What If I Fail the Test? -- 2/18/07 (Eternal Realities)

Sunday, February 18, 2007

WHAT IF I FAIL THE TEST?
Read I John 2:9-11

Last week we tackled the question concerning what love is. We have talked a great deal about love, but what is it? Though our study was certainly not exhaustive, we did look at some principles which help us understand the nature of this agape love…
… Love is expressed through action (I Cor. 13)
… Love is exemplified in Jesus Christ (I John 3:16; 4:11)
… Love is explained (defined) by obedience (Jn. 14:15)
Keep thinking along those lines.

This morning I want us to tackle another question. I have been asked this question by more than one person, though not in the same words. And this is a very good question that we must address. Let me state it very bluntly first: As we look at the tests of life, including the test of love, what if I don’t pass the test? In other words, what if I look at my life and find that I don’t love my brothers and sisters?

In order to better understand the problem, let’s deal with a specific situation. Suppose I go in Walmart or some other large store. I am standing at the end of the aisles, debating whether I will go up aisle 4 or aisle 5. [Men, most of you can probably identify with this. Are the Little Debbie’s with the cookies or the crackers? We don’t know.]. While I am debating, I suddenly see Charles approaching on aisle 4. Immediately my decision is made and I move quickly up aisle 5. So why did I choose aisle 5? Because I didn’t want to run into Charles. I chose to avoid Charles, who is my Christian brother. [And even if Charles isn’t my brother, he is my neighbor]. I failed the test of love. There is no way I can define my action as "love." According to I John, it would be much better defined by "hate."

Now comes the big question: Does my action indicate that I do not know God? Remember that I John contains some very strong words…
… I Jn. 2:9, "He that saith he is in the light and hateth his brother is in darkness even until now."
… I Jn. 3:14, "He that loveth not his brother abideth in death."
… I Jn. 3:15, "Whosoever hateth is brother is a murderer; and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him"
… I Jn. 4:8, "He that loveth not knoweth not God, for God is love."
… I Jn. 4:20, "If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar…"

Those are very strong words. One of the people who asked this basic question was careful to point out that he wanted to avoid the danger of making excuses for himself. But even with that realization, we still must ask, does one unloving act prove that I do not know God? In God’s economy, is there any room for growth in this agape love? Is it possible that this love is the basic character of my life, and yet I still experience failure in some specific tests?

I acknowledge from the start that these are very difficult questions. If we conclude that the Walmart failure means that I am not a Christian, that I do not know God, then how many of us will have to conclude that we do not know God, that we are still dead in our trespasses and sins? But in this lies the other danger. You look at it and say, "So such failures really don’t say anything about my relationship with God. After all, no one is perfect. If Ron and other Christians I know acknowledge such failures, then I don’t have to be concerned if I see evidence of a lack of love in my life."

I want to be just as honest with you as I can. My purpose in preaching this current series of sermons is not to make you feel guilty. I am aware of that danger. On the other hand, when these tests stir up questions about the validity of a man’s profession, I can’t just say, "Oh Norman, you’re all right. We all know that you are a Christian." If serious questions are raised within the heart, we must deal with those questions in the presence of God.

The other thing I must tell you is this. One of the reasons for preaching this series of sermons is to motivate us to examine ourselves, to see if we are in the faith. Over the past few years, Matt. 7:21-23 has become larger and larger in my thinking… (Matt. 7:21-23)
Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven. 22. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? 23. And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity.

I wouldn’t be a bit surprised if well over half of the people sitting in church services across America this morning do not truly know God, and the percentage may be much higher than that. So make no mistake about it, I am preaching these messages because our Lord says there are many people who profess Him but will finally hear Him say, "I never knew you; depart from me, ye who work iniquity." I don’t want any person here to be in that crowd. Because the deception of the enemy is so powerful, his deceptive hold on people will only be broken by the power of the Word of God. That is why we have been spending so much time in I John. If in the process, some genuine believers have felt uneasy, may God give us grace to examine ourselves and then to come to Him and rejoice in His presence.

Having said that, let’s come back to our Walmart illustration. By going up aisle 5 and avoiding Charles on aisle 4, I have just demonstrated that I do not love my brother. So must I immediately conclude that I do not know God, that I am not His child? I answer that question with a qualified "No." I say "qualified," because it must be stated that my action may be very clear evidence that I indeed do not know God, that I have never been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb. However, that may not be the only proper conclusion.

