INTRODUCTION
SLIDE #2
• Can anyone tell me what the most talked about subject in the bible is? According to the last Larry Burkett, it is love. Love is mentioned or referred to in some manner more than any other subject.
• Why do you think this subject is written about so often?
• Could it be that God is serious about the subject?
• Over the last few weeks as we have been looking at 1 John, we have been given five things by John that are required of us if we are going to have fellowship with God:
1. We are called to walk in the light. 1:5-7
2. We are called to accept, repent of and confess our sins. 1:8-10
3. We are called to trust in Jesus. 2:2-1
4. We are called to walk in obedience as we saw last week. 2:3-6
5. This week we are going to look at the last of the five, love of the brethren.
• Sometimes one of the hardest things we must do is to love each other. Sometimes we are not very lovable, we do things to each other, things that many times we do not mean to do, but nevertheless, we have a tendency to hurt one another and get on each others nerves.
• Sometimes it has to be appalling for God to look down to see how we treat one another, it has to be sad for Him to know what we are thinking about one another.
• SLIDE #3 The church was having some trouble when James wrote his letter. In James 4:1-2 we are told the people were fighting and envious of one another.
• Today I hope that we can learn that we are called to love one another and that if you belong to Jesus, that call is not an option.
• It is too easy for us to rationalize why we do not have to really love one another.
• The bottom line is that Jesus loves His family and so should we!
• Today we are going to look at why John calls us to love one another!
• Let us read 1 John 2:7-11 together this morning! READ
SLIDE #4
SERMON
We are to love one another because:
I. THE IDEA IS NOT NEW. V7
SLIDE #5
1. God has always wanted us to love.
• John starts us out by letting us know this command to love one another is not a new commandment nor is it something that originated with him!
• The idea of loving others did not begin when Jesus came; Jesus was the perfect example of love. We will look at this thought a bit more in a few minutes.
• SLIDE #6 1 John 4:8 tells us that God IS love.
• God has always been a God of love!
• Throughout the Old Testament we are told that God is a loving God, that He is full of loving-kindness and compassionate.
• SLIDE #7 Leviticus 19:18 is an example
• You will notice that God was constantly looking to see if we really loved Him or not, but the idea to love is not new.
• When you think about it, how can we do our job to reach people for Jesus if we do not love each other, or if we do not love those who are lost?
• Doesn’t it make sense that God wants us to love one another? Look at the price He paid so that we could be a part of His family? You were bought with a price.
• SLIDE #8 When Jesus was asked what the greatest commandment was in Mark 12, He responded by saying we are to love God with all we have and then proceeded to says in Mark 12:31 we are to love our neighbor as our self.
• Do you teat something precious better than you do something that is cheap and easy to replace?
• Those who belong to Jesus are neither cheap nor easy to replace, we need to understand that God has always wanted us to love each other! SLIDE #9
2. The word we have heard since we have been saved has told us to love one another!
• John says the commandment is one we have heard from the beginning. The beginning can means since creation, or the beginning of the Law of Moses, or the time the gospel had been preached or since the time of our conversion.
• The context seems to indicate we are speaking of time the gospel was preached.
• Verse 7 speaks of hearing the commandments.
• In this last part of verse 7 John is identifying the source of the authority behind what he is telling us concerning the command about love.
• This command is essential to our salvation from sin.
SLIDE #10
We are to love one another because:
II. JESUS GIVES US A NEW PERSPECTIVE ON AN OLD COMMAND. V8
SLIDE #11
1. Jesus expanded the scope of our love. John 15:13
• What does it mean to truly love another? What does it mean to love another member of God’s family?
• Does it mean we are just supposed to tolerate one another?
• Do you think that Jesus was “tolerating” us when He died on the cross?
• Do we just “tolerate” our children or do we love them?
• SLIDE #12 1 John 3:16 Jesus would take love far beyond any previous extent.
• Jesus expanded the boundaries of love to the ultimate, laying down your life for another.
• Once again, does this strike a nerve? Are there brothers and sisters in Christ that we do not want to love, that we hold a grudge against that we are just jealous of because they may have stepped into our sacred territory?
• There are many times that I have to ask myself if Jesus would feel the way about someone that I do.
• What are the boundaries of our love? None! We should always be looking out for what is spiritually best for another.
