1 John 4:7-21 What Is True Love?

Transcription

1 1 John 4:7-21 What Is True Love? Every human being ultimately desires to love and be loved. Would you agree with that statement? It s true. We are created in the image of God and we know that God is love. In the Hebrew it s the two words: Amage Dei. Therefore, innately in the very fiber of our being is the desire to love and be loved. In fact, human beings will do almost anything to fulfill that desire. People try to fill that desire with all kinds of things of THE WORLD in this life: power, money, prestige, popularity, fame, material possessions, good looks, sex, food, you name it But, we have learned in 1 John we are not to love the world or anything in it. So, where do we most often seek to find love? Relationships. That s what most of the songs are about. If you Google what are most songs about? In fact a study by NC State proves it. The study was reported in the Journal of Advertising Research, looked at the top artists from the past 60 years, breaking down by decade the major lyrical themes in the No. 1 songs on Billboard s Hot 100. According to its findings, most of what people like to listen to is steeped in love and (interestingly) suffering, in that: Breakup was the most consistently popular theme. But, we don t want that do we! We want true love ever lasting love Cinderella love where we all live happily ever after! And so we re always looking for love. Young people think if they can find that special someone, then their life will be fulfilled. Yet, for most of the young generation bounces from relationship to relationship. So, love has become something like playing a roulette wheel, drop a ball and hope you hit the right number keep trying and hope you find it. I ve been married almost 27 years and there is no greater human being in my life than Pam, but not even Pam can fulfill my life offer the greatest love known to mankind and that is the love that s only offered through Jesus Christ. Tonight we re going to seek to understand what true love really is. Hence, the title of the message this evening is: What is True Love? 1 John 4: Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 In this the love of God was made manifest among us, that God sent his only Son into the world, so that we might live through him. 10 In this is love, not that we have loved God but that he loved us and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God. 16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him. 17 By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, I love God, and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen cannot love God whom he has not seen. 21 And this commandment we have from him: whoever loves God must also love his brother. 1

2 In what we just read in those 15 verses, we read the word LOVE 25 times. And if we go back to the beginning of this epistle we see that word LOVE over and over and John does this to give us confidence. About what? 1 John 5:13 our salvation. Remember the three ways of being confident of our salvation Again, John shares the Gospel in verse 9 and describes how God sent His Son into the world and you and I must MENTALLY choose (by faith) to receive Him. And when we do that, verse 13 says the SPIRIT of God comes to dwell inside of our HEART to testify to us that we are saved and then we act on that love (that s our BEHAVIOR) being lived out (verses 20-21) in that we will show that love to our brothers and sisters in Christ. That s the vertical and horizontal: So, again, what we just read was all about LOVE. Do you know what Greek form of the word LOVE was used: Eros, Phileo, Storge or Agape? The word used there (every time) is the word: agape or a form of the word: agape. What does the word mean? You know it well: unconditional, sacrificial love. It s a godly love that has no equal. But, church family, I have a fear tonight. I am greatly afraid that we ve made the Agape of God the Sloppe of God. We ve taken the unconditional, sacrificial love of God and we ve made it the SLOPPE of God. You see, (PLEASE LISTEN TO ME this will take a few minutes to flesh out, but it s important)...many people today have taken the love of God and they say something like this, Because He loves me I can live any way I want and He ll forgive me of all my sins because He love me. And yet, we forget this is what His love for us cost Him: 2

3 His life! For God so LOVED (agape) the world, He gave His one and only Son But, so many today look at that love of God and they see nothing that costs them anything. They want God to pay the price via the slaughter of His Son, while they live sinful lifestyles. They forget the fact that Jesus said that we must DENY ourselves and take up our cross and follow Him (Matthew 16:24). One of the ways I continue to see this sloppy kind of love that is not truly AGAPE LOVE is through the LGBTQ movement s changing slogans. It s interesting. I read an article this week in World magazine that said the LGBTQ movement is no longer touting the slogan they ve been using since the 1980 s Born this way. That slogan was masterfully used to convince Hollywood, movie and music stars, politicians and even our Supreme Court to believe you are born gay. In fact, the pop musician, Lady Gaga used it extensively in promoting her music. She recently had an album and a tour simply titled: Born This Way and it made her millions and millions of dollars. But, the movement no longer wants to use that phrase because of the new movement that we re seeing in our society, Sexual fluidity and Gender Fluidity. Today, you can be a boy one day and a girl the next (based on the way you feel) and today you can be a heterosexual today, a homosexual tomorrow and a bi-sexual the next day. It s all fluid! 3

