All right, turn with me, if you
would, to 1 John chapter 3. 1 John chapter 3. Although every man and woman who was born into this world was is will be born into sin
although that is the case every soul born is born into sin the scripture says blind spiritually
speaking blind the scripture says lost everybody's born lost
people are not born found and then somewhere they go wrong
and get lost born blind born lost the scripture says born
rebels against God born rebels against his word
Born into this world, breakers of His law. No one can deny it. We're all law breakers. Although no man or woman can
say that he or she is without sin against God. I won't even
ask for a show of hands because nobody can raise it. None of
us are without sin against God. But although that's the case,
Christ came into this world to give life to. Ephesians 2 says we are born
spiritually dead in trespasses and sin. And Christ came to give
life to. And he came to redeem. Every
single person that his father chose to save, they're all lost,
they're all dead, all blind. He came to get every one of them.
Every single one of them. He came to do a work for them
and to do a work in them. And every person that he did
that for, it's evidenced in this way. Verse 23, 1 John 3, verse
23, and this is His commandment,
that we should believe on the name of His Son, Jesus Christ,
and love one another as He gave us commandment. And he that keepeth
His commandments dwelleth in Him. And He in Him, and hereby
we know that He abideth in us by the Spirit which He hath given
us." That is not, talking about these commandments, we need to
keep these commandments. Those commandments are not grievous,
are they? Not at all. He said in verse
23, this is His commandment, that we should believe on the
name of His Son, Jesus Christ. Believe on His Son. and love
one another, love one another. And he that keepeth his commandments
dwelleth in him and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth
in us by the spirit which he has given to us. Is it possible for a person who
does not believe on the Lord Jesus Christ All right, now,
until God reveals what it means to believe on the Lord Jesus
Christ, a person cannot have any idea what it means to believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ. You say, believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ, people say, okay. But what does that mean and how
do you do that? All right, so until God reveals what that means,
no man can know what that means. But here's the question. Is it
possible for a person to be saved who does not believe on the Lord
Jesus Christ? Is it possible for a person to
be saved who does not see all of his payment to God for his
own sin to be the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ? I mean all
the payment. and does not see all of His perfection
and all of His acceptance, will God have me? Am I good enough? Am I perfect enough? Will God
save a person who does not see all of His perfection and all
of His acceptance to be the righteous work of Christ alone, who He
is and what He did? Is it possible for a person to
be saved from his sin if he is looking anywhere else for his
payment and his acceptance than the Lord Jesus Christ? Meaning
Christ plus this, and that's what everybody believes. Who has error attached to it. Anytime we add something to Christ,
we bring error. Here's the answer to those questions. No, it's not possible. It is
not possible. There is no other name given
among men whereby we must be saved. No other fount. What can wash away my sins? Nothing
but the blood of Jesus Christ. What do I need to do to be saved? How can I be saved? That is a
question that is never even a concern for anybody until God reveals
who He is and who we are and the judgment that's around the
corner, the judgment we're about to face. But once God reveals
that, they're going to cry out, what must I do? What must I do? Nothing but the blood. What can
wash away my sins? Nothing but the blood. Well,
it's the blood plus you've got to... Turn with me to 1 John 5. 1 John 5 verse 10, He that believeth
on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. That hath is a very
important word. He already has it. He that believeth
on the Son of God hath the witness in himself. He that believeth
not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the
record that God gave of his son." God gave a record and he said
there's only one way to be saved. And if a man says, no, I'm going
to go with this other way, he's making God to be a liar. I don't
believe you. does not believe the record that God gave of His
Son, verse 11, and this is the record that God hath given to
us eternal life, and this life is in His Son. He that hath the Son hath life,
and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life. These things have I written unto
you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that you may
know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the
name of the Son of God." Back in 1 John 3, verse 23, these
are His commandments. He said, Believe on the name
of His Son, Jesus Christ, that's the first one. And here's the second one, love
one another. I like these commandments. I
love these commandments. Now, if that is also his commandment
to us, he said, believe on the Lord Jesus Christ. That's a commandment.
