The Christian Loves His Brothers And Sisters (1 John 3:10-18)
I have seen some beautiful acts of love in my life. A man’s house burned down and his church gave him enough stuff and money to get back on his feet. I have seen a person lose their job and the church step in and pay needed bills through love offerings. I have been a part of working at church members’ homes because they needed something and couldn’t afford to hire it done. I have also heard a few stories about the kindnesses shown from people at this church toward brothers and sisters in need long before I ever got here. But when you’re in the ministry you get to see it, sometimes more clearly than other people. And the reason for that is you hear the problem, then you talk with people, and then you see the solution to that problem. You oftentimes get to see what happens from start to finish. And, let me tell you, Christians love one another. And I feel blessed to have been able to see it in numerous ways.
I have also seen church members behave in horrible ways toward one another. I have seen church fights. I have seen people on the same church membership rolls that hate one another. I have witnessed people go on for a long period of time without being able to say hello to one another. And the only mention of the other person’s name is a sneer. And I have to say, it makes me incredibly sad to have witnessed those things.
But when I turn to God’s Word to attempt to interpret what was going on I find that the Christian loves His brothers and sisters.
This statement does not come in a vacuum. It does not just appear on the scene. John has been building to something spectacular.
Last week we saw that the Christian has been born again and this changes people. We looked at Ezekiel 36:22-27, 2 Corinthians 5:17, and Ephesians 2:1-5 and saw that those who believe have been changed by the power of God. The very essence of who they are is not what it once was. They have been given a new heart and long to follow after God’s ways. And they have been given the Holy Spirit who causes them to walk in His ways. The believer is fundamentally changed, “God’s seed abides in him” and this makes a difference in their life (1 John 3:10 ESV).
John applies this truth in two ways. Last week we saw that the Christian cannot keep living a life that is characterized by rebellion against God. This week we will see that the Christian has been changed and cannot hate His brothers and sisters in Christ.
This is not about getting into a fight with someone at church. This is not about being angry. This is about hating a brother or sister in Christ. The illustration of the camera vs the video camera works here as well. If a person were to catch me in an argument with another believer out in the parking lot and take a picture of it, they would be able to say “Look, he is not a Christian. Look at how he is behaving.” But if he were to videotape my life I would hope that he would see that my life is characterized by love for brothers and sisters in Christ. I would also hope that he would see me repenting for my behavior toward one of God’s people.
What we will see in this text is that the Christian will love His brothers and sisters in Christ.
The Christian Loves And The World Hates (Vv. 10-15)
John discusses love for God’s people as being one of the things that happens in a believer because they have been born again. There is a beautiful kindred spirit that is found in common between people who have been born of God. We are translated out of being people of the world and into the family of God. God’s seed abides in all who are born of God and we have love for one another. That is why 1 John 1:10 ends the way that it does.
“By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother.”—1 John 3:10 ESV
And John says that loving one another was part of the original message that this church heard very early on, in fact he says, “from the beginning” (1 John 1:11 ESV). It’s the same thing that John said in 1 John 2:7. And it’s the message they heard years before when they read the Gospel of John.
“This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. …These things I command you, so that you will love one another.” (John 15:12, 17 ESV)
This message has been a part of this church’s life since its inception and John knows it. And now the heretics want to make it seem as if love for one another does not matter. And they are completely wrong. And then John goes back further into history, the first murder, to examine the nature and the character of the one who hates those he proclaims are his brothers and sisters in Christ.
John compares the world’s behavior toward the righteous and the Christian’s behavior toward the righteous. And he does all of this with the story of Cain and Abel that is found in Genesis 4. John states that Cain “was of the evil one” and he “murdered his brother”. (1 John 3:12 ESV) And John states that the reason Cain did this is because “his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous” (1 John 3:12 ESV). Abel was murdered by Cain because his deeds were righteous.
