BROTHERLY LOVE I
TITUS 1:3
This is a little story about a man named Josh. Josh had live a long, faithful life, and was now in the hospital hooked up to a respiratory machine, very near to death. The family called their long-time pastor to stand with them. The pastor arrived just in time, for as he stood next to the bed, Josh’s condition deteriorated quickly as he motioned frantically for something to
write on.
The pastor swiftly handed him a pen and a piece of paper, and Josh used his last bit of energy to scribble a note, then he died went home to the Lord.
The pastor thought it best not to look at the note at that time, so he placed it in his jacket pocket. At the funeral, as he was finishing the message, he said, "You
know, Josh handed me a note just before he died. I haven’t looked at it, but knowing Josh, I’m sure there’s a word of inspiration here for us all."
He opened the note, and lovingly read, "You’re standing on my oxygen tub..."
We have all been to family reunions I am sure. Sometimes we may look around at our family and kind of shake our heads and say. I’m related to these people?
The funny thing is that some of them are looking at you shaking their head and saying, I’m related to that person?
As the saying goes you can pick your friends but you can’t pick your relatives.
While we all belong to families that are related by flesh and blood, those who have placed their trust in the Lord Jesus Christ belong to a family that is a spiritual family. And just like any family we cannot decide who is in it and who is not. While we may not care for all those who God has chosen to save, (which as we will see is wrong), they are nevertheless part of the family of God.
And because they are a part of that family we have a certain responsibility to them.
Please turn with me to Titus chapter 1 verse 4; That would be page 1032 in your pew Bibles this morning. We have finally made it through Paul’s introduction, and now Paul lets us know to whom the letter is address to.
"To Titus, a true son in our common faith: Grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ our Savior."
I want us to focus on what Paul calls Titus. "A TRUE SON in our common faith". Paul speak with much affection about Titus. If you look at other passage were Titus is mentioned you see that Paul not only regards Titus as a friend, but much much more. Titus is a son. He is part of the family. There is a much closer bond between Paul and Titus then just friends, then just co-workers in Christ. They are family.
The same is true with us. We are more then co-workers in Christ, we are more then friends, we are family. We are brothers and sisters in the family of God! And as I stated earlier because we are family we are to act a certain way toward each other.
Today I want to take a look at brotherly love, something that at times I believe we miss the importance of. It is obvious from our passage, and from other passages that Paul has a love for Titus, a brotherly love, a love that we all need to have for each other.
You may have noticed in your bulletin that there is a secondary passage for today, 1 John 3:10-15. I want to use 1 John chapter to show us the importance of brotherly love. To show us how we too, need to look at each other as brothers and sisters. Note just with words but has Paul felt about Titus. A genuine love, a genuine caring and compassion. Not just fronts we may put up in church but the true love for each other.
You see this brotherly love is needed if we are to have a healthy church. We all remember those outlines I gave you. There are still some on the back table. But the first step as we will see as we go along in Titus, the first step to making a impact in the society, to having Godliness in the home, is a healthy church. And for a church to be healthy there must be brotherly love!
So let us turn to 1 John 3:10-13; 1055 in your Pew Bibles. It is within these few passages we will see the importance of the brotherly John mentions, and the Paul had for Titus.
In chapter 3 of 1 John, John describes the necessity of Brotherly Love. He tells us why we need to have brotherly towards one another.
First of all it distinguishes the children of God from the children of the devil. Look at verse 10; "In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."
Now that word manifest means, "to show plainly, to demonstrate, to reveal, to give prove of". So what John is saying is that those things which show plainly, those things that demonstrate, that give prove of the fact we are children of God, are first of all those who practice righteousness, and those love there brother.
It obvious from the context that John is not speaking of blood relations here, he is speaking of the relationship which Christians ought to have toward one another.
If you are a Christian, if you are a child of God it will be seen in the Love you have for your other Christians.
On the other hand if you are a child of the devil, that will be demonstrated, or proved by ones lack of righteousness and lack of love towards one another. What John is saying is that there are false Christians. There are people who claim to be of Christ but are not. There are those who are in the church yet do not have a personal relationship with God.
And John goes on to say if you want prove of who they are they are the ones who live as the world lives, and who do not show love for those in the church.
Whether you are a child of God, or a child of the devil it is manifest, or seem in your righteousness and your love toward your fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. It is clear that there are no in-betweens. No fence sitters, either you are a child of God or of the devil.
And if you have not love for most of the Christian you know, if you have not love just one brother or sister in Christ, what are manifesting, what are you revealing, what are you plainly showing?
