All right, tonight in 1 John
chapter four, we looked at the first six verses in this chapter
last time. And in those verses, the apostle
tells us how that false prophets, men who profess to have the spirit
are to be discerned. And I would remind us again of
John's words there in verse one, where he said, many, Many false
prophets are gone out into the world. And I mentioned last time,
some of you will remember, that in the days of Micaiah, the prophet
Micaiah, he was one prophet and there was 400 false prophets. What a disparity, the ratio between
400 false prophets and the one true prophet of God. And later
I thought about Elijah. on Mount Carmel. He was solo.
He was by himself, single. And there was 850 false prophets
of Baal that prayed unto their false god. Now, we certainly
have no idea how many false prophets there are, but John says many. And I know that's true. Many
false prophets are gone out into the world. Leaving those first six verses,
we go on, and the remainder of the chapter, the subject is love. Love. And John begins the passage
with this very affectionate term, beloved. He uses this term five
times in this small letter. It's divided into five chapters,
and five times the apostle addresses those to whom he wrote the letter
as beloved. You know, it seems that John
dwelt on the subject of love and his inspired writings more
than on any other subject. And I believe that he was referring
to himself in the gospel of John when he wrote, now there was
leaning upon Jesus bosom, one of his disciples, whom Jesus
loved, whom Jesus loved. How can any saved sinner, how
can anyone who has experienced the saving grace of God, the
love of the Lord Jesus Christ, ever get over God's amazing,
condescending love? As we just sang in that hymn,
that God would love such a one as we are by nature. Amazing love, how can it be? How can it be? Well, we're just
going to read through the remainder of the verses and make some comments. Verses 7 and 8. Beloved, let
us love one another, for love is of God. And everyone that
loveth is born of God and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth
not God, for God is love. I thought about the fact that
the Apostle Paul, in the letter of Titus, he described mankind,
that is, lost men, as hateful and hating one another. And John
begins describing those who are born of God that know God. That's what he says. Beloved,
let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone,
no exception, Everyone that is born of God and knoweth God, loveth he that loveth not, knoweth
not God, for God is love. When John writes, love is of
God, this reveals to us several things about love, the truth
about love. All true love, All true love,
now get that word true. All true love originates with
God. All true love originates with
God. Real love shows that a person
is indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Real love, that's what it indicates,
as we will see as we go through these verses. that a person is
born of God, knows God, and God the Holy Spirit dwells in that
person, then that person loves. And not only those two things,
but love makes a believer more like God. It makes a believer
appear more like God. You know, in 1 Corinthians 13,
Paul said, now by the faith, hope, love, but the greatest
of these is love. I've often wondered why he said
the greatest of these is love, but when we consider the fact
that God is love, no wonder love is the greatest. I know faith,
when we see, will no longer look by faith when we are in heaven,
we will look upon him who loved us and gave himself for us and
hope that expectation will be realized when we are there with
him. But love shall continue on throughout
all eternity. When Paul mentions the fruit
of the spirit in Galatians chapter five, you remember the first
thing he mentions is love. Love, joy, peace. Love is the
very first thing. Now, don't read into this something
that John is not saying. He's not saying that every man
who loves his wife, who loves his children, who loves his country
is a saved man, is born of God. He is saying that all who have
true love for their brothers in Christ are born of God. John, I want you to notice here
in this verse, John makes a statement in verse eight, a statement that
all of God's children, we must believe and we must hold on to
because we live in a fallen world. The statement is God is love. God is love. And we see things
and we experience things that make us wonder and sometimes
perplex us, and others will question, unbelievers will question, how
could a loving God allow this? We've got to hold on to this
truth about God. God is love, no matter what we
see that may, to men at least, contradict that statement. This
is so, this is so, just like the scriptures reveal that God
is holy, God is light, this is so. No matter what anyone says
or no matter what we see that might make us question that,
God is love. He is love. This is one of those
foundation stones upon which we must stand. We must be built
upon this stone that we be not moved and swayed by every wind
of doctrine that comes along and every false teaching. God
is love. And we know that a day is coming,
a day is coming when all of God's creation, all of God's creation
will see the truth of this statement. God is love. The day is coming. It's coming when He comes, isn't
it? That day is coming when He comes again. But all of God's
creation will then know without any doubt, God is love. verses 9 and 10, and 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.
