Let Us Love One Another #2 -- Oct. 6, 2013

Sunday, October 6, 2013

LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER  (Part 2)

"Love Is Our Nature"

(I John)

            Let's suppose that one of you young ones is invited to spend the summer with a cousin in another state.  After much consideration, your parents decide to let you do it.  You are thrilled because you know that they have all kinds of animals, and you dearly love animals.  After you arrive on the farm, there is one particular farm animal that steals your heart.  Of all things, it's a pig.  You just adore the twinkle in the eye of that pig, when you come near.  Sometimes when you run, the pig will chase you, as if the two of you were playmates.

            There is only one thing that bothers you about that pig -- he's always dirty.  And no wonder, he rolls around in the mud.  After getting permission from your uncle, you decide that you are going to make a true pet out of that little pig.  The first thing you do is give her a name -- Penny.  You let Penny chase you up toward the house and you catch her.  By now, she is pretty friendly and doesn't mind hanging around with you.  It takes you all day, but you are able to build her a little pen, where she stays when you aren't playing with her.  Above all, you give Penny a bath and clean her up.  You are amazed at how beautiful and shiny she looks, after you have finished.  To top it all off, you tie a little pink bow in her tail. 

            Everything is fine until you decide to take her for a walk one morning.  The rain from the night before has given the countryside a fresh smell.  You and Penny are on top of the world.  Then it happens.  You don't give it a second thought, as you pass by a big mud puddle.  Neither does Penny give it a second thought.  You suddenly see what is going to happen and you shout, "No, Penny," but it does not good.  Before you can say "Penny the pig," she is happily rooting around in that mud puddle.  What a mess.  You don't understand.  Why would she prefer the mud puddle to the better life you had given her?

            So why did Penny run for the mud puddle at the first opportunity?  Because that is her nature; that's what pigs do.  Pigs and puddles go together like peaches and cream, like peanut butter and Karo syrup.  No matter how clean you get the pig, no matter how many ribbons you tie on the tail, you can't take the pig out of Penny.  She may be a thing of beauty on the outside, but she is still a pig on the inside, and she will always be looking for puddles.  That's her nature.

            So what do pigs and puddles have to do with the theme "Let us love one another?"  A great deal.  Trying to get a group of human beings to love one another as Christ loved them is similar to trying to keep a pig out of a mud puddle.  Consider one vivid example.  Cain and Abel were brothers.  As a matter of fact, they were the first brothers on the planet. Unless there were already some sisters we don't know about, the entire world population consisted of Cain, Abel, and their parents Adam and Eve.  So there was no bad environment upon which to blame any lack of love.  No peer pressure could cause them to hate or despise one another.  But listen to what John says about Cain in I John 3:11-12, "For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, 12 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."  We might have expected Cain and Abel to love one another, but that was not the case.  In the very early beginnings of the human race we find jealousy, hatred, and murder.

            Now let's read from Tit. 3:1-3...

Remind them to be subject to rulers and authorities, to obey, to be ready for every good work, 2 to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. 3 For we ourselves were also once foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving various lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another.

            Paul freely confesses that he, along with Timothy, was foolish, disobedient, deceived, etc.  Among the qualities he and other believers once possessed is "hating one another."  Paul is simply saying that there was a time when it was perfectly natural for them to hate one another.  Compare this passage with Eph. 2:1-3...

And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins, 2 in which you once walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, 3 among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of our flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Notice especially those words in verse 3, "and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others."  Paul is clearly saying that there was a time when he was of a different nature, when he was by nature under the wrath of God.  Yes, it was his nature to hate others.

            Let's be clear.  The natural state of human beings is to hate one another.  We are quick to point out that even unbelievers do nice things for one another.  Yes, but when it comes to the godly love of I Cor. 13 and I John, unbelievers know nothing of it.  That is why both Paul and John speak of this lack of love in terms of hatred.  It is not the nature of human beings to love one another, but rather to hate one another.

            Last week we stressed that as followers of Jesus, love is our duty.  Let's read it again:  .  3:11, "For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another."  3:16, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."  4:7, "Beloved, let us love one another."  4:11, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."  4:21, "And this commandment we have from Him:  that he who loves God must love his brother also."  

