Out of the last 16 messages out of 1 John, we have heard at least a dozen of them mention that we should love one another. I guess God figures we should never get tired of hearing it and definitely never get tired of practicing it. The 6th test that proves that we really love God, once again, has to do with loving one another.
But instead of rehashing the previous sermons, I want to look at 7 things that are proven by loving one another. These 7 things are mentioned in 1 John 4: 7-21. Loving one another proves 7 seven things. I guess this answers the question of why the Bible emphasizes loving one another so much. Here’s why:
1) Loving one another proves that we are born of God and know God. Read verses 7-8. When we love one another people see two things. People see that we are born of God. They see that we have the nature of God. They see that by our love. They see us doing the same thing that God does—loving people.
The second thing people see when we love one another is that we KNOW God. They see that we have been talking to God, learning about God and that we are doing what God says. When people see us living godly lives, they see us actually trying to take on the nature of God. Again, how do they see all this? By our love.
You know, the surest way for love to come naturally, is simply to care. When you care it shows. When you have compassion for someone, it shows.
Some of you may have heard about the 4-year-old boy whose next door neighbor was an elderly gentleman who had recently lost his wife. Upon seeing the man sitting in his yard crying, the little boy went into the old gentleman’s yard, climbed onto his lap and just sat there. When his mother asked him what he had said to the neighbor, the little boy said, “Nothing, I just helped him cry.”
You see, when we care, it shows. Our love shows from us simply caring.
Of course the opposite of this is true. It should be obvious, but John wants to make sure we get it so he says the person who doesn’t love others reveals that he doesn’t love God or know God like he should.
And you know what? It’s easy to tell the person who doesn’t know and love God the way they should. You actually decide that about people all the time and may not realize it. The person who doesn’t know and love God the way they should is the one who lives selfishly, discriminates, is prejudiced, criticizes, backbites, gossips, curses, or hates.
And you can just tell, can’t you?—if a person really knows and loves God. God blesses people. He doesn’t hurt and try to destroy them. And someone who hurts others purposefully and tries to bring them down can’t know and love God the way they should. So loving one another proves that we know and love God.
2) Loving one another also proves that we see God’s love. Read verses 9-11. If God loves us that much, it’s the least that we can do to love one another. The unbeliever will say, “The world is full of so much evil and bad, how can we be sure God loves us?” I’ll agree that we live in a world full of evil and bad things. Men commit all kinds of evil and at the same time they mock God and deny Him.
But through all that, God still loves man and wants to help to take care of man. We know the love of God because God sent Jesus Christ to cover our sins. And friends if God still loves us when we oppose Him and do things against Him, when we disobey Him and ignore Him—if He still loves us after that—then there is no person we should not love either.
No matter who you are or what you have done, God still loves you. And He has shown in the most supreme way possible that he loves you. And if God still loves us after everything we have done to Him, the least we can do is love one another.
3) Loving one another also proves that God’s Spirit is within us. Read verses 12-13. God is not known by sight. No person has ever seen God face to face. How then can we know God? God is known only by love, only by His Spirit who dwells within believers.
When a person honors God’s Son by believing in Christ, God takes that person and puts His Spirit into that person. God actually implants His divine nature, the Holy Spirit, into the life of the believer. And God’s nature is love. If that doesn’t shine through you as a believer you might need to evaluate your conversion.
Maybe you were never saved. Because if you are in a backslidden state, the Holy Spirit will convict you and bug you to repent and turn back to God.
If the Holy Spirit is not in you, you will have a hard time caring about others the way you should. You’ll develop the attitude toward others of “Well I’ll probably never see that person again in my life, so what does it matter how I treat them?” If the Holy Spirit dwells within you, you will care more than that.
In the days when an ice cream sundae cost a lot less, a 10-year-old boy entered a coffee shop and sat at a table. The waitress put a glass of water in front of him. He asked, “How much is an ice cream sundae?” “50 cents,” she answered.
The little boy pulled his hand out of his pocket and studied a number of coins in it. “How much is a dish of plain ice cream,” he asked. Other customers had come in and were waiting for a table and the waitress was growing impatient. “35 cents,” she said brusquely. The little boy counted the coins. “I’ll have the plain ice cream,” he said.
The waitress brought the ice cream, put the bill on the table and walked away. The boy finished the ice cream, paid the cashier and left. When the waitress came back, she began wiping down the table and then swallowed hard at what she saw. There, placed neatly beside the empty dish, were two nickels and five pennies—her tip. Loving one another proves that God’s spirit lives within you.
4) Loving one another also proves that our testimony and confession are true. Read verses 14-16. When we love one another it proves that our testimony is true. It is obvious that this was the great testimony of John. But note also that it is the testimony of every genuine believer as well.
First, there is John’s declaration that he and the early believers has seen and testified that God had sent His Son to be the Savior of the world.
Secondly, there is the great promise to the whole human race. Read verse 15.
