Turn back to 1 John chapter 4. I don't know that there's ever
a time that I don't feel overwhelmed by the scripture,
overwhelmed by the task at hand to preach. to preach the word. And this text is certainly no
different. Look at verse 10 of 1 John chapter
4. Herein is love. Not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent
His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. I've titled the message, The
Love of God. The Love of God. And I have just
a few points this morning I pray the Lord would enable us to see
from this passage of scripture on the love of God. First is this, this love, the
love of God is a love to those who did not love him. In our text, it says not that
we loved God, but that he loved us. Turn with me. Hold your place
there. Turn to Romans chapter 5. Romans 5 verse 6. We read, for when we were yet
without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. Scarcely for a righteous man
would one die. A righteous man, a just man,
a man who's moral, who's strictly religious, Religious before men
in all that he does. It's not likely that a man would
die for such a man. Read on. It says, yet pared venture
for a good man. Some would even dare to die. A good man, a generous man, a
benevolent man, one who's kind and considerate. Among men, this
man would be beloved and respected. And scripture says here that
some might dare to die for this man. But God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, while we were yet sinners, Christ
died for his people. He died for sinners. Consider Saul. In Acts chapter
9, it says that Saul, yet breathing out threatening and slaughter,
not against enemies, not against some foreign enemy, but against
the disciples. the disciples of the Lord, he
went to the high priest. And I ask you, is there any indication
that he loved God? To the contrary, right? And Saul
asked, listen, he went to the high priest and he asked for
letters to go into the synagogue, to go into the church, and if
he found any, that be of this way. the way, the way of Christ,
if he found man or woman, that he might bring them bound to
Jerusalem. That's certainly no indication
of a man who loved God, is it? And the Lord met him on the road
to Damascus. He met him and a light shined
from heaven and put him in the dust. And Saul came trembling. This
got his attention, didn't it? And he said, Lord, what would
you have me to do? Saul, it's hard to imagine this
isn't, Saul is a chosen vessel. Later on in chapter 9, it says
that Saul went about preaching Christ. In just a short amount
of time, he went from trying to destroy the Church of God
to preaching Christ. He preached. He wasn't trying
to drag men and women out of the synagogues. He was preaching
Christ in the synagogues, declaring that he is the Son of God. Not that we loved God, but that he loved us. David wrote in Psalm 139, he
said, my substance was not hid from thee. When I was made in
secret, when I was curiously wrought in the lowest parts of
the earth, thine eyes did see my substance. and yet being unperfect
in thy book, all my members were written. They were fashioned. God speaking to Jeremiah, the
Lord said to him, before I formed thee in the belly, I knew thee. I knew thee. Before thou camest
forth from the womb, I sanctified thee. And I ordain thee a prophet
to the nations, not that we love God, but that
he loved us. Yea, he says this, I have loved
thee with an everlasting love. And therefore, with loving kindness
have I drawn thee. Second, consider this, consider
it's the love of God. It's His love. Herein is love,
not that we love God, but that He, who? He loved us. Consider this truth, that God
could love me. Do you ever wonder how that could
be? How that could be so? How could
God love me? Turn with me to 1 Corinthians
6. First Corinthians chapter six,
look at verse nine. Know ye not, know ye not that the unrighteous
shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived, neither fornicators,
nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of
themselves with mankind, nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards,
nor revelers, nor extortioners shall inherit the kingdom of
God. Now you look at that list and
I ask you, could God be merciful To anybody in that category?
Could God love such a person? I'm thankful he does. Look at
verse 11. What's it say there? And such
were some of you. Such were some of you. but you're
washed. You're sanctified. You're justified
in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the spirit of God. The child of God is saved. He saved us. He loved us. He saved us by his
free and sovereign grace. He says, some of you were guilty
of these very sins, but you've been washed. You've
been cleansed. You've been forgiven in and by
the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. You've been sanctified. That
means set apart. He set apart a people in divine
election. He sanctified us in Christ. We
have a perfect righteousness. A perfect righteousness and sanctification
imputed to us. He took that and he put it on
us. He made it ours, sanctified by the Spirit of God. By the Spirit of God, we have
a new life, a new nature, a new heart, a new desire. Such were some of you. But no more. Not in Christ. That question was asked, should
we continue in sin that grace might abound? God forbid. God forbid. The believer is a
new creature. We're made a new creation. This flesh will dwell with me
as long as I walk this earth. But there's another man, there's
a new man that loves holiness, that hates sin. And our sin in
Christ, it's been taken away. It's been put away. The believer
is accepted in the beloved. Not by our works. Not by works
of righteousness which we have done. We have no works of righteousness. We might have works before men.