Why did Cain kill Abel? He was evil. He was of Satan and his works were evil. He saw his brother’s works which were righteous and killed him. In sum, the evil Cain killed Abel because he was evil. What is the point?
The point is to show that this is how the evil have always acted toward the righteous. This is how the world has always acted toward God’s people. The darkness has always been violent toward the light. And this is such a part of the world that we should not be surprised when the world hates us (1 John 3:13). Evil has always hated righteousness.
“The ‘world’ is Cain’s posterity; so we are not to be surprised if the world hates us. It is only to be expected that the wicked should continue to regard and treat the righteous as Cain regarded and treated his righteous brother Abel.”—John Stott, taken from his commentary on this passage from “The Letters of John”
I do believe that there are times when Christians are hated by people because they have said something mean or insensitive, so I don’t want to paint Christians as being perfect. And I don’t mean that Christians should be judged by the world’s standards of righteousness either. I am just saying that there are times when the saints do or say something they should not. But, more often than we realize, Christians are hated because they are righteous.
Look at it this way. Why are Christians murdered in other countries today? Well, we read the news reports and it is obvious to anyone reading that it is because they are Christians. It is because they are God’s people. And to put it in the terms of 1 John, because they are righteous.
Why are Christians hated here? Well, because we live here we can see that it is because we hold to moral viewpoints that the world does not approve of. Or, to put it in the terms of 1 John, because we are upholding righteousness.
Why was the Early Church fed to the lions and covered in pitch and tied to posts to burn as candles at Nero’s garden parties? Because they stated that Jesus was Lord, not Caesar. And because they refused to burn incense at the statue of the Emperor. For that they were killed. Or, to put it in the terms of 1 John, because they were righteous.
And after considering this John points out what he is working toward very plainly.
“We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death.”—1 John 3:14 ESV
He is not holding back here. The Christian’s love for his brothers and sisters in Christ is confirmation that they have been born again. The person who professes faith in Christ but does not love does not have eternal life. They are not in fellowship with the Triune God, the Apostles, or other believers. They are outside of eternal life. Christians love the righteous, therefore they love Christians. This means they have passed from death to life.
Let us ask a rather unpopular question at this point. What does this mean for people that say that they love Jesus but hate the church? Well, it means that unless this is a temporary rebellious phase that they are moving through they are outside of eternal life and still in death.
The person who hates Christians is like Cain, not Able. Abel is a murderer and so is the person who hates the ones they call their brothers and sisters in Christ. At first this is shocking, but if we consider that hatred is the seed of murder in the same way that lust is the seed of adultery then it does make sense. John is simply applying the teaching of his Lord to this situation.
“You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment. But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire.” (Matthew 5:21-22 ESV)
If you hate someone it means that you wish that they were not there, or that they didn’t exist. The murderer is simply the person who carries that desire out himself. But this seed of murder that you hold on to in your heart, if you have it, carries with it the same evil. So, the unrepentant murderer at heart does not have eternal life. How could they? How could they wish that their brother or sister in Christ didn’t exist or wasn’t there? How could they look on them and treat them with that much contempt? How could the only things they have to say about the person be that they are fools or speaking of them in a manner that makes it obvious to everyone that you hate them? How could the murderer at heart have the love of God in His heart? How could he be born again?
The reason that Christians are so often disliked by unbelievers is because they are themselves righteous and being treated like Cain treated Abel. The unbeliever is still part of the evil world system and treats Christians, their values, their morality, their Word, and their ways with contempt in society. There is a massive difference in the believer and the unbeliever. And the person who hates believers is outside of the fellowship that John calls “eternal life”.
