I JOHN
Listen to this study TH2215
Please turn in your Bibles this evening to I John chapter 3 as we continue our study through the Word of God. Last week we finished up a section that dealt with THE LIGHT OF GOD and it covered I John chapters 1 and 2. The thrust of this was seen in I John 1:5 where we are told, “This is the message which we have heard from Him and declare to you, that God is light and in Him is no darkness at all.” Thus, if we know God, if we are abiding in Christ, then we should be walking in the light as He is in the light. Our actions should match up with our profession of faith or our walk should match up with our talk!
Tonight we are going to begin the second section or division of this letter, THE LOVE OF GOD and this will cover I John chapters 3 and 4. You see, not only is God pure and holy, not only is God light, but His love for us is so rich and so deep. It is that sacrificial love, that unconditional love that can only come from God. Now, in saying that, as children of God John wants us to love as God loves. “Impossible” you say, well, not exactly as we are going to see. With that said, let’s begin reading in I John chapter 3, starting in verse 1 and see what the Lord has for us this evening.
Of all the people of this world, God chose you, He chose me to be His children, that is love! And John says “Behold” or “Look at” God’s love towards us because He didn’t just look down upon us with pity but He became flesh, dwelt among us, paid for our sins on the cross of Calvary, endured the wrath of God that was due us, so that we could be saved and become the children of God! His love is seen in His action! It is as John said in John 1:12-13, “But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.” What love that is! John again put it like this in I John 4:19, “We love Him because He first loved us.” That truly is amazing, at least for me because I know what kind of person I am and God still loved me and gave Himself for me so that I may live with Him and become a child of God!
I like the perspective that Spurgeon gives to us on this. He wrote, “‘There,’ he says, ‘you poor people that love Me you sick people, you unknown, obscure people, without any talent, I have published it before heaven and earth, and made the angels know it, that you are My children, and I am not ashamed of you. I glory in that fact that I have taken you for My sons and daughters.’” How awesome is God’s love for us!
Now, as the world looks at us, they just don’t get us. Jesus gave us this warning in John 15:18-21, “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept My word, they will keep yours also. But all these things they will do to you for My name's sake, because they do not know Him who sent Me.”
What I find interesting today is the church is trying to befriend the world, and that is a dangerous thing to do. James 4:4 gives us this warning, “Adulterers and adulteresses! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Whoever therefore wants to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.” Yes, we are to love sinners, but understand that for the most part, they will not love us as they did not love the Lord! We are not to show them how much we are like them, like the world, but how much we are like our Father in heaven, and they often won’t like that because we are not condoning their sin, but exposing it!
Notice that John doesn’t say that one day we will be children of God, we are already children of God, being adopted into the family of God by the new birth, by receiving Jesus as our Lord and Savior! But God is still molding and shaping our lives down here so that one day we will fit in up there – it is a lifelong process that will be completed when we go to be with Jesus. Paul made that point in Philippians 3:20-21 when he said, “For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able even to subdue all things to Himself.” We are a work in progress. I think Stott rightly wrote, “What we are does not now appear to the world; what we shall be does not yet appear to us.”
Paul, in I Corinthians 13:12 makes this interesting point. He says, “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then face to face. Now I know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known.” In the ancient world mirrors were made out of polished metal and thus, the image was not clear, it was distorted. John is telling us that we can’t see Jesus clearly now, but one day, face-to-face, we shall see Him perfectly clear! Here is the point. To the extent you see Jesus now, you will be like Him but one day, as you see Him, His sinless nature will flow from your life as you go to be with Him. These bodies of flesh will be changed!
People today have lost the hope of Christ’s return but folks, we need to keep that before us at all times because it helps us to walk in a worthy manner, in purity knowing He can return at any moment, any day! Paul said it this way in Titus 2:11-15, “For the grace of God that brings salvation has appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special people, zealous for good works. Speak these things, exhort, and rebuke with all authority. Let no one despise you.” Thus, live every day as if He is coming back because our only hope is in Him and not this world!