Can a person be saved without believing on Christ? All right,
if love one another is also His commandment to us, can a person
be saved who does not love his brethren in Christ? No, he cannot. Look at verse 14, 1 John 3, verse
14. We know that we have passed from
death unto life because we love the brethren. He that loveth
not his brother abideth in death. Whosoever hateth his brother
is a murderer, and you know that no murderer hath eternal life
abiding in him." Has anybody ever gotten angry at somebody? Somebody ever, you know, you
get something catches you just right, and you get a short fuse,
and you just fly off the handle, and you just get mad, and this
and that. You know what God calls that? He said, no murderer has eternal
life abiding in him. Who's exempt from that in this
room? Not me. Not me. Now, we just took a whole
Bible study to see that when it comes to us keeping these
commandments, he said, believe on Christ and love your brethren. When it comes to us keeping these
commandments, It is Christ who kept them for us. I'm going to
skip to the end. I'll just give you the cliff
notes. Here's the gospel. It is Christ who kept them for
us. When it comes to us keeping these
commandments in order to be saved, can a person be saved who does
not believe on Christ? No. Can a person be saved who
does not love his brethren in Christ? When it comes to us keeping
these commandments, though, it is Christ who kept them for us,
and it is Christ who keeps them in us, but they will be kept. They will be kept by us. God's
people are going to evidence the Spirit that He has given
to us in these two ways. They are all going to cast their
all on Christ. That's what it is to believe
on Christ. You know, people read these commandments
and it'll say, do this. And so they do that and think,
well, now I can feel better about myself. I did that. It said to
be baptized. So I got baptized. Or it's said to, you know, love
your neighbor as yourself. So I'm trying to love my neighbors
myself. Every commandment given, this
sinful flesh, there's no possible way that this sinful flesh can
keep God's commandments in a way that He will be satisfied with. Our only hope is that Christ
kept them for us. and keeps them in us. And this
is how all of God's people are going to be recognized. They're going to cast their all
on Him. It's nothing I have done. My all is in what He has done. They're going to believe on Him. They're going to believe on Him,
not just in Him, on Him. And they're going to love every
brother and sister that they have been given in Him, all who
cast their all on Him. They're going to love God and
they're going to love His people. Solomon wrote in Proverbs chapter
4, out of the heart are the issues of life. When God goes to work
on one of His particular centers, He goes to work on the heart.
And it shows. A man may have some things up
in his mind, and if that's all he has, that shows too. But if
God ever does a work of grace on that man, everything that
he has up in his mind, it'll fall down into his heart. He will keep these words in his
heart. He'll keep them. I'm sure everybody
here has gotten many cards and letters over the years, all kinds
of reasons, birthdays, thank you. Do you have any that somebody
wrote to you who is truly special? I mean, just means a lot to you,
truly, truly special, and you just can't bring yourself to
throw them away. Does anybody have anything like
that? Hannah was going through a box, an old box of stuff that
we had the other day, and she found some old love notes that
I wrote to her before we got married. She still has them. Which is kind of strange for
her because she's a declutterer, but she still has them. Why does she still have them?
Why does she keep those things? She knows what they say. She's
read them before. Why is she still holding on to
those things? I think it has something to do with love. I hope it has something to do
with love anyway, but I believe it has something to do with love.
You keep these things. God's people, he gives his people
a love for these words. And they keep them, they love
his commandments. David said, you know what David
acknowledged? I acknowledge my sin before you,
my sin is ever before me. I need your mercy. That's what
I need. If you judge me in my sin, you're
right with whatever you do for me." And then he said, I love
your commandments. I love your law. Your law is
good. Your law is right. I can't keep
it, but I keep it. I love it. I love his commandments. God's people love to read them.