Let us also notice from this passage that the command to love one another is "from the beginning". Verse 11 tells us, "For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another,"
John here is speaking of the very beginning of the ministry of Christ. Christ always taught His disciples the importance of loving one another. In John 13 Jesus told His disciples; "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
John in 1 John 3 is echoing the teaching of Christ. Jesus states that "be this all will know that you are my disciples." That is brotherly love. The fact that we are His disciples will be made manifest, will be proven, will be plainly shown, if we have love for one another.
This command comes from the Lord Jesus Himself. It shows that Jesus expects us to be different from the world. I want to ask you, How will the world know that those of us in this church are Jesus disciples? Jesus states, along with John by our love. How have you showed your love to one another recently? Look around, how many of these people have you prayed for? How many of you have tried to meet the needs of one another? How many even know what those needs are?
Jesus said, "By this all will know that you are Me disciples, if you have love for one another". Does the world know we are disciples?
This passage in 1 John also makes is plain that we are to expect some conflict between these two "children" that is the children of God and the children of the devil. Look at verse 12-13; "not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother’s righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you."
John make an interesting point here. He state that Cain was the of the wicked one, he was a child of the devil, and murdered his own brother. And why did he murder him, because his works were evil and his brothers were righteous. In other words jealousy. Cain was jealous of his brother.
So do not be surprise if the world hates us. But you see the world will not hate us if it does not see the difference in us and it. If the world does not see our righteousness it will not hare us. If the world does not see the love we have for one another it will not hate.
And not to be hated by the world is not a good thing. It is not a good thing because it shows that we are too much like the world.
Jesus tells us in John 15 "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."
We should rejoice in conflict with the world. Because if we get comfortable in it, it will show where I true love really lies.
Another reason why brotherly is necessity is that signifies a passing from death to life. Brotherly love is a mark of true conversion, it is a mark of a true Christian. Look at verse 14, "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."
According to John we have assurance of our salvation by our love for one another. Now certainly this is not the only indicator of a true profession of faith. Earlier we read that a true conversion is also evidenced by practicing righteousness.
So while brotherly love is certainly a test of a true conversion it is not the only test.
Now those who lack this brotherly love really need to examine there relationship with God. Look at the end of verse 14 and 15; "He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him."
So while brotherly love is a sign of true conversion, those who lack love show signs of not having eternal life. John states that those who do love their brothers and sister in Christ, are just like Cain, murderers. Just as Cain killed his brother, those who have not love for their own brothers and sisters in Christ, have in a sense committed murder. And John then brings it to it’s logical conclusion, "no murderer had eternal life’. In other words, they do not have true saving relationship with Jesus Christ.
Listen to John’s words in 1 John chapter 2, "He who says he is in the light, and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.
But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes."
If you have anything other then love for your fellow Christians you are not walking in the light you are walking in the darkness, spiritual darkness. If you have any ill will towards any fellow Christian your relationship with God is not what it should be. Do you understand that?????
We can look at a person and pick out all the bad points, we say well I do not like them because of this or that. And go on and on trying to justify why you do not like that person.
Well we can plainly see from the Word of God, you have absolutely no right not to love any brother or sister in Christ. NONE. God is really not concerned with your judgments, He is really not concerned with whether you like that persons personality of not. You have absolutely no right to withhold your love from your brothers and sisters in Christ.
I will admit that some people are not the easiest to get along with. Some are not the easiest to love. But that does not make a difference. When you professed Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, when you placed your trust in the saving blood of Christ you gave up your right to decide who you would love and who would not love. The decision was made for you by Jesus when He stated
"A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."
So what happens when Christian do not love their brethren. Well it may very well be and indication of a true conversion has never occurred. I know that hell will be full of people who have deceived themselves into thinking they were going to heaven.
Now it may very well be a true conversion but maybe one is as the Scripture states a "babe in Christ". Never having matured as a Christian, never understanding or even caring about the deep things of God.
But when either of these situation continuing in a church that church will not grow as it should. It will not grow spiritually or in numbers.
If you do not love our brothers and sister in Christ it shows that you are not true Christians or not mature Christians.
Either way the church will not be healthy church. And if it is not a healthy church then we will not of godliness in the homes, and if there is not godliness in the homes we cannot have consistency in the world. We cannot impact the world for Christ. A world that is crying our for righteousness, crying our for grace, crying out for moral guidance. Things that only the Church of Jesus Christ can give.
So we have seen two compelling reasons given by John as to why we should love one another. First it distinguishes as being Children of God. Second, it signifies a passing from death to life, from darkness to light. Those are two pretty impressive reasons.
In closing I want you to put away your petty differences. Put away your petty likes and dislikes, because as I stated if you have trusted in Christ you have given up that right. Begin to love each other as Christ love you.
Do not wait for the other person to make the first move, you make it. Show your love. Show your love for the sake of this church, for the sake of your own Spiritual growth, and for the sake of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
LET US PRAY
