1 Valley View Chapel September 25, 2011 Authentic Christianity 15 Love You Back I John 4:13-21 Introduction Perhaps you ve heard this example of poor poetry. It s doesn t even qualify as bad poetry. It s more accurately labeled doggerel. I only quote it this morning because it suits the purpose of today s text from I John: To live above with saints we love, O that will be glory! But to live below with saints we know, well that s another story! I quoted those lines to make a point about I John 4:20 If anyone says, I love God, yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. (NIV) Several of the commentaries I read interpreted I John 4:20 to mean that it s easier to love people whom we have seen than to love God whom we haven t seen. They contend that if we can t love people we see, then it logically follows that we can t love God whom we can t see. I suggest to you that John s not saying that at all. There s a reason Jesus gave John and his brother James the nickname sons of thunder. They were the ones in Luke 9:54 who wanted to call down fire on the Samaritans for their lack of hospitality to Jesus and the disciples. Jesus rebuked them for their lousy attitude. John knew how hard it was to love people. Jesus started a miracle in John s heart 60 years earlier. He had begun to replace John s spirit of vengeance, superiority, and racism with love. As he reflected back on more than six decades of following Christ, John was convinced that love was the indisputable proof that a life had been touched by God s forgiving grace. If I Corinthians 13 is the love chapter, then I John is the love letter. I mentioned last week that the word love occurs 13 times in the first 6 verses of I John 4. We see it an additional 13 times in I John 4:16-21. Follow along as I read today s text I John 4:13-21. 13 We know that we live 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 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. 16 And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. 17 In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are
2 like him. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved us. 20 If anyone says, "I love God," yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother. (NIV) John s following three strands of thought: God s love for us; our love for God; and our love for others. Are there any other fans of Jan Karon s Mitford series of books? Without shame or embarrassment, I confess that I love the Father Tim stories! Father Tim Kavenaugh has an adopted son named Dooley. Whenever they have a phone conversation, Father Tim ends it with: Love you. And Dooley inevitably responds with Love you back. God says to each one of you: Love you. He wants to hear us say: Love you back. Easy to say but hard to do, right? Here s the question of the day: How do we love God back? That s the question we ll wrestle with together for the next 20 minutes. The Bee Gees once said: You think that I don't even mean A single word I say. It's only words, and words are all I have to take your heart away. If we re going to love God back, then we do it with more than words. And John tells us how. Key Thought The key to understanding how to love God back is found in I John 4:17-18, In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. John is telling us two things. We will all face a day of judgment. We can face this day of judgment with confidence if we are like Christ in the world. Judgment Day John warned of a coming day of judgment. Implicit in his warning is the necessity of preparation for it ahead of time. On August 17, 2008, Dave Freeman, co-author of the book 100 Things to Do Before You Die, died at age 47 from a head injury incurred in a fall at his home. His book inspired the movie The Bucket List.
3 Freeman's own list included things like attending the Academy Awards, running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain, and taking a voodoo pilgrimage in Haiti. According to his family, Dave Freeman had actually gotten to do only about 50 of the things on his list before he died. Tragically, among the 100 things Freeman suggested that others do before they die, he did not include preparing for the Day of Judgment. My friends, if you have a bucket list, you ve got to put preparing for judgment day at the top of your list. The Bible mentions two judgments one for believers in Jesus Christ and one for those who have not committed their lives to Christ. The judgment for believers is described in 2 Corinthians 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad. (NIV) The judgment seat of Christ has nothing to do with salvation, heaven or hell. It is when Christ will judge each believer s faithfulness to the gospel, to the principles of personal holiness, and to the stewardship of time, talents and spiritual gifts that have been entrusted to us. As Christians, we should live every day in the knowledge that one day we will give an account to our Creator and Savior. The judgment of unbelievers is recorded in Revelation 20:11-15 Then I saw a great white throne and him who was seated on it. Earth and sky fled from his presence, and there was no place for them. And I saw the dead, great and small, standing before the throne, and books were opened. Another book was opened, which is the book of life.. If anyone's name was not found written in the book of life, he was thrown into the lake of fire. (NIV) It was because of the certainty and terror of The Great White Throne Judgment that Paul cried out with such urgency: Now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation. 2 Corinthians 6:2 (NIV) But John reassured the readers of this letter by saying: You don t have to be afraid of the judgment. If you stay close to Christ, if you put him first in your life, you ve got nothing to worry about. And he states clearly the ground of their confidence in the light of God s day of judgment: We will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. I can have confidence on my day of judgment, I don t have to be afraid of anything if while I live in this world, I am like Christ. What does it mean to be like Christ? The most basic thing to understand is that we can t be like Christ without the power of Christ. The most frustrating thing in the world is to try to live like Jesus in our own