I do want to state one thing right now for someone who may read this that has gone through a difficult church situation. There are people who tried to live faithfully who have been treated poorly at church. Sadly, this does happen. And what I want to say is that if you were not misrepresenting the behavior and motives of these people toward you, such as getting mad at a pastor for calling you out on your actual sins, then these people may not have been believers. I have heard of churches made up of one family that really didn’t like outsiders, even if they were faithful believers. I have heard awful stories. And sadly, things like this do happen. And what I want you to know is that not all church situations are like the one that you went through. And if you were to go to a good church were God’s Word is faithfully preached and is led by the Word and not the will of a few obstinate unbelievers then you will find tremendous love. And the reason you will find that is that God has changed the lives of these people. They love because they are loved by God. Christ has redeemed His people and His Spirit has caused them to be born again. The love of God shown to them has caused them to love one another.
We must understand that love so marks the life of a Christian that they do not hate their brothers and sisters in Christ. The person who hates Christians is part of the world. They are like Cain and do not have eternal life.
It is my prayer that our church, and all the people who will be a part of our church, will forever be characterized by love for one another.
I do believe that there are times when Christians are hated by people because they have said something mean or insensitive, so I don’t want to paint Christians as being perfect. But, more often than we realize, Christians are hated because they are righteous.
Consider this, why are Christians murdered in other countries today? Why are they hated there? Why was the Early Church murdered in Rome and other countries? Why were they hated?
The reason that Christians are so often disliked by unbelievers is because they are themselves righteous and being treated like Cain treated Abel. The unbeliever is still part of the evil world system and treats Christians, their values, their morality, their Word, and their ways with contempt in society. There is a massive difference in the believer and the unbeliever.
I do want to state one thing right now for someone who may read this that has gone through a difficult church situation. There are people who tried to live faithfully who have been treated poorly at church. Sadly, this does happen. And what I want to say is that if you were not misrepresenting the behavior of these people toward you, such as getting mad at a pastor for calling out your actual sins, then these people may not have been believers. I have heard of churches made up of one family that really didn’t like outsiders. Things like this happen. And what I want you to know is that not all church situations are like the one that you went through. And if you were to go to a good church where God’s Word is faithfully preached and is led by the Word and not the will of a few obstinate individuals then you will find tremendous love. And the reason you will find that is that God has change the lives of these people. They love because they are loved by God. Christ has redeemed His people and His Spirit has caused them to be born again. The love of God shown to them has caused them to love one another.
We have to understand that love so marks the life of a Christian that they do not hate their brothers and sisters in Christ. The person who hated Christians is part of the world. They are like Cain and do not have eternal life.
It is my prayer that our church, and all the people who will be a part of our church, will forever be characterized by love for one another.
The Christian Loves Like Christ (Vv. 16-17)
This is all find and good, but what does it mean to love? What is love? What is the definition of love? We live in a culture that values love but doesn’t understand it to be anything more than the butterflies of attraction or lust. You can see how bad our culture’s view of love is by looking at teenagers. Many of them will date 20 or so people before they get out of High School and they believe that they loved every one of them with intense devotion. And most of the time it was little more than a feeling of lust. And as weird as the teenager’s view of love is in our day, the society as a whole isn’t much better. And I know this because it’s everywhere I turn. The commercials, television shows, and movies depicting what our society calls love falls terribly short of anything that is even remotely admirable or biblical.
So, that leaves us to ask the question, what is God’s definition of love? How do we know God’s definition of love?
God showed us what love is in the person of Jesus Christ (1 John 3:16). This is how we know what love is, Jesus Christ “laid down his life for us” (1 John 3:16 ESV). And this laying down of life should be mimicked by all those who name the name of Christ.
