Now turn with me to John chapter
15. John chapter 15. Last Sunday evening we looked
at the first 11 verses in this chapter. You will remember we
looked at the vine, that is Christ, the true vine. We looked at the
vine dresser, the husband, that is the father. And then we thought
about the fact that every branch in the vine, branches represent
believers, true believers, true believers. Each one brings forth
fruit. Now tonight for just a few minutes,
I want to speak to us from verse 12. This is one verse of scripture. This is my commandment that you
love one another as I have loved you. We ended last time in verse
11 with the Lord Jesus Christ speaking of his joy, his joy,
which is in us and being full. You know, part of the fruit of
the Holy Spirit, which is produced In the branches,
we looked at that in Galatians chapter 5, but part of that fruit
is joy. Do you have joy tonight? Do you
rejoice that God did not leave you dead in your sins? He could
have. He's passed over others. Do you
rejoice tonight that He did not leave you dead in trespasses
and sins, that He showed you, if He has, your need of Christ,
that He convinced you of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment? Do you rejoice in the person
of the Lord Jesus Christ, His person, God-man, and His work Job, in a short time, lost everything
he had in this world. We're all familiar with his story. He lost his children, he lost
his health, he lost all of his possessions, but one thing he
did not lose, he did not lose his relationship with the Savior. He said, though He slay me, yet
will I trust Him. I know that my Redeemer liveth
and that he shall appear upon the earth. He did not lose his
relationship with the Savior. That's the only way that he could
have possibly said what he said. When everything was gone, the
Lord gave and the Lord had taken away. Blessed be the name of
the Lord. He had something that could not
be taken away. That is his relationship with
God. Joy is the fruit of the Spirit. But in that list of the fruit
of the Spirit, you know there's something that precedes it. There's
something that comes first. Love, love, joy is the way it
is listed there. And this commandment that we're
looking at tonight, the Lord Jesus Christ said, this is my
commandment, that you love one another. Now he's speaking to
his disciples, only the 11 disciples. And here are two things for us
tonight to consider about this commandment of Christ that he
has given unto his church, to believers, to love one another
as he loved us. Two things I want us to think
about. First, consider love and its opposite. Consider love and
its opposite. What is the opposite? I mean
the extreme opposite of love is hate, isn't it? Isn't that
true? All of us recognize that. The
very opposite of love is hate. And did you know that all of
us by nature hated? We were haters. Let me show you
that in Titus chapter three. We hated God. Now, men don't hate a God that
they can fashion, you know, like it's made out of wax. You can
take that wax, play-doh, you can fashion Him any way you want
to. It's not going to offend anybody
if you make Him just the way you want Him to be made. But
the God of the Bible, Men by nature, fallen nature, depravity,
hate the God of the Bible. This is what we see here in Titus
chapter 3. And I know people like to think,
well, I never hated God. Yes, you did. You were enmity
with God. All men are enmity with God. If you don't believe that, just
throw the Bible away because that's what the scriptures declare.
Now here in Titus chapter 3, I want you to see, beginning
in verse 3, the apostle said, For we ourselves also were sometimes
foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures,
living in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But,
thank God for these words, that are interjected here, but. Think
of that one in Ephesians chapter two that says that we were dead
in trespasses and sins, but God who is rich in mercy for his
great love wherewith he hath loved us, hath quickened us. But Paul says, this is what we
were. We were foolish, we were disobedient,
we were deceived, we were serving our own lusts, our pleasures,
living in malice, envy, hateful, and hating one another. But,
this is God, God moving, God coming into a person's life.
And He doesn't come into everyone's life. He lets some people go
on just as they are described here, until they wake up in hell. But, Paul said, but after that
the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared, not by works of righteousness
which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us by the
washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost which he shed
on us abundantly. through Jesus Christ, our Savior,
that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life. Did you notice here, as Paul
wrote, he used the word we, he included himself, verse three,
for we, ourselves, Now, it wasn't through his religious
devotions. Paul was a very religious man.
