Loving Others as God Loves — Alan Martin

Knowing God Through Love for One Another

I'm going to read from 1st John chapter 4, 1st John chapter 4, and I'm going to start with verse 7, 1st John chapter 4 verse 7, Beloved, let us love one another, for love comes from God, and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God.

The one who is not loving does not know God, because God is love. So we are the brethren, and that means we are to love one another. And that means if you are loving your brothers, you know God, because God is love, love comes from Him.

And if there is someone here, your brothers here, that you are not loving, you don't know God. You can't know God and not love your brothers, that's not possible. Those that are loving others know God.

Personally, the word there is gidosko, it means first hand experience, personal experience. See that's different than knowing that Jesus died on the cross, that's second hand, someone told us that, their gospel writers told us that.

That doesn't necessarily mean you know God. The evidence that you genuinely know God is you are loving your brothers and your sisters. If you're not loving your brothers and your sisters, you don't know God.

You haven't had a first hand experience with God, you've just heard about it. You hear preaching, you hear teaching, but it's still not a first hand personal thing to you. Verse 9, by this the love of God was manifested among us, that God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, so that the world might live through Him.

God’s Love Reaches the Unlovable

You see, John needs to clarify something. How did God manifest His love? What does the love of God look like? That when you see sin and corruption, when you see someone that's really missing it, when you see someone ungodly and unrighteous and unlovable, God sends His Son to save them.

Is that the way you are? When you see someone unlovable, when you see someone missing it, when you see someone who's not very easy to be around, that's how God manifests His love. He saw it and He sent His Son to save people like that, so that those people could live through Him.

Because we know, just like you and I, before Jesus Christ came, all of us were dead in our trespasses and sin. So, when we see someone who's obviously dead in sin because their mouth is foul, their attitude is bad, the way they are is just bad, are you hoping they live through you?

Is God's love going to manifest through you like it did through His Son? Are you going to be there so that that person can live through you? That's how God manifested His love. Verse 10, and in this is love, not that we love God, but that He loved us.

See, when we talk about love, it's easy for us here to say, and I'm talking to you guys, because we're not talking to them out there, we're talking to each other, it's easy for us to say, I love God. That's not what we're talking about.

The question is not that, do we love God? The question is that God loves us. That's how He manifested and He sent His Son. So the question for us is, do you love your brothers like God loves us? I'm not asking you if you love God, because if you don't love your brothers, you don't love God.

The question we need to be asking ourselves is, am I loving my brothers? Because it's not that we love God, but it's that God loves us. That's what He says, and He sent His own Son to be a propitiation for our sin.

Beloved, if this is the way that God loved us, not that we loved Him, but that He loved us and He sent His Son to make an atonement for our sins, what about that person we see in sin? What about that person who's doing wrong, who's obviously in sin, who we don't like, who we have an aversion to?

Are we going to love them the way God does? God loved the world and He sent His Son so that the world could live through Him. Or are we just going to say, well, no, I love God. Are you going to say you love God if you're not loving those that God sent His Son to save?

Loving Everyone in the Christian Community

Verse 12, no one has ever seen God at any time, but if we are loving one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected among us. Now, can I add a little bit to that? If we are loving one another, God abides in us and His love is perfected among us.

Do you think it's saying if we love that small group of people we get along with, you think that's what He's saying? No. No. Tax collectors do that, don't they? Sinners do that, Gentiles do that. I'm asking, I'm asking you if you love everybody else here, if you care that every other person here is saved from their sin, regardless of how they are, that's how God loved us.

It doesn't mean anything for you to get along with your small little group of people and you just avoid the rest. You may not even know God. If that's the way you are, you may not even know God personally.

Because God did not send His Son into the world when the world was only for those who loved Him. God sent His Son to the rebellious world, the defiant world, the wicked world, to save them from their condition.

Verse 13, by this we know that we abide in Him and He in us because He's given us of His Holy Spirit. We have beheld and bear witness that the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Now, please hear me.

We have not beheld that God sent His Son to be the Savior of our little clique and the rest of them could go to hell. Because that's the way too many of us live. Oh yeah, God loves my group, but the rest of them, they're on their own.

That's not the love of God. Jesus said it's not the sick, it's not the healthy who need a doctor, it is the sick who need the doctor. So my question is, I'm asking you to search your heart and say, is there someone here you don't care for?

Is there someone here that you're not hoping they live because of the love of God pouring forth out through you? Is there someone here you're avoiding? You just assume stay away from? Was that God? If that was God's heart, Jesus would have never been sent.

He's the Savior of the world. That's all. That's pretty universal, isn't it? That's a big category. That's why I can freely say the only ones here who genuinely know God fully love every single other person here the way God loves the world.

