The Love of God Displayed in His People

1 John 3:11-24 - Riley Boggs

Is love voluntary or involuntary? Can you make your heart want certain things, or does the heart simply want what the heart wants? What about people? Do you choose who you love, or does your heart compel you to love someone? These are tricky questions, and if we turn to culture for the answer we aren’t going to get any help. To them, it’s all subjective. Some love is good, some love is bad, some love is unchangeable, some love has to be changed, and so on. 

What does the Bible tell us? Well we know we are commanded to “love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” That seems like an active choice. But Jeremiah 17:9 says, “The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?” and Paul says, “15 For I do not understand my own actions. For I do not do what I want, but I do the very thing I hate.” That makes it seem involuntary. What’s the answer?

  I don’t think there is one. This is the reality of being human, specifically sinful humans. Our heart can deceive us and make us love wrongly, and at the same time we can choose to love what is right, and begin help our hearts love more accurately. When the Lord saves someone, this reordering of the heart begins. Desires begin to change, and for the rest of their life they reorder their heart.

This is the reality that John speaks into in our passage today. He reminds us that in one sense, every human heart loves sin, and hates what is right. But when God saves someone, their heart changes, and the process begins. For those of here today who are living this process, I have 3 points from the text that I hope can help us navigate this process. 

1.) Unlike the world, we must love the church. (vv.11-15)

2 weeks ago I made the point from the second chapter of this book that loving the church is not optional for Christians. You simply do not have the choice. If you call yourself a follower of Christ, but hate the people that Christ came to save, you are proving yourself to not be a follower of Christ at all. John circles back to that same line of thinking here in verses 11-15. This time, however, he makes a distinction between the worlds view of the church and the believers view of the church, and he does it by referring to the story of Cain and Able.

I had the story of Cain and Able read for a middle Scripture reading so that we can remember what happened. Cain was the very first human to ever be conceived and born of a woman. He was the son of Adam and Eve. After Cain, Adam and Eve had a second son named Able. One day, both sons made an offering to God. And for reasons that aren’t directly given in the text, God accepted Ables, and did not accept Cains. Maybe it was Cain’s heart in the offering, maybe it was something else. The point is that God did not accept it, and we can be sure that God did not accept it for the good and righteous reason. This of course made Cain angry, and so the Lord spoke directly to him warning him to put away the sin that was starting to arise out of his anger. But instead of listening to the Lord, Cain waited until they were in the field, and he killed his own brother. The first 2 sons ever born, and one killed the other. 

If Adam and Eve hadn’t seen the repercussions of their decisions yet, which I think they had, this surely showed them. The effects of the fall had resulted in the murder of their son, by their other son.

John brings this story up to remind the church of the evil intent within the heart of all mankind. Ever since the fall, ever since sin entered the world, every single human is totally depraved. They have a corrupt heart. A heart that does not desire the Lord, but evil. Maybe this truth seems very real to you, or maybe it seems like, from your experience, that people are mostly good. Though this may seem like the case, the Bible is clear that people are not mostly good. 

Listen to what Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 2:5-12 concerning the evil of mankind and the second coming of Jesus.

“5 Do you not remember that when I was still with you I told you these things? 6 And you know what is restraining him now so that he may be revealed in his time. 7 For the mystery of lawlessness is already at work. Only he who now restrains it will do so until he is out of the way. 8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”

Paul says that people are evil, through and through, and it is only God restraining them from carrying out their evil deeds that allows the world to continue. If God did not restrain them at all, evil would run so rampant that it would likely wipe out all humankind. Maybe that feels like an overstatement, but I don’t think it is. And if you look at the way the Bible discusses the heart of unbelievers and what they seek most, I think we can say that with confidence. 

At salvation, God takes our hearts of stone and gives us a heart of flesh, and He begins the reordering our desires, the reordering of our heart. For some that is dramatic, for some maybe not so much. But this heart of stone is one that is wicked and self-serving, and it is the heart that Cain used to kill his brother. 

And that is the point that John is making here. If you act like Cain, if you have a heart that hates your brothers and sisters, then you are showing yourself to have a heart of stone. More specifically, if you have been saved, if you have passed from death to life, then you have been given a heart that should love God’s people. Distinct from the world, you love the people God loves. You love the people who Christ died for you. You do not hate your brothers and sisters, which John says is murder, but you love them.

