1. We have noticed certain reoccurring themes in I John and one of them is assurance of salvation – and how to discern between counterfeit Christ-ianity and the genuine article (cf. I John 3:9,10; 1:6).
2. In this epistle, John brings out frequently that one of the marks of genuine salvation is love for the brethren (2:9-11; 4:7,8).
3. Love for the brethren is definitely an infallible test of one’s salvation.
4. Today we will pick up on verse 11 – "For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another" (I John 3:11).
5. We are told by many false teachers today that in this day of grace there are no commandments for which the Christian is responsible. What many do not realize is that the commandments of Jesus are just as binding on us as the Mosaic law was to the Jews. And love is the basis for the law – God gave us the law to protect us because He loves us.
6. John brings this out forcefully in this epistle – "love one another" is not an exhortation, it is a direct commandment from God. And whoever disobeys this command is an unsaved lawbreaker (I John 3:14,15).

I. WE ARE COMMANDED TO LOVE (3:11-15).

1. John often refers back to "the beginning" (3:11), i.e., the incarnation of Christ. You may recall that the Gnostics were introducing new teachings, but John keeps reminding his listeners to go back to "the beginning" (cf. 2:7,24), back to the Word of God, back to the apostolic doctrine – this doctrine was public knowledge in contrast to the secretism of the Gnostics.
2. This message from the beginning was "that we should love one another" (3:11; cf. John 13:35).
3. Love goes against the old nature. The story has been told that Lewis Sperry Chafer and H.A. Ironside were kneeling in prayer and Ironside prayed, "Oh Lord, help me not to be a cranky old man" and Dr. Chafer was quite surprised.
4. Love goes against the old nature – Cain typifies a man under the control of the old nature (3:12). He was the first murderer and his problem was envy. Someone has defined envy as "discontent or uneasiness at the sight of another’s excellence or good fortune, accompanied with some degree of hatred and a desire to possess equal advantages."
5. God accepted Abel’s sacrifice but He rejected Cain’s. This caused jealousy and envy and rage and hatred in the heart of Cain and so he slew his brother.
6. Over and over the Bible tells us that the world hates Christ and His followers and yet some Christians cannot seem to grasp this "Marvel not, my brethren…" (3:13; cf. 3:1; John 15:18,19; 17:14).
7. The world hates God and the righteous lives of God’s children. And the more separated you live, the more they resent it.
8. Illustration: Some one recently told me of an article he read about the filthy degenerates who produce all the garbage on TV. They personally live like depraved lowlifes and so they portray deviancy as normal and fun. Similarly, Christians are either ignored on TV (no one goes to church, no one reads the Bible, no one seriously prays, etc.) or portrayed as oddballs, hypocrites, dangerous fanatics, and so on.
9. We know (a key word in this epistle) that we have "passed from death unto life" (3:14), i.e., been born again, "because we love the brethren. This is positive proof of the new birth. Conversely, "He that loveth not his brother abideth in death" (3:14).
10. It is unscriptural for born again believers to fight each other – we should concentrate on fighting the real enemy. The famous 18^th century British admiral, Lord Nelson, was in battle against the Dutch and his ships were ready to face off with a large Dutch fleet. All of a sudden, Lord Nelson saw two of his officers quarreling. He jumped right in between them and pushed them apart. He pointed to the big battleships of Holland and said, "Gentlemen, they are the enemy!"
11. If we loved each other the way we are supposed to, we wouldn’t worry about hostility from the world.
12. There are three key words in this epistle; here they are with their opposites: love, light, and life; and hatred, darkness, and death (cf. 2:9-11; 3:14).
13. Envy and jealousy lead to hatred, and according to the Word of God, hatred is murder (3:15; cf. Matt.5:21,22). John brings this to its logical conclusion by saying, "and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him" (3:15).
14. John is not saying that murderers cannot be saved – he is saying unrepentant murderers cannot be saved (cf. Rev.21:8). When a man is truly saved, he will no longer live in hatred; and if he does, it is proof that he wasn’t really saved.
15. Hatred characterizes the world and Cain is the prototype – he represents the worldly man – full of envy and hatred. His hatred came from "the wicked one" (3:12) and resulted in murder.
16. Love characterizes the church and Christ is our prototype. Love originates in God, results in self-sacrifice and is evidence of eternal life.

