Series: Things That Accompany Salvation
Hebrews 6:9 But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you, and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
Message 12: Sixteen Signs of a True Believer (Part VIII)
(2 Cor. 5:14; 13:5; 1 Jn. 4:16-21)
2 Corinthians 13:5 Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith; prove your own selves. Know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus Christ is in you, except ye be reprobates?
• “Examine” - peirazo = to test, to scrutinize.
• We are to examine our faith.
• But with what are we to test it?
• We are to examine ourselves by the revealed word of God.
• 28 times in 23 verses John tells us that we can “KNOW” that we are saved!
• We cannot afford to ignore what John, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, is telling us!
• There is the danger that we may be “reprobates.”
“reprobate” - to be tested by God and rejected as unapproved, found to be worthless and cast away.
ILLUS: These are the gauges on the dash of your life!
NOTE: These tests are not for you to judge your fellow church member’s salvation. They are to be applied by each person to himself!
REVIEW: Thus far, we have considered:
1. The Companionship Test: Do I demonstrate that I love the fellowship of the Father, the Son and the Saints?
2. The Comfort Test: Am I sensitive to sin?
3. The Cleansing Test: Have I experienced and accepted the forgiveness of God?
4. The Commandments Test: Am I keeping God’s commandments?
5. The Conformity Test: Does my life conform to the will of God?
6. The Conduct Test: Am I doing rightousness?
7. The Coming Test: Am I showing that I am looking forward to the coming of Christ by living in such a way that I would not be embarrassed by His coming? “He that hath this hope ... purifieth himself.”
8. The Conquering Test: Am I winning the battle over habitual sin?
9. The Charity Test: Am I demonstrating by my actions and attitude a genuine love for my brothers and sisters in Christ?
10. The Conscience Test: Am I free from the plague of moral guilt?
11. The Communication Test: Have I experienced true answers to prayer?
12. The Counselor Test: Do I show evidence that the Holy Spirit is present in my life?
13. The Compatibility Test: Have I heard the Word of God in the messages of men?
• TODAY: Sign # 13: The Constraint Test. Do I love God? (1 John 4:19)
2 Corinthians 5:14 For the love of Christ constraineth us; because we thus judge, that if one died for all, then were all dead: 15 And that he died for all, that they which live should not henceforth live unto themselves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again.
I. The Principle of Love (4:16)
A. Love Experienced
1 John 4:16 And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us.
• God loves the world.
• He sent His Son as a demonstration of His love.
• Yet that love is not unconditional.
• That love must be experienced. It must be believed. It must be accepted.
• John tells us two things:
1. He has come to know (ginosko) the love of God.
• By the time of this writing, John is the last living apostle.
• He has been at this Christian walk for a long, long time.
• But somewhere along the way, someone reached out to John with the love of Christ.
• That someone was John the Baptist (cf. John 1)
• No doubt, John was a good man and loved God.
• But on that day, he followed Christ.
• And it was then that he “came to know” the love of Christ!
• It was this same John that wrote what theologians call the gospel of belief.
John 20:30-3130 And many other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book: 31 But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.
2. He has come to believe the love of God
• How many times have I led a child or an adult to Romans 10!
• It has worked every time the sinner wanted it to work!
• It will work for you!
Romans 10:9 That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. 10 For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. 11 For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.
B. Love Explained (16B)
16B God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
• God is love!
• He loved us enough to create us.
• He loved us enough not to cast mankind aside when he fell.
• He loved us enough to redeem us.
• He loves us enough to make us an eternal home.
• You can try to impress people with your theology or piety, but the best way to show that you are a believer is to demonstrate the love of Christ!
• When you do that, you show that you are in God and that God is in you!
• That is the explanation of love.
• And note: we must not have little moments of love, rather we must “dwell” in love!
ILLUS: Tigers wear orange clothing with white tiger paws. The Henderson Advertising agency came up with that symbol back in the 70's. Prior to that time, the Tigers wore a “C” on their helmet. So, Tigers wear orange and tigers wear paws. Therefore, on game day, if you are in Orange and if you wear a paw, then you are a Tiger.
II. The Perfection of Love (17-18)
A. Love’s Completeness (17A)
17 Herein is our love made perfect,
ILLUS: Dr. Sightler at the staff lunch table: “Boys, I picked every one of you green!” And so it was. He had hired each of us, with no particular experience in our field, and taught us the job. So it is with our love. It is small, selfish, incomplete. But God takes us as we are, and develops us for His use, His glory! Dr. Sightler used to always say, “God can take a crooked stick and draw a straight line.”
• Though our love be but a small seed, God has provision that it might grow into a great tree.
B. Love’s Confidence
1. Our Preparation (17)
• When our love is perfected, it brings great confidence.
• Our future is taken care of.
• We are prepared to face it.
a. What We Have (17B)
17B that we may have boldness in the day of judgment:
• This is not the Great White Throne judgment.
• This is the Bema Seat, the Judgement Seat of Christ.
• Some have trivialized and minimized this.
• They see it as just a passing out of rewards.
• Let us look again to the Scriptures, for they reveal a different picture.
