Abiding in Christ: The Sacrificial Life

Curtis Klassen

Sermon • Submitted 7 months ago • Presented 7 months ago

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Introduction

Proof

Today we need proof.

Innocent until proven guilty.

How outraged do we become if someone claims we are guilty of something with no proof.

We hear stories of people who spend years in jail only to find out they are innocent

How proof.

You want to return something to a store, generally, you need proof of purchase

So what about if we claim faith in Christ?

John I believe says there should be proof

It’s not enough to claim but as James says in chapter 2 show me the proof

There needs to be proof

And so John in I John wants his readers to be sure.

John warns his readers of teachers, prophets and the love of the world that could drag them away and to test what they believe and the validity of their faith.

1 John 2:19 ESV

They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.

And in chapter 3 - he ties this to abiding in Christ

Read 3:11-24

I. Abiding = Obedience vs 24

So lets start at the end and sort of make our way back

vs 24 - John equates a life truly in Christ to one that is marked by obedience to God’s commands

In other words this is to John a mark of true faith

His brother James says the same thing when in James 2:18 he says show me your faith by what you do

James 2:18 ESV

But someone will say, “You have faith and I have works.” Show me your faith apart from your works, and I will show you my faith by my works.

And so abiding is something that first of all comes from a true faith in Jesus

That’s why the first command John states in vs 23 is belief in the name of God’s son Jesus

What we’ve been talking about up to this point is walking in our relationship with Christ.

John, as Jesus says in John 15, if that faith is true of us then we are already in Christ

And so we’ve been talking about how to walk in what is already true of us

Through the living word and a life centered on Christ in prayer

These were means Christ used to abide in the father and so he has given them to us as well.

This is to transform our lives so that we become more obedient to Him, to His commands

II. Obedience = Love vs 23

The second command, next to faith in Christ, is to love one another

Here is John’s Illustration

Cain: murdered his brother

Don’t be like Him!

We see this playing out in extreme ways today - Hamas/Israel, Russia/Ukraine, Cancel culture

vs 15 John reiterates Jesus teaching about murder

If we hate our brother, we are as Cain, a murderer

murderer has no eternal life

This is how deeply God says love is to be the defining characteristic of his people

The other side of the comparison is just as Cain hated Abel because of his evil and Abel’s righteousness

So the world will hate those who love Jesus and the brothers

And so, we should be different

Our obedience needs to show itself in love

But what is this love like?

III. Love = Sacrifice vs 16-18

A. Lay down our lives as Christ did

Jesus not only laid down his life on the cross but in all the other ways he served others

Jesus showed love for everyone - through care, feeding, healing etc.

Obviously his greatest display was his death on the cross

And he called his disciples to follow his example and become servants to all

John again states that this is the true sign of our abiding in Christ sacrificial love especially amongst his people

But most of us won’t be called on to give our lives for him

But then he makes it super practical

B. Through practical help

If we have some way that we can help some one but don’t John says how can God’s love abide in us

Again James says it similarily,

James 2:15–17 ESV

If a brother or sister is poorly clothed and lacking in daily food, and one of you says to them, “Go in peace, be warmed and filled,” without giving them the things needed for the body, what good is that? So also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.

I think on one hand this shows that if in this practical way we are not willing to show love to a brother or sister, then we won’t be willing to sacrifice more.

But also Jesus sacrificial love for us is to be shown with open hands and hearts.

But also that…

C. Our love must be shown in action

vs 18 - “let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth”

It is to be shown in what we do out of a heart loved by God

Jesus parable of good samaritan applys here

As David Allen prof at Southwestern baptist theological seminary said "Saying we love everybody in general may become an excuse for loving nobody in particular! Like the little boy on the crowded elevator who was overheard to say, “Mommy, I love mankind; it’s people I can’t stand,”

many of us find clever ways to disguise our dislike or hatred of someone. “How often does polite civility disguise undisclosed feelings of antipathy and aversion?” is a question well asked by Gary Burge. If we are to love everybody, does that mean we have to like everybody? How do I go about loving people I don’t like, even in the church? I’m just asking the question I know you are asking right now in your mind! It seems to me there is a very clear, practical distinction between liking and loving. Common sense coupled with life experience makes it evident that we simply cannot and will not like everybody we meet, even in the church. Personalities being what they are, not to mention temperament, appearance, behavior, and mannerisms, make it inevitable that in life’s journey you are going to like some people more than others. Remember, not everybody likes you either! Liking is a matter of personal preference. Loving is a matter of obedience to Christ and the Word of God. Love penetrates beyond the superficial and moves to the essence of the person. It overcomes obstacles and excuses. Love sees beyond what it does not like in a person and minimizes it in order to see the person as Christ sees him. Then seeing the person in that way opens the door to acting toward that person in a Christlike way. Loving people you don’t like means treating them as if you did like them! You choose to act toward them in a way that is pleasing to Christ and that exhibits how Christ would act toward them. The nature of Christian love is that it acts, it gives, it expresses itself toward others.