Herein is love, not that we love God, but that he loved us. Sent
his son to be the propitiation for our sins. Now, when we read
here, herein is love, he's not saying that this is the only
way. This is not the only way that
God has manifested his love, but in comparison to this, in
comparison to this manifestation of his love, he gave his only
begotten son, nothing else. Everything else pales in comparison
to this truth. God sent His only begotten Son
into the world that we might live through Him. There was and
is no other way. There was and there is no other
way that we might be given eternal life but through His Son, the
Lord Jesus Christ, coming into this world and the work which
he did for us. He came into this world as a
surety of the covenant. And as a surety of that everlasting
covenant, the covenant of grace in which God has chosen his people,
he was obligated, he was obligated as a surety to completely satisfy
for his people. And we know that he has perfectly
done so. When I say there's no other way,
this was settled. It was settled in eternity, but
it was also settled in the Garden of Gethsemane, wasn't it? When
he prayed, oh my father, if it be possible, let this cup pass
from me. Nevertheless, not as I will,
but as thou wilt. If it be possible. It were not
possible. if any were to be saved. It was
not possible. He had, God's justice had to
be satisfied. We sing the hymn sometimes, Lead
Me to Calvary. And that chorus goes, lest I
forget Gethsemane, lest I forget thine agony, lest I forget thy
love to me, lead me to Calvary. Charles Spurgeon Over the years,
I've read a number of his sermons, and I know I've read this probably
in more than one, but he said, the believer should always remember
Gethsemane. He should always remember Gabbatha,
and he should always remember Golgotha. Gethsemane, where the
Lord Jesus Christ prayed, sweat, as it were, great drops of blood.
Gobetha, the pavement in which Pilate, his judge, his human
judge, said, I find no fault in this man, pronounced him innocent,
and then turned him over to be crucified. And Golgotha, the
place of a skull, where he was made to be sin for us, that we
might be made the righteousness of God in him. Verse 11, beloved, If God so loved us, we ought
also to love one another. Think of the distance, the distance
between God and us. And we're not talking about miles.
We're not talking about so many feet, because we know we live
in him. He's all around us. He's in us. We were so far from God because
God is so holy and we are so sinful. And yet God loved us
in spite of the great distance between Him and us. And here,
men and women on this earth are our equals. We're all equal. There's no difference. If God
so loved us, beloved, When there's such a great distance between
Him and us, then we should love our brothers and sisters. This
is one way that we show that the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit
of God dwells in us. Beloved, if, and it is so, if
God so loved us to give His only begotten Son, we ought also to
love one another. Verse 12. No man has seen God
at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth
in us, and we, and his love is perfected in us. No one comes
to know God by looking upon God with these physical eyes. Even
so, even so, we may have assurance that we know him by this evidence. This is what John is saying.
No man's ever seen God with these physical eyes, but we may have
assurance that we know Him by this evidence, and that evidence
is love one to another, and His Spirit dwelling in our hearts. Now, John is not saying that
our love is absolutely perfect. His love is perfect. He's not
saying that our love is perfect. But our love to others is the
way we carry out our love to Him. If we do not love the brethren,
then our love to God has not produced its desired effect. God loving us, the effect should
be that we love our brothers. If we do not love our brothers,
then the love of God has not been perfected in us, has not
matured in us. Verse 13, hereby know we that
we dwell in him and he in us because he hath given us of his
spirit. It is our love that evidences
that the Holy Spirit dwells in us. Again, the fruit of the Spirit. I'm not going to say much about
that because, God willing, I want to speak on that subject Sunday
evening about God dwelling in us, the Holy Spirit in us. If
any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. Verse
14, and we have seen and do testify that the Father sent His Son
to be the Savior of the world. John repeats what he wrote in
the very first words of this epistle. Look back to 1 John
1. We have seen and do testify. This is the apostles. This is
our testimony, John says, that the father sent his son to be
the savior of the world. In the first verse, that which
was from the beginning, which we have heard, which we have
seen with our eyes, which we have looked upon and our hands
have handled of the word of life, for the life was manifested and
we have seen and bear witness and show unto you that eternal
life, which was with the father and was manifested unto us. John says, we bear witness. No one should doubt the love
of God after we read and hear and know that he sent his only
begotten son. No one should doubt his love.