They love to think on the one who wrote them. So John said, this is the fact
of the matter. Alright, look with me now in
1 John chapter 2, verse 9. He that saith he is in the light,
and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now. He that says he's in God. God
is light. He that says he is in Christ,
Christ is God. Whoever says he's in God, in
Christ, and hates his brother, that man is not telling the truth. He's not saved. That's not the evidence of the
work of God on the heart. Verse 10, he that loveth his
brother, That man shows the evidence that he abideth in the light.
And there's none occasion of stumbling in him. But he that
hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and
knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded
his eyes." Lord, give us a love for each other. Give us a love for Christ and
give us a love for each other. Let the evidence of your mercy
shine in us, the evidence of your grace, the evidence of your
gift. He said in verse 7, 1 John 2
verse 7, Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but
an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old
commandment is the word which you have heard from the beginning.
There's nothing new about this. This was the declaration from
the beginning. Our Lord said all the commandments
hang on this, love. Love. What was the first of the
Ten Commandments that God gave to Moses? Don't have any other gods before
Me. Thou shalt have no other gods before me. Set me first
in your heart." What will cause a man or a woman to do that?
Love. Honor your father and your mother.
What will cause a man or a woman to do that? Love. Don't steal. I love you all. There is nothing
in me that wants to come to your house and steal from you. Don't lie. Love doesn't lie to
the one it loves. The man who won't stop lying
is a man who does not love. All of it hangs on love. What would have stopped Cain
from killing Abel? Had he loved Him, had he truly
loved Him, he never would have done it. What would have stopped
Adam and Eve from taking that fruit and taking a bite of it,
defying their God, trying to dethrone God? I love Him. I don't want to go
against His commandment. I want Him to be God. This is the declaration that
we've had from the beginning. This is no new commandment. Verse
7, He said, I write no new commandment unto you. Verse 8, He said again,
a new commandment I write unto you. He said, I write no new
commandment. I'm writing a brand new commandment.
It's old, but it's brand new. It's ancient, but it's fresh.
It's living. It's news. It hasn't changed,
but it's still news. It's still good news. It's today's
commandment right now. It's Alpha and Omega, the beginning
and the end. Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ,
love Him, and love all who are in Him. Now go with me over to
John chapter 13. John 13, verse 34, a new commandment I give unto
you, that you love one another as I have loved you, that you
also love one another. By this shall all men know that
you are my disciples if you have love one to another. That's the
evidence. By this shall all men know that
you are my disciples, if you have love one to another." That's
the evidence. Here's the cause. The middle
of verse 34, he said, as I have loved you. That's the cause. As I have loved
you, we love Him because He first loved us. That's such an important
verse of scripture. That's such an important verse
of scripture. We love Him because He first loved us. People naturally
think it's the other way around. If we will love Him, then He
will love us. If He loved us, then we will
love Him. Love is of God, the scripture
says. He said, I have loved you with
an everlasting love. He said, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Turn with me over to Romans chapter
5. Romans 5 verse 5 says, And hope
maketh not ashamed, because the love of God is shed abroad in
our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. For when
we were yet without strength..." People say, you know, God saves
those who... God helps those who help themselves.
That's not true. You can help yourself, you have
strength. When we were yet without strength, couldn't do anything.