            The other truth we considered last week from I John was this:  Love Is Our Heritage.  "We love Him, because He first loved us" (I John 4:19).  John does not simply command love and leave us there.  He reminds us that we have a Father who loves us.  "In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the pro-pitation for our sins" (4:10).  Not only has God the Father loved us with an unspeakable love, but so has His Son Jesus.  We read it in 3:16, By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.  And we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."  We have been adopted into this family of love.  Love is our heritage.  We have inherited this love from our Father and have seen it demonstrated by our older brother Jesus.

            This morning we are going to go one step further.  Though this truth is related to the fact that love is our heritage from a loving heavenly Father, we are going to let it stand alone.  The truth to which I refer is simply this...

III.  Love Is Our Nature

            Come to chapter 4.  Let's read I John 4:7-11...

Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. 8 He who does not love does not know God, for God is love. 9 In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

            The foundational truth is this:  God is love (vs. 8).  It is God's nature to love.  If he failed to love, He would no longer be God, because God is love.  There is only one way to accurately define love, and that is to look at God.  Again in verse 16 we see this truth repeated, "God is love."  God does not choose to love; God is love.  Everything He does is loving, because He is love.

            Now look again at verse 7, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God."  Here again is the command to love one another; it is our duty.  But following the command, John gives the reason we are able to obey the command.  It is because God is love.  But what does that have to do with us?  He tells us in the rest of verse 7 and in verse 8, "And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.  He who does not love does not know God, for God is love."  Notice that phrase "born of God."  That is key.  For the believer, God is not only our Father through adoption, but also through birth.  We have been born of God.  Then why were we adopted into His family?  I guess you could say that we are doubly His. 

            Remember what Jesus said to Nicodemus:  "You must be born again" (John 3:7).  That is true for every human being.  We will never see the kingdom of God unless we are born again, unless we are born from above through the Spirit of God.  The new birth is both a necessity and a miracle.  Though we can't see that miracle take place, Jesus said that we can see the evidence of the new birth, just as we can't see the wind, but we see the evidence of it.  And what is the evidence of the new birth?  One of the greatest evidences is the presence of this love which is of God.  "Everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.."  If you have been born of God, you will love.  The converse is just as true:  "He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." 

            Do you see it?  With the new birth comes the new nature.  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (II Cor. 5:17).   Before we were born of the Spirit, we could not love with God's love.  Such love was foreign to our nature.  But now in Christ, our nature is to love, to love God, to love one another, and to love our neighbor.  We can and will demonstrate this love.  If we don't, then we have not been born of God.

            We find the same truth back in I John 3.  I John 3:7-10...

Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteous, just as He is righteous. 8 He who sins is of the devil, for the devil has sinned from the beginning. For this purpose the Son of God was manifested, that He might destroy the works of the devil. 9 Whoever has been born of God does not sin, for His seed remains in him; and he cannot sin, because he has been born of God. 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.

            Notice that phrase "born of God" in verse 9.  When John says "whoever has been born of God does not sin," he does not mean to say that the believer will never commit a single sin.  Remember 1:8, "If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us."  But the person who has been born of God does not live a lifestyle of sin.  Why not?  Because God's seed remains in him.  It is not possible for him to live that lifestyle of sin, because he has been born of God.  It is in that context that John then tells us, "Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother."  Failure to love the brethren is a demonstration that a person's nature has not been changed; he has not been born of God.

            We have seen this change of nature and its relation to love in both chapters 3 and 4.  Now come to chapter 5.  I John 5:1-3...

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who 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 burdensome.

            "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God."  Obviously, the belief of which John speaks is far more than intellectual acceptance.  There are many who profess belief in Jesus as the Messiah, but who will hear Jesus say, "Depart from me; I never knew you."  John is speaking about true genuine trust in the Lord Jesus, the kind of trust Thomas demonstrated when he cried out, "My Lord and my God."  The possession of this genuine faith is evidence that he has been born of God. 

            Now look at the statement that immediately follows:  "And everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him."  Notice that true belief in Jesus as the Messiah translates into love for God.  He assumes that the one who believes in Jesus will love God.  But that is not all -- everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him.  What does that mean?  It means that if you love God, you will love all the children of God.  This echoes what Jesus taught:  "If God were your Father, you would love Me, for I proceeded forth and came from God" (John 8:42).  Bear in mind that Jesus spoke these words to religious Jews who claimed to love God with all their hearts, but Jesus said it wasn't true.  Just as it is impossible to love God and not love Jesus, it is impossible to love God and not love His children. 