We don't have any righteous works before a holy God. Not by works,
but according to his own purpose and grace which was given us
in Christ Jesus before the world began. Paul, writing to the church
at Ephesus, he wrote this of love. He said, God who is rich
in mercy for his great love, wherewith he loved us. Listen to our text again. Herein
is love. Not that we loved God, but that
he loved us. Third, this is a love, it's a
love we did not seek. Herein is love, not that we love
God, but that he loved us and he sent his son. Almighty God sent his son. Isaiah said this, and it's written
in the book of Romans. God's word declares, I was sought
of them that asked not for me. This is our condition. This is
our nature. We didn't ask for him. We didn't
desire him. Before he saved us by his grace,
we had no interest in him. We were without God, without
Christ, without hope, lost in this world. Listen to this description
of us from the book of Ephesians. Paul writes, he says, you walked
according to the course of this world, according to the prince
of the power of the air, the spirit that now worketh in the
children of disobedience. And then he goes on to say this,
among whom also we all had our conversation in times past. Fulfilling, listen, the lust
of the flesh, the desires of the flesh, and of the mind, and
were by nature the children of wrath, even as others. No concern for him. No concern
for his will, no concern for his glory. We saw no beauty in
him. We had no need of him. But now the Lord said, I've sought
of them that ask not for me. All we, like sheep, have gone
astray. We've turned everyone to our
own way. And the Lord laid on him the
iniquity of us all. You know, one day our Lord was
walking, and he saw a man named Matthew. Matthew was a publican. Matthew was sitting at the receipt
of custom. He was at work. I'll tell you what Matthew was
not doing. Matthew was not seeking the Lord. Matthew was doing what
he did every day. He was collecting taxes, sitting
where he always sat, doing what he always did. But one day, one
day in mercy, the Lord passed by. He came to Matthew, of all people. Why would He come to Matthew?
Matthew's a publican. We might even ask that question.
Why would the Lord come to Matthew? Why would He come to a man that's
not seeking Him? Why would He come to a sinner?
Why would He do that? We might even ask ourself that
question. Would he save me? Or maybe we'd ask this, why? Why would he save me? But the
Lord came to Matthew and he said two words. Two words. He said, follow me. I wonder, I really do wonder,
when the Lord said those two words to him, you reckon he looked
around? You reckon he thought, I wonder
if he's talking to somebody else? Matthew? Follow me. There was only one thing to do,
wasn't there? He arose and he followed him. A little bit later
it came to pass, Jesus was sitting at meat in his house. And it
wasn't just Matthew there, there were many publicans and sinners
that came down and sat with him and his disciples. And those
self-righteous Pharisees, they saw that. And they asked the question,
why? Why would your master eat with
publicans and sinners? He came to them, didn't he? Why would he eat with publicans
and sinners? And this was the reply of our
Lord. He said, the whole. They don't need a physician but
the sick. They that are sick. Almighty
God, he sent his son. He came to seek and to save that
which was lost. We weren't seeking him. But our
Lord says this. He says, I will seek that which
was lost. I'll bring again that which was
driven away. I'll bind up that which was broken. I'll strengthen that which was
weak, that which was sick. Fourth, what's the effect? What's
the effect of this love? Look at our text again, 1 John
4. Are you beloved of God? Beloved,
if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. If God loved us, does he love
me? Then I ought to love my brother. God is love. That's scriptures.
God is love. His nature is to love. to show
mercy, to forgive. He's the fountain of love. It
flows from Him. A person who is born of God has
that nature in Him. It's the fruit. Love's the fruit
of the Spirit. And if this fruit of love is
absent, If I don't have that love for my brother, I tell you, that draws a hard question
on whether or not I'm his. If he dwells in me in God's love, how can a man, scripture asks
this question, how can a man say he loves God and yet hate
his brother? If God loved us, we ought also
to love one another. Not just our friends, not just
our family, not just those who love us. It's easy to love somebody
that loves me. It's the easiest thing in the
world to love my wife. She loves me. But we're commanded to love,
especially believers. Look at 1 John 4, look at verse
20. Ask this question just a minute.
If a man say, I love God, this is scripture speaking, okay?
