“If You Love, You Live in the Light”
Essential Christianity: 1 John
November 25, 2012
1 John 2:7-11
Our series is called “Essential Christianity” because 1 John is all about the essence of what it means to be a Christian–what is essential to be and to believe to truly be a follower of Jesus Christ. Essential Christianity.
And two messages ago, we learned that one way to get at the essence of Christianity is to say, “God is light, in him there is no darkness at all.” God is light! That’s essential.
And if we claim to have a relationship with the God Who is light, then we ourselves will “walk in the light, as he is in the light.”
But that can’t just be talk! Last time we were in 1 John, we were reminded of what is on the cover of our bulletins–there must be a match between our TALK and our WALK.
It’s not good enough to just talk the talk, you’ve got to walk the walk.
John said (v.6), “Whoever claims (talks) to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
Now in this next paragraph, John is going to build on those two ideas.
God is light so we must walk in the light.
And we must walk as Jesus did.
And how did Jesus walk?
He walked in LOVE.
The Lord Jesus Christ walked in love.
Here’s our title for this morning, “If You Love, You Live in the Light.”
Do you remember two weeks ago when I said that John will circle around these three areas over the five chapters of his letter?
Moral, Social, Doctrinal?
These are areas of essential Christianity.
True Christ-followers will follow Christ in moral directions. They will walk in the light, they will do what is right, they will walk as Jesus did.
True Christ-followers will follow Christ in social directions. They will love their brothers in Christ.
True Christ-followers will follow Christ in doctrinal directions. They will believe the truth about Jesus Christ and not follow false doctrine.
Which one of these three is our passage about today?
Social, right? Love. It’s also about moral, because love is the right thing to do. It is to walk as Jesus did.
But it’s more about love than anything else.
If you love, you live in the light.
The whole applicational point of these five verses could be summarized with this sentence: “Beloved, Love Your Brother.”
I get that word “beloved” from v.7, “Dear friends...”
The word translated in the NIV, “dear friends” is agapatoi which literally means, “those who are loved.” Or the old word that we don’t use much anymore “beloved.”
Those who are loved.
John loved these people. And Jesus loved these people.
And John says if you are those who are loved then you should love your brothers.
“Beloved, Love Your Brother.”
That’s the command that John is talking about in these verses.
Love your brother.
Love your fellow Christians.
Love your fellow church members.
Love those who are loved by Christ.
...Is that an easy thing to do?
Sure, sometimes.
Other times, not so much.
Other Christians are not always so lovable.
Apparently, the false teachers who had left the church that John was writing to had sowed the seed of false teaching that says that love for other Christians is not essential to Christianity.
It’s no big deal to hate your Christian brother.
What really matters is secret spiritual knowledge. Who cares if you truly love your brothers and sister in Christ? What really matters is secret spiritual knowledge.
What we called last time a creeping proto-gnosticism.
Who cares if you truly love your brothers and sister in Christ? What really matters is secret spiritual knowledge.
But John insists that that is not true.
Love for other Christians is essential to essential Christianty.
Beloved, Love Your Brother.
He gives three reasons.
Love your brother #1. BECAUSE THIS IS AN OLD COMMAND. V.7
“Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.”
John insists that this command to love your Christian brother is not a new thing.
It’s an old thing. An old command.
Why is that important?
Well, my guess is that those John is writing against were claiming that John was always introducing something new and trying to change the rules on you.
“I see. All of a sudden, it’s important to love other Christians? When did that start? I thought it was important to walk in the light. I thought it was important that Jesus died for us. Which is it? When did this command come along?”
Now, in our culture, we love things that are new. Our motto is “The newest and the latest is the greatest.”
But in that culture, there was lots of respect for old things and old people.
It was important to show that this command was something old and not just a FAD.
“Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard.”
This isn’t new to Christianity. It’s as old the world.
And it’s the direct word of our Savior. The Lord Jesus Christ gave this command.
And John had passed it on faithfully.
These Christians had heard this message of loving each other time and again since the beginning of their Christian life.
Raise your hand today if you knew that Christians are supposed to love one another.
I’m assuming that everyone here knows that.
Because it’s nothing new. It’s old.
Beloved, love your brother because this is an old command.
Number two.
Love your brother #2. BECAUSE THIS IS A NEW COMMAND. V.8
“Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.”
Is this a contradiction. No way.
John is saying that there is a way in which this old command is new.
It’s new because there is a new era dawning.
A new era, the dawning of the age of Christ, and the age of the Spirit. V.8 again.
“Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in him [Christ] and you [Christ-followers], because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining.”
Trick question. This should be an easy one. But it is a trick question.
