Sermon given at Salem LaFayette Evangelical Church July 11th

 

Scripture 1 John 4:14-21

Good morning to you my brothers and sisters in Christ. I stand before you today to proclaim the wonderful, good news that has been delivered to us as children of the one true and holy God. My name is John Haselton and I hail from a small town in northern Illinois called Rochelle. I graduated from Rochelle Twp. High School, WIU, and with my master’s degree from PTS. I have worked over the years in education, banking and finance, and in ministry being a lay preacher for the PC(USA) in the Blackhawk Presbytery and an ordained elder at Rochelle Presbyterian Church. So, I come before you today preaching the love of God that we just heard from 1 John.

        Now some of you may be saying “not another sermon on love. I have heard all this. This is going to be boring.” Well, I have to tell you I would agree with you. A lot has been said on this topic except for one fact. God’s love is never boring. The fact that the One who created everything that has existed, exists now, or ever will exist loves each of us, knows our names, and cares for us. That God’s love can do many things, but never should it bore us. We read of this love of God throughout the Bible. For example, the apostle Paul wrote an entire chapter in 1^st Corinthians on the subject of love and still managed to discuss it in his other letters too. Jesus talked about how much God loves the world in each of the gospels. Yet it seems somehow, that the world is a little short of love today. So, I beg you to listen to the words of this message and be not hearers of these words only, but also be doers of these words. Let us be the beginning of a Jesus centered revolution of love for God, each other, and the world. I pray for us today that starting in this humble country church an epidemic of the love of God would flood the country and the world. Let us now turn to today’s scripture that we may hear about God’s love and discover how we are to love God, our neighbors, and ourselves.

        Our selected passage from 1 John began as follows “14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” The apostle John starts us off with our need to confess that Jesus is indeed God come in human flesh or as John states in the beginning of his Gospel “the word became flesh and dwelt among us.” This gifting to humanity of God’s only son in the person of Jesus shows just how deep and rich God’s love for His human creatures really is. How most people treated Jesus then and now shows how deficient our love really is. We must confess Jesus as our Lord and live our lives as a sacrifice of love for him. The following story illustrates the power of God’s love spoken by one of the least likely characters.

As the prince of preachers Charles Spurgeon once said: “Perhaps accidentally Napoleon was a grand advancer of human liberty, since he first taught the old kings that the pretense of divine right could not keep crowns on unpopular heads, and that young men from the ranks might still mount a throne. He produced a code of laws, which, for simplicity of justice, has never been surpassed.

Still, he relied too much on coercion and the sword—his enormous armies were his bulwark and security. Strong battalions were the cornerstone of his empire, and though for a while he stood firm, and armies advancing against him were only like so many waves dashing against the rocks of his tremendous power, still after all his many wars he was overthrown. He was said to have uttered in St. Helena that memorable speech, ‘My empire has passed away. I founded it upon the sword, and it is gone. Jesus Christ established an empire upon love, and it will last forever.’”

So will it last. When all that kings and princes can do with statecraft, and with power, shall have dissolved like frost in the sun, Christ’s kingdom must stand because it is based upon the law of love. His person is the incarnation of love, his teachings are the doctrines of love, his precepts are the rule of love, his Spirit is the creator of love, his whole religion is saturated with love, and because of this his kingdom cannot be moved.

        In looking back at the verse 15 “Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.” We notice that the word abide is used. This word in Greek is meno and this is the same word that the apostle John puts on the lips of Jesus in chapter 15 of his gospel. Where Jesus talks about the branches abiding in the vine in order to bear fruit. So, here as well, the believer is enjoined to abide in God in order that God may abide in the believer. In this mutual abiding lies the secret behind the power to love all things as God loves. A power which the world is powerless to resist or deny. God gives us by his grace the power to change from our selfishness to His selflessness.

Moving along in our exposition of the text we read in verses 16 and 17 these words: “16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we, in this world.”

Because of our abiding in Jesus in our hearts, and our confession of him as Lord of our lives with our lips we can believe that God loves us and furthermore we realize that part of God’s very nature is love. We understand that he loved us first so we can indeed love him in return.  Indeed, let us return to Charles Spurgeon again for an illustration of this truth:

“Suppose a child was born in a coal pit and has seen no light except that of the candles down below. Then he is suddenly taken up the shaft to see the sun, and the green fields, and the sweet spring flowers. What a surprise! I cannot wonder if the child should think himself dreaming. But if you were to say to him, “Are you out of the coal pit? Can you prove that you are?” Although the child would hardly know where he was because of his vast surprise, yet he would be sure that he was out of the darkness, convinced by an argument within himself that nobody could refute.

So, we do know that we are born again, for we feel a new life and live in a new world. Things we never dreamed of before we have realized now. I remember one who when he was converted said, “Well, either the world is new or else I am.” This change is to us strong evidence that faith is in us and has exercised its power.”

