1 John 3:16-18

The sermon that I preached on 10/14

¹⁶ This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers. ¹⁷ If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him? ¹⁸ Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.

In 1993, while on a trip to Sudan, a photographer by the name of Kevin Carter took one of the more remarkable photos of all time. Maybe you've seen it. Just outside a U.N. Feeding center, there's a child hunched over on the ground, with a vulture standing right behind it. This photograph so strikingly captured the starvation that takes place in that part of the world that this photograph won the Pulitzer Prize the following year. But that's not the end of the story. When Carter returned to the US, people wanted to know what happened to the child. All Carter could respond with was, “I don't know.” We might look at a story like that and think, “How could he do that?!” But before we point the finger at him, let's take a look at ourselves. There might be times in our lives when we see someone in need and then just walk away. Our sinful nature wants us to be selfish and think only of our own needs and desires. But In our text today, we see what Christian love really is and how it'll show itself in our lives. As we examine John's words, we'll see that

Christian love is sacrificial

1. He urges us to Know it
2. and to Show it

People talk a lot about love in the world today. They say that the world would be a better place if we could all just love each other a little bit more. But what is love? And how do we show love? Well, John tells us pretty clearly in our text, “This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” Now, that's love. This isn't some warm, fuzzy feeling. No, it's far more than that. Jesus shows us here that his love is sacrificial. We had a need. Our sins had separated us from God. But Jesus loved us, so he laid down his life for you. That's how you know what love is.

So, Jesus has shown us the most perfect love there ever was. Now, what's our response to that? Maybe it's too simple for me to just stand up here and say, “Be like Jesus.” But John's instructions for us are basically right along those lines. He says, “we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers.” So, be like Jesus. But how do we lay down our lives for our brothers? Well, that's gonna look different in each person's life. Maybe a husband would sacrifice a few minutes of sports center each day to talk and listen to your wife. Perhaps as a father you sacrifice a couple hours at work to spend some time with your kids. A student might drop her homework for a little bit to chat with a friend who's going through a rough time. We could go on all day giving examples of how each one of you could sacrifice for others in the different roles that you fill. But you've gotta make that application for yourself. You know your situations in life a whole lot better than I do, and you know the opportunities that come your way to demonstrate Christ-like, sacrificial love. But no matter what place in life you find yourself in, Jesus' sacrifice for you shows you how you can sacrifice for your brothers and sisters in Christ. When we know this perfect love, we are able to show others love in our own lives.

But if I let any of you leave here with the impression that Jesus laid down his life primarily to give you an example of how you should show love in your life, then I haven't done my job, and we're missing the big picture altogether. Jesus' sacrificial love isn't some story that we listen to on Sunday mornings so that we're better people throughout the week. And it's not just knowledge that we've stored away in our minds along with the other facts of history. Instead, your knowledge of Jesus' love is based on the experiences you've had.. I'm not talking about some mystical experience here. No, I'm talking about the very real, life-changing ways that you have experienced Jesus' love in your life. For example, because of Jesus' sacrificial love, God welcomed you into his family at baptism. The love of Jesus allows you to experience God's peace as you read the promises that God has recorded for us in his Word. You experience Jesus' love every time you receive his body and blood in the Lord's Supper. Jesus' love is far more than an exemplary story.

Let's take a look again at the passage to see exactly why Jesus laid down his life. “Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” The most important thing for you to know about love is that Jesus loved you enough to lay down his life in your place. Because of that sacrificial act of love, eternal life is yours.

This knowledge of Jesus' sacrificial love for you is really where our conversation about Christian love always needs to start. It's only when we properly know about Jesus' love for us that we're able to show that love to others in our lives.

We have to start there because any Christian love that we have in our hearts is a response to God's grace. Later on in the letter of 1 John there's the familiar passage that says, “We love because God first loved us.” That principle is something that I think we've covered pretty well: Christians love because Jesus loved us. But in the next two verses John gives some pretty specific and striking applications of that principle.

Verse 17 says, “If anyone has material possessions and sees his brother in need but has no pity on him, how can the love of God be in him?” That's a pretty convicting statement in Scripture, isn't it? I think that, if we're honest, we'll admit that there are some times when we would rather just turn a blind eye to someone in need. Now, let's be clear that this doesn't mean that you should doubt your salvation if you don't donate to every cause that comes along asking for money. No, we're saved by grace alone, not grace plus donations or anything else. But still, the natural conclusion that we come to is this: If Christian love is a fruit of faith, a lack of Christian love shows a serious, spiritual problem. If you know and understand the sacrificial love that Jesus has shown to you, how could you not have compassion on a fellow Christian in need? But, I'm confident that you all know what it's like to feel pity when you see or hear about a fellow believer in need.

But it doesn't stop there with feeling pity. When Jesus saw us in our fallen state, he did more than simply pity us. His compassion moved him to action. It moved him to sacrifice his own life for the sake of ours. The same is true for us. When we see fellow believers in need, we don't simply feel bad for them and then do nothing about it. No, Christian love moves believers to sacrifice in order to meet the needs of others.

John encourages us to demonstrate that love by saying, “Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” For an example of how to put our love into actions, think about how Jesus interacted with people during his time on earth. The Bible tells us that he had compassion on the crowds that came to him. This compassionate love led him to heal many of their sicknesses and diseases, but there was still more to it than that. He not only took care of their physical needs, but he also shared God's Word with them and prayed for their spiritual condition.

As we show love to fellow Christians, we follow Jesus' model. We show our love in deeds. Those deeds will vary based on the situation we're in. While we can't heal sicknesses like Jesus could, we can provide physical and financial assistance to people in need. Perhaps that would be sending a few dollars to a relative who's fallen upon some tough times. Maybe it would mean donating to a food pantry. But maybe you're not in a position right now where you can give much money to other people. That doesn't mean that you can't show people your love through your actions. As you come across people in your life with needs, you can love them by praying for them. You can love God's people by volunteering your time and talents in the service of the church. However it is that you show love to fellow believers through your actions, all these deeds give thanks to Jesus for the love that he showed us.

While it is true that part of us might want to just turn a blind eye when we see people in need, we can overcome that sinful desire. Listen again to the secret to showing love in our lives: “Jesus Christ laid down his life for us.” When we know that sacrifice and what it means for us, we respond by showing Christian love with our own sacrificial actions.