He deals with the topic of how we are supposed to love one another.
Of course much of the Bible deals with this subject, yet it seems to be something we Christians know very little about and those who are not Christians know even less. As we look at our text we want to learn from what it says to us. Let us first look at...
I. THE MESSAGE
Look at verse 11 again. We read, “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” In other words, the message had not changed. It has not changed today, but it is WITH DEEP REGRET we have to say that TODAY’S CHURCH IS OFTEN NOT TEACHING WHAT THEY “...HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING...”
The message in some of our denominational churches has changed so much that it no longer bears resemblance to the message our early church fathers preached.
Illus: When you hear the message that is being preached in some churches today, you can not help but think of the game, “Gossip.” That is, everyone sits in a circle and a person whispers something in the ear of the person next to him. That person whispers what he thought he heard into the next person’s ear until they go around the circle. By the time it gets to the last person the message is usually so different you can not recognize it as being the same message.
The METHOD of spreading the message may change, but THE MESSAGE MUST NEVER CHANGE.
Paul said, 2 Timothy 2:2, “And the things that thou hast heard of me among many witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also.”
While some are obeying this command, many are not.
For example, even many professors in Bible Colleges and Seminaries are teaching young preachers to be innovative. There is nothing wrong with new methods (new ideas for getting the Word to people), so long as the message is scriptural.
The church needs more than just new ideas. Paul understood that, and the Holy Spirit inspired Paul to tell young Timothy, “...to preach the word...”
It does not take long for a nation to “go down the drain” spiritually when the messengers of God quit preaching the Word of God.
One of the chief reasons America is such a cesspool of sin is because PREACHERS HAVE STOPPED PREACHING AGAINST SIN.
Too many preachers strive to PLEASE PEOPLE. They do not REALLY CARE to PLEASE GOD!
For example, it is not unusual to hear people say of a preacher, “Everybody likes Preacher So and So.!” Is that so? Any preacher alive would love to be loved, at least liked, by everyone he knows. But listen, if everybody likes a preacher, it is a sure sign he is not preaching the Word of God.
HOW DO WE KNOW THAT?
Because we have the scriptures to prove it:
• Everyone did not like Jesus
• Everyone did not like Paul
• Everyone did not like Peter
• Everyone did not like the twelve disciples
Listen, there is not a preacher today who can stand in the pulpit and preach this Bible from cover to cover and not get talked about and lied about, and disliked by some people. Because of this, too many today are not willing to sacrifice, to pay the price.
So... THE MESSAGE HAS CHANGED.
Illus:
• If they would have had cassette players when Jesus and the disciples preached and taught,
• If they had recorded all those sermons and teaching sessions
• If we could play those tapes today,
• There probably would be very little similarity in what they preached and what is being preached today.
John reminded the church that up to that point they had not been corrupted with compromise. He said, verse 11, “For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning...”
In other words, what they heard preached from the beginning was the same thing they were preaching at his writing.
WHAT WAS THE MESSAGE?
Look at all of verse 11 again.
• The message was NOT, “...that ye should JUST TOLERATE one another”
• The message was NOT, “...that ye should AVOID one another!”
• The message was NOT, “...that ye SHOULD DESPISE one another!”
No, the message has not changed. The message IS STILL, “...THAT WE SHOULD LOVE ONE ANOTHER.”
One spiritual tragedy in churches is that we have people who profess to be children of God who do not even speak to each other.
Illus: Probably all of you have seen, or heard of, some of these television talk shows which sometimes feature family members who air their problems before the nation. Sometimes they are...
• Husband and wife
• Brothers and/or sisters
• Grandparents
• Neighbors
It is easy to see the hate in their eyes as they talk to each other. We look at those dysfunctional families and shake our heads as we say, “I am sure glad I do not belong to that family.”
The same thing is happening within God’s family. We are becoming a national disgrace. So-called Christians will take their problems outside of God’s house and to their jobs. Their fellow workers can see hate in their eyes because they are so angry with other Christians.
There will not be revival among us until we begin PRACTICING LOVING EACH OTHER. Look at...
II. THE METHOD
Look at verses 12-16. We read, “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
Now John told Christians some startling things. WHAT DID HE TELL US?
A. THE KIND OF LOVE WE SHOULD NOT HAVE
Look at verse 12 again. John told us HOW NOT to love one another. We read, “Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.”
See the reason Cain killed Able. It was “Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous.”
In other words, Cain was angry because HE WAS JEALOUS OF ABLE! He was so angry that he murdered Able. Of course, Christians today do not have that problem-right...
• Did you know that one of the biggest problems you have in the church today is jealousy?
• Did you know that people who gossip are usually jealous of those they gossip about?
Cain actually murdered his brother. Now most folks will not slip behind other people and knife them. Why? Because most do not want to spend the rest of their lives in prison.
But a jealous person will find a “weapon” he can use. Every chance he gets he will use that weapon, perhaps it is gossip, to destroy the person he is jealous of.
John said, “...that we should love one another.” We should NOT BE JEALOUS, as Cain, who killed his brother. THIS IS THE KIND OF LOVE WE SHOULD NOT HAVE! Then John teaches us...
B. THE KIND OF LOVE WE SHOULD HAVE
Look at verses 13-14. We read, “Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.”
John said that we, (Christians) are not to marvel if the world hates us. They, not being saved, still have that Adamic nature.
But, John says one of the ways we know we have been saved from that Adamic nature is “...because we love the brethren.” Loving the brethren does not mean we always agree with them.
Illus: Everyone here who has biological brothers and sisters, will be quick to tell you they do not always agree with each other. In fact, many times they do not agree, but they still love each other.
The Lord has told us that the world would know we were His disciples because we of the love they can see we have for our brothers and sisters in the Lord. (Not because you always agree with each other.)
There is one more startling thing that John taught.
C. THE KIND OF LOVE THAT DAMNS
Look at verses 15-16. We read, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him. Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
Notice, John said, “Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer...”
That is, whoever has hate in his heart is as bad as the man who would take a knife and stab a man in the back. The only reason some do not do that is because they know they could not get away with it.
John assures us that if we have this kind of hate in our hearts we cannot be children of God.
Look at verse 15. We read, “...and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.” The love we are supposed to have for the brethren is found in verse 16. We read, “Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”
This is THE METHOD. As we close, let us look at...
III. THE MEANING
Look at verses 17-19. We read, “But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.” John meant that we are to have a...
A. COMPASSIONATE LOVE
Look again at verse 17. We read. “But whoso hath this world's good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him?”
There are many people that we would like to help, but we do not have the resources to help all of them. But, there are people we can help.
Illus: We are reminded of the little fellow who was out bear hunting with a big man. The little fellow said, “If I was as big as you are, I would go out and find the biggest bear in the woods, walk up to him, and punch him in the nose.” The big man said, “There are some small bears in the woods also, why don’t you go ahead and punch one of those?”
You might not be able to help anyone in a big way, as you would like to, but you might be...
• Able to buy a prescription for some widow
• Buy a tire for someone who needs a tire real bad
• Buy one bag of groceries for someone in need
What John said was, “IF YOU DO HAVE MEANS TO HELP AND YOU REFUSE TO BE COMPASSIONATE TOWARD A BROTHER OR SISTER...SHAME ON YOU!”
Our love should be a COMPASSIONATE LOVE. Also, it should be a...
B. CARING LOVE
Look again at verses 18-19. We read, “My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him.”
In other words, do not go around telling people you love them, SHOW THEM YOU LOVE THEM!
Conclusion:
If we want to grow as Christians we will obey what John teaches.
I. THE MESSAGE
II. THE METHOD