            Don't miss the fact that such love for God and His children is our very nature.  Notice that in verse 1 directly between belief in Jesus and love for God's children are the words "born of God."  Just as surely as the new birth produces faith in Jesus and love for God, it also results in love for the children of God. 

            In verses 2 and 3 John connects this love that comes from our nature with the command to love.  Remember, love is our duty.  Verse 2, "By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments."  As love for God's children flows out of love for God, so love for God is evidence that we truly love His children.  In other words, you can't separate love for God from love for His children.  They go hand in hand, as do love and the keeping of God's commandments.  Remember again what Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my command-ments" (John 14:15). 

            Then in verse 3 John closes the loop even more tightly.  "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments."  And what is the most important commandment of all?  Love.  Belief, love for God, love for others, and keeping God's commandments are woven together so tightly in this passage that they cannot be pried apart.  If you love God, then keep His commandments.  He commands us to love.  If you love, you will keep His commandments.

            And finally, John tells us that His commandments are not burdensome.  Why not?  Because it is our nature to love God and love one another.  It isn't a burden for a young girl to act like her mother.  That is her very nature.  Nor is it a burden for the child of God to love like His Father loves; that is his nature. 

Conclusion

            The nature of the pig includes longing for the mud.  Pigs are made for mud holes, and mud holes are made for pigs.  You can take the pig out of the mud, but you can't take the mud out of the pig.  If you don't want the pig to head for the mud, then you better work to make it something other than a pig.

            That was a rather discouraging illustration, because we don't think of lounging in mud as a very uplifting thing.  So let's conclude with a much more edifying example of someone who always acts according to His nature.  I am now thinking about the Lord God Himself.  He always acts according to His nature.  And it is a part of His nature to love, for God is love.  Every single thing He does is out of love.  Every thought He thinks is loving.  There are no exceptions.  The Lord God always acts according to His loving nature, and He always will.  The only way that could ever change is if He ceases to be God, and there is not a chance.

            So how do those truths affect us?  God made the pig in such a way that it will always be a pig.  No man is capable of making a pig to be anything else.  God also made man, but man is not like a pig.  The difference is not just in the fact that we only have two legs and enjoy a cleaner lifestyle.  Man is actually much dirtier than the pig; it's just that the dirt is on the inside instead of the outside.  Man is a sinner by nature.  We must say with David, "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity, and in sin did my mother conceive me" (Ps. 51:5).  We were all dead in our trespasses and sins (Eph. 2:1).  And no matter how hard we tried, we could not escape that death.  We were slaves to sin and Satan, and no human being has ever been able to break those chains.  In short, man is not able to change his own sinful nature.

            Here is the good news -- God did what no man could do.  God is able to change the nature of any man or woman.  "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new" (II Cor. 5:17).  This is what happens to every person who is born again by the Spirit of God.  Let's read it in Eph. 2:8-10, "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast. 10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."  Our old nature could accomplish nothing but filthy rags in God's sight, but now, since we have been created in Christ Jesus, we are able to live a life full of good works.  This change is radical.  It is like the difference between night and day, between death and life.  It is the difference.  Rom. 5:19, "For as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so also by one Man's obedience many will be made righteous."  Understand that the root of this new nature is the work of our Lord Jesus Christ in His death and resurrection.  His obedience to the will of the Father makes it possible for us to be born of the Spirit and become a new person in Jesus.

            Please hear me.  If you have not been born of the Spirit, if you have not been made new in Jesus Christ, it is impossible to love with this love we find in I Cor. 13 and I John.  No amount of striving and hard work will enable you to love like this.  And he who does not love does not know God, because God is love (I John 4:8).  If you have not received this new life in Christ, the issue for you is not loving others, but being reconciled to God.  You are the enemy of God and are under the wrath of God.  But praise God that through the death and resurrection of His Son, you can be forgiven, cleansed, and made new.  I urge you to repent and believe.  Give up on yourself and throw yourself on the Lord Jesus.

            But if you have indeed become a new creation in Christ, not only can you love like this, but this love is both your heritage and your nature.  You were created anew to live this kind of love.  This is your destiny for all eternity, and it begins now. 