This is God's word. If a man say, I love God and
he hates his brother, What's that say? 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? Our Lord preached a message to
his disciples in Luke 6. Turn back there, turn to Luke
6. Look beginning in verse 32. Luke 6, verse 32. For if you
love them which love you, what thank have you? Sinners also
love those that love them. And if you do good to them that
do good to you, what thank have you? Sinners do the same. If you lend to them of whom you
hope to receive, what thank have you? For sinners also lend to
sinners to receive as much again. Listen to this. Love your enemies. Do good and lend, hoping for
nothing again, and your reward shall be great, and ye shall
be the children of the highest, for he is kind, unto the unthankful
and to the evil. Paul, writing to the Galatians,
he said, as you have the opportunity, as we have the opportunity, let
us do good unto all men, but especially, especially those
who are of the household of faith. is of God. It's not only the command of
God, it's not only according to His will, it's not only well-pleasing
in His sight, but love comes from God. Again, it's the fruit
of the Spirit, it's evidence of new birth. And everyone that
loves, everyone that truly loves is born of God. Consider this. Consider his great love. Herein, herein is love. The Lord of glories. You know,
when he came to this earth, he went about doing good. John sent some of his disciples
and asked him, he said, are you the one or do we look for another? And the Lord replied. He said,
you go back and you tell John. The blind received their sight.
He went about giving sight to the blind. He said, the lame
walk. Lepers are cleansed. The deaf
hear. The dead are raised up. have
the gospel preached to them. He went about doing good. There's
no question about that, is there? And yet for 30 pieces of silver,
he was betrayed. Betrayed by one of his inner
circle. Judas betrayed him. Of all things,
betrayed him with a kiss. That we would use to indicate
love. He used to put a mark on the
Lord. He was taken. He was mocked by
those soldiers. They spit in his face. They plucked
out his hair. They mocked him. They beat and
scourged him to the point that he was unrecognizable by men. He was made to carry his cross,
to bear his cross. And that cross, they say that
they weren't lifted up and nailed on the cross, that cross laid
on the ground and they were thrown on, he was thrown on that cross.
I just doubt by how we read that he was treated gently in that
matter. And then his hands and feet,
spikes were nailed through them. And then that hole was already
dug and they lifted up that cross and just let it drop into the
ground with his body hanging from it. His weight, the burden
of sin. In Psalm 22, the Psalm of the
Cross, it says this, I'm poured out like water. All my bones
are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It's melted
in the midst of my bowels. My strength is dried up like
a potsherd. My tongue cleaveth to my jaws. Thou hast brought me into the
dust of death." And as he hung on that cross,
he cried out, I thirst. They didn't give him a cold glass
of water. They gave him vinegar mingled with gall. His soul tortured
like none other. And there on that cross, he endured
the wrath of God. He endured the judgment of a
holy God who must punish sin, even if it's found on his only
begotten son. It's no wonder he's known as
a man of sorrow and acquainted with grief. He bore that. He bore that for
His people. Look at 1 John 4 verse 9. 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. God commendeth his love toward
us in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. This he did for enemies. This he did for those who loved
him not. For those that didn't seek him. Spurgeon wrote this, he said,
even when we're brought to accept his mercy, we don't understand
it. And even when we do understand
it, we don't truly feel the gratitude do him. And even when we feel that gratitude,
we don't show it. How often do we just go on our
way and forget? Give it no thought. Totally unworthy of His love,
of His affection. And yet, He loved us. That's the love of God. Herein
is love. Well, turn back to 1 John, if
you don't have it. 1 John 4, verse 11. Beloved, if God so loved us, this love
we read of in his word, this love of God that's declared,
that's demonstrated, the love that God has for his people,
the love Christ has for his people, a love for which he suffered
and died, The love in which he laid down his life as a propitiation,
as a sacrifice for our sins. The love in which he gives his
people eternal life by his suffering and death. Beloved, if God so loved us, and it's
evident that he does, isn't it? If God so loved us, we, we ought
also to love one another. As an object of his love, listen,
it shouldn't be, it truly should not be difficult for us to manifest
that love toward others. If he's forgiven me, for what
I've done. How hard should it be for me
to forgive someone else, especially my brothers? If he's shown me
mercy, shouldn't I be merciful? Shouldn't
I be merciful to others? Well, let's read on in our text.
1 John 4, verse 12. No man has seen God at any time,
If we love one another, God dwelleth in us and his love is perfected
in us. Hereby we know that we dwell
in him and he in us because he's given us his spirit and we have
seen and do testify that the father sent the son to be the
savior of the world. The savior of his elect, the
savior of his people, the savior of his church, his friends, his
sheep. Herein, herein is love. Not that we love
God, but that he loved us and sent his son to be a propitiation
for our sins. All right. Instead of a closing
hymn, I've asked Brother Mike saw the title of this message,
and we agreed this was a good way to close the service. So
he's going to sing a special for us, all right? It will be
this way.