        How wonderful and deep is the love of God for us. We may not see it much in the world, but we can be certain that the love of God will shine through in the end. We all live as that child lived, in a coal pit of our own making called sin. We need to ask for God’s help to lift us up out of our pits of sin and into the bright sunshine and glory of His kingdom of love. Without God’s intervention in each of our lives with His powerful love, we would be lost in the darkness and be held firm in the grip of sin. But since Christ came to rescue us from the darkness and transfer us into his kingdom of light, we can know that we can abide in Christ as Christ abides in us. Christ abiding in us this is our hope of salvation.

        In the next two verses, we see the results of our abiding in Christ: 18 “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us.” These words were written so that we might have a standard to test our love against. The only fear that should be in a Christians life is the fear of God. Meaning a holy awe and respect for the creator of the world who has provided in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus a pathway to eternity in heaven.

        The story is told of a Japanese soldier who near the end of WWII escaped to Guam where he hid in a cave. He knew the war was over, but he stayed in hiding fearing he might be captured and executed. Eventually he was found, and through some convincing that he was not going to be killed he was able to return to his home and family. This is a story of someone with a fear problem. His fear could only be resolved through the persistent testimony and love of those who found him that he would indeed be safe in the new post war world.

        Many Christians today live like that soldier did on Guam. We hide in our caves of fear. Worried that we will be exposed to ridicule and harassment if we are discovered to be Christ followers. In this world in which we live it may be that being known as a Christian might cost us something. It will not (yet) cost us as much as it cost Jesus to be our Savior. My Grandfather gave me a New Testament and Psalms on my 3^rd birthday. In it he wrote that I should read and follow its advice freely, because that would make me a man of stature and respect wherever I went and whatever I did. I have always tried to follow that; even to this day when I know that following the advice of the Bible might actually get me in hot water at some point in time. Although I must confess that there have been times when I have not always spoken up as I should have for the kingdom of my Lord and for this, I entreat him for forgiveness. May we all show the courage that it takes to give our testimony about Jesus and what it means to follow him. May we follow Peter’s advice in 1 Peter 3:15 “always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect,”

        The only reason we can love is because God first loved us. The following is an example I learned from scouting. It illustrates what I pray will be the result of this message today:

You have a magnifying glass and hold it up before the sun until you focus the rays on a piece of dry wood and set it on fire. Now, while you see the wood burning to ashes, will you tell me what it is that burns? Does the heat of the sun burn the wood or does the wood burn? The heat that you feel while the wood is burning, is it due to the sun or to the wood? Of course, at first the fire is purely and simply the flame of the sun, but afterwards the wood itself begins to burn; the sun burns the wood and then the wood itself burns.

Even so the love of God comes into our heart, and then our heart loves too, and in both cases “love is from God” (1 John 4:7). No man is a Christian unless he himself loves God with his own heart, but yet our love to God is nothing more or less than the reflection of God’s love to us: so that it comes to the same thing.

        The love of God must burn in our hearts if we are to truly serve him. But how can we kindle this burning in our hearts. First, we must be in the word of God. Reading it faithfully and studying it deeply. And next, we must be in prayer without ceasing as the Apostle Paul would say, so that we can let God know what is on our hearts and we can learn what is on His and let God’s own fire be renewed in our hearts as we come before the throne of grace. Third, we should attend church on Sunday at every opportunity so that meeting together with other believers for mutual support and encouragement we may be strengthened in the Lord. When we neglect the worship of God, we become like an ember of wood that started in a blaze of fire but later was separated from its source and slowly grows cold over time. We must seek the warmth of fellowship with God’s children in order that we might be ablaze with the love of God. And we must hear the word read and preached and partake of communion whenever it is offered that God’s grace might be shed abroad in our souls as a family of faith. That together as a church we might show to the world the true meaning of Christlike love and together banish all fear from our hearts and minds.  

        It is now time to take a look at the last two verses in our scripture for today. 20 Those who say, “I love God,” and hate their brothers or sisters, are liars; for those who do not love a brother or sister whom they have seen, cannot love God whom they have not seen. 21 The commandment we have from him is this: those who love God must love their brothers and sisters also. (NRSV)

The apostle John’s final words in our scripture this morning are a word of warning to us to guard our hearts against hatred and bitterness. Commentators disagree whether “brothers” here means only those within the church or more broadly to all of humankind. I believe John is here referring to all humankind. The concept is simple if you cannot love your fellow humans who you can be in fellowship with you cannot possibly love God whom you cannot see. Yet I have seen and indeed preached in churches where the congregation was clearly divided over some issue. Tempers were hot and I know of one church that simply dissolved over unresolved issues from ages ago. Seeing people who are supposed to be a family of brothers and sisters in the Lord fighting has made me terribly sad and I know it breaks our Saviors heart as well.