            Since it the nature of true believers to love God and love one another, what should we do?  Abide in Christ.  Set your minds on things above.  Realize that our "outward man is perishing, but our inward man is being renewed day by day...  as we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen.  For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal" (II Cor. 4:16,18).  The more we cultivate fellowship with our Lord, the more this love will flow through us to one another.  This love is not worked up, but this "love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us" (Rom. 5:6).

Let Us Love One Another (I John) -- Sept. 29, 2013

Sunday, September 29, 2013

* I did not preach the sermon in this form.  Some of it was left out; some other things were added.  If you want to hear what was actually preached, listen to these two files...

https://www.dropbox.com/s/rk1lddoncpgfjhh/9%20-%2029%20%20Let%20Us%20Love%20One%20Another%20%20%231.mp3

https://www.dropbox.com/s/h71qksvg11klu97/9%20-%2029%20%20Let%20Us%20Love%20One%20Another%20%20%232.mp3

LET US LOVE ONE ANOTHER

I John

            For the past two weeks we have been looking at I Cor. 13, commonly referred to as "the love chapter."  I have stressed that the location of this chapter is no accident.  Paul deliberately spoke about love in relation to the gifts of the Spirit.  That was necessary because as the gift-rich church of Corinth exercised the gifts, there was a great lack of love.  Our general outline has looked like this...

           Love Is the Context:  How shall we exercise the gifts of the Spirit?  In the context of love

           Love Is the Catalyst:  What will prompt us to exercise the Spirit's gifts?  Love

           Love is the Test:  How do we know if it is truly a spiritual gift?  Does it demonstrate love?

            Let's take time this morning to read I Cor. 12:31-13:8...

But earnestly desire the best gifts. And yet I show you a more excellent way. 13:1 Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. 2 And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing. 4 Love suffers long and is kind; love does not envy; love does not parade itself, is not puffed up; 5 does not behave rudely, does not seek its own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; 6 does not rejoice in iniquity, but rejoices in the truth; 7 bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. 8 Love never fails. But whether there are prophecies, they will fail; whether there are tongues, they will cease; whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away.

            I trust that you are able to see that love is the key.  Paul made it very clear that the exercise of any or all of the gifts apart from love is useless.  Love is that God-given quality that stands above every gift and above all the gifts combined.  It is the more excellent way that puts the gifts of the Spirit in proper perspective.  Remember that the Spirit who distributes the gifts according to His own pleasure is the Spirit who produces in us the fruit of the Spirit, and the first and foremost aspect of that fruit is love.  "The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace..." (Gal. 5:22).  When we truly love one another, we will be motivated to use the Spirit's gifts to express that love.  As we do, the emphasis will not be upon the gifts, but upon the Lord and His love.

            Having said that, we must now ask the question:  "What is it that hinders us from loving one another?"  That question might possibly prompt you to ask another question:  "Pastor, are you saying that we don't love one another?"  Two weeks ago I tried to emphasize the fact that when it comes to loving one another, we have much to learn.  Brothers and sisters, it's the truth.  We are very weak when it comes to loving one another. 

            As you think about that assessment, let me give you a word of caution.  Don't evaluate our love for one another by comparing us to other churches.  If you want a measuring stick, go to the New Testament.  There you will be confronted with the example of the Christians in Macedonia.  Though their own poverty made it difficult for them to make ends meet, they joyfully sent a generous offering to the saints in Jerusalem, whom they had never met.  It is no wonder that the Roman historian Tertullian said of the Christians in the second century, "Oh how they love one another."

            So what is it that hinders us from loving one another?  I don't pretend to know all the answers, but I am deeply convicted that the Holy Spirit wants to give us insights from I John.  Again, I make no claim to be the only one, or even the primary one, who can discover those insights.  That is why I have been urging you this week to read I John.  As the people of God, let's come to the Word, expecting our Lord to speak to us for His glory. 

            Brothers and sisters, I believe much of our problem in loving one another does not come from direct dis-obedience nor from a lack of desire.  Much of our difficulty is due to a lack of understanding.  We talk about God's love, but do we really understand it?  Of course, we will never understand it perfectly.  That is one of the things that is so glorious about the love of God -- it is inexhaustible.  Nevertheless, if we don't know what this love is, how can we express it to one another?  Before you write me off and conclude that you understand this love well enough, stay with me while we work through some of these glorious passages in I John. 