Has Jesus’ kingdom come?
Yes and No.
It has come but it is still coming.
It has already come and it is not yet here in its fullness.
Has the light come?
Yes, the light has come. God is light, and He has come in Jesus Christ.
And the darkness is passing.
But the darkness is also still hanging around.
It’s on the way out, but it is still lingering here.
Here’s what’s new: the kingdom of light has dawned!
And the King of Light says, “A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
That’s in the gospel of John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35.
Jesus called this “A new command: love one another.” And here’s what’s new about it. Jesus has shown how to do it. Sacrificially.
“As I have loved you, so you must love one another.”
The kingdom of love has dawned. That’s new.
So, we’ve got love our brothers. Because this is a new command. One that goes with the new kingdom.
We’ve got to...or we’re lying. V.9
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.”
We’re back to TALK and WALK, aren’t we?
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness.”
Still stuck back in the old way before joining the kingdom of Christ.
It’s not good enough to just say that we are in the light, we must love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Because Number Three:
#3. BECAUSE IF YOU LOVE, YOU LIVE IN THE LIGHT. V.10
“Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.”
Doesn’t that sound good?
That’s a verse to memorize. Let’s say it together.
“Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.”
God is light, and to live in the light, we love our brothers.
Now, again and again, that doesn’t mean that if we love our brothers, we will EARN living in the light.
It just means that if we have been loved by God so that we are in the light, we will naturally and supernaturally walk in the light and love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
The two go perfectly hand in hand.
“Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.”
V.11
“But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.”
How many of you still have some scouting to do this afternoon for tomorrow?
I do. I’m planning to go out again tomorrow and take the gun for a walk.
Those of you who go out, have you ever noticed how different the woods are on early, early Monday morning compared to Sunday afternoon?
It’s not hard to find your place on Sunday afternoon.
But if you’re smart, you’re marking the path really well because tomorrow morning at 5:30 or 6:00am, everything looks differently.
Was this where we turned?
Where is that tree that I saw yesterday?
Where is that path that I saw yesterday?
Where are those deer that I saw yesterday?
The darkness blinds. And it causes us to stumble.
There is a very clear path between our chicken coop and our back door. I walk it twice a day.
In the morning there is light.
In the evening, the darkness has come.
And, there is a spot between the two apple trees on the way to the chicken coop that if I’m not using a flashlight, I stumble on every time.
And if I know where it is and steer clear, I run into a apple tree branch.
I’m sure that I’m hilarious to watch walk back from the chicken coop every night.
What do I need?
I need a light.
If don’t have a light, I stumble. And if I was leading someone else, I’d cause them to stumble!
And that’s what it’s like if we choose to live in hatred for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
If hatred marks our walk, we will stumble in the darkness and we will make our brothers and sisters stumble, as well.
Do you want to stumble around in the darkness?
Of course not!
And the answer is to love our brothers and sisters in Christ.
That’s not always easy.
Some Christians are harder to love than nonChristians!
And sometimes, hate is not obvious. Sometimes we hate our brothers and sisters by not confronting them in their sin. Love confronts.
Love is not just a warm-fuzzy feeling. Love is an active thing–seeking the best for someone else, often as a personal cost.
Love is not always easy to do.
“Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails.”
That’s love, and it’s not always easy to do.
But we must do it.
How can we?
First off, by trusting in Jesus.
Jesus said this in John 12:
“You are going to have the light just a little while longer. [That’s Jesus Himself.] Walk while you have the light, before darkness overtakes you. The man who walks in the dark does not know where he is going. [Sound familiar?] Put your trust in the light while you have it, so that you may become sons of light.”
So the first step in loving is to put your trust in the Light of the World, Jesus Christ.
Have you done that?
Jesus died on the Cross to pay for the darkness inside of you and me.
And with His resurrection, He brings a new light into our lives so that we can be light and share light and walk in the light as He is in the light.
We can be sons of light!
And sons of light have the power to love one another.
Jesus gives us the power to love the most unlovable Christian.
And when we do, we LIVE in the light.
“Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble.”
Messages about Essential Christianity
1. A Letter Arrived from John
2. The Word of Life
3. God Is Light
4. Talk and Walk
5. If You Love, You Live in the Light
6. I Write To You Because
7. Do Not Love the World
8. This Is the Last Hour
9. Children of God (Part One)
10. Children of God (Part Two)
11. Love Your Brother
12. God Is Greater Than Our Hearts
13. Test the Spirits
14. God Is Love (Part One)
15. God Is Love (Part Two)
16. Overcoming the World
17. The Testimony
18. We Know
19. Listen Again to 1 John
0 comments:
Post a Comment