And, knowing what we know now concerning the heart of man before salvation, John reminds us that we should expect to be hated. As the church, as a follower of Christ, you should expect to be hated. Why though? What about a church that is characterized by love, kindness, hospitality, and seeking justice? Why would the world hate that? Martin Luther says it is actually because the church does those things. He said this,

  “What sin against the world did the beloved apostles commit? They desired the injury of none, but went about in extreme poverty and toil, teaching mankind how, through faith in Christ, to be saved from the devil’s kingdom and from eternal death. This the world will not hear and suffer; hence the hue and cry: “Kill, kill these people? Away with them from off the earth! Show them no mercy!” Why this hostility? Because the apostles sought to relieve the world of its idolatry and damnable doings. Such good works the world could not tolerate. What it desires is nothing but praise and commendation for its own evil doings, expecting from God the impossible endorsement, “Your deeds are good and well-pleasing to me. Pious children of mine are you. Just keep on cheerfully killing all who believe and preach my Word.

In the same way does the world conduct itself today with reference to our Gospel. For no other reason are we hated and persecuted than because we have, through God’s grace, proclaimed his Word that recovered us from the blindness and idolatry in which we were sunken as deeply as the world, and because we desire to rescue others. That is the unpardonable sin by which we have incurred the world’s irreconcilable anger and its in- extinguishable hatred. It cannot permit us to live.”

The point is this. The world hates the church because we love God, and they hate Him. I think in our modern context one of the clearest examples of this is our position on abortion. We see every single human being, from the moment they are conceived, are valuable because they are made in the image of God. Unlike anything else. They deserve respect and love, and certainly deserve the right to be human. That is the stance of the church, and we are hated for it. Violently hated at that. We simply want the precious life humans to be saved, and because of it we are considered hateful bigots who want to control women’s bodies. It’s so far from the truth, but we should expect it. As God’s people, who have a heart that is capable of loving what is good and Godly, we should be on the frontlines of standing for justice in these things. We cannot expect those who do not have a heart capable to happen into it. 

We are a people who should expect hate, but are characterized by love. Specifically a love for God, the things of God, and in this text specifically, the church.

2.) Our love for the church ought to go beyond our words (vv.16-18)

John goes on to tell us how we should love the church. At first reading it may seem like what John is calling us to is simply to be willing to die for another. Right? In the same what that Christ died for us, so we should be willing to die for one another. And sure, in some extreme examples that may be the case, but I don’t think that is what John is getting at here. No, I think he is saying that we should love one another in the same manner that Christ loved us when he died for us. A selfless and sacrificial love that goes beyond our words.

John gives us a very practical example here. He says, if anyone in the church is in need, and you are able to meet that need,  you should. We shouldn’t turn a blind eye from the needs of our brothers and sisters while we continue to have more and more. Actually, John calls this “closing your heart against him.” In other words, if you decide that your things are more important to you than your brother or sister’s needs, then you are showing where your heart lies. Your heart is devoted to your stuff, not God and His people. And that is not the heart of one who knows Christ, or at least it shouldn’t be. No, a heart that knows Christ is one that is quick to meet the needs of others, knowing that everything we have is God’s and He has called us to do so. That is what it looks like to love the church, in a similar manner that Christ loves us. Selfless and sacrificial. This is both applicable in our regular giving to the church and to the specific meeting of needs within the church, beyond finances. It means selfless and sacrificial with our lives.

I’m sure you have heard the saying, “words are cheap” or “talk is cheap” right? Personally, I don’t like this phrase at all. I think words matter a ton, and you can do some serious good or bad with your words. I don’t think words are cheap, but I do think that if we are not acting in a way that supports our words, we are making them cheap. This what John is getting at in verse 18. He isn’t saying don’t use words or talk to love because they are useless. No, he is saying if you’re going to say that you love the church, your actions ought to prove your words to be true. If you say, I love the church, but you never attend and are quick to slander people in the church, you don’t love the church at all. On the other hand, if you say that you love the church and you live a life that is characterized by loving the body of Christ, you are proving your words to be true. Contrary to making your words cheap, you are making your words valuable.

When it comes to loving the church, we shouldn’t even have to tell people that we love the church. If someone were to watch the way you live your life, they would see clearly that you do. You fellowship with them, you pray for them, you rejoice with them, you cry with them, at times you sacrifice your own desires for theirs, and you meet their needs when you are able.

This kind of love is distinctly Christian, and it is what will be a large part of what sustains us as a church. The love of Christ poured out on us and demonstrated through us to one another will be the thing that binds us together. It will enable us to be a healthy, Christ-centered, edifying body of believers.

