Let's take our Bibles again and
turn with me to the book of John chapter 13. John 13. I'd like to look at verses 34 and
35. John 13, verses 34 and 35. The Lord speaking to his disciples,
he said, A new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another,
even as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. And by this shall all men know
that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another. I was going over my notes again. I try to do that. As I was reading those two passages
of scripture, I thought to myself, this has got to be one of the
most heart-revealing passages And the reason I say that is
because when I see how little we are able to obey, how little, how grievous it is
when I see how little we do of what our Lord commanded. Not
to say that we don't. Obviously we do. But when I think
of the frailty of our flesh in our love one for another, when I'm going to perform a wedding,
I try to give some instruction. The Scripture that talks about
a man loving his wife. And I got most of these thoughts
from Brother Henry. And he was saying that a man
that loves his wife, take her side. Defend her character. Cover her faults. She's going
to give up her name for yours. Take her side. Take her side
against all others. And I thought about those truths
as I was reading this passage of Scripture. Our Lord was soon
to depart. The next few chapters, He's talking
to His disciples and He's giving them instruction He was getting
ready to go to the cross and he was going to finish the work
that the Father had given him to do. And soon those apostles
were going to have to walk exactly the way we have to walk right
now. They had enjoyed the presence of the Lord. They looked at Him. John said, we touched Him. Our
hands have handled the Word of Life. John said, these ears, these
eyes that saw him in a corporal way, just saw him physically,
watched him. Peter, James, and John of the
Mount of Transfiguration saw as the Lord just allowed just
a bit of his glory to shine through. His clothing, his face shined
brighter than the noonday sun, They saw Moses and Elijah. Moses
and Elijah was there. Been dead hundreds and hundreds
and hundreds of years. And they talked to the Lord about
His upcoming death. And then those apostles watched
Him ascend into heaven. Watched the cloud proceed. They
actually watched Him. Remember, the angels told him,
ye men of Galilee, why? Why do you stand here gazing
into the heavens? The same Jesus that you see taken up into heaven
is going to return just like that. Very soon they were going
to have to walk by faith. But he was giving them some instruction. Some words that they could hold
on to. Words that they could grasp hold
of and the Spirit of God would bring back to their memories.
Encouragement. And He did so in kindness and
mercy to give those words to His apostles and to us today.
These words that He spoke to them that very day, they're alive. They are alive to God's people.
They are alive. And we hear them. A new commandment, I give unto
you that ye love one another as I have loved you, that ye
also love one another. Now you know that would at first
appear to have a perplexing thought to it. A perplexing command. A new commandment. Were they
not commanded to love according to the law? This is what the law said, Leviticus
19.18, Thou shalt not avenge nor bear any grudge against the
children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbor. Close friends, associates is
what that word neighbor means. And to love them as thyself. Love them as you love yourself.
I am the Lord. You love your neighbor. Now, to the Jew, they interpreted
that as meaning a Jew love another Jew. The Lord quoted, after He
came here, a misconception that the Jews had concerning their
responsibility concerning love. In Matthew 5, verse 43, He said,
You have heard that it hath been said, Thou shalt love thy neighbor,
and hate thine enemy. To the Jews, they took that loving
thy neighbor to mean you love another Jew. You love your friend. And that would be to them a logical
deduction because they had no dealings with the Gentiles. They
just alienated. Had no dealings with them. All
Gentiles to the Jew were dogs. So if they were to love their
neighbor, then that means hate your enemy. Hate them. Because they're not
Jews. But here our Lord says a new
commandment. And it's not new in time. The
word there, new, doesn't mean in time. But it means always
fresh. Always fresh. This new commandment. More clearly explained to the
heart. by His example. That's why He said, a new commandment
that I give you, that you love one another as I've loved you,
that you also love one another. Love one another. It is a love
that is from the heart. But I tell you, it's a love that is bound in the heart to
that point to where it is a necessity. Necessity. We're bound to give thanks to
You, brethren, beloved of the Lord. You know why we love one
another? Because Almighty God is love. Love. That love, that new commandment
that is set forth in the heart of God's people, that gloriously
when He says, as I have loved you, how did He love us? Well, I can
tell you for a fact, and I'm just going to speak from experience,
and you do the same. I'll tell you how He's loved
His people. He's loved them in long-suffering. He's loved them
in mercy, in compassion. You think about the mercy of
Almighty God to His people. When He was reviled, what did
He do? He didn't revile again. That's
what I meant when I said at the beginning of this message, this
is one of the most convicting passages of Scripture. Because,
by nature, let me tell you what I'll do and what you'll do. When
somebody butts heads with you, you're going to bow up. And don't
tell me you won't. I'm telling you, if you take
that passage of Scripture, A man smites you on the right cheek,
give him your other one. By nature, that's not what you're
going to do. How did he love you? Here's a
fresh commandment. And even as I'm preaching right
now, I'm saying, Almighty God, give me a heart for this. The
Lord said on my heart, when you love, one another. You know what
you're doing? You're trusting God. You're trusting
the Lord because He works all things after the counsel of His
own will. If He allows me to cross paths
with an unlovely person, unlovely to me, I think about that passage that
I've brought up so many times. Remember when King David went
through that city and had his mighty men there? Shimei comes
out, starts picking up rocks and cussing David and throwing
rocks at him, calling him everything but a milk cow. And one of those
mighty men said, you want me to take his head off? I'll end
this right now. We ain't got no problem here.
