The New Old. Text: I John 2:7-8 Intro: Consider the following words of wisdom: -Those who are at war with others are seldom at peace with themselves.

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1 Text: I John 2:7-8 Intro: The New Old Consider the following words of wisdom: -Those who are at war with others are seldom at peace with themselves. -True love can not be found where it does not exist, nor can it be hidden where it does. -To love abundantly is to live abundantly, and to love forever is to live forever. Well, Our study today takes us to I John the second chapter, and the ethical motivation for everything a follower of Jesus does; here s what he says: Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. Yet I am writing you a new command; its truth is seen in Him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. I John 2:7-8 As this apostle describes the core of the Christian s existence, he repeatedly uses 3 key words: Life, Love and Light these 3 are the Trinity of Health and Happiness. Today s topic is love the old-new commandment. I. The Old-New Commandment God s ways are never new. Although there may be new dimensions to them, they always like the God who gave them are endless, unchanging, perfect.

2 The classic verse is: Your word, O LORD, is eternal; it stands firm in the Heavens. Psalm 119:89 Famous preacher of the 1700 s, John Wesley once said, Nothing that s new is true, and nothing that s true is new. Therefore, Beware of new revelations people claim to have. There can be a -New slant to an old truth, -New insight on what s already written, and -New applications to ancient texts, but not new truths. New truths are old lies. The Apostle makes sure that we understand that, both What Jesus brought, and What John taught Were rooted in the eternal commands of God. Let s take a deeper look into what John is saying: Dear friends, I am not writing you a new command but an old one, which you have had since the beginning. This old command is the message you have heard. I John 2:7 Previously we read: We know that we have come to know Him if we obey His commands. I John 2:3 But now notice that here the great apostle switches from Commands (plural), to Command, (singular).

3 No doubt, It s because all the commands in the Bible can be reduced to one. Brother James calls it the Royal Law: If you really keep the royal law found in Scripture, Love your neighbor as yourself, you are doing right. James 2:8 Royal, because love is the King of Virtues! However, according to the Apostle it s New; it s Old. How s that? Well, First of all, it s Old, because it goes all the way back to Jesus and the Last Supper. A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. John 13:34 It s old because all the apostles preached it: Peter said: Finally, all of you, live in harmony with one another; be sympathetic, love as brothers, be compassionate and humble. I Peter 3:8 Paul wrote: Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves. Romans 12:10 The Hebrew Author urged: Let brotherly love continue. Hebrews 13:1

4 The world can hate. The world can be indifferent, apathetic, non-caring; but not Christians. We are under direct orders to love one another. However, not just to love one other, but to love on the same magnitude as that of Christ s love for us! Now, Here s where the newness comes in no not new for Christians, but new for the Jewish Faith, and really new for the world. Under the O.T. the Jews were told: Love your neighbor as yourself. Leviticus 19:18 (That s a high standard) Then under the Sermon on the Mount Christ taught: Love your enemies. Luke 6:35 (That s an even higher standard) But under the Family Covenant of Jesus, it s raised to its highest: Love one another as I have loved you. John 13:34 Now that s as radical as it comes, for how did Jesus love us He held noting back He even fell on the grenade so we d stay safe! Christian-to-Christian love then is to supersede all other types! Remember the movie, The Passion? That s how Jesus loved us. So, brotherly-love takes its cues from Calvary-love not from Hollywood. However, rarely are we ever called to demonstrate our love so violently, but regularly we re called on to show it daily in concrete ways. In...

