Love vs Fear (I John 4:18)

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There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love.

THE STUDY:

God’s love is not only something we receive. It also transforms us and enables our response of love to God and for others. Abiding in God’s love, living in the flow of “perfect love,” we are enabled to love one another authentically.

In a relationship of mutual love there is no necessity for “fear” in God’s presence. Love is personified as the agent expelling all fear. The power of love triumphs over fear. This “perfect love,” which originates from God, achieves its purpose in persons, toward one another, and returns to God. This process “drives out fear.”^[1]

The words “fear has to do with punishment” are literally, “fear has punishment.” Fear carries with it a kind of torment that is its own punishment.^[2]

                   

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We can walk away this morning with the understanding that Love and Fear cannot coexist. One will expel the other. Which does which, is determined by us. We can either let fear rule us or love. I choose love.

CONCLUSION:

           As I read this verse this morning I was reminded of my days as a teenager.  The number one fear in my life back then was not school, teachers, coaches, or my grades! My number one fear was girls. I was always fearful of asking them out on a date. This fear would rule me when it came to dating. It determined who I would ask out and how. I would do the research (getting my friends to ask if she liked me or would she go out with me) and process all that information with my committee (a group of guys who I called friends). Going back to my class reunions, years later, I found out that all of my research and processing was usually false.

John was reminding the readers of God’s perfect love. A love that reveals security in God is not a fear of punishment. Fear blinds, confuses, and distorts, the truth. Love reveals, explains, and helps to see the truth. Which one will be our guide today?

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3 John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (151). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.

^[2] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (1 Jn 4:18–19). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

I John 4:17

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By this is love perfected with us, so that we may have confidence for the day of judgment, because as he is so also are we in this world.

THE STUDY:

God’s universal love can be so lived out through us that others may see in some measure what God is like. We participate in God’s nature now: in this world we are like him (lit. just as that one is also we indeed are in this world; see 2:6; 3:7).

John expects believers to be conformed to the likeness of Jesus in love in the present (Lieu 1991, 90). Holiness is not reserved only for after death. Calvin said: “What God is in heaven, He bids us to be in this world, that we may be reckoned his children” (1959, 295). This astounding promise, to be like him, can hardly be overestimated. Sharing in the nature of God is a present possibility (2 Pet 1:4). It is a reality not withheld until after death. It is the only adequate preparation for death, when we stand before God on the day of judgment. This firm foundation is forever linked to God’s love at work among people. Confidence before God and Christian love go together (Bruce 1970, 113).^[1]

                   

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding that God’s love is lived out through us in this present day. It is not something that is reserved for a later time (Heaven) but to be lived out in the same world that the antichrist dwells.

• We also walk away with the understanding that within this love the believer finds confidence in the future. This confidence is a sense of anticipation of the coming of Christ and not a reservation. We find that Christian love and confidence go hand in hand.

CONCLUSION:

          Hudson Taylor was interviewing some young people who had volunteered for the Lord’s service. He asked several practical questions to find out how well qualified they were for the life they were anticipating. “And why do you wish to go as a foreign missionary?” “I want to reach others across the sea because Christ has commanded us to go into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature,” one replied. Another said, “I want to go because millions are dying without ever having heard of Jesus, the only One who can save them.” Others have similar answers.

          Hudson Taylor looked at them thoughtfully for a moment and then said. “All of your motives are good, but I fear they will fail you in times of severe testing and tribulation—especially if you are confronted with the possibility of having to face death for your testimony. The only motive that will enable you to remain true is stated in II Corinthians 5:14. Christ’s love constraining you will keep you faithful in every situation.”

          Let us walk into this day with the Love of Christ and the confidence that goes with it.

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3 John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (149–150). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.

I John 4:16

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So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.

THE STUDY:

          John gives us a sense of conclusion to his point concerning the Love of God. He affirms the present experience of churches. They have knowledge (we know) and faith (rely on, lit. we have faith in, pepisteukamen). John describes past experiences that continue to impact the present. The force of these perfect tense verbs can be conveyed as we came to know and continue to know and we believed and continue to believe.

