Today, I would like you to turn
in your Bible, please, to 1 John, 1 John chapter 4, 1 John chapter
4, and let's read verse 10 and 11 together. John says in this
epistle that he writes all about love, but he said, Herein, here
is love. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation. or the atoning victim. He sent
his son to be the sacrifice for the sins of God's people, for
our sin. Beloved, if God so loved us,
we ought also to love one another. John says here in this verse,
herein is love. Here is a grand display of love. Here is love not in word, but
in deed and in truth. Here is love that is shown and
explained and demonstrated toward the unlovely. Love at its climax. Love outdoing itself. This is
the love of God that's manifested toward guilty sinners in and
by and through the Lord Jesus Christ. Herein is love. It's
love beyond all degree. Surpasses every standard of human
love. Exceeds all earthly expectation
of love. And all other love stories must
dwindle away into pale insignificance and utter insignificance when
we consider this love. Herein is love. He says back
in chapter 3 verse 1, Behold what manner of love the Father
hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called sons of God. Then again he says in chapter
4 verse 10, Herein is this love demonstrated and explained in
the sacrifice of God giving His Son to die for the sins of his
people. I want to look at four or five
things this morning, and I pray that God will give you ears to
hear. The first thing is this. This love of God is to those
who do not love Him. Notice the text again. He said,
here in His love, not. Not. Now he begins with a negative.
Here in His love. We're going to talk about love.
We're not going to talk about the love that we have. Not that
we loved God, but rather He loved us. Since Adam's ruin, since
Adam's total fall, since our human race has been totally depraved
and dead in sin, there never has been a person who has loved
God. Not first. We read in Romans
8, the carnal mind is enmity. That is deep-rooted, deep-seated
hatred. Men love darkness rather than
the light. We read again in Romans 3 that
there is none righteous, no, not one. There is not a spark
of love to God in our sinful, depraved nature. Jeremiah put
it this way, our heart is deceitful above all things and desperately
wicked. Instead of loving God, we have
rebelled against His every command. We've all sinned and come short
of the glory of God. I hope we understand that God
didn't love us because we loved Him. Rather, it's just the opposite. We read in this same chapter,
verse 19, we love Him. We love God only because He first
loved us. His love to us is eternal and
prior to us ever loving Him. Jeremiah put it this way, He's
loved us with an everlasting love, therefore with loving kindness
has He drawn us to Himself. Here in His love, God loved the
unlovely, God loved the God-hater, God loved the man who was dead
in trespasses and in sin, and loved them, though we didn't
love Him. He says that in John 15, 16,
He said, You've not chosen me, you've not loved me, I loved
you. You've not chosen me, but I've
chosen you. This shows us again that His
love to us is free, unmerited, sovereign, and unsought, and
eternal love. He loved us because He would.
We don't merit or earn God's favor, earn His love. He loves
us because God is love. Oh, herein is love, not that
we love God. Secondly, notice this. This love
to sinners flows from God Almighty. Here in His love, not that we
love God, but rather that He loved us. We read in Romans 5,
God commended His love toward us in that while we were yet
sinners, Christ died for us. What does God want in loving
us? Did you ever think about that? What an insignificant minute
little creatures we are in this vast, infinite universe of God. Yet God set His heart upon sinners. Yet God loved His people. Someone
said this, it's great to be loved by a dog. However, it's even
greater to be loved by a child. And it's the greatest to be loved
by a friend. But to be loved of God, what
great glory and infinite majesty Does this involve hearing His
love, not that we love God, but that He loved us? Listen to this
scripture in Romans chapter 8, verse 37 and following. We are
more than conquerors through Him that loved us. For I am persuaded
that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities,
nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor height,
nor depth, nor any other creature shall be able to separate us
from the love of God which is in the Lord Jesus Christ." You
see, this love flows out from God. Here in His love, not that
we love God. That's not where love is manifested,
but in this, He loved us. Love freely, sovereignly flows
out from God Almighty. to guilty, wretched, miserable
sinners. Thirdly is this. This love was
unsought. This love was unsought. It says
in our text again here in His love, not that we love God, but
that He loved us and sent His Son. This love is unsought. We never sent for Him. We never
sent for God. God sent to us. Where was Adam
after he fell, running from God? hiding from God. God came to
him. This human race was content to love darkness rather than
light. This fallen human race was content
to believe a lie rather than God. This human race, fallen
and depraved, are content to seek salvation by work rather
than in the Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord came to this world,
not that we might seek His love, but rather that His love might
seek us. Remember what He said to Zacchaeus,
the son of man, has come to seek and to save that which is lost. The shepherd seeks the sheep.