5 -Kindness, -Encouragement, -Sympatric prayer, -The bearing of emotional-burdens, -Moral support over difficult decisions, -A $20, a $50, or a $100 slipped at a time of real need. All of these are normal for true Christian Love. And anything less, is less than Christianity. Look your life over Are there any places where your response to a fellow believer is less than how Jesus would have treated him/her? If so, you re living below the norm; You re falling short of your job description; And practicing an inferior brand of faith. Now, I d never pretend this is easy, but it truly is a quality of authentic Christianity! For, As John said, this was the standard right from the start. It s not new. It s the calling of every Christians down through the ages. In fact, consider example from the first 3 centuries notice the contrast! II. Christian VS Pagan

6 John s generation was on tract they were doing love in action; he describes it in these words: Its truth is seen in Him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. I John 2:8 They were imitating Christ. And all such imitation is powerful! Ill. The article appeared on the 1 st page of the Tempo section of the Chicago Tribune March 27th, The headline read: "How Jesus Won The West," The column consisted of a review a new book by Rodney Stark entitled The Rise of Christianity. Stark is an internationally recognized social scientist who specializes in the study of religious movements. In this volume he examined the extraordinary growth of the early Church. After applying modern social-science methods, he made the bold claim that the rise of Christianity represents the greatest single movement for social change the world has ever seen! He examined how a tiny, despised, and oppressed group was able within 300 years to transform the entire Greco-Roman culture. Their key to success? A new conception of both God and humanity. Did you catch that last sentence? A new conception of both God and humanity. In other words a new way of see man and God! Meaning, Christ changed how Christians viewed people and religion!

7 Now, Growing up in America, you may have a hard time appreciating the huge difference this made! For instance, The belief in a God of love was a view that had previously been nonexistent in either Greece or Rome. In Greco-Roman culture, the gods shared all the flaws common to man. They spent much of their time selfishly fighting in a struggle for dominance, with humans often caught in the middle! Ill. For example, according to Hesiod, Prometheus felt pity for man, so he raided the workshop on Mt. Olympus and stole fire and slipped it to mankind to help in his difficult existence. In retaliation, Zeus had Prometheus chained to a remote rock where he sent an eagle to eat the Titan s liver. Even worse, the liver re-grew every night and the eagle returned day after day to perpetually torment Prometheus. Fortunately after many years, Hercules was passing by one day and killed the eagle with one of his arrows. But in an effort to punished man for receiving the fire, Zeus instructed the god of craftsmanship to create Pandora out of clay and through her, every negative aspects of life befell the human race toil, illness, war and death. Now remember, Zeus was the chief of the gods, not positive for humans!

8 But, The God of the Christians was radically different! There was not comparison between Him and the popular religion of the day! The Christian God loved His creation so much that He personally came down to rescue it, not to punish it. Radical indeed was Christ s statement to Nicodemus: God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him. John 3:17 In pagan cultures Humans were sacrificed to pacify the gods. Christianity turned this on its head by claiming that God was sacrificed to purify His fallen family! You can imagine what kind of effect this must have had on those who heard and accepted such strange, but wonderful, news? Especially those who made up the less fortunate and oppressed classes! So, Are you deeply grateful the God of Heaven has revealed Himself to you in Jesus Christ? To begin with, Such beliefs bequeathed unprecedented value to each and every person whether: -Born/unborn, -Male/female, -Healthy/handicapped, -Slave/nobleman.

9 Moreover, The God of the Christians essentially said: I love you, and because I love you, I want you to love others regardless of -Bloodlines, -Ethnicity, -Political persuasion, -Social status, or -Religious beliefs. In fact, After observing the early Christians, the Roman Emperor, Julian in the 4 th Century begrudgingly admitted: The irreligious Galileans* support not only their poor, but ours as well. (*Irreligious because Christians had no temples, altars, or idols; Galileans, after their leader, the supreme Galilean Jesus) Furthermore, The Empire was well known for its cruelty. Cruelty was considered a virtue, while compassion a vice. Contemporaries ridiculed the Brothers because they were merciful, especially to the poor. In Rome, the capitol of the Empire, The poor lived in squalid, cramped, quarters where sanitation was extremely poor. When disease swept through those filthy districts, scores and scores lost their lives! Yet, even in the midst of the most severe epidemics, the Christians responded with love and charity.

