1 JOHN 2:7-11
TWO POSSIBILITIES
Real Christianity #6
Corrie Ten Boom, author of The Hiding Place, and her sister Betsie were prisoners in a German Concentration camp during World War II. Betsie died there, but Corrie survived.
She wrote:
IT WAS IN A CHURCH in Munich where I was speaking in 1947 that I saw him-a balding heavyset man in a gray overcoat, a brown felt hat clutched between his hands. One moment I saw the overcoat and the brown hat, the next, a blue uniform and a visored cap with its skull and crossbones.
Memories of the concentration camp came back with a rush: the huge room with its harsh overhead lights, the pathetic pile of dresses and shoes in the center of the floor, the shame of walking naked past this man. I could see my sister's frail form ahead of me, ribs sharp beneath the parchment of skin…
Now he was in front of me, hand thrust out: "A fine message, fraulein! How good it is to know that, as you say,, all our sins are at the bottom of the sea!" It was the first time since my release that I had been face to face with one of my captors and my blood seemed to freeze.
"You mentioned Ravensbruck in your talk, " he was saying. "I was a guard therre. But since that time, " he went on, "I have become a Christian. I know that God has forgiven me for the cruel things I did there, but I would like to hear it from your lips as well. Fraulein-" again the hand came out-"will you forgive me?"
And I stood there-and could not. Betsie had died in that place- could he erase her slow terrible death simply for the asking?
It could not have been many seconds that he stood there, hand held out, but to me it seemed hours as I wrestled with the most difficult thing I had ever had to do.
For I had to do it-I knew that. The message that God forgives has has a prior condition: that we forgive those who have injured us. "If you do not forgive men their trespasses," Jesus says, "neither will your Father in Heaven forgive your trespasses."
Still I stood there with the coldness clutching my heart. But forgive- ness is an act of the will, and the will can function regardless of the temperature of the heart. "Jesus, help me!" I prayed silently. "I can lift my hand. I can do that much. You supply the feeling."
And so woodenly, mechanically, I thrust my hand into the one stretched out to me. And as I did, an incredible thing took place. The current started in my shoulder, raced down my arm, sprang into our joined hands. And then this healing warmth seemed to flood my whole being, bringing tears to my eyes. "I forgive you, brother!" I cried. "With all my heart!" Corrie Ten Boom, I’m Still learning to forgive, http://www.circlegame.com/live/boom.htm
For Corrie Ten Boom there were two possibilities. She would forgive or be bitter. She would love or she would hate. She chose forgiveness and love in her situation. Many chose bitterness, unforgiveness and hatred.
This morning we return to 1 John, the letter that describes Real Christianity. In the passage before us, 1 John 2:7-11 we are faced with two possibilities, hatred or love. Paraphrasing from an old saying about a wedding bride’s attire (“Something old, something new, something borrowed, something blue.), I have outlined this passage as,
SOMETHING OLD – Vs. 7
SOMETHING NEW – Vs. 8
SOMETHING BLINDING – Vss. 9, 11
SOMETHING TRUE – Vs. 10
SOMETHING OLD – Vs. 7
Brethren, I write no new commandment unto you, but an old commandment which ye had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which ye have heard from the beginning.
The old commandment to love referred to here had been around for a long time. It began as an Old Testament truth.
Leviticus 19:18 - Thou shalt not avenge, nor bear any grudge against the children of thy people, but thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself: I am the Lord.
The commandment to love was also old in the sense that anyone hearing the Gospel message over any length of time would have been confronted with his command to love.
Matthew 22:37-40 - Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. [38] This is the first and great commandment. [39] And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. [40] On these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets.
John 13:34-35 - A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. [35] By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.
From the beginning the disciples were confronted with this command to love on a higher level. They were called upon to love each other as much as Jesus had loved them.
We are called upon to love one another as much as Jesus loved us.
How much did Jesus love us?