Let me give you a scriptural example, even an example of a man we know had been redeemed by the blood of Lamb and who had walked with God. His name was Peter. Before you jump to conclusions, I am not going to talk about Peter’s self-righteous claim that he would not forsake the Lord, even if it meant dying for him. No, I want us to look at an incident later in Peter’s life. Please turn to Galatians and let’s read Gal. 2:11-12…

But when Peter was come to Antioch, I withstood him to the face, because he was to be blamed. 12. For before that certain came from James, he did eat with the Gentiles: but when they were come, he withdrew and separated himself, fearing them which were of the circumcision.
So here we have an example of failure to love the brethren. These Gentiles were believers and they were Peter’s brothers in the Lord. Now this is during that transitional time when the Jewish Christians were having a hard time accepting the Gentile believers as full brothers in the Lord. We must remember that these Jewish Christians had come out of a background where Jews hated Gentiles. But now they were being taught that in Christ Jews and Gentiles are one.

Did Peter know this? Did he truly know that these Gentile believers were his brothers in Christ and that he was to love them? He certainly did. You will remember that it was Peter whom God sent to preach the good news to Cornelius, who was not a Jew. Peter had witnessed the Holy Spirit falling upon Cornelius and all those in his house. So yes, Peter knew well that these were brothers whom God expected him to love.

Peter failed to love his brothers. It’s as simple as that. Well, there is a little more to it. Not only did he fail, but he was a terrible example to those other Jewish Christians who looked up to him. We read in Gal 2:13 (NKJV), "And the rest of the Jews also played the hypocrite with him, so that even Barnabas was carried away with their hypocrisy." Because Peter knew better and had led others astray, Paul was rather hard on him, as we read in 2:14, "But when I saw that they walked not uprightly according to the truth of the gospel, I said unto Peter before them all, If thou, being a Jew, livest after the manner of Gentiles, and not as do the Jews, why compellest thou the Gentiles to live as do the Jews?"

Do you see what is happening here? Peter failed to love his brothers, but that did not prove that he didn’t know God. Because he failed to demonstrate love, God brought swift correction to him. This time the correction came through the voice of a brother named Paul.

This is a powerful lesson for us. When we fail to love in a particular situation, it doesn’t necessarily prove that we don’t know God, although it may prove that very thing. It may mean that our failure will bring God’s discipline. Let’s read about that discipline in Heb. 12:5-8 (NKJV)…
And you have forgotten the exhortation which speaks to you as to sons: "My son, do not despise the chastening of the Lord, Nor be discouraged when you are rebuked by Him; For whom the Lord loves He chastens, And scourges every son whom He receives." If you endure chastening, God deals with you as with sons; for what son is there whom a father does not chasten? But if you are without chastening, of which all have become partakers, then you are illegitimate and not sons.

If you know the Lord and fail to love a brother and sister on a specific occasion, you can expect the Lord to send correction. Out of that corrective discipline will come conviction. And that conviction of the Spirit will lead to repentance and a trust that the Lord will give you grace to help the next time you experience that need to love your brother or sister.
Please don’t misunderstand. Don’t get the idea that a Christian’s love for his brothers and sisters is a constant struggle, that every time he is around brothers and sisters it is a crisis. No, not at all. If you are truly a child of God, you will find that God has indeed shed His love abroad in your hearts by the Holy Spirit which He has given you (Rom. 5:5). You will discover that this love is a natural outgrowth of your relationship with God. You find that you have a great desire to treat your brothers and sisters in a way that demonstrates your desire for God’s best in their lives. If this is not the case, it should be great cause for concern. For "if a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar."

Do you remember when Darlene Little shared her testimony the day she was baptized. One of the things she shared was how God changed her attitude toward the Christians around her. While she had long held a high respect for those Christians, she found that a relationship with Jesus Christ changed her relationship with His followers. Suddenly she found that she truly wanted to be around them. That is an expression of the love that God gives us for His family.

Let me share another illustration with you. One of our sisters (let’s call her Sally) tells the story of how God revealed to her a lack of love. Sally had daily contact with another Christian lady. Both of them were a part of the same church. Sally had come to dislike her, as this lady had done some things that were not very nice. So again, we would have to say that Sally did not love her sister. You may say, "Well, she didn’t like her, but she still loved her." No, Sally would tell you that she did not love this sister. According to I John, this dislike would equal hatred, though we can hardly bear to call it that. God convicted Sally deeply that her attitude was very wrong. So Sally began to pray for this sister. She says that it took about two months, but God did a miracle in her heart. He didn’t change the other lady; He changed Sally. Where there had been dislike (hatred), God planted a great love for this woman. Sally’s testimony is that God answered prayer and she found herself loving the person whom she was not able to love in her own strength.

Now let’s step back and take a different approach for a minute. Let’s read I John 5:1-3…
Whosoever believeth that Jesus is the Christ is born of God: and every one that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him. 2. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God, and keep his commandments. 3. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments: and his commandments are not grievous.