Disagreements, however, are inevitable in our life together. Remember that even the apostles Paul and Barnabas disagreed about taking Mark with them on their mission trip, but to be Christ followers we need to be about seeking reconciliation in situations of strife, just as Paul and Barnabas were later reconciled. A wise man once said: “hating people is like burning down your house to get rid of a rat.” Hatred always damages you more than it damages the person to whom your hate is directed. There is only one thing that you should hate, your own sin. God hates your sin as well and is eager to see you repent and forsake it. God promises that he will help you in your efforts to overcome the sin in your life. God’s desire for you is to be full of his love through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, and that you will be empty of sin. We know from 1 John 1:9. “If we confess our sins, he who is faithful and just will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”

It may be tempting to help a fellow believer to get rid of sin in their own life However, remember the words of our Savior and take the log out of your own eye before trying to help someone else take the speck out of theirs. Let us take heart and confess our sins that we may receive cleansing from our sins and be restored in our relationship to God. Loving one another as God, in Christ, has loved you.

So having come to the end of our exposition of this portion of John’s letter let us take stock of what we have learned so we can apply it to our lives. First, we learned that we are to confess that Jesus came as our Savior and that we must abide in him so he can abide in us. We came to understand that this abiding is to be done because of our love for Jesus. We understood that we must confess our love for Jesus in order that we continue to abide in him. We heard that we only love God because God first loved us, and that love is perfected in us, so we need not live-in fear. We have no reason to hide from God like Adam and Eve did in the garden after they ate the forbidden fruit. Finally, we learned that we must show our love for God by loving our brothers and sisters in Christ and in the world. John then issued the commandment that as we love God, so we are to love each other.

Here is what we can do to follow these teachings even in this post-Christian culture.

American culture clings to the groundless conviction that we can determine for ourselves our own truth. Many people define truth as something we believe, but which does not have to control our behavior. Therefore, they excuse all manner of outlandish behavior.

The clash over right and wrong plays itself out daily on television talk shows. Every day guests defend practices and beliefs that would only be discussed privately—and then only rarely—forty years ago. Everything is defended by statements such as these: “Who are you to tell me what is right?” or “I’m happy in what I’m doing, and it’s not hurting anybody, so why does it matter to you?”

Those of us who believe the Bible is the inspired and inerrant word of God, and who believe in Jesus, and have committed our lives to him must be clear on the truth. What we believe is absolutely irrelevant unless God believes the same thing. Therefore, we must be alert and vigilant about what we believe. We must not be seduced by false teachers; we must not be influenced by false prophets; we must not be deceived by antichrists. Today, just as in John’s day, we must (1) confess that Jesus Christ is the Son of God, (2) love God and love our fellow Christians, and (3) live a moral, ethical lifestyle before a watching and judging world. To do anything less is to allow false teachers to pick our spiritual pockets.

As Christians we are not to be victims but victors in Christ. Today’s culture seeks to relegate the Christian faith to the dustbin of history. The first few centuries after Christ’s death and resurrection the church was known to be a body of believers who loved each other and cared for another intensely. The church though persecuted, sometimes to the point of martyrdom, maintained a fervent love before the unbelieving culture. Today’s culture needs to see that same kind of love from us. Although we may not experience martyrdom, our culture is becoming less and less tolerant of the Christian faith. Though our salvation may be through Christ alone by faith alone through grace alone, the world cares little about that. What the watching world needs to see from us is a life that shows we love each other in all the power of the Holy Spirit. If we are to expand our influence, our ability to be salt and light to our world, then we must make our faith known through faithful, loving action and speech that is seasoned with love. Only then will we have a chance to influence culture instead of the reverse. Our passage from 1 John is a useful starting point. It directs us down the path we must travel to be useful for the kingdom of God in the world.

We must live a lifestyle that shows forth the love of God to a watching world and confesses the reason for this life of love that we live is that we have the love of God poured into our lives through the Holy Spirit. We must point the way to salvation through belief in Jesus as the Savior of the world.

I am afraid that right now many churches are trying to mold themselves after the culture. The desire to be relevant outweighs the desire to be faithful to the scriptures. Some within the church seek the love of man more than the love of God, and in doing so bring dishonor to name of Christ. The flesh, the world, and the devil end up being glorified in our age instead of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. The result is a moral rottenness that shows up in the everyday lives of people. There is theft, rape, and murder in the streets of our cities. The police are afraid to intervene due to public pressure. Crime rates go up and the faith of people in others weakens. The church has been too silent, too afraid to proclaim that the Gospel is our only hope for salvation. Let us not be afraid but be bold to declare that Jesus is one and only hope for our nation and the world.

God’s empowering love is the only thing that can overcome the forces of evil in our world today. We must become channels for that love to a hurting and broken world. Let us pray.

Father, you are love. You have shown this love so clearly by sending your son Jesus to die on the cross for our sins. Implant your Spirit in our lives. Let us love others as you love us. Let love so control our lives that others will see your love through us. May love rid our lives of all fear as we face the world proclaiming in word and deed the truth of your love and grace. Amen.