Alright, 1 John chapter 4, verse
14. And we have seen and do testify
that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.
Now the most obvious proof that God loves the people, this is
the gospel we preach, we tell people what the Scripture says,
God loves the people and His Son. The most obvious proof that
God loves the people is that He sent His Son to redeem those
people. those that He loves, those that
God elected to salvation, the Father sent His Son to redeem
them. That's what you saw last week
in chapter 4, verse 8. He that loveth not knoweth not
God, for God is love. Now, in this was manifested the
love of God toward us, because that God sent His only begotten
Son into the world that we might live through Him. Here's love. Not that we love God, but that
He loved us. And the proof that He loved us
is He sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. And John and the other apostles,
he says, were eyewitnesses to the glory of Christ. They were
eyewitnesses to everything that He did. They saw firsthand the
only begotten of the Father full of grace and truth. They saw
God's Son come into flesh. They could see this man is God's
Son. And He came to save His people
from their sins. They saw the miracles that He
performed. They heard His teaching firsthand.
They watched as He willingly gave Himself to suffer and die
for the sins of His people. They saw Him after He rose from
the tomb. They stood there and watched Him ascend back to glory.
They were eyewitnesses to these things. And not only did they
see those things firsthand, you know, there are a lot of people
that saw the miracles of Christ firsthand, Went away. They left Him because all they
were interested in was another free meal. The apostles saw those
things and God gave them an understanding as to what was happening, what
was going on here. God was saving His people from
their sins in this man, the God-man. The apostles could bear witness
that Christ came to be the Savior of the whole world. And you know
that doesn't mean every son of Adam. It means a people out of
all of the world. Not just the Jew, but Gentiles
too out of every tribe, kindred, tongue and nation under heaven. And this is so amazing. You can't
just read over this verse without stopping and seeing what he's
saying. God sent His Son into this world. God sent His Son
to become a man. God came as a man, and as a man,
suffered humiliation as a man. Lived in a fleshly body. God suffered and bled and died
under the sins of God's elect that were laid on Him. God did
that as a man. An amazing, maybe not as amazing,
This is amazing that these men, these twelve men, these apostles
bore witness that Christ came to be the Savior of the world.
And this is amazing. We can testify this very same
thing. Now, we were not witnesses of
it like the apostles were, but we can bear witness of these
same things. Right here, standing right here
is living proof that Christ came to be the Savior of the world.
He came to save sinners. Right here is living proof of
it. Right there you see it. Living proof that God came to
save sinners out of the whole world. Now, that's amazing. I know something of the love
of God. I know something about the grace
of God Almighty. Isn't that amazing? That's too
wonderful for human language. We can testify that Christ came
to be the Savior of the world because He's my Savior. He came
to save me. You can bear witness of that,
that God came to save you. He's your Savior. We can bear
witness to the fact, just like the apostles did, God's love.
I know He's love. I know He is because He sent
His Son to save me. Only love could prompt somebody
to do that. And God gave you faith to see,
gave you a heart to believe, gave you eyes to see Him. He's
the Savior of the world. We can bear witness of it the
same as the apostles did. And by God's grace, that's what
we'll do. Now, verse 15, he says, Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. Now, John says, Whosoever shall
confess that Jesus is the Son of God. That confession is a
whole lot more than just lip service, than just saying, was
more than a mere man. He's more than a mere prophet.
He's the God-man. It's not just repeating a creed
or repeating a catechism or a doctrine that we've been taught. You know,
doctrine that Baptists believe or something. You know, the demons
believe that Jesus is the Son of God. They knew that. That
centurion standing at the cross. You know, we don't have any other
information about him other than that time and he's standing there
at the cross, he's an unregenerate man. That unregenerate man stood
there at the foot of the cross after our Lord gave up the ghost
and he said, surely this man was the Son of God. So it's a
whole lot more than just saying those things. This confession
that Jesus is the Son of God is a heart confession. Out of
the abundance of the heart to mouth speaketh. Confession is
made by the mouth, but I'll tell you, it's shown. If it's in the
heart, it's shown in your life, in your conduct, in your attitude,
too. This confession is faith that makes us run to Christ for
mercy, makes us run to Him to depend completely and solely
on Christ and Christ alone for everything we need. And that
kind of faith doesn't come in natural man. It's got to be put
in us. No natural man can honestly say
they have that kind of faith in Christ. If a person has that
kind of faith, they can make that confession that Jesus is
the Son of God. He's come to be the Savior of
the world. You can make that kind of confession
because you've been born again. That's the only reason that you
can make that confession. When a person is born again,
there's a man put in you that never existed before. God did
that by speaking and putting that new man in you. And Scripture
says God dwells in him. The person who makes that confession,
God dwells in him and he in God. God dwells in his people by his
Spirit. And we dwell in him by faith
and love, faith in Christ. Now, verse 16, he says, And we
have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love,
and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.
