Provoking Thoughts From 1 John (10 Of 16)

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