God the Son didn’t have to come to Earth. He could have stayed in the glories of Heaven and continued to be worshipped and adored. He did not have to take on human flesh and be born a helpless baby. God the Son, for a time in history, laid down some of his privileges in order to become a person who could one day be killed as the sacrifice for our sins. He did not have to come, but He laid down those privileges in an act of love toward us. And He lived a perfect life here on Earth fulfilling God’s Law on our behalf and that life came complete with hardships of many kinds, when He could have remained in Heaven. But He had laid down those privileges as an act of love toward us. And when He could have been enjoying the privileges of being God the Son in Glory a crown of thorns was placed upon His head, He was beaten, He was mocked, He was spit upon, and He was placed on a cross where He paid the full punishment for our sins. He laid down His very life “for the brothers” (1 John 3:16 ESV). That is love. That is the picture God gave us to show us what love is. And that is what we should be doing for one another. We ought to be willing to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
But John knew something about people. We are totally willing to make grandiose gestures and not do the little things. So he follows that up with this,
“But if anyone has the world’s good and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?” (1 John 3:17 ESV)
Laying down our lives is not simply about being willing to die for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Like our Savior, it’s about being willing to live for them to. It’s about being willing to help our brothers and sisters out who are in need. John Stott rightly stated,
“Not many of us are called to lay down our lives in some deed of heroism, but we constantly have the much more prosaic opportunity to share our possessions with those in need.” —John Stott, taken from his commentary on this passage from “The Letters of John”
And how could a person who is a Christian see his brothers and sisters in Christ be in need and not do something about it? And this is John’s point. The Christian has been born of God, given that new heart which is a new essence of who they are. The same seed that abides in you also abides in your brothers and sisters therefore you love them. Those who are Christians love their brothers and sisters in Christ. And if you love other believers then you will lay down your life for them. You will be inconvenienced for them.
The Christian loves like Christ. Jesus laid down His life for our salvation and this has changed us. And in His love for us we see what love is. And this is one of the marks of a life that is changed by God. They love their brothers and sisters in Christ.
God the Son took on human flesh and set aside the glories of Heaven. He went from being worshipped by angels to in a diaper in a manger so that He could one day die on a cross. He laid down so many privileges to lay down His life for us. This is what it means to love. If this love abides in you, then you will love your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Christian, you are loved by God. You have been shown the love of God through God the Son laying down His life for you. And the love of God abides in you, therefore you should love your brothers and sisters in Christ by laying down your life for one another. The world does not know what love is. It is constantly seeking out love without understanding it. You know what it is. You have seen it in the life of Christ. And we are to love as Christ loved. Lay down your life for your brothers and sisters in Christ. Most often this means that you are going to inconvenience yourself. This is spending time with people when you might rather watch something on TV. This might be sharing your possessions with someone in need. This might be going and picking someone up for church that can’t get there on their own. This might be just sitting down and talking with someone in need. This might be babysitting so a parent can go to a doctor’s appointment. This is having a willingness to lay down our own lives and be inconvenienced for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus was inconvenienced when He left Heaven to come to Earth. He was further inconvenienced when He wore a crown of thorns. And the inconvenience was tremendous when He died on a cross. He laid down His life for you. Now go do the same for your brothers and sisters in Christ.
Now, Go Love Your Brothers and Sisters (1 John 3:18)
John doesn’t add anymore new information in verse 18, he just tells the believers to go and do it. Don’t just say that you love your brothers and sisters in Christ, go and do it. Don’t just sit around thinking about how much you love your brothers and sisters, go love them.
Do you have hatred or animosity in your heart toward someone in the church? Then you must go to them. Repent of your sin and turn from your dislike of them. They are your brother or sister in Christ. If you are a child of God then you will go and love them. Human beings have an incredible capacity for self-deception. If anyone in here had a twinge of guilt they probably immediately responded to that twinge with an excuse as to why that person is so deplorable in their eyes. Don’t excuse your sin. If you’ve been treating a brother or sister in Christ poorly then you must go to them. Make things right and begin loving them.
Do you know of a need that a brother or sister in Christ has at this moment and are somehow able to help them? Well, go help them. Go love them.
Conclusion
Christians have been born again and the same Holy Spirit that resides in you resides in other believers. God the Son came to Earth and showed you what love is by laying his own life down for you. And so, you will love your brothers and sisters in Christ.
And so, Christian, go forth and love one another.
R. Dwain Minor