Why? Because he loves the sheep. The
shepherd seeks out that lost sheep because the shepherd has
affection and sovereign love toward that sheep. We read this
in Revelation, unto him that loved us and washed us from our
sin in his own blood. You see, this love was unsought.
He sought us out. We read again in Ephesians 2,
God who is rich in mercy for His great love were with, He
loved us even when we were dead in our sins. Shut out. Fourthly, we see this
in this text. Are you with me? Here in His
love. Not that we love God, but that He loved us and sent His
Son to be the propitiation, the atoning victim, the sacrifice,
for our sins. God's love provided the means
to deal with our sin problem. Love provided propitiation. He is our sacrifice. He is our atonement. He is our
pardon. Now let me ask you an important
question. Could God justly save His people from their sin and
not deal justly with our sin? Absolutely not. God couldn't
pardon sin without complete atonement, expiation, and payment for all
the sins of God's sheep. God must demand atonement for
sin because He's holy. God is holy, but God Himself
also not only demanded atonement, but God Himself, and here's the
glorious truth of God's love, God not only demanded atonement,
demanded payment for sin, but God Almighty Himself provided
the Lamb to take away our sin. We read in this same epistle,
1 John 3, verse 16, or verse 5, let's read that first. We know that He was manifested
to take away our sin, and in Him is no sin. He says in 1 John
3, 16, "...hereby perceive we the love of God, because He laid
down His life for us." My friend, this is love. This is the love
of God. God will provide Himself a sacrifice. God will provide Himself a Lamb. And my friend, that Lamb that
He provided is the Lord Jesus Christ. Now remember this, what
God demanded, God provided. God provided that lamb. John
the Baptist identified that lamb that day. He said, behold, God's
lamb that takes away our sin. What God demanded, God provided. And my friend, what God provided,
God accepted this sacrifice. We read again in Romans Chapter
3, that he were justified freely by His grace through the redemption
that is in the Lord Jesus Christ whom God had set forth to be
the propitiation, the atoning victim, the sin covering through
His blood to declare God's righteousness for the remission of sins. That
God might be just and justify the ungodly through the Lord
Jesus Christ. Now who among us would give up
his son to pay for the crimes of the enemy, our enemy? We wouldn't, but my friend God
did. We read in scripture that he
died for the ungodly, Christ died for the ungodly. We read
that he suffered once for our sins, the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us unto God, the one who was just. and holy,
He suffered for the unjust that we might be brought unto Him.
He bare our sin in His own body. Here we see the grand display
of love. We see God's love displayed in creation. He made all things
by the word of His power. We see His love displayed in
providence. We know all things work together
for good to them who love God, to them who are called according
to God's purpose. We see His love displayed in
God's incarnation. When He took to Himself our humanity
apart from sin, God Almighty was manifest in the flesh. We
see His love displayed in His life. He was tried and tempted
and tested in all points like as we are yet without sin. But
we see here, here in His love, the most glorious display of
God's love and grace towards sinners is displayed at Calvary. when God made Him to be sin for
us, when it pleased God to bruise Him and wound Him in the room
and in the stead of God's people. God made Him to be sin for us,
who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of
God through Him. And my friend, it's just not
His death. That is an amazing fact itself
that the Son of God died and took our judgment in our place.
But consider this. He died under the wrath of God,
under God's judgment against sin. Our sin was made and laid,
made to be put on Him. God laid on Him the iniquity
of us all. Now my friend, herein is love. Here is the trophy of love, the
display of love, the grand display of God's love and mercy to guilty
sinners, that He sent His Son to be the sacrifice for our sin. Lastly, in 1 John 4, verse 11,
we read this, Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to
love one another. What should be the effect of
this love, of looking upon this great wonder? If God has loved
us so freely, so sacrificially, so infinitely, We ought also
to love one another. It shouldn't be difficult for
one who has been the object of love to manifest this love to
others. It shouldn't be difficult for
one who has been freely and fully forgiven to freely forgive others.
It shouldn't be difficult for one who has received mercy to
show mercy. Our Lord loved us with all our
sin. Can we do less than to love others
who have sinned against us? I don't think so. Love is the
evidence of life. He says in this same epistle,
We know we pass from death unto life because we love the brethren. Love is the fruit of the Spirit.
Herein is love. You see what John is saying in
this text? Herein is love, not that we love God. That's not
where it is, but He loved us everlastingly, lovingly, loved
us with eternal love, saving love, electing love, dying love,
redeeming love, hearing His love, not that we loved God, but that
He loved us, and sent His Son to be the sacrifice for our sins.