is this.

Is that if we say love is God, then our own fallible definition and understanding of love becomes the standard by which God is judged.

Right?

Instead of God's perfect standard and His love being the standard by which we judge our love.

Right?

That's why it's important that we preserve that love.

Because it's when we reverse that order, that's when we start to rationalize all kinds of illicit and inappropriate relationships with the pretext of love.

Saying that, well, a husband who commits adultery and then goes off with another woman will say, well, I love her.

No.

That's not love.

Right?

That's not the way God calls us that.

Because you do not define love.

And love does not define your actions.

But rather, we define love by what God has done and how He has revealed to us what love is supposed to be like.

Right?

And that's why when people say things like love is God, that's when they say, you know, kind of things that don't make a lot of sense.

Like, oh, you know, if you love someone, you should let them do whatever they want.

Right?

Because that's what love is.

You should let them do what they want.

You should let them be who they want to be.

Right?

People say that.

But that's not what we do.

Even unbelievers know that.

That that's not what true love is.

Because that's not how we treat people whom we truly love.

Right?

It's the illegitimate children that get left alone to do whatever they want to roam those streets.

It's the real children, genuine children that are disciplined.

They're educated.

They're taught.

Right?

In the same way, it's the phony friends that we have who will let us do whatever we want to do.

Even when we're ruining our lives with bad decisions and vices, they'll let us be.

But the true friends will try this.

They will confront us.

They will even get angry with us for ruining our lives and making bad decisions.

Right?

So we all know this.

And that's the kind of love with which God has loved us.

Right?

It's not a dismayed kindness that said you can do whatever you want to do.

So when we find ourselves or when we hear other people start to contradict the teaching of Scripture,

to violate the teachings of Scripture,

and with the rationalization, the excuse that, you know,

oh, God of love would not teach something like that,

or that's not a very loving thing to do.

Right?

Then that's a sign that we're in grave danger.

Because when we start to say things like that, we have to ask ourselves,

who says so?

Right?

According to whose definition of love?

Yours?

Society's definition of love?

No.

God is love, and He alone can define what love is supposed to be.

So we can't judge God and His actions by our standard of,

rather, we judge our actions, our love, by what God has revealed to us.

So then how are we to know this love that God has revealed?

And He gives us the answer to that in verses 9 to 10.

Follow along with me.

In this, the love of God was made manifest among us,

that God sent His only Son into the world,

so that we might live through Him.

In this is love,

not that we have loved God,

but that He loved us,

and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins.

So where was the love of God revealed?

Not in a romance novel,

or a drama,

or a textbook,

or even a philosophy text.

The love of God was made manifest in this,

it says,

namely that God sent His only Son into the world,

so that we might live through Him.

In this is love,

not that we have loved God,

but that He loved us.

We were just singing about it, right?

If He had not loved us first,

we would refuse Him still.

And this is a very reassuring truth,

because it shows that it's not because we were first intelligent,

or kind,

or faithful,

that God loved us,

but rather it's God loving us first.

That's what leads us to be faithful to Him.

And that means as believers,

if you're a believer,

and you're a Christian,

you follow God,

then we don't have any cause to be prideful

about our state with God,

our relationship with God,

our salvation,

because we recognize that it's not our own intrinsic merit

that led to God saving us,

but rather God loved us first.

It's God's mercy and grace that now makes us part of His plan,

His family.

So we have nothing to be prideful about in relation to unbelievers.

And it also means that we don't have anything to despair about.

If you are a believer,

and you're struggling with the sin,

and you feel like you can no longer approach God because of your past,

or because of the bad things you've done,

then we don't have to despair,

because we remember that it's not our level of obedience,

or form of righteousness that made God love us.

No,

God loved us first.

And then we respond to Him in obedience and love.

So when we're tempted to despair,

we can remind ourselves,

no,

we can boldly approach God,

because He loved us first.

Now,

what does it mean that God loved us

and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins?

