SERMON OUTLINE:
(1). Cain: The Lack of Brotherly Love (vs 12-15)
(2). Jesus: The Definition of Brotherly Love (vs 16-18)
(3). Confidence: The Blessing of Brotherly Love (vs 19-24):
SERMON BODY:
Quote: Robert Orben:
“Who can ever forget Winston Churchill’s immortal words: "We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills."
It sounds exactly like our family holidays.”
Quote:
“You can choose your friends, but you are stuck with your family!”
• Now that may be true, but that attitude is not good enough for God’s people,
• He wants us to not just ‘put up’ with each other,
• He wants us to develop a genuine concern and love for each other.
Note:
• This letter of First John has been compared to a spiral staircase,
• Because you keep going around the same three themes again and again and again.
• Those three themes are: love, obedience and truth.
• Now remember that the apostle John is not merely repeating himself,
• Although repetition is a good teaching aid.
• Notice each time he returns to one of these themes he gives it a new twist, a new insight.
• e.g., In Chapter 2 verses 7-11 the emphasis regarding love is on fellowship.
• The outward evidence that Christians are “Walking in the light.”
• Is that they demonstrate their unity, by their love for other Christians.
• e.g., In chapter 3 the emphasis regarding love is on relationship.
• The outward evidence that we are “brothers & sisters” (vs 13,15,16 & 17)
• Is demonstrate their by the fact we have a genuine love for one another.
• e.g., In Chapter 2 we are told that loving other Christians,
• Is a matter of “light and darkness” (vs 7-11).
• e.g., In chapter 3 we are told that loving other Christians,
• Is a matter of “life and death” (vs 14).
Cast your mind back to your last week’s study:
• In verse 10 the apostle John grouped mankind into two different groups,
• Two different families.
• One group is the family of God,
• And the other group are the children of the devil.
• “This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children of the devil are.”
• Each family has a different mission or purpose statement,
• Each family has a different set of core values,
• Each family has a different way at looking at life’s events,
• Each family has a different way of how they view genuine love.
The illustrate those two families, the apostle John uses two examples in verses 12-18,
• One negative example (Cain) and one positive example (Jesus).
• So, let’s look at them.
(1). Cain: The Lack of Brotherly Love (vs 12-15)
“Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brothers were righteous. Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.
Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.”
• A person's life shows a person's heart.
• And the apostle John makes a contrast between the children of the devil.
• And true Christians (Children of God),
• The apostle says you can identify them by their character, their attitudes, their actions.
• To illustrate that truth, the apostle John goes back to the very first family on earth,
• Adam and Eve were the first parents and Cain and Abel their first two children.
• (Genesis chapter 4).
Now look closely at verse 12.
• First, we are given a clear strong warning,
• “Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother.”
• Second, we are asked a rhetorical question:
• “And why did he murder him?”
• Third, we are given an answer that summarises Cain’s state,
• “Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous.”
Note:
• It is tragic that the first baby ever born (Cain) turns out to be a murder,
• And the second baby born (Abel) turns out to be the murder’s victim!
• When sin entered the world through one mans (Adam) disobedience,
• It did not take long to evidence its ugly influence in the world!
• The story of Cain and Abel is simple,
• Two people bring an offering to God, one is accepted and the other is rejected.
• Abel brought an animal sacrifice,
• A slain lamb, the innocent dying for the guilty!
• Cain brought ‘some of the fruits of the soil’
• The work of his own labour and toil, the efforts of his own hands!
• Rather than by the sacrifice of a lamb.
• God was not impressed or amused, he expected better from Cain,
• He expected Cain to come with the same offering that his brother Abel brought.
• In Genesis chapter 4 verse 7, The Lord gave Cain the chance to come the right way,
• “If you do what is right, will you not be accepted?”
• And sadly, Cain refused and we then read about the first murder in the Bible,
• When tragically the man who would not slay a lamb for a sacrifice,
• Was more than willing to brutally slay his own brother!
Cain’s problem was rebellion of the heart,
• It was a clash of two wills, his and God’s!
• He wanted to bring to God the sacrifice that pleased him best.
• The work of his own labour and toil, the efforts of his own hands!
• And when God rejected his offering,
• Anger took over and Cain killed Abel.
Murder is always a tragedy. The apostle John says it is the work of “the evil one” (vs 12).
• At the root of this hostility is a hatred of righteousness.
• And we still see that hatred of righteousness in our world today.
Ill:
• In your workplace or because of the job you may do,
• Many cannot even say they believe in traditional marriage,
• Between one man and one woman.
• To push that view may well get you the sack,
• And if you proclaim it in the Pastor John Sherwood (Pilgrim Tabernacle Church, Finchley).
• Did recently and you can even be arrested for it!
Verse 12 makes it clear that declaring the truth of God,
• Is offensive to those who want to practice sin.
