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The test for LOVE
- 1st – The TEST… vs. 7-9
- 1st – Do not be deceived… vs. 7
- Little children – let no one deceive you!
- Little Children [τεκνίον] – 7x in this letter – those who are disciples – John 13:33
- Let [imperative] no one DECEIVE – [πλανάω] – the idea of DRIFTING away!
- I might THINK that I am a great student in school – TOP of my class…
- But it is possible I am WRONG – I have deceived myself – and it is NOT true…
- The only way to KNOW – is for me to be TESTED!
- In the same way – we might think we have the LOVE of the FATHER – when we do NOT…
- Since the outcome of this CHOICE dictates our ETERNITY – we do NOT want to be DECEIVED…
- We do not want to hear Jesus tell us on Judgement Day – I NEVER know you – Matthew 7:23
- Therefore we must TEST ourselves – to see if the LOVE of the Father is in us!
- II Corinthians 13:5 – “Examine yourselves to see if your faith is genuine. Test yourselves.” [NLT]
- 2nd – The righteous… vs. 7
- He who practices righteousness is righteous. Just as He is righteous!
- The FIRST test – is those who practice [ποιέω] RIGHTEOUS…
- RIGHTEOUS [δίκαιος] – someone who LIVES the LAW of God…
- Referring to the 613 command of the LAW – 248 positive – and 365 negative!
- Do NOT misunderstand – this does NOT mean we are saved by obeying the LAW…
- The LAW cannot save us – the LAW can only SHOW us we are sinners!
- Romans 7:7 – “I would not have known sin except through the law.”
- Living the LAW…
- But the LAW is the standard of God – defining what it means to be GOOD – Romans 7:12
- So when we say someone is GOOD – what we are saying is they follow the LAW!
- That does NOT mean once saved – we MUST obey the LAW…
- It means those who are RIGHTEOUS – will LIVE the LAW of God…
- It is the FRUIT that comes from our LIVES as a RESULT of the LOVE of the Father in us…
- He TRANSFORMS our desires – so we WANT to do what is GOOD!
- Romans 8:4 – “The righteous[ness]… of the law [is] fulfilled in us who do not walk [in our strength] but according to the Spirit.”
- Like the FATHER…
- The person who LIVES [present] a RIGHTEOUS life – proves they have the LOVE of God…
- Because they are LIVING like their RIGHTEOUS God – showing they are His CHILDREN!
- How we do KNOW we passed the TEST to prove we have the LOVE of the Father…
- We go back to the simple TRUTH – we are KNOWN by our good FRUIT!
- Luke 6:45 – “A good man out of the good treasure of his heart brings forth good.”
- He who practices righteousness is righteous. Just as He is righteous!
- 3rd – The devil… vs. 8
- He who sins…
- The SECOND test – is to see if we are SINNING…
- SINNING [ἁμαρτία] – 43x in NT – not living by the LAW!
- This is NOT talking about making the OCCASIONAL mistake…
- It is speaking of a LIFESTYLE [present] of habitual sin!
- Is of the devil – for the devil has sinned from the beginning!
- Those who LIVE in SIN – are just like the DEVIL [διάβολος]…
- Because the DEVIL has been a SINNER from the very beginning!
- We often speak of the FIRST sin being Adam and Eve – but it was not…
- The FIRST sin was when LUCIFER rebelled against the LORD – Isaiah 14:12
- And the DEVIL has been sinning ever since – he NEVER stopped!
- Therefore anyone who is living a LIFESTYLE of SIN – is living like the DEVIL…
- It means we have FAILED the TEST – and proves we are NOT in the LOVE of the Father!
- For this purpose the Son of God was manifested – that He might destroy the works of the devil!
- Jesus was REVEALED – came the first time – to DESTROY the power of the DEVIL…
- DESTROY [λύω] – to release someone from BONDAGE!
- We did not used to CHOSE to SIN – we were SLAVES to sin – in BONDAGE to the DEVIL…
- But Jesus came to BREAK those BONDS – to set us FREE…
- If we are STRUGGLING with continual SIN in our lives – Jesus is the ANSWER…
- The DEVIL no longer has any control over us – we can have VICTORY!
- John 8:36 – “If the Son makes you free – you shall be free indeed.”
- He who sins…
- 4th – Born of God… vs. 9
- Whoever has been born of God does not sin – for His seed remains in him!
- The THIRD test – is to STOP sinning…
- ANYONE [πᾶς] – who has been BORN [perfect] of God – does NOT have SIN [noun]
- Because the SEED – a reference to Jesus – ABIDES [μένω] in him!
- When Nicodemus came to speak with Jesus at night – John 3:3
- The Lord explained that in order to be saved – we must be BORN twice…
- BORN of water – referring to physical birth – our birthday…
- And BORN from ABOVE – referring to our spiritual birth!
