1. Christians love because God is the essence of love. God showed his love by sending his son as a sacrifice for sins. 2. Christians are commanded to love one another as God first loved us. Love is the heart of Christian witness and assurance of salvation. 3. Love gives Christians confidence in judgment, as perfect love drives out fear of punishment. Christians must love both believers and non-believers through difficult situations.

1. 1 John 4:7-21
“Why Do Christians Love?”
July 5, 2015
First Baptist Church
Jackson, Mississippi
USA

2. What’s the number one thing?

3. http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-pg1qx2vn3NY/UctmXUiXnhI/AAAAAAAACvI/2BKEeDDr5p4/s1600/Glory1.jpg

4. 1 Corinthians 10:31 NIV
31 So whether you eat or drink or whatever you
do, do it all for the glory of God.

5. July Memory Verse:
1 John 1:7 NIV
7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light,
we have fellowship with one another, and the
blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

6. Pray for
2015 Committee on Committees
Kendall Smith, Chairman
Beth Aldridge
David Gibbs
Sherye Green
Mike Lowe
Chris Maddux
Jim Merritt, Jr.
Elizabeth Rich
Eddy Waller

7. Lesson References
• Focus on the Bible: 1.2.3 John by Michael
Eaton, Christian Focus Publications, 1996.
• The MacArthur Study Bible, John MacArthur,
Word Publishing, 1997.
• First John 4 by Dr. Bob Utley, Available on
YouTube

8. Introduction to 1 John 4
• Context of John’s Letter
– Author is John the Disciple
– Written to all churches in Asia Minor in 95 AD
– Written to help believers know who is speaking
the truth in the churches
– Many false teachers in churches
– 1 John could have been the cover letter for the
Gospel of John

9. False Teachings
• Gnostics – claimed to have “special knowledge
from God”
1. We are saved (fellowship) by what we know-
“special knowledge”
• Did not believe in humanity of Jesus as God
• Did not believe that they could sin in the body
2. We are saved (fellowship) by how we live
• Denying myself physical desires – food, clothing, etc.

10. What is ‘fellowship’ in 1 John?
• Fellowship (Greek koinonia) is the spiritual
union of the believer with Christ as well as
communion with the Father and fellow
believers.
– A personal relationship with God through Jesus
– Experience the presence of the Father and Jesus
through the Holy Spirit
– Fellowship is also with other believers

11. John’s 3 Tests of Genuine Fellowship
1. Doctrinal Test (1 John 1:1-2:2)
- A proper view of Christ
- A proper view of sin
2. Lifestyle Test (1 John 2:3-3:3)
- Obedience to commandments
- Walking in the light; walk like Jesus
3. Social Test: (1 John 3:4-4:21)
- Loving other people
- How you treat other believers

12. What is Christian love?
• A new commandment “Love one another” in
John 13:34
• 1 Corinthians 13 tells us how love acts, “Love
is………….”
• Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22
• Translated as “Charity” in KJV
• Greek words: Agape, Eros, Philia

13. The Different Kinds of Love (Greek)
• Eros – Describes the love of pleasure
• Philia – Describes the love of attraction such
as in a close friendship
• Agape – Describes the love of God
– Love which gives and sacrifices for the highest
good of another person
– Utterly unselfish
– This the definition of love John uses in his writings

14. Comparing Love
Worldly Love
• Based on an experience
• Defined by feelings
• Cannot be controlled
• Depends on the other
person
• Self-affirming
• Meets other desires
Biblical (Agape) Love
• Based on a decision
• Compatible with feelings
• Can be controlled
• Depends on God and me
• Self-sacrificial
• Meets others needs

15. FOCUS OF LESSON TODAY
• John’s discussion of “Why Christian Love”
– 1 John 4:7-21
• Are Christians supposed to love non-believers
differently?
• Steps on how to love unlovable Christians

16. 5 Reasons Why Christians Love
1 John 4: 7-21
1. Because God is the essence of love
2. To follow the supreme example of God’s
sacrificial love in sending His Son for us
3. Because love is the heart of Christian witness
4. Because love is the Christian’s assurance
5. Because love is the Christian’s confidence in
judgment

17. 1 John 4:7-8
7 Dear friends, let us love one another, for love
comes from God. Everyone who loves has been
born of God and knows God. 8 Whoever does not
love does not know God, because God is love.
– Christian’s love because God is the essence of
love.
– Gnostics believed that God was immaterial spirit
and light, but never defined the source of love as
coming from His inmost being.