Sin must not be taken lightly, justified, ignored as these false teachers of John’s day were doing and as many are doing today! Sin is missing the mark of perfection, it is going against God Himself and John says that sin is “lawlessness” or “wickedness.” That word “commits” in the Greek is in the present perfect tense, which speaks of a continual action. If sin is the pattern of your life, then you are living in rebellion against God!
In Christ all our sins are cast as far as the east is from the west to be remembered no more. The blood of Christ has cleansed us as white as snow in a positional sense. Paul put it this way in II Corinthians 5:21, “For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.” That again is love!
I believe John is speaking of those who live in habitual sin. You see, if you can sin with no conviction of God upon your life, if you look forward to sinning, then John says that you really haven’t seen God, you don’t know Him and the reality is, He doesn’t know you as a child of God! Now, why doesn’t John tell us how much sin will get us in trouble, what is the line we need to stay away from? Because if that is your passion, how close to the edge you can walk and still be saved, then you are not saved in the first place, you are fooling yourself! The Gnostics believed you could sin all you wanted because the body was evil but the spirit was good, and John says, “NOT!” Sin is sin, it is missing the mark of perfection. You don’t play with sin, you flee from it! You don’t build up the flesh but you crucify it! We need to abide in God and not in sin. We need to hate sin as God hates sin!
John is warning them not to be deceived by these false teachers. Yes, we have appropriated the righteousness of Christ into our lives by faith, but that religious or spiritual righteousness cannot be separated from living a righteous life! Spurgeon said it like this, “The grace that does not change my life will not save my soul.” You see, we have the resources we need to live a righteous life before God! Paul put it this way in Ephesians 4:22-24, “if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.”
According to I John 3:5, Jesus came to take away our sins and now John tells us Jesus came that He might destroy the works of the Devil! Don’t make a peace treaty with sin, sin must be destroyed! Would you make a peace treaty with Al-Qaeda? Of course not, and thus, don’t make a peace treaty with sin that is even worse! You see, sin should no longer have us in bondage like it once did because God has set us free. Paul said in Romans 6:6, “knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.” It is not that we don’t sin, but we are not involved in habitual sin without any conviction. You see, there are only two families here, a child of God or a child of the Devil, which one are you?
God has given to us the ability to have victory over sin. How can we obtain that victory? I think there are three ways:
A. By the power of the Holy Spirit opening up the Word of God to our lives.
B. By fleeing those lustful desires, not to entertain them.
C. By being in fellowship with the brethren, which will help keep you accountable.
Is John being unloving here or judgmental? Not at all, this is the reality, what you are manifesting in your life will show if you are a child of God or a child of the Devil! How do we know or identify who is who? Sometimes it is difficult but if you are living rightly before God, if you love people, then you are a child of God, if not, then you are a child of the Devil. You see, righteousness without love makes one to be a religious Pharisee, and love without righteousness makes one a partner with the Devil! Jesus was righteous and He was loving and He is telling us to walk accordingly. Not that we are perfect, that we never get mad at people, that we never do anything wrong, but when we do, do we hate it? You see, that truly shows where your heart is at!
In I John 2:7-8 John told us, “Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” This is not a new command, but an old one that has been refreshed in Christ. It is that AGAPE love, that sacrificial love, that unconditional love that has come into our lives from God and God wants us then to not be reservoirs to contain that love but channels from which that love can flow through and touch the lives of others! This is the heart of God, it is important to Him and it should be important to us, HIS LOVE!
John gives us the example of Cain to show how destructive hatred is and it is just a reflection of your heart. Cain was not right before God, his works were evil, which lead to hatred. We are told that both Cain and his brother Abel came to sacrifice to the Lord. Abel offered to God a lamb while Cain offered the fruit of the land. God accepted Abel’s offering but rejected Cain’s, why? Some say it was that Abel offered a blood sacrifice while Cain offered a grain, and that might be but I don’t think that is the point here. I think this is more an issue of the heart that was then manifested in his actions. In Hebrews 11:4 we are told, “By faith Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous, God testifying of his gifts; and through it he being dead still speaks.”
