"We claim a love for God and our salvation, but we treat some brothers and sisters in Christ with disdain."
[This message is part of a series through the book of 1 John, entitled "Salvific Assurance Through Testimony," preached by Pastor Senter].
In our previous posting, we saw a specific pattern for the Love of God, in how it comes to us, and how we return love to Him. We found that when we live through this love we love Him more by exercising faith (trusting in His commandments) and leaning upon Him more, which shows our trust in His decisions in our life. This, ultimately, shows our love for Him. I would submit to you the pattern is here, not just for our Father in heaven, but also for mothers and fathers here on earth. In other words, the more children submit to your authority, they are accepting your love for them and showing love and trust to you. We have noted more than once that the scriptures do not call Him “father” for no reason. This should be the pattern in our home; the pattern we demand from our children, and the pattern we should exhibit to them. We should be loving them; this gives them reason to trust us. It gives them the ability to have faith in us. Then we receive this back from them in the same fashion: they exercise faith in us, which shows their trust in us, and shows their love for us.
Today we will look at 1 John 4:20. This is one of those sections where, I believe, the biblical chapter and verse splicing has missed the mark. If we look at the subjects and how John writes, we see that chapter 5, verse two begins with two words we have discussed in depth in the past “Herein is” (or “by this”). If you remember, John frequently uses those two words to introduce a new idea. Since the primary discussion in the previous three verses, or for that matter, the previous 15 verses from 4:7 through 5:1, has been love, this remains the primary discussion here.
There are times when one has to admit and capitulate that some things have just been said about the best that they can be. For this reason I quote this next section at length. In John Phillips commentary series on “The Epistles of John” we find this on page 156:
“Love and hate are opposites. Love for God ought to expel all hate, even toward the most cantankerous, critical, and contradictory of the Lord’s people. No one ever loved God like Jesus. “He went about doing good,” says Peter’s one-line summary of the Lord’s attitude toward people (Acts 10:38). The Lord had His enemies, but He loved them. At times, he had to expose and condemn them (Matt. 23:13-39), but He never stopped loving them. He loved poor, lost pagan Pilate just as much as he loved beloved, blundering Peter. He died just as truly for crafty, unscrupulous Caiaphas as for generous, open-minded Cornelius. He had as big a heart of love for Barabbas as he had for Bartholomew. He wept as brokenly for Jerusalem – which killed the prophets and stoned them who were sent to her-as he did for bereaved and beloved Martha and Mary. He was as eager to save Saul-who “breath[ed] out threatenings and slaughter”-as he was to save the earnestly seeking Ethiopian. We cannot imagine Jesus hating anyone, still less one who belonged to, however unworthily, the family of God.”
Let us then talk today about how”the love of God begets a love for one-another.” John knew we needed this lesson because in his congregations he saw divisiveness, he saw spite, he saw that the separatists were having success. The bottom line is that “we claim a love for God and our salvation, but we treat some brothers and sisters in Christ with disdain.”
I. Compartmentalization of Man (4:20)
Psychologists define this as “a ‘divide and conquer’ process for separating thoughts that will conflict with one another. This may happen when they are different beliefs or even when there are conflicting values.” This is a position that results from an individual’s attempt to separate a life with God from the rest of the personality and attempt to function independently of God. You have one life here at church, and you have one life in the world. This thought process distributes things into classes or categories. You have a type of persona at church–you appear meek, kind, and wonderful. Then you have type of persona that you assume in the world, where you take on a haughty, demanding and attitudinal appearance, because that is the accepted norm there. Man also classifies the things he can see (the things he truly believes in and leans upon), from the things in which he has to exercise faith to achieve. There are, therefore, two categories of existence – the physical and non-physical or faith-based. There is the real, and the perceived realities. The challenge for man is to take a leap from the realities of physical life, and move to a faith-based life, focused upon what you cannot see, touch, feel, or smell. There is another term that we should understand, and that is “stratification.” This is how we arrange people in order of their importance. We see this exemplified in the Rich Young Ruler in Mark 10:17. What we have to get into our hearts is that we, man, is capable of this compartmentalization simply because we have a sin-filled hearts and put differing values on different things. We tend to treat people differently in different venues. We talk a talk here, but walk a completely different walk out there in the real world. This is spiritual compartmentalization.
It is actually much more simple in the eyes of God. Loving God results in brotherly love. If anyone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. If anyone should say that “I am loving (the) invisible God” and he should hate his (the) brother, he is a liar for he does not have love for the brother whom he sees.
