The following is an outline of a sermon preached by Dr. Ray Van Neste:1. The Call to Love (vv. 7-8)- The basis for the call to love is that, 1) love originates in God and 2) God is characterized by love.- Love is a mark of authentic Christianity. If you do not love other believers, you do not know God.- Love is one of the key characteristics of God, so if you are one of His Children you should bear the family resemblance. Love is the language of Heaven. If you cannot speak it, you do not know God. The more you know God, the better you will know His language.- It is as natural for Christians to love as it is for babies to cry, for dogs to bark, for Michael Jordan to play basketball. It is not something that has to be forced. It is just part of who we are.- He is saying that you cannot have gotten up close to God if love has not rubbed off on you.- Love for others, particularly for fellow believers, is part of the ABC’s of the gospel:Ø John 13:34-35 "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another."Ø Romans 12:10,13: "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor...contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality."Ø Rom 13:8: "Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another, for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law."Ø 1Cor 13 - love is supreme (v13) and without it gifts, abilities, and sacrifice are worthless. (1-3)Ø Gal 5:13-14: "...through love serve one another. For the whole Law is fulfilled in one word...You shall love your neighbor as you love yourself." And in v22 it is the first of the fruit of the Spirit.Ø Eph 5:2: "walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us..."Ø 1Thess 4:9-10: "Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by god to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we still urge you, brethren, to excel still more."Ø Heb 13:1-2: "Let love of the brethren continue. Do not neglect to show hospitality to strangers..."Ø 1Pet 1:22: "Since you have in obedience to the truth, purified your souls for a sincere love of the brethren, fervently love one another from the heart."- 1 John 2:7-11; 3:11, 13-15Ø Again this love is not a new command, it is part of what they have heard from the beginning of their Christian experience.Ø Indeed, if you hate your brothers, John says you do not know God. That is serious talk. He says love is a non-negotiable essential. Don’t bother telling John about your correct doctrine, your perfect church attendance, your tithing and giving, or your morality. If you do not love your fellow believers, nothing else really means anything!Ø You cannot love Jesus and hates His people, whom He loves. They are His bride! Don’t tell me you like me and want to be friends with me, but you really can’t stand my wife- you know, you’d like to have me around but only as long as she didn’t come. I’ll tell you, if you don’t like her you can’t like me. To dislike her is to dislike me! And, God is a much better husband than I am!2. The Supreme Example of Love (vv. 9-10) See also 1 John 3:16 - The work of Christ, in coming to our world, walking in our steps, and dying in our place is the picture of love. It is love in its purest form, the quintessence of love, the mother of all loves!- God gave His Son that we might live“How Deep the Father’s Love for Us”Ø Here is love, vast as the ocean,Lovingkindness as the flood,When the Prince of life, our ransom,Shed for us His precious blood.Who His love will not remember?Who can cease to sing His praise?He can never be forgottenThroughout Heavens eternal daysOn the mount of crucifixionFountains opened deep and wide;Through the floodgates of God’s mercyFlowed a vast and gracious tide.Grace and love, like mighty rivers,Poured incessant from above,And heaven’s peace and perfect justiceKissed a guilty world in love¹ - Not that we loved God but the He loved usØ Rom 5:8Ø The sovereign, holy God who needs nothing chose to love us, rebellious, spiteful, hateful, people resistant even to His saving graceØ If God had not first loved us, we never would have loved Him.Ø Illustration- It is like a cross section of a tree. The rings go far back beyond sight. So at the cross of Christ, we see the love of God back before the foundation of the world (Eph 1:4).Ø ‘Long before I knew your name, You were calling me, calling meI was still doing my worldly thing, but you were right there calling me.’ (John Phillips) BEHOLD YOUR GOD & THE LOVE HE HAS FOR YOU3. The Practice of Love (vv. 11-12) A. We should love in the same self-sacrificial way (v 11)- If God has loved us like this, we ought to love each other in the same manner. This is the punch line of the passage. The exalted discussion of God’s amazing love is ultimately designed to elicit love for each other because John knows that once we love God we will love each other (Lloyd-Jones).- How is it that God has loved us?1) He loved 1st- He did not wait for us to make the first move. He initiated.2) He loved those who hated Him- We cannot excuse ourselves from love because people are difficult. If the sinless God can love sinful people, then sinful people can love other sinful people.3) He loved those who were different than He- No human will ever be more different from you than you are from God.4) His love accomplished what was best for us even though it was not what we wanted at the time.5) His love continued when it was not convenient6) His love perseveres even though we wrong Him and offend Him7) He loved at extreme cost8) His love found concrete expression- no vague feelings but real action1 John 3:16-18Ø 3:16- We are to be willing to lay down our lives for those for whom Jesus laid down His life. Or, do we think we are better than our Master? Is our life more valuable than His?Ø 3:17- Laying down your life involves meeting basic needsv.17 moves us to a lesser but more specific example. It is as if John anticipates the following scenario: "Will you love your brothers?" "Yes, Pastor, we will love!" "But, will you die for your brothers?" "Yes, Pastor, we will die!" "Will you stay up through the night with this brother and clean his bedpan?" "Well, now, that is not my calling. You know I have got to get my rest..." There is a deliberate switch here from plural (general) to singular (specific). "It is easier to be enthusiastic about Humanity with a capital "H" than it is to love individual men and women, especially those who are uninteresting, exasperating, depraved, or otherwise unattractive. Loving everybody in general may be an excuse for loving nobody in particular." (G. P. Lewis cited in Stott, 147). (James 2:15-16)John is saying that such love should be the hallmark of the church. That the Christian bond is deeper than all others and should unite us in a battle. And in battle you hold on to one another because you know you need one another. Yet, too often in the church we shoot our wounded. We are afraid to be open and real so we never get close so we never really love. We are afraid if people knew how messed up we are they would not love us. Yet they are afraid of the same thing from us. For love to flourish, the masks must come down.Ø 3:18- real love is practical and tangibleB. God is seen in a community that loves like this (v 12)If Christians are those who live like Jesus, and if Jesus died for His people, the Christians ought also be willing to lay down their lives for other Christians. "No Christian should speak readily of his love for others, unless he is prepared, if need be, to show that love as Christ showed His, by giving up His life - indeed, by regarding it as his plain to duty so to do" (B,96). Love, then, is not simply a general sentiment that we all get along but a deep camaraderie which causes us to stand for each other, hurt with each other, look out for and provide for each other - such that if we were in a bind the people we would want with us would be our Christian brothers and sisters."If you are ever wounded, I will take your place in the warAfter all, that is what a brother is for"In you mind, scan the faces of this congregation and ask yourself if you would be willing to die for each one. This is the level of devotion we are called to.* Local bars do a better job of this than churches usually. There it is O.K. to admit your hurts and struggles because the people there are not too afraid to admit they too hurt and struggle. Thus, a camaraderie develops.

¹ William Rees (1802-83), translated by William Edwards (1848-1929) © the executors of Miss Anita Edwards. Found in Praise!, # 44.

LET US LOVE EACH OTHER