4 Therefore, Born This Way is being phased out for the new slogan, I Choose This Way. That way, you can be anything you want to be. You see, church family here s the truth That NEW slogan: I Choose This Way is much closer to the truth than many might want to admit. For the truth is: We all CHOOSE what we want to do. Yes, there are those who may be predisposed to sexual attraction toward the same sex, just as some are predisposed to having a desire for alcohol or stealing but that s not because that person is born that way it s because we re all born sinners. Listen carefully, (because you won t here this out there): There is no credible scientific study that s ever been conducted that s proven conclusively a gay gene. Just as there has never been a gene discovered that MAKES a person an alcoholic or adulterer or murderer or thief. Listen, a thief doesn t tell a judge in a courtroom, Sorry your honor, I stole the TV from WalMart because I was born that way. That s absurd. And the judge will strike the gavel: Guilty! Yet, we live in a culture that has accepted literally any kind of lifestyle (even those that the Bible unquestionably describes as sinful), because we don t want to hurt anyone s feelings. And we call that love! And what s really, really, really sad and bothersome is that so many Christians are now on this bandwagon. A recent Pew survey reported that gay marriage support among evangelicals has more than doubled over the last 10 years. Why? Because the authority for making decisions on morality is no longer seen as the Bible, but what people think and want. They don t want to offend and they have friends or family who have declared they are gay and so, while they believe the Bible is true about morality in all other areas, not so for homosexuality that s special class and special area and an area that s now off limits for everyone including Christians who simply quote the Bible. And I see this every day on Social Media. Particularly among high school and college students and millennials. You see, they have been immersed in this idea that homosexuality is not a sin, even though the Bible says it is in Romans 1, and 1 Corinthians 6, just to name two places. You see, homosexuality is NOT a new thing. The first century world was steeped in homosexuality. The Romans took it to a new level and you weren t considered a successful man unless you had boys at your disposal. And thus the Bible says: 1 Corinthians 6: Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor men who practice homosexuality, 10 nor thieves, nor the greedy, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God. Jump down to verse Corinthians 6: Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a prostitute? Never! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a prostitute becomes one body with her? For, as it is written, The two will become one 4

5 flesh. 17 But he who is joined to the Lord becomes one spirit with him. 18 Flee from sexual immorality. Every other sin a person commits is outside the body, but the sexually immoral person sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God? You are not your own, 20 for you were bought with a price. So glorify God in your body. But we re told: WHO ARE YOU TO TELL ME WHO I CAN LOVE and so we are immersed with memes online like this one Today there are many in the younger generations who have bought into this line of thinking and I believe it s because of their exposure to so much pop culture, music stars, movie stars, athletes, the main stream media all pushing the LGBTQ agenda, and so, many of these young people will simply not go against this movement because if they do, they will be seen how? UNLOVING. So what do we have today because of all of this? We ve got at least a couple of generations of professing Christians, who have now become transmitters of this peculiar form of trying to balance the Biblical with the secular. They believe the Bible is the Word of God, but that it only applies where they want it to apply. So, there is now this embracing of two incompatible ideas and trying to make peace with that disharmony in their brains. What is that disharmony? It s the Satanic-idea THAT active, unrepentant sexual activity between two same-gendered people is consistent with Christian beliefs and practices. And the same is true for HETEROSEXUAL sex.people living together outside the bonds of marriage. You see folks, these are blatantly unbiblical concepts and yet, because of this SLOPPE LOVE that we call AGAPE LOVE, we ve swallowed it, hook, line and sinker. Please listen to me church family and particularly our young people this is so important, because you are being bombarded with this kind of thinking. You see, there s a view of God s love permeating Christendom that says, Your church should accept and love me exactly the way I am and don t expect me to change because that s 5

6 unloving! Listen, I m okay with loving and accepting all people but here s the issue. It all depends on what one means by the phrase accepts. Listen, should we, as followers of Christ, receive, love and honor every human being (no matter who they are) as broken, fallen image-bearers-of-god just like the rest of us? Yes! Absolutely! We are to do so patiently and compassionately. But that also means acknowledging that there is a prescribed path to reach our ultimate destination, which is sanctification: holiness. 1 Thessalonians 4:3 (The will of God is your sanctification) and that will one day be fulfilled by your glorification in Heaven and church family, please don t be deceived that path to heaven leads through Jesus Christ and what He did on the cross. Never forget this is what it cost Jesus to buy our freedom and pay (Propitiation, vs. 10) from our SINS. Listen, the pathway to heaven has been opened to us because of the AGAPE (unconditional, sacrificial) LOVE of God. And there s nothing SLOPPY about that picture! You see, the Bible teaches this: Philippians 1:27 Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or am absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit, with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the gospel. Are you living a lifestyle worthy of the Gospel? Is the homosexual lifestyle worthy of the Gospel? How about sleeping with your girlfriend? Cheating on your taxes? Overeating? Pornography? Alcohol, drugs, gossip, envy, bitter unforgiveness? Are those lifestyles worthy of what Christ did on the cross to deliver us from those sins? But, you know I get it. Here s what people say: But Jesus is all about love and forgiveness. God desires mercy and not sacrifice. Judge not lest you judge yourself. Let him who is without sin cast the first stone. After all, Jesus hung out with those who were unloved and marginalized by society because God and Jesus are: love, love, love, love, love Yes, we ve all heard that from co-workers, family members, even your children? Listen hear this in love: You are not reflecting God s love by making someone feel comfortable with their sin. That would be more like hate. And by adding your Amen to the chorus of those normalizing homosexuality and heterosexual sex and gender fluidity in our culture, and calling it good is not showing mercy no you have aligned yourself against what God s Word teaches and what Christians have believed and taught for almost 2000 years. Only in the last decade has the narrative changed. Even Barack Obama told Rick Warren in 2008 that he believed marriage was to be between one man and one woman. 6