Thirdly, there is the great testimony and confession of John Himself and the early believers. He says in verse 16 “and so we KNOW and RELY on the love that God has for us. What was these believers’ confession? What is it that knew and believed?
1. They knew that God is love. He sent His Son to be Savior of the world, and by that we know that God is love.
2. They knew that believers must love. That means, yes, loving one another.
3. They knew that loving one another is the way we can tell that we are saved. I have to question the salvation of someone who goes around constantly hating others for whatever reason. Some people just can’t seem to hold any love in their heart.
Verse 16 tells us that if we live in love then we live in God and God in us. We demonstrate that we know God by loving one another.
5) Loving one another also proves that God is going to deliver us from judgment. Read verse 17. If for no other reason, this is one reason why we should work on loving one another. Judgment day is coming. There will come a day of universal judgment when all persons will be brought before the Lord Jesus Christ, the great Judge.
You might think that Jesus is too loving to ever do us harm. Well the Scriptures say, in fact, Jesus declared, “But I tell you that men will have to give account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.” (Matt 12:26)
“For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what he has done.” (Mat. 16:27)
“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, he will sit on his throne in heavenly glory. All the nations will be gathered before him, and he will separate the people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats.” (Mat. 25: 31-32)
But the wonderful thing to note is that we can be delivered from judgment. We can face the great day of judgment boldly and without dread or fear. How? By living a life of love, by loving one another completely. If we allow love to live itself out through us then we can approach the judgment day with boldness. God gives us assurance that we shall not be judged, if fact, we will be rewarded. See what love can do for you?
So how is it possible to complete our love while living here on earth? By living in the world just as Jesus lived. I find myself trying hard to practice what I preach. Lately I have found myself repeating over and over, “Love them anyway. Love them anyway.” And it DOES remind me how Jesus loved.
And I am finding out that the more I love, the more I grow and become completed in love. And the more I grow and become completed in love, the more assurance and boldness I have about the future judgment.
Believers will be judged at the judgment seat of Christ. Some will be weeping even as others will be joyful. It all depends upon how we have lived, what we have done in our bodies and in our works for Him.
6) The sixth thing that loving one another proves is that God delivers us from fear. Read verse 18. This is an excellent verse on fear. There is no fear in love. If we really love someone there is no need to fear him. When we really love someone, God gives us a peace and assurance that erases all fear.
Perfect love drives out fear. Fear has punishment. Fear causes anxiety, panic, and terror. Fear causes all kinds of unpleasant emotions, phobias. The torment of fear is one of the worst problems faced by man.
But there’s no need to fear people, God will deliver and strengthen us. There is no need to fear judgment. God delivers us from judgment. There is no need to fear the dark or the enemies of the dark. God will take care of us. Loving one another proves that God delivers us from fear.
7) Lastly, loving one another proves that we love God. Read verses 19-21. Simply put, there are 3 ways that we know we love God.
We know that we love God because we know God’s love for us. If you have seen God’s love, then you must love Him.
We know that we love God because we don’t hate our brother. We can’t see God but we can see our brothers and sisters. If we can’t even love our brothers and sisters who we CAN see, how can we even say that we love God, who we can’t see?
We know that we love God when we obey His supreme commandment of loving others.
Loving one another translates to caring for others—having compassion toward them. I have been told time and again and I am sure that you have heard it as well that they feel loved at this church. They feel like we really care. That’s what a church is supposed to do. CARE.
It was a bitterly cold evening in Northern Virginia many years ago. The old man’s beard was glazed by winter’s frost as he waited for a ride across the river. He heard a brigade of men on horses coming around the bend. He let the first one pass him without any effort to get his attention.
Then another passed by, and another. Finally, the last rider neared and the old man caught the rider’s eye and said, “Sir, would you mind giving an old man a ride to the other side?” The rider said, “Sure, thing. Hop aboard.” Seeing the old man unable to lift his half frozen body onto the horse, the horseman dismounted and helped the old man onto the horse.
The horseman not only took the old man across the river but to his destination which was just a few miles away. As they neared the man’s home the horseman was curious and he asked, “Sir, I noticed that you let several other riders pass by without making and effort to get a ride. Then I came up and you immediately asked me for a ride. I’m curious why on such a bitterly cold night that you would wait and ask the last rider. What if I had refused and left you there?”
The old man replied, “I’ve been around these parts for some time. I reckon I know people pretty good. I looked into the eyes of the other riders and immediately saw there was no concern for my situation. It would have been useless even to ask them for a ride. But when I looked into your eyes, kindness and compassion were there. I knew that your gentle spirit would welcome the opportunity to help me in my time of need.”
Those heart warming comments touched the horseman. “I’m most grateful for what you have said,” he told the old man. “May I never get too busy in my own affairs that I fail to respond to the needs of others with kindness and compassion.” With that, Thomas Jefferson turned his horse around and made his way back to the White House.
Loving one another shows. Caring shows. You can’t pretend you care. Others will know. Let’s continue to show the love for others that God shows for us. Because when we do, we past test #6 that proves that you really love God.