That's a big word that doesn't get used very often nowadays.

Apart from the language of atonement and Bible,

we rarely see it.

When you propitiate something or someone,

it refers to basically appeasing or satisfying the wrath of someone.

It's placating someone.

So it has in view,

it's implicit in the word,

is the idea of the wrath of God against sin and sinners.

So Jesus Christ died then on the cross

to fully absorb God the Father's wrath towards sin and sinners.

And in that act of propitiation,

that's where God's love is revealed to us.

And so that reveals to us what love is supposed to be.

It's self-sacrifice.

It's a pouring out that self-sacrificing.

That's the kind of love that God shows us.

Now,

some people might criticize that idea of propitiation.

A lot of people are,

don't like the idea of the wrath of God.

They don't want to talk about the fact that Jesus Christ had to pacify God's wrath.

But the truth is,

this is very different from what you would normally think of as pacifying someone,

because the examples in other religions you might think of,

for example,

in the Greco-Roman Empire,

the Greco-Roman gods,

the pagan gods that they had,

people were,

you know,

afraid of them.

So they would offer sacrifices

or they would do certain things,

fulfill certain obligations

to ensure that no harm would befall them,

right?

Similar way in Asia,

even now,

right?

Shamanism and animism,

a lot of people worship spirits and different gods

and offer sacrifices to make sure that nothing bad happens to them.

And that's not just in Asia.

It happens in Western civilization as well.

All these charms and talismans that people invest in,

they do that because they think that that will keep them safe,

that they will keep them from harm.

That's a way to appease the gods,

right?

So the fundamental difference between all of these examples

and the propitiation that Christ has done for us,

has accomplished for us,

is the fact that it's not the human beings,

it's not we who offer to God a sacrifice

in order to fend for ourselves,

but it's God himself who offers a way for propitiation.

He offers the sacrifice.

He sends his son to die in our place.

That's the fundamental difference.

We don't go and say,

okay,

I'm afraid of what God's going to do to me,

so I'm going to do these things

to make sure he doesn't do anything to me.

That's not the idea.

That God himself,

because of his great love for us,

makes a way in order to appease

and to satisfy his wrath.

So that's why in this very passage,

the famous passage that says,

teaches us that God is love,

it talks about the wrath of God

in the idea of propitiation.

Because unless you understand the wrath of God,

you cannot understand the love of God,

right?

In the same way,

let's say you owe a debt

and somebody forgives you of your debt,

forgives you of your loans.

It's only when you understand,

when you know just how great a debt you owed,

that's when you really know

how much you were forgiven,

how generous and forgiving

that person was toward you.

In the same way,

it's only when we recognize

the depth of our sin

and the depth and extent

of God's fiery and unrelenting wrath toward it

that we can truly understand

how much deeper

and how even more relentless

his love toward us was,

that he made a way

to satisfy that wrath

so that we could have

a relationship with God.

Theologian,

my professor from St. Mary,

David Wells,

summarizes this in this way.

Man is alienated from God by sin,

and God is alienated from man by wrath.

It is in the substitutionary death of Christ

that sin is overcome

and wrath is averted

so that God can look on man

without displeasure

and man can look on God

without fear.

Sin is expiated

and God is propitiated.

And that's why we must understand

the wrath of God.

That's why in that act of propitiation,

of satisfying the wrath of God,

we see the depth of God's love

revealed toward us.

And because God's love

was decisively revealed in Christ

and what he did

to propitiate the Father,

that's why in verse 18,

he teaches us

there is no fear in love.

But perfect love casts out fear,

for fear has to do with punishment,

and whoever fears

has not been perfected in love.

That's what it says in verse 18.

As I mentioned before,

because our loyalty,

faithfulness,

obedience,

they were not the prior condition

of God's love.

Rather,

God loved us first.

We do not have to fear

the punishment

because it was not

on the basis of our obedience

that God saved us,

but God saved us

in spite of our sin

and disobedience.

And now,

because of that,

we have right standing with God

through what Jesus has done.