7 Folks, changing our minds on the truth of God s word is not AGAPE love this is SLOPPE love and we are unwittingly ensnaring souls in overtly sinful lifestyle and patting them on the head while doing so. No, the greatest love we can show is to offer freedom in Jesus Christ, by the confession and repentance of sin. We are to offer people deliverance from lifestyles (be it homosexuality or adultery or cheating, stealing, lying, you name it ) we are to offer them deliverance and that s the most LOVING (agape) THING we can DO. You see, we ve tried to take our view of love and use that view to define God instead of allowing God to define what Love really is. Look at verses 7 and 8. 1 John 4:7-8 7 Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love. Take a look at this slide on the screens and see what you think. God = Love Love God Listen carefully, love does not necessarily equal God because it depends on your definition of love. Yes, God = love, because we are allowing God to define love, but when we try to define love the way we want to, we can erroneously define God. Listen, my view of love doesn t necessarily define God accurately. It s only if I have an accurate understanding of Agape biblical love that I might rightly define God by the way I define love. Understand this: Love does not define God. God defines love. We ve got to stop imposing the 2017 view of SLOPPE LOVE on to God. God is not subject to human definition. Think about it don t people ask all the time: Well, if God is so loving, why does He allow this to happen or that to happen? Well, let me ask a question. Why would God create a world which brings Him so much trouble and pain as He watches humankind walk away from Him? Answer: Because God has given mankind free will. Because God is love He has chosen to allow us the gift of FREE WILL so that we might freely choose to love Him because we want to, not because we have to. What did Jesus say was the greatest commandment? Matthew 22: And he said to him, You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets. Can I ask you a question tonight? Why did Jesus leave us on earth after we got saved? Do you remember this chart? What is this? (Three circles) 7

8 The Three Circles right? I can give you a hint, it s in the left side of the chart. It s the second word going from the 3 rd circle to the 1 st circle. Pursue. We are to pursue people with the Gospel. We are to go to a world of BROKENNESS (sin) and take the Gospel, the Good News that God so agaped the world that He gave His only Son so that we might have life. 2 Corinthians 5: Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. 21 For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. You see, we are to live RIGHTEOUS lives. That s what it means to be saved. We re saved from a life of sin so that we might live righteously. And so, we show the LOVE OF GOD by going after others to bring them to Christ. We have to go into that world of Brokenness. We have to ask: Where are you living? God s Design or Brokenness (1 or 2)? You see, if we re showing AGAPE love, then we will pursue people with the Love of God and the Bible tells us how Hebrews 12:14 14 Strive for peace with everyone, and for the holiness without which no one will see the Lord. Listen, people won t see the Lord if we re not living Holy. And when we re not living holy, then we re denying our birthright as born again believers. What a travesty! Church family, what happens when we get saved? 8

9 Aren t we to be like Mary, the sister of Lazarus who anointed Jesus feet with the expensive perfume and wiped His feet with her hair? She was called a woman of the city, and Simon the Pharisee grumbled because Jesus allowed this sort of woman to come near Him. Jesus said: Luke 7:47 47 Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven for she loved much. But he who is forgiven little, loves little. How much have you been forgiven? I ve been forgiven a lot! So, I must AGAPE a lot! How? By sharing the Good News in gratitude for all Jesus did for me. I went to conclude with a beautiful poem by an old Scottish preacher that sums up what I believe is Biblical love. See it I was a wandering sheep, I did not love the fold I did not love my Savior's voice, I would not be controlled I was a wayward child, I didn't love my home I didn't love my Father's voice, I loved afar to roam The shepherd sought his sheep, the Father sought his child He followed me o'er vale and hill, o er desert's waste and wild He found me nigh to death, famished and faint, alone He bound me with the bands of love, He saved this wandering one Jesus, my Shepherd is; twas He that loved my soul Twas He that washed me in His blood, twas He that made me whole Twas He that sought the lost, that found the wandering sheep Twas He that brought me to the fold, He ll hold my soul and keep I was a wandering sheep, I wouldn't be controlled But now I love my Shepherd's voice, I love my Savior s fold Yes, I was a wayward child, I once preferred to roam But now I love my Father's voice; I love, I love His home And that church family is True Love! 9