- When by FAITH we receive the LOVE of the Father – and Jesus comes to LIVE in us…
- We are BORN again – giving us a NEW life – that is free from SIN!
- John 14:23 – “If anyone loves Me – he will keep My word – and My Father will love him – and We will come to him and make Our home with him.”
- And he cannot sin – because he has been born of God!
- Not only do we have no SIN [noun] – forgiven through Jesus – Hebrews 10:17
- Because we are BORN again – we have no POWER [δύναμαι] to LIVE in SIN [verb]
- I love how this is worded – we are NOT told we have the POWER not to SIN [present]
- Being BORN again – means we no longer have the POWER to SIN [present]
- Because we have Jesus LIVING in us – and He will NOT let us LIVE [present] in sin…
- He CONVICTS us – proving we passed the TEST – we have the LOVE of the Father!
- Whoever has been born of God does not sin – for His seed remains in him!
- 1st – Do not be deceived… vs. 7
- 2nd – The evidence… vs. 10-13
- 1st – Whose CHILD… vs. 10
- In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest!
- The TEST – has one of TWO outcomes…
- It is a PASS – FAIL kind of test – there is no MIDDLE ground!
- Matthew 12:30 – “He who is not with Me is against Me.”
- Either we are the CHILDREN of God – because we are LIVING a RIGHTEOUS life…
- And we are given the promise of inheriting His Kingdom – Luke 12:32
- Or we are the CHILDREN of the DEVIL – because we are LIVING a SINFUL life…
- And will share in his FATE – of eternal separation – Matthew 25:41
- Defining Sin…
- Obviously it is BAD to be a CHILD of the Devil…
- What we want is to be a CHILD of God – by living a RIGHTEOUS life…
- John goes on to give us the EVIDENCE of what marks us as RIGHTEOUS!
- In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest!
- 2nd – No LOVE… vs. 10
- Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God – nor he who does not love his brother!
- ANYONE [πᾶς] who does not practice [ποιέω] RIGHTEOUSNESS – is NOT from God…
- What is the EVIDENCE of someone who is NOT righteous – no LOVE…
- LOVE [ἀγαπάω] – to have perfect – UNCONDITIONAL love towards one another!
- People who do NOT know Jesus – might still LOVE others – but it is CONDITIONAL…
- They LOVE those who LOVE them back – but will stop LOVING those who hurt them…
- But those who LOVE conditionally – show they do NOT belong to God…
- Because God LOVES us unconditionally – no matter what we do – He never forsakes us…
- And only when we LOVE like Him – do we show the EVIDENCE we are a CHILD of God!
- Luke 6:35 – “Love [ἀγαπάω] your enemies… and you will be [the CHILD] of the Most High. For He is kind to the unthankful and evil.”
- 3rd – Command to LOVE… vs. 11
- For this is the message that you heard from the beginning – that we should love one another!
- We heard [aorist] this MESSAGE from the BEGINNING [ἀρχή]
- We SHOULD [subjunctive] LOVE [ἀγαπάω] EVERYONE!
- Going all the way back to the BEGINNING [when the Law was given] – LOVE is not NEW…
- It has always been the MARK of someone who was a CHILD of God!
- Leviticus 19:18 – “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.”
- Why LOVE…
- Being RIGHTEOUS – means LIVING by the LAW of God…
- While there are 613 COMMANDS in the LAW – LOVE is the greatest!
- When Jesus was asked which COMMAND was the GREATEST…
- FIRST – LOVE the LORD with all your heart – soul – mind – Deuteronomy 6:5
- SECOND – LOVE your neighbor as yourself – Leviticus 19:18
- Matthew 22:40 – “On these two commandments hang all the Law and the Prophets.”
- If we LOVE someone – we are NOT going to LIE to them…
- If we LOVE someone – we are NOT going to STEAL from them…
- We can go right down the LIST – LOVE motivates us to do ALL the RIGHT things…
- And keeps us from doing all the WRONG ones…
- Therefore – LOVE is the EVIDENCE that shows we are a CHILD of God!
- I John 4:7 – “Beloved – let us love one another – for love is of God – and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.”
- For this is the message that you heard from the beginning – that we should love one another!
- 4th – No Hatred… vs. 12-13
- 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 brothers righteous.
- To ILLUSTRATE the TWO outcomes – we are given TWO brothers:
- After the fall of Adam and Eve – they had TWO sons – Cain md Abel – Genesis 4:3
- Both came to offer a SACRIFICE to the LORD – but only Abel was accepted…
- There are those who say this is because of WHAT they TWO brothers offered…
- God ONLY accepted an offering of an animal [blood] – not of the fruit of the soil [cursed]
- But both kinds of sacrifice are included in the LAW – Leviticus 1:3-9 / 2:1-3
- The problem was WHO gave the offering – the problem was Cain!