And I,

I like to,

I talk about this a lot

because in my past as well

as a believer

and growing up,

I grew up really insecure.

Really insecure,

not in just with peers,

but really insecure

in my relationship with God.

I was really,

really legalistic

and I,

and often was,

I often tried to produce

a certain kind of emotion

or a remorse

after sin

because I believed

that only when I had done that

and had sufficiently paid my dues

that God would take me back

and have a relationship with him.

And,

you know,

I don't think I'm alone in that.

I think a lot of believers

live in that kind of a subtle,

kind of a guilt-ridden life.

And the church historian,

Richard Loveless,

writes this.

He says,

below the surface of their lives,

many Christians are guilt-ridden

and insecure.

They draw their assurance

of acceptance from God

from their own sincerity,

their past experience

of conversion,

their recent religious performance,

or the relative infrequency

of their conscious,

willful disobedience.

Isn't that true?

We derive our sense of assurance

in our relationship with God

from how well we have been doing

and what we have done in the past.

But,

this passage teaches

there is no need for fear

for believers

because Christ died

as the propitiation for our sins.

Our assurance comes not

from our performance,

but from the demonstration

of God's love

and commitment to us

in what Christ did

on that cross.

And,

and if that's the case,

and the only way we know love

is through what Christ

has done for us,

then,

Christians,

those who have experienced

God's love

are ones who are uniquely

equipped to know love.

Right?

And at this point,

of course,

we might be asking ourselves,

but what about the unbelievers?

What about people

who do not believe in Christ?

Don't they love?

Don't they love one another?

Right?

So,

to an extent,

that is a true statement.

They do love.

And,

and,

and the reason for that

is that we're all made

in the image of God.

Right?

So,

we are able to approximate

to a degree

the,

the love that's in the Trinity

between the Father,

Son,

and the Holy Spirit

because they are love

and men are created

in God's image.

Now,

but just,

while that is true,

just as much as if you go to,

you know,

to look at Michelangelo's

sculpture of David,

it's a breathtaking sculpture

that's very realistic.

Right?

So,

you look at that

and it's,

I mean,

it looks even more realistic

to certain people's

actual bodies.

Right?

But,

but when you look at that,

no matter how realistic

it looks,

it does not,

it can never become

an actual human being

because it lacks

the breath of God.

Right?

But in the same way,

no matter how realistic

the love of unbelievers look

as they're approximating

the love of God,

it cannot become

the true love

that this passage speaks of

because it has not been

enabled,

they've not been enabled

or empowered

by the spirit of God

whose love.

The love that this passage

has in view,

it's this kind of sacrificial love

that Christ has demonstrated,

it's seen,

it's,

it's,

it's given to believers.

It's their,

it's their exclusive possession

because it's the spirit of God.

So,

John explains this further

in verse 13.

He says,

by this we know

that we abide in him

and he in us

because he has given us

of his spirit.

Right?

Now,

if you're following along with me,

you will catch a parallel

with the verse immediately

before this,

in verse 12

because it says,

if we love one another,

God abides in us

and his love is perfected in us.

Right?

So,

in verse 12,

it says,

the condition for knowing

whether God is with us or not

is that we love one another

and then in verse 13,

the condition for loving,

knowing whether God is with us

or not

is that we,

is that we have a spirit.

Right?

And the reason for that,

and those two are actually

identical things

and the reason is that

God is love.

Right?

So,

when we love one another,

then that's an evidence

of God's presence with us.

That's the evidence

of the spirit of God

because as Romans 5, 5 says,

God's love is poured out

into our hearts

through the Holy Spirit

who has been given to us.

The possession of the Holy Spirit,

that's where that love comes from.

That's the spring of love,

the wellspring of love.

Therefore,

when we have the spirit,

we love one another.

That's why those parallel statements

are there

to teach us this truth.

