MPC, 7th November 1999.1 John 3:11-24
COSTLY LOVE
Phil Campbell MPC, 7th November 1999.
There's an old legend about the apostle John. John's the one who wrote this letter we've been looking at over the past few weeks. John was the longest surviving disciple of Jesus.
In fact, John lived well into his nineties, which was pretty unusual back then. Especially if you were a Christian.
Most of the disciples had been executed. But John survived. And the story goes that every week they'd bring him into the church meetings on a stretcher, this frail old man of 93. And every week, they'd take him to the front. And he'd lean up on one elbow to speak. And a hush would come over the room. They'd hang on his every word. This last disciple of Jesus. And every week, he'd say this. He's say, "Little children, LOVE ONE ANOTHER." And then he'd lie back down on his bed and they'd carry him out.
Every week, exactly the same message. Little children… love one another. And one day, the story goes, someone asked him about it. They said, "john, why is it that every week you say exactly the same thing, little children love one another?" And John said this. He said, BECAUSE IT IS ENOUGH.
If you want to know the basics of living like a Christian, there it is in a nutshell. You don't need a theology degree. All you need to know. "Little children, LOVE ONE ANOTHER." If you want to know the rules, there they are. And there's only one. Little children, LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
Some people think it's about being self righteous. Keeping rules. But as far as John's concerned, if you're someone who's put your trust in Jesus, then there's only one other thing you need to know. So week after week, he'd remind them. Over and over again. Little children, love one another.
Well, that's just a legend, a story that's been passed down through the generations by word of mouth. But when you look at the way John writes here, it rings true. Because that's exactly the message he keeps on repeating in his letter. Over and over again. LOVE ONE ANOTHER.
You can see it in verse 11, right where we started. Exactly the same focus. "This is the message you heard from the beginning," he says. "We should LOVE ONE ANOTHER." He says it again down in verse 23. Have a look at it. He says, "And this is his command.- to believe on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ… and when you've done that.. TO LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS HE COMMANDED US.
If you read right through this chapter and the next one you'll see it over and over again. And the thing John's saying is this. Trusting Jesus and LOVING ONE ANOTHER go hand in hand. And you can't have ONE without the OTHER. There's NO SUCH THING as "loveless Christianity". It's like saying you'll have a meal without eating anything. Like saying you can have a car without the engine and the wheels. He says if there's NO LOVE, there's NO CHRISTIANITY. You're not following Jesus. And he says it over and over again. Because it's worth repeating.
Trouble is, these days you have to be CAREFUL when you're talking about love. Because these days, LOVE is everywhere you look. Love is in the women's magazines. It's on the radio. Love is at the MOVIES. And the sort of love you read about or hear about or see, it can mean just about anything you want it to. Love is one of those words that's so overused it's almost run out of meaning.
So it's important in a passage like this one that we understand what the Bible is talking about. Because you can love CHOCOLATE… and I do. But it's not the sort of LOVE John's talking about here. And you can LOVE your favourite movie star like Brad Pitt or Harrison Ford. And you can LOVE YOUR HUSBAND OR YOUR WIFE. But even then, the usual definition of that sort of love is that it's a FEELING. There's even used to be a pop song that said that… I'm hooked on a feeling. An emotional high you get when you're with them. And empty feeling when you're apart. At least at the start. A romantic feeling when you have a candle-lit dinner.
That's the CLEO magazine type of love. Or WHO MAGAZINE… this weeks front page story. Danii Minogue and her racing driver boyfriend, it says they're RACING to the altar. That’s the Elizabeth Taylor kind of love. Every time she feels like it, she marries the guy. And every time she stops feeling like it, she gets a divorce. Her and 40-something percent of the Australian population.
Now if you come to a passage like this with a definition of love like that, a definition that says, love is a feeling, you can end up in some pretty strange places. I mean, when John says we have to love one another, does he mean when we come to church we've got to be GUSHY all the time? Worse still, ROMANTIC? On some sort of EMOTIONAL HIGH? Or what?
Well, the good thing is, John doesn't just leave us in the dark. He gives us a concrete example of the sort of love he's talking about. First he gives a COUNTER EXAMPLE. How NOT TO BE. Then a positive. How we SHOULD BE. Opposite extremes.