That's how you know you love. That's how you genuinely know that you know God. And John, like a good Jew, he's going to say it all over again. You think I'm redundant. John's going to just go over it again.

Okay, same same book. First John. Now, same chapter. Verse 15. First John 4. 15. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the son of God, God abides in him and he in God. Now you would think, okay, well, that's me.

Maybe I don't love everybody, but at least I confess that Jesus is the son of God. Wait a minute. Let's let's break that down a little bit. What is Jesus the son of God sent to do? To save the world? Is that your confession?

That the reason God sent Jesus and made him his son is that for God's love of the world that he gave his only begotten son that whosoever believeth in him might not perish but have everlasting life. Is that your confession that God sent Jesus Christ his son as the savior of the world?

Not not as your savior. There's a lot of us that want to camp there. God sent Jesus to save me. No, no. God sent Jesus to save the world. And is that how you know him? Is that the Jesus you're confessing?

If you genuinely know God, you know that Jesus is there to save sinners. That's the demonstration of God's love for 16. And we have come to know and have believed the love which God has among us. God is love.

And the one who abides in love abides in God and God in him. So those here, John is saying those who are loving like God loves are living in God. That's who lives in God. The ones who are loving as God is.

They're abiding in God and God is abiding in them. By this verse 17 love has been perfected among us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment because as he is and and how is he? He is pouring out his life for others.

He is in the world to save others. He has been sent to redeem people from their sin. That's who he is. Is that how we are in this world? Are we there to save others? Are we there to show them the love of God in hopes that they'll be redeemed and saved from their condition of sin and be forgiven and experience the love of God through us?

If that's how we're living, we have confidence on the day of judgment. Because in this world, we're living our lives exactly like he lived his life. Not just avoiding the bad people and staying away from the ones we don't care for and only caring about our little tight little circle and want to avoid anyone that makes us uncomfortable.

Saving our life from the pain of it. Saving our life from the trouble of it. Wanting to avoid the uncomfortableness from certain people. That's not the love of God. That's the love of self. And even a selfish person can want God to love them.

Even a selfish person can want to go to heaven. A selfish person can want their sins forgiven while they don't care about others. While they treat others like dirt or avoid them or just show them no real kindness and mercy.

They still want mercy for themselves. They still want kindness for themselves. But that kind of person doesn't know God. He's not abiding in the love of God. Verse 18. There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear because fear involves punishment.

And the one who fears is not perfected in love. You know what? I don't know that it's talking about fear of God. It may be. But you know, I don't think too many of us are afraid of God. But you know what some of us are afraid of?

We're afraid of those other people we're avoiding. We're afraid to talk to them. We're afraid to sit at the same table with them. We're afraid they may actually try to get to know us. A person abiding in the love of God doesn't think like that.

It's just not what they think. There's no fear. Not when love's in control. And he goes on to say this. We love because God first loved us. Okay. God loved us. And let's get this straight. When did God love us?

When? When we're yet sinners. That's right. We'll read that here in a minute. And why did God love us? Anybody hear that? Why did God love us? It's not a trick question. God loves us because He is love.

That's what He does. So, God is not loving us because we love Him. That's what He's saying. You get that? God is not loving you and I because we love Him. Guess what? Then why are we loving only those who love us?

That's not God. God loved us before we loved Him. How come that's not our attitude towards others? Even those that don't like us. Even those that are rude and crude and insensitive and wrong. We're not to love them until they love us.

And until they get their act together, we're to avoid them. That is not the way God loved us. The only reason we love God is because He first loved us. So, who's to be the initiator on the loving side?

Who's to be the initiators? We are. We are not to look around for those that can love us and then love them. No. We are to love in the way God loves. We are to love others and in our loving others, we can hope that they will come to love us.

But we are to love. Because God is love. And in verse 20, if someone says, I love God while hating his brother, he is a liar. That's pretty bold, isn't it, for John to make that statement? So, we're here.

At least we know we're family in the Lord. If there is someone we do not love, we don't value, you cannot love God. Don't tell me you love God. You cannot love God and hate another brother or sister in Christ.

And the word hate, meseo in the Greek, means to devalue them. And you know how you can tell you devalue someone? You just avoid them. We are the most polite avoiders. We're good at that. We just make sure we know what table they normally sit at.

And we're not going to make that mistake. We're going to sit over here. Or they come in and we see how they're dressed and it's obviously they don't know God. And we have our attitudes. And I would tell you, if we examine our hearts.

Evidently, even in the early church, John was having to deal with the same thing. Believers not loving other believers in the way that God had loved them. That's what I believe he's dealing with this.