• And in verse 13: the apostle John warns his readers that if they stand for the truth,
• Then they can and will expect to experience the sting of persecution.
• Sadly, as our country goes more and more secular,
• And our Christian heritage is constantly being eroded away,
• We are going to experience opposition, discrimination and persecution more and more.
• The way of Cain is violence and death,
• Many of our brothers and sisters face that sort of persecution on that level,
• As they stand up for the truth of God.
Ill:
• Open Doors video - World Watch List 2021 Top 10 Countries
• YouTube: https://youtu.be/avGDVedlGEo
• So, the apostle John gives us two examples in verses 12-18,
• One negative example (Cain) and then one positive example (Jesus).
• So, let’s look at him.
• TRANSITION: Declaring the truth of God,
• Is offensive to those who want to practice sin.
• And violence and persecution is often how the world responds to Christians.
Ill:
• In the 1880s, Christians in the Salvation Army were warned when they dedicated their children,
• What might happen to them for the sake of Christ.
“You must be willing that the child should spend all its life in the Salvation Army, wherever God should choose to send it, that it should be despised, hated, cursed, beaten, kicked, imprisoned or killed for Christ’s sake.”
• And if you read the life story of William Booth,
• You will know that is exactly what happened and more,
• To those who wore the uniform and marched for Christ in the UK.
(2). Jesus: The Definition of Brotherly Love (vs 16-18)
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.”
• These verses illustrate to us that true brotherly love,
• Reveals itself in three ways.
First: Love is proved by sacrifice (vs 16).
“This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers”.
The proof of Christ’s love for us was not merely what he said, but what he did!
• Actions always speak louder than words,
• And Jesus Christ voluntarily gave his life as a sacrifice on the cross.
Ill:
• Shortly after the second World war a chaplain was visiting a soldier in the hospital,
• He noted the soldier had been badly injured and said,
• “You have lost an arm in the great cause.”
• The soldier looked him in the eye and replied,
• “I didn't lose it—I gave it.”
• TRANSITION: We know that the man really did not have a choice.
• But Jesus did! He chose to lay down his life! He chose to sacrifice himself on a cross.
• He willingly gave up his life so we could be reconciled to God.
• Now the apostle John makes it very clear that if you want to pass the test of true love:
• It will cost you because true love is sacrificial.
Second: Love is proved by mercy (vs 17).
“If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?”
I guess we all have our own understanding of what being in need is:
Ill:
• In Hollywood there is a very expensive exclusive school;
• Those who attend are children of movie stars, producers, and directors.
• Asked to write a composition on the subject of poverty,
• One little girl started her literary piece this way:
"Once there was a poor little girl. Her father was poor, her mother was poor, her governess was poor, her chauffeur was poor, her butler was poor.
In fact, everybody in the house was very, very poor”.
In verse 17 the apostle John gives us a hypothetical case:
• Of two people,
• One is a person in need and the other is a person able to meet that need.
• Notice: He does not say the Christian who is able to help is wealthy,
• But he does say that this person is in a position to share something,
• If he or she so desires.
• And that’s the stumbling block,
• They have the means to help but no real desire.
• He or she shuts the door of his or her compassion.
Now by asking the negative question (vs 17), “how can the love of God be in him?”
• The apostle John is making the point that genuine love gives to those in need.
• It sees the need and responds to the need,
• They have mercy, pity, compassion on the needy person.
• That is the evidence that God’s love is in them.
Third: Love is proved by actions (vs 18).
“Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth”.
• Those two words “in truth”
• Protects the Christian from practical piety that might arise out of verse 17:
• We should never feel superior to those who need our help,
• Rather should we value them as individuals,
• And because they are valuable to God, that should motivate us to help them.
In verse 18 the apostle John gives us a negative and a positive.
• The negative: ‘words & tongue’ only.
• These Christians have all the answers, the right phrases,
• But it is all talk!
• The positive is a Christian who has the right actions,
• “But with actions and in truth.”
• Knowledge should always lead onto application.
Ill:
• Danish philosopher Soren Kierkegaard used to tell a parable;
• It was a story about a community of ducks.
• Each Sunday they waddled off to duck church to hear the duck preacher.
• The duck preacher spoke eloquently of how;
• God had given the ducks wings with which to fly.
• With these wings there was nowhere the ducks could not go,
• There was no God-given task the ducks could not accomplish.
• With those wings they could soar into the presence of God himself.
• Shouts of "Amen" were quacked throughout by the duck congregation.
• At the conclusion of the service, the ducks left,
• All of them commenting on what a wonderful message they had heard,
• And each one waddled back home!
• TRANSITION: Knowing or agreeing with truth is never enough,
• Truth and words must lead to action.
(c). Confidence: The Blessing of Brotherly Love (vs 19-24):
• The apostle John mentions three 3 things,
• In these five verses.