2 Corinthians 5:10-11 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad. 11 Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.
• But when our love for God and for our fellow man is what it should be ...
• It gives us great confidence that we are prepared to face that day!
• We are prepared!
b. Why We Have It (17C)
17C because as he is, so are we in this world.
• Jesus told his disciples that He must go away.
• No longer would He be physically present with them.
• Nor would He be available (physically) for sinners.
• I think of the woman caught in adultery, how tender was Jesus!
• He did not excuse her sin, but neither did He cast her away.
• And so, since Christ is not physically present, we have an obligation.
• We are to be “little Christs” that minister to the world in His name, in His place!
• When we are truly saved we have been given the RIGHTEOUSNESS OF CHRIST!
• When we are truly saved we have been JUSTIFIED. (cf. Rom. 3)
• And so we can be like HIM!
• And when we do, we have perfected our love, prepared ourselves for judgment!
2. Our Peace (18)
18 There is no fear in love; but perfect love casteth out fear: because fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect in love.
• Those who have perfected love, do not fear the future.
• Perfect love removes the fear of punishment.
• Fear comes because of punishment.
• And fear brings with it a punishment all its own.
ILLUS: Dr. Gulledge, my dentist. That man gave shots like a farmer with a pitch for picking up hay! I had a hard time sleeping the night before, concentrating in school. I was just a little kid. I could think of but one thing: that needle! Thank God for the “Wand”. They had not invented that yet!
APPLY: If you hear a sermon on Hell and fear, if you hear a sermon on the Tribulation and fear, then you should examine your faith. He that feareth has not been made perfect.
• Perfect love will remove the fear of man.
Psalms 118:6 The LORD is on my side; I will not fear: what can man do unto me?
Hebrews 13:6 So that we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me.
• And in perfect love, there is no fear of facing the Lord!
Romans 8:33-39 Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God's elect? It is God that justifieth. 34 Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword? 36 As it is written, For thy sake we are killed all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the slaughter. 37 Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him that loved us. 38 For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39 Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.
III. The Pattern of Love (19)
19 We love him, because he first loved us.
• There is textual debate over whether this verse ought to read “we love him” or simply “we love.”
• It matters very little. I think both are included, since both are in the immediate context of this verse.
A. The Declaration of Our Love
• I have no problem identifying myself with the Lord.
• And I have no problem identifying myself with the Lord’s people!
• When I contemplate my sins and what I deserve ...
• Then look at my Savior and what I will inherit.
• I readily declare with John: “We love Him!”
B. The Duty of Our Love
• Long before we sought Him, he sought us!
Romans 5:6-10 For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. 7 For scarcely for a righteous man will one die: yet peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die. 8 But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, being now justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. 10 For if, when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God by the death of his Son, much more, being reconciled, we shall be saved by his life.
• Given that God has initiated love ...
• That He has removed our sin ...
• That He has reconciled us to His Son
• That we are saved from wrath ...
• What other response can we have?
• We are obliged to declare, “We love Him!”
IV. The Proof of Love (20-21)
A. The Talk About Love (20A)
20 If a man say, I love God
Talk is what politicians do before the election. Reality is what they do after it!
1 John 3:18 My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth.
James 2:14-18 What doth it profit, my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have not works? can faith save him? 15 If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food, 16 And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be ye warmed and filled; notwithstanding ye give them not those things which are needful to the body; what doth it profit? 17 Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18 Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
B. The Test of Love (20B)
20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?
• How many church fights would there be if we fully grasped the significance of this verse?
• When a man fights like a Heathen, he probably is one!
• You don’t slander those you love.
• You don’t walk away from those you love.
• And if you do not love your brother, John says you won’t have to put up with him long: He’s going to Heaven and YOU ARE NOT!
C. The Truth About Love (21)
21 And this commandment have we from him, That he who loveth God love his brother also.
• Having revealed the 1) DANGER of not loving your brother.
• God now again 2) DEMANDS that we love our brother.
CONCLUSION:
Take a fish as an obvious example. God created fish to live and thrive in water, whether salt or fresh. Gills are adapted to absorb oxygen from water, so water is the element in which a fish finds its identity, its "fishness," its freedom. It finds itself in the element for which it was created: water. It's limited to water, but in that limitation is liberty.
Suppose you had a little tropical fish in one of those old-fashioned, spherical goldfish bowls. Suppose the little fish swam round and round his blessed bowl until its frustration became unbearable. The fish decided to make a bid for freedom and leap out of the bowl. If it landed in a pond in your backyard, it would increase its freedom because there would be more water to swim in. But if it landed on the concrete or on the carpet, then its bid for freedom would spell death.
If fish were meant for water, what are human beings made for? It would be interesting if we had time to sit down alongside one another and share our answers to that question. If fish were made for water, what are human beings made for? What is the element in which human beings find themselves, as water is the element in which a fish finds itself?
I don't hesitate to say that according to Scripture the answer is love. Human beings are made for love because God is love. When he created us in his own image, he gave us the capacity to love and to be loved. So human beings find their destiny in loving God and in loving their neighbors.
-- John Stott, "Freedom," Preaching Today, Tape No. 102.
