Loving One Another

Loving One Another

What It Means for Christians to Love One Another

John 13:34,35

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

May 15, 2016 PM BBC Ballincollig

www.biblebc.com

I. Introduction (John 13:34,35)

A. It is the night just before Jesus is crucified…

1. Jesus has just finished eating His last supper with his eleven disciples

2. Judas had left the table and gone to secretly gather some soldiers together to capture Jesus out under the cover of darkness in the Garden of Gethsemane in a few hours

3. In the course of the next three chapters, Jesus prepares them for what was about to happen to Him, and to them

4. But He starts with something He calls, “a new commandment”…

B. Jesus Commands His disciples to love each other!

1. A command directed TO those fledging disciples sitting at that table with Him

2. What an unusual command!

3. To love each other just as much as HE had loved them!

C. Christians don’t always get along

1. Some for good reason

2. But, most for no good reason at all

3. The disciples of Christ envied each other, argued with each other, sometimes walked away from each other

4. They struggled with learning how to keep this command of Christ

5. But in the end, they did learn!

D. A Pastor’s Challenge

1. A woman in church was surprised one Sunday day when another woman, who had often snubbed her, went out of her way to give her a big hug before the church service. She was shocked, and wondered what had initiated her change of heart. She got her answer at the end of the service when the pastor instructed, "Your assignment for next week is the same as last week. I want you to go out there and show kindness to somebody else you just can't stand."

2. Heh heh heh!

3. But, If loving others were only as easy as giving a hug to someone you don't like, we all could almost excel in love. Just hug them and move on!

4. But, love is a bit more difficult than that.

5. It requires continual effort and hard work, because at the heart of loving others is putting the other person ahead of you, and that is always a huge battle. Our default way of living is selfishness, and not love. For this reason, the New Testament as a whole and the apostle John in particular never stop exhorting us to love the Christian family of believers.

E. Do you know HOW to love other believers? Not just say it, but DO it?

F. Do you think you do it well?

1. Some say "Yes", but they either rarely assemble with the people they are supposed to love or they only get together just ONE day a week.

2. When is the last time that you told a brother or sister in Christ that you loved them?

3. You say, “I don’t do stuff like that”

4. Shame on you! It is time to START doing that!

5. Bible believing Christianity has lost a lot of ground, simply because we have lost our heart, our ability to love each other!

G. This morning, may some of us get our hearts back!

II. Message

A. First of all, What Does it Mean to Love One Another? To “love the brethren”?

1. Love is a visible act of an invisible attitude of kindness towards real, physical people – it is not just a feeling!

2. You can read about “love” all day every day, in all the romance novels, and watch all the chick-flicks ever filmed, and still be none-the-wiser.

3. So, what does it mean for Christians to love one another? (Gal 6:10)

a. To be kind, specifically towards other believers

b. To treat them like family – not like strangers, or passengers on a bus – but like the most important people in your life!

c. To take care of those that are following Jesus just as if they were your literal flesh and blood brothers and sisters

1) Even though they may be different in culture, or colour, or language

2) Even though they may be immature, or more mature

3) Even though they may have been hurtful towards you in the past

4) Care about the battles people are going through – spiritual as well as physical and emotional

5) Be a friend to as many believers as possible

6) Care about your pastor – your pastor’s wife

7) Take good care of those that teach in children’s church, that drive the church bus

8) THAT’S a part of what it means to love one another!

d. To love is be actively doing and thinking and feeling tender, kind things towards another person irrespective of their perceived worth

1) Jesus said, don’t just love those that love you – that is easiest

2) Love those that hurt you, and even hate you!

3) Love those that can never love you back even!

4) Whew!

4. The goal is to have two things just like Christ: His way of THINKING, and His way of LOVING

a. His way of THINKING (Philp 2:1-8) – like minded

1) How does Jesus think about people? You start doing the same!

2) Develop Unity – have One mind – HIS mind!

3) Lowliness of mind - humility

4) Esteeming each other better than yourselves (Romans 12:4,5,9,10)

a) Rom 12:4 For as we have many members in one body, and all members have not the same office:

b) Rom 12:5 So we, being many, are one body in Christ, and every one members one of another.

c) Rom 12:9 Let love be without dissimulation. Abhor that which is evil; cleave to that which is good.

d) Rom 12:10 Be kindly affectioned one to another with brotherly love; in honour preferring one another;

5) Concerned with taking care of each other’s needs – AGAIN… thinking about others!

6) Not thinking of yourself, or your reputation, but other people

7) Just Serving one another – to the point of washing each other’s FEET!

b. His way of LOVING – like hearted!

1) Have compassion and pity on each other

a) 1Pe 3:8 Finally, be ye all of one mind, having compassion one of another, love as brethren, be pitiful, be courteous:

b) 1Pe 3:9 Not rendering evil for evil, or railing for railing: but contrariwise blessing; knowing that ye are thereunto called, that ye should inherit a blessing.

2) Doing NO ILL to another believer – sounds like the Hippocratic Oath “do no harm to patients”

a) Rom 13:8 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law.

b) Rom 13:10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.

c) Eph 4:2 With all lowliness and meekness, with longsuffering, forbearing one another in love;

d) Let them hurt YOU, but not the other way around!!!!!!!

