Title: The Christian’s Litmus Test I
Text: I John 4:7-21
Thesis: Love is at the core of what it means to be a Christian.
(Part 1 - This week I will speak on the love of God for us and next week we will look at Our love for others.)
Introduction
I am not a scientist but I do remember learning about testing the acidity and/or alkalinity/basicity of a solution with litmus paper. If you were testing for acidity you would apply a drop of the solution to a piece of blue litmus paper and if it turned red the solution was acidic. If you were testing for alkalinity/basicity you would apply a drop of the solution to a piece of red litmus paper and if the paper turned blue the solution was basic.
The term, litmus test, is a scientific term but has become widely applied as a test in which a single factor is decisive. The test has nothing to do with litmus paper but simply the asking of a make or break, deciding question. For example, when a father learns his daughter wants to marry a handsome young man the father might ask, “Does he have a job?” And if the young man does not have promising prospects… no job is a deciding in his acceptability as a future husband for his daughter.
Last October Republican Presidential candidate, Herman Cain, remarked that abortion ought to be “a choice that the family or mother has to make.” That comment forced Mr. Cain to spend a week attempting to shore up his anti-abortion credentials… an effort that included endorsing a Constitutional amendment to bad abortion.
The Washington Post article commented, “To be sure, politicians do not always line up perfectly with their parties on abortion issues: there is a notable contingent of
“pro-life Democrats” who oppose access to abortion. But as far as presidential elections go, abortion has become a key dividing issue and a litmus test that candidates must pass.” (Sarah Kliff, How abortion became a political litmus test,” The Washington Post, October 24, 2011)
Religion and race may be a litmus test for some voters. Some refused to vote for JFK and some determined to vote for him because of his Catholic faith. Some will not vote for Romney because he is a Mormon and others will vote for him because he is Mormon. Some refused to vote for President Obama because he is black while others voted for him because he is black.
If there was a litmus test that determined if a person is a Christian or not, what would that single decisive factor be? I like the way Bryan Wilkerson breaks down our understanding of the defining factors in the Christian life as a series of tests.
Is the Litmus Test Doctrinal?
Some might say, “The single litmus test to determine if a person is a Christian or not is the doctrinal test.” Does a person believe right? Does that person believe that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, died of our sins, rose from the dead and ascended into heaven? Does a person believe that someday Jesus will come again bringing with him the souls of deceased believers. On that day all who are dead in Christ will bodily rise from their graves meeting the Lord in the clouds where they are reunited with their spirits and spend eternity with the Lord? Does the Christian believe that those who are living at that time will also rise to meet the Lord and then spend eternity with the Lord as well? Does that person confess their sins and have they invited Jesus to come into their life? Is what a person believes the litmus test of the reality of his or her Christianity?
Is the Litmus Test ethical or moral or behavioral?
Some might say, “The single litmus test to determine if a person is a Christian or not is the ethical test.” James put it, “If you say you have faith but do not show it by your actions, what good is that? Can that kind of faith save anyone?” James 2:14-20 So then does a person have to live right? Does that person live a holy life? Is that person’s life marked by a sincere desire and determined effort to be holy even as God is holy? Does that person live a life separate from the world avoiding the appearance of evil? Does that person demonstrate the reality of his Christian faith by living a life of obedience to Christ?
In his argument in support of a behaving faith over a believing faith James said, “You believe there is one God. Good for you! Even the demons believe this…” James 2:19 In the mind of that person you can believe until the Mississippi runs dry but if you don’t live right your faith is in vain.
Is the Litmus Test Relational?
Some might say, “The single litmus test to determine if a person is a Christian or not is the relational test.” Some might say, “The single litmus test to determine if a person is a Christian or not is the love test.” The bible says, “Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God, for God is love.” I John 4:7-8
God’s Word juxtaposes the love test against all other tests in I Corinthians 13 where the Apostle Paul wrote, “If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy and if I understood God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, and didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it, but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.”
The point is not to say that what we believe and a confession or faith is not necessary. The point is not to say that living a good life is not necessary. But the point is to say that whatever we may cling to and value as necessary and living proof of the reality of our faith… if we do not pass the relational test, i.e., if we do not love others as Christ loves, it pretty much negates all our believing and all our doing.
In our text today we read, “God is love and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them. And as we live in God, our love grows more perfect.” I John 4:16-17
Our teaching today is not just some fluffy little talk about sweet Jesus and loving thy neighbor… it is about embracing the reality of what it means to be the persons God wants us to be relationally.
John begins our text today by addressing those to whom he is writing as “Beloved” or “Dear friends.” It is a term of endearment directed to people for whom he cares deeply. They are loved people. Apparently they are a loving people because he encourages them to continue or keep on loving because that’s what God’s children do because God is love.
God is love and as a loving God, God loves.
I. God Is Love and Shows Love
…God is love. God showed how much he loved us by sending his one and only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. I John 4:7-10
When we break the passage down we see in verse 8, that God is love.
A. God is love.
Verse 8 concludes with the simple statement, “God is love.” That is not to say that love is the sum total of God. Love is one of God’s attributes or characteristics. God has many attributes as in: God is all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present, eternal, immutable and so on. God is love. The thing that is unique about the statement, “God is love” is that God “is” love. God never acts contrary to his character. You never have to worry about God waking up on the wrong side of the bed.
Scientists have attempted to make people love. They have discovered a love-inducing, trust–building chemical called Oxytocin. It is known as “the hormone of love.”