SLIDE #13
2. Our love for one another is our badge of identity as Christians. John 13:35
• This verse is a bit brutal. Does Jesus really mean that people will know if we are His disciples by if we love one another?
• John is telling us the love we have is the badge that identifies us.
• When a police officer comes to your door, they will identify themselves by showing you their badge.
• When we claim to be saved, the badge people will see is the love or lack there of we have.
• If you cannot love God’s family, how are you going to love others who need to be in the family?
• This commandment is true in Jesus not only because He said it, but He also lived it!
• It is true for you as you live it also.
• The darkness is passing out of the life of the one who will listen to God on this one.
• We will look at the harm done to us when we will not love one another.
• SLIDE #14 John 8:12 tells us that Jesus is the light of the world and as long as we walk with Him we will not be in the dark. As you allow more of Jesus in your life, you will see more light in your life. The light of Jesus will outshine the darkness that was once in your life.
SLIDE #15
We are to love one another because:
III. REFUSING TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER HAS NEGATIVE CONCEQUENCES FOR US. V9,11
SLIDE #16
1. We are not in a proper relationship with God.
• Verse 9 tells us that the one who says he is in the light yet hates his brother is really in the dark.
• We learned a while back that if you are in the dark, you are not in a proper relationship with God because God is light and in Him there is NO darkness at all. 1 John 1:5
• What a person claims is tested by what they do and what attitudes they exhibit.
• One thing about attitudes is the fact that you can hide them. You do not know how I feel about you unless you see it come out in some way. The other thing about them is the fact that God KNOWS what you are thinking, you can smile and say hello to a person, God knows what you think about that person.
• Realizing that alone can help us to work on what is in the inside of us.
• In the context the brother spoken of here is a brother in Christ. This does not mean we can hate lost people, but the main thrust deals with those in Christ.
• The one thing we need to know is we are either in the dark or in the light.
CLICK #16
2. We are blinded by the darkness we are walking in.
• You are fooling no one but yourself if you think you are right with God while you hate or are jealous or envious of another in Christ.
• Verse 11 says the one who hates his brother not only is in darkness but walks in darkness, and also is BLINDED by the darkness they walk in.
• When you walk in the dark for very long, it will blind you. There are too many people who have fooled themselves into thinking they were in the light.
• It hurts us when we fail to love God’s family. We fall deeper and deeper into darkness into the clutches of Satan.
• When it is dark, we have no idea whose hand we are really holding as we are being led around in the dark.
• SLIDE #17 Matt 15:14 The blind do not even know where they are going, then many of them will try to lead others. Jesus in the passage above was speaking of the religious leaders of the day who were so blinded they would lead others into the pit right with them.
SLIDE #18
We are to love one another because:
IV. LOVING ONE ANOTHER HAS POSITIVE BENEFITS FOR US. V10
SLIDE #19
1. We abide in the light.
• Verse 10 tells us that when we love our brother, we walk in the light!
• When we are in the light we will be different, will we get aggravated at times, yes, will we be let down at times, yes, but the bottom line is we will love no matter what.
• I cannot imagine what it would take for me not to love my girls. There are times they could push the limits, but no matter how upset I may get with them, I still love them more than life itself.
• When we love we remain in the light. That is where we want to be. Being in the light means we are in proper fellowship with Jesus!
CLICK #19
2. Our love for one another will not cause us to stumble.
• When you think of this statement, it is so true. Taken to the extreme, how many crimes are committed by people who do not love another? If I love my wife, I am not going to bring harm to her nor would I wish any on her.
• Going down the path of anger and hate will be a stumbling block for us.
• The word stumbling speaks a stick that was used to snare wild game; it was also used of a trap to catch something.
• Your improper attitude towards other Christians WILL catch you, it will cause you to stumble, it will be your undoing.
• When you are walking in the light, you can see traps laid out before you. When you love others, your have removed a very large stumbling block in your life.
• If you love someone, you will think the best of them and give them the benefit of the doubt, you will speak to them in a civil manner when you have a problem with them.
• When you love people, it changes you! The change is good!
CONCLUSION
• This issue of love is an important one, it is one that we would do good to make sure we are working on.
• God paid a high price for those who belong to Him, God loves them, so should I!
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