The Mark of True Faith: 1John 3:11-24|Pastor Daniel Reese

I get asked in one way or another, the most frequent.

I get asked this in a variety of different ways,

pretty regularly. Now, here's what it is essentially.

It's asked in different ways, but here's what

it is essentially, is how do I know that I have

been truly saved by the Lord? That's the question

I get asked. How do I truly know that I have

been saved by the Lord? How do I know that I

have received salvation instead of just learning

a lot about a religion and just figured out how

to blend in? It's an important question, right?

It's an important question to ask ourselves.

Sina and I were in a store the other day and

I saw a pair of Jinko jeans. Now for those of

you that don't know, Jinko is a brand of jeans

that are really baggy, really baggy. If you're

a teenager and you're thinking about getting

a pair of Jinko jeans, I'm going to try to discourage

you from doing that, because it's one of those

things that you will regret when you're my age,

all right? So, now, Jinko jeans, most of them

are really baggy. They cover your shoes, they

drag on the ground, it's ridiculous. Back in

the late 1900s, Early 2000s They were they were

very popular. I haven't I haven't really seen

them since that time But it did remind me of

a time that I used to wear them. I Was starting

my freshman year of high school and during the

summer one of my good friends decided that he

wanted to get into skateboarding So he shows

up to school wearing these pants and of course

I have to have these pants also. Then there was

the skateboard shop that was across the street

from our high school and we would go there during

lunch to look at different boards. Now if you

looked at me back then you would think that I

knew what I was doing and you knew you would

think that oh I belong in a skateboard shop.

I got really invested into learning about them.

At the time I could tell you which decks were

best for sliding down rails, which trucks were

best, which bearings went best with which wheels.

I looked the part. I could talk about it. But

to this day, I have still never, ever ridden

a skateboard. And you won't see me try it now,

either, because I'm worried I'll break a hip.

But thankfully, that season in my life didn't

last long, and I went back. to normal -sized

pants. Now, I think that there are a lot of cultural

Christians who look the part. They know how to

talk about it, but they are just modeling what

they see happening around them, right? And there's

been no heart change, there's no evidence of

a life transformed by the Lord, but they can

have a conversation, right, and they can look

the part. So in our passage this morning, John

is going to give us some evidence of what it

looks like to be a follower of Jesus. And so

if you are wrestling with that question. If you

are struggling with am I truly saved? Am I truly

a follower of Jesus? My hope this morning is

that this text will bring some clarity to your

question. All right. And so first, John, chapter

three, we're going to start in verse 11. If you're

willing and able, we're going to ask you to stand

as we honor the Lord's word. No pressure on that.

But we're going to read a few verses this morning

and then we'll dive into it. So starting in verse

11, it says, for this is the message that you

have heard from the beginning, that we should

love one another. We should not be like Cain

who was of the evil one and murdered his brother.

And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds

were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not

be surprised, brothers, that the world hates

you. You 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.

Let's pray. Father. Thank you for your word this

morning. Thank you for just the growth that I

have seen in our people in regards to loving

our brothers. I pray, Father, that as we look

at this text, you'll open our hearts to hear

from you. I pray that we will be sensitive to

your spirit. And Father, I do. I pray for life

change to happen in this place. We ask all these

things in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. So if you

remember, if you were here, if you remember at

the beginning of this letter, First John John

starts off by reminding his the readers of the

beginning of their faith journey He reminds them

that that his message that he's telling them

can be trusted because he walked with Jesus He

saw Him crucified. He saw the miracles that were

done. Now here He is in chapter 3 and He is reiterating

the fact that the message is still the same.

It is consistent. We haven't changed with the

pressure that culture has put on us. From what

we've been speaking of since the beginning until

now, this is the message. And the message is

that we as believers should love one another.

That's the message. It's all about love. This

echoes Jesus's words in John chapter 13 where

John 13 · chapter mention

he says, love one another as I have loved you.