V He loved us enough to leave the splendors of Heaven where He reigned with the Father to come to earth and become a man like us.
V He loved us enough to endure 33 years of life among them that were vastly inferior to Himself.
V He loved us enough to die on the cross of Calvary, paying for the sins that you and I have committed. This love not only came from God the Son, but from God the Father as well.
1 John 4:10 - Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
V He loves us enough to offer forgiveness and eternal life to all who will believe on Him.
John 3:16 - For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.
V He loves us enough to continue to intercede for us at the right hand of God.
Jesus says to you and me, “I want you to love each other as much as I have loved you. If you do this, the world will know that you are my disciples.”
Jesus calls it a “new commandment”. John called it an old commandment, but only in the sense that those John was writing to had heard it since the beginning of their contact with the Gospel of Christ. It was old in time but new in vitality.
SOMETHING OLD – Vs. 7
SOMETHING NEW – Vs. 8
Again, a new commandment I write unto you, which thing is true in him and in you: because the darkness is past, and the true light now shineth.
How can something be old and new at the same time?
Let me give you some examples.
In less than a month thousands of hunters will be out in the woods after a buck or a doe.
For most of them it is an old thing. They’ve done it many times before.
And yet, the joy of being in the woods, and the joy of the hunt is new each time it is experienced. It becomes new in its intensity and excitement.
As most of you know we are grandparents.
For us this is not new. We have been grandparents for almost seven years.
But each time a grandchild is added to the family it is “new”. There is a new life, a new baby which gives us a new joy and excitement each time it is experienced.
The commandment to love on a higher level was true in the Lord Jesus. He went to the cross for us.
But even now, He is still loving us. The extent of his love continues to increase. The intensity of his love continues to increase.
His love is new in extent and intensity every time He saves a soul.
His love is new in extent and intensity every time He extends forgiveness to a believer.
His love is new in extent and intensity every time He answers a prayer.
His love is new in extent and intensity every time He talks to God in our behalf.
The new commandment to love is true in Him.
And the new commandment to love is true in us as well if we are truly born again.
2 Corinthians 5:17 - Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.
There is new joy and intensity each time we help someone out of love for Christ.
There is new joy and intensity as we forgive someone out of love for Christ.
There is new joy and intensity as we bond together in fellowship with other Christians.
There is a new joy and intensity when we win someone to Christ.
Now why is this new commandment to love possible?
Because the darkness is passed!
Ephesians 2:1 - And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
Why is this new commandment to love possible?
Because the darkness is passed and the true light is now shining!
The true light is now shining in our hearts.
John 8:12 - Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying, I am the light of the world: he that followeth me shall not walk in darkness, but shall have the light of life.
And my friend the light of life is a light of love. The more we allow Jesus’ light to shine through us, the more our love increases in joy and intensity.
The commandment to love is new in another sense.
Each day Jesus finds new ways to love us. For instance this week He chose to love the Peters family as we gathered together to inter my mother’s ashes. He also loved us by quickly providing a buyer for our parents’ home.
Each day we should find new ways to love each other. Love is not to be stagnant. It is to grow.
SOMETHING OLD – Vs. 7
SOMETHING NEW – Vs. 8
SOMETHING BLINDING – Vss. 9, 11
1 John 2:9 - He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now.
There are people who claim to be saved, to have been born again. And yet these people’s lives are filled with hatred.
Sometimes they hate people of another race.
Sometimes they hate people of another nationality.
Sometimes they hate people who have hurt them.
Sometimes they hate people who have hurt those they love.
Sometimes they hate other Christians because they have hurt them, or a loved one, or because they have become jealous of that other Christian.
Sometimes they hate practically everyone.
The person who hates his brother is in darkness.
The person who hates his brother may claim to be walking in the light of the Lord, but the facts convict Him.
1 John 2:11 - But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
Now we can rationalize this hatred. We can call it something other than hatred.
· “Oh I don’t hate him. I just don’t want to be around him.”