The Amplified Bible puts this verse like this, “[Prompted, actuated] by faith Abel brought God a better and more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, because of which it was testified of him that he was righteous [that he was upright and in right standing with God], and God bore witness by accepting and acknowledging his gifts. And though he died, yet [through the incident] he is still speaking. [Gen 4:3-10.]” Thus, hatred and jealousy lead Cain to kill his brother. What was in his heart was then manifested in his actions. His rebellion against God led to his hatred towards his fellow man, his own brother! May we be wise and allow the love of God not only to flow into our lives but through our lives!
Why does the world hate us? Because, just as Cain hated his brother because Abel’s righteousness exposed Cain’s sin, so too does our righteous living, our love, the light of God shinning through us expose their sin and they don’t like it and they try to silence it, put it out. Jesus put it this way in John 3:19-21, “And this is the condemnation, that the light has come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For everyone practicing evil hates the light and does not come to the light, lest his deeds should be exposed. But he who does the truth comes to the light, that his deeds may be clearly seen, that they have been done in God.” Thus, don’t be surprised when the world hates you!
John is saying that a love for people is a sign of being born again and if that love is missing, the salvation of that person is in question. You see, hatred towards others is, in a sense, spiritual murder. We don’t tend to think of it that way but Jesus said in Matthew 5:21-22, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder, and whoever murders will be in danger of the judgment.’ But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Raca!’ shall be in danger of the council. But whoever says, ‘You fool!’ shall be in danger of hell fire.” You see, it is not only physical murder that is wrong, but verbal also, it is a matter of the heart and if you are not right with God, then it will be reflected in how you treat others and God takes this seriously!
Also, Solomon tells us in Proverbs 18:21, “Death and life are in the power of the tongue, And those who love it will eat its fruit.” Spurgeon wrote, “Do you love them for Christ’s sake? Do you say to yourself, ‘That is one of Christ’s people; that is one who bears Christ’s cross; that is one of the children of God; therefore I love him, and take delight in his company’? Then, that is an evidence that you are not of the world.”
If you want to know what love is all about, look to Jesus because He is the example, the standard for what true love, AGAPE love is all about. John tells us that true love is seen in how we sacrifice our lives for others, that we are willing to die for them. You see, love is not a feeling it is an act of your will, it is seen in action, the things you do for others! Paul put it this way in Romans 5:8, “But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Now most of us will never be in a situation where we have to sacrifice our lives so another could live but are we even willing to give of our time, our energy, our resources to help others? You look at most churches and a few people run them because the others are not willing to make that sacrifice, but what if no one was? Some feel that because I am the pastor I should do everything, that is not Scriptural even though I have no problem working and I do work. But my primary focus is the study of God’s Word and prayer and I am to teach you the things of God so you may go out and do the work of the ministry! I am blessed here because so many of you are involved in the work, but some of you are not and you need to pray about it because there are no spectators in God’s kingdom!
John just spoke of sacrificial love, how we are to lay down our lives for the brethren, and now he applies that to our life. You see, you can talk all you want about loving the brethren, but if that love is not demonstrated by your actions, it is empty. James tells us, “But be doers of the word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves.” Also, in James 2:14-18 he tells us, “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him? If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, ‘You have faith, and I have works.’ Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.” In other words, how clearly do your actions show that you really love the brethren?
Clarke puts it like this. He tells us, “Here is a test of this love; if we do not divide our bread with the hungry, we certainly would not lay down our life for him. Whatever love we may pretend to mankind, if we are not charitable and benevolent, we give the lie to our profession.” Talk is cheap, thus, may your walk line up with your talk or your profession of faith is manifested in the practice of your faith!
In Luke chapter 10 we see the parable of the Good Samaritan. You know the story. A man left Jerusalem heading for Jericho, and on his way he was beaten up and robed and left for dead on the road by these thieves. As a priest was walking by he saw the man and not wanting to get involved, in not wanting to defile himself, he crossed over to the other side, ignoring this man. Then came a Levite and he too looked at this man in need and instead of helping him he did like the priest and ignored this man that was dying.