And so from the start of the gospel, love has

been the heartbeat of the Christian life. But

then here John contrasts that with Cain who belonged

to the evil one and murdered his brother out

of envy. He says that in verse 12. But I think

that we need to be very careful here and really

understand what hatred is. Because you might

not commit the act of murder, you might not actually

go physically kill somebody, and therefore you

might think, oh, I don't have hate in me, according

to this. Again, we need to remember what Jesus

says. He mentions in the Sermon on the Mount

that anyone who is angry, at His brother is liable

to judgment in the same way that anybody who

murders is liable to judgment. So Jesus just

goes beyond the action and He's getting to the

heart. This is one of the dangers of legalism.

Someone who is legalistic will use actions as

a means to defend whether or not they are in

a good position with the Lord. So they will say

things like, like I go to church whenever I can.

I attend a Bible study every week. I tithe money

to the church. I don't cheat on my spouse. I

make sure that my kids know that they are loved

by me. I don't drink. I don't gamble. I don't

watch R -rated movies unless they're about Jesus,

right? Like these are the things that they say.

And whenever you have a list of things you do

or don't do to justify your righteousness, You

are walking in legalism so when we get to a text

like this that says that we should not be like

the murderer a Legalist will say well. I haven't

killed anybody so I must not have hate When in

reality their hearts have not been transformed

And they are full of anger and bitterness hatred

Even unspoken is spiritual murder. It kills relationships

and it reveals a heart that's far from God. So

that is a good question that we should be asking

ourselves when it comes to our salvation. Do

I have a list of things that I use to justify

my righteousness? When I think about my righteousness,

do I have a list of things that I do or don't

do? Am I holding on to hate? towards one another

towards another believer in my heart because

I think when we examine our hearts when we really

stop and and are distracted and we examine our

hearts we know if we have truly been transformed

that the Holy Spirit reveals that to you if you

are seeking him then then on top of that we have

the Word of God that will either confirm or correct

what we believe to be true I'll give you a perfect

example what I think is an example for my life.

Several years ago, we had a friend, a really

close friend of ours, that completely betrayed

us. He made some accusations against my son,

where we thought, in the moment, we're like,

yeah, I could see that happening. I could see

him doing that. But I wanted to confirm. before

I brought any sort of punishment. So I talked

to a few other people that were there because

I wasn't there. This guy making these accusations,

he wasn't there and so I wanted to confirm what

happened with a few other people that I knew

were there. Because he was taking the word of

his kid and it turns out that what was being

said of my son wasn't true. And so I call him

up and I say hey I've talked to several people

who were there and and I can't get anybody to

Confirm what you said to be true in fact the

the opposite seemed to be true It wasn't my kid

that would did wrong it was his now listen. I'm

not at all saying That that that my baby could

never do anything wrong I'm not saying that my

kid is innocent at all times But in this particular

case the accusation was strong and the information

was incorrect And so I thought, because we were

friends, we could talk about it and find a solution.

I was wrong on that one. He got mad. He got defensive.

He went on to try and destroy my reputation in

our church, in the community. Hurtful things

were said about me and my wife and our children.

He owned several businesses in town. And he was

viewed as kind of a big deal. Now, I'm going

to be honest. It never crossed my mind to kill

him. But I for sure thought about his death.

I had hoped that his businesses would fail. I

prayed that he would be exposed for some sort

of crime. That was where my heart was every time

I thought that he would be in an event that I

was going to I would become tense you know that

feeling I'd become tense and then I begin to

start thinking of all these different excuses

as To why I couldn't go because I didn't want

to be around him now now throughout all of that

I never doubted my salvation But I also knew

that if that attitude continued If that attitude

continued, it would reveal that the Holy Spirit

wasn't really in me. I had to lay that before

the Lord daily. And what I have learned is that

when I do that, when I lay those things before

the Lord daily, it gets me to a place of love

a lot quicker than if I were to just ignore it

or push it down or sweep it under the rug or

whatever. I wanted to get to a place where I

wished him success. I learned that true forgiveness

is willing the good of the person who offended

you. And so now I can genuinely say, I hope his

marriage thrives. I hope his businesses succeed.