HOW NOT TO BE…
Have a look at verse 12. John goes all the way back to the start of the Old Testament to tell us what NOT TO BE LIKE. He says, "Don't be like Cain." Cain, firstborn son of Adam and Eve, first product of the fall. His brother Abel was righteous; Cain was jealous. So he took him up the back paddock and KILLED HIM.
Now that, says John, is how the world works. Maybe not a rock to the head; maybe more subtle. Character assassination maybe - or spite. A sort of a bubbling undercurrent of resentment. Hoping the WORST for someone instead of hoping the best.
John says, don't be like Cain who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he do it? Jealousy. His own actions were evil, his brothers were righteous. So he got rid of the competition.
John says, don't be surprised, brothers, if the WORLD hates you. The world is like Cain all the time. But be surprised if your Christian brother hates you. Because it shouldn't be that way. It's the ESSENCE of our DIFFERENCE. In fact, it's the way we KNOW we've changed sides… from death to life. Verse 14. "We know we've passed from death to life, because we LOVE OUR BROTHERS. Anyone who doesn't love remains in death. Anyone who HATES HIS BROTHER is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life in him." Loving your brother, it's one of the KEY INDICATORS of a genuine Christian. And if you're not doing it, if you're HATING your Christian brother or sister instead, maybe you need to have a deep look at yourself.
But love is a whole lot more than just NOT HATING, isn't it. Cain's the NEGATIVE EXAMPLE. What about the POSITIVE?
POSITIVE LOVE
But love is a whole lot more than just NOT HATING, isn't it. Cain's the NEGATIVE EXAMPLE. What about the POSITIVE?
POSITIVE LOVE
You'll see it in verse 16. You want to know what love is? Look at the perfect walking talking example. "This is how we know what love is… Jesus Christ LAID DOWN HIS LIFE FOR US. "
Now will you notice, this is no Hollywood Elizabeth Taylor sort of love he's talking about. It's CRUCIFIXION STYLE Jesus Christ style love. The real symbol of love isn't a gushy little heart. The real symbol of love is a CROSS. Love… is self-sacrifice. See, here's what Jesus did. This is how we know what love is. He looks at a world full of rebellious, sinful people facing God's judgement, a world of people who couldn't do anything to save themselves; And he came; and he took all of God's judgment on himself. So we didn't have to.
Ever been punished for something you didn’t do? Paid the penalty for someone elses wrongs?
Imagine you lend your car to a friend… she has it for the weekend; goes through three speed cameras at twice the speed limit. CLICK CLICK CLICK. A couple of red light cameras as well. CLICK CLICK. And for good measure, parks for three hours in a no standing zone in the middle of the city.
Couple of weeks later your letterbox is jammed up with penalty notices. I mean, how do you feel? You’d be absolutely FURIOUS, wouldn’t you? Being asked to pay the penalty for someone else when you've done nothing wrong at all. You’d grab him, and you’d shake the account in his face, and you’d say, PAY UP! I’m not paying for what YOU did wrong. Pay it yourself!
Well, that’s the first thing I’d think of saying, anyway. But see, Jesus does the EXACT OPPOSITE. And it’s that that John says is the perfect definition of LOVE. And it’s not just a few hundred bucks for running some red lights. The penalty Jesus paid was the DEATH PENALTY. What he did was he actually gave up his life; died. For our rebellion against God. Our sin.
If you listened to the top 40 back when I used to, Foreigner had a song called I WANT TO KNOW WHAT LOVE IS. Well, this is how we know what love is, says John. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And here’s the crunch. He says, And WE OUGHT TO LAY DOWN OUR LIVES FOR OUR BROTHERS. It’s there in black and white. The second half of verse 16. And if you’ve been sitting there patting yourself on the back for how loving you are, let that sink in for a minute.
Love means LETTING YOURSELF BE RIPPED OFF for somebody else. Love means giving up your rights for somebody else. Love means LAYING DOWN YOUR LIFE for your Christian brothers and sisters.