3.) God’s love for us should give us confidence before Him in prayer (vv.19-24)

These verses at the beginning of this section sort of tripped me up this week. For some reason, I was getting tangled in the words and having a hard time understanding exactly what John was trying to get across here. While I was studying and trying to find the meaning, I came across a helpful illustration from Adrian Rogers. He said this, “You and your wife are having a horrendous argument and you're both filled with bitterness and hostility and you're saying all kinds of horrid things and then you discover your baby is sick and has a high fever. You say, Well, we need to pray, and you and your husband get down on your knees to pray. Don't you feel silly? I mean, don't you feel silly? You know exactly what you've got to do first. What? Honey, I'm sorry, forgive me, God have mercy on us. Why? You can't pray ("have confidence" or boldness before God) with that hostility in your heart? Why? Because your heart condemns you and you have no confidence toward God.”

I think this is a helpful illustration, maybe even application, of what John is saying here. Even as believers, your heart is going to lie to you. Our heart will never be perfectly ordered on this side of heaven. It is going to condemn you and tell you that you cannot approach God in prayer, or at least not with any confidence. When you sin, and you feel all kinds of shame settling in, your heart might tell you that the Father is so tired of you messing up. That he is tired of forgiving you for the same thing over and over again, and He definitely isn’t in the mood to grant you any favors right now, so don’t even think about asking. If you constantly feel like you’re condemned, and you are struggling with assurance, it is going to keep you from going to the Lord in confidence. It will make you timid in your going to the Lord in prayer and timid in what you ask of Him. That is what John is getting at here. If you’ve experienced this in your life before, you know how paralyzing it can be. You get stuck between knowing what you should do, but feeling totally unable to.

So what is the remedy for that person whose heart continually condemns them? Don’t listen to your heart, listen to the Word of God. The Word of God says that God is greater than your heart, and He knows your sin better than you do. He knows about sins you didn’t even know you had committed, and might never even repent of, yet He does not hesitate to forgive you for them. He loves you with a never-ending love, and there are no contingencies. He desires that you come to Him with all your sin, with all your guilt, with all the lies your heart might be telling you. He wants to feel the forgiveness and joy that was bought for you. He wants you to come to him in confidence. God is greater than your heart! 

When our heart is not condemning us, and we are trusting in the Word of God, then we can pray with confidence. And when we do, verse 22 says whatever we ask of Him, we will receive, because we are being obedient. Now you may ask, does he mean this literally? That if you pray with confidence, your prayers will always be answered? No, I don’t think that is it. He is saying that when we are obedient in the ways he described in verse 23, believing in Christ, loving one another, and seeking to keep His commandments, then we will find ourselves praying in accordance with the will of God. He will use your prayers as the means to His sovereign end.

John Calvin said that obedience and answered prayers are certainly linked, but your obedience is not the agent of answered prayers. In other words, just because we obey does not mean we will get all that we ask. However, if we are obeying, we will see more of our prayers being answered. That is because the reason I just mentioned. When we are obeying, when we are confident in what He has said, then we will pray the will of God more often. The Spirit will use you, and even grant you the thoughts and words to pray, so that you can see so clearly that God used your prayer to fulfill His plan.

What about when you come to Him with a confident heart, in obedience, and seeking to pray in accordance with His will, and He doesn’t give us what we asked for? Know that whatever He is doing instead, is better for you. I know that seems untrue, because so often in my own prayers I say something like this, “God, would you please do this thing for me? I know it is what I need.” But in my head, I think, “and if you don’t do that, which is the best option, will you at least do something that is almost as good?” That is just not the truth. Whatever God does, is best, and so if He does not do what you have requested, know whatever He does is the better thing. Always. 

Romans 8:26-28 says this, “26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because[g] the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

God is working all things, no exception, together for your good. God loves His people. Remember this, and let it give you confidence before Him in prayer. He wants what is best for you, and He will provide it when we ask. Your heart may try to deceive you in this, but that is why he has given us things to remember the truth. And one of those, is the Lord’s Supper. A tangible reminder that though we are by nature sinful and unable to save ourselves from the wrath that we deserve, God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to die for us. To take on our sins, to bear the wrath of God on our behalf, to save all who would call upon His name. And then He resurrected to demonstrate His power over sin and death itself, ascended to heaven, and will one day come back for His bride, the church.