The Mark Of A Christian
Text: 1 John 3:11-18
Introduction
1. Illustration: "It is possible to be a Christian without showing the mark, but if we expect non-Christians to know that we are Christians, we must show the mark." "Love--and the unity it attests to--is the mark Christ gave Christians to wear before the world. Only with this mark may the world know that Christians are indeed Christians and that Jesus was sent by the Father." More than ever, the church needs to respond compassionately to a needy world. More than ever, we need to show the Mark.
2. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. He also said the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself.
3. The greatest detriment to the Gospel today is that Christians are not displaying the Mark to a dying world that needs Jesus.
4. In our text this morning the beloved Apostle reminds us about...
1. The Foundation Of Love
2. The Evidence Of Love
3. The Example Of Love
5. Let's stand together this morning as we read 1 John 3:11-18.
Proposition: As Christians it is essential that we display the Mark of love.
Transition: John begins by reminding us about...
I. The Foundation Of Love (11-12).
A. From The Beginning
1. John again reminds us of the gospel that was preached to the believers throughout Asia by the testimony of the apostles. Nothing in that message had changed since it came straight from the Lord on the night before He died.
2. He says in v. 11, "This is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another."
A. The phrase, "the massage you heard from the beginning," points back to the very beginning of the letter where John talks about the message preached by Jesus.
B. The statement in 1:5 that "God is light" is now balanced by the command to "love one another."
C. This is not a new message. It is one that we have heard from the time we started following Christ.
D. John is appealing to the basic nature of the message to emphasize its importance and truth to his audience who may have been tempted to ignore it based on bad teaching.
E. However, exactly what is John talking about when he says to love one another?
F. The problem we sometimes have is that our English language is so limited. In our language we have one word for what John is talking about, love. However, in Greek there are several different words to express what John is writing about.
G. The two major words for love in Greek are Phileo and Agape.
H. Phileo represents a deep affection for a friend, an animal, or a family member, while agapao expresses a love that does not require a comparable response.
I. As such, agapao is a fitting description of the kind of love God has shown to man in sending His Son to save all who will believe (John 3:16) (The Complete Biblical Library Greek-English Dictionary Alpha-Gamma, Under: "25).
J. Here John is using agape as the kind of love we are to show to one another. That we are to love our brothers and sisters in Chirst the same way Jesus loves us, without regard to how they treat us. It is an unconditional, because I said I would love.
K. John has already made it clear that those love their fellow Christians live in the light of Gods presence and revelation, and now he develops this basic concept.
L. Although he tells us to love one another he is referring primarily to loving those inside the church because this is where Christian love starts (Marshall, 189).
3. After telling us how we should live, John now tells us how we should not live. In v. 12 he says, "We must not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother. And why did he kill him? Because Cain had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous."
A. John likes to underline his point by contrasting it with the opposite end of the spectrum.
B. He says that Christians shouldn’t be like Cain, the man in Genesis who became the first murderer by killing his own brother.
C. John points out that Cain got his inspiration from the devil himself, who is the ultimate murderer.
D. John’s point is the failure to love leads us down the path to murder.
E. Jesus didn't say that a person who hates his brother has already committed murder in his heart, however, he speaks of hatred in the same frame of reference as the man who looks lustfully in his heart after a woman has committed adultery in his heart, and he indicated that the penalty for hatred was the same a murder.
F. John asks the question "and why did he kill him?" His answer is that Cain’s actions were evil while Abel’s were righteous.
G. What John is trying to say here is that Cain killed him not because he was inherently wicked, but rather as a wicked person he hated someone who was good.
H. We can conclude that John's point is that Cain killed his brother out of envy. He saw that his brothers righteous acts gained Gods favor, and this made him angry (Marshall, 190).
B. A New Commandment
1. Illustration: The new command is simple enough for a toddler to memorize and appreciate, profound enough that the most mature believers are repeatedly embarrassed at how poorly they comprehend it and put it into practice: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. The more we recognize the depth of our own sin, the more we recognize the love of the Savior; the more we appreciate the love of the Savior, the higher his standard appears; the higher his standard appears, the more we recognize in our selfishness, our innate self-centeredness, the depth of our own sin. With a standard like this, no thoughtful believer can ever say, this side of the rapture, I am perfectly keeping the basic stipulation of the new covenant. -D. A. Carson, PNTC
2. The message we have heard from the beginning is the message of the new commandment to love one another.
3. John 15:12-14 (NLT2)
12 This is my commandment: Love each other in the same way I have loved you.
13 There is no greater love than to lay down ones life for ones friends.
14 You are my friends if you do what I command.
A. The message that we have heard from the beginning is the message to love.
B. It is not a self-centered, I love you if you love me first, kind of love.
C. On the contrary, it is a type of love that says I will love you regardless of how you treat me.
D. It is a love that says I will love even if you don't love me back.
E. It is the kind of love that Jesus showed to us, that even though we sinned against him, and turned our backs on him, he came to earth and died for our sins!
