I John 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. 12 Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. 13 Marvel not, my brethren, if the world hate you. 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. 15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
God tells us often that true Christians need to be known for their love for one another. John wrote that this is the message that we heard from the beginning. Biblical love is not that superficial love that does not speak the truth to others. True love seeks to help others to know the full blessings of God. That requires freedom from sin. We have already noted in this book that a true Christian cannot live in sin. A true Christian does not follow the heresies of the Nazarenes or the Holiness movement which suggests that their followers do not sin. They redefine sin. They will be shocked to find out that God does not allow man to edit/corrupt His Word. True love understands that the Christian life is a work in progress. It begins with a change of heart and mind at salvation. It continues with a putting to death of the old man and of nurturing the new man. It is a purifying of the saved person as we already noted earlier in this chapter. In verse 12 God pointed to Cain. Cain was of that wicked one. He was a follower of Satan. He did not want to submit to God. He developed his own religion and expected God to accept it. God said no and Cain did not like that. He was not about to change his mind. He became angry with his brother because God accepted his sacrifice. God showed true love for Cain and He spoke to him about his rebellious heart. Cain did not listen to God and went and killed his brother. God confronted him again and Cain lied about what he had done to his brother. God marked Cain and judged him. Cain continued his rebellion and complained that God was not fair. Cain is in torment today and will be there for all eternity. God tells us that Cain’s deeds were evil and Abel’s deeds were righteous. As we have noted before, God does not allow anyone to change His Word. He gives man opportunity to repent and follow Him. Those who reject Him condemn themselves. They do not like that but their protests will not change God’s mind. In verse 13 we are reminded again that if we choose to follow God, the world will hate us. We should not be surprised at this. In verse 14 we see that our true love for the brethren is an evidence that we have passed from death unto life. We had a visitor in church yesterday who was quite pleased with what he heard. He said he was quite surprised by what he heard. He loved it. He liked it that I spoke plainly. I did not know he would be in church yesterday and I did not gear my message to a visitor. We do mostly expositional preaching in our church and so we cover all the doctrines of the Bible that way. I have spoken to this man before but he has not been to our church until yesterday. Up until yesterday he had an opinion of what our church was about. When he actually came and visited our church he saw what we are really all about. It is a blessing to see someone who actually wants to hear the truth. We will continue to pray for him and trust he will continue to come and learn the truth. True love seeks the good of others. In the context it seeks to help another brother to know God better. That requires what God told Solomon to write:
Proverbs 27:17 Iron sharpeneth iron; so a man sharpeneth the countenance of his friend.
True love sharpens the other person. It is designed to be a blessing. It is not about going around with a critical eye, looking for a way to attack someone. It is the desire to help a fellow saint to know God in a greater way. When Christians are motivated by God’s love, it will be a blessing to true saints. Lost people will not receive that love. They will fight against it. God again pointed out here that the person who does not love his brother abideth in death. True Christians cannot be at war with true Christians. We are all a bit different but Christians have a common thread in that we are all saved through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and we are all indwelt by the same Holy Spirit. The unity is there because we all have the same Holy Spirit Who works in the hearts of the saved to bring about agreement around God’s Word. True saints need to be humble and willing to accept God’s Word as truth. It is not about compromise. It is about accepting the truth. In verse 15 God continued to guide John to use some very strong language. The person who hates his brother is a murderer. This is very serious. God also stated here that no murderer has eternal life. Hatred is a choice. It involves the emotions. Hatred is something that a person can hold on to until death. God is willing to forgive any sinner. However a person who wants to hold on to their sin until death cannot find forgiveness. There is no forgiveness after death. God wants us to think carefully and soberly about our thoughts and actions. There might be things that people can do to us that make it hard to forgive them. However, the love of God is greater than any hurt that can come upon us. Jesus Christ demonstrated that love on the cross. He asked His Father to forgive those who were scoffing at Him as He hung on that cross. He knew that it was His Father’s will that no one perish. God does not take sin lightly. Those who turn to Him in repentance have also come to the place where they do not take sin lightly. They realize the seriousness of sin and they want to be forgiven and saved. Those who are spiritually blind insist that they will not forgive another spiritually blind person. They sit in judgment of others when they are no better themselves. Righteous judgment is important, but hypocritical judgment is sin. True Christians hate sin, but they love the sinner. They remind the sinner of the need to turn to God in repentance and be saved. They also treat a fellow believer (a brother) with that love of God that reaches out to help the person to know God’s forgiveness. Keep in mind that God says that the world will be drawn to the truth when they see genuine love among those who are saved. Pastor Bartel
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