We should look more closely at this verse.
A. Saying verses Doing
The first verb is “say” – to speak, speaking words, and utterances. We use this word before a quote. It simply indicates that words are being spoken. There is no indication of validity or veracity affiliated with this utterance; simply that the words are being spoken. This is about all many people do; speak without true conviction. Admit it, how many times have you said things you regret saying because you were not able to follow through. There is also the situation where you have said something in anger that you regret. You communicated a volition which you knew in your heart was not truly felt. There are people all over this world who for business purposes will prop up customers as wonderful people. Politicians do this all the time, and marketing specialists are adept at this. They may agree with a specific customer that a commercial or product representation sounds or looks good. However, they would themselves never consider or even personally agree with the way the product is being billed. It, to them, is a lie.
However, this is not simply an effort at honesty. This act of speaking represents a true heart condition. If you say you love God but hate other people, you simply cannot have both. You cannot love God, seek His love in you, and hate people. This is about a testimony again that will lead to salvific confirmation.
Speaking truth, lovingly, is one thing. Making this an active part of your life–that is wholly different.
B. Doing verses Saying
The second verb is “hate.” This, to us is a strong word; it has a variety of connotations in Greek. The base definition indicates to dislike strongly, and implies an attitude of outright hostility. If we say we love God, but do not love our fellow believers with the selfless love of God, then we cannot truly love God.
Consider this. In our world today, if you exhibit this type of behavior you are technically “psychologically challenged” in some way. This is a conflict of man. We are supposed to be tolerant of others and accept them as they are. Yet, we are not supposed to share our faith with others. How do these two opposing views meet? Stalkers have this trouble. Now – I am not condoning stalking, but society has some problems in properly dealing with them. On the one hand, we are supposed to be tolerant of their feelings. On the other, we want them to keep them to their selves. Talk about conflicting. Did you know that of the five types of stalkers that were identified in a 2000 study, three of them claim to have great love for the victim? A rejected stalker seeks to repair or reestablish a broken relationship, which they claim, is loving. An intimacy-seeker seeks to have a very loving and intimate relationship with the victim, because they perceive the victim as a soul mate. The incompetent suitor has a fixation and sees a relationship with the victim as an entitlement. An individual practicing any one of these three stalking techniques would claim that they love their victim. Yet, a hate that they exhibit in their efforts often results in hostile activity. This is where we find those in this scripture then.
When we do things that are hateful, such as Peter did in denying Christ three times–yet we claim to love–we are destroying our testimony. Again, if we are focused upon the things of the world when we are in the world, and have no testimony for God, we understand that 1 John 2:15-16 tells us that we do not love God, no matter what we want to say. Our actions tell of our true heart. If we still deny our worldliness in the face of our actions, we are no better off than the stalker who, although they claim affection for the victim, really demonstrates hate with all their activity.
Do you really love God? If so, you should not just say you love Him, you should love all His people.
How, then, does this activity (as opposed to our words) manifest itself?
C. Seeing the difference
You know you can conceal a false love for an invisible God in piety. However, you cannot conceal your hatred of visible man. The third verb of interest here is “to see,” or “perceive.” The word used is the same in both places, where we read, “whom he hath seen” and, “whom he hath not seen.” It indicates the sense of visually seeing something. The ability to “see” as we would know with our eyes is inherent in the word. Also though, in the Old Testament Septuagint it is used most frequently to indicate a spiritual perception. The word itself is used more to indicate a revealed spiritual condition in an individual. Therefore, we see both uses displayed here. John, known for his opposites and contrasts, does this here again. We find in our first phrase, indication of those we see around us. We find around us the most decrepit and disadvantaged individuals. We find, here, the individuals who are homeless, walking the streets, unkempt, and unwanted. How about those in the nursing homes? I have to say, I was so pleased to see the vibrant nursing home ministry that this church maintains. Many of those individuals are running back toward the beginning of life where they must be cared for like an infant. It is difficult for many to adjust to the regression of the geriatric and give as much love to them as they would to an infant who needs great care, attention, and love. We should truly love all of God’s children, even the most reprehensible, the most caustic, the most disgusting of individuals. I know some of you have experience with these folks.