            Last week I shared with you that I believe the Lord will call us to repentance for our lack of love for one another.  Perhaps there is more truth in that than I realized.  The actual Greek word that is translated "repent" literally means "to change the mind."  Of course, true repentance will result in a change that goes far beyond the mind, but it begins with a change of mind.  As Spurgeon put it, "It is, in fact, a change of mind of a very deep and practical character, which makes the man love what once he hated and hate what once he loved."  Paul said, "And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind..." (Rom. 12:2).  Brothers and sisters, this idea of loving one another is an area where we desperately need to have our minds renewed.  And that is exactly why we are going to spend our time in the Word this morning, specifically in I John.

            Suppose we had an enemy who didn't want us to love one another.  Do you think he would whisper to us, "Hate that woman"?  "Despise that young man"?  No, if he did that, we would recognize him as the enemy and would flee from his suggestions.  But what if he carefully designed a counterfeit to rival God's love?  What if he made it such a good thing that it appeared to be godly?  Do you think we might fall for such a counterfeit?  That is much of our problem.  Love is such a dominant theme in the world that if we are not saturated with the Word of God, then we inevitably are influenced by the world's concept of love.  That concept is not ugly and repulsive, but neither is it the kind of godly love we encounter in I Corinthians 13 and I John.

            So what do the authorities do when they train their agents to sniff out counterfeits?  I am told that the best strategy is to be so familiar with the real thing that you can spot anything that deviates in the slightest detail.  So we will not spend most of our time looking at the world's concept of love, but we will give our attention to discovering what God's Word says about this love.  And there is no better place to look than John's writings.  In these five chapters, John uses the word "love" some 46 times. 

            So let's look at some of the characteristics of love in I John.  We have already read a large portion of the letter, so we will just plunge right into it.

I.  Love Is Our Duty -- God Commands It

            Immediately someone is bound to say, "You can't command love."  No, I can't, but God can.  Deut. 6:4-5, "Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God, the LORD is one! 5 You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength."  And as you know so well, when asked what was the greatest commandment in the law, Jesus quoted this exact injunction.  His addition, "You shall love your neighbor as yourself" was a quotation of His Father's command from Lev. 19:18.  

            Now John the apostle, taking His cues from Jesus, commanded that same love.  3:11, "For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another."  3:16, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.  And we ought to lady down our lives for the brethren."  Do you hear those words "should" and "ought"?  They are words of command.  4:7, "Beloved, let us love one another."  4:11, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another."  4:21, "And this commandment we have from Him:  that he who loves God must love his brother also."  God commanded love through His Son Jesus, and He did the same through the apostle John.

            "But I still don't understand.  How can God command love?  Love isn't something we can turn off and on."  That raises the question:  "What is love?  What is this love of which Jesus and John spoke so often?"  The fact that God commands this love helps us to better understand it.  You see, the kind of love this world advertises can't be commanded.  I am not saying that all the kinds of love in this world are bad, just that none of them measure up to the agape love we find in the New Testament.  By the way, I might use that word agape from time to time.  It is used quite often in Christian circles to identify this specific love of God we find here in I John, on the lips of Jesus, and in Paul's love chapter, I Cor. 13.  ________, could anyone command you to fall in love with your wife?  How many years ago was it?  It had nothing to do with a command, did it?  ________, I'm not saying it wasn't a good thing; I am just stating that it isn't the kind of love of which John is speaking.

            Okay, let's state the obvious -- love is not a feeling.  Can love include feelings?  Yes.  Is love ever emotional?  Absolutely.  Nevertheless, the core of  this love is not feeling.  Because we have been influenced so much by the world, we tend to drift toward the attitude:  "You either love someone or you  don't.  There really isn't much you can do about it."  That kind of attitude treats love like it is some kind of chemical reaction over which we have no control.  That is the farthest thing from the concept of God's love.

            Someone has put it well in this little statement:  "Love is a verb."  Rather that asking you, "Do you love others?"  it would be better for me to ask you, "Are you loving others?"  Do you see the difference?  The second question:  "Are you loving others?" suggests action.  God's love is an attitude that always leads to action.  We see this in the world's best-known Bible verse:  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..." (John 3:16).  Because He loved, He gave.  Amy Carmichael made a little statement that went something like this:  "You can give without loving, but you can't love without giving."  It's true.  Love that doesn't give isn't love.  That is exactly what John was saying in I John 3:16-18, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. 17 But whoever has this world's goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? 18 My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."