I hope his kids walk in the ways of the Lord.

And what I believe that John is trying to convey

to us, Is that being angry at someone is not

a cause for judgment, but staying in that place

should make you question whether or not the Spirit

of the Lord is truly inside of you. Paul says

that love keeps no record of wrongs. So if you

have a list of things or you have a list of people

that have wronged you, you might begin to ask

God to reveal Himself to you. Hatred doesn't

always look dramatic. It's the grudge you justify.

The gossip that you share. The cold shoulder

that you give. John says, anyone who hates a

brother or sister is a murderer. I mean, that's

strong. That's strong. That shows you how seriously

God takes love. But when there's no love, there's

no eternal life. So this week... Maybe right

now, this week, name one person that you struggle

to love. Think of that one person you struggle

to love, and I want you to pray for them daily.

Not for them to change, not for them to get hit

by a bus, but I want you to pray for your heart

to soften. Pray that God would change you. Love

starts with a choice, not a feeling. Then John

gives us the ultimate example in verse 16. He

says this is how we know what love is that Jesus

Christ laid down his life for us. Love isn't

sentiment. It's sacrifice. Jesus didn't just

say he loves us. He proved it on the cross. Giving

everything of himself so that we could live.

This is the standard. This is the standard. And

John says we ought to lay down our lives for

our brothers and sisters. That doesn't always

mean dying. It means living sacrificially. It's

giving up your time, your comfort, your preferences

for someone else. It's the parent that stays

up late with a sick child. It's the friend who

listens without interrupting. It's the neighbor

shoveling the elderly person's driveway. Love

should cost you something. And again, it doesn't

cost us because we are trying to earn something.

It costs us because we have been transformed

from within. Verse 17 says that if we have material

possessions, but we close our hearts to a brother

in need, then how can the love of God live in

us? In other words, if you are stingy, and you

know who you are, then you are not living in

a way that honors Him. I heard a story this week

and I thought, It was appropriate for this. Maybe

you've heard it too. There was this man who was

on a business trip and he had a layover. So while

he was waiting on his next flight, he went and

he grabbed a cup of coffee, grabbed a bag of

cookies to snack on. And after he gets what he

wanted, he looks around and all the tables are

full, except for this one table has one guy sitting

and there's one empty seat. And so he walks over

there and he asked the gentleman if he can sit

down. for a little bit, the man agrees. And so

he gets to the table, he puts his bag down, he

puts his coffee on the table, he takes his coat

off, sits down and starts scrolling through his

phone. And then he grabs the cookies and he starts

eating the cookies. And as he's scrolling through

his phone, he realizes the guy across the table

from him reaches over and grabs his cookies and

starts to eat them. Well, that's weird, he thought.

He could have asked me. But then he's like, well,

he looks like he's from a foreign country. Maybe

that's how they do it there. Maybe it's not weird

for him. So he grabs another cookie. And then

he puts the bag right next to him, the guy. These

are my cookies. And he puts it right next to

him on the table. And he goes about continuing

to scroll on his phone. A few minutes later,

the man had the audacity to reach over the table,

grab the bag of cookies, and take another one

out. Now this man is now beyond offended. He

decides, I better leave. I better leave before

I say something that's gonna make the situation

worse. So he stands up and he puts his coat on

and he reaches down to grab his bag that was

on the ground and he realizes that his cookies

were actually on his bag the whole time. So the

man across from him wasn't... Stealing his cookies.

He was actually sharing his cookies If anybody

should have been offended by the situation it

was the guy that let him sit at the table to

begin with Now here's the truth. The truth is

every single month we each get ten secular cookies

And how we are called to live as followers of

Jesus is to take one of those secular cookies

and give it back to the Lord in some way And

when that happens that that secular cookie becomes

sacred And you're not left with nine secular

cookies You're actually left with nine sacred

cookies because you've honored the Lord with

what you have And the problem is so many of us

think that we need the ten cookies if not eleven

cookies in order to make it through the month

To live sacrificially It is to live with your

hands open and understanding that everything

that comes into your life comes from the Lord.