Then came this Samaritan man, and the Jews hated the Samaritans because they saw them as half-breeds, half Jew and half Gentile. And yet this man cared for this man in need, took care of his wounds, brought him to an inn and told the inn keeper to care for him, gave him some money and said if more was needed when he returned, he would pay the inn keeper, he will take care of it. And Jesus said to the Jewish religious leaders in Luke 10:36-37, “‘So which of these three do you think was neighbor to him who fell among the thieves?’ And he said, ‘He who showed mercy on him.’ Then Jesus said to him, ‘Go and do likewise.’” You see, are you willing to step up, to get involved at your own risk, even though it may cost you something? Jesus wants us to!
Do we see that kind of indifference towards people today? You bet we do, the love of many has grown cold! Case in point, the man who died on Mount Everest as others passed him by. On a well-traveled route to the summit, a British mountaineer became deprived of oxygen and collapsed. We are told, “Dozens of people walked right past him, unwilling to risk their own ascents. Within hours, David Sharp, 34, was dead.” Over 40 people passed him by without doing anything to rescue him because they wanted to make it to the top of Mount Everest! How can this be? The story concludes by saying, “But many of today’s Everest climbers are on commercial expeditions, some paying tens of thousands of dollars to guides who are under fierce pressure to get their clients to the summit.” The love of many has grown cold! May our love not grow cold, may our hearts not become hardened towards God and towards people, and as John said, “My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.” I John 3:18.
John is saying that if we see this kind of love in our lives than we can have confidence, we can have the assurance that we are in the truth, that we are saved. It is as Paul said in Hebrews 9:14-15, “how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered Himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? And for this reason He is the Mediator of the new covenant, by means of death, for the redemption of the transgressions under the first covenant, that those who are called may receive the promise of the eternal inheritance.” The blood of Christ cleanses us from all our sin, the love of God is poured out into out lives and then that love is manifested in the things we do towards others, the love we show them!
Now for some Christians, they live a life of condemnation. They are beaten up, they don’t have that assurance, why is that? Because they are basing their relationship with God on feelings and that can be dangerous. You see, Paul tells us in Romans 8:1, “There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.” Do you believe that? You need to because it is the truth! But the Devil comes in and tries to condemn us and when he does, it pushes us away from God and thus, you know that condemnation is not of God. God will convict us of our sin, He will chasten us with the idea that we would draw closer to Him. Thus, who are you listening to? You see, God knows all things, let His Word set you free from that condemnation!
I like the way that Spurgeon put it. He wrote, “Sometimes our heart condemns us, but, in doing so, it gives us a wrong verdict, and then we have the satisfaction of being able to take the case into a higher court, for ‘God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things.”
As you walk in the light as He is in the light, as you walk in obedience and love, you will experience answered prayer. Now please understand that this is not based on your obedience, but out of fellowship with God, which calls you to be obedient and full of His love. Your prayers will be in line with His heart and if they are not, He will redirect you. It is as Jesus said in John 15:7, “If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you.” And in I John 5:14-15 we are told, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him.”
The Jews had 613 commandments of God to follow, 365 were negative, “Thou shall not . . .” and 248 positive ones, “Thou shall . . .” But John tells us that all we need to do is love Jesus and love each other, just as Jesus said in Matthew 22:37-39, “Jesus said to him, ‘“You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind.” This is the first and great commandment. And the second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”’”
Think of it like this. You say you love your job, it is a great job, and yet, all day long you complain about it, you show up late to work, you leave early, you don’t get the work done. Now, is there enough evidence to show you love your job? Absolutely not, your actions say the exact opposite. That is what John is saying here, you say you love Jesus then keep His commandments, walk in obedience to Him. That is what John said back in I John 2:3-6, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.”
Paul, in Romans chapter 8 tells us, “But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. . . . For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, ‘Abba, Father.’ The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, then heirs — heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.” Romans 8:9, 15-17. You see, the indwelling of God’s Spirit in our lives gives us the assurance that we are children of God. Yes, you can allow Satan to cause you to doubt that, but God’s Word illuminated by His Spirit will lead us in all truth and we can have that assurance!
As I close this evening let me leave you with this to think about. If Jesus is living in you, what is the evidence to prove it? I believe that Paul answers that for us in Galatians 5:22-26 as he says, “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. And those who are Christ's have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” You see, the fruit of the Spirit is AGAPE love that is manifested in many different ways! Thus, “And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.” I John 3:19. How awesome is our God towards us! His love is amazing!