In due time, Christ died for the good people. That's not what
it says. Christ died for the ungodly. The ungodly. Those who wanted
nothing to do with God. Those who were completely contrary
to God. For scarcely for a righteous
man will one die, or who the world believes to be righteous,
because the scripture says there's none righteous, no not one. Yet
peradventure for a good man some would even dare to die, earthly
speaking. But here's the thing, God commended
His love toward us in that while we were yet sinners, sinners
against Him, enemies of His. Christ died for us. God commended
His love to us in this way, while we were complete enemies of His. He died for us. Why did Christ
die for us? Love. Love. Greater love had no man than
this. He laid down His life. He laid
down His life. Because of that, His Spirit has
been given to us. This is what we receive in His
blood, He laid down His life. This is what we receive in His
blood and in His Spirit. Go with me to Romans 8. Romans 8 verse 15, For you have
not received the spirit of bondage again to fear. But you have received
the Spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself beareth witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God. And if children,
then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ. Amazing, isn't it? This is what we receive in His
blood and in His Spirit. Joint heirs with Christ. Look at verse 29. For whom He
did foreknow, the word means elect, He also did predestinate
to be conformed to the image of His Son. that He might be
the firstborn among many brethren. In His blood, by His Spirit,
He has been made to be our elder brother. And it's true, whoever
does not love his elder brother. Our text said, whoever doesn't
love his brother. Whoever does not love his elder
brother, whoever does not love Christ, if any man love not the
Lord Jesus Christ, Whoever says, I will not bow to his authority,
I will not have my brother reign over me, that man is in darkness. Let him be accursed. But if a
man says that he's in God and he loves Christ, I mean, if God
gives him a love for If he does not want to share
the glory with Christ, if that's what love does, it's a selfish
thing. I don't want him to have all the glory. He said, that
man doesn't know God. But if he loves Christ, if he cries,
thank God for Christ, my elder brother. If he cries, I love him, I need
him, I plead him. than he belongs to God. Here's the most amazing part
about brotherly love to me. This is going to be the glory
of all eternity. Go with me over to Hebrews 2.
Hebrews 2, verse 11. For both he that sanctifyeth
and they who are sanctified are all of one, for which cause he
is not ashamed to call them brethren." He loves his brethren. He's not
ashamed of them. He pleads for them. He thanks
God for them. It is His open, confessed love
for His brethren that produces their open, confessed love for
Him. And nowhere is that more clearly
seen than in 1 Corinthians 13, where our brother read for us
a moment ago. We're going to close with this,
all right? Go to 1 Corinthians 13. First Corinthians 13, verse 1,
it says, ?Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels,
and have not charity.? The word ?charity? means ?love.? And we
could also say ?Christ.? Christ is love. If I have all these
things, but I don't have Christ. If I don't have His love to me.
which produces my love for Him and my love for those who are
in Him. Though I speak with the tongues
of men and of angels and have not love for Christ and love
for His people, I am become a sounding brass or a tinkling cymbal. It
doesn't matter. And though I have the gift of
prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, And though
I have all faith so that I could remove mountains, if I don't
have love for Christ and love for His people, I'm nothing. And though I bestow all my goods
to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned,
and have not love for Christ and love for His people, it profits
me nothing. Love for Christ and love for
His people suffers long. It's kind. Love for Christ and love for
His people envieth not. Love for Christ and love for
His people does not vaunt itself. It's not puffed up. Doth not
behave itself unseemly. Seeketh not her own, is not easily
provoked, thinketh no evil. Rejoiceth not in iniquity, but
rejoiceth in truth. It bears all things. It believes
all things. It hopes all things. It endures
all things. Love for Christ and love for
His people never fails. That's because He never fails.
His love for us never fails. But where there be prophecies,
they shall fail. Where there be tongues, they
shall cease. Where there be knowledge, it
shall vanish away. For we know in part, and we prophesy
in part. But when that which is perfect
is come, that's Christ, when He is come, then that which is
in part shall be done away. When I was a child, I spake as
a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child. But when
I became a man, I put away childish things. For now we see through
a glass darkly, but then face to face. Now I know in part,
but then shall I know even as also I am known. And now abideth
faith, hope, and love for Christ, and love for His people." And you know, the apostles said,
Lord, increase our faith. I need more faith. Aren't you
ashamed of the amount of faith that you have? Don't you wish
you could just trust Christ more, just believe him more? Well,
this is what he says. Now abides in a child of God
faith, at least a grain of a mustard seed, and hope, but this one's
the greatest. love, love for Christ, love for
his people. May God give that to us. Honestly,
may God give that to us. Lord, give us a love for Christ
and a love for each other. All right, let's all stand together.