But when you close your hand, when you close

your hand and say, this is mine, I'm going to

control it, I'm going to control my money, I'm

going to control my time, I'm going to control

my desires. When we close our hands and we try

to hold on to what we have, we not only limit

what can go out, but we also keep anything extra

from coming in. And the Lord tells us to test

Him in this. Let Him show you what trusting in

Him looks like when we live sacrificially. So

if you were to examine your life, in what ways

do you live sacrificially? I want you to look

for one practical example this week in which

you can lay down your life. Share a meal. Give

financially. offer help without being asked let

your actions speak louder than your words put

your phone down and spend some time with those

you love ask God in your prayers to reveal to

you in which ways you could give sacrificially

because what I've learned that when I pray that

prayer God give me ways that I can live more

sacrificially God always reveals to me in which

different ways in which I can serve my family

better serve our church better in ways I can

love others around me better have the courage

to pray that prayer this week then John concludes

let us not love with words or speech but with

actions and in truth in verse 18 real love is

tangible and honest and here's the blessing when

we love this way we know that we belong to the

truth and it sets our hearts at rest in His presence.

Guilt and fear and doubt fade when our lives

back up our faith. Even when we feel condemned,

verse 20, God is greater than our hearts. He

knows everything. His grace covers our imperfections

as we walk in obedience. Now I want to spend

just a few minutes on verse 20 there. It reads,

whenever our hearts condemn us, God is greater

than our hearts. So why would our hearts condemn

us? I believe it's because sometimes we fall

into that legalistic mindset of I'm just not

doing enough. I'm not doing enough. I'm still

struggling. I was doing well with the Lord and

I took two steps back. And so our hearts begin

to condemn us. I need to do more. But 2nd Timothy

chapter 2 says, but God's firm foundation stands

bearing the seal. The Lord knows those who are

His. So when those doubts begin to creep in,

we can be assured that our salvation is not dependent

on us, but it's dependent on Him. I want you

to think about what that means. When we say,

that I have to do something to earn our salvation,

what we are saying is that what he has done for

us isn't good enough. That's what we're saying.

Think about that. Think about the last hours

of Jesus before he was crucified. Pleading with

his father that there be another way. Sweating

drops of blood because the stress that he was

feeling as it was leading up to this situation.

Being mocked by society for his faithfulness

to his father. Taking 39 whips across his body

that turned his back into hamburger meat. His

closest friends desert him or deny even knowing

him. He then has to carry a cross up to a hill

to his execution point where he then has nails

Driven through his hands and feet and then being

stood up on that cross so the whole town could

watch him die Do you really think that God looks

down on that and thinks that's not really good

enough? I'm gonna need I'm gonna need a little

bit more So many of us live our lives Believing

that we have to help God in some way That we

have to do something That is not the gospel The

gospel is that we get to rest in the fact that

this gift has been given to us that and we didn't

deserve it And when we truly understand that

gift That is Jesus. That is His sacrifice. That

gift that is our salvation. It should completely

change how we operate in this world. And that's

how John closes out this chapter. That we as

believers, that we believe in the name of the

Son, and we love one another. Not as he suggested,

but as he commanded us. that we are to love one

another. And whoever keeps his commandments,

John says, abides in God. So in the past, when

people ask me how can they be assured of their

salvation, I would tend to go over the fruit

of the Spirit that's found in Galatians 5. I

would tend to go over that list. Is there evidence

in your life of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness?

goodness, gentleness, and self -control. If there

isn't, then you might begin to question those

things, right? But as I've grown, and as I've

matured, I've realized that if we focus on the

fruit, then we can tend to put the focus back

on us. The fruit is the byproduct of what is

actually going on in our hearts. We can be assured

of our salvation by how we love others. Now I

don't want you to, I don't want to make anybody

believe that that means that you can't get mad

at others. It doesn't mean you have to be passive

when somebody wrongs you or if there's some sort

of injustice. Jesus says the world will know

that you are my disciples by how you love others,

which means the way we respond when we feel offended.