And the thing is, he's having to tell them. He's writing to the church. Now you realize the church would receive this letter. And the only people that would have been gathered there would have been the Christians of that city, right?

So he's reading it to all Christians. Can you imagine hearing it for the first time? You're out there in the congregation. Any of you who claim that you love God, but you don't love everyone else here, you're a liar.

Isn't that kind of what he just said? That's what he said. I think that's what we should believe. I don't know how it's come to be that churches accept the fact. That there can be cliques and groups that don't really embrace and respect and love and honor one another.

The way that the Lord loved the world when he sent his son to be the savior of the world. Because someone quoted this verse. And I agree with him. In Romans chapter 5, verse 6, it says, Paul wrote,. For while we were still weak at the right time, Christ died for the ungodly.

That's asebomai in the Greek. Asebia in the Greek. Asebomai is the verb. Asebia is the noun. Ungodly is an attitude. It's an attitude that doesn't respect God. There are some among us. I'm not saying they're here this morning.

But there are some among us that have no real respect for God. They will shoot off whatever they think. Blank you and blank this or do that. No respect at all. And no fear of God at all. That's who Christ died for.

That's who Christ died for. The ungodly. Those with that kind of attitude. That's the kind of weakness. They're slaves of a sickness called sin in them. Paul goes on to say,. For one will hardly die for a righteous man, though perhaps for a good man someone may dare even to die.

But God demonstrates his own love towards us. That while we were still sinners. Still sinners. Christ died for us. Now. Have you ever wondered how Jesus. Could say this and what he meant when he was hanging on the cross.

And the only people were around. Maybe a few of his followers were there. We know at one time. Mary was there. A couple of the Mary's. Mary's his mother. Another Mary and John. The disciple were there.

Because Jesus spoke to them. But most of the crowd that was around the cross. Were the people who. Condemned Jesus. They were the Jewish leaders. And most of the time they were there. They were mocking him.

Weren't they? And even pilot knew. And Jesus knew. That the reason they handed him over to be crucified. Was that they hated him. They were jealous of him. And here Jesus is hanging on the cross. And he prays.

Something you know. Father. Forgive them. For they know not what they do. Did he know that they hated him? He knew they hated him. He knew they were jealous. He knew they were mocking him. He knew they didn't love the father.

Because they wouldn't receive what the father had said to John the Baptist. They didn't receive him. What could he mean? When they know not what they do. Do you think that the people with the attitude towards God.

That don't fear God. That are just very difficult. Because they have some really bad things in their life. Do you think those people are aware. That they are slaves to sin. That the law of sin in their member.

That their spiritual forces. Corrupting them. Making them prisoners. Causing them to do the things they're doing. Do you think they know that? No. They don't know that. Jesus knew that. Jesus knew that the reason the people were mocking him.

Because they were under slavery. To sin. Something that people don't realize. You and I. Should realize that. That when we encounter someone. Who is just sinning. Doing what sinners do. That that person.

Does not fully know. What they're doing. And we can seek for them to be forgiven. To experience the forgiveness of God. Like we were shown. The mercy and grace. And the forgiveness of God. What do you think Jesus meant.

Loving Enemies and Praying for Persecutors

In Matthew chapter 5. I'm going to go back there. It's a familiar passage to you. Matthew chapter 5 verse 43. You have heard that it was said. You shall love your neighbors and hate your enemies. Some of us.

Some of us live like that's our Bible verse. We love our neighbors. But the rest. No. I don't care for them. That's kind of how too many of us live. But I say to you. You love your enemies. And pray for those who persecute you.

So that you may become. Sons of your father in heaven. You mean loving our enemies. And praying for those who. Make it difficult for us. Makes us sons of our father in heaven. For Jesus said. For he the father.

Causes his son to rise on the evil and the good. And that's happening right now. Do you know that the sun is shining on this church? And the sun is shining on Calaveras Lake. People out there fishing.

The sun is shining on this building. And the sun is shining on every drug house in this entire neighborhood. And God is giving them the light and the sun. Just like he's giving it to us. And when God sends rain.

The wicked get the rain. People grow in pot. In their backyard. They get the rain too. We get it for our nice flower bed in the front. The people grow in pot. They get the rain too. And that's how God our father is.

And evidently becoming perfect like he's perfect. Is loving others the way he does. Obviously he's saying he's not only kind. To those that are kind to him. Luke says that he is kind to the wicked. And the ungrateful.

God is kind to the wicked and the ungrateful. Then he goes on to say. If you love those who love you. What reward do you have? Maybe I could ask this question. So if you stay in your little group that you're comfortable with.