So,

that means that

to be a Christian

then is to be adopted

by God the Father

into the family of God,

into the loving family of God,

to be united with Christ,

the body of Christ,

the church,

and by participating

in his death

and resurrection,

and to be filled

with the Holy Spirit

and to be brought together

as living stones

in the temple of God.

Right?

That's what it does.

The relationship

with the triune God,

that's what it means

to be a Christian.

And verse 16,

that's why it says here,

so we have come to know

and to believe

the love that God has for us.

So,

it says that

it's the love

that God has for us,

but actually,

literally,

the preposition

that's used there

in the original Greek

is not for,

it's actually in.

So,

it says,

if you were to translate

that literally,

the love that God has for us

should say

the love that God has in us.

Right?

So,

that shows us

the love that God

has poured into us

is exactly the love

that we experience.

And that's why it says

that God's love

is perfected in us

when we love one another.

The love that God

bestows on us,

that perfects itself,

that comes to its fruition

in fullness

in our love

for one another.

And because the experience

of this love

is wrapped up

in the very existence

of the triune God,

that's why we have

to know Jesus

in order to know this love.

So,

follow along with me

in verses 14 to 15.

It says,

and we have seen

and testify

that the Father

has sent his Son

to be the Savior

of the world.

Whoever confesses

that Jesus

is the Son of God,

God abides in him

and he in God.

So,

did you guys catch

that third parallel?

Right?

So,

at first,

it was,

we must love

one another

in order for God

to abide with us.

Second,

it was,

we must have

the Spirit of God

to mean that

God abides with us.

Now,

it says,

you must confess

that Jesus

is the Son of God,

then God abides with us.

Right?

Again,

the triune God,

you cannot know

this love

without having

a relationship

with the triune God.

Right?

Because the Father,

Son,

and Spirit are one,

we cannot know

the Father's love

without confessing

his Son,

Jesus Christ,

as our Lord and Savior.

And we cannot know

the Son's love

without being filled

with the Holy Spirit

who is the Spirit of Christ.

Right?

So,

this might be,

if you're not a believer,

this is probably

a difficult teaching.

And,

because if you have not yet

placed your faith in Christ,

then it's saying,

basically,

that you do not know

what love is.

And,

if that's the case,

you might object

at this point that,

well,

I've seen Christians

who are terrible

at loving people.

Right?

And,

you know,

I would agree with you.

And the reason for that

is because there are Christians

who claim to be Christians

but who are not

real Christians.

Right?

That's one reason.

And,

and the second reason

might be that

because you're judging,

you're defining

and judging love

on the basis

of your own experience

of love,

your own skewed

perception of love,

that you are not thinking,

you think that Christians

are unloving people.

It could be,

it could be either

of those things.

But,

as Christians would say,

we do not claim

to be perfect.

We do not claim

to be able to love

one another

in a perfect way.

But,

I can tell you

that every Christian

will tell you

that we love

one another better

now than we did

when we first

became a Christian.

I believe every single

Christian can say that.

And that's because

you cannot have

a relationship

with the God

who is love

without becoming

a more loving person.

That's what exactly,

that's what this passage

is exactly teaching us.

And,

and if that's the case

then if you're not

a believer

we want to invite you

because there's

an invitation here.

It says,

verse 14,

we have seen

and testified

that the Father

has sent His Son

to be the Savior

of the world.

Right?

Not a Savior

of Israel.

Not a Savior

of this ethnic group.

Not a Savior

of this particular group.

He came to be

the Savior

of the world.

He's not limited

to a specific

geographic location.

It extends to you,

to everyone

that's here.

And then verse 15

therefore tells us

whoever confesses

that Jesus

is the Son of God

God abides in him

and he in God.

Whoever confesses.

Right?

That's the criterion.

So when you confess

Jesus Christ

you will be born again

into the family of God.

When you confess

Jesus Christ

you will be filled

with the Holy Spirit.

So please,

if you're not a believer

don't leave this service

this morning

without a serious

consideration

of this invitation.

but if you are

already a Christian

then we have

a particular burden

and responsibility

and an expectation

because as this passage

teaches us

those who have been

loved by God

ought to love

one another.

