Bound by Love: Obeying God, Loving One Another | 1 John 5:2-3

start here by let's turn to 1st John chapter 5 1st

John chapter 5 and I'll start in verse 2 1st

John 5 verse 2 God's Word speaks to us today and says by this we know that we love the children of God when we love

God and do his commandments for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome this is

God's Word amen so the the main thesis for this sermon is you can see based on the title

I modified it slightly it is called bound by love bound by love obeying

God loving one another bound by love obeying God loving one another it's not obeying

God and loving one another because that implies a little too much separation but rather obeying

God loving one another or even obeying God by loving one another that's something that will be very relevant for today's passage and by a brief recap here we saw last week last

Lord's Day the source of our faith which comes by God's regenerating Holy Spirit and means of grace such that everyone who believes has been born of him already right and we also looked at the order of our salvation the order of salutis the order of our salvation where our

Heavenly Father gives us the gift of faith by first be getting us by his spirit because faith presupposes and requires the new birth in us by God and the order of salvation more fully that we saw was the external call of God the internal effectual call of God regeneration the new birth adoption and some in one sense then repentance which is a change of mind and faith then justification and adoption also sanctification perseverance which includes assurance as well and glorification the final stage in our salvation and we also looked at the fruit of our faith the fruit of our faith the consequence the outcome the result of our faith that both faith and love our love are begotten of God not only our faith but our true love for God and one another comes from is born of God and comes from God who is himself as 1st

John 4 8 16 says in the other love chapter now our focus for today's message will be primarily based on what takes place during our sanctification in this life and perseverance as children of and Saints set apart by God himself by God himself and many of the recurring themes and subjects that we will find in this passage are those of assurance is sure assurance by this we know by this we know that we love the children of God and love of obviously of course love both horizontal for our fellow believers and vertical for God as well as the deep chain of love between God believers and obedience and obedience to God's commandments and also regeneration and adoption regeneration and adoption because when we are regenerated and adopted by God we become children of God like the verse also says and by another consequences his commandments are no longer burdensome and condemning to us because now we are his children who love his law like the psalm say and all throughout scripture so I hope you brought your

Bibles today we're going to continue to exercise the analogy of scripture in several other places and connect several passages together this is going to be a blessing to you

I hope I think it's really going to be a blessing to you and so now we find ourselves in the next major theme which is the assurance of our faith the assurance of our faith and of our salvation in 1st

John chapter 5 verse 2 by this we all know we all know that we love the children of God who have been spiritually reborn by him when we love

God and do or rather keep keep his commandments for this is the love of God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome any longer are the commandments of God a burden to you beloved they shouldn't be because that is what unbelievers feel the commandments are to the

God's commandments are if that is if they're not deceived by their own self -righteousness but the commandments of God are no longer a burden for us because we know that God loves us and that is why his law is a blessing to us as well no longer the curse of condemnation but a blessing now again there is a very deep and repeated frequently repeated emphasis in this passage and all throughout many other scriptures that on loving

God on loving God specifically by our obedience to him by our obedience to him by obeying his commandments it's emphatically stated here several times just in this passage alone and this includes in particular loving

God's people right loving God's people the children of God and also faith sanctification love obedience assurance and many more are all the natural necessary outcomes of God's love for us in our new renewed sanctified life in Christ our sanctified life in Christ set apart that's what

I mean set apart life in Christ everyone who believe for everyone who believes that Jesus is the

Christ has been born of God already and those of us who love the brothers have been born of him like verse one says and of being graciously united of being graciously united to Christ in union with him because it is

God who is at work in you both to will and to work for his good pleasure amen that's from Philippians 2 13

Philippians 2 13 the believer then will grow will grow in his or her love for God and for other believers especially in particular for those who also have been born of him now we see that also that verse 2 closely ties together love with obedience to God's law as well as our assurance our assurance that we are saved that we belong to him as we've seen many times before not just in this letter but also in John's gospel and again in numerous other places and we will continue to see this today as well and and later on verse 3 restates that love for God means that we keep his commandments that's what it means and also adds that his commandments are not burdensome because instead of condemning us our love for his commandments and our growing obedience to them rather now assure assure us that we belong to God as his adopted born -again children and love him and his other children as well now

I want us to recall a very important theological axiom a principle that to love

God is to obey him we cannot divorce obedience from love that is absolutely unbiblical to love

God is to obey him for this is the love of God this is what it means to love

God in other words that's what verse 3 says that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome amen and likewise by way of parallelism there's another parallel here to love

God's people to love one another means that we also love

God and keep his commandments that's a parallel right there's two sides of the same coin we love

