Loving the Brethren

Have your Bibles with you if you would first John chapter 2 we looking at verses seven through 1111 I'm writing you know new commandment but an old commandment, that you had from the beginning the old commandment is the word that you have heard at the same time. It is a new commandment that I'm writing to you, which is true in him and in you because the darkness is passing away in the true light is already shining.

Whoever says he's in the light, hates his brother is still in darkness.

Whoever loves his brother abides in the light and in him is no cause for stumbling. Whoever hates his brothers in the darkness and walked in the darkness does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes to pray heavenly father we thank you and praise you tonight the privilege of worship.

We thank you heavenly father for your sweet presence here among us tonight. Father we pray as we look at this passage from first John, that you would open our minds with your understanding, Lord, that we might see truth that we might be moved by changed by motivated by challenged by that we might grow in Christ by my father, we thank you for the subject that we are doing with tonight the subject of loving the brethren. We pray heavenly father that you might help us, that we might love each other more helpless Lord, that we might take seriously the commands of God that deal so powerfully with the commission that you given us to love each other, help us to understand what that's all about the serious about it. Got directors Lord through the passage tonight. May Jesus be uplifted. It makes this congregation be benefited by your holy and precious name we pray.

Amen. You may be seated in last week's passage, John gave us an examination to take that we might see the reality of our salvation. Whether it's real or whether it's not.

He said, are you truly a born-again Christian.

He said if you are then you're going to be striving to keep the commands you're not gonna do that perfectly you won't do that in the way that you want to but you have a desire to be faithful to the Lord and keeping his commands and bringing them honor and glory through those commands when Jim Baker was released from prison is back in the early 90s Baker had had a interview that they did with him and they were asking him about the popularity of PTA all in the monetary success of it, but your first shared his his own confession about the greed that he he was involved in in the manipulation and he openly confessed that and then they said Jim I said. How could it have been so monetarily successful where where windows were seen that in their their Social Security checks and people making minimum wage would send in their last dimes to the ministry and bakers and what said I tried to give people a message of hope and he said I tried to always to give them up a positive message. He said I refuse to preach on sin. And I refuse to to try to force people to look inside them sales and he said I didn't want anybody walking away feeling guilty he said. In fact, we would not let anybody get into the PTL pulpit that would come up and preach a message that would leave people on a guilt trip. He said were Kings kids.

I would tell said were Kings kids in Kings kids don't deserve to be guilty. I listen to his words and thought myself that's not a new message and although Baker called it a message of hope, it was false hope. It was really just a hyped up message. It was really just keeping things on a superficial level, I saw that same agenda. When a a group of chain of contemporary Christian radio stations decided that they were going to cut out the programming of Focus on the Family and they were asked about it because Focus on the Family's pretty popular station at Lotta people like to listen to it. So why are you doing this and I said we don't like the direction in which Focus on the Family's going and so it's becoming too controversial and so we decided just to cut them out and that is what what you mean we don't understand this will Focus on the Family as as used to be about the preaching of the gospel and used to be about just building a good marriage but now it looks like Focus on the Family has is doing some things are just totally negative in controversy all and we don't like the direction in which they're going so I asked him could you give us some some idea of what you mean by the essence.

They share three things. One of them had to do with abortion, Pres. George Herbert Bush at that point in time was advocate ghost was promoting the, the band of the partial-birth abortion and Focus on the Family stood with that and the second thing was agreement with Alabama's judges concerning keeping the the 10 Commandments on the walls of the courthouses in the third of Focus on the Family's criticism of a blatantly pornographic catalog from Abercrombie and Fitch. Why would a Christian radio station be concerned about those issues.

Here's the bottom line money money. The trustees knew what was going on in the church in America that they are professing Christians all over America that that do not believe in the standards of holiness and godliness that is laid out for us in the principles of Scripture so they said we will we need to quit, speak it out on these issues that are politically incorrect. We need to quit rubbing people's further wrong way so their contention was candlelit to this conclusion. I think just dumb it down dumb it down. The superficial reduce the Christian faith to a just kind of a worldly entertainment be so noncompete controversy.