And you avoid the others who you're not. What reward do you have? What's that? Isn't that how tax collectors. You think if there was a group of tax collectors here. They'd probably be sitting all at the same table wouldn't they?

And probably no one else will be. No one else will be sitting there with them. But they're there to support each other. They do that. Jesus said that. And if you greet only your brothers. And the word greet there literally means to draw to yourself.

Okay when we walk in these doors. Either door. Walk or roll in either way. However we get here. Let me ask you something. Who are you looking to greet? Are you looking to greet just those of you. You're connected your brothers.

I want to greet them. Some I don't plan to greet. I know I'm not looking for them. You know what Jesus has said. If you're only looking to greet those who are waiting to greet you. What's that? The Gentiles do that.

That's not like your father in heaven. Your father in heaven sees sinners. Ungodly people in the world. And what does he do? He sends his son to gather them to himself. That means as a church. If we're living in God.

And God is living in us. We're not just going to be looking to draw the people we already know to ourselves. That means we may be looking for the stranger. That person. That's according to Jesus. Then he finishes it with this statement.

Therefore you be perfect. You be perfect as your heavenly father is perfect. You be perfect. That's a challenge isn't it? Well if Jesus said that. Can I say that to you? Is that okay? Tom. You better be perfect towards every person here.

Marie. You better be perfect in heart towards every person here. Everybody. Raymond. Jesse. Joe. Ralph. Every person here you better be perfect towards. Have a perfect heart. A perfect love. A perfect desire for them.

And you better draw them to yourself like they were your best friend. And don't live in the comfort of your little group. That's what the love of God is. And that's what the love of God does. You know Paul used a term.

Hospitality That Makes Strangers Family

Paul was actually kind of famous for putting words together. That sometimes you can't find in other Greek literature. It's only in the Bible. Paul evidently spoke and wrote Greek. Because his letters were written in Koine Greek.

There's two words that Paul put together. One is the basis of the word friend. And the other is the basis of the word stranger. The word friend is phileo, brotherly love. It has the idea of family. It's kind of where we get the English word family.

So if you want I might put it this way. He put the word family and stranger together. And he used it in this sentence in his letter to the Philippians. He said pursue hospitality. And it's the word hospitality.

They translate this word hospitality from this compound word family and stranger. And you know what it means? It means this. Pursue making a stranger feel like family. That's what we're to pursue. That's how we should be known.

That you are so warm and loving and kind and merciful and gracious to others. That they feel like they're your family. That's what we're to pursue as believers. That's what we're to be known for. This is because this demonstrates that we're abiding in God and that God is abiding in us.

We can't demonstrate that if we surround ourselves only with people who make us comfortable. That's not it. That's natural. The world already does that. It's not us. Now does that mean that loving and drawing someone to yourself.

Does that mean everything goes? No. We can speak the truth in love. And there'll be certain things that are not allowed for family because they're not good for family. They're hurtful and harmful to one another.

And in love we can say no more of that. Not at all. That's not loving. That's not healthy. You can't speak to people like that. You can't act like that. You can't do that. And that's love. But you see the difference in speaking the truth in love.

Love hopes all things. Love bears all things. You can bear with a person and say. You. I want you. I want to receive you. But that right there. You've got to deal with that. You've got to deal with that.

Because that is damaging you. And that is damaging others. That's love. Love does not mean anything goes. And what anyone does it goes. No. Because Paul made it very clear in Romans. I think it's chapter 13.

Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil. Cling to what is good. And the basic idea of the Greek word evil. Means it's bad for you. And it is the goodness of God. To be against anything that is bad for you.

So you can have concerns. And even be against the actions that are harmful. But don't be against the person. Don't be against the person. Draw the person to yourself. And seek to have the person redeemed.

Out of their sin. And restore them to God. That is desire for us. To live in love. In that way. And this is. I'll close with this little section of. Well. This. Let me take you to this passage before I close.

Turning Away from Self-Love in the Last Days

If you have your Bibles. Please turn to the book of Timothy. 2nd Timothy. Actually. 2nd Timothy. Chapter 3. I'm just going to take two verses from this passage. And it's interesting. This passage immediately follows.

Paul's counsel to Timothy. About how to deal with opposition. Paul knew that Timothy would face opposition. Even from fellow Christians. And so he counsels him. Not to fight. Don't get into it with people.

The Lord's servant needs to be gentle and kind. And hoping that God grants repentance to those that oppose him. And then he follows that with this. But it's going to get really bad. Dealing with people.

Is going to get really bad in the last days. Chapter 3 of 2nd Timothy. Verse 1. But know this. In the last days. Difficult time will come. For men will be lovers of themselves. And. I'm just going to stop there.