            Not only is love not a feeling, but we learn from 3:18 that love does not consist of words.  "Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth."  Some of you are aware that what James says in two verses, James greatly expands in the second chapter of his little letter.  The difference is that James is exposing a counterfeit faith, while John is working to undermine a counterfeit love.  So is it wrong to tell another that you love him or her?  No, not at all, but always remember that words are cheap.  If they are not supported by action, they can be worse than nothing. 

            So this agape love from God is not contrary to feelings, nor is it opposed to affectionate words, but the essential ingredient of this love is giving, the giving of self.  This love may generate wonderful feelings and gentle words, but the feelings and words can never give birth to this love.  As we have said many times before, God's love within the believer is an attitude that actively seeks God's best for the other person, and that has special meaning within the body of Christ. 

            Wednesday evening we were looking again at I Cor. 13, considering the nature of this agape love.  During our discussion, someone mentioned another passage from I John which deals with love and commands.  Let's read I John 5:1-3...

Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who 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 burdensome.

            God commands us as His children, even commanding us to love, but His commands are not burdensome.  How can this be?  How is it possible that love can be our duty and that duty not be a burden upon us?  We will be answering this question, as we continue to examine what John says about this agape love.  Love is our duty, but love is much more.

            Brothers and sisters, if we are going to effectively love one another, we must understand that God commands love.  And because this love can be commanded, it does not consist in feelings and words.  Love gives.  Jesus summed it up with the words, "If you love me, keep my commandments" (John 14:15). 

II.  Love Is Our Heritage -- We Love Him Because He First Loved Us (4:19)

            We inherit many things from our parents and grandparents.  You may be thinking, "No, my parents didn't have much to leave me."  I'm not talking about physical things you can see with your eyes; I'm speaking of something much deeper.  Regardless of the size of our parents' physical estate, we have an heritage.  One of the definitions of "heritage" is "something transmitted or acquired from a predecessor."  We might say, "Sarah acquired a love of the outdoors from her mother; that is part of our heritage."

            Brothers and sisters, we have a rich heritage from our heavenly Father, and part of that heritage is love.  This principle is stated most concisely in I John 4:19, "We love Him because He first loved us."  I am aware that some of your translations do not contain the word "Him," but read simply, "We love because He first loved us."  The addition or omission of the word "Him" is due to a difference in Greek texts.  Whichever way you read it, it is a true statement.  We love God because He first loved us.  We love in general because He first loved us.  The emphasis is on the truth that God first loved us.  If that were not true, it would be absolutely impossible for us to demonstrate the godly love that is described here in I John and in I Corinthians 13.  A life of love is the heritage we have received from our Father.

            Now let's go back to chapter 3.  I John 3:1-3...

Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God! Therefore the world does not know us, because it did not know Him. 2 Beloved, now we are children of God; and it has not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we know that when He is revealed, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. 3 And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.

            Can we even begin to understand the love that our heavenly Father has poured out upon us?  We could list all the wonderful things He has done for us, but John wraps our list up in one great bundle, when he says "that we should be called the children of God."  A man might do many wonderful things for a boy in the neighborhood.  Maybe that young man has no father of his own.  So you take him to a ball game.  You have him join you and your own sons for a fishing trip.  When he is hurting, you sit down and listen to him, giving him advice when the time is right.  But in spite of all the things you do, he isn't like your sons.  You're not his father.  But what if you made him your own son?  What if you adopted him and he became as much your son as the other boys you had raised from birth?  This one act of love would overshadow all the other things you had done for him.  Try to let this sink in -- if you are in Christ Jesus, then God has made you His child.  To that John says, "Wow!  What kind of love is this!"

            This concept becomes more and more powerful as we continue to come to a better understanding of who God is.  It is one thing to be adopted by the man down the street; it is something else to be adopted by a king.  This idea is difficult for us, because we don't live in a society that is governed by a king, but what if we did.  For just a moment transport yourself back to the days of David, the greatest earthly king who ever ruled over God's people.  He was deeply loved by the people of the Jewish nation.  David was not only their king, but he was their hero.  Imagine being adopted by this wonderful king.

