Knowing Jesus Series

A. John 13:34-35 (NLT2)

34 So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other.

35 Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples."

B. Someone won't be able to tell if you are a Christian because of your "Jesus Saves" t-shirt.

C. They won't be able to recognize you as a Christian because of the ten ton study Bible you carry under your arm.

D. They won't even be able to deduce whether you are a Christian because of the huge gold cross you wear around your neck.

E. No, the only way to tell if a person is a follower of Jesus is by the way they treat others.

F. They will see Jesus because of the way you help those in need.

G. They will see Jesus because of the way you hold your tongue and your temper when people get in your grill.

H. They will see Jesus because of the way you show concern for someone whose having a bad day.

I. The real question is if you were convicted of being a Christian, would there be enough evidence to convict you?

Transition: The third test is...

III. To Know Him Is To Love His Children (9-11).

A. But Hates A Brother Or A Sister

1. "How can someone say that he belongs to Christ and at the same time hate his brother for whom Christ died?" (Andreas, Ancient Christian Commentary On Scripture NT, vol. 11, 181).

2. This is the question that John deals with now. Can you be a Christian and hate your Christian family? I think the answer is clear.

3. In v. 9 John says, "If anyone claims, “I am living in the light,” but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness."

A. These next few verses highlight the absolute contrast drawn between light and darkness, love and hate, God and the world. The two contrasts cannot coexist.

B. This verse teaches that a person who claims to be in the light (1:7) should then, by extension, also be filled with love (2:7-8).

C. If that person makes this claim but hates a Christian brother or sister, then the claim to be in the light is false. That person is still in darkness.

D. Living in love is living in the light, since the gospel both illuminates people’s minds and warms their hearts to love.

E. Love should be the unifying force and the identifying mark of the Christian community. Love is the key to walking in the light, because believers cannot grow spiritually while they hate others (Barton, 1155).

F. The foundation of John’s statement is constructed on the practical, objective evidence of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, which John had witnessed and to which he continually testified.

G. Moreover, it is based on the new birth, which the Spirit brings to the life of those Christ has redeemed.

H. Hinging upon his statements recorded in the two previous verses, John now provides yet another measure by which one can evaluate his relationship with Christ.

I. Since God is the very essence of light as revealed in His Son, we know that a follower of Christ will reflect some measure of that light that has so profoundly changed his life.