Certain Eternity Part 29 – Love in Action
1 John 3:16-18 May 25, 2025
Introduction
1 John 3:16-18 “16 By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and
we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 17 But if anyone has the world’s
goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does
God’s love abide in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in
deed and in truth.”
3 parts: 1) Perfect Love, 2) Pretend Love, 3) Practiced Love
Perfect Love (v16)
“Know” (Gk. ginōskō) experiential knowledge
“Love” (Gk. agape) unconditional, self-sacrificial action of always seeking the
best for another (See Part 25 of series for more explanation)
o Agape may involve emotion, but it must always involve action. Agape is
unrestricted, unrestrained, and unconditional – it is not earned or merited –
it is simple given or “bestowed”.
o How did He give love = “he [Jesus] laid down his life for us”
Action of literal self-sacrifice….Cain exemplified selfish, jealous, hate-
filled murder (taking another’s life). Jesus exemplifies selfless, giving,
love-filled sacrifice
James Montgomery Boice “What is it that gives the love of God as
seen at the cross its special character? Primarily it is the element of
self-sacrifice on behalf of those who are totally undeserving and even
undesirous of the sacrifice.”
Undeserving and undesirous – Luke 23:34 “Father, forgive
them, for they know not what they do.”
Jesus knew that we would be lost without Him. So desiring to have deeper
eternal relationship with us, He sacrificed himself that we may have life with Him
forever.
o The Father knows us and deeply desires for us to know Him
Psalm 139:1-4 “O Lord, you have searched me and known me!
2 You know when I sit down and when I rise up;
you discern my thoughts from afar.
3 You search out my path and my lying down
and are acquainted with all my ways.
4 Even before a word is on my tongue,
behold, O Lord, you know it altogether.”
o Memorial Day reminder – men and women serve us, fight for us, and die for
us because they know and love us and want to preserve our freedom.
o Scottish theologian James Denney “If I were sitting on the end of the pier
on a summer day enjoying the sunshine and the air, and some one came
along and jumped into the water and got drowned “to prove his love for
me”, I should find it quite unintelligible. I might be much in need of love, but
an act in no rational relation to any of my necessities could not prove it. But
if I had fallen over the pier and were drowning, and some one sprang into
the water, and at the cost of making my peril, or what but for him would be
my fate, his own, saved me from death, then I should say, “Greater love
hath no man than this.” I should say it intelligibly, because there would be
an intelligent relation between the sacrifice which love made and the
necessity from which it redeemed.”
The reality is that every one of us drowning, and our Lord knows it –
many of us are unaware we are drowning; some are aware and are
trying their best to save themselves, yet continue to be swept out
further to sea; finally others still know they are drowning and cry out
for help and our big brother Jesus has already jumped into the water
with a life preserver and is ready to hand it over….all we need but do
is ask and then accept His hand as He lifts us into His unsinkable
boat, where He is the captain, directing us onward for His glory and
our good.
Just as Christ, so we “ought” to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters
o “Ought” (Gk. opheilo) means we have a moral obligation to do the same as
He did, imitating Him, following in His steps.
o This is the expected way that a child of God will live their life…imitating the
one who Himself saved them…Cain asked “Am I my brother’s keeper”
(Gen. 4:9)…here we are given the answer, yes, we ought to love our
brothers the same way Jesus loved us.
Most of us will not have the opportunity to literally die for another. John uses a
much more common opportunity that everyone of us will have: sharing our
resources with our brothers and sisters in need. When this opportunity arises
there are two responses, pretend love and practiced love.
Pretend Love (v17)
1 John 3:17 “But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need,
yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him?”
John Stott “The transition from the plural (‘our brothers’, v6) to the singular (his
brother, v17) is deliberate and significant. ‘It is easier to be enthusiastic about
Humanity with a capital “H” than it is to love individual men and women,
especially those who are uninteresting, exasperating, depraved, or otherwise
unattractive. Loving everybody in general may be an excuse for loving nobody in
particular!”
“goods” (Gk. bios) resources – same word used in 1 John 2:16 “pride of life”
…that is, life’s possessions….so bios can either be used to puff us up, or to love
others
“and sees” (Gk. theoreo from theaomai) to look at closely or attentively
o signifies more than a casual, passing glance, but speaks of a continual
(present tense), contemplative observation of the brother’s circumstances.
John Piper “John’s point is that if both conditions are met, if you behold a need
in your brother’s life and if you have resources to meet that need, you cannot
stand idly by. If you do, if you “close your heart against [your brother],” if you
have no pity in your heart for him, if you take no action to meet his need, the
conclusion is obvious. God’s love isn’t in you. God’s love to you cannot be bottled
up, contained. It will inevitably flow out of you. And therefore John can assert that
if there is no outflow, it is evidence that there has been no inflow.”
“Closes” (Gk. kleio) his heart – literally, shuts or locks his heart – Love is not:
o Apathetic – not caring, isolating from others, or ignoring the needs of our
brothers – especially ongoing needs we see – is quite the opposite of love
Thoughts like “it’s not my problem”, “I don’t want to get involved”, or
“I’ve helped enough” are excuses and justifications for our selfish
sin…the way of Cain that we discussed last week. Sadly, this attitude
is becoming all too prevalent in our society
In 2019, 16-year-old Khaseen Morris walked his neighbor home from
school. She happened to be the girlfriend of another young man. That
other young man challenged Khaseen to a fight and then jumped him
along with 4 other friends when Khaseen showed up. Tragically,
Khaseen was stabbed and killed as he was beaten by the group. This
is terrible and tragic, but it is made all the worse by the fact that it
happened in broad daylight as a crowd of around 50 other students
watched, recorded, and streamed the fight. No one called the police.