John goes on to say how our love for one another has to be PRACTICAL LOVE. Verse 17. Material possessions. I mean, we hang on to them like we’re never going to let go, don’t we? It's almost rude to raise this stuff, because it's such a sensitive area, isn't it. But John says this. "If anyone has material possessions, and sees his brother in need but has not pity on him, HOW CAN THE LOVE OF GOD BE IN HIM?"
And he’s not talking there about just feeling sorry for your brother in need. That’s not what he means by HAVING PITY ON HIM. He means if you sit there in your comfort and luxury and watch a Christian brother or sister in need and you don’t do anything about it, then you haven’t even STARTED finding our what love means. You haven't even started to find out what CRUCIFIXION LOVE is all about.
Test yourself for a minute. And just ask yourself what material possessions you’d actually be prepared to give up to help someone in need? What luxury would you give up to help out a brother in need? I mean, Jesus gave up his LIFE for you.
See, the fact is, love’s got to be more than LIP SERVICE. Which we can all do pretty well, can’t we. Look what John says in verse 18. "Dear Children, let us not love with words or tongue, BUT WITH ACTIONS and IN TRUTH." Don’t just talk about it. DO SOMETHING.
And the fact is, says John, it’s when you start doing that, that you really start knowing you’re alive as a Christian. It’s when you start doing that that you really start to KNOW you belong to the truth. It’s a funny thing. And I want to challenge you to try it. Because that fact is, it’s only when we start SACRIFICIALLY LIVING and SACRIFICIALLY GIVING and SACRIFICIALLY HELPING - that we really start to catch a glimpse of the excitement of being part of God’s family. Real brothers and sisters.
" This is how we know we belong to the truth." Verse 19. "This is how we know. And how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us." By loving with ACTIONS AND IN TRUTH. Instead of just paying lip service to love. And loving people when it suits us.
Start doing it, and you’ll suddenly find things change. And you’ll have a new confidence as a Christian. And John says you’ll see God answering your prayers. Because when you’re loving sacrificially like that, when you’re fair dinkum about following the example of Jesus, then you’re obeying God’s commands and doing what pleases him. Couldn’t be simpler. And it’s all summed up in verse 23. This is his command. This is what God wants you to do. Not be religious. Not get in a holy huddle. Not say THEE and THY all the time. Here it is. "To believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS HE COMMANDED US." Simple.
Well, friends, the question we’ve got to be asking is this. How are we going? How are we going in the love department?
I want to make a few comments. And some of them might be a bit close to home. But here are some observations. Number 1, it’s HAPPENING. I haven't been here very long; but I've got to say I've seen lots of evidence of people who are PRACTICAL in their love. And SACRIFICIAL. We’re part of a church that’s growing in love. But that doesn’t mean we can just sit back and be complacent.
And it's easy to get discouraged, isn't it. Here’s what happens. You actually start putting yourself out for other Christians. Helping. Caring. In costly sorts of ways. And growing closer together. And that’s exactly when all those niggly little things about other people start to get irritating, isn't it. I mean, are you REALLY appreciated? Or are you just being taken for granted? And then there’s THIS that somebody said, or THAT that somebody else said. And the next thing you know, you’re wishing there was a bit more distance. Because it’s always that way, isn’t it? Always easier to keep your distance. And not get involved.
Would have been easier for Jesus, too. Not to get involved. He lay down his life for us. And that’s exactly the definition of the sort of love we’re called to. Laying down our lives for one another. In all sorts of unappreciated, taken for granted ways. Because that’s what real love is.
There’s another story about a minister who preached the same message over and over again. His first week in the pulpit of his new church, and the minister stood up and preached a riveting sermon about LOVE. And everyone shook his hand at the door, and they said, GREAT SERMON!
And they came back the next week. And what do you know, he preached exactly the same sermon. Word for word. And the next week. Same again. Week after week after week.
And someone finally asked him why. Why it was that he kept preaching the same sermon about love week after week after week. And he said this. "Well, everyone told me what a great sermon it was. But I figure I’ve got to keep preaching it until they actually start DOING IT."
Christianity’s simple, isn’t it. This is what God wants - Believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, put your faith in him. And LOVE ONE ANOTHER AS HE COMMANDED US." Simple. Just that it’s hard to do. And we need to keep encouraging one another and reminding one another that that’s what its all about. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for one another."