More Great Reasons to Live with Godly Love
1 John 3:16-24
Sermon by Rick Crandall
Series: The First Epistle of John
(Prepared January 4, 2024)
BACKGROUND:
*Most of us here know that the Apostle John was a very old man by the time he wrote this letter. Bible scholars estimate that it was written between 85 and 100 A.D. By that time, John was living in Ephesus, a Roman city on the western edge of modern-day Turkey. Just as Jesus had prophesied, John's native land of Israel had been crushed by the Roman army. Jerusalem had fallen, the Temple had been destroyed, and Jewish national life had basically ended.
*Also by this time, false teachers were spreading poisonous lies in God's churches. Some denied the divinity of Christ. Others denied the humanity of Christ. And John denounced these false teachings in the strongest possible way. So, one of the greatest themes in this letter is the truth of the Gospel. (1)
*Another great theme is the life-changing power of Jesus Christ. God's only begotten Son can turn any sinner into a saint, if they will put their trust in Him by receiving Jesus as their Lord and Savior. And one of the biggest changes is starting to live with godly love for others. That's the patient, merciful, sacrificial love that God has for us, and He wants us to have as Christians.
*God wants us to have this kind of agape love for our neighbors, for lost people, and even for our enemies, but the special focus in this letter is Christians loving one another. And we know that this is one of God's greatest priorities, because the Holy Spirit led John to use the original words 51 times this very short letter. Today we will see more great reasons why Christians should live with godly love. Please think about this as we read 1 John 3:16-24.
MESSAGE:
*If you are saved today, it happened in part because some other Christians loved you the same way that God loves us. Of course His love in infinitely greater, and we see this truth verses like John 3:16 where Jesus said, "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life."
*God has shown us His love in countless other ways, but we see it best of all in the cross of Jesus Christ. In today's Scripture John was talking about the cross in vs. 16 when he said, "By this we know love (that is, the love of God), because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."
*John was talking about love without limits, and it is amazing in two ways. First and foremost is the amazing truth that God laid down His life for us! That the eternal Son of God was willing to humble himself to become a man, and die on the cross for our sins. Thank God for the cross! And thank God for the resurrection of Jesus Christ!
*Love without limits is amazing because God laid down His life for us! But it is also amazing, because John said, "We also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren!" One preacher said this means loving one another in a cross shaped way, and that's what God wants us to do. (2)
*Does God call us to literally die for each other? -- The answer is yes, if necessary, and millions of Christians have laid down their lives for one another. But in Luke 9:23 Jesus said, "If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me." And the Apostle John gave us an example of this sacrificial love here in vs. 17-18 where he wrote, "But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."
*Every Christian should live with godly love! It's one of God's greatest priorities for our lives, and today's Scripture gives us more great reasons why.
1. FIRST: WE SHOULD LIVE WITH GODLY LOVE, BECAUSE IT GIVES US MORE ASSURANCE OF OUR SALVATION.
*We already saw this truth up in vs. 14 where John said, "We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death." All Christians should know that we are saved by God's grace through faith in our crucified and risen Savior Jesus Christ. But when we are saved, we will start living with godly love, and this agape love is one of the best assurances we can ever have of our salvation.
*John confirmed this truth in vs. 18-21, where he wrote:
18. My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.
19. And by this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
20. For if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things.
21. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.
*"Actions speak louder than words" is the old saying. And when we love with our actions as well as our words, in vs. 19 John says, "By this we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him." In other words, living with godly love makes us feel more confident, and sure about our salvation.
*But we have to be careful about our feelings. Sometimes our feelings can deceive us. Sometimes we get over-confident, and sometimes we get over-critical of ourselves. Matthew Henry explained that "some presumptuous soul may say: 'Well, my heart doesn't condemn me. And I surely am glad, because that means God doesn't condemn me either!' On the other hand, some devoted, trembling soul will be ready to cry out, "Oh no! My conscience does condemn me, so I must be under the condemnation of God!'" (3)
*Always remember that a humble heart is more pleasing to God that a proud heart. That's why Jesus told this parable in Luke 18:9-14:
9. Also He spoke this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and despised others:
10. "Two men went up to the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector.
11. The Pharisee stood and prayed thus with himself, 'God, I thank You that I am not like other men extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even as this tax collector.
12. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I possess.'
13. And the tax collector, standing afar off, would not so much as raise his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, 'God be merciful to me a sinner!'
14. I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other; for everyone who exalts himself will be abased, and he who humbles himself will be exalted.''
*James 4:6 also tells us that God "gives more grace. Therefore He says: 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.''' The bottom line here in 1 John 3:20 is that "if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things."
*This verse of Scripture can help us in two big ways: A correcting way, and a comforting way. God's correction comes, because If we aren't living up to our own standards, how much less are we living up to the standards of our perfectly holy God? So vs. 20 spurs us on to live in loving obedience like the Lord wants us to live. That's the correcting way this verse can help us.