F. This is the Mark of the Christian; the one that Jesus said would show to the world that we are his disciples.
G. The problem is what the world sees from us is maybe I'll love you if you earn it first.
H. Maybe if you give me what I want, and do what I want you to do for me, then I'll love you.
I. The world looks at that kind of love and says it that's what it means to be a Christian...no thanks!
J. It's time for us to start showing the world the kind of love for each other that Jesus showed to us!
Transition: Next, John reminds us about...
II. The Evidence Of Love (13-15).
A. It Proves We Have Passed From Death To Life
1. In case you haven't been following the news lately, the world doesn't like us a whole lot. Just this week we celebrated Ash Wednesday by putting ashes on our heads to show our repentance and sorrow for our sins. There was a young boy this week who had ashes on his head when he went to school, and he was forced by his teacher to wash them off! So much for the free exercise of religion!
2. Well that's the point that John makes here in v. 13, "So dont be surprised, dear brothers and sisters, if the world hates you."
A. In this verse John makes what seems like a parenthetical statement. He reminds his readers that they must show love despite the fact that the world hates them.
B. He addresses them as "brothers and sisters," which seems appropriate since he is talking about brotherly/sisterly love.
C. He tells them not to be surprised that the world hates them.
D. 1 Peter 4:4 (NLT2)
4 Of course, your former friends are surprised when you no longer plunge into the flood of wild and destructive things they do. So they slander you.
E. In a way, John is telling them that they are in a situation like Cain and Abel.
F. The worlds actions are evil, while those of the believers are righteous, and so the world acts towards them in envy and anger.
G. He is talking not just about people outside the church, but also those inside the church that demonstrate by their lack of love that they are not truly believers (Marshall, 190).
3. John then talks about the proof of our faith, the Mark of the Christian. In v. 14 he says, "If we love our Christian brothers and sisters, it proves that we have passed from death to life. But a person who has no love is still dead."
A. Here John states that loving our brothers and sisters in Christ is living proof that we have been transformed, changed, and moved from death to life.
B. John in no way suggests that people are born with spiritual life; on the contrary, a process of spiritual birth is necessary.
C. It should also be pointed out that spiritual life does not result from loving our fellow Christians. Loving our brothers and sisters is proof of and not the basis for our spiritual life. Our love is the outcome of our faith (Marshall, 191).
D. Christians must ask whether they have this love; if they do, then they can be sure that they have eternal life and that this will be publicly revealed when Christ comes.
E. By contrast, a person who has no love is still dead. This is the condition of all people by nature. A person who does not have love shows that he or she has not passed from death to eternal life (Barton, 1161).
F. The believers passage from death to life is best exemplified by the way that person loves and cares for Gods redeemed. Gone are the ways of the world, self-seeking motives, and the self-righteous attitudes that divide us. In the Spirit, Gods children share the joy of their salvation, which knows no bounds.
4. However, evidence is a two headed coin. The same evidence can show two different stories and brings to separate conclusions. In v. 15 John writes, "Anyone who hates another brother or sister is really a murderer at heart. And you know that murderers dont have eternal life within them."
a. John now harkens back to something that he heard Jesus himself teach as a part of his Sermon On The Mount.
b. Matthew 5:21-22 (NLT2)
21 "You have heard that our ancestors were told, You must not murder. If you commit murder, you are subject to judgment.
22 But I say, if you are even angry with someone, you are subject to judgment! If you call someone an idiot, you are in danger of being brought before the court. And if you curse someone, you are in danger of the fires of hell.
c. Hating someone is like wishing they were dead; it is the refusal to recognize his rights as a person and wishing they were no longer around.
d. If I hate someone I am no better than a murderer in my attitude toward them.
e. A person who does that shares the personality of the devil himself, who is the chief murderer, and it should come as no surprise that such a person cannot have eternal life.
f. Hatred is incompatible with spiritual life. To hate someone is to deprive them of life, and such a person cannot possess the abundant life of Jesus (Marshall, 191-192).
g. John vividly remembers the commandments of his Lord which, if faithfully followed, clearly distinguish the disciple of the Lord from the fraud.
h. An atmosphere of love, support, and encouragement characterizes Christ’s followers. The fraud is exposed as the murderer, not of the believer’s life but of the believer’s faith.
i. In that light, John says that such a person has no fellowship with the believer because he has no eternal life abiding in him.
B. Noisy Gong
1. Illustration: "The early Latin writer, Tertullian of Carthage, declared that the one thing that converted him to Christianity was not the arguments they gave him, because he could find a counterpoint for every argument they would present. "But they demonstrated something I didn’t have. The thing that converted me to Christianity was the way that they loved each other." (G. Curtis Jones. 1000 Illustrations For Preaching And Teaching, 220).
2. The best way we can show Jesus to the world is to love each other.
3. 1 Corinthians 13:1-3 (NLT2)
1 If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didnt love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal.
2 If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of Gods secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing.
3 If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
A. You cannot argue the hell out of people.
B. You cannot debate the hell out of people.
C. You cannot out stubborn the hell out of people.
D. But the one thing you can do, and it works every time, you can love the hell out of people!
E. That is the one thing that Jesus said will prove to the world that we belong to him, if we love one another.
F. It is the Mark of a Christian!
Transition: The third thing that John shows us is...