10 At the height of the 2 nd great epidemic around 260 A.D., Dionysius, pastor of the Church in Alexandria, Egypt, wrote a tribute to the heroic efforts of the believers there: Most of our brother Christians showed unbounded love and loyalty, never sparing themselves and thinking only of others. Unmindful of danger, they took charge of the sick, attending to their every need, attracting to themselves their neighbor s sickness, and cheerfully accepting their pains. Many, in nursing and curing others, transferred their death to themselves and died in their place. After all, A person s chances of survival improved greatly with only minimal care, such as simply food and water. Yet, the pagans including priests and doctors fearing for their lives, fled the infected cities. Others threw their sick loved ones in the streets to die. Christians on the other hand, weren t afraid to die, and so stayed behind to nurse the sick and burry the dead. Such selfless action led to tremendous church growth! Therefore, When disasters struck: The Christian community was a stronghold of mutual aid, Meaning higher survival rates for its members and those they helped, Leading to a larger and larger percentage of the population. Stark says that Christianity brought a whole new culture to the Greco- Roman world that made urban-life more tolerable:

11 To cities filled with the poor and homeless Christianity offered charity as well as hope. To cities filled with newcomers and strangers Christianity offered an immediate community of friends. To cities filled with orphans and widows Christianity brought a new sense of family. To cities torn by violent ethnic strife Christianity provided a new basis for social solidarity. And to cities faced with epidemics, fires, and earthquakes Christianity offered an effective nursing practice. Now, Add to this the fact: Christians didn t abort their children, Nor lost their wives from abortive efforts gone wrong. Respect and love in the family produced well adjusted men and women of integrity as compared to the dysfunction of the heathen. As a result, the world was changing! Love was conquering a hostile, demon-infested culture. Once again, Here s how John at the end of the first century put the power of Love s Victory even at this early stage: Its truth is seen in Him and you, because the darkness is passing and the true light is already shining. I John 2:8

12 In other words, Love shows up on the outside, because the darkness on the inside has faded and is being dispelled by the genuine light of Heaven within! Conversely, When the light of love doesn t appear on the outside, it s because it s still dark inside. John addresses this in his next sentence, but that s a topic for next Sunday. In conclusion How bright is the light of love within you? Remember, love is never hard when the environment is pleasant it s when: Tolerance is required Patience needed, and Forgiveness necessary But, don t worry about how you feel just act. C.S. Lewis wrote, "Do not waste your time bothering whether you 'love' your neighbor, act as if you did. As soon as we do this, we find one of the great secrets. When you are behaving as if you loved someone, you will presently come to love him. If you injure someone you dislike, you will find yourself disliking him more. If you do him a good turn, you will find yourself disliking him less."

13 Christian psychologist, Ross Campbell described mature, God-directed and effective parental love. Before reading his powerful insight, I want to quote two related passages from Paul s correspondence with the converted Greeks he that he had won, for Campbell s prescription relates to more than the nuclear family it applies quite well to the spiritual family of God. Looking back fondly on his time with the believers at Thessalonica, Paul writes: Just as a nursing mother cares for her children, so we cared for you. Because we loved you so much, we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well. I Thessalonians 2:7-8 For you know that we dealt with each of you as a father deals with his own children, encouraging, comforting and urging you to live lives worthy of God, who calls you into his kingdom and glory. I Thessalonians 2:11-12 Now here s Campbell s perspective: Ill. In order to love my children, I must remember that: (1) They are children. (2) They tend to act like children. (3) Much of childish behavior is unpleasant. (4) If I do my part as a parent and love them despite their childish behavior, they will be able to mature and give up childish ways. (5) If I only love them when they please me (conditional love), and convey my love to them only during those times, they will not feel genuinely loved. This in turn will make them insecure, damage their

14 self-image, and actually prevent them from moving on to better selfcontrol and more mature behavior. Therefore, their behavior is my responsibility as much as theirs. (6) If I love them unconditionally, they will feel good about themselves and be comfortable with themselves. They will then be able to control their anxiety and, in turn, their behavior, as they grow into adulthood. I think you re savvy enough to make the broader application. Let s pray.