Now, we've known and believed, John says, the love that God
hath to us. How have we known that God loves
us? Why is it we believe that God
loves me? How do I believe that? Is it
because of the children's song I was taught when I was two? Jesus loves me, this I know,
for the Bible tells me so? Well, does it? Does the Bible
tell everybody indiscriminately God loves you? How can you know? Scripture says God doesn't love
everyone. He's angry with the wicked. Scripture
says God loves the Son. And God loves those people in
His Son. Look over at Romans chapter 8. Romans 8, verse 38. 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
where? In Christ Jesus our Lord. That's
where God's love is. It's in His Son. He loves those
people who are in His Son. So how do I know that God loves
me? It's by believing Christ. That's
the only way that we'll ever know that God loves us is through
faith in Christ. The only way we know anything
about God is in the Son. And that includes His love and
His mercy. The only way you can know anything about the Father
is through faith in the Son. Look in Matthew chapter 11. I'll
show you that. Matthew 11, verse 27. All things, our Lord says, are
delivered unto me of my Father. And no man knoweth the Son, but
the Father. Neither knoweth any man the Father
save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him." We
know these things through faith in Christ. God is love, and I
know that through faith in Christ because God's love is revealed
in the Lord Jesus Christ, His Son. And through faith in Christ,
John says, God dwells in us. He dwells in us by His Spirit.
That's two times he said this in two verses. God dwells in
him. He dwells in those that believe
him. He dwells in his people. Now, it must be so. John's not
talking figuratively here. God dwells in his people by his
Spirit. And where God dwells, there is
love. Because God is love. Where God
dwells, there is the attributes of love of God displayed. And
where there's an absence of love, my friend, there's an absence
of God. Pure and simple. Believers are
loving people. And you know why? It's because
of who dwells in them. That's why. Because God dwells
in His people by His Spirit. And when God dwells in somebody,
it affects their walk. It affects their attitude. It
affects their conduct. Nobody can really dwell in love
to God and love to men unless God dwells in them. It's got
to be a miracle of God's grace. He's got to give a new heart
and a new nature. Now verse 17, Herein is our love
made perfect, that we may have boldness in the day of judgment,
because as He is, so are we in this world. Now remember in context
here, John's been talking about love, love of the breath, love
to Christ. And when people see our acts
of love for our brethren, they know our love to God is genuine
because they see acts of love to our brethren. They see that
that love is genuine and unfeigned. When they see sacrificial love
for our brethren, they can see that our love to God is not doctrine. It's not something that we just
talk about. It's in truth. They can see that our love to
God is real and that His love to us is real. His love makes
a difference. And the fruit, the result of
that kind of love is that we'll have boldness in the Day of Judgment. Now, I think about what the Day
of Judgment must be like, and I'd like to have boldness, confidence
in that day, wouldn't you? That Day of Judgment must appear
to be an awful, awesome day. when Christ to judge shall appear. And every man is going to stand
before the judgment seat of Christ and be judged out of the books.
The books are going to be opened and they'll be judged. And to
see that judgment be swift, be very exact and strict. And the
natural man, any man by nature left to himself is right to fear
and tremble at the thought of being judged. So strictly and
exactly are those books by who and what I am. Be judged for
who we are. And the natural man of that day
are going to look for a hiding place. They'll run to the mountains
and cry for the rocks and hills to fall on, to crush them and
hide them from this awful judgment. Look over in Luke chapter 23.
Our Lord told us this. In Luke 23, verse 27. Here our Lord is going to be
crucified. He's been beaten, tortured, compelled
to carry His cross, couldn't carry it anymore, and they'd
get Simon to carry it for Him. In verse 27 of Luke 23, there
followed Him a great company of people and of women, which
also bewailed and lamented Him. They're crying. This is a sorry
situation. But the Lord Jesus, turning unto
them, said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not for Me, but weep for
yourselves. And for your children, for behold,
the days are coming in the which they shall say, Blessed are the
barren, and the wombs that never bare, and the paths that never
gave sight. Then shall they begin to say to the mountains, Fall
on us, and to the hills, cover us." That's what the natural
man will do in the day of judgment. The natural man is afraid of
the judgment with good reason. There's good reason for fear
and torment, but never the believer, never those in Christ, never
anyone in Christ. The believer has no reason to
have any fear of judgment because Christ has already suffered judgment
for us as our substitute. He already suffered all the judgment,
all the wrath that our sins require. And rather than be afraid, believers
will have boldness in that day, boldness to stand in Christ and
sing His praises in a new song. That's going to be something
else, isn't it? Just like now. We come to our Father in prayer.
