By This! (Part 3)

TEXT:

‘By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren’ (1 John 3:16)

THOUGHT:

Gold and silver are hallmarked to denote their purity and value. Without that hallmark there is no guarantee those metals are genuine. It has to be added by the Official Assayer offices.

“By this” is the verification code for the Christian. This phrase helps us to know whether our faith and lifestyle is genuine Christianity, and also to protect us from being deceived by anyone pretending to be a true Christian when they are not. It’s not what we say about ourselves that is important, but whether our lives line up with the Word of God.

Part 1 studied, “Our relationship with the Father”, through love and obedience, knowing the truth and experiencing His abiding presence.

Part 2 studied, “Our relationship with the Holy Spirit”. The Spirit of Truth in a world full of error. His indwelling presence brings the assurance of salvation and the promise to comfort, teach, empower and lead the believer.

Finally we consider, ”Our Relationship with Fellow Christians”. 

Our Relationship With Fellow Christians

‘By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and keep His commandments’ (1 John 5:2).

‘By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another’ (John 13:35).

It is a condition of Christianity – ‘He who loves God must love his brother also’ (1 John 4:21).

God’s love outworked from our lives towards fellow Christians and the lost shows the genuineness of our faith. ‘Beloved, if God so loved us, we also ought to love one another’ (1 John 4:11). The Bible is really saying, “There is no such thing as an unloving Christian!”

There is a contradiction within Christianity – ‘If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen?’ (1 John 4:11).

Why did Jesus stress love so much if it was not important? In the town where I pioneered a church were two churches that the community had given the nicknames of “Spite” and “Envy” because they did not get along with each other. Unsurprisingly both buildings are now closed and used for other purposes.

Paul urged the Corinthian Christians to be more loving to each other, ‘For you are still only baby Christians, controlled by your own desires, not God’s. When you are jealous of one another and divide up into quarrelling groups, doesn’t that prove you are still babies, wanting your own way? In fact, you are acting like people who don’t belong to the Lord at all’ (1 Corinthians 3:3 TLB).

In John’s epistle we read of a three-fold warning to so-called Christians who do not practise love.

• They are not of God – ‘Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother’ (1 John 3:10).
• They abide in death – ‘He who does not love his brother abides in death’ (1 John 3:14).
• They are a liar – ‘If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar’ (1 John 3:14, 4:20). This is repeated for emphasis.

When I look at other Christians, I can only see a few of their imperfections. When God looks at me He can see every one of mine. If God chooses to love me in spite of everything negative, I have no excuse not to allow that same, abiding love help me to love fellow Christians.

Unforgiveness has a death principle in it. It destroys the one who does not forgive, regardless of whether they are in the right or wrong. Jesus was very clear in His teaching, ‘So shall my heavenly Father do to you if you refuse to truly forgive your brothers’ (Matthew 18:35 TLB).

It is a confirmation of Christianity – ‘Then Peter began to say to Him, “See, we have left all and followed You”.  Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or motheror wife or children orlands, for My sake and the gospel’s,who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, withpersecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life”’ (Mark 10:28-30.

Peter was not being boastful otherwise Jesus would have rebuked him. He wanted to know if it was worth giving up everything to follow Christ.

It is wonderful when I can go anywhere in the world and find Christians who are willing to host me, provide meals and transport me around, simply because they see me as their brother in Christ. They want to do for me what they would have done for Christ.

Jesus made it clear that even someone who gives a cup of cold water to another Christian will not go unrewarded. We give out of love not to get, but God honours and rewards in a far superior way to anything we have given.

It’s time to kick out unforgiveness and let the love of God be seen in our churches and communities. Then the world will see genuine Christianity!