David said, no, leave him alone. The Lord sent him. God sent him. And David recognized by the grace
of God, that's a message from the Lord, to remind me of what
I am by nature. A fresh commandment I give unto
you, that you love one another as I've loved you, that you also
love one another. How did he love? The Scripture
says Isaiah 53, 3. He was despised and rejected
of men. A man of sorrows, acquainted
with grief. And we hid as it were our faces
from him. Isn't that sad? We hid our faces from him. The only hope of salvation, the
only hope of peace, the only hope of glory. And we esteemed
Him not. That Almighty God would love
anybody. And I know, I know, Scripture
bears this out. I know He doesn't love everybody.
I know He doesn't. Gave some examples of those that
He didn't love. He didn't love Esau. He's angry
with the wicked every day. He does not love the workers
of iniquity. He said that. But that God Almighty
would love anybody, He said, this is the commandment I give
you, that you love one another as I have loved you. That you
also love one another. He's talking to His people. I don't expect the world. I don't
expect the world to have love. Think about the love that we
have as we speak to mothers of the grace of our God. Remember
when the Lord healed that demoniac there in the Gadarenes and that
formerly devil-possessed man wanted to follow the Lord. He
said, no. He said, I want you to go back home. You tell people
at home, you tell them what great things the Lord has done for
you. You know when you relate to somebody what God's done for
you, you're expressing love for that
person. You're setting forth love. We
stand here and we preach the gospel. I know this. Almighty
God is going to save His people. I know that. And I know He's
going to call them out under this gospel right here. I know
that. I know that He's not going to call them out under a gospel
that gives man the glory. I know that. It's going to be
the message that honors Christ, the message that sets forth salvation
to be all of grace. No works on man's part. None. None. None. I know that. The
preaching of the gospel is expressing love for Christ first and to
men's souls. I'm glad we're still here. I pray that God Almighty have
mercy and save His people. I know He's going to, Gene. I
know He's going to. And I know this is the way He's
going to do it. So you know what we do? We assemble ourselves
together to hear the gospel preached for the comfort of God's people,
for the salvation of His elect. I pray that God have mercy today.
and call out of darkness those that He has everlastingly loved.
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another as
I have loved you." How did He love His own? Isaiah
53. Surely He hath borne our griefs,
carried our sorrows, yet we did esteem Him strict and smitten
of God, afflicted, But he was wounded for our transgressions,
bruised for our iniquities, chastisement of our peace was upon him, and
with his stripes were healed." That new commandment, a new commandment,
a fresh commandment, it's a commandment of grace, mercy, and faith, as
I've said, in Him. Compassion. The unbeliever absolutely
knows nothing of that new commandment. It's a love that is born in the
heart that knows Christ and of His salvation to His elect that
trusts Him in the midst of adversity that He sends. I know that. Luke 6.32 says, If you love them
which love you, what thank have you? For sinners also love those
that love them. Where is the grace in that love? And let me remind you again,
while I'm preaching this right now, of the conviction that I
feel in my heart. I thank to myself, Lord, help
me here. Lord, help me. I hear what I'm
saying. Lord, bear it to my heart. And let me, with a heart that
loves Him, that longs for Him, for His honor and His glory and
His grace and His mercy, let me treat others here in His love. Not that we
love God, but that He loved us and His Son to be the propitiation,
the satisfaction for our sins. Romans 13 verse 8 says, No man
anything but to love one another. For he that loveth another hath
fulfilled the law. He that loveth another hath fulfilled
the law. I want you to look at Galatians
5, 13 and 14. Galatians 5, 13 and 14. Galatians 5, 13 and 14. For brethren, ye have been called unto liberty. Only use not liberty for an occasion
to the flesh, but by love serve one another. For all the law
is fulfilled in one word, even in this, that thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself." Let me tell you just right to the
heart of what that means. When he said that he that loveth
another hath fulfilled the law, If Almighty God gives a man,
a woman, a heart for Christ and for God's honor and for God's
glory, and I'm going to preface what I'm about to say by saying
this, there's not one person that has ever, ever truly fulfilled
or kept perfectly God's law. But the love of Christ that is
wrought in the heart By God Almighty giving that believer a heart
to know that Christ has fulfilled the law. Christ has obeyed the
law. Christ has satisfied God on my behalf. But Almighty God that gives a
man or woman a heart for his brethren. A love for them. That man, that woman is not going
to steal from him. He's not going to covet his possessions. All of those laws, thou shalt
not, thou shalt not, thou shalt not, this fresh law of love wrought
in the heart of a believer is the expression of the fulfillment
of what God has done on our behalf. The fulfillment. Not that we
fulfilled it. But our love for Him, knowing
He's fulfilled it. He's obeyed it. He's honored
the law. And He's given us a heart, love
for Him and for others. That's what He's talking about.