The question posed here is, “How can we love one whom we cannot see, if those who we do see do not receive our love readily today?” I am not focused upon geriatric ministry; that was simply an example. How can anyone claim salvation if they rebel against any visible authority? If you do rebel against these visible authorities in your life, you will tend to rebel even more against something you cannot see. Everyone in this world has received the Love of God, and we should love every one of them as well. The sin-filled problem then is, if we cannot love those we can experience with our senses, we stand no chance truly loving the great “I Am” who remains unseen, audibly silent (though we do metaphorically hear God through His word, He does not directly speak to us such that our ears hear His words), and scentless. You have to Love Him with your heart, mind, and soul. You have to love Him without seeing Him, hearing Him, touching Him, or tasting Him. What this scripture is saying is that what you do in the world shows whether you really do have faith and believe–let alone love–Him. If you do not love others, you cannot love Him.
Do your loving actions speak for you? Faith and love in true Christians is displayed in intangibles, not material things (our efforts toward one another are greatest in the spirit not in things of the world). What we see, hear, taste, feel, and smell is all of this world. There are things that are offensive to us; and we must remember that to the world, Christians are offensive. If godly things in this world are offensive to you, you should consider whether you are godly, whether you are saved, whether or not you truly love God.
We also find we will be held accountable for what we do, who we are, how we interact with them, and what we do to all of God’s creatures.
II. Commandment to man (4:21)
Loving God results in obedient love. What we find when we look at this verse is that it is an active statement. All of the verbs in this sentence are in the present active tense. Everything that is represented here is currently taking place in your life. Are you loving your brothers and sisters in Christ? I have to tell you, there are times when messages like this are difficult. This time, right after the Christmas season, when we have so much enjoyed one another’s fellowship, this is difficult to preach. However, this is here at this time because someone needs to hear it. Ladies and gentlemen, do you love all of the children of God? How about your spouse? Do you love them unconditionally, or do you look at what you give them and expect them to give you more because of your efforts in the relationship? Remember, agape love is selfless. No matter what you feel your spouse is not doing to contribute to the relationship, you should not be calling upon them to give more. Your part is to give 100% continually, give all you can, all you can. The other spouse’s responsibility is to do the same, give all they can, all they can. Never blocking one another out, but seeking to fulfill needs others have continually.
Ladies and gentlemen, this is a commandment from God: that we are to do these things continually, presently, and always in our lives, and the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ especially. We have talked frequently about submissive obedience and looked specifically at John 14:15. Do you realize that the one aspect about John 14:15 that many miss is that this is an active obedience. Think about it again, “If you love me, keep my commandments.” God expects you to actively seek ways to implement His commandments in your life. This is not just some passive “wait until the situation arises to be moral” attitude. We are expected to look at God’s word, and orient our lives in an expectant and purposeful way to implement obedience in our lives.
Are you doing this? Do you regularly and actively move things around in your life such that you are specifically prepared to implement God’s Word in your life? Remember, all these verbs, “have,” loveth,” and “love” are active. Technically, the middle word “loveth” is a participle, however it is formed from a verb and carries a present active form “is loving.” Do you actively orient your life to love others? Love is giving of yourself for your brother – God gives you the capacity to love so that you can pass this love on to, and display it with your brothers in Christ. The love of God is not given only for you to enjoy within yourself. Since its origin is the Holy Spirit – God – how can man contain it within himself? Are you in obedience? Do you love your brothers in Christ, no matter what attitudes, behaviors, speech, or aesthetics they display? Do you love your brethren?
You might ask then, “If we orient our lives such that all we do is attempt to point love, care, and concern for one another, are we not trying to create utopia. Is not this all just “pie in the sky” esoteric junk? Haven’t people tried to live in harmony like this in other places; but invariably someone messes up and trouble starts and that makes this just a bunch of hooplah–a bunch of psycho-babble empty of substance. You know, ‘Love others that ye shall be loved junk?’ “
III. Commitment of Man (5:1)
Loving God results in love for others. The first thing you have to do is give up your own selfishness, give up your own pride, and give up your own illusion to self-sufficiency. You have to believe: “pisteuō.” This is that faith, that belief, the dependence upon God for all you are, all you will be, and all you can be. This faith, this belief, this dependence upon Him lays the groundwork for all that must be done in your sin-filled heart. You desire more, you want more, and you crave more. As long as you continue to covet things in your life, you will never be in a proper place to just rest upon God. I am not saying do not have dreams, I am not saying one should not seek other things or have wants or desires. The issue here, ladies and gentlemen, is loving others instead of hating others. We established a few messages ago that the true, selfless love of God cannot abide in you unless you believe in Christ Jesus, the Son. The issue in this section is how you handle those relationships. Do you display the faith and belief of a born-again Christian? Do you permit your own personal desires and judgments to rule your relationships? Do you exhibit a lack of self-sacrifice in your relationships? Is your jealousy at others’ success or freedom interwoven into your relationships? Do these feelings create strife and discontent? If they do, you are not believing, depending upon Jesus as the Christ to be born again in God.
