Categories: BACK TO THE BASICS OF CHRISTIANITYYouth Service

LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR -TEXT: I JOHN 2:7-11

INTRODUCTION

There are seven(7) test that one really knows God;

keeping God’s commandments. (2:3-6)
Loving one’s neighbor. (2:7-11)
Growing spiritually (2:12-14)
Loving not the world (2:15-17)
Guarding against the Antichrist (2:18-23)
Letting the gospel abide in you. (2:24-27)
Abiding in Christ (2:28-29)

Last Sunday we discussed about the first test, Walking as Christ walked or Keeping God’s commandment. Today let us look at the second test, that we are genuine. We do not know God if we do not Love our Neighbors. God is love. Therefore anyone who truly knows God is bound to love.

Let us Learn:-

I.THE COMMANDMENT: (I John 2:7-8)

This is not a new commandment, but an old commandment

This is not a new commandment !! (V.7)
This is the commandment we heard from the beginning of time.
One of the first things God said to man was this: man must love his neighbor. (Lev.19:18)

This is a new commandment –How? (V.8)

Jesus Christ gave love a new meaning (Matt.5:43-45)
Jesus loved not only friends, but enemies.
Jesus loved not only good people, but bad ones.
Jesus loved not only the righteous, but the sinner.
Jesus loved not only the acceptable, but the rejected.
Jesus loved not only the clean, but the dirty,
Jesus brought a new concept of love.
Man has always felt free to mistreat others and especially those who had mistreated him.
Man has felt free to, hate, strike back, hurt, ignore, neglect, criticize, be unkind, back bite and retaliate.
But Jesus Christ has shown that we cannot mistreat people no matter what they have done to us.
The only way we can be children of God is love even as God loves. (Matt.5:45)

Love is now made known by the true light that shines and erases the darkness (V.8)

The darkness refers to man’s old idea of love, that we should mistreat anyone who mistreated us !!
Now, man is to love his neighbor no matter what the neighbor does.
Now we must love all people no matter who they are and what they have done.
No man knows God unless he loves as Christ loves. (John8:12 ;12:35, II Cor. 4:6, Isa.9:2)

II. PROFESSING CHRISTIANS ARE FALSE BELIEVERS. (John 2:9).

Professing Christian is the one who professes that he knows God, but hates his brother or neighbor.
He says he is in Christ, that he believes in Christ, has been baptized, belongs to the church of Christ, takes the Holy Communion, reads the bible, prays, teaches and lives for Christ.
But the same professor hates his brother
He says, “I don’t hate him, I just don’t like him”, “he turns me off”, “we don’t get along” “his blood and mine don’t mix”. (Titus 1:16, I Cor.13:4, Lev.19:17, I John 3:15;4:20)

III. OBEDIENT CHRISTIANS ARE TRUE BELIEVERS (I John 2:10)

Two things are said about the true Christian.

He abides in the light, that he abides in Christ. He lives and walks in Christ.
The man who loves his neighbor/brother has no occasion of stumbling in him.

There is nothing to make him stumble, fall, hurt or destroy his life.
God is the protector, the carer, provider and power that keeps us. (Rom.8:35-39)
The greatest need of man is love