He was a very devoted man to what he believed. There's no
question. No one can ever doubt his sincerity. And shame on those
people who are so deceived they think that's all that's necessary
as long as a person is sincere. Paul was sincere. And yet he
describes his condition. He was a Pharisee of the Pharisees. And I would say this, that his
striving to keep the law, as he understood it, he said he
was alive once without the law. In other words, he had the law,
but he was convinced in his very soul that he kept God's law perfectly. He believed that until the gospel,
the law rather, came unto him in power. And God showed him
that the law doesn't just deal with outward actions, but it
has to do with the heart, the very beginning, when sin first
begins in the heart, that desire. And he said in his case, when
God said thou shall not covet, and the scripture, the law was
made alive to him, and he died. But the point I want to make
here tonight, it was not through Paul's devotions, his religious
devotions. It wasn't through his sincerity
as he understood the law, the teaching of God. But it was through
God's mercy, which was shown to him in regeneration, as he
said, after the kindness. Here I was, lost in religion. doing everything I could to stamp
out the name of Christ, because he was convinced that Christ
was a blasphemer, Christ confessed to be God. He was convinced that
was blasphemy for a man to say that. But when Christ was revealed
to him, but he says after that, the kindness, oh, if God had
spoken to you. If God has revealed Christ to
you, he's been so kind to you. Kind. After that, the kindness,
the love, the love of God, our Savior, toward man appeared.
Now after that appeared, notice, it wasn't by our works of righteousness. I lived my whole life, Paul might
have said. I lived my whole life trying to obtain righteousness
by my works. But it's not by the works of
righteousness which we have done, but it is according to His mercy. Now mercy is for the undeserving. And I'm so glad it is. Anytime
we think that we deserve mercy, we don't understand what mercy
is. And you will never deserve mercy. You cannot deserve mercy. If you deserve it, it's justice.
And when God deals with us in justice, look at the cross. Look at the cross when God dealt
with his son in justice and strict justice after he had taken the
sins of his people upon himself. That's justice, not mercy. No, it's after that the kindness
and love of God appeared, not by works of righteousness, which
we have done, but according to his mercy, he saved us. He saved us by the washing of
regeneration, that is, the new birth. Renewing of the Holy Spirit. Man by nature is dead. He can't feel and he can't see. And when God regenerates him,
then he's able to feel and he's able to see. By the worsening of regeneration
and the renewing of the Holy Spirit, which He shed on us abundantly
through Jesus Christ our Savior. Every blessing that God has for
a sinner is in Christ and comes through Christ, and we shouldn't
look for any blessing from God, any spiritual blessing, any real
blessing apart from Jesus Christ. Just like God said about that
mercy seat in the tabernacle. He said there. There, I'll meet
with you and have communion with you. There, this is my beloved
son in whom I'm well pleased. In him, I'll meet with you and
I'll have fellowship with you. But anywhere else, no, not gonna
happen. And being justified by his grace. Grace is unmerited favor, isn't
it? freely justified through the
redemption which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. And we should be made heirs.
You know, if a judge had a criminal come before him and he had the
power to pardon him, even though he was guilty, that would be
wonderful for the criminal, even though he was guilty, to be pardoned.
but for the judge to say, now I want you to go home with me
and I'm going to adopt you as my son. Now that's a little bit
more, isn't it? And yet that's exactly what God
has done for each and every one of us. He not only pardoned us,
but he has adopted us and made us heirs and joint heirs with
his son. Turn with me to 1 John, just
a moment. The opposite of love is hate.
And that's what we all were, and that's what we all practiced.