*But it can also help us in a comforting way, because God knows us better than we know ourselves. John Phillips explained that "at times our own hearts make us feel guilty, so God's Word here lifts us above our feelings to solid facts. On occasion, we let ourselves down. We find sinful things in our hearts, and we may be tempted at times to wonder if we are saved at all. At such times it is comforting to know that God is greater than our hearts. And that our salvation does not depend on how we feel, but on God, and the fact of His saving love in the cross of Jesus Christ!" (4)
*God knows us better than we know ourselves. And He will help His children love, not just "in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth." That's great!
2. AND WE SHOULD LIVE WITH GODLY LOVE BECAUSE IT GIVES US MORE ASSURANCE OF OUR SALVATION, BUT ALSO BECAUSE IT GIVES US MORE CONFIDENCE WHEN WE PRAY.
*This is God's message in vs. 21-22 where John said:
21. Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God.
22. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight.
*The original root word for "confidence" has the idea of "pouring something out." Here it's pouring out our prayers before God without reservation or hesitation. It means speaking out to our Father in our prayers with free and fearless confidence. It's talking about praying with cheerful courage, boldness, and assurance.
*That's the way God wants us to pray, so Hebrews 4:14-16 says:
14. Seeing then that we have a great High Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession.
15. For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.
16. Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
*That's the way God wants us to pray. But John tells us here that this bold confidence comes from living with godly love. Again, in vs. 21-22 John said, "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God. And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight."
*Robert Morgan gave one of the greatest examples of a man like that. He was born in Germany in the early 1800s. When this man hit his teen years, he started getting into trouble. He learned how to steal. He liked to gamble and drink. As a teenager he started staying in expensive hotels. Then he would sneak out without paying the bill. Finally, he was caught and sent to jail. But prison didn't help.
*This young man kept on in his criminal ways until one Saturday night he met Jesus Christ, and Jesus turned his life around! That young man was George Mueller, and he went on to become one of the greatest prayer warriors of all time. George kept a prayer journal over his long life, and he recorded 50,000 answers to prayer. Amazing!
*George dedicated his life to helping orphans. By faith he founded orphanages that cared for 10,024 orphans. During his lifetime, Mueller received the equivalent of over 7 million dollars to support his children's homes. That's over 165 million dollars in today's money! And all of it came through prayer. He also provided educational opportunities for orphans by establishing 117 schools that offered Christian education to more than 120,000 students.
*That man had amazing faith. In August of 1877, George was crossing the Atlantic on the SS Sardinian. The ship ran into terrible fog, and Captain Joseph E. Dutton later gave this report:
"I had been on the bridge for 24 hours and never left it. And George Mueller came to me and said, 'Captain, I have come to tell you that you must be in Quebec on Saturday afternoon.' 'It is impossible,' I said.
'Then very well, if your ship cannot take me, God will find some other way. I have never broken an engagement in 57 years. Let us go down into the chart room and pray.' I looked at that man of God and thought to myself, 'What lunatic asylum can that man have come from, for I never heard of such a thing as this?'
Mr. Mueller, I said, 'Do you know how dense this fog is?' 'No,' he replied, 'My eye is not on the density of the fog, but on the living God who controls every circumstance of my life.'
He knelt down, and he prayed one of the simplest prayers. When he had finished, I was going to pray, but he put his hand on my shoulder and told me not to pray. 'As you do not believe He will answer, and as I believe He has, there is no need whatever for you to pray about it.'
I looked at him, and George Mueller said, 'Captain, I have known the Lord for 57 years and there has never been a single day when I have failed to get an audience with the King. Get up, Captain and open the door and you will find the fog has gone.'
*I got up and the fog indeed was gone and on that Saturday afternoon George Mueller kept his promised engagement." (5)
*Where did George Mueller get his great faith? It surely came from the Word of God. But it was strengthened by his godly love for those orphans and the thousands of other people in George's prayers.
3. WE SHOULD LIVE WITH GODLY LOVE BECAUSE IT GIVES US MORE CONFIDENCE WHEN WE PRAY, AND BECAUSE WE ARE BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS IN JESUS CHRIST.
*In the first part of vs. 23, John gives the foundation of our salvation. And here John said, "This is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ. . ." If we have truly believed in Jesus, if we have received Him as our Lord and Savior, then we are born again with a new nature. Paul put it this way in 2 Corinthians 5:17, "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new."
*And if we are born again with a new nature, our salvation will show up in the way we live. That's because faith in Jesus Christ changes our values. We begin to love the people we may have ridiculed before. And our habits begin to change. We begin to feel guilty over the fleshly things we used to enjoy. And we begin to enjoy holy, fruitful things that used to seem like superstitious foolishness.
*Ray Stedman explained, "When God's life becomes your life, you can expect many changes. It may take a while. There is growth involved. You are like a new baby at first, but watch: you cannot be the same person. You cannot go on the way you were. If you do, you have never been born again. When you get in touch with the life of God, things are going to be different." (6)
*If God is truly our Heavenly Father, then we will begin to think and feel and act the way He does. We should be less selfish and more caring about other people. There will be a family resemblance.
*Christians we are going to keep God’s commandments. But this does not mean we are perfect, -- not yet anyway. Remember that 1 John 1:8-10 says, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us."