Right?

You can't draw near

to a fire

without being warmed

by its heat.

Right?

You can't go into

a body of water

without getting wet.

Right?

In the same way

you cannot draw near

to the God

who is love

without becoming

a more loving person.

Right?

So verses 11 to 12

says,

Beloved,

if God so loved us

we also ought

to love one another.

No one has ever

seen God

and if we love

one another

God abides in us

and his love

is perfected

in us.

This is a saying

that recurs

throughout the Old Testament

that no one

has seen God.

Right?

No one has seen

the essence of God

because God is invisible

God is spirit.

Right?

But this is parallel

to what John says

actually earlier

in chapter 1

verse 18

where he says

no one has

ever seen God.

The only God

who is at the Father's side

he has made him known.

Right?

So here he's saying

in chapter 1

he has said

that no one has seen God

the only way you can see God

or know God

is through Jesus

because he's the incarnate God.

And that's crazy

because now what he's saying

here in this passage

is that

no one has seen this God

no one can see God

but now we see this God

in our love

for one another.

When Jesus walked the earth

and he revealed God

he was God in the flesh

he was the Son of God

he revealed the Father to us

and now it's the church

the body of Christ

in our love for one another

that we reveal

this God.

This was precisely

the mistake

of the church fathers

the desert fathers

who left society

and Christian community

to pursue

a relationship

with God alone.

Right?

They sought to deepen

their love for God

and increase their knowledge

of God

by going alone.

But the truth

that's tied in this passage

is that God

is revealed

in Christian community.

It's in our love

for one another

that's where we find

the presence of God

in the family of God

in the body of Christ.

Right?

There can be no

vertical reconciliation

with God

apart from

a horizontal

reconciliation

with one another.

That's why there's

no such thing

as an isolated Christian.

no such thing

as a Christian

a maverick Christian

that lives

and does

his or her own thing.

And so verses

if this weren't clear enough

John makes this

even more abundantly clear

in verses 20 and 21.

If anyone says

I love God

and hates his brother

he is a liar

for he who does not

love his brother

whom he has seen

cannot love God

whom he has not seen.

And this commandment

we have from him

whoever loves God

must also love

his brother.

We have a saying

right?

Out of sight

out of mind.

And if you

reflect on your own experience

you will say

that that's a true statement.

My family

my parents

live

in Seattle, Washington

which is quite far

and I can say

that even with my parents

whom I love dearly

if I don't make an effort

to call

and to stay in touch

with them

to FaceTime

out of sight

out of mind.

They don't come to my mind

nearly as much as

you guys come to my mind

right?

Because they're not here

they're not around

right?

And that's why

this passage

is teaching us

that you know what

if you claim to love God

yet hate the brother

or sister

the fellow Christian

that's around you

then you are a liar

because you cannot love

God

without loving

the brothers and sisters

that you have.

Right?

We can't love

the person

that you can see

with your own eyes

and hear with your own ears

and touch with your own hands

then how can you possibly

love God

whom you cannot see?

Right?

That's what

John's getting at.

He reiterates this point

in verse 21

and this commandment

we have from him

whoever loves God

must also love

his brother.

And

what I find

so moving

about this passage

is that

if you look

kind of just

survey it

real quickly

in verse 7

and verse 11

see how

Apostle John

addresses us

how he addresses

his audience

he says

beloved

right?

Beloved

that's how he addresses us

that's how he refers

to his fellow believers

and that's

the sign

that's the evidence

that John himself

has been mastered

by the very thing

that he's teaching

he's calling us

loved one another

and he himself

loves the people

he's writing to

he calls them

beloved

and

that's the

and that's the

thing

that's why he calls us

to brotherly love

right?