- Hebrews 11:4 – “By FAITH Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain.”
- Evil WORKS…
- While Abel was RIGHTEOUS – and was likely trying to encourage Cain to REPENT…
- The WORKS of Cain showed he was of the WICKED [πονηρός] one – the DEVIL…
- He went into the field with Abel – where he thought no one would see…
- And with premeditated intent – to silence his brother – he murdered him!
- Those who LIVE in SIN – do not want to be around those who LIVE for God…
- Like a LIGHT shining into the DARK – they do not want to be EXPOSED…
- So they TEAR down and ATTACK those who are LIVING for the LORD…
- Their LACK of LOVE – is the EVIDENCE of who they are – NOT children of God!
- Do not marvel – my brethren – if the world hates you!
- Do not MARVEL [imperative] – it must not be a SURPRISE…
- SINCE [indicative] the WORLD does hate us!
- Have you ever felt REJECTED – and you cannot find a REASON…
- We do our best to LOVE others – and yet they respond to us with HATE…
- Do NOT marvel when this happens – we are to EXPECT it!
- If we LIVED like the WORLD – then they would LOVE us…
- The world would embrace us – because are joining in with them – justifying them…
- But when we LIVE for Jesus – we will feel the brunt of the HATE of the world…
- Not because of WHO we are – but because of WHO is in us…
- It is another EVIDENCE that we are the CHILDREN of God!
- John 15:18 – “If the world hates you – you know that it hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world – the world would love its own. Yet because you are not of the world – but I chose you out of the world – therefore the world hates you.”
- Not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother.
- 1st – Whose CHILD… vs. 10
And we SEE we have passed from DEATH into LIFE – through Jesus!
3rd – The Results… vs. 14-15
1st – From death to life… vs. 14
We know that we have passed from death to life – because we love the brethren!
We KNOW [εἴδω] – we can always [perfect] SEE…
When we continually [present] LOVE [ἀγαπάω] others…
We have PASSED [perfect] – meaning to transfer from one place to another…
From DEATH – being a child of the devil – to LIFE – being a child of God!
People have a LOT of ideas about the PROOF they can give they are SAVED…
It might be how many BIBLE verses they can quote – KNOWLEDGE…
How much MONEY they have given to help the poor – WEALTH…
How many PEOPLE they have told about Jesus – SACRIFICE!
I Corinthians 13:2-3 – “Though I… understand all mysteries and ALL knowledge… and though I [give] ALL my goods to feed the poor – and though I give my BODY to be burned – but have not LOVE [ἀγαπάω] – it [means] nothing!”
Do NOT miss this – being a CHILD of God – is something that we can SEE…
And there is only ONE thing we SEE that matters – LOVING [ἀγαπάω] others…
It comes as a RESULT of Jesus ABIDING in us – the LOVE of the Father flowing from us!
John 13:35 – “By this all will know that you are My disciples – if you have love for one another.”
2nd – Abiding in death… vs. 14
He who does not love his brother abides in death!
The one who does not LOVE [ἀγαπάω] others – ABIDES [μένω] in death…
We have mentioned before John loves the word ABIDE – 68x in his FIVE books…
But here he uses it in a NEGATIVE context – CLINGING to DEATH!
One of the most difficult jobs has to be working in a mortuary…
To be DAILY surrounded by DEATH – to see the constant sorrow and loss!
Yet that is the CHOICE we make when we do NOT live in LOVE…
We chose a life that is surrounded by DEATH – because apart from Jesus there is NO life!
3rd – Eternal life… vs. 15
Whoever hates his brother is a murderer.
ANYONE [πᾶς] who HATES [present] – is a MURDER…
John is recalling the teaching of Jesus from the Sermon on the Mount – Matthew 5:21-26
When He said anyone who HATES another – is ANGRY with them – is guilty of MURDER…
Because they have wanted them DEAD in their HEART!
Do NOT miss this – LOVE is not just about our ACTIONS…
It is also what we think about others in our HEARTS!
And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him!
We KNOW [εἴδω] – we can SEE [perfect]
No MURDER – 3x in NT – 2x in this verse – to kill a man [ἄνθρωπος]
The only other use of this word is by Jesus when he talked about the Devil…
John 8:44 – “You are of your father the devil… he was a murderer from the beginning.”
Anyone with HATRED in their heart – does NOT have Jesus ABIDING [μένω] in them…
They are a MURDERER – and will NOT inherit ETERNAL life – Galatians 5:21
When we are HURT by someone – and do not FORGIVE – it opens the door to HATE…
And HATE is the opposite of LOVE – which is why we MUST FORGIVE…
No matter what ANYONE has do to us – we will RESPOND with the LOVE of Jesus…
Not because we have to – it is the RESULT of the LOVE of the Father in us…
Which gives us the confidence – we passed the TEST – have the EVIDENCE of His LOVE…
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