I don't want to steal what you've got, Neal. I don't want to take
it. I don't want to lie on you. I
don't want to disrespect you. Love for your brethren sets forth
the fulfillment of God's law wrought in the heart of people. And then our Lord says in closing,
back in John chapter 13, He sets forth the badge of a
believer. Here's the badge. By this shall
all men know that you are my disciples, if you have love one
for another." Some people have a certain dress.
I can go certain places and I can look how somebody is dressed.
I can listen to somebody how they talk. Sometimes you might
pick up an accent or something like that. A particular manner. but the badge, the mark of a
believer that distinguishes them from the rest of the world. Here
it is. They have loved one for another.
The best example that I can give, if I meet somebody for the first
time, And that person is introduced
to me, and I to them, and I listen to what they begin to say concerning
our Lord. And I hear them say something
concerning man's inability, and God's sovereignty, and Almighty
God loving a people for the foundation of the world, and Christ laying
down His life for them. And the Spirit of God irresistibly
calling them out of darkness. I'm starting to hear some things
that are so consistent with this Word right here. Do you know
all of a sudden, I mean, my whole attitude just changed. Just a
second ago, I didn't know what you were thinking. I didn't know
who you were. But all of a sudden, I hear that sweet voice of life
concerning Him. And there's an appreciation and
a love for Him. is the way that you'll know that
you're my disciples. You have love one for another.
That new heart, that for the sake of Christ and for the good
of your brethren, and recognizing what they are by nature, just
what you are by nature. They're rebels just like you
are. But the long suffering that you have for them, for Christ's
sake, The love and appreciation that
you have for them, for the sake of the peace of the assembly
and the gospel. You know they're going through
just exactly what you're going through. But for the glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ, you love them. I don't know who the elect are,
is what I'm trying to say. I don't know who the Lord's people
are. I've got an evidence of who some of them are that God's
called out of darkness, but until God calls them out of darkness,
I don't know who they are. But I know that they're in every
tribe and tongue and nation and people. I know that God's got
a people. And therefore, for the sake of
God's honor, for the love of our Lord's Word, He's commanded
us to go in all the world and preach to them. We love them. You tell them of Christ. Preach
the gospel. Trust God to honor His Word.
Love is not known by words. Talks cheap. Talks cheap. I love you. Show me. Show me. Be patient with me. Be patient with me. May the Lord
give me the grace to be patient with you. We're brethren. That's what Abraham told Lot. Remember, they had that squabble
going on. He said, yeah, we're brethren. We're brethren. Last passage of Scripture. 1
Corinthians chapter 13. This is love. This is love. I'm not going to
read the whole chapter. I just picked out a few verses
out of it. This is love. 1 Corinthians 13 verse 4. Charity loveth, suffereth long."
It's kind. Love or charity envieth not. Charity vaunteth not itself. It's not rash. It's not puffed
up. It doth not behave itself unseemly,
but seeketh not her own. It is not easily provoked, thinketh
no evil, It rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the
truth, beareth all things, believeth all things, hopeth all things,
endureth all things. Charity never faileth. But whether there be prophecies,
they shall fail. Whether there be tongues, they
shall cease. Whether there be knowledge, it shall vanish away.
Verses 12 and 13. For now we see through a glass
darkly, but then face to face, Now I know in part, then shall
I know even as also I am known. Now abided faith, hope, charity. These three. But the greatest
of these is charity. Faith. Faith is going to give
way. One of these days, faith is going
to give way to sight. One of these days. We're not
going to have to walk by faith anymore. We're going to see Him
as He is. We're going to look on Him. We have confidence. We have a
confidence. We have a confidence that the Lord is going to come
back for His people. One of these days, that hope
right there is going to give way to reality. But he says for
charity, the greatest of them is charity. Because it's never
going to end. Never going to end. It will be
made indescribably real and aware to our hearts. But right now,
here we are. And based on this Word right
here, and I'm talking in particular to Katie Baptist Church. Anybody
else who happens to listen to this CD or whatever, that's fine. You can just enter into it too.
But I'm going to tell you something. To Katie Baptist Church, I thank
God that He's given This place raised up a church in this place. And it set forth in the hearts
of His people, number one, a love for Christ. A love for His gospel. And a love for His people. Many
of you here have been here all your life. And here in this little
community, God raised up a people and gave you a heart for each
other. and gave you a heart to pray for one another, and to
encourage one another. And that's a mark, according
to God's Word, of a believer. By this, shall all men know you're
my disciples. You love each other, pray for
each other, encourage each other, and want to be together. That's
a miracle of God's grace. Man, by and large, people get
Upset with each other. Man, I'm not fooling with them.
But through thick and thin, you're still here. Lord bless these
words to our heart for Christ's sake.