How can we question his love? But men do. I'm not saying that
men don't. We shouldn't. And we wonder how
it is, just how depraved this man. Saying that God spared not
his own son, but delivered him up for us all. How depraved is
man to question God's love? This is the testimony John tells
us. This is the testimony. We have
seen and do testify that the father sent the son. And why
did he send him? He sent him to be the savior
of the world. Turn back, keep your place there,
but look back into the gospel of John chapter 20. John chapter 20 and verse 30. John 20 and verse 30. And many
other signs truly did Jesus in the presence of his disciples,
which are not written in this book, but these are written. that you might believe that Jesus
is the Christ, the son of God, and that believing you might
have life through his name. This is a witness. This is a
testimony that God sent his son into this world. And all who
believe, as the apostle Paul said, are justified from all
things from which you could not be justified by the law of Moses. And look in Acts 10. It's not
a new doctrine, is it? It's not a new doctrine that
just appeared with the disciples of our Lord. Let me see if I
can find this scripture in Acts chapter 10. These are some of
Peter's words in the house of Cornelius. Yes, verse 43. To Him, and there's
no question who Him refers to, to Christ. To Him, give all the
prophets witness. You just go back through all
the prophets under John. He was the last of the Old Testament
of prophets, John the Baptist. And you, every prophet, Peter
said, every prophet, without exception, the message of the
word of God is Christ and Him crucified, isn't it? To him give
all the prophets witness that through his name, through his
person, his person, his being, whosoever believeth in him shall
receive remission of sins. That's the testimony. God sent
his son into this world, and that was the witness of all the
prophets, from the very first prophet to the last of the Old
Testament prophets, and they all gave the same witness, as
Peter tells us here. Whosoever believeth in him shall
receive remission of sins. All right, let's go back to our
passage, 1 John 4 and verse 15. Whosoever shall confess that
Jesus is the Son of God, God dwelleth in him, and he in God. This will always show that a
man is a Christian, a true believer, when a man makes his confession
in sincerity from his heart. It's not merely just saying the
words. I realize that many people say
these words, but they're not sincere in saying them. The confession must come from
the heart. The scripture says, for with
the heart, and the heart involves the mind, doesn't it? There must
be knowledge. It involves the affections. There must be love going out
to him, and it involves a will, a committing unto him. Whosoever,
as the apostle tells us, whosoever shall confess that Jesus is the
Son of God, for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness,
and with the mouth is made confession unto salvation. Isn't it wonderful to have the
righteousness of God imputed? Well, you just sat here thinking
about that. To have the very righteousness of God, your righteousness,
is imputed to all that believe. The perfect, righteous, the best
robe. That's what that parable of the
prodigal son's all about, isn't it? When the son returned home
and the father said, get the best robe, put it on him. That
best robe is the perfect righteousness of Christ. And how does that
come to anyone? Through faith. Through faith.
Now verse 16. And we have known and believed
the love that God hath to us. God is love. He repeats himself,
doesn't he? He said that just a few verses
before this. God is love. I remember one time,
I think I asked Scott Richardson or was talking to Scott Richardson
about repeating. He said, listen, if something's
worth saying one time, it's worth saying two times. And this is
certainly worth writing two times. God is love. Verses 17 and 18. 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. 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. In this way, love becomes
what it should be, making us know that we are accepted in
the beloved, and we have no cause We have no cause to fear the
judgment. Now fear, fear's not the product
of love. Fear is a product of guilt. Guilt makes a person afraid,
brings a person to experience fear. But knowing that our sins
are pardoned through His blood, that as He is, right now, as
He is, accepted, perfect in the Father's presence, so are we
in this world. In Him, we are as holy as He
is holy. We are as accepted as He is accepted. In fact, in Ephesians chapter
two, I believe it is, the apostle says, we have ascended with Him. and to sit down in heavenly places
in Christ and Him. As He is, so are we in this world. Knowing that our sins are pardoned
through the blood of Christ and with our hearts filled with love,
we have nothing to dread in this world or the next. We can look
at judgment, we can look judgment in the face, and we have no cause
to fear. Now, I know people have asked
and said, well, you know, preacher, I'm afraid something's wrong
because I still have fear. It says perfect love, doesn't
it? Perfect love. Look at this scripture again.
There's no fear in love, but perfect love casteth out fear. Do you have perfect love? Does
anyone in this world have perfect love? Many times we can only say, I
speak for myself, many times I can only say like Peter did
when the Lord asked him the third time, Simon, son of Jonas, lovest
thou me? Lord, thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee. May not look like it. May not
act like it. But Lord, you know, you know,
you know all things. I love you. Every child of God
can say that. Verse 19, we love him because
he first loved us. Every child of God recognizes
that if it had not been for his love for us, his love first,
then we would never have loved him. We would never have loved
Him. He's worthy of our love. There's
no question about that. We should love Him, absolutely. But because of our fallen sinful
condition, if He had not come to us in love and grace and mercy,
we would never have loved Him. Verse 20, if a man say, I love
God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar." John doesn't cut
him any slack, does he? He doesn't cut him any slack.
A man has a false profession. He professes that he loves God,
whom he's never seen, but he hates his brother, whom he's
seen. John said he's just a bald-faced liar. That's all there is to
it. He's a liar. Verse 21, this commandment have
we from him. Let's look at that commandment.
Let's turn back and we'll close with this in John chapter 13.
This commandment we have from him that he who loveth God love his
brother also. John 13 and verses 34 and 35.
A new commandment I give you that you love one another, as
I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, you'll all know that
you're my disciples, if you have love one to another. It's not
by the way we talk. It's not by the way we dress.
Not by the way we cut our hair. All these things that men seem
to Latch onto. No, that's not the way God's
people are identified. God's people are identified by
the love we have one for another. May the Lord help us to love
each other more every day. Let's sing a verse of a hymn. All right, let's all stand.