When Oxytocin is present in our brains we want to reach out to help and bond with other people. But in a New York Times article published in 2011, Oxytocin has its limits. Apparently Oxytocin produces a brand of love that only extends to people in our “in-group.” Oxytocin makes us only want to love “our kind of people.”
In one scenario students were asked whether they would help a person onto an already overloaded lifeboat if it meant risking the five who were already in the boat. Those who had sniffed Oxytocin were likely to assist their own kind but would sacrifice outsiders. (Nicolas Wade, “Depth of Kindness Hormone Appears to Know Some Bounds,” New York Times, 1/10/11)
The wonderful thing about the love of God is that God loves and commands that our love extend to the stranger as well. Jesus said, “If you love only those who love you, what good is that? Even the most corrupt of people do that.” Matthew 5:46
You never have to worry about God having a mood swing. You never have to be concerned that God may have had a bad day and will take out his frustrations on you. You need not worry about the level of Oxytocin in God’s brain. God is love and cannot be otherwise.
The second observation in our text is, Love comes from God.
B. Love comes from God.
Verse 7 specifically states “let us continue to love one another for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is a child of God and knows God.” So, where do we get love?
If you were to ask a Secret Service agent where you could get love he might tell you that you can buy some in Colombia. A lot of people have tried to buy love. You might try to find love at the pet store or animal shelter where a cute puppy will jump up and down, wag his tail and lick your face. Some people look for a church where they will be loved. I suppose a person could even go to a leading university and earn a PHD in “Love.” But love does not originate in any of those places. Love is from God. It originates in God and emanates from God… you might even say it is in God’s DNA and as children of God, it is in our DNA as well. Love comes from our Father… that’s where we get it.
During a game between the Philadelphia Phillies and the Washington Nationals in the 2009 pennant race. Steve Montforto, a Phillies fan, had brought his three-year old daughter Emily to the game. When a foul ball curled back over the railing of the upper deck Steve Montforto shagged the ball out of the air. It was a fan’s dream come true.
He handed the baseball to his three-year old daughter Emily, who immediately tossed it back over the rail onto the lower deck. The father was totally surprised and shocked. The fans around him were shocked. And then Steve Montforto hoisted Emily into the air and hugged her and held her in a tender embrace.
That is the way it is with God’s love. It comes from God even when we do surprising and shocking things. He even gives love when we throw love away. Love just automatically comes from the Father. (Phil Ryken, “Loving the Way Jesus Loved,” Crossway, 2012, P. 58)
Love does not originate in or with us. It’s origin is in God. The bible says, “This is real love – not that we loved God but that he loved us [first].” I John 4:10
The third and undergirding point is that God shows or demonstrates his love for us.
C. God shows or demonstrated his love in Christ.
In verses 9 – 10 we read, “God showed how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through him. This is real love – not that we loved God, but that he loves us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”
If we were to build a bridge to span a gap the first thing we would do is build the bridge abutments at each end and then we would build the foundation piers that would support the bridge across the span. Then we would lay out the girders atop the abutments and across the span over each of the foundation piers. And then we would put on the deck that traffic will drive on.
God’s love and the knowledge that love comes from God is like the abutments and foundation piers and the girders of a bridge… God’s love and the fact that love comes from God undergirds or supports what follows.
We cannot see the abutments or the piers or the girders when we drive over a bridge… what we can see is the bridge deck. Verses 9 and 10 are what we can see. Verses 9 and 10 are the deck. We see God sending his only Son into the world to give his life as a sacrifice to take away our sins and give us eternal life. But underneath… the thing upon which our salvation is built is the love of God. It is in the showing that we see.
God is love and love comes from God but the thing that we can see, the thing that illustrates what is underneath it all is God, who is love.
Greg Boyle tells a story about a young gang member who was incarcerated for gang related crimes. It was a Sunday and he was preparing for the service in the prison that morning.
When he asked the young man about his father he told of a man addicted to heroin who beat him mercilessly and as he told the story he began to cry. And when Boyle asked the young man about his mother he pointed to a tiny woman sitting nearby and said, “She’s my mom. I’ve been in here for a year and a half and she comes to see me every Sunday. Do you know how many buses she has to take to get here to see me?” Breaking down again he continued, “Seven buses. She takes seven buses!”
God shows his love for us like that young man’s mother shows her love for her son. Love is committed and sacrificial and faithful… God’s love shows up every day no matter how many buses it has to take.
If there is any takeaway today it is this:
One of the ways we know God is love is that God acts with love… love is who God is and love is what God does!
Conclusion
There’s a tale about a kindergarten teacher who was helping one of her students put on his cowboy boots. He asked for help and she could see why… even with her pulling and tugging and him pushing the little boots did not want to go on. By the time the second boot was on the teacher had worked up quite a sweat.
Then the little boy said, “They’re on the wrong feet.” She looked and sure enough, they were.
Removing the boots was no easy task and getting them back on the right feet was equally challenging. When at last the boots were on the little boy announced, “These aren’t my boots.” The teacher considerably frustrated at that point asked, “Why didn’t you say so?”
Once again she went through the process of pulling the tight-fitting boots off his feet. No sooner had she pulled off the second boot the little boy said, “They’re my brother’s boots. My mom made me wear them.”
By now the teacher didn’t know whether to laugh or cry but she gamely helped the little boy get his boots back on his feet. She helped him with his coat and asked, “Where are your mittens?” He said, “I stuffed them in the toe of my boots.” (PreachingToday.com)
Next week we are going to continue to unpack this text looking to discover how God, who initiated love toward us wishes to express that love through us even in small matters like helping a child with his boots.