III. The Example Of Love (16-18).
A. Jesus Gave Up His Life For Us
1. So how do we know what real love looks like? Well we have a great example to follow.
2. In v. 16 John says, "We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters."
a. In this verse John defines what real love is by using Jesus as the ultimate example.
b. John 10:11 (NLT2)
11 "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.
c. Love means the readiness to do anything for other people. In the present context the wording used, that of laying down ones life, is very significant.
d. It indicates that one person is willing to lay down their life so that someone else might live.
e. Love means saying, "No," to yourself so that someone else might live.
f. We experience the benefit of life given to us as a result of the death of Jesus, and so we realize that his love was for us.
g. Then John makes an earth shattering claim, that since Jesus laid down his life for us, we ought to lay down our live for each other (Marshall, 193-194).
h. Because Christ is the example, believers ought to give up their lives for their Christian brothers and sisters.
i. They do this by becoming truly concerned about the needs of their Christian brothers and sisters and by unselfishly giving time, effort, prayer, and possessions to supply those needs.
j. Such an attitude would result in actually dying for a brother or sister if this were ever necessary. Believers own lives should not be more precious to them than Gods own Son was to him (Barton, 1161).
3. Then John challenges us to put our money where are mouths are, and put legs to our love. In vv. 17-18 he says, " If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion how can Gods love be in that person? 18 Dear children, lets not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions."
A. These verses give an example of how believers can lay down their lives for others to help those in need with their worldly goods.
B. Seldom will believers be called upon to experience martyrdom for another. However, every day they will face needy people whom they ought to be willing to help if they have the resources to do so; most people have more than they need.
C. This parallels James teaching (James 2:14-17): Believers should be willing to help a brother or sister in need.
D. Talk is cheap, so just saying we love each other is not enough. Faith not accompanied by love for others is worthless. Love should be shown by actions (Barton, 1161).
B. Cheap Grace
1. Illustration: Listen to Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a German Christian minister who opposed the Nazis and was killed in a concentration camp just weeks before the end of World War II.
Cheap Grace is the deadly enemy of our Church. We are fighting today for costly grace. Cheap grace is the preaching of forgiveness without requiring repentance, baptism without church discipline,
Communion without confession, absolution without personal confession.
Cheap grace is grace without discipleship, grace without the cross, grace without Jesus Christ, living and incarnate.
Costly grace is the treasure hidden in the field; for the sake of it a man will go and sell all that he has. It is the pearl of great price, to buy which, the merchant will sell all his goods. It is the kingly rule of Christ, for whose sake a man will pluck out the eye which causes him to stumble; it is the call of Jesus Christ at which the disciple leaves his nets and follows him.
Costly grace is the gospel which must be sought again and again, the gift which must be asked for, the door at which a man must knock. Such grace is costly because it calls us to follow, and it is grace because it calls us to follow Jesus Christ.
It is costly because it costs a man his life, and it is grace because it gives a man the only true life. It is costly because it condemns sin, and grace because it justifies the sinner. Above all, it is costly because it cost God the life of his Son: "ye were bought at a price," and what has cost God much cannot be cheap for us.
Above all, it is grace because God did not reckon his Son too dear a price to pay for our life, but delivered him up for us. Costly grace is the Incarnation of God. (Dietrich Bonhoeffer, The Cost of Discipleship),
2. Cheap grace costs us nothing, but costly grace costs us everything. You will not find costly grace without love!
3. 1 Corinthians 13:13 (NLT2)
13 Three things will last forever faith, hope, and love, and the greatest of these is love.
A. Cheap grace says. "I'll love you if you love me," and costly grace says, "I will love you no matter what!"
B. Cheap grace says, "I'll love you if you earn it," and costly grace says, "I will love because Jesus commands me to!"
C. Cheap grace says, "I'll love you if it's convenient for me," and costly grace says, "I'll love you even though it's messy!"
D. Cheap grace says, "I'll love you when you make it easy for me," and costly grace says, "I'll love you even when you make it impossible!"
E. "For of all his commandments written under the sun, the one written deep in my soul says, "The greatest 'tis love." (John Michael Talbot).
Conclusion
1. "It is possible to be a Christian without showing the mark, but if we expect non-Christians to know that we are Christians, we must show the mark."
2. Jesus said that the greatest commandment is to love the Lord with all your heart, soul, mind and strength. He also said the second is like it, love your neighbor as yourself.
3. In our text this morning the beloved Apostle reminds us about...
A. The Foundation Of Love
B. The Evidence Of Love
C. The Example Of Love
4. THREE THINGS TO REMEMBER...
1. THE FOUNDATIONAL PRINCIPLE OF THE CHRISTIAN FAITH IS LOVE.
2. OUR LOVE FOR ONE ANOTHER IS THE ONLY PROOF OF OUR FAITH THAT REALLY MATTERS.
3. JESUS SHOWED US WHAT IT MEANS TO LOVE...TO LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOR EACH OTHER.