· “Oh I don’t hate her. I just can’t listen to him teach knowing what he has done to me.”
· “Oh I don’t hate her. I just can’t forget how she’s hurt me.
It was a joy for Dottie and I to have Pastor Tim Cappucci and his wife, Mirielie in our home during Recharge Weekend. I once pastored the church he is pastoring, so we were able to get caught up on people’s lives. Some of the things we heard were encouraging.
Some of the things we heard were not so encouraging.
We heard of the couple we married and their pending divorce. She will not forgive a wrong he committed and has dumped him for a new lifestyle.
We also heard of a man whose wife resigned from a teaching position at our Christian School over 20 years. He claims she was fired and is still talking about it!
We also heard of people who have broken fellowship with family and life long friends over “King James Only” position. It split the church.
1 John 2:11 - But he that hateth his brother is in darkness, and walketh in darkness, and knoweth not whither he goeth, because that darkness hath blinded his eyes.
We know of people who have been “blinded by hatred”.
We know of people who have blown up buildings and killed innocent people out of hatred.
We know of people who have murdered or harmed family or friends in the rage of hatred. It’s in the news all the time.
And we don’t think that hatred effects us.
If we maintain animosity towards another
If we fail to forgive
If we harbor a grudge
If we have something against someone else
We are walking in darkness and we can’t think clearly because we are deceived.
Hebrews 12:15 – Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God; lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and thereby many be defiled;
When we fail to forgive we are not allowing God’s grace to control us.
When we hate we are not allowing God’s grace to control us.
When we have something against someone, we are not allowing God’s grace to control us.
We have failed of the grace of God.
A root of bitterness can spring up and trouble us.
It makes us miserable and we fail to think of act clearly because we have been blinded.
And the worst part of it is, many others are defiled by our bitterness.
They are hurt by our bitter words and actions and can become bitter themselves.
They can inherit our bitterness towards others.
Many a son or daughter, husband or wife, brother or sister can become bitter against someone else because the bitterness of a family member.
Many a friend can become bitter because of the bitterness of another family member.
I want you to stop and think for a minute.
Have you been blinded by bitterness or hatred?
SOMETHING OLD – Vs. 7
SOMETHING NEW – Vs. 8
SOMETHING BLINDING – Vss. 9, 11
SOMETHING TRUE – Vs. 10
1 John 2:10 - He that loveth his brother abideth in the light, and there is none occasion of stumbling in him.
We already saw that Jesus is the light of the world.
If we abide in that light, we will allow Jesus to shine through us.
When we abide in the light, Jesus controls us through His Spirit.
When we abide in the light, we allow Jesus to cleanse us from all sin.
When we abide in the light Jesus loves others through us.
And we love others we will not stumble in darkness.
But more important than that, others will not stumble over us! We will not cause others to trip over us.
If Christians only realized how their own bitterness makes others to stumble! They’d be more willing to let Jesus change them.
There’s a Spanish story of a father and son who had become estranged. The son ran away, and the father set off to find him. He searched for months to no avail. Finally, in a last desperate effort to find him, the father put an ad in Madrid newspaper. The ad read: “Dear Paco, meet me in front of this newspaper office at noon on Saturday. All is forgiven. I love you. Your Father.”
On Saturday 800 Pacos showed up, looking for forgiveness and love from their fathers. Bits & Pieces, October 15, 1992, p. 13, http://www.bible.org/illus.asp?topic_id=576
Who is it that needs your love and forgiveness?
My mother and father recently left this world.
To my knowledge they had forgiven anyone who ever hurt them.
To my knowledge nobody had anything against them.
Will that be true of you when you die?
Don’t be a stumbling block.
Walk in the light!
Love instead of hate!
This is true!
The two possibilities are love and hate.
SOMETHING OLD – Vs. 7
SOMETHING NEW – Vs. 8
SOMETHING BLINDING – Vss. 9, 11
SOMETHING TRUE – Vs. 10