That's the characteristic. They're going to love themselves. So when they come to a place. When someone loves themselves. You know what they're. What they're thinking about. What am I going to get out of it?

What are they going to do for me? How does it make me feel? Am I received? They're not walking in the door looking to meet your needs. They're not coming here. To make sure that someone else feels blessed.

By their being here. No, they're come here because. I want. I need something. I want something. That's characteristic of the last days. Men just love themselves. Not other people. And it goes. I'm going to jump on down to verse.

Verse 4. And he says this. They're going to. They're going to love pleasure. More than they love God. Now. I want to put two thoughts together. And I want to. And hopefully we can see this. Remember. The only real evidence that we genuinely love God.

Because John said that. No one can say, I love God. If they're hating their brother, can they? Only those who are loving their brother. Genuinely. Know and love God. So these people are lovers of sales.

They love pleasure. More than people. They love pleasure. More than people. And they're here to get their own good time. They're here looking for something. They like the breakfast tacos. Or they like the events that we do.

Or they like the stimulation. Whatever it is. But it's not people. It's not people they love. They love pleasure. More. Than people. Having a form of godliness. Denying the power thereof. And you know what?

This is rare. This is rare. But Paul actually tells Timothy. Avoid that type of person. You see someone. It's just all about pleasure. And it's not about people. Pray for that person. But don't spend your time with them.

Avoid them. From such, turn away. That's pretty rare. Because that person. Full of self. Loving pleasure more than others. Is misrepresenting who God is. People. People around us. Are more important than our own personal pleasure.

Since Christ laid down his life for us. That's how we're to lay down our lives for one another. That's the way we're to be. And I will close with this now. The book of Titus chapter 3. Titus chapter 3.

No, I don't need to go there. That's where I need to go. Thank you Lord for reminding me. Colossians chapter 3. Go to Colossians chapter 3. Some of us. I don't know. If you're wrestling with this. Someone might be thinking.

I don't know pastor. It's just not natural to me. It's just not natural to me. To draw someone that I just think is weird to myself. To be friendly or loving to someone that I just would rather stay away from.

That's just not me. I get that. So did Paul. Paul got that too. He gives us some advice. So here's some advice. Colossians chapter 3. Verse 12. So as the elect of God. Those that God has chosen. In other words.

Holy and beloved. Put on a heart of compassion. Alright. That's good news. Look up at me. That means you don't have to have a heart of compassion on your own. Maybe you woke up in the morning. How many of you sleep in your clothes that you wore the day before?

Some do. My kids used to. I mean I know some people do. But most of us take our clothes off when we go to bed. And what do we do when we get up in the morning? Our clothes are not on. We're naked. We have to put clothes on.

So what if you don't have the kind of heart I'm talking about? What did Paul say to do? Put it on. Put it on. Put on compassion. Put on kindness. You put it on. You dress yourself. You think about when you.

Most of you thought about the clothes you were going to wear when you walked in this door. From now on we need to think about. I am going to put on compassion. So when I walk through that door. I am clothed with the compassion of Christ.

Now when I walk through that door. I'm going to put on kindness. And I'm going to look to see who I can be kind to. I'm going to put it on. I'm going to clothe myself. With these things. And God provides the clothes.

So wake up in the morning. And don't just live in your natural self. How many of you leave the house without putting clothes on? Okay. No. You know how to put clothes on. Then do not live in your natural old self either.

Put on the Lord Jesus Christ. Clothe yourself with compassion. Clothe yourself with kindness. Clothe yourself with gentleness. And even if it's not natural to you. Clothe yourself with Christ. Put on the Lord Jesus Christ.

Because it's natural to Him. Put on the Lord. Clothe yourself with Him. And live this life. And this is what will happen. Love is the bond of perfection. That's how a group of people. Very different. Unique.

Unity as the Evidence of Christ’s Work

That's how a group can become a family. Genuinely one. And Jesus. This is what Jesus prayed for. Jesus prayed. That we, the disciples. That those who even came to believe in Him through the disciples.

He said that they would be made perfect in one. Because when the world sees this beautiful unity. This oneness. In the midst of a diverse people. They believe. That's when they recognize. This is a result of God sending Jesus.

The real result. Of God sending Jesus. Is the ability for a people to be one. The unity of the Spirit. Love the bond of perfection. And that's why Jesus said. A new commandment. I give unto you. One commandment.

Love one another. As I have loved you. By this. Not by Baptist. Not by Catholic. Not by Presbyterian. Not by any other. Any other thing. By your loving others. Like He loves you. That's how people know you're His disciple.

That's how they know.