He says

love your brother

love

and that's

something that we've

talked about in the past

but brotherly love

it's

we have siblings

that we

tolerate

simply because

they're a family

right?

they have all kinds

of oddities

and foibles

yet we live with them

like sometimes

we share a bedroom

with them

right?

and that's

and we do that

because they're our

family

right?

and that's

it's the same

thing that the

Christian community

is the family

of God

we're not here

because we share

the same

ethnicity

or you know

political opinions

or because we're

in the same

age group

or because we live

in the same area

that's not why

we're here

we're here

because we have

the same father

and we've been

brought into

the family

of God

that's why

when we have

run into each

other's foibles

and oddities

and even sins

we don't just say

oh forget it

I'm leaving

right?

we commit to

one another

that's what it

means to be

family

that's why

John calls us

to brotherly

love

right?

that's why

when there's

weak or infirm

among us

we care for them

and serve them

that's why

when there's

poor among us

we are generous

toward them

and give

toward them

that's why

when there's

those who are

lonely among us

we comfort them

we become their

friend

we are compassionate

toward them

that's why

when people sin

against us

within the church

we confront them

we talk to them

and we forgive them

right?

that's what it means

to be a family

of God

the Bible

the Bible contains

a whole host

of commandments

toward one another

right?

tells us

to greet one another

confess your sins

to one another

care for one another

serve one another

bear one another's burdens

encourage and edify

one another

exhort one another

stir up one another

to love and good works

be patient with

and forgive one another

teach and admonish

one another

submit

to one another

these are all quotes

from the Bible

and all of these

things are summed up

in this one command

to love

one another

right?

