Podcast: 1 John: Love and Hate in Technicolor

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For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.
-1 John 3:11-15

Many of you know this already, but I grew up in the church, and remained there for about twenty years when I realized that I wasn’t a Christian. It wasn’t a bad thing at all to learn, and it’s something that is actually encouraged by the Bible. Paul tells us to “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves” (2 Cor 13:5). This is largely discouraged in the church today. We tell each other that as long as you walked up during an altar call and prayed a prayer then you’re cool with God. The attitude of the New Testament writers was quite the opposite – they really thought it better to realize that you’re not a Christian while there is time to do something about it.

Coming to the understanding that I wasn’t a Christian was one of the best things that ever happened to me. Until I realized that I was not saved, I wouldn’t have been able to be saved, if that makes sense. As long as I thought I was okay, I had no interest in truly becoming okay.

We haven’t reached this passage yet in our study, but John is going to eventually us the reason for his letter. “I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

When I was in the church before I was a Christian, I really didn’t have a concept of Grace. I thought I was fine with God because I was working hard at being a good person. What is so powerful about 1 John is how it rips away that self-righteousness and shows you the truth – that God is looking at your heart, and not just at your actions.

John doesn’t tell us that we can be confident in our salvation because we do the right things. Doing the right things is actually not impossible. You can summon up the will to act well in all sorts of situations. John ignores that sort of thing completely. What John tells you is that you can only be confident in your salvation if you love.

Looking back, I certainly wasn’t loving. I did the right things, but my heart was wicked and dark. Sure, I would claim that I loved everyone, and I probably even believed it at the time. But if I would have been honest, I would have told you that my heart was filled with lust, pride, selfishness, greed, and hatred. If you put me on a crowded highway, I would have proven that hatred really fast.

It is for this reason that John will link hate and murder. Look, human law only really cares about what we actually do. We can hate people so much that we will think about murder all day long, but human law doesn’t care. But God looks to the heart. It is what is within us that He cares about. God is not fooled if we can keep our external behavior in line. He doesn’t reward those who simply have better power of will than others. He’s concerned with who you are.

Jesus says, “You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, 'You fool!' will be liable to the hell of fire” (Matthew 5:21-22). This is what John is talking about. It’s not enough to merely refrain from killing someone. We should love that person too.

And here’s where the real issue is. I can force myself by my own will to not kill someone. I’ve actually been doing rather well on this point. But I cannot force myself not to hate them. That is something that only God can do.

The evidence for that is everywhere. Watch television for a while and see what people say about Christianity, and then tell me that John analogy to Cain is not appropriate. In John’s day, Christians were being killed for their faith. John’s own brother was murdered for being a Christian. That still happens today, but in America we don’t see it that much. Still, we can see the hatred in the books being published, the people on talk shows, and the general attitude of people. They see the righteousness of Christ, and that righteousness shines light on their own evil actions, and so they want the light put out.

How many times will you hear these phrases – “Don’t judge me;” “Don’t push your morality on me;” “Stay out of other people’s bedroom;” “Keep your religion in the church”? It is the light of God that exposes all unrighteousness, and the unrighteous do not want their deeds exposed.

We should not be like that. We should not be like Cain, who killed his brother. Do you know this story? It’s in Genesis 4 if you do not. Cain was jealous over his brother’s righteousness, and he killed him. Is your anger sometimes like that? May it not be, for we were reborn in Christ to love. We were not saved in order to walk as the world walks, but as Jesus walks.

Let me stress this point – this is not something you can do out of force of will. Look at what John tells us. He does not tell us, “Love others and you will then pass from death to life.” No, he says, “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers.”

Our love is the evidence of our heart. If we still have the worldly heart of stone, we will not love as we should. If that heart of stone has been replaced by a heart of flesh, something that only God can do, then we will no longer be like Cain.

Our love is a barometer of our faith. If you want to know whether you are in the faith, look to your heart. Has it been changed by the Holy Spirit? Is it being formed even now into something that looks more like Christ?

I’m interested that John uses the word “message” here: “For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another.” This passage mirrors something he said before in 1 John 1:5: “This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.”

And that’s really the point. Are we in Him? Then we are in the light, and the darkness is being banished from us. It is not that we will not sin. John is not trying to make that point. It is that before we were in darkness, and now we are in light. It is that before we were like Cain, and now it God has turned our hearts toward love. It is that before we were driven by greed, lust, pride, and selfishness in all ways, but now we have been turned toward the Cross and away from ourselves. We may still fall to those temptations, but our hearts have been basically changed by grace.

This is what John is saying – look to your heart. What is there? Has God changed your focus away from yourself and toward others, not for reasons of ambition or to make a name for yourself, but out of love? Maybe it hasn’t been all that much, but when you look upon your life, you can see the change. Can you trace a distinct movement toward God since the hour you first repented to Him? Do you love when before you hated? Do you have compassion when before you had anger? If not, turn to the Cross. Repent and ask His forgiveness in faith. It is because of Jesus’ sacrifice that we can be changed, not by the power of our own wills.

We have the tendency to believe that we are doing okay on our own. It’s not terribly hard to be a good person according to the world’s standards. For this very reason does John tell us to look within. If your heart has borne fruit in keeping with your repentance, then you can have confidence in your election as a child of God. If not, then go to Him.

Let us not overdo this. Let us not think of every sin as “proof” that we are lost. We will still sin as Christians, but once we are in Christ, we know that, in the words of John, “if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.” It is by Him alone that we can be forgiven. Confess to Him in faith and true repentance. We are saved by His righteousness, and not our own. It is that same righteousness that will change us, and one day perfect us.