Deo Gloria
Sermon for April 28, 2024
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: 1 John 3:18-24
Theme: Live in the Love of Jesus!
- Trust it.
- Reflect it.
What are you looking for in life? What’s your goal? What do you hope to accomplish? Many people, of course, have big dreams of success. They hope to make it to the top of their company or maybe even own their own company some day. They hope to be rich and famous. They hope to retire at age 50 and enjoy a life of luxury. Others just want to get by. They’re really not interested in becoming rich and famous. They just want to make enough to live in comfort and provide for themselves and their families. In either case, though, such people are setting themselves up for disappointment, because the truth is the things of this life can never satisfy. Sure, they may satisfy our needs and desires for a while, but in the end they leave us empty and unfulfilled and longing for something else. And sadly, it is only then that people suddenly realize they were living their lives for the wrong reason.
This morning in the verses of our text the Apostle John encourages us to live our lives for a completely different reason, a reason that will bring us true joy and peace and satisfaction. He urges us to live in the love of Jesus.
One of the reasons the Apostle John was writing this letter is because of the doubt false teachers were creating about Jesus and the love God has shown us in Jesus our Savior. Some of them were saying, for example, that Jesus was not really the eternal Son of God. He was merely a man, upon whom the Spirit of Christ came for a while. Others were saying that faith in Jesus and what he did for you was not enough to save you. If you want to go to heaven, there was other “secret wisdom” you had to obtain from them or from other ancient writings.
Sadly, there are still people like that around today, people who deny that Jesus really is the Son of God, who claim that he was only a good man or an influential teacher. Sadly, there are also those who claim that having faith in Jesus is not enough to save you. Instead of listening to the Bible, you need to listen to them, because they are the experts. They are the ones who really know the truth. Or instead of trusting completely in Jesus for salvation, there are certain things you have to do earn God’s favor and secure a place in heaven.
To combat these false teachers and their misleading teachings, John emphasizes throughout this letter that Jesus truly is the Son of God, from eternity, from the very beginning. Here, for example, in v. 23 he specifically refers to Jesus as God’s Son.
John also emphasizes in this section that Jesus is the only one who can give us true peace with God. Take another look at verses 19-21:
This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence whenever our hearts condemn us. For God is greater than our hearts, and he knows everything. Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God.
Does your heart ever trouble you? Does your heart ever condemn you because of your sins and your failures? I know mine does. And in these verses John reminds me of one reason why. Here in this section and throughout this letter John urges us to love one another—and not in a superficial way either, but in a real and authentic manner. “Dear children,” he says in v. 18, “let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.” So, have you always done that? Have you always loved your spouse and your children? Have you always treated them with kindness and love? Have you always spoken to them in a kind and loving manner? How about your parents or your elders or your supervisor or your boss? Have you always treated them with kindness and respect? Have you always spoken to them in a kind and respectful manner? How about your fellow classmates at school or your neighbor across the street or that irritating driver on the freeway? Have you always treated them with kindness and respect?
Why are there so many unwanted children these days, children so unloved that they are killed in the womb? Why are there people who are so lonely that they commit suicide? Why are there teenagers who are so desperate for love that they join gangs or engage in promiscuous sex? Why are there elderly people in their own homes or in nursing homes with broken hearts, just waiting to die? Why are there prisoners who have sat in jail for years and no one has ever come to visit them? Why? Because as a society we have failed when it comes to showing love. And sometimes you and I have failed as well. Instead of loving our spouse and children, we have hurt them with our words and our actions. Instead of loving our friends and our classmates, we have hurt them with our words and our actions. Instead of loving our neighbors and our coworkers, we have hurt them with our words and our actions. And that’s why our hearts trouble us at times. They condemn us for our loveless words and actions.
So, does it help at times like that to think about the good things you have done? Does that put your heart at ease and make those guilty feelings go away? No. Does it help at times like that just to try a little harder, to try to be a more kind and loving person? Does that put your heart at ease and make those guilty feelings go away? No, because it doesn’t change what happened. What you said or did really hurt someone else. And your conscience still condemns you. You still feel awful inside.
And if you think you feel awful now, wait till you’re standing before the judgment seat of God, the God who knows everything—every loveless word, every hateful thought, every unkind action, everything! Wait until you’re standing in his presence. Your heart condemning you will be the least of your problems at that point. He will condemn you. He will give you what your loveless words and actions deserve: an eternity without his love in hell.
No, there is only one place we can find true peace for our souls. There is only one thing that can truly calm our troubled consciences and set our hearts at rest in the presence of God: Jesus and his love for us. Though he truly was the Son of God, Jesus left his throne in heaven because of his great love for us and came into this world to be our Savior, to rescue us from sin and death. As our Savior, he lived a perfect life for us, a life of perfect love and kindness. He loved others the way we should, but so often don’t. As our Savior, Jesus also suffered the penalty for our sins, all of our loveless words and hurtful actions—he paid the penalty by his suffering and death on the cross. And because of what he did, you and I are forgiven. Our sins are taken away. And instead of being condemned, we are acquitted. As Paul states in Romans, ch. 8, “There is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus”(v. 1). Our hearts can finally breathe a sigh of relief.
Don’t rely on your own good works or your own loving actions. You’ll never find peace there. Trust in Jesus and his love for you. Don’t look to yourself and your own ability to make yourself a better, more loving person. You’ll never find peace there either. Look to Jesus and his love for you. Trust in Jesus and his love for you. He is the only one who can set your heart at rest and give you peace in the presence of God. Live in the love of Jesus.
But don’t let it stop there. Yes, God wants us to trust in Jesus and his love for us, but he also wants us to reflect his love in our lives. Notice how John ties those two together in v. 23: “And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us.” One flows from the other. Believing in Jesus as our Savior, knowing him and his great love for us motivates us to want to thank him. His love for us motivates us to want to reflect the same kind of love in our lives. And how do we do that? Again, John tells us: by obeying God’s commands and by loving one another.
How do children show their love for their parents? By disobeying them? By talking back to them and being disrespectful? Of course not! Children show their love for their parents by obeying them and showing them honor and respect. The same is true of children of God. Do we show our love for God by cursing and swearing and misusing his name? Do we show our love for God by skipping church or by putting other things ahead of him? Of course not! We show our love for God by obeying his commands, by not misusing his name, and by keeping him first in our lives. “This is love for God,” John says later on in this letter: “to obey his commands”(5:3).
A second way we reflect the love of Jesus is by loving others. In the verses leading up to our text John says the following:
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. 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? Dear children, let us not love with words or tongue but with actions and in truth.(vv. 16-18)
Knowing what Jesus did for us, how in love for us he held nothing back, how in love for us he even gave up his own life for us, to help us with our greatest need, our need for forgiveness and salvation—knowing that inspires us to want to do the same for others, to love them as he has loved us, to help them as he has helped us, especially those in need. And in our present society, you and I have plenty of opportunities to do that.
People are hurting. Families are hurting. Some have lost their jobs. Some have lost family members and friends. Some have had their hearts and their homes shattered by divorce. Some are struggling to find their way in a sea of misinformation. Some have 50 friends on Facebook, but don’t have a single friend who truly cares about them, not one they can truly trust. And chances are you know some of those people. In fact, I would venture to say we all know some of those people. Some are friends of yours or neighbors. Some are coworkers, people you worked with for the past 5, 10, maybe even 20 years. Some are family members or relatives. Some are even fellow Christians, fellow members right here at church. Here is a great opportunity for you and me to reflect the love of Jesus in our lives by helping these people, truly helping them.
It doesn’t do any good to say, “Oh, I hope you find another job,” or “I hope you and your family make it through this,” but then do nothing to help them. No, out of love for our Lord and out of love for them, let’s do our best to sincerely help them. That may mean taking a meal over to a family that is struggling or someone recovering from surgery. It may mean instead of texting someone, we actually take the time to go and visit them and say, “How are you doing, really?” It may mean reaching out to a friend who has gone through a divorce or befriending a fellow student who has been struggling in school or struggling to fit in. There are many, many ways you and I can show our love and kindness for others. By all means let’s make the most of those opportunities. Live in the love of Jesus by reflecting his love in your life.
Are you looking for joy in life? Are you looking for something that will bring real meaning to your life, real peace, real satisfaction? This is where you’ll find it–not in personal success or fame, not in stock options or 6-figure salaries. You’ll find it in living your life in the love of Jesus your Savior. Trust his love for you. And reflect his love both toward God and toward others. Amen.