The way we respond when we get angry, when there's

injustice, it should look different than how

a non -believer responds. The unbelieving world

does not know how to handle conflict. They hold

on to bitterness and gossip. The unbelieving

world seeks out revenge. The unbelieving world

hates. It gives the cold shoulder. It holds a

grudge. There's this girl in our church who asked

an anonymous question in one of those Quad Cities

Facebook groups. Dangerous, number one. But she

did it. And the question was basically, if you

don't go to church in the area, why not? If you

don't go to church in the area, why not? Now,

I haven't seen it, but she told me the majority

of people who responded to that question, and

there was a lot of them, the majority of people

who don't go to church don't go because of how

people treat each other in the church. That's

why they don't go. Is that not how the enemy

works? to do the complete opposite of what God

has called us to be recognized for? He said,

people will know you are mine by how you treat

one another. And the enemy says, I'm going to

keep people away because of how you treat each

other. You see the opposite of what's happening

here. And so as believers, we are called to be

different. Would you say your behavior as a Christian

and how you treat others is drawing people to

Christ or keeping them away from experiencing

Him? To be different means we do everything we

can to not let a root of bitterness grow in us.

And sometimes for me that means I am praying

to the Lord hourly. to help me forgive. Because

once a day isn't enough. It means we have to

take our thoughts captive, not let them escape

or cause more damage. It is unbelievably difficult

at times to love like Christ because it goes

against our flesh. I mean, we saw that with Jesus

in the garden. Father, let this cup pass for

me. His flesh didn't want it. But then he says,

but not my will, but yours be done. Jesus modeled

it for us. God, I want to be angry. I'm justified

in my feelings because of how I was treated.

I deserve to be vindicated. But the challenge

is when you feel those things that you pray,

not my will, but yours. I'm going to love them

anyway. I'm going to forgive them even though

they don't deserve it because the truth is I

don't deserve the forgiveness the Lord has given

me. How are you loving? How are you showing the

love of Christ to those around you? If somebody

were to look at your life, And look at how you

treat others. Would they say, oh, I want to be

a part of that? How do they do that? How do they

forgive that scenario? How do they forgive that

action? How do they continue to have a relationship

with that individual because of what they said

or did? Our lives should reflect the love that

God has for us. So you want to know where you

are in your salvation? The question you have

to ask is, how do I love? How do I love? So what

a great way to end our service this morning as

we take communion. We're gonna invite the elders

and deacons to come forward. Because we're going

to remember the love that was shown to us on

the cross. that while we were still sinners,

Christ died for us. I need you to hear that verse.

While we were still sinners, Christ died for

us. Not when we were perfect, then he died for

us. Not when we got our act together, then he

died for us. While we were still sinners in the

middle of our mess, he laid down his life for

us. And because of that, that should reflect

to the relationships around us. So when our flesh

says I want to hold a grudge, when our flesh

says I want to give a dirty look, when our flesh

says I want to gossip about them or bash them,

we ask the Holy Spirit of God to change our hearts

and help us love the way He loves. And so these

gentlemen are going to pass out our communion

this morning. If you're new and you've proclaimed

faith in Jesus, he is your savior, we invite

you to the table. We invite you to participate

with us. As these trays get passed in front of

you, there's two cups stacked on each other.

Grab them both and then just kind of hold onto

them and we'll take them here in a second. If

you're gluten -free, we have that option as well.

But as you hold the... symbolic body and blood

of Christ. Will you ask yourself, will you pray

to him? God, am I reflecting your sacrifice well?

Am I reflecting your love well? Thank you for

listening today to 563 Church, a production of

Cornerstone Church, Eldridge, Iowa. For more

information about our church or just getting

right with God, please visit us at 563church

.com. You can also find us on Facebook and Instagram.

Have a great week.