God by obeying him we love God's people by obeying God and so that all comes together very nicely full circle remember to then this brings us back to another axiom a theological axiom that scripture teaches us our vertical relationship with God necessarily affects all our other relationships all our horizontal relationships with our fellow man including with the with demonic spirits

I forgot to mention that as well with with the devil and demonic spirits as and especially with our brothers and sisters in the household of faith like Galatians says especially with our brothers and sisters in the household of faith because because God produces the fruit of love in us for God and for one another now verse verse 2 here further reveals to us the order or priority of loves and that is that God's love is first in order it is prior it is a prior prior it is a priority it is the first love first order of love remember what first John 419 says we love why because he first loved us amen that's the only reason we love the only one and the very first commandment from God the very first commandment from God that we must obey so there's actually two here the the greatest commandment is to love

God right that's what Jesus said this is the first and greatest commandment to love God with all our hearts soul mind and strength but there's also in a temporal sense in the order of salvation the very first commandment from God that we must obey in order to begin to obey all the rest of his commandments including the command to love

God and our neighbor is to repent and believe the gospel to repent and believe the gospel to believe that Jesus is the

Christ that's what first John 5 here says right it is to believe that Jesus is the Christ the promised

Messiah the prophet priest and King our Deliverer Savior Redeemer from our sins and from the wrath and punishment of God that we justly deserve that is the first command our because faith or belief to understand and agree with God's Word is our first response to what

God fundamentally requires first and foremost of us because beloved remember the verse without faith it is what without faith it is impossible to please him right it is impossible to please

God for he who draws near to God must first believe first and foremost necessarily believe that he is by believing that he is who he says he is if you do not believe that I am here you will what you will die in your sins that's

Hebrews John chapter 8 and Hebrews 11 verse 6 the priority of love

God's God is first in our priority of loves he must be the very first and what he requires of us because that is how

God defines love and how we are to love and also remember that whatever whatever is not from faith is sin right whatever is not from faith is sin whatever is not of faith whatever is not come from faith and whatever is done in doubt is sin like Romans 14 23 speaks to us amen so loving

God is sin if it is not done in faith because if you do not love

God in faith that means you love an idol or something else it has to be done in true faith in the true

God at the same time then also loving both

God and our born -again brethren are obviously inextricably linked and tied together that's that chain of love so that you cannot love one the one without the other loving the other because someone who contradicts this link of love this chain of love in their faith and practice reveals that they have a disconnected a false dead faith of hypocrisy like James 2 14 teaches us right and and and on turn with me now beloved to James chapter 2 verse 15 as we seek the analogy of Scripture to understand better what

God means to tell us here in this passage James chapter 2 verse 15

God's Word says because if a brother or sister is without clothing this is talking about a

Christian a believer if they are without clothing and in need of daily food and one of you says to them go in peace be warmed and be filled and yet you do not give them what is necessary for their body what use is that even so faith if it has no works is dead by itself that is hypocrisy beloved if we truly love

God and our believer and our fellow brothers and sisters we will seek their good and to help them in their time of need we will that's what love is that is what love is like the

Good Samaritan right that helps the that that helps the the the broken the the one who was beaten and attacked so now then that's a great parable too because it shows that the

Jews a Jew the Jew passed by the you know the the these these people passed by who claimed to know

God presumably and yet the Samaritan who were shunned by the Jews helps out the his neighbor and that is the love that we are called to have especially for our fellow brothers and sisters in the faith especially for them so let us take heed then beloved he who has ears to hear let him hear the faithful and true words of Jesus the

Christ our Lord let's turn now over to the Gospel of John in chapter 14 as we read through several verses where Christ our

Lord explains to us and teaches us what it means to love the

Gospel of John chapter 14 verse 15 we'll start there our

Lord speaks to us and says if you love me you will keep my commandments amen jump over to verse 21 he who has my commandments and keeps them is the one who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my father also and I will love him and will disclose myself to him will reveal myself to him amen verse 23

Jesus answered and said to Judas Thaddeus not Judas Iscariot but Judas Thaddeus the

Apostle if anyone loves me he will keep my word that's an indicative beloved that's a gospel indicative he will keep my word and my father will love him and we will come to him and make our dwelling with him this is a glorious gospel guarantee beloved

God will guarantee this new life and new ways of obedience in our own lives as believers who love

God by his grace and for his glory purposing and endeavoring us constantly to walk with him in all the new ways the ways of new obedience that's from the larger catechism question 76 love how that question and answer explains that I also very much this is why it's so good and important to read and study our 1689