Notice again how John’s three tests of life – belief, righteousness/obedience, and love – are woven so closely together. About three or four weeks ago we emphasized the truth that our love for God is tested by our love for the brothers and sisters in the body. But here in verse 2 we see the opposite, that our love for the children of God is tested by our love for God and the keeping of His commandments. And what is His commandment? That we love one another. No, it isn’t a vicious cycle; it’s a glorious cycle!

Note again the words at the end of verse 1, "Everyone that loveth him that begat loveth him also that is begotten of him." In other words, if you love God, you will love the children of God. This love isn’t a "have to;" it is a joyous way of life.

Come to verse 3, "For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments; and his commandments are not grievous." Hear it again: "And his commandments are not grievous." That word "grievous" translates a Greek word which literally means "heavy." When used metaphorically, it means burdensome. The noun form of this word is used in Matt. 20:12, "Saying, These last have wrought but one hour, and thou hast made them equal unto us, which have borne the burden and heat of the day."That same noun form of this word is used in Gal. 6:2, "Bear ye one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

We must understand that God’s commands are not burdensome. They were not given to weigh us down and to cause grief. You say, "But when I look at these commands, especially this command to love, I find that I fall short. How can I look at this command and not be burdened?" I’m glad you asked that question. I have two answers that you need to consider.

First of all, conviction from the Spirit of God is a blessing. If you read the Lord’s commands and are convicted by the Spirit, praise His name. Give Him thanks. The alternative is frightening. The alternative is to be able to read those commands and just go on without giving them a thought. That is evidence of a hard heart. The good news about the conviction of the Spirit is that we don’t have to go on bearing the burden of that conviction. John has already told us how to handle this situation. "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (I Jn. 1:9). "But it seems like I am always confessing my sins." Give praise to God that you have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous, who is the propitiation for our sins. That’s one reason He died, that we might come again to Him in confession, being confident that He will indeed forgive and cleanse us. Remember, the Lord corrects those whom He loves.

Now for a second blessing that comes out of the realization that we fall short of what He commands… While it is true that we find ourselves falling short, these commands are not intended to be burdensome. So let’s read them in a way that fills us with hope. Look again at 4:7, "Beloved, let us love one another; for love is of God, and everyone that loveth is born of God and knoweth God." There is certainly a time to confess our sin, when we find that there is a certain "one another" that we are not loving. But there is also a time to look at the command and say, "Father, I thank you that you have commanded us to love one another. That means it is possible for us to do it. But how can it ever be? Because love is from God and everyone that loves is born of God and knows God. Because God has put His love within us, we can indeed love one another." Our enemy screams at us and says, "No, you can’t." And when we mess up, he adds, "See there; I told you that you couldn’t do it." But we trust God and what He says in His Word.

I remind you again of the testimony of John Wesley, who took this approach with the words of I Jn. 2:6, "He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked." John Wesley said something like this: "Since God says that I ought to live as Jesus lived, that means it is a definite possibility. By His grace it can be so in my life." And he praised God for that divine possibility. That command wasn’t grievous, wasn’t burdensome, to him.

Conclusion

I must say another word to you this morning. This little letter is intended to be an encouragement to those who have trusted in the name of the Son of God and who have eternal life as a result. Let’s read it again in 1 John 5:13, "These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life…" As we see a deepening trust in the Lord Jesus, as we observe a growing obedience to the Father, as we detect an overwhelming love for our brothers and sisters, we are encouraged, even in the face of failure. Praise God that we are given this letter, that our joy might be full. Let’s read again that other purpose for John’s writing of this letter in 1 John 1:3, "That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ."

On the other hand, this letter was not intended to be an encouragement to those who have not yet received the life from above. It has no encouragement for the person who has only an outward form of religion. It is not a letter of encouragement to the one who has serious doubts about his or her own life but will not face those doubts.

Perhaps you have been coming and listening to these searching words of the scripture which we have been studying for the past few months. Sometimes you are so burdened that you don’t think you can stand it. Nevertheless, you leave this place and find that you are able to put these things out of your mind. May I gently remind you of some undeniably truths? Life is short. And what the world has to offer will not sustain you past the grave. God didn’t create you to search for your own happiness, but to seek His glory, and in glorifying Him we find the satisfaction for which He made us in the first place. "For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?" (Matt. 16:26). So "labor not for the meat that perishes, but for that meat which endures unto everlasting life…" (Jn. 6:27). How I pray that not one of us will be in that great crowd which will hear Jesus say, "I never knew you; depart from me, you who practice lawlessness."