And you may be here tonight, and you may still be hateful
and hating someone else, hating others. Look here in 1 John 5,
verse 1. Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God. and every one that loveth him
that beget. Now who does the begetting? Who does the saving? The new
birthing? Well it says, whosoever believeth
that Jesus is the Christ is born of God. Not born of his free
will. No, no. Born of God. As John said in first chapter
one of his gospel. Which we're born. not of the
will of the flesh, born of God. But everyone who is begotten loves him who begat him. Do you think a person could be
born again and not love God? Of course not. That's just not
going to happen. Someone said, well, he's a good
fella, but he just doesn't love God. No, he's not a good fella. People say, well, he just, you
know, he just kind of got off the rail. He was going good for
a while, but he just kind of got off, got out of sorts, you
know. No, a person who was born of
God loves God. But that's not all John says,
is it? Whosoever believeth that Jesus
is the Christ is born of God, and every one that loveth him
that beget loveth him also that is begotten of him. Now, if I've
been begotten of God, I love God, but I'm going to love those
others who are begotten of God. And if I don't, I don't love
God either. John tells us that. How can we
love Him whom we have not seen if we do not love our brother
that we see? That's not going to be happening. A lost person who by nature is
hateful and hating, when born of God, now this new man, this
new creation in Christ Jesus, loves. loves him who begat him
and loves others who are also begotten of him. Look in chapter
3 of 1st John. 1st John chapter 3 and verse
14. He said, we know, we know that
we have passed from death unto life. We know that we are born
of God if we believe that Jesus is the Christ. That's what he
said in that one verse, isn't it? Whosoever believeth that
Jesus is the Christ is born of God. But now here he says, and
we know that we have passed from death unto life because we love
the brethren. He that loveth not his brother
bideth in death. He's dead. He's not spiritually
alive. Now here in this passage in 1
John 5, look back there again. By this we know that we love
the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God,
that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not
grievous. Whatsoever is born of God overcometh the world,
and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even our
faith. And I read these two verses,
these three verses, because I wanted us to see plural, commandments,
commandments, verse two. But by this we know that we love
the children of God when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God that
we keep His commandments. Commandments, I know there are
more than one our Lord has given us, but in our text tonight,
He singles this one out. This one out, this is my commandment,
singular. This is my commandment, that
you love one another as I have loved you. Matthew Poole, one of the English
commentators, he suggested two reasons why the Lord may be stressed
this commandment. This commandment above the other
commandments that we know that he has given us. And he gives
two reasons. First of all, he said to uphold
his church in the world. To uphold his church in the world. What does he mean by that? Love
is the ligament. Love is the ligament of the church. Now Paul, he often uses the physical
body to picture the church, the body of the Lord Jesus Christ.
We know that Jesus Christ is the head and every believer is
a member of this church. And every member, just like in
our bodies, our physical bodies, every member has its place and
its function. Every member does. So in the
body of Christ, the mystical body of Christ, the church, every
member has its place. I was reading Lloyd-Jones on
this, and you know he was a medical doctor when God called him to
preach. He was a well-known, well-respected
medical doctor in London. God called him to preach, and
he left being a doctor and began to be a preacher, doctor of souls. But he had a real understanding
of anatomy, and he pointed out in our bodies how we've got all
these members. And he spoke about a joint, for
instance. And I think about the hip joint
and how the ball fits into the hip. And it's smooth, but it
has to be covered over. The ligaments, that's what covers
over and makes the body function as one. I looked up that word
ligament and in the dictionary one of the definitions is it
is a connecting or unifying bond. The ligament is a unifying bond
so that all these members are placed in the body exactly as
God would have us to be But love, love is the bond. Love is the
bond that unifies us. In a church, I think about a
local church. I believe in Christ's body, the
mystical church, but I believe in a local church too. We have
a local church here, and those who are members, the Lord adds. Scripture said that the Lord
added daily them that were saved or were to be saved in the book
of Acts. I don't add people to this church.
That'd be the worst thing that could possibly happen if I added
someone or if you added someone. But I tell you what, when God
adds someone, He puts them right in the place and they've got
just the function that God and every member's important. Paul
said that, didn't he, in 1 Corinthians chapter 12. The hand cannot say
to the eye, I don't have any need of you. Or the foot cannot
say that to the nose, I don't need you. No, every member has
its place and its importance. And that which unifies us together
is love. Love is the ligament. We love
him that beget, and we love those who are begotten. And then Matthew
Poole suggested another reason why the Lord stressed this commandment
of love. Because there is a greater failure
in obedience to this than some of the other commandments. He
said that. He said there's a greater failure
on our part to obey this command than there are of some of the
other commandments. But you might say tonight, well
preacher, what about that little word as? A-S. Love one another as I have loved
you. Is it possible for us to love
others as Christ loved us? Well, not if we understand that
word as meaning equally. No. No one ever loved another
man as Christ loved his church. No one ever loved another person
as Christ loved his church. Scripture says, husbands love
your wives even as Christ loved the church and gave himself for
it. We must understand that word
as, we must understand the definition to mean freely, freely. Love one another freely as I
have loved you. We were unworthy of his love.