Baptist Confession and the catechisms chapter 16 paragraph 2 which is on good work says this and these good works done in obedience to God's commandments are the fruits and evidence of a true in living faith by them believers express their thankfulness strengthen their assurance just like 1st

John 5 2 & 3 says strengthen their assurance edify their brethren enhance their profession of the gospel and silence the opponents of the gospel so they glorify

God whose workmanship they are created in Christ Jesus to do good works and to produce the fruits of holiness which lead to or result in eternal life amen that is a powerful summary of what scripture teaches us and I forgot to mention also beloved

I shared the sermon notes on the church group you can access them there if you want to follow along because I am going to read through several scriptures continue to read through several scriptures but turn over to the next chapter now in the gospel of John chapter 15 in verse 8 we're going to read a larger passage here very important passage

God has a purpose for everything beloved John chapter 15 verse 8

Christ our Lord says my father is glorified by this that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples just as the father has loved me

I have also loved you abide in my love and this is a cycle of God's love for us and ours for him that chain of love and if you keep my commandments you will abide in my love just as I have kept my father's commandments and abide in his love these things

I have spoken to you so that my joy may be in you and that your joy may be complete remember what 1st

John tells us 1st John 1 4 that our joy may be complete this is the joy this includes the joy of our assurance beloved that we belong to him and that his commandments are no longer burdensome amen verse 12 continues this is my commandment that you love one another just as I have loved you greater love has no one than this that one laid down his life for his friends and you are my friends if you do what

I command you if you do what I command you and finally

John 15 17 Christ says this I command you that you love one another that you love one another now this goes without saying should go without saying but this really should embarrass anyone that defines or emphasizes love primarily as emotion or as anything that is not primarily obedience right because they are completely wrong and foreign contrary to Scripture and God God's Word completely contrary we should have no doubt that there is an unbreakable chain of love between God man

God's people and our obedience to him to his commandments which is love remember also that the entire law the entire law of God can be summarily comprehended summarized in a single word and that word is love right love

God and neighbor love God and one another right turn with me over now to the epistle to the

Romans chapter 13 Romans chapter 13 will start in verse 8

God's Word is amazingly clear with respect to these matters of love very clear this requires very little explanation

Romans chapter 13 verse 8 God's Word speaks and says

Oh nothing to anyone except to love one another for he who loves his neighbor has what has fulfilled the law of God for this you shall not commit adultery you shall not murder you shall not steal you shall not covet and if there is any other commandment that is the rest of the law it is summed up in this one word in this one command you shall love your neighbor as yourself love does not work evil against a neighbor therefore love is the fulfillment of the law of God amen this this reveal reveals to us also the distinction both the distinction and the harmony of God's law and gospel the distinction and the harmony of God's law and gospel because the gospel which is the very power of God unto salvation remember

Romans 116 the gospel births faith in us it births faith in us by God's Spirit who dwells in us and faith in the gospel and love for the brethren consequently that's why the faith that we have works through love faith works through love like Galatians 5 6 tells us and the law now written on our hearts

Jeremiah 31 33 is fulfilled in our love for God and for one another like Romans 13 10 the passage we just read and that is why his commandments are not burdensome right because now we love

God and our brothers not begrudgingly like the older brother that's hypocrisy we love

God and our neighbor and our brother sincerely with a true faith now however loving

God and his people this is just one side of the coin it's not merely just about what we should not do to them right it's not just about what much of the

Decalogue the Ten Commandments says thou shalt not right thou shalt not lie thou shalt not steal thou shalt not commit adultery thou shalt not covet thy neighbors goods wife etc it's not just about what we should not do about the sins of commission what we should not do so then in addition to the thou shalt not how do we love

God and his people in a positive sense as well right there's a twofold meaning to loving

God and neighbor and our brothers and sisters we do not sin against them but we also love them in a positive sense right so now

I want to read an excellent summary once again from the our

Baptist confession of faith chapter 27 which is on the communion of Saints or the fellowship of believers by their profession of faith believers are obliged bound to maintain a holy fellowship and communion in the worship of God and in performing whatever spiritual service may promote their mutual edification and building up they should also relieve one another in temporal things in earthly needs according to their various abilities and needs like we just read from James right according to the rule of the gospel this felt of the

New Covenant in other words this fellowship applies particularly to family and church relationships particularly to the one and others but as God offers opportunity this fellowship is to be extended to all the household of faith as well not just to those within our family and in our local church but to all believers as well that is all those in every place who call on the name of the

