Please Show Your Love…
Text: 1 John 2:7-11
Introduction
I remember growing up watching “Varity” shows. Variety shows were the entertainment of the time. Shows like Ed Sullivan, Redd Skelton, Flipp Wilson Sonny and Cher and many others. Variety shows had a wide range of performers, entertainers, comics and other famous celebrities.
I was flipping through the channels the other night, during one of my insomnia spells, and came across two shows; one old and one fairly new. As the next act or entertainer was introduced in the old show the host would tell a little about the person and just before bringing them on the perform, they would say something like; “Please help me welcome,” and the host along with the audience would begin to applaud.
I noticed in the newer show, the host was a little more hip. When he brought on the next entertainer he would say; “Please show your love for…” then say the person’s name. Know I had heard that before, but I thought to myself that is a strange welcome. I begin to just let that go though my crazy mind for a minute.
Love… I hear people say it many times a day. I say it myself as well. “I love my wife and kids.” “I love going to baseballs games.” “Man I really loved that dessert we had at lunch.” Isn’t it amazing that a person can use the same word to describe how they fell about their wife and family and use the same word to tell how much they enjoyed dessert at lunch.
As we continue our study through the book of 1 John, the Apostle still seem to be addressing the issue of those false teachers that have come into the church. We noticed last week that, some were talking the talk but not walking the walk of the Christian life. The main idea of last weeks message was “The walk and talk, what we say and what we do or who we are must be the same.”
The main idea of our text today is “Anyone that claims to live in the light, in a relationship with God through faith in Christ, but still hates his brother is not living in the light but rather in darkness. We will see in our study how Christian love is affected by light, which is holiness and purity and obedience toward God, and darkness that is sin and disobedience toward God.
Apparently in the church John is addressing there were some saying they were Christians but hated other believers. Let me stop and say this; A Christian that is walking in obedience toward the things of God is going to love his brother and sister Christian.
John is going to repeat himself several times in this epistle on the matter of Christian love. He will teach us three great reasons why Christians should love one another:
1. God has commanded us to love 1 John 2:7-11
2. We have been born of God and God’s love lives in us. 1 John 3:10-24
3. God first revealed His love to us. 1 John 4:7-21
The Apostle John not only writes about love he seems to practice it as well. Many times when he was speaking to these believers he used terms of endearment such as “Beloved” or “Dear little children.” John had great love for his spiritual family.
The Greek language that our New Testament was written in is a more precise than our English language. Our word for “Love” has many shades or differences.
· When we read John speaking of love here in 1 John he is using the Greek word agape (pronounced ah-GAH-pay), which means an unconditional love; the love God has toward man.
· Another Greek word for love is philia (pronounced fee-LEE-ah) and carries the idea of friendship love.
· Then there is another Greek word which is not used by John is the word eros and means more for a sensual love; it is where we get our word erotic.
But we see something else here in this section that sounds very confusing or contradicting. He says “I write no new commandment to you” in verse 7 and then in verse 8 he says; “a new commandment I write to you.” The commandment we are given to love is not something new; these early Jewish Christians would understand that men should love God and one another.
· Jesus combined two Old Testament commandments, Deuteronomy 6:5 and Leviticus 19:18 and said that these two commandments summarize all the Law.
· Loving God and loving your neighbor were old but familiar commandments.
The Greeks had 2 different words for “new”
· One word meaning “a new time” and the other meaning “a new quality.”
· The first word you would use to describe the latest car, or the most recent model.
· But if you bought a car that had the latest technology and was radically different, then you would use the second word-new in quality.
· Some say a better translation of the words would be “recent” and “fresh.” “Recent” meaning new in time, “fresh” meaning new in character.
So this commandment is not new in time but it is new in character.
· Because of Jesus, the old commandment to love one another has been given new meaning.
· We can see three ways this commandment is new:
First…
I. It Is New In Emphasis
1 John 2:7; “Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning.”
· Remember I said a few weeks ago that John is addressing the false teachers within the church.
· Another false teaching that was prominate was the Jewish believers were still teaching strict observance to the Law.