Tragically, this sort of shocking apathy – which has come to be
called the “bystander effect” – is a growing trend with social
media as people’s preoccupation with entertainment and self-
promotion overwhelms their compassion and love for their
fellow man.
You may think that your failure to assist those who you see in need is
different – but it’s not. We either hate like Cain or love like Jesus,
there is no middle ground….and apathy or indifference is hate, the
way of Cain.
In fact, the bible says that if your usual attitude towards the ongoing
needs of your brothers and sisters is apathy or indifference, then you
should not only question your understanding of love, you should
question your salvation, because your faith is dead
James 2:14-16 “14 What good is it, my brothers, if someone
says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save
him? 15 If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in
daily food, 16 and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be
warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for
the body, what good is that?”
o Selective – choose who you love because you like that person
Dr. David Allen “Common sense coupled with life experience makes
it evident that we simply cannot and will not like everybody we meet,
even in the church. Personalities being what they are, not to mention
temperament, appearance, behavior, and mannerisms, make it
inevitable that in life’s journey you are going to like some people more
than others. Remember, not everybody likes you either! Liking is a
matter of personal preference. Loving is a matter of obedience to
Christ and the Word of God. Love penetrates beyond the superficial
and moves to the essence of the person. It overcomes obstacles and
excuses. Love sees beyond what it does not like in a person and
minimizes it in order to see the person as Christ sees him. Then
seeing the person in that way opens the door to acting toward that
person in a Christlike way.”
o Conditional – I love because you give me something back
This is not love, it’s manipulation and coercion
Practiced Love (v18)
Love practiced here is summed in generosity – sacrificial giving – just as Jesus
sacrificed Himself for us. This should be a mark of the children of God as we love
one another. 1) recognize what Jesus did for you, 2) repent of hard-heartedness,
and 3) ask the Holy Spirit to help you to love in deed and truth as you see the
need
o Charles Ryrie “Without apology the New Testament places a great deal of
emphasis on the subject of giving. There are commands, practical
suggestions, warnings, examples, and exhortations concerning this
important ministry. Everywhere in the Bible miserliness, greed, and avarice
are denounced; and generosity, hospitality, and charity are extolled.”
Warren Wiersbe “The test of Christian love is not simply failure to do evil to
others. Love also involves doing them good. Christian love is both positive and
negative. Cease to do evil; learn to do well. ‘Self-preservation’ is the first law of
physical life, but ‘self-sacrifice’ is the first law of spiritual life.”
o Acts 2:42-47 “42 And they devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching
and the fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers. 43 And awe
came upon every soul, and many wonders and signs were being done
through the apostles. 44 And all who believed were together and had all
things in common. 45 And they were selling their possessions and
belongings and distributing the proceeds to all, as any had need. 46 And
day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their
homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts, 47 praising
God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to their
number day by day those who were being saved.”
o This is not communism or socialism – this is simply a community who
practiced loving one another with their actions and meeting the physical
needs of their number as the Lord continued to work in their midst to
transform them, spread His truth, and add to their number those who were
saved.
“Deed” (Gk. ergon) – work or action
Daniel Akin “John adds the word “truth” for a very good reason. Words can be
empty and actions can be hypocritical. You may choose to do nothing, though
your words promise much. On the other hand, you may do something for
someone, but your motives are impure and your intentions evil. We call this
manipulation. God cares about both our motives and our actions.”
Ways we love in “deed and truth” – right actions and right motives
o Speak truth in love (Eph. 4:15)
2 Timothy 3:16 “All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable
for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in
righteousness, 17 that the man of God[b] may be complete, equipped
for every good work.”
o Generously give Time, Talent, and Treasure
Not only to meet needs, but to build relationships
Matthew 6:19-21 “19 “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on
earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and
steal, 20 but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither
moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal.
21 For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.”
4 different types of relating to others in this chapter: murder (v11-12),
hatred (v13-15), indifference (v16-17), agape love (v18) – which is
how Jesus loves us (v16)
Jesus valued relationship with us….this is why He died…so we
could have an eternal relationship with He and His Father
Conclusion
Poet: Edgar A. Guest – I’d Rather See a Sermon
o I’d rather see a sermon than hear one any day;
o I’d rather one should walk with me than merely tell the way.
o The eye’s a better pupil and more willing than the ear,
o Fine counsel is confusing, but example’s always clear;
o And the best of all the preachers are the men who live their creeds,
o For to see good put in action is what everybody needs.
o
o I soon can learn to do it if you’ll let me see it done;
o I can watch your hands in action, but your tongue too fast may run.
o And the lecture you deliver may be very wise and true,
o But I’d rather get my lessons by observing what you do;
o For I might misunderstand you and the high advise you give,
o But there’s no misunderstanding how you act and how you live.
o When I see a deed of kindness, I am eager to be kind.
o When a weaker brother stumbles and a strong man stays behind
o Just to see if he can help him, then the wish grows strong in me
o To become as big and thoughtful as I know that friend to be.
o And all travelers can witness that the best of guides today
o Is not the one who tells them, but the one who shows the way.
o
o One good man teaches many, men believe what they behold;
o One deed of kindness noticed is worth forty that are told.
o Who stands with men of honor learns to hold his honor dear,
o For right living speaks a language which to every one is clear.
o Though an able speaker charms me with his eloquence, I say,
o I’d rather see a sermon than to hear one, any day.
Amen. Amen.