Lord Jesus nevertheless this fellowship with one another as believers does not take away or infringe on the personal ownership that each one has of his goods and possessions so that last part is just explaining that God is not a communist and we are not communists right our goods belong to us but we should willingly share what we have with others and especially with God's people as they have need right and so and as we desire to bless others one another in other words then we love

God we love our one another by the one another's of Scripture by all of the one another's of Scripture this is one of the most important things to understand in Scripture with respect to how we are to conduct ourselves in God's church it's the one another's of Scripture especially in the

New Testament which the confession says the rule of the gospel beloved let us love one another for love is from God and everyone who loves has been born of God and knows

God first John 4 7 right now one another is a single word in Greek it's a lay loan a lay loan or a lay loose it is used a hundred times in 94

New Testament verses 47 of those verses give instructions to the church

God's called out ones God's adopted regenerated children and 60 % of those instructions come from the

Apostle Paul many of them come from Jesus as well like we just saw and the other

Apostles including obviously the Apostle John in this letter and in his gospel so this brings us to another axiom another theological axiom the one another's of Scripture are largely are largely how we are called to function as a church as a church as God's Church and thus fulfill the law of God and of Christ the law of love the law of Liberty as it's also called now this is not a complete list okay but I don't want you to rush to write them all down I'm with I like I said

I already shared the sermon notes you can take them and print them out and and read them and meditate on them

I just want you to listen to receive them take them all in meditate on them and practice them and apply them to who to one another right let's let's apply them to one another so we'll start with the first third which are primarily about love obviously one -third of these commands instruct

Christians to love one another right and remember love for God and for man and especially for one another is the sum and substance of the entire law of God of the entire law of God but obviously we have to understand what that means biblically because we don't love one another by sinning against each other obviously like we just read in Romans and in James as well love one another that command is repeated several times in the

Gospels in the in the letters to the churches several places and Jesus in John 1334 says a new commandment

I give you I give to you that you love one another even as I have loved you that you also love one another it's an emphatic command

God's Word also says through love serve one another serve one another tolerate or bear with one another in love greet one another with a holy kiss that's why we we greet each other in the during the service as well with a holy kiss like the the scriptures saying in numerous places be devoted to one another in brotherly love giving preference to one another in honor right like Roman says now the other third of these one another's the one another commands are about striving for and maintaining unity unity in the church in love and in the truth though of course there's an obvious sense in which all of these one another commands imply unity because we apply them to each other together right we apply them to one another together especially in the context of the local church so what are they be at peace with one another right the

Gospel of Mark do not grumble among one another Gospel of John be of the same mind be of the same conviction same doctrine with one another

Romans accept one another including those who are weak in the faith right who are infants or babes in Christ Romans again wait for one another before beginning the

Lord's Supper wait for a one another that's 1st Corinthians do not bite devour and consume one another that's from Galatians do not boastfully challenge or envy one another again

Galatians gently patiently tolerate or bear with one another in love being diligent to keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace that's

Ephesians now I want to clarify something here this does not mean that we should tolerate each other's sin that's not what it means

I know some people just distort that teaching that's not what it means we don't put up with each other since we don't tolerate each other's sins and if you want to understand more about that you can listen to the series that I preached on church discipline on biblical church discipline but we should confront each other sin and love you who are spiritual should restore that one who is caught up in a transgression we need to deal with our sin biblically and confronted biblically not tolerate it but rather we must tolerate each other's weaknesses shortcomings struggles that's what it's referring to now also be kind tender -hearted and forgiving to one another just as God in Christ also has forgiven you beloved already right that's

Ephesians as well bear with and forgive one another Colossians see that no one repays another with evil for evil but also always seek good for one another and for all people first Thessalonians do not groan do not sinfully complain against one another or slander one another do not speak evil of one another

James confess your sins to one another and and not not to a priest so he can absolve or forgive your sins in light of the

Reformation month Reformation Day that's against the Catholic Church the

Eastern Church and any other religious system says you should take your sins to somebody that is not

God or a fellow brother and sister we should confess our sins to God and to one another so that we may be restored and forgiven in love now that's from James and pray for one another so that you may also be healed so that we may be healed by confessing our sins to one another as well now about 50 % of the remaining one another's deal with humility they stress humility and deference regarding others among believers deference to others to other believers give preference to one another in honor that's

Romans regard one another as more important than yourselves that's

Philippians serve one another in love Galatians wash one another's feet now this isn't as literal today because back then there was more of a need to wash each other's feet because people were often good barefoot they would get dirt on their feet and so a expression of love was to wash their feet to clean their feet when they would visit you it was another sign of hospitality as well so that basically means to help each other out help one another that's from the

