Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us, and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another. 1 John 4:10-11

Why did God save us at all? Was it because we deserved mercy? No, Was it because of our good works? No, Was it because God needs us? Absolutely not, the only reason God saved any of us, is because God loves us, period! It’s amazing when you hear the non-believer or atheists state that God is hateful or cruel. God gave His only begotten Son to save us from our sins, that’s true love demonstrated on the cross!

If I ask you “Do you love Jesus”? You might say Yes! But why do you love Jesus? The reason you love Jesus is because He loved you first! God called you by name, He regenerated your heart, and put the love of Christ inside you. The only reason we are saved is because God loved us first, not that we loved Christ first

The Apostle John says here “This is love, not that we loved God, but that He loved Us” Before you were saved you didn’t love God, in fact you were an enemy of God. In fact by your actions, you hated God. You rebelled against God in every aspect of your life, you blasphemed his name, you disregarded His laws, yet God still