Now, we come humbly, don't we? But we come boldly. We come into
His presence boldly because we know when we come in Christ,
we're going to be heard. We're going to be accepted in
Him. There's no reason for us to come any other way. Look back
at Hebrews chapter 4. Hebrews 4, verse 16. Let us therefore come boldly
unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find
grace to help in time of need. Look over at chapter 10 of Hebrews,
verse 19. We come boldly. Having therefore, brethren, boldness
to enter into the holiest. How? By the blood of Jesus, by
a new and living way which he hath consecrated for us through
the veil, that is to say, his flesh. And having a high priest
over the house of God, let us draw near with a true heart in
full assurance of faith, boldly, having our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. We come
boldly. Think how much more boldly in
that day. We have boldness in the day of judgment. And then
John says, because as He is, so are we in this world. As He
is. How is He? How is the Lord Jesus
Christ? Well, He's the Son of God, isn't
He? You are too. He's the Son of God by nature.
You're the Son of God by adoption, by the new birth. As He is, so
are we in this world. So are you. is loved by the Father with an
everlasting love, isn't He? That's how He is. So are we in
this world. Loved by God with an everlasting,
eternal, unchangeable love. As He is, so are we, even right
now, loved by God. How is Christ? He was God's first
elect. You are too. Elect in Him. Look
back in Isaiah chapter 42. Christ was God's first elect,
and you're electing him. Isaiah 42, verse 1. Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
mine elect, and whom my soul delighteth. I have put my spirit
upon him, and he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles
Christ is God's first elect and we're elect in Him. He says my
soul delights in Him. The Father delights in you too.
As He is, so are we. Christ is perfectly righteous,
perfectly holy. There can be no debate about
that, right? Believers are too. Right now. John doesn't say someday
you'll be like Him. He says right now as He is, so
are we in this world. Righteous and holy before God.
Christ is justified. From all the sin that was laid
on Him, He put it away. He's justified. So are we in
this world. Oh, we're sinful. Oh, sinful. I hate my sin. But all that sin has been put
away under the blood of Christ right now, justified before God. How is Christ right now? Seated
at the Father's right hand. You are too. Seated in Him. Christ
came to this world. He's a man of sorrows acquainted
with grief. He was tempted and tried by Satan.
We will be too. As He is, so are we in this world.
The servant's not greater than his master. We will too. And in this world, Christ is
seen in His people. In believers, He is seen. As
He is, so are we. Right now, He's holy. Scripture tells us, you be holy.
Be ye holy as He's holy. Believers are kind. They're tender-hearted. They're meek. They're humble.
They're forgiving. Why? Because as He is, so are
we in this world. Because He's forgiving. He's
kind. He's tender-hearted. He's meek.
As He is, so are we. Believers love God's children. You love the brethren. You can't
help it. No matter where they're found, you love them. Why? Because
God loves His children. Because Christ loves them. As
He is, so are we. We bear His image. We have His
nature. That's why we're like Him. Now,
verse 17. I'm sorry, verse 18. There's
no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear, because
fear hath torment. He that feareth is not made perfect
in love. Now, real, genuine love never
causes fear. If a woman has reason to be afraid
of her husband, she's afraid he's going to mistreat her, he'll
beat her, he'll do horrible things to her, then I'm telling you
the truth, he does not love her. That's so. Because real love
never causes fear. Where there's real love, there's
joy and there's peace. Where a husband loves his wife,
she's at peace. She doesn't fear him. And if
the wife loves the husband, he's not afraid she's going to kill
him in his sleep or poison him or something, you know? You've
got to go to sleep sometime. A man beats his wife not real
smart. You've got to go to sleep sometime. And if you've got to
be afraid to go to sleep, it's because there's no love now.