Oh that no one is offended and that way the money keeps rolling the brothers and sisters, I would submit to you today, that money is not the issue. The issue is the glory of God and our submission to the glory of God is a look at first John chapter 2 old John is dealing with the same kinds of stuff. He's dealing with the same kind of issues he is dealing with with Gnosticism and he's tackling that tough issue of the Gnostics were claiming that Christianity was an exercise of the mind and that God was not concerned about your body and what you did with your body is really concerned with the mind. It just that you have a right correct theological confession long as you had that didn't matter how you live or what you did. And guess what their complaint was about John. They said John you're too narrow you're too legalistic and you're unloving to try to to try to hold our feet to the fire.

It amazes me to consider the timelessness of Scripture in John's day there were no airplanes or or computers or or iPhones or or automobiles with the heart of man was the same as it was, as it is today.

Within one generation of Christians just one generation, it was all this superficiality and this push toward political correctness. Technology has changed the power of sin is not Focus on the Family was being accused of being unloving of being mean-spirited of being insensitive. John was get the same criticism, and in both cases is not the world.

It was doing the criticizing.

It was the professing Christians have said last week study chapters 2 and verses three through six. John like out of a part of the examination to his people to determine whether they are true Christians or not, he says, ask yourself this. Are you keeping the commandments.

Are you striving to have no other gods before you. Are you striving to honor your mother and father you striving not allow you striving not to covet, and John anticipates with the people are going to say there goes I see John your legalist if you want to legalist city would be spend all this time talking to us about the commands of God. So this next section of Scripture. What is John do the whole sector on the subject of love verse seven through 11 is about love is not mushy sentimentalism sought emotionalism is not just affection but is genuine God induced God centered love five points and one share with you tonight. Number one, something all look at verse seven. Rather 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 have heard from the beginning. John is been accused of being unloving and and legalistic. So in these verses, he sets out to prove the commandments of God were given because God loves us and they were given to be kept out of our love toward him and toward others.

In verse seven he says I'm not writing you something that you not heard before you had this from the beginning. This idea about love is an Old Testament truth and before I go on let me say something here we are covenantal people and the new covenant is not a EE. It is a it's a glorious covenant.

It's more glorious than the old, but it's not a totally separated covenant is a continuous covenant from the old covenant. I think that's important for us to see what we see in the old covenant in seed form we see in the new covenant in full fruition. It was St. Augustine who said this is in the old covenant we have the new covenant concealed in the new covenant we have the old covenant revealed that the Torah is the first five books of the Bible is his Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers, and Deuteronomy. And if I would ask you to define the Torah, what would you say you'd probably say the Torah is the law of God, and that would be true but if you go back to the Hebrews and you study that word Tori in the Hebrew. It's a picture word is a picture of a father taken his son putting his son up on his own as lab and teaching his son, the principles of life and what is he do that he does it out of love. When we think of law we usually think of a policeman and judges and law years and and culprits in jail houses. But that's not the mindset of the writer Scripture. They saw it as the fatherly instruction of the daddy takes his little boy puts them up on his lap and teaches him the principles of life, for what purpose, not hurting, not to take his fun away to put you to protecting and to mature him in faith and belief you versus just to ponder on the preciousness of God's law. Psalm one verses one into that says blessed is the man who walks not in the counsel, the ungodly, or stand us in the way of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful.

But his delight is in the law the Lord and in his law doth he meditate day and night. Some hundred 19, 113, I hate the double minded. But I'll love your law some hundred 19, 164 great peace have those who love your law and nothing causes them to stumble. Some hundred 19, 174 I long for your salvation of the Lord and your law is my delight is what David said that's how David felt about the law of God the Word of God. It was his delight. So John is given them the first test of true salvation. If you're truly born again then you'll keep the commandments not perfectly but joyfully and with the goal of doing it better now.

Verse seven John there is the test down to one commandment, that commandment is love. What is he do that because love is the heart of all the commandments.

Love is the umbrella over all the commandments in Leviticus chapter 19 verse 18 the Lord said, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Paul said this in Romans 1318 13, 8 to 10 oh no one anything except to love each other for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law for the commandment you shall not commit adultery shall not murder, you shall not steal. You shall not covet in any other commandment or summed up in this word you shall love your neighbor as yourself.

