One Another: LOVE
Pastor Reggie Hill
Scripture
1 John 3:11-24 NIV
11 For this is the message you heard from the beginning: We should love one another. 12 Do not be like Cain, who belonged to the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own actions were evil and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, my brothers and sisters,[b] if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love each other. Anyone who does not love remains in death.15 Anyone who hates a brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person?18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence: 20 If our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. 21 Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
Big Idea
True, godly love is not a matter of talk, but of action. It is more than kind words, and loving feelings, true love is demonstrated through active compassion that meets real needs in tangible ways. Christians who truly want to reach others for Christ must realize that they might have to meet people’s physical needs before some will be open to receiving help for their spiritual needs.
Questions
If given the choice, would you rather have a stranger pay for your groceries or compliment your outfit? Pay your rent or pray for you? Why?
When have you felt tangible love? The kind you can feel and measure without question?
They say that actions speak louder than words, based on your actions, would acquaintances around you know that you are a Christ follower? How might you need to change your habits to make sure they do?
Verses 12 and 13 give some extreme examples of hate, how do you react to the people who are hard to love?
Verse 15 is a strong statement: that hating a brother or sister is the same as murder. This is the same statement Jesus makes in the Sermon on the Mount. Why do you think this is so important to the heart of Jesus?
What do you think verses 19-22 are trying to say? According to these verses, how do we find rest and confidence before God?
John puts loving one another right on par with believing in Jesus in verse 23. Do you hold these in equal value? Why or why not?
Call To Action
How can we lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters like verses 16-18 urge us to? How can we provide for those in need? (even when we’re broke)