The verse says whosoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Consider that phrase for a moment.
A. Belief
This is an active belief. This describes a condition, normality, or a continuing exercise. It had a beginning point, and now it is an ongoing practice. It is an adjective. It is a position someone lives in, you exist in belief. You live in your belief that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, and the Savior. Since His purpose was to serve and save, our purpose is equally given in these verses. We are to love our brethren in service because of salvation. Just as we actively sought to implement God’s commandments in John 14:15, we should be actively seeking ways to serve others, just as God did for us. Did you counsel God on how to atone for the sins of the world? God took the initiative to do so, to implement a process by which all the sins of the world could be forgiven, and man could have an opportunity for reconciliation with God. Scripture tells us that He loved us so much that, out of that love, He engineered our salvation through His Son (John 3:16).
Do you believe in this salvation, this active service of God, and are you therefore looking for active service and exercising active belief in Him?
What happens when we display this faith, this belief, this active love from God, in our lives?
B. Results
First, we are born of God. We are literally reborn in Him. Our hearts–previously wicked and at odds with God–are now changed. We receive a newly-created heart in us that is capable of fellowship with the Father. This heart is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. We are born again Christians at that point.
After this miraculous event, we have the capacity to love others outside of our own selfish hearts. We should find ourselves struggling with what we want and concentrating on needs more. We should find ourselves seeking ways to implement service-oriented things in our lives. We are born now into a life that should cause us to want to conform to the Savior and not to the world. This is why, then, everyone that is loving (“loveth” in the KJV, “loves” in ESV and NASB), or everyone who is therefore practicing love for Him is born of Him. When you practice, therefore, the same selfless love that Jesus practiced, you show your belief or your faith in Him. This is especially true of believers, such that we love those who love God, and those whom God loves. This testifies of our love of Him, of our born again status, of our Christian love for one another, and of the love of God in us.
Do you really love God? Is there one person, one child of God, for whom you would ever hesitate to sacrifice your life, or your own personal desires? Be honest. If you can state that there is not one child of God in the world that you would ever hesitate to give your life for, then you have been perfected in this area. However, if you ever have hesitation in this conviction, you still have room to grow. I know I have room to grow; we must continually seek God to give us the love we need to fulfill His requirement for obedience. We must continually die to our own personal desires in everything we do: how we see our families, how we relate to one another in our marriages, how we relate to one another at church, and how we deal with our children. Do you seek His love, to strengthen your belief?
We should review what we have covered today.
We began with compartmentalization – how man categorizes people, and how he chooses to deal with different people differently to justify his activity toward some people whom he may or may not like. We talked about how we deceptively stay away from subjects with people, or how we even say different things to appear to be part of the crowd. We looked at the fact that many times, what we say has nothing to do with what really is happening in our hearts. Many times, it is all about what we do that tells who we really are. We talked about the visual spiritual condition of believers–how people really know what they are looking at. We have touched on this subject before; however, John this time uses a term that literally means “to see,” in that one can actually visually see an individual’s spiritual condition in action. Ladies and gentlemen, if you are meek and kind here at church or around certain people; but around others, you are contentious and argumentative, you have marked yourself– and it is not as meek and kind. It is either schizophrenic or hypocritical.
Then we looked at the commandment to man – to love God and your brethren. This boils down to implementing things in your life that help you to seek to obey God, and love your brothers and sisters in Christ. We, therefore, should be proactively–not reactively– implementing things in our lives that better show our faith, trust, and love to God through our Savior Jesus Christ. Set yourself up for spiritual success in this way. Finally, we talked about faith, belief, and the results of this belief. The fact is that if man makes a commitment to believe that the Son is the Christ, wholly and completely, he has committed to a life of the love of God in Him. If that love exists within any one of you, you are incapable of hating one another according to 1 John 4:20; you are continually seeking to obey the commands of God in 1 John 4:21; you believe Jesus is the Christ, therefore you practice the love of God in 1 John 5:1.
Some questions to ask yourself are; Do you see these things in your life? Are you giving up your own personal wants and giving in to the needs of others in their lives, the commandments of God for your life, and a dependence upon faith to love God? Please contact us if we can be of any help in answering these crucial questions in your life.
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