*We aren't perfect yet. But Jesus has certainly made a difference in our lives, and it will be reflected in our behavior. Christians are going to keep God’s commandments, even though sometimes it will be hard to do. We know this from trying to keep that second commandment in vs. 23: We should "love one another, as He gave us commandment." All of us can be aggravating at times. We all get irritable. We all have bad moods. We all fall short. That's why vs. 24 talks about us "keeping" His commandments. The idea behind the original word for "keeps" is guarding something, making extra effort to pay attention.
*At times we will surely fail, and sometimes it will be hard to obey, but our obedience is an obvious result of our salvation.
4. WE SHOULD LIVE WITH GODLY LOVE BECAUSE WE ARE BORN AGAIN BELIEVERS IN JESUS CHRIST, AND BECAUSE THE HOLY SPIRIT IS LIVING IN OUR HEARTS.
*We already have the presence of God's kind of love in our hearts, because the Holy Spirit of God is living in our hearts! This is why in vs. 24, John could say: "Now he who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. And by this we know that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us."
*How do we know that God lives in us? By the Holy Spirit of God that He has given to us. Godly love is already present in our hearts, because God Himself, the Holy Spirit is present in our hearts. That's why in Romans 5:5, Paul tell Christians, "Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us."
*I think back to the time when I was in high school over 50 years ago, and I was just as lost as I could be. I thought Jesus was a myth, no more real than Zeus or Hercules. But I still remember Crazy Robbie Smith.
*Robbie was in my high school fraternity, and he was one of the nicest guys in school. He didn't drink or cuss. He was a good student and a good athlete. But my friends and I always called him "Crazy Robbie Smith," because Robbie had this crazy idea that he knew God in a personal way. Robbie even thought that Jesus Christ was actually living in his heart. We thought he was crazy. But 6 years later I found out that "Crazy Robbie" wasn't crazy after all. He was saved! Robbie was a true Christian, and the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ really was living in his heart.
*In 2 Corinthians 6:16 God tells Christians an amazing thing, "I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people." God says: "I will dwell in them, and walk in them."
*What assurance for us, Christians! Wherever we go, God is right there with us. Whatever we go through, wherever we are, whatever task God calls us to perform, whatever trial we have to endure, whatever delights we enjoy or heartbreaks we suffer, the Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ is right here with us. And He will help us to live with godly love.
CONCLUSION:
*So, how can you tell if the Holy Spirit is living in your heart? Well, your heart is going to have that lived-in look. If you came over to our house, it wouldn't take you more than 3 minutes to figure out that Rick & Mary live there. And when the Holy Spirit moves in to our lives, He definitely begins to make some changes. He begins to rearrange the furniture, and He throws out some things that we didn’t really need anyway. But the Holy Spirit also brings a whole lot of better stuff with Him! -- Including God's kind of love.
*Christians: Godly love made all the difference for us, and it will always make a difference in our world. Let's ask God to pour out more of His love in our hearts. And if you have never received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, put your trust in Jesus today! Call on the Lord to save you now as we go back to God in prayer. Then start living your life in the overflow of godly love.
(1) Sources:
-Adapted from EXPLORING THE EPISTLES OF JOHN by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "Exploring John’s First Epistle - Introduction" - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
-WORD PICTURES IN THE NEW TESTAMENT by Archibald Thomas (A. T.) Robertson - Published in 1930-1933 - 1 John - THE FIRST EPISTLE OF JOHN - ABOUT A.D. 85 TO 90 - By Way of Introduction - Relation to the Fourth Gospel - Downloaded to e-Sword by Rick Meyers - Copyright 2021
(2) SermonCentral sermon "We Have -- They Need: Formula for Life" by Joseph Smith - 1 John 3:11-18
(3) Adapted from MATTHEW HENRY COMMENTARY ON THE WHOLE BIBLE (COMPLETE) - Originally written in 1706 - "The Testimony of Conscience" - 1 John 3:20-22 - https://www.biblestudytools.com/commentaries/matthew-henry-complete/1-john/3.html
(4) Adapted from: EXPLORING THE EPISTLES OF JOHN by John Phillips, Kregal Publications, Grand Rapids - "How We Show the Family Life" - 1 John 3:1-24 - Downloaded to "Bible Study 6" from Olive Tree Bible Software, Inc.
(5) Sources:
-Adapted from Morgan, Robert J., On This Day, (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers) 2000, c1997.
-Paul Lee Tan. Encyclopedia of 7,700 Illustrations. (Rockville, Maryland: Assurance Publishers, 1979). # 1494 - Source: SermonCentral sermon "The Pathway of Faith" by John Hamby - Hebrews 11:1-7)
-https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/George_Muller
-Eric W. Nye, Pounds Sterling to Dollars: Historical Conversion of Currency, accessed Thursday, January 04, 2024, https://www.uwyo.edu/numimage/currency.htm.
(6) Online sermon: "Born of the Spirit" by Ray C. Stedman - Series: The Gospel of John - John 3:1-16 - Message No: 8 - Catalog No: 3838 - Date: May 15, 1983 - http://www.pbc.org/system/message_files/4182/3838.html