18. God is the essence of love
• Love is inherent (permanent attribute) in all He is and
does
• Even God’s judgment and wrath are perfectly
harmonized with His love
1 Corinthians 13:13
13 And now abide faith, hope, love, these three; but the
greatest of these is love.
– The objects of faith and hope will be fulfilled and perfectly
realized in heaven, but love is everlasting.
– Heaven will be the place for the expression of nothing but
perfect love toward God and each other.

19. John’s definition of God
1. God is light.
1 John 1:5
5 This is the message we have heard from him and
declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.
2. God is love.
1 John 4:8
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is
love.
3. God is spirit.
John 4:24
24 God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit
and in truth."

20. 1 John 4:9
9 This is how God showed his love among us: He
sent his one and only Son into the world that we
might live through him.
– Christians love in order to follow the supreme
example of God’s sacrificial love in sending His Son
for us.
– The judgment of sin was on the cross.
– God poured out His wrath on His beloved Son.

21. God’s love
• Love is an action, not only an emotion.
John 3:16
16 For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.
– “only begotten” = unique, one of a kind

22. 1 John 4:10
10 This is love: not that we loved God, but that
he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning
sacrifice (propitiation) for our sins.
– Christianity is not us pursuing God, it is God
pursuing us!
– “propitiation” - a sacrifice that turns away anger
• The “mercy seat” of the Ark of the Covenant
• Sprinkle blood on the mercy seat to cover the covenant
inside the ark

24. 1 John 4:11
11 Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also
ought to love one another.
– God sending His Son gives Christians obligation to
follow this pattern of sacrificial love.
– Christian love must be self-sacrificing like God’s
love.

25. 1 John 4:12
12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one
another, God lives in us and his love is made
complete in us.
– Nobody can see God loving since His love is
invisible.
– Jesus is no longer in the world to manifest the love
of God.
– The only demonstration of God’s love in this age is
the church.

26. 1 John 4:12 Summary
• Christians love because love is the heart of
Christian witness.
• Summary of lesson so far:
– Love originated in God,
– Love was manifested in His Son, and
– Love is demonstrated in His people.

27. 5 Reasons Why Christians Love
1 John 4: 7-21
1. Because God is the essence of love (v. 7-8)
2. To follow the supreme example of God’s
sacrificial love in sending His Son for us (v 9-
11)
3. Because love is the heart of Christian witness
(v.12)
4. Because love is the Christian’s assurance
5. Because love is the Christian’s confidence in
judgment

28. 1 John 4:13-14
13 This is how we know that we live in him and
he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. 14 And we
have seen and testify that the Father has sent
his Son to be the Savior of the world.
– Christians love because love motivated by the
Spirit is the Christian’s assurance.
– A lifestyle of love in action is demonstrable proof
of salvation.
– “They will know we are Christians by our love….”

29. 1 John 4:15-16
15 If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son
of God, God lives in them and they in God.
16 And so we know and rely on the love God has
for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in
God, and God in them.
– Another mention of the doctrinal test of genuine
fellowship
• A correct view of Christ – Fully God & Fully Man
• A spirit-filled life

30. 1 John 4:17
17 This is how love is made complete among us
so that we will have confidence on the day of
judgment: In this world we are like Jesus.
– Christians love because love is the Christians
confidence in judgment.
– Perfected (complete) love is mature love, not
sinless perfection.
– We do not generate love, we can only reflect what
God has already done for us in Christ.

31. 1 John 4:18-19
18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives
out fear, because fear has to do with
punishment. The one who fears is not made
perfect in love. 19 We love because he first loved
us.
– Christians do not fear God anymore, because the
blood of Jesus covers all our sins (past, present &
future).
– Love casts out fear, and also hate.

32. Fear entered the world through sin
Genesis 3:8-10
8 Then the man and his wife heard the sound of
the Lord God as he was walking in the garden in
the cool of the day, and they hid from the Lord
God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the
Lord God called to the man, "Where are you?"
10 He answered, "I heard you in the garden, and I
was afraid because I was naked; so I hid."

33. There is no fear in love
Romans 8:14-16
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the
children of God. 15 The Spirit you received does not
make you slaves, so that you live in fear again;
rather, the Spirit you received brought about your
adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba,
Father." 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit
that we are God's children.
– The Holy Spirit provides us with “assurance” of our
salvation.

34. 1 John 4: 20-21
20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or
sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their
brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot
love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has
given us this command: Anyone who loves God
must also love their brother and sister.
– Loving one another is not optional.
– Loving one another means loving every believer.
– ‘Love’ in each usage is ‘Agape’ in Greek.

