DAY NINETY-FIVE:
Love One Another
John said that love is evidence that we belong to Christ. "We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." (3:14-15) That's strong stuff! Hating someone is just like murdering him. But that's just what 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 liable to judgment.' But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire." We must love, and we must forgive, if we are in Christ.
"By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. But if anyone has the world's goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God's love abide in him?" (3:16-17) Jesus laid down His life for us because He loved us. Can we, out of love, sacrifice some of our worldly goods to help those who don't have enough? This is an important test of our Christian love. But John isn't talking about some mushy, undisciplined love. Love must be balanced with the truth. "Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth." (3:18) We'll discuss the relationship between truth and love in more detail later in this study.
"By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything." (3:19-20) These verses are a wonderful comfort, because my heart does indeed condemn me from time to time, with memories of old sins that really hurt other people. Maybe you experience the same thing. Isn't it great that God, who is GREATER than our hearts, has forgiven us? Our justification (a fancy word for being found not guilty before a court) comes from Christ's sacrifice on the cross, and doesn't depend on our good works. It's all of grace! God pardons us completely. This frees us up to live in service to God and others without having to worry about racking up those brownie points.
Back to the balance between truth and love. "Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already." We depict Satan as a red devil with a pitchfork and a pointy tail. But that's far from what the Bible tells us about him! We read in Ezekiel, "You were the signet of perfection, full of wisdom and perfect in beauty. You were in Eden, the garden of God...You were blameless in your ways from the day you were created, till unrighteousness was found in you...Your heart was proud because of your beauty; you corrupted your wisdom for the sake of your splendor. I cast you to the ground" (Ezekiel 28:12-13, 15, 17) Paul warned us that Satan's beauty and charm can be deceiving and that he shares it with his servants: "And no wonder, for even Satan disguises himself as an angel of light. So it is no surprise if his servants, also, disguise themselves as servants of righteousness.Their end will correspond to their deeds." (2 Corinthians 11:14-15) Therefore John said that we have to TEST every spirit, every teaching, to see if they are from God. Anyone who denies that Jesus was in the flesh, both God and man, has denied the heart of the Gospel and cannot be trusted to teach the truth in other areas. In any event, we need to test everything, including (maybe especially) what I say from the pulpit according to the Bible. "By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error." (4:6)
Back to love: "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." These are two of the simplest and yet most profound verses in the Bible. John wrote in a very elementary style. When I was studying Greek in college my special project was to translate 1 John. I found it a welcome break from the really difficult classical Greek writers. "God is love." You can't say it any plainer than that! Yes, God is also holy and righteous. But His love applies His holiness and righteousness in a way that enables us to be forgiven for our sins. "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. The word "propitiation" is one you don't see every day, yet there's no simpler word or words that can convey fully what the Greek word means. A propitiation was a sacrifice to appease an angry god. God in His holiness and righteousness is rightfully angry with us, but in His love He sent His son to make things right by offering Himself as a sacrifice for us. He bore the wrath that was rightfully ours so that we can live in God's love. Anyone want to shout "hallelujah?" Now would be a good time!
If we've benefitted from this amazing love, we must reflect that love in how we live. "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." As John pointed out, no one has seen God. But if they've seen the love of God exhibited in how we treat one another, they've had a glimpse of Him!
"So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him." The word abide means to remain or to stay. If we continue to live in love we also continue to live in God. The more we love others, the more God's love flows into us so that we can love others even more. That's a nice ideal, but like all ideals we so often fall short. John gave us a good explanation of why: "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 been perfected in love." (4:17-18) We often think that the opposite of love his hatred. But in reality FEAR is the opposite of love. That's an astounding revelation! The words perfect and perfected mean complete or whole. When God's love is completed in us there is no more room for fear. We don't have to fear the judgment of God any more. And if we don't fear judgment we don't have to fear suffering and persecution and death. We're truly free to show the love of God. But fear makes us hold back from God. Remember how we read yesterday in James that the demons tremble because they know God and what He has in store for them? The late M. Scott Peck in his book People of the Lie wrote that fear underlies evil, and I think he's right. Love overcomes fear and therefore evil. Paul wrote in Romans 12:20-21, "...if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21 Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good."
One thing that makes John's letters easy to read is that he repeats himself over and over and over again! But he had a point to make, one he didn't want his readers to miss. "We love because he first loved us. 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." Get it? Love one another!!!!!
This kind of love doesn't come naturally for us. By our sinful human natures we're prideful and selfish. We want what we want when we want it. God's love doesn't act that way. In fact, this kind of love is so unique that it draws attention to those who exhibit it. Jesus said that the world would know if we're His disciples if we love one another. This is the kind of love that the world hungers to feel. Love is like a light in a dark place, showing the way to safety. In short, love is not optional. Not the easy kind of love, but a love that costs you something to give.
But not everyone is lovable, even in the church. How do I love them? In the words of the Nike commercials, "Just Do It!" Don't wait until you "feel" like loving. Love is not just a feeling. First and foremost, love is a decision, a commitment. Do your best, and ask God for help and guidance. The feelings follow our actions sometimes. And when you blow it, say you're sorry. Further, when someone hurts you, forgive, because that's what God wants you to do. That's the kind of love that changes lives!
John obviously believed that repetition is the best teaching tool. So here's a blast from our recent past, one of the songs from last year's Vacation Bible School:
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