Gospel of John be of the same mind toward one another not being haughty proud or wise in your own eyes but associate with the humble

Romans be subject to one another as God's humble servants in the fear of Christ Ephesians be subject to your elders and clothe yourselves in humility toward one another in humility right first Peter now the rest are they deal with various different topics

I'm gonna read through them this is I hope this is a blessing to you all beloved I think it's really important and helpful to see all of this together and how it gives us a big picture of what

God has instructed the church to function as so the rest of them are do not lie to one another obviously that's the

Ten Commandments do not lie either to God or to one another do not judge one another sinfully or hypocritically and do not put a stumbling block or offense before each other husbands and wives do not deprive one another of marital intimacy so there are also relationships within the church between husband and wife children and parents and and such and and so on speak the truth to one another for we are members of one another of the body of Christ Ephesians encourage one another and build up one another that's from Ephesians again in first Thessalonians comfort one another with hope of the resurrection with hope of the resurrection first Thessalonians again consider how to stimulate one another to love and good deeds and good works not forsaking the corporate assembling of ourselves together and with each other that's

Hebrews right pray for one another be hospitable to one another without grumbling like first Peter says bear one another's burdens and so fulfill the law of Christ right we rejoice with those who rejoice we weep with those who weep those who are struggling going through trials etc and finally last but not again this is not comprehensive this is not all of them but the last one

I have here is have true fellowship true koinonia with the triune

God and with one another like 1st John says right 1st

John chapter 1 verses 3 and 7 beloved so I hope that was a blessing to you all

God's Word is powerful a living two -edged sword and I'm included all of the scripture references so you can go back and look at them and read them and consult them and meditate on them in the sermon notes now that that leads us to conclude a few things here

I want us to notice just how practical many of these one another's are these one another's are not complicated they're very simple and very practical help each other out love one another serve one another that is very simple way in which

Christ demonstrated for in his love for his his disciples and for his neighbors we should seek to model

Christ and all of those things and especially as God's church together so I hope this is an encouragement to all of us beloved that we know that we belong to God and that we love the brothers by obeying

God himself and his commandments because these are his commandments we obey

God by loving one another in these ways by not sinning against each other and by serving each other and loving each other in a positive sense so let us close out this message with a very awesome powerful beautiful verse that sums it all up for us in in the the letter of first peter first peter chapter 1 verse 22 first peter chapter 1 verse 22

I just love how the analogy of scripture of searching confirming and harmonizing scripture with scripture it just speaks so powerfully because this this emphasizes so many of the same things that what we just read in first john chapter 5 and in fact you don't have to turn there but I want to read

I want to reread first john chapter 5 and then we'll read first peter so you can see just how powerfully connected they are as well as everything else that we read today first john chapter 5 verses 2 through 3

God's Word says by this we all know that we love the children of God when we love

God and keep his commandments for this is the love of God this is what it means to love

God that we keep his commandments and his commandments are not burdensome amen and so then likewise first Peter chapter 1 verse 22

God also speaks to us and says since you have in obedience to the truth purified your souls for a love of the brothers without hypocrisy sincerely fervently love one another from the heart for you have been born again born again not of corruptible seed but of incorruptible that is through the living and enduring

Word of God that includes beloved the law and the gospel but especially the gospel the power of God unto salvation for all flesh is like grass and all its glory like the flower of grass the grass withers and the flower falls off but the

Lord the Word of the Lord endures forever and this is the word which was proclaimed to you as good news and which saves each and every one of us beloved and gives us the fruit produces in us the fruit of love for one another beloved so it is not the law that saves us obviously it is the gospel that saves us but now we love

God's law his commands are not burdensome and we love God's people in those ways especially in those one another's amen amen let us go ahead and now bow our heads in a word of corporate prayer our precious gracious Lord and heavenly father we thank you for your amazing word of truth thank you so much father for your law and gospel and these amazing passages father of how you clearly so clearly show us and teach us what it means to love you and to love one another especially those who are of the household of faith father

God get encourage us Lord motivate us and help us to fulfill those good works which you have prepared us in us to do beforehand by your eternal love for us father help us to be the church that you have called us to be in our love for one another by not sinning against each other but even though when we sin and when we sin against each other to also confess our sins to one another as your word says and also to love one another in that positive sense

Lord in love in truth in humility in unity and so on father and so Lord we pray for us and for one another we ask that you would bless this word that you would humble us that you would empower us to grow in the fruit and in the fruits of the

Spirit Lord we thank you father and we ask these things in your precious son's name Jesus the Christ amen thank you for listening to the sermons of thorn crown covenant

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