CONFIDENCE IN A CHAOTIC WORLD
(What's love got to do with it? - September 26, 2021)
Series Big Idea: "Close fellowship with Christ silences the destructive beliefs and behaviors of this world"
Sermon Big Idea: "We love because God has loved us"
Key Scripture (1 John 4:7-19)
I don’t think anyone would say that love is not important. But love is usually thought of in terms of emotions or feelings. Love is actually a choice and an action (1 Corinthians 13:4-7). Jesus is our supreme example of what it means to love. Everything He did in life and death was supremely loving.
(1 John 4:7-19)
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, because love is from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 8 The one who does not love does not know God, because God is love. 9 God’s love was revealed among us in this way: God sent His One and Only Son into the world so that we might live through Him. 10 Love consists in this: not that we loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. 11 Dear friends, if God loved us in this way, we also must love one another. 12 No one has ever seen God. If we love one another, God remains in us and His love is perfected in us. 13 This is how we know that we remain in Him and He in us: He has given assurance to us from His Spirit. 14 And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent His Son as the world’s Savior. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him. 17 In this, love is perfected with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, for we are as He is in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears has not reached perfection in love. 19 We love because He first loved us.
From this text, I believe John gives five reasons why Christian's love.
First - God IS the center of love. Verse 8 "God is love." Verse 7 "Love is from God." So, God is the source of all love. Ultimately, God demonstrated His love by sending His only Son Jesus to be the Savior of the world. But love is not just one of God's attributes, it is who He is. He does everything in love. Because God is love, He can do nothing without love.
Second - To follow God's example of sending His Son for us. Verse 9 "His One and only Son." This is foundational to the Christian faith. It wasn’t human sacrifice that Christianity is based upon. God Himself stepped into humanity in the person of Jesus. Jesus is sinless and perfect. This makes Him unique and the only One qualified to pay the penalty of sin, which is death.
Third - Love is at the heart of the Christian witness. Verse 12 "His love is perfected in us." Two things we know to be true: God's love is invisible and Jesus is no longer walking the earth physically. But even though we can't see Him physically, we do see His Character in believers who are loving as He does (John 1:18) (John 6:46). When we love one another, this invisible God reveals Himself to others through us and so His love is made complete.
Forth - Love is the Christian's assurance. Verse 13 "He has given assurance." God's Spirit does more than just reside in believers, He teaches them the truth about the saving work of Christ (Verse 14). Remember, when we are born again, we receive the Holy Spirit and this presence of God in our lives is proof we really do belong to Him. He is the One who gives the power to love in the first place (Romans 5:5) (2 Corinthians 1:22).
Fifth - Love is the Christian's confidence in judgement. Verse 17 "Love is perfected with us." Believers are not sinless, but are growing in the maturity of God's love that is seen by this confidence in the face of judgement. The day of judgement is that time when all people will appear before Christ and are held accountable for their actions. But if Christ is in us as born again believers, we need not fear this day because we are saved from God's wrath. We can look forward to the day of judgement because Verse 18 "Perfect love drives out all fear." Our fears go away by focusing on the immeasurable love of Christ for us and allowing Him to love others through us. His love will quiet our fears.
CONCLUSION
God's love is the source for all human love Verse 19 "We love because He first loved us." God's love spreads like fire. With His love, God kindles a flame in our hearts and therefore we can love others.
I leave you with this question. How well do you display God's love in the choices you make and the actions you take?
Pastor Beaver's thoughts and ideals for this message, are inspired by:
Holman Christian Standard Bible
English Standard Version Bible
King James Version Bible
Christian Standard Bible
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Vincent, Marvin Richardson. Word Studies in the New Testament. New York: Charles Scribner’s Sons, 1887. Print.
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