Love does no wrong to a neighbor. Therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. Matthew 22 verse 37 through 40. Jesus said you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, with all your mind. This is the great and first commandment. And the second is like like it you shall love your neighbor as yourself. These two commandments depend all the law and the prophets what you, Paul and Jesus mean by this, love is the fulfillment of the law, loving God and loving people will fulfill all the commandments. If you love God with all your heart, you love your neighbor as yourself that all the other commandments will be taken care of.

You will do what you have no other gods before you. You will not make in yourself a graven image, you will not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain.

You will hallow his holy day you will honor your father and mother. You will not keel you will not commit adultery. You will not steal. You will not lie. You will not covet. Why because you love God because you love love people.

Let me ask you something is Focus on the Family being unloving because they have an agenda to try to stop the murder of little babies in the womb has not unloving is when most loving things I've ever heard. To protect the unborn child and the one where they unloving to to be so hard on pornography. Listen pornography is a blight on this nation is one of the primary causes of divorce, adultery, premarital sex and rape is pornography and they were taken a stand against it because they love. This is what John is saying to the quote freethinking Gnostics Christians take the law of God seriously out of the deep sense of love, not a legalism worn weirs be illustrated this whale when he said take parenting for an example of parents must care for their children. According to the law, you realize that there are laws about child neglect their laws about abusing children their laws. If you get in big trouble for. If you don't take care of your kids but had many parents take care of their children and love them and ministered to them and work with them parent them. Because law tells you to do it that way doing weirs we gave a good illustration. He said he imagine her husband and wife and and Bednar. The alarm clock goes off and the wife turns to her husband today. You better get up, you better go to work right quick book because if you don't, you might lose your job you lose your job will get thrown in jail for over not being able to care for kids is where you better get up to and you better get make some breakfast of these kids at any and you better help them get there. Close all get ready for school because if not, they do, we'll get arrested and the whites against the good things we got that law concerning the neglecting of children because we didn't we might stay in bed all day what he thinks like that duly we don't wish you think that white love motivates us to obey God's commands without even thinking about them.

I that something oversight tells us about something need verse eight. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you because the darkness is passing away in the light is already shining his John wrote those words. Surely he thought back to the night when Jesus was instituting the Lord's supper. In chapter 13 of John in verse 34 through 35.

Jesus shares this with the disciples a new commandment I give to you that you love one another as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love one for another. Now how is this need regarding got the commandment from Leviticus 19 that that says love your neighbor as you love yourself. I believe that this one becomes new for us as we see its fulfillment in Christ. It becomes new in its emphasis and in this example, Jesus knew the power of love. Jesus believed and and mute that the love of God would change this world fair season understand that the Pharisees had the truth, but they didn't have love as a people would really listen to one that the priest had power, then you had a wielded people learn how to work around them. But Jesus had truth and Jesus had love because of that people perked up and listened.

Jesus told his disciples not only to love their neighbor, but also to love their enemies, and he showed them how to do about the cross and John 1513 Jesus said, greater love hath no man than this, that I'm late in his life for his friends could Jesus have avoided the cross Oya. Remember when Peter pulled out his sword in the garden of Gethsemane people. The Roman soldiers were trying to take Jesus and a new Peter knew what was coming, taken them off to to wrongly try Hammond and they would crucify him and Woody Peter Dilley pulled at his sword. He started swinging at swords all of his might, trying to stop as Roman soldiers Jesus and Peter. Peter put your picture sword up. He said you not realize that I have 12 legions of angels at my disposal, and all I have to do is just say the word and those angels would come in they would take me out of this wicked world and they would destroy the wickedness of this world and I would be back in heaven. I wouldn't have to go to the cross do not realize that I have the power to do that I could do that it at my command. What did Jesus say as he was hanging on the cross to the people who were below him who it cursing and spit owning and mock team and laughed, adding to the soldiers who had beaten him in the face into his face was beaten beyond recognition who take the cat of nine tails we have been quitting 39 lashes across his back and till the there was no flesh left on his back and him laid him down on the cross and nailed him to that crawls in his Jesus hanging from that very cross looking down at these people and he looks up to heaven as a site of his father.