4 strength. When we try to forgive our enemies in our own strength, we fail. When we try to do good to those who persecute us, we fail. When we try to pray for those who have hurt us, we fail. That s why Paul s statement to the Philippians I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength - is not prideful, presumptuous, or arrogant. Let me paraphrase what Paul said: If it s God s will for me to forgive my enemies, do good to those who persecute me, and pray for those who hurt me, then I can do it with Christ s strength. What I can never do on my own, I can do through Christ! Here s the good news from today s text: We don t have to be like Christ on our own. Look at verse 13, We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. Christ lives in us in the person of his Holy Spirit. The same Spirit who motivated, energized, and empowered Jesus motivates, energizes and empowers those who have received Christ into their lives as their Savior and Lord. Now look at the mind-blowing truth of verse 15, If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. Have you wrapped your mind around this lately that God lives in you?! Think about that for 5 seconds, and you ll get a world-class headache! We can live like Christ if two things are true. If Jesus Christ lives in our lives in the person of his Holy Spirit; If the Holy Spirit controls us, that is, if the Holy Spirit is our ultimate boss, if we allow him to call the shots. If Jesus Christ lives inside of us and if he is our undisputed Lord and master, then we can live like Christ. And when we live like Christ, we will love like Christ. And when we love like Christ, according to I John 4:17, his love is made complete in us. I John 4:17 has both confused and discouraged some Christians over the years because of some unfortunate translations. One example is the ESV that translates the opening words of verse 17, By this is love perfected with us. 1 John 4:17 (ESV) This has led some believers to think that unless they love as perfectly as Jesus did, then they cannot have confidence on the day of judgment. But the word in this context does not mean flawlessly perfect. It is the same Greek word Paul used in his farewell speech to the Ephesian elders when he said: However, I consider my life worth nothing to me, if only I may finish [that s the word] the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me the task of testifying to the gospel of God's grace. (NIV)
5 So perfect or complete means to accomplish fully or to complete what God has in mind for me. And what does God have in mind for me when it comes to loving like Jesus? It means that I receive the love of God and then I pass along the love which God has lavished on me to others. When I do, God s love has come full circle. It has accomplished what God intended. God has poured out his love on me and I have, in turn, poured out his love on someone else. Terry Muck, Professor of Missions at Asbury Seminary, told a heartwarming story that illustrates what perfected love looks like in a Christian s life: A man who had no interest in spiritual matters related casually to the Christian who lived next door. They talked over the back fence, borrowed lawn mowers, stuff like that. Then the non- Christian's wife was stricken with cancer, and she died three months later. Here's part of a letter he wrote afterward: I was in total despair. I went through the funeral preparations and the service like I was in a trance. After the service I went to the path along the river and walked all night. But I didn't walk alone. My neighbor afraid for me, I guess stayed with me all night. He didn't speak; he didn't even walk beside me. He just followed me. When the sun finally came up over the river, he came over and said, Let's go get some breakfast. I go to church now. My neighbor's church. A religion that can produce the kind of caring and love my neighbor showed me is something I want to find out more about. I want to love and be loved like that for the rest of my life. God s love isn t complicated. You don t need a Bible college or seminary degree to understand it or practice it. God s love is steadfast and constant. God s love is centered on others. God s love is sacrificial. God s love involves an element of risk. That s the kind of love Jesus showed. And it s the kind of love he wants us to show. And by the power of his indwelling Spirit, we can do it if we want to! And the benefits are too numerous to calculate. But one benefit is that we can have confidence on our personal judgment day. We don t have to be afraid. In fact, we can look forward to it because we know we ll hear our Savior s Well done. Conclusion Not long before his death, Martin Luther King Jr. spoke to the congregation at Atlanta's Ebenezer Baptist Church: If any of you are around when I have to meet my day, I don't want a long funeral. And if you get somebody to deliver the eulogy, tell them not to talk too long. Every now and then I wonder what I want them to say. Tell them not to mention that I have a Nobel Peace Prize; that isn't important. Tell them not to mention that I have three or four hundred other awards; that's not important. Tell them not to
6 mention where I went to school. I'd like somebody to mention that day that Martin Luther King Jr. tried to love somebody. Friends, we can try to love somebody in our own strength, but sooner or later we ll meet somebody who is impossible to love. It s then that we will draw on the power of the indwelling Christ. We ll love them. We ll do good to them. We ll pray for them. We ll withhold from them the vengeance they deserve and we ll give them the kindness they don t deserve. And two things will happen. We ll show somebody what Jesus looks like. And we ll gain more confidence and joy for judgment day appointment with our gracious, merciful and all-sufficient Savior.