FIRST: Assurance (vs 19-20):
“This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: if our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything.”
• In this verse the apostle John says that the assurance of our salvation is based upon,
• An on-going relationship,
• And that is evidenced in our relationship with other Christians,
• In other words it is based on something continuously occurring in the Christians life.
• The way we talk, think, treat and practically help one another.
• John says THAT will bring us into experiencing the prescience of God.
• And experiencing the presence of God brings assurance of faith.
• So, it is true that no Christian is saved by doing good works,
• It is also true that anyone saved is involved in doing good works.
Second: answered prayer (vs 21-22)
“Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God
22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him”.
• When Christians are right with each other; fulfilling their duty to help one another.
• That will produce with in us a confidence toward God.
• Practical love for one another is proof that we are living in the will of God,
• And if we are in the will of God,
• Then we can confidently expect our prayers to be answered.
Ill:
• Dr. Bronson Ray was a noted American brain surgeon,
• Was taking a stroll one day when he saw a boy on a scooter smash headfirst into a tree.
• Realizing that the boy was seriously injured,
• The doctor told a bystander to call an ambulance.
• As he proceeded to administer first aid,
• A boy not much older than the injured one,
• Barged through the crowd of gathered people and said to Dr. Ray,
• “I’d better take over now, sir. I’m a Boy Scout and I know first aid,”
• TRANSITION: Now that boy scout had an abundance of confidence!
• When a Christian is right with God and right with God’s people,
• We too should be confident that God will hear our prayers.
• When it comes to prayer remember:
• Verse 22 is a great encouragement; it is not a blank cheque:
• Which allows us to obtain anything we desire.
• It reminds us that answered prayer is conditional on us fulfilling our part.
• In this case meeting needs of others.
• Verse 22 contains a double emphasis,
• “We obey his commands.
• “And do what pleases him”.
• At first reading the same as one and the same thing,
• But there is an important difference.
• (a). Commandments are binding requirements.
• Danger that we can do the right things but do them with a wrong attitude.
• (b). But “Doing what pleases him”,
• Speaks of glad and willing service, a right attitude.
Third: abiding (vs 23-24)
“And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: we know it by the Spirit he gave us.”
• The apostle John reminds us that faith towards God,
• And love toward people are two sides of the same coin.
• It’s a mistake to emphasise doctrine and neglect love.
• It is also a mistake to say doctrine is not important,
• We just need to love one another.
• Priority number one is to get right with God.
• “To believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ”.
• That takes doctrine, knowledge, Christianity is a taught faith (proclaimed & explained).
• If we have done that then it will evidence itself in priority number two
• We will “Love one another”.
Ill:
• A young African convert prayed one evening like this:
• "O Lord, you are the needle and I am the thread!"
• That day he had visited a school and watched some girls who were sewing.
• He noticed that the thread always followed the needle,
• And he saw in that simple task a profound spiritual truth.
• If he stayed close to the Lord, praying, reading His word, & depending entirely on Him,
• He would always be led by God's Spirit.
• To act like him in his dealings with other people.
Verse 24b:
“The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: we know it by the Spirit he gave us.”
Note: This is the first mention of the Holy Spirit by name in this letter:
• He is mentioned in the context of indwelling and teaching the Christian.
• When we are seeking to obey God in our lives and seeking to help other Christians.
• God is able to fill us with his Spirit,
• Thus, drawing us closer to himself.
• But when we disobey his word or refuse to help someone in need,
• We grieve his Spirit, and he seems far from us.
Ill:
• The story is told of a monastery in Portugal,
• Which is perched high on a 3,000-foot cliff.
• And accessible only by a terrifying ride in a swaying basket.
• The basket is pulled with a single rope by several strong men,
• Perspiring under the strain of the fully loaded basket.
• One American tourist who visited the site got nervous halfway up the cliff.
• When he noticed that the rope was old and frayed.
• Hoping to relieve his fear he asked one of the monks,
• “How often do you change the rope?”
• The monk in charge replied,
• “Whenever it breaks!”
You and I as Christians have been sealed with the Holy Spirit:
• Unlike the tourist we never have to worry about the rope (the link) snapping.
• But if grieve the Spirit of God he may well seem distant to us.
• Yet if we make the effort to believe and obey,
• That will help us draw close to God and feel his Spirit close to us.
Quote: Glenda Fulton Davis
“It’s not always easy to smile and be nice,
When we are called to sacrifice.
It’s not always easy to put others first,
Especially when tired and feeling our worst.
It’s not always easy to do the Father’s will.
It wasn’t so easy to climb Calvary’s hill.
But we as His children, should learn to obey;
Not seeking our own but seeking His way.
It’s not always easy to fight the good fight.
But it is always good, and it is always right!”
SERMON AUDIO:
https://surf.pxwave.com/wl/?id=vf26fVwXMel46PM6sGfwMW6SUa5bPTbi