3) But rather sacrificing our wants for another’s

5. If you have THOSE two things right, then you will be loving the right way

6. How many of us have these two things right? NONE OF US! As I expected!

B. A good example of Christian brethren loving other Christian brethren (Acts 2:40-47)

1. Peter is preaching to 10,000 devout, zealous, religious, hard-headed Jews in Jerusalem

2. Tells them to turn from their murderous religion, to faith in the risen Jesus Christ!

3. 3,000 gladly received, believed, and were baptized, and then those same 3,000 people joined the new church in Jerusalem!

4. How were these 3,000 new believers going to get along with the 120 original ones that had gathered in that upper room in Acts 1?

a. They accepted each other – became a church – wasn’t a once off experience and then went back to normality! No! They were birds of a feather, and they wanted to be together!

b. Loved learning new doctrine – from the apostles. Loved learning the Bible! THAT is the reason why we have church – not just for fun and fellowship, but to know the truth that makes and keeps us FREE men and women!

c. Loved fellowshipping! Just fellowshipped a lot together – talking, listening, spending time together

d. Loved eating together - Ate together a lot

e. Took everything very serious! Not frivolous about our relationship and responsibilities towards other believers; and church was NOT just for fun! Very serious about what they were doing

f. They loved just being together – not on their own anymore!

g. They stopped worrying about possessions and things, and money, and success!

1) Had all things common

2) Sold everything they had to meet the needs of the new believers

3) Remember, they lost their families, jobs, houses, when they turned from Judaism to following Jesus Christ!

4) No social welfare; just a bunch of Christians, who decided to sell things and give the monies to the apostles to distribute to people’s needs!

h. They loved Praising God together

1) Continued to meet together daily, worshipping Jesus in the temple and in everyone’s house

2) They had such Unity

3) They had such Joy

i. Their loved showed – it caused the outsiders to respect this new faith

j. And that Church grew!

5. That’s how all believers, in every age and in every country should love one another!

6. Throughout history, real, honest to God, Biblical churches have been built not just on Biblical truth, right doctrine, and great preaching… but on each and every born again believer loving each and every other born again believer!

C. How Do We Love One Another

1. We do it In Obedience to a Commandment (John 13:34,35)

a. It is Christ’s commandment

1) Whether we understand it or not

2) Whether we agree with it or not

3) Whether we find it easy or not

4) If we want to follow Jesus Christ, we have to love those who follow Jesus Christ!

5) Joh 15:12 This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.

6) Joh 15:13 Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.

7) Joh 15:14 Ye are my friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

8) Joh 15:17 These things I command you, that ye love one another.

b. It is a NEW commandment

1) Not found in the first big Ten Commandments

2) But part of the greater expectations that Jesus has of us – greater than all the Old Testament Commands

c. It is for believers to treat other believers well – people who claim to be following Jesus

1) Not for society, or culture, or the government, or other religions – but for believers!

2) 1Jn 3:23 And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

d. Therefore, NOT loving the brethren is a sin! WOW!

1) If you just sneak into church at the last minute, and then rush out, without ever caring about another soul, you have sinned

2) If you don’t pray for, and actively love the brethren, you are sinning against Christ!

2. We are to Love each Other Like Jesus Loved US - “As I have loved you”

a. Not just DIY – whew! That is so lame! To actually we are doing good by OUR own definition of love when all we mean is we TOLLERATE each other! But not actually love!

b. We have to follow a very specific pattern – Jesus’!

c. As God SO loved us

1) Starts with God the Father SO loving the Son

a) John 15:9 As the Father hath loved me, so have I loved you: continue ye in my love.

2) Jesus the Son of God, so Loved US

a) When we were ungodly, or backslidden, or mean, or hurtful – He loved us

b) He puts up with us – forbearing, longsuffering (1Cor 13:4)

3) We are called to love one another

a) 1Jn 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

3. As a Way of Life

a. Loving means more than just the words we say (1John 3:18)

b. It is something we have to do all day, every day!

c. Eph 5:2 And walk in love, as Christ also hath loved us, and hath given himself for us an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweetsmelling savour.

d. Heb 13:1 Let brotherly love continue.

4. It is the result of the New Birth (Gal 5:22)

a. You can’t fake it, or work it up. It has to be given to you by the Holy Spirit of God!

b. 1Jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

c. 1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

d. Loving the brethren actually proves that you HAVE been born again

1) 1John 13:14-18

2) 1John 4:12, 20; 5:1

5. It Takes Work to Love Right

a. It does not just happen naturally

b. To actually love! To do it continuously, and from the heart!

c. You and I have to work at Constantly Adding it to new areas of your life (2Peter 1:7)

1) Towards new people

2) During the good times and then the hard times

d. Our love for others must grow the longer we are saved

1) 1Th 3:12 And the Lord make you to increase and abound in love one toward another, and toward all men, even as we do toward you:

2) 1Th 4:9 But as touching brotherly love ye need not that I write unto you: for ye yourselves are taught of God to love one another.