That's just obvious. Well, the same is true about
God's love. Where there's fear, there's no
love. God's children have a respect
of the Lord. What Scripture calls the fear
of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. That's respect. That's
not being afraid. Believers are not afraid of judgment
because love casteth out fear. Christ loves His people. He's
not going to leave you in fear of judgment. He comes and reveals
Himself to you, reveals to you that He's borne the punishment
for you. There's no more fear. And he teaches his people that
because he loves you. There's no more fear. There's
no reason for fear after we see God's love for his people in
Christ. We see it by faith. There's no
more reason for fear. When we see how God can be just
and justify the ungodly through the sacrifice of Christ, there's
no more fear. When we see how sin is forgiven
through the obedience of Christ, through the shed blood of Christ,
there's no more fear. There's no more fear of the curse
of the law after we see Christ has been made a curse for us.
Isn't that evident? Look at Romans chapter 8 again,
verse 1. People who have faith in Christ
do not fear condemnation. Romans 8, verse 1. Here's why
you don't fear it, because there isn't any condemnation. There
is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit. For the
law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free
from the law of sin and death. We don't fear death. The believer
doesn't fear death. Christ has already suffered this
thing of death for us. Look over at verse 15 there in
Romans chapter 8. For we have not received the
spirit of bondage again to fear, but we've received the spirit
of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father." Our children don't
fear coming home. That's the safe place for you
to come, isn't it? That's the safe place. Home is where you're
loved. There's no fear there. Now, there
might be fear out in the world. That's an awful place. But when
you come home, there's no fear. There's love. There's no fear
for God's children in His house. There's love. Perfect love casts
out fear. Now, verse 19. We love Him because
He first loved us. Now, John's kindly warning us
here. Just don't get real content because you love God. I do love
Him. Don't you? I know you do. I love Him. But
we're not going to get content with ourselves because we love
God. Or we're not going to get content with how much we love
Him because I don't love Him near like I ought to. The only
reason any of us has any love towards God is because He first
loved us. Long before we ever loved Him,
He loved us. My love has a beginning. I was
born not loving God. I was born hating Him, being
a rebel to Him. And one day, something changed.
Nothing's ever changed with God. His love is everlasting. I've
loved you, He said, with an everlasting, eternal love. Therefore, with
loving kindness have I drawn you. And if we ever see God's
love for us in Christ, how can you help but not love Him in
response? You have to love Him if you see
He loves you. You cannot help but love God who's
been so good to us and loved us when we were unlovable. You
cannot help but love God who gave the life of his only begotten
Son as payment for our sins. I stand amazed in the presence
of Jesus the Nazarene and wonder how he could love me, a sinner
condemned unclean. There is nothing lovable about
me, yet God loves me with an everlasting love. It's easy to
see. How the response must be, I love
Him. It's easy to see how anybody
can love God. What's not to love? He's perfect. What's not to love? And we see
He loves us. We will love Him in response.
All God's children are the same. They love Him because He first
loved us and shed His love abroad in our hearts. Now, verse 20,
if a man say, I love God and hateth his brother, he's a liar.
For he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he
love God whom he hath not seen?" Now, nothing could be a greater
contradiction for a man to say, I'm a believer, and live his
life hating everybody around him. He's being a hateful person.
Nothing could be a greater contradiction for a man to say, I love God,
but hate His children. I think it's impossible for you
to hate my children and love me. If you hate her, you and
me got problems. It's impossible for somebody
to say, I hate God's children, but I love Him. You can't be
hot and cold at the same time. And a believer bears the image
of Christ right now. I know it's not perfect, but
we bear His image. We have His nature. How can you
love God whom you've never seen? But hate the person that you
do see who bears his image. The believers on earth, the church,
they are the visible body of Christ on earth. Well, how can
you love Christ, whom you haven't seen, but hate his visible body
that you can? Well, the answer is you can't.
It can't be done. Now, verse 21, And this commandment
have we from him, that he who loveth God loveth his brother
also. Now, John spent a good deal of
time, we spent a lot of weeks here, studying about brotherly
love. And he's given us a lot of reasons why we're to love
the brethren. And really, true believers can't
help but love one another. There's a bond there and a unity
there that is just, it's inexplicable unless you've experienced it.
Like Donny Bell says, this is heart language. If you've experienced
it, you know what I'm saying. You can't help but love one another.
You've got a new nature. You can't help but love. Certainly,
you can't help but love those that have the same nature, that
have the same Lord, the same Redeemer. But you know, really,
the only argument that a believer needs to hear that we're to love
one another is this. Our Lord commands it. That's
enough. My Lord commands it. I have a
strong desire to do it. We're commanded to love Christ
and to love his people. Look back at chapter 3, verse
23. The gospel, as we've heard so
many times, is a commandment. Look here at 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 to the obedient child, That's
enough. That's all I got to hear. That's
His commandment. I'll do it. All right. Lord bless you.