His father, forgive them for they know not what they do. The teaching of love was prevalent in the Old Testament, but it is heightened in the New Testament, then the last part of verse eight he describes the condition of the world which were living and in which we are to carry out this love that he's talking to us about his of the darkness is passing away in the true light is already shining. Jesus has come, he is the light of the world is lived a sinless life is been crucified, buried, resurrected and ascended. We are not in darkness anymore. And yet the conflict is still here, isn't it the conflict is not into the Prince of darkness is still deceiving and lying is in the context of that sin and this that we are commanded to love and that love the Lord is telling us that love will be used of God to win over a lost and dying world .3 hate deceives look at verse nine he says he is in the light and hates his brother is in darkness until now. Love and light go together much like hatred and darkness go together now reached the point where John is quit preaching on the meddling for John is it sharing a very sobering truth here he says it is impossible to be in right fellowship with God and to be out of fellowship with a brother or sister in Christ is one of the reasons that God established local church, you can't be a maverick Christian can't be a Christian without others.

It's the the body of Christ that he works through you can't develop as a believer without the intertwining relationships of the church had a pastor friend of mine used to say I love the church.

I just don't like people you can't do that. It is the people. It's God, Jesus, be in the hand over his people.

But let me taste something we need each other. We need each other to to grow. I need the frustration of people who don't agree with me. I need the frustration of people who who just kind of get on my nerves.

I need the frustration of people who I need their perspective of people who have different opinions than I do and when I get down in the trench. I work with those type of people and and we work together that work out a solution that helps me to grow and mature in my faith is talking to a dear friend, close brother in the Lord the other day of strong Calvinist and he told me said I'll always be a Calvinist. He said it's theologically correct and he said it's the theology that makes sense and reason to the minded hastens a theology that that brings glory to God. He said I will always be a strong theological Calvinist Lisa God's doing something in my heart and any said I've come to realize that I don't in this need to be a theological Calvinist. I need to be a practical Calvinist is what what you mean by that is, as God is forcing me to to quit being overly sensitive.

He says he's forcing me to be compassionate for the lost and for those who are suffering and says God is for Smita start caring about the opinions of others. Whether my his opinion is right or wrong that all the care of the has a different opinion. He was not saying that he was going to compromise but he was saying that he had a responsibility to listen to what somebody else had to say and just see if he might be wrong on that particular issue has serious is this remember what Jesus said in the sermon will mount. Matthew 521 to 26. He heard that it was said to those of old, you shall not murder, and whoever murders will be liable. Judgment.

But I say that everyone is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment. Whoever insults his brother will be liable to the Council and whoever says you full be liable to the hell of fire.

So if you're offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there. They are before the altar, and go first be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift come to terms quickly with your accuser while you were going with him to court last year.

Accuser hand you over to the judge and the judge to the guard and you be put in prison truly asked need never get out to you if you paid the last penny. Jesus said if you're at odds with the brother or sister in Christ, so don't even try to worship, don't even give an offering to the Lord until you make every every opportunity that you can to reconcile that brother sister one of the things that I've seen so often in this church is that it seems to me that people in this church like to keep short accounts and that's a good thing. It is like they may say something hurtful to somebody else but then the Lord pricks their heart and their conscience and their soon go back to that person very quickly, as a lookout. I should've not said what I did vested in a hurtful way in and let me ask you for forgiveness, brother and sisters when I see that I know that this church is going and being what God would have us to be. But here's one of the toughest parts of the exam. Can you hate a brother and live with it. Can you hate a brother or sister and live with it now realize that I hate there doesn't mean that you would go out and killing. If you could kill her if she could hate his dislike that is so deep that you just say never see that person again. Ever be fine if you just never dealt with that person didn't have to ever again. So can you hate a brother or sister and live with it or have you become a new creation.

So much so that you're willing to swallow pride and reconcile for Jesus sake the church's say and for your site. Hate deceives us in thinking really just a matter doesn't matter.

It does matter .4 love create stumbling verse 10 he loves his brother abides in the light, and there is no cause for stumbling in him.