· It would go something like this; You must believe in Jesus as the Messiah by faith; you must be born again; you must be baptized; and remember all the other strict adherents to the Law we used to have, about 3000-4000, you must keep them also.
· But notice John does not mention which commandment was not new.
· We must always remember Jesus came to fulfill the Law.
· We are about to see that the commandment to love one another is the fulfillment of God’s Law.
· When you love people, you don’t lie to them or about them; you have no desire to steal from them; you surely don’t have a desire to kill them.
· By our sinful nature we are selfish and sometimes even hateful. As much as we love children, wouldn’t you agree with me that they are self-centered. Every thing revolves around them and their world.
· So is an unbeliever. Yes they an love but not with the same emphasis we have here.
· When a sinner comes to Christ, they receive a new life and a new nature.
· I can testify to this; what I used to love I now hate. What I used to hate I now love.
So this commandment to love is new in emphasis, but also…
II. It Is New In Example
1 John 2:8; “Again, a new commandment I write to you, which is true in Him and in you, because the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.”
· When I started work at Coca-Cola, I worked for a man that once lived by the statement; “I will not ask you to do anything I wouldn’t do myself.” He was the best example of a soft-drink worker I could ever had. He had wonderful work ethics. He always did the best job he could possibly do.
· Jesus is our greatest example of “love one another”.
· Jesus illustrated love by the very life He lived.
· Think about this; Jesus loved Peter’s impulsiveness with patience.
· He loved Thomas’s in his unbelief
· He even loved Judas in his betrayal.
· But His greatest act of love was in His death.
· The Bible says in John 15:13; “Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends.”
· But Jesus’ love went farther than to die just for His friends; He died for sinners. He died for those that rejected Him. He died for those that even put Him to death that day at Calvary…
· I heard a preacher say sometime ago that when we read 1 Corinthians 13: 4-8 and in place of the word “love” put Jesus we will find that Jesus is patient, Jesus is kind; Jesus does not envy; Jesus does not parade Himself, is not puffed up; Jesus does not behave rudely, does not seek His own, is not provoked, thinks no evil; does not rejoice in iniquity, but Jesus rejoices in truth; Jesus bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all thins. Jesus never fails…”
· Let me close this point by saying what is found in Jesus should be found in Christians.
Amen or Oh Me???
Last…this commandment…
III. It Is New In Experience
1 John 2:9-11; “He who says he is in the light and hates his brother, is in darkness until now. He who loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But he who hates his brother is in darkness and walks in darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
Warren Weirsbe said; "Christian love is not a shallow sentiment, a pasing emotion we experience in a church service. Christian love is a practical thing; it applies in the everyday affairs of life." He goes on to say; "Just consider the ’one another’ statements in the New Testament and you will see how practical it is to love one another."
John 13:14 Wash one another’s feet
Romans 12:10 Perfer one another
Romans 12:16 Be of the same mind one to another
Romans 14:13 Do not judge one another
Romans 15:7 Receive one another
Romans 15:14 Admonish one another
1 Thessalonians 5:11 Edify one another
Galatians 6:2 Bear one another’s burdens
James 5:16 Confess your faults to one another
1 Peter 4:9 Show hospitality to one another
Over 20 times in the New Testamnet we see how we are to treat one another; and each act is to be bathed in love
To love others is to treat them the way God sees them and also the way God treats us.
John is addressing the negative side of not loving, but what are some of the results of showing Christian love?
1. We will be living in the light...living in fellowship with God and with others.
2. We will not stumble nor become a stumbling block to others.
3. We will grow spiritually and progress towards Christlikeness.
4. Love produces joy.
I have a new pastor friend. HE has been by to encourage me in this new work of church planting. He told me one day how the church seemed to be at a stand still and distractions were evident in the church. Also some of the members were bickering with one another. He said one morning at the close of the message, he asked each members to come to the front of the church. He then asked them to open up their arms and look to the other members as well as the visitors and say I am here to love you. He went on to tell me something changed the church that morning.
Church we are here to love one another as well as the lost outside this facility.