God and love are synonymous—“God is love” (repeating 4:8). God defines true love. This strong and clear equation is expanded by the idea of living (menōn, remaining—a present participle) in love, which is to live in God. The imagery is of settling down in God’s love, taking up secure residence in the heart of God. Christian faith is not occasional but constant. Faith is not just for big events but lived out in all the moments of life’s routine.^[1]

         

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding that our knowledge and faith in Christ will permanently change us. We cannot go back to the same thinking and belief as we had before Christ. We have been exposed to the Love of God and that Love changes us. We can walk away from God and go back to the worldly ways but that knowledge and belief, even though it is not being used, is still there.

CONCLUSION:

           One of the greatest joys on earth is the joy of bringing others to a saving knowledge of Christ. I have heard people tell that when they were converted the whole world seemed different; that the sun seemed to shine with a new light; there was new music in the song of the birds; all nature seemed clothed with new beauty and glory.

          Once you taste the sweetness of Christ you can never satisfy that tasteful desire with anything else but Jesus. As we walk out the door, look out the window, or as we drive to our destination this morning let us see the difference Christ has made in our lives and rejoice in it.

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

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^[1] Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3 John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (148). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.

I John 4:15

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Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.

THE STUDY:

          The first two words in this verse “Whoever confesses” have to be looked at first due to the powerful implications they bring. John implies by using the word (hos), the door to salvation is open to any and all! Not just a select few but to the world. No one is excluded from God’s invitation. Anyone may come by confessing Jesus as God’s Son.^[1]

The word “confesses” is the requirement. The translation “confesses” might seem to suggest consent alone. But the verb conveys a more public and active sense of confessing (homologēsē) or making a public and life-shaping claim (Matt 10:32). In the Gospel of John, confessions of faith in Jesus could get one expelled from the synagogue (John 9:22; 12:42). In Rom 10:9–10 confessing Jesus as Lord is inseparably linked to God’s saving work.^[2]

         

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away with this understanding that ANYONE who makes a public and life changing claim (confesses Christ as the Son of God) God remains in him and that person remains in God! Simple but yet so mis-understood!

CONCLUSION:

           Let me conclude with this story from Wilbur E. Nelson.

My father was the senior elder in our church for many years. When I was a boy, eleven years of age, an evangelist held a series of meetings in our church. One night he asked every Christian to come forward and also asked those who desired to confess Christ to come with them. My father, of course, went up, and, as I felt the call of God, I followed after him.

          Just as he reached the front he turned around, and seeing me, said, “Johnnie, you go back; you are too young.” I obeyed him, as I had been taught to do, and at thirty-three I came again, but I did not know what I was coming for as clearly at thirty-three as I did at eleven. The church lost twenty-two years of service, while I lost twenty-two years of growth because my own father, an officer in the church, had said, “Go back.”

          Don’t let time be wasted and miss out on the blessings God has for you today. Confess Christ and watch the power that dwells inside you come forth and move in miraculous ways.

 

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

 

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^[1] Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3 John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (147). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.

^[2] Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3 John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (147). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.

I John 4:14

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And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

THE STUDY:

          In this passage of scripture there are two words that jump out at me: “seen” and “testify.” The indwelling God, whose presence is manifested in the midst of a loving Christian community, thus becomes in a sense truly visible to the eye of faith. Though no one “has seen” (tetheatai, “beheld”) God (v. 12), believers who abide in Him (v. 13) “have seen” (tetheametha, “behold”) the Son as He is manifested among loving Christians. Christians who behold this manifestation have in fact “seen” and can “testify” to the fundamental truth that “the Father has sent the Son to be the Savior of the world.”^[1]

          The phrase “have seen” is in recognition of Jesus’ glory and decision for faith in him. This is followed by the seeing of him, his person, and his works.^[2] The disciples were eyewitnesses not only of the baptism of Jesus, but also of his entire life. They saw, heard, and with their hands touched Jesus (1:1).^[3]

         

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

We walk away this morning with the understanding that a Christian not only has seen Christ in the world today buy testifies to the fact that Christ saves.

CONCLUSION:

           “You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth” (Acts 1:8).

A witness is one who testifies to an act or an experience or a person. A witness usually determines the outcome of justice in a court of law. This means that a Christian is one who testifies to the presence and power of Christ. It also means one must attempt to share his/her experience with others.

          Today, if you have seen the power and love of God then share that testimony with someone who may need to hear it. Testify about the one who has changed your life so someone else may be changed!

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

 

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^[1] Walvoord, J. F., Zuck, R. B., & Dallas Theological Seminary. (1983-). The Bible knowledge commentary : An exposition of the scriptures (1 Jn 4:14). Wheaton, IL: Victor Books.

^[2] Balz, H. R., & Schneider, G. (1990-). Vol. 2: Exegetical dictionary of the New Testament (136). Grand Rapids, Mich.: Eerdmans.

^[3] Kistemaker, S. J., & Hendriksen, W. (1953-2001). Vol. 14: New Testament commentary : Exposition of James and the Epistles of John. New Testament Commentary (336). Grand Rapids: Baker Book House.

I John 4:12-13 (Part 2)

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No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

THE STUDY:

          John writes throughout in sharp disagreement with the secessionists’ claim they had a special, esoteric knowledge. But he insisted that he and all true believers in his community, possessed a definite knowledge of their own: “We know” (ginōskomen)! And what do Johannine Christians claim to know That “we live (abide) in him” and that God lives “in us.”

          Throughout, the text keeps grace clearly in view. God initiates, God abides/lives in, and God brings believers to completion. Christians are not, however, swept along irresistibly by his grace. We respond by welcoming his Gift.^[1]

         

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding that by welcoming this gift that God has for us we can have the confidence of knowing we are in Him and He is in us. This is not a one shot, locked in deal! At any time we can walk away from this gift. By the Love that dwells inside and pours from us we can rest assure we are living in Him and He is us!

CONCLUSION:

           A four year old was at the pediatrician for a check-up. As the doctor looked into her ears with an otoscope, he asked, "Do you think I'll find Big Bird in here?" The little girl stayed silent. Next, the doctor took a tongue depressor and looked down her throat. He asked, "Do you think I'll find the Cookie Monster down there?" Again, the little girl was silent. 

Then the doctor put a stethoscope to her chest. As he listened to her heart beat, he asked, "Do you think I'll hear Barney in there?"  "Oh, no!" the little girl replied. "Jesus is in my heart. Barney's on my underpants."

          If a doctor was to do a CAT scan of your heart today what would they find: Jesus or someone else? Believe it or not, claiming to be a Christian, people are doing CAT scans on you every minute of the day. Let them see Jesus today! Show them who you are made of!

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

 

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^[1] Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3 John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (146). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.

I John 4:12-13 (Part 1)

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No one has ever seen God; if we love one another, God abides in us and his love is perfected in us. 13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.

THE STUDY:

          The fact that God is an unseen God is emphasized throughout scripture. We first read about this in Exodus 33:20, “But,” he said, “you cannot see my face, for man shall not see me and live.” In the New Testament we see God described as being ‘invisibles” (I Timothy 1:17 To the King of the ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.)

          Although no one can directly see God, God is knowable to some extent since he lives in us as we live out his love for others. Love from God, incarnate in followers of Jesus, powerfully demonstrates God’s purpose in the world.

Even if God cannot be seen directly as gnostic heretics thought, God can be seen when his people act in love. John insists that divine love infused into us can be perfected. That is, it fulfills its purpose or achieves its end (telos), among us as we live in love.^[1]

WHAT WE CAN WALK AWAY WITH ….

• We walk away this morning with the understanding that just because we don’t see God face to face doesn’t mean he is not present. We know he is because of the Love that is demonstrated: Love received and distributed. By this love we know God and we know of his presence.

CONCLUSION:

          One afternoon a little boy was playing outdoors. He used his mother's broom as a horse and had a wonderful time until it was getting dark. He left the broom on the back porch. His mother was cleaning up the kitchen when she realized that her broom was missing. She asked the little boy about the broom and he told her where it was.

          She then asked him to please go get it. The little boy informed his mom that he was afraid of the dark and didn't want to go out to get the broom.
His mother smiled and said "The Lord is out there too, don't be afraid." The little boy opened the back door a little and said "Lord if you're out there, hand me the broom."

          We serve a God who everywhere in the world. Today, we are not going to see the Father face to face, but we can see and distribute His LOVE to this world that is in need. Let today be a day that you look for God’s love and share God’s love with others. You never know who may need it today.

Blessings my friends

Pastor Rod

 

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^[1] Williamson, R. (2010). 1, 2, & 3 John: A Commentary in the Wesleyan Tradition. New Beacon Bible Commentary (145–146). Kansas City, MO: Beacon Hill Press.