because those

who have been

loved by God

ought to love

one another

today

we're going to be

inducting

the first

members of

Trinity Cambridge Church

if we could grab

the tuckets

I think that'd be great

and

membership

is simply

a formal

recognition

of this

love for one another

because

as we said

earlier

he said

he who does

not love

his brother

whom he has

seen

cannot love

God

whom he

has not

seen

that's why

it is not

enough for

a Christian

to simply

claim to

love God

without

involvement

in the local

church

and membership

is an expression

of that

commitment

to one another

to love

one another

and this is

especially

important

in a society

like ours

because it's

so transient

and it's

people

move for

jobs

or whatever

and a lot

of people

hop from

one church

to another

and in a

transient society

like ours

sometimes

relationships

within the

church

can be

treated

like

disposable

goods

that was

good for a

season

now I'm

gone

but

that's

not

how we

treat

family

that's

not how

the family

of God

is supposed

to be

and by

becoming

members

we are

basically

rebelling

against

that culture

and trend

of transience

and independence

and saying

that no

the church

of God

the family

of God

it's

permanent

we're

acknowledging

its permanence

and acknowledging

our own

interdependence

to one another

and of course

until

and because

also

until

you might say

like at this

point

that you know

but aren't

we all

in the family

of God

aren't all

believers

all across

the world

aren't we

all part

of the

are we all

members

of the same

church of God

you know

that is true

we do

belong to

the universal

church

but

until we

reach heaven

the universal

church

the church

across

generations

and across

boundaries

cannot function

like the family

of God

we can't

function

like the family

of God

with the

believers

who are

in China

or South

Africa

right

you can't

because of

the geographic

boundary

the language

boundary

the cultural

boundary

we cannot

function

like that

in the family

we need

brothers and

sisters

whom we

see

whom we

hear

whom we

relate

to interact

with

that we

can love

and be

loved by

and that's

why

he says

he who

does not

love his

brother

whom he

has seen

cannot love

God

whom he

has not

seen

right

in many

ways it's

easier for us

to claim to

love a brother

that we don't

have to see

right

it's like

oh like

I never see

him or I

never see

her

oh yeah

and when

someone asks

you do you

love that

person of

course

of course I

love that

person

it's harder

when that

person is

living with

you and

you have

to deal

with all

that person

that person's

issues it's

harder to

love that

person

that's why

church membership

is important

we're saying

that you know

what we're

going to deal

with those

things we're

going to love

one another

through those

things we're

going to commit

to one another

through those

things that's

what this

represents

so by taking

this important

step many of

you guys are

taking today you

are acknowledging

that this local

church then is

our spiritual

family and I

want to commend

each of you

who is doing

that because

it's a

weighty decision

I also want

to commend

those of you

who have

seriously

weighed

this decision

and have

decided not

to become a

member at

this time

because it

is a

weighty

decision

and it

is important

so I want

to commend

those people

who have

done that

as well

but I do

hope that

soon you

will become

members

as we

work out

those things

together and

commit and

consider what

it means to

be the

family of

God

if you

have not

thought about

membership at

all and if

this is a

new concept

to you then

I invite you

to think

about it

and to pray

about it

and consider

in the future

of submitting

a membership

questionnaire

and take

going through

the class

membership

class with

us

now if

you'll turn

to your

worship guide

you'll find

inside the

membership

covenant

so I'm

going to

read the

names of

our

membership

candidates

and when

your name

is read

out loud

I want

you to

stand up

and once

everybody's

up we're

going to

read the

covenant

membership

covenant

together

so John

Buckley

is already

standing

Cheryl

Huckins

Emily

Huckins

Matt

Huckins

Taylor

Jacoby

Sarah

Lee

Lauren

Miller

Stephen

Miller

Mariah

Nolan

Stephanie

Tuckett

Taryn

Tuckett

Jenny

Wong

Hannah

Wu

Jun

Wu

and

Sean

Wu

so

I'm

already

standing

so

let's

hold it

in your

hand

let's

read the

membership

covenant

out loud

together

having

having been

brought

by God's

sovereign

grace

into the

fellowship

of the

spirit

through

repentance

and faith

in Jesus

Christ

and having

been

baptized

upon our

profession

of faith

we do

now

in the

presence

of God

angels

and this

assembly

most

solemnly

and joyfully

enter into

covenant

with one

another

as one

body

in Christ

we engage

therefore

by the aid

of the

Holy Spirit

to love

God

with all

our

heart

soul

mind

and strength

to strive

for the

advancement

of this

church

in knowledge

holiness

and peace

promote the

church's

spirituality

and fruitfulness

to sustain

its worship

ordinances

and discipline

to welcome

and test

biblically

instruction

from the

scriptures

by the

elders

of the

church

seeking to

grow

toward

biblical

unity

in the

truth

to

contribute

cheerfully

and regularly

to the

support

of the

ministry

the

expenses

of the

church

the

relief

of the

poor

and the

spread

of the

gospel

through all

nations

we also

engage

to love

one another

to remember

one another

in prayer

to aid

one another

in sickness

and distress

to cultivate

Christian sympathy

in feeling

and courtesy

in speech

to avoid

all gossip

backbiting

and excessive

anger

to be slow

to take

offense

but always

ready for

reconciliation

and mindful

of the

rules of

our Savior

to secure

it without

delay

we further

engage

to share

the love

of Christ

with others

to educate

our children

in the

Christian faith

to seek

the salvation

of our

kindred

and acquaintances

to walk

circumspectly

in the world

to be just

in our

dealings

faithful

in our

engagements

and exemplary

in our

deportment

to seek

God's help

in abstaining

from all

drugs

food

drink

and practices

which bring

unwarranted

harm

to the

body

or jeopardize

our own

or another's

faith

we moreover

engage

that when we

remove from

this place

we will

if possible

unite with

a like-minded

church

where we can

carry out

the spirit

of this

covenant

we acknowledge

that implicit

within this

covenant

is the consent

to be governed

by the doctrinal

and relational

commitments

that have been

officially adopted

by the church

and that address

our statement

of faith

biblical

counseling

peacemaking

church discipline

marriage and

divorce

and singleness

and courtship

may the grace

of the Lord

Jesus Christ

and the love

of God

and the fellowship

of the Holy Spirit

be with us all

amen

thank you guys

so please

be seated

okay

so

thank you

so

thank you