II. CHRIST’S LOVE IS OUR EXAMPLE (3:16-18).

1. The ultimate example of love, the standard that God gives us, is found in John 3:16 and I John 3:16.
2. True love for the brethren leads to action (3:17) – how rarely is this preached today! (cf. James 2:15,16; 5:1-6).
3. This does not mean that we are to give indiscriminately to every panhandler and drunk that sticks his hand out; but it does mean that we have a responsibility before God to help our brethren.
4. True love is manifested in actual deeds of kindness and generosity – "Action speaks louder than words."
5. In Aesop’s Fables, a boy was in danger of being drowned while bathing in a river. Seeing a passer-by on the riverbank, he called out to him for help, but the man started to lecture him on the dangers of bathing in deep water. "Rescue me now," cried the boy; "you can lecture me later on when I’m safe."

III. IF WE TRULY LOVE GOD, WE WILL KEEP HIS COMMANDMENTS (3:19-24).

1. By the exercise of real and genuine love for the brethren, we can know "that we are of the truth" and this "shall assure our hearts before Him" [in prayer] (3:19).
2. In verses 20 and 21, the heart represents the conscience of man. Our conscience can condemn us but the conviction of the Holy Spirit is even stronger and greater. And yet "if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart" and knows whether or not if we sincerely love Him (cf. John 21:17).
3. In John Milton’s Paradise Lost, he calls the conscience "the umpire of the soul." Some umpires can be wrong. Umpires need to know the rules of the game. Likewise, our conscience needs to be trained by constant Bible study. A sensitive conscience is a blessing from God. Example: Bro. Ashley’s conscience bothering him about watching sports on Sunday afternoon.
4. If we keep our conscience clean, if we are quick to confess and forsake our sins, then we can have "confidence toward God" (3:21) in prayer.
5. Assured prayer is contingent upon obedience. Loving one another is a prerequisite to answered prayer. We cannot expect to have our prayers answered until we have obeyed Christ’s commandments (3:22).
6. A lady told Dr. R. A. Torrey that God had failed her because when her husband was ill, she prayed for his recovery and God didn’t raise him up. Dr. Torrey pointed her to I John 3:22, and asked if she were obeying the conditions laid down. She had to admit that she wasn’t. "Then God has not failed you, but you have failed God" said Dr. Torrey.
7. If one is abiding in Christ and is in the will of God, he will not ask for anything that is outside the will of God (cf. I John 5:14,15).
8. Many years ago, the late M.R. DeHaan was called to the home of a widow whose daughter was the apple of her eye. When the child was 3 years old she became very sick and the doctors said that she would die. The mother rebelled violently and accused God of cruelty. She demanded that the Lord spare her daughter and told him that she could never trust Him again if He did not do so. God granted her request and the child grew up and lived a normal life for 13 years, but then joined with bad companions. She got deeper and deeper into sin and broke her mother’s heart. The tragic end came one morning when the young girl hung herself in her bedroom and the hysterical mother called Dr. DeHaan. When he arrived she told him, "Oh Dr. DeHaan, how I wish God had taken her when she was 3 years old."
9. John says we can have our prayers answered "because we keep His commandments" (3:22) and then he gives us a summary of all the O.T. commandments (3:23). This speaks of our duty toward God ("believe on the name…") and duty toward each other ("and love one another"). If we are right in our relationship with God, then we will be right in our relationship with each other. If we are not right in our relationship with God, then we will not be right in our relationship with others.
10. By obeying Christ, we dwell in Him and He abides in us (3:24). The Holy Spirit makes this real to us (cf. Rom.8:9,16; I John 2:20,27).

CONCLUSION:

1. An evangelist was dressed one day in casual clothes and was talking to a woman who was unaware that he was a preacher. She said sarcastically to him, "How many commandments are there?" He answered "11." She said, "I figured you didn’t know the Bible – you’d better start reading the Bible!"
2. That Sunday she was surprised to see this same man in her church, dressed nicely and was even more surprised when he was introduced as their guest speaker.
3. He read his text, John 13:34, and then said, "Brethren, it would appear that with this new commandment, there are 11 commandments."
4. Now, the lady went from surprise to supreme embarrassment.