His love was not, his love for us was not based upon merit,
upon anything good that he saw in us. He's not a respecter of
persons. He loved us freely, and even
so, we are to love one another as He loved us, freely, freely. Now, a second point that I want
to make about love. Consider love and its opposite,
love and hate. But now, I want us to consider
love and the law of God, the law of God. Look with me, if
you will, in Matthew 22. Now let's understand, when we
use the word law, sometimes it means all of the Old Testament.
All of the Old Testament. And sometimes it simply means
that covenant that God made with the nation of Israel at Sinai. And here in this place, this
man who asked the Lord, look in chapter 22 and beginning in
verse 36, this lawyer, and that means he was a man who studied
and taught the scriptures. Then one of them, which was a
lawyer, verse 35, asked him a question, tempting him and saying, Master,
which is the great commandment in the law? Jesus said unto him,
Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with
all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great
commandment. And the second is like unto it,
thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets. Isn't it interesting that the
Lord Jesus Christ included the prophets? On these two commandments
hang all the law and the prophets. the Law and the Prophets. Everything respecting man's duty
that is commanded in the Law and explained and exhorted by
the Prophets in the Old Testament, everything is comprehended in
these two commands. Thou shalt love the Lord thy
God. with all thy heart, with all
thy soul, and with all thy mind. That's the first, that's the
great commandment. And the second is like unto it, thou shalt love
thy neighbor as thyself. Well, I'm here to say tonight,
there's only one man, there's only one man who has ever walked
on the face of God's earth, who fully, perfectly obeyed these
two commandments. You say, well, I try. Well, I
said who fully, perfectly obeyed. But here's the wonderful thing,
my friends. Christ, as a representative man,
in Him, in Christ, we loved God with all our heart, all our soul,
and all our being, and loved our neighbor as ourself, in Him. We were in Him, in His body,
those who are saved. And that union, it did not begin
when we came to believe in Him. It was manifested, but that union
between Christ the head and the members of His body, it began
way back yonder in eternity when God chose His bride and chose
the members of His body and gave them to Christ. When He came
into this world, He represented every one of His members. And
in Him, we perfectly obeyed God's law, which is love. I want you to turn to one other
place in Romans chapter 3. They say, well, if we obeyed His law,
in Christ, then we don?t have to obey it. You can obey it. Now, you?ve got a new nature
that enables you to love God. We?ve already seen that. Every
one born of God loves Him, but we don?t love Him perfectly.
We want to, and we love our neighbors, but we don?t love them perfectly. But the point I'm making here
is that love is the fulfillment of the law. Notice what Paul
says in Romans 13, verse 8 through 10. Are he that exhorteth, I'm sorry,
verse 8 of chapter 13, O no man anything but to love one another. For
he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. For this thou shalt
not commit adultery, thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal,
thou shalt not bear false witness, thou shalt not covet, and if
there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in
this saying, namely, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself. Love worketh no ill, to his neighbor. See, if you love your neighbor,
you're not going to lie to him. You're not going to cheat him.
You're not going to do these things that are forbidden. Not
if you love him. Love worketh no ill to his neighbor. Therefore, love is the fulfilling
of the law. Love is the fulfilling of the
law. This is my commandment, the Lord
Jesus Christ said, that you love one another freely as I have
loved you. May God, the Holy Spirit, enable
us and produce this love in us, the fruit of the Spirit. That's
only possible as the branch abides in the vine. Without Christ,
he said, you can do nothing. Love is a word that's tossed
around by everyone. It doesn't mean a whole lot,
but when you come to the Bible, study the word of God, it's a
powerful word. Love is, means a whole lot. Well, let's observe the Lord's
table. I pray the Lord will bless his
word to us here this evening.