Man was walking down a dark road one night and looked way down the road they could see a light coming porting and the the light that was coming porting Altering and thought what the world is that he walked a little further somehow. I know this is probably a drunk man and he's got a lantern and he's walking is just kinda going back and forth that's what's going on here got a little bit closer and he realized it was a drunk man at all is a blind man in the blind man had a lantern in his hand. He had a white cane and and and he was walking down the road trying to get through and he thought was kind of funny. Here's a guy a blind man with a with a lantern. Was he got that was a got that boy, he can't see what goods I can additionally ask him about it in the blind man said. I carry a light not so I can see but so others can see me at a said I can't do anything about being blind, but I can't keep from being a stumbling block while but love is the greatest motivation not to be a stumbling block and a friend of mine is teaching a high school kids and stick Sunday school and on this ticket and there was a young lady, 17, 18 years old and she came in she sat down and she was wearing a blouse that was revealing and it was too low-cut in the front and the boys were really struggling not to pay her undue attention and so he is that the demand was teaching the class. After the class was over, ask his wife said would you do me a favor and and and maybe just go in and share with her little bit about her dress and so that his wife did. She sat down with this girl and she said you know your beautiful beautiful girl and when you wear close like you're wearing today. It says that really causes the young boys here to struggle and the girl got mad. She got offended and she said will. That's not my problem. That's their problem and if they can't control anything themselves any better than that and not done anything to do with now if she had the Christian love in her heart that she should have. It would have bothered her that she was a stumbling block to others and that was hurting the cause of Christ.

The word in verse 10 for stumbling is a Greek word scone the line toward it. We get scandal from and it's interesting word that will a scone. The line was that you a stick in a rabbit box. It was kind of the trigger stick and they have a little care, something that is tied to the stick and rabbit comes in the box and any any bites on the carrot and the stick is spots out box falls down and catches the rabbit as will scone the line is when a professing Christian than loving. He won't care what is sin does to others, you won't care that his sin might might cause the the the rabbit to be called in the box, it won't matter to him. He won't care that his sin may give a green light other people to do things that is going to cause them. Maybe a pattern of sin that wouldn't cause others. Here's another test is the love of God so prevalent in you that you will give up things in your life that may not be horrible, terrible sins, but just things that might encourage somebody else to do something that they really shouldn't do that might become a habit in their life. I see this with alcohol all the time.

I know people that will are Christians that will just drink and in front of somebody that is is got a alcohol problem. I think my goodness, if it's okay for him it's okay for me. We have to be extremely careful about that. Not to be stumbling blocks to our brothers and sisters. The last point is that hate blinds look at verse 11 but he who hates his brothers in darkness and walked in darkness and does not know where he's going because the darkness has blinded his eyes true Christians refused to put up with hatred. That doesn't mean that Christians don't get mad and frustrated with people or do they do sinful and at hurtful things, but it does mean that we refuse to harbor hate in the heart refused to let our anger permit in the bitterness. We realize that hatred will blind us from the truth and cause us to walk in darkness, but one of the greatest things that ever happened to me was a time in my life several years back that I had terrible bitterness in my heart toward someone who would hurt me deeply and I the Lord dealt with my heart about it. And so, so much so that I was absolutely broken and I knew always go go nothing further with the Lord until that bitterness and that anger that hatred toward this person would come to an end and I can remember just given it over to the Lord and asking that person for forgiveness and when it happened it was like all this garbage just just flew out of my heart. It was like all of a sudden my mind was free to think right again.

It was like all of a sudden I could hear the voice of God in his word again, let me take that special verse 11 became real to me. What is it say, but he who hates his brothers in darkness and walks in darkness and does not know where he's going because the darkness has blinded his eyes. Let's pray heavenly father we thank you for passage of Scripture like this. It is so great, so glorious and so needed and Lord were doing some things that that would rather not deal with some things Lord that we don't like to confess and admit and yet some things Lord that we know that if we don't deal with it's going to keep us from right fellowship with you would ask only father that you help us to walk in your truth to help us to walk in and love toward people that are not lovable or people that have offended us people that we know you are doubly wrong and some of the things that they're doing helpless heavenly father that we might love you so much that we would love them got some directors now Lord, and what we do. May Jesus be uplifted and everything that we do this in your whole wonderful precious name we pray