3) 1Th 4:10 And indeed ye do it toward all the brethren which are in all Macedonia: but we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more;

e. Spend time just listening to the voice of the Author of this Book, page by page, chapter by chapter

f. The foundation of discipleship – of our own spiritual growth - is directly connected to how close we are to Him in our heart and life

g. We have to learn how to love right (1Thes 4:9) – we are TAUGHT of God to love

6. It Involves Serving One Another

a. Meeting other’s needs along with our own

b. Praying for one another – for them to succeed even if you and I don’t

c. Being Content with one another

d. Be Spontaneous – not ordered to do something out of love

e. With no strings attached

f. I know this is just going in one ear and out the other

g. But it must be said, and must be pled, or else I am not doing my job

7. And being Careful in our Criticisms

a. There are times and reasons for separating from brethren

1) When they sow discord – division

2) When they cause you to sin

3) When they themselves live in open sin and refuse correction

b. Do you know why so many of us are so cold towards each other, and even towards God? (Mt 24:12)

1) All the sin on your TV and smartphone

c. Do you know why you will never get free from smoking, or from depression, and anger, and bitterness, and selfishness?

1) Because you hang around people who do not love the Lord

2) You may even be spending a lot of time watching youtubes that cause anger and a critical spirit to rise up in you

d. Cut of off – put it off! THAT’S love!

e. Just be careful of a haughty spirit – constantly finding and seeing faults

D. Why Is It So Important?

1. It is the foundation of everything Jesus taught, and everything we do

a. There are 49 commands Jesus specifically gives His followers

b. This is THE most important commandment Jesus gave, because evidently it is the one that is constantly repeated!

c. So much of the New Testament is focused on loving God and loving each other, and loving our neighbours, and loving the lost, and even loving our enemies

d. 1Jn 3:11 For this is the message that ye heard FROM THE BEGINNING, that we should love one another.

e. The central activity of a church is the loving of itself – not self-love, but building itself up (Eph 4:16) making sure everyone in a church and every believer we meet is encouraged, and helped, and ministered to, and loved as a brother or sister!

f. Think about this!

1) All of our efforts, when done without love and charity are just wasted efforts – noise, vain things (1Cor 13)

2) All the morals, all the doctrine, all the truths won’t prove anything to anyone

3) But truth, spoken in love; morals lived by love; and doctrine taught in love, will convince the hardest heart!

2. It Proves We Love God (1John 3,4)

a. Many people are religious, but neither know God, nor love God, because they don’t love the Lord Jesus, and they don’t love those that follow Jesus!

b. If we say we love God, then we HAVE to love each other also (1John 4:21)

c. And if WE do not love one another, WE do not even know God (1John 4:7,8,11,12)!

1) 1Jn 4:7 Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God.

2) 1Jn 4:8 He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.

3) 1Jn 4:11 Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.

4) 1Jn 4:12 No man hath seen God at any time. If we love one another, God dwelleth in us, and his love is perfected in us.

d. The proof of our love for Christ is found in our love for “the brethren” – love for REAL, problematic, hurtful, flawed people that are following Jesus!

e. To say you love God and still hate and fight your fellow believer, it to lie, and still abide in darkness!!!

1) 1Jn_4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

2) 1Jn_3:14 We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother ABIDETH IN DEATH.

3) 1Jn_3:15 Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.

3. It makes up for every failure and weakness in a church (1Peter 4:8,9)

a. 1Pe 4:8 And above all things have fervent charity among yourselves: for charity shall cover the multitude of sins.

b. 1Pe 4:9 Use hospitality one to another without grudging.

c. Problems in the church are either directly or indirectly connected to lack of LOVE for one another

1) The fact of people coming in late

2) That people don’t even make the effort to come to church every Sunday

3) The fact that people are hurting, and no one Is caring or doing anything about it

4) The fact that visitors come and see cliques and pride and people rushing out from church when it is over

5) Anyone that gossips in a church, just does not love their church

d. Fervent charity – the charity burns up the disappointment, the arguments, the griping, the backstabbing

III.

IV. Conclusion

A. Do you know HOW to love other believers?

B. Do you think you do it well?

1. Some say "Yes", but they either rarely assemble with the people they are supposed to love or they only get together just ONE day a week.

2. When is the last time that you told a brother or sister in Christ that you loved them?

3. You say, “I don’t do that” Shame on you! It is time to START doing that!

4. Bible believing Christianity has lost a lot of ground, simply because we have lost our heart

C. Jesus Commands US to love each other!

1. To love each other just as much as HE had loved us!

2. To be kind, specifically towards other believers

3. To treat them like family – not like strangers, or passengers on a bus – but like the most important people in your life!

a. Even though they may be different in culture, or colour, or language

b. Even though they may be immature, or more mature

c. Even though they may have been hurtful towards you in the past

D. How Do We Love One Another

1. In Obedience to His Command

a. Fearing that, NOT loving the brethren is a sin!

2. Like Jesus Loved US - “As I have loved you”

3. As a Way of Life

4. Because of the New Birth

5. It will always take a lot of work to love