The Social Test Series

Scripture

John wrote his three letters to oppose the false teaching that was creeping into the churches for which he was responsible. This false teaching was an early form of Gnosticism. The false teachers were claiming that they had a knowledge of God. The word “gnostic” comes from the Greek word for “knowledge.” They asserted that they were among the elite who were enlightened, and that they knew God.

John’s letters set down biblical principles of fellowship with God. He showed how genuine fellowship with God is identified by three different tests. First is the moral test, which is the test of obedience (that we examined last time). Second is the social test, which is the test of love. And third is the doctrinal test, which is the test of belief in Christ.

Let’s read about the social test in 1 John 2:7-11:

7 Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. 8 At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. 9 Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. 10 Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. 11 But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. (1 John 2:7-11)

Introduction

Francis Schaeffer (1912-1984) was an American theologian, philosopher, and Presbyterian pastor. He is best known for co-founding the L’Abri community in Switzerland with his wife, Edith Schaeffer. More than a generation ago, Schaeffer wrote that love is “the mark of the Christian.” What he said then is still profoundly true today. He writes:

The church is to be a loving church in a dying culture. How, then, is the dying culture going to consider us? Jesus says, “By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.” In the midst of the world, in the midst of our present culture, Jesus is giving a right to the world. Upon His authority He gives the world the right to judge whether you and I are born-again Christians on the basis of our observable love toward all Christians.

That’s pretty frightening. Jesus turns to the world and says, “I’ve something to say to you. On the basis of My authority, I give you a right: you may judge whether or not an individual is a Christian on the basis of the love he shows to all Christians.” In other words, if people come up to us and cast in our teeth the judgment that we are not Christians because we have not shown love toward other Christians, we must understand that they are only exercising a prerogative which Jesus gave them.

And we must not get angry. If people say, “You don’t love other Christians,” we must go home, get down on our knees, and ask God whether or not what they say is true. And if it is, then they have a right to have said what they said.

This is the theme of the section in John’s letter that we are going to consider today.

Lesson

First John 2:7-11 gives us another visible, objective evidence that someone’s profession of faith to be a Christian is credible.

Let’s use the following outline:

1. Love Is an Old Commandment (2:7)

2. Love Is a New Commandment (2:8)

3. Love Is a Way of Life (2:9-11)

I. Love Is an Old Commandment (2:7)

First, love is an old commandment.

John begins a new section in verse 7 with the word, “Beloved.” He uses it six times in his First Letter (2:7; 3:2; 3:21; 4:1; 4:7; 4:11) and three more times in his Third Letter (2; 5; 11). “Beloved” means “a person dearly loved and cherished; sometimes preferred above all others and treated with partiality.” John deeply loves and cares for the people of God for whom he is responsible. He uses this term of endearment to let them know of his deep care for them.

Pastors are called by God to care for his people that the Lord is entrusting to their earthly care. Pastors are to care for the souls and the spiritual well-being of their flock. Pastors love their people and care deeply for them. Very early in my ministry and just a few years out of seminary I had become friends with a local pastor. He was perhaps a little older than I was, and he served a small congregation in western Pennsylvania. It turned out that some of his church members did not like him and said uncharitable things about him. My friend said to me, “That’s okay. I will love them and keep on loving them until they get the message that I really care about them.” That’s what pastors do. They love their people even when it is difficult.