             King David himself understood something of this concept.  Do you remember what it was like for David before he became king?  Saul was the first king of Israel.  After David killed the giant Goliath, Saul brought David into his court.  He took a great liking to this brave young man.  But then something happened.  Saul began to realize that David's popularity with the Israelites was rivaling his own.  As Saul put it, "They have ascribed to David ten thousands, and to me that have ascribed only thousands.  Now what more can he have but the kingdom" (I Sam. 18:8).  Saul was jealous of David, so much so that he threw a spear at him.  But then Saul came up with a plan.  "Then Saul said to David, 'Here is my older daughter Merab; I will give her to you as a wife.  Only be valiant for me, and fight the Lord's battles.'  For Saul thought, 'Let my hand not be against him, but let the hand of the Philistines be against him'" (18:17).  Wasn't that a fine way to reward David for all he had done!  When Saul sent his servants to David, urging him to accept Saul's offer, David responded with these words, "Does it seem to you a light thing to be a king's son-in-law, seeing I am a poor and lightly esteemed man?" (18:23).  Because David had such high respect for the Lord's anointed, he saw even being the king's son-in-law as a great honor.  If David was in awe of being son-in-law to a wicked king who was trying to kill him, how much more amazed are we at being adopted by the Creator and King of the universe, who has poured out His love upon us?

            But that's only part of the story.  What is even more amazing is what it cost God to adopt us as His children.  This is where we find the love of God to be absolutely amazing.  I John 4:9-10, "In this the love of God was manifested toward us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. 10 In this is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins."  God did not just decide it would be a nice thing to adopt some of us, draw up some papers, and welcome us to the family.  How could the righteous and holy Creator bring a bunch of wicked God-haters into the family as His sons and daughters?  We were dead in our trespasses and sins.  Could He bring such death into the family?  How could He give His name to those who despised His name?  There was only one way to rectify the situation, and that was through the giving of His own Son as a wrath-bearing sacrifice for us.  He made Jesus, who knew no sin, to be sin for us, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him (II Cor. 5:21).  Nothing less could fit us for being His children. 

            When it comes to God loving us, I have a problem.  It isn't that I don't believe it intellectually.  The truth is well established in my head, but how can I say I truly believe it, if it doesn't motivate me to love.  Make no mistake about it, the motivation for loving God and others is believing and receiving His love.  Earlier I talked about repentance being a change of mind.  But understand that repentance never operates alone.  As we often say, repentance is one side of the coin, but what is the other?  Faith, belief.  You can't put one side a coin in your pocket; you have to take both sides.  If repentance is the real thing, it will include belief.  Hear me carefully:  God is calling us to change our mind about love and believe that He loves us.  The key is not our love for God, but His love for us.  "We love Him because He first loved us."  "This is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us..."  When we believe that truth in a deep, practical, biblical way, we cannot but love.  It's our heritage.

            Our problem is that we think we grasp this truth in our mind, but the lack of excitement it stirs deep within is shocking.  We have read and quoted John 3:16 so many times that we are in danger of losing the shock value of it.  I use the word "shock" on purpose.  "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son..."  Do we have any idea what we are saying?  Let me try to illustrate it for us.  Suppose you have a young son, perhaps 14 years old.  You live in a rather rough neighborhood, and a certain gang has singled out your son and makes a sport out of harassing him.  They shove him around, take things from him, and call him names.  After a while, they become a bit more aggressive and beat him up.  One day you send him out on an errand, and you know what is going to happen.  Sure enough, on this particular day they ambush him, beat him, and leave him lying in the street.  He's dead.  You sent him out there, knowing not only that these boys would beat him to death, but also knowing that you would adopt into your family some of those very boys who killed him.  That's what God did.  It's one thing to forgive, it's another to make us His sons and daughters.

            May He open our minds and hearts to see the depth of that love.  "Behold, what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God" (3:1).  The scriptures are full of this incredible love God has for us.  Romans 5:6-8, "For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die; yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die. 8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us."  See the picture the hymn writer sets before us...

Could we with ink the ocean fill, and were the skies of parchment made,

Were every stalk on earth a quill, and every man a scribe by trade;

To write the love of God above would drain the ocean dry,

Nor could the scroll contain the whole, though stretched from sky to sky.

            Now come back to what we read in 4:9-10.  After setting forth this mind-boggling love the Father has for us, John then says in verse 11, "Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to love one another."  This love is our heritage.  We learn it from our Father.  Because He first loved us, we express this love in our relationships with our brothers and sisters.  Yes, love is our duty, but it is far more than that; it is our heritage.  We learned it from our Father, and we practice that same love for His glory.

            When we talk about love being our heritage, we have to take it a step further.  Think about the family of God and our place in that family.  By the way, just in case you don't understand, let me make it clear that not everyone (not even everyone here this morning) has been adopted into God's family.  Some of you are still dead in your trespasses and sins.  You have no hope and you are without God in the world (Eph. 2:11).  You are in constant danger of breathing your last breath and descending into eternal darkness.  But praise God for the truth of John 1:12, "But as many as received Him [Jesus], to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name."  Though you are presently under the wrath of God, it is not too late for you to throw yourself on the Christ who bore your sins.  You too can become a child of God.  I urge you this very morning to repent and believe the good news of Jesus.  Give up on yourself and trust Jesus and Jesus alone.        

            Now back to where I was...   Before God adopted any of the human race to be His own, did He have any children?  Indeed, He did.  Jesus is described as His only begotten Son.  How long had God the Father and Jesus His Son enjoyed this father-son relationship?  For all eternity, for "in the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  The same was in the beginning with God" (John 1:1-2).  "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, that we might receive the adoption of sons" (Gal. 4:4-5).  Jesus is the eternal Son of God, and now through Him we are the adopted sons of God.  Though there will always be a distinction between our sonship and His, that does not mean we are second-class children.  In fact, Heb. 2:11 tells us that Jesus is not ashamed to call us "brothers."  Jesus is our elder brother.

            Now come back to I John and notice the example of our older brother Jesus.  3:16, "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us.  And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren."  Not only did God send His Son to be the propitiation for our sins, but the spotless Son of God freely laid down His life for us.  Long before they came to arrest Jesus, He said, "Therefore, My Father loves Me, because I lay down My life that I may take it again.  Not one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself.  I have power to lay it down, and I have power to take it again.  This command I have received from My Father" (John 10:17-18).  What love we see in Jesus!  He went to the cross for us, where the Lord laid on Him the iniquity of us all.  This too is part of our heritage.  We have experienced the love of the Father, and we also have the loving example of our older brother Jesus. 

Conclusion

            Yes, love is our duty.  We are commanded not only to love God, but also to love one another.  But these commandments to love are not a burden to us; they are a joy.  Remember how Jesus connected love and obedience.  John 14:15, "If you love Me, keep My commandments."  But what did Jesus say immediately after that?  "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever--the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you" (14:16-17).  It is the Holy Spirit who not only gives us the ability to love, but He is also the One who makes it a joy.

            Praise God that love is far more than our duty; it is also our heritage.  "We love Him because He first loved us" (I John 4:19).  Not only does the Father love us, but so does His Son Jesus.  "I am crucified with Christ; nevertheless, I live; yet not I, but Christ lives in me, and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by the faith of the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me" (Gal. 2:20).  Jesus loved me and gave Himself for me personally.  Since the Father loves me, the most natural thing in the world is for me to long to demonstrate the same kind of love.  And the most supernatural thing is for His Spirit who lives in me to give me the power to do it.  Jesus demonstrated that same love, and I am being conformed into His image day by day.  He did the will of the Father, and that will was to love even the unlovable.  I John 2:6, "He who says he abides in him ought himself also to walk, even as He walked."  I ought to love like Jesus loved, and I know God wouldn't command me to do something He will not enable me to do.

            I do believe the Lord is calling us to repentance and to faith.  I am not going to ask you to get on your knees and pray some specific prayer of repentance this morning.  There is a time for that, but I don't believe that's where we are right now.  Rather, I am calling us to cry out to God with all our hearts in these days.  And what do we cry?  "Father, open my eyes to the fullness of your love.  Let me truly see how much you love me.  Bring to life the scriptures I know so well."  I am not suggesting that you put this on your prayer list and remember to mention it every day.  I am urging you to live in this prayer day and night until the Lord answers.  Three or four years ago we spent some time looking at fasting.  Yes, this might well be a time to fast and pray.  For us right now, I know of nothing more important than letting our Father renew our minds concerning His love for us. 

            Jesus put it this way, as He poured out His heart to His Father that last night on earth, "I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me" (John 17:23).  Jesus' words reveal that God the Father loves us, His children, just as He loved Jesus.  May our Lord give us grace to receive and rejoice in that good news.

            Let's pray right now...