35. Question?
Since 1 John was written to believers and we are
commanded to love (agape) our brothers and
sisters in Christ, how then are we to treat non-
believers (enemy)?
Jesus answers this question in Matthew 5:44
and Luke 6:27……..

36. Jesus’ answer about our enemies
Matthew 5:43-45
43 "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your
neighbor and hate your enemy.' 44 But I tell you,
love your enemies and pray for those who
persecute you, 45 that you may be children of
your Father in heaven. He causes his sun to rise
on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the
righteous and the unrighteous.

37. Luke recorded Jesus’ answer
Luke 6:27-31
27 "But to you who are listening I say: Love your
enemies, do good to those who hate you, 28 bless
those who curse you, pray for those who mistreat
you. 29 If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to
them the other also. If someone takes your coat, do
not withhold your shirt from them. 30 Give to
everyone who asks you, and if anyone takes what
belongs to you, do not demand it back. 31 Do to
others as you would have them do to you.”

38. Another Question?
Is the type of love we are supposed to have for
our brothers (fellow believers) different than the
love we are to have for our enemies and non-
believers?
– Answer: Jesus said to ‘agape love’ every person,
whether they are a believer or an enemy.

39. I need help loving some fellow
believers!
We are “one in the spirit”, but there are some
people that I just don’t like and cannot love!
– Different personalities
– All have different likes and dislikes
– Can you love another believer and “not like”
them?
– Agape love is that love which gives and sacrifices
for the highest good of another person.

40. Steps to loving someone
you don’t love
1. I must confess my lack of love as a sin.
- Acknowledge my sin and confess it to God.
- The blood of Jesus covers my confessed sin.
- Exercise your will and choose to be delivered
from the sin of unlove.

41. Steps to loving someone
you don’t love
2. Choose to love that person
- I cannot control my feelings, but I can control my
will.
- I cannot make myself have a feeling of love
toward someone, but I can choose to love that
person.
- If I make that choice and hold to it, my feelings in
time will follow the choice of my will.
- I am controlled by the decision of my will and not
by my feelings.

42. Steps to loving someone
you don’t love
3. Trust God to do what I cannot do.
- The Holy Spirit within you can enable you to love
someone you are unable to love in your own
power.
- You cannot do this under your own power, no
matter how hard you try!

43. Steps to loving someone
you don’t love
4. Pray that person into your heart.
- Pray for that person.
- Ask God to bless that person with those same
blessings you pray for yourself.

44. Steps to loving someone
you don’t love
5. Plan positive behavior.
- Choose to express Christ’s life and His love to
someone even though you do not feel like it.
- You do not have to have a feeling of love to act in
love.

45. Quote from C. S Lewis on loving others
“The rule for all of us is perfectly simple. Do not
waste time bothering whether you love your
neighbor; act as if you did. As soon as we do
this, we learn one of the great secrets. When
you are behaving as if you loved someone, you
will presently come to love them.”

46. Closing Thought
How can people “see” the love of an unseen
God?
– There is only one way – they must see Him in His
people.
– People see the love of God through Jesus’
followers
1 John 4:12
12 No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another,
God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.

47. The Plan of Hope & Salvation
John 3:16 NKJV
16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His
only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him
should not perish but have everlasting life.”
John 14:6 NKJV
6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and
the life. No one comes to the Father except
through Me.”

48. Romans 3:23 NKJV
23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,
Romans 6:23a NKJV
23a For the wages of sin is death,
• Death in this life (the first death) is 100%.
• Even Jesus, the only one who doesn’t deserve death,
died in this life to pay the penalty for our sins.
• The death referred to in Romans 6:23a is the second
death explained in Revelation 21:8.

49. Revelation 21:8 NKJV
8 “But the cowardly, unbelieving, abominable,
murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters,
and all liars shall have their part in the lake which
burns with fire and brimstone, which is the second
death.”
Romans 5:8 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in
that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

50. Romans 6:23b NKJV
23b but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus
our Lord.
Revelation 21:7 NKJV
7 “He who overcomes shall inherit all things, and I
will be his God and he shall be My son.”
• Romans 10:9-10 explains to us how to accept
Jesus as our Savior.

51. Romans 10:9-10 NKJV
9 that if you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus and believe in your heart that God has
raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes unto
righteousness, and with the mouth confession is
made unto salvation.
Romans 10:13 NKJV
13 For “whoever calls on the name of the LORD
shall be saved.”

52. If you have questions or would like to know
more, Please, contact First Baptist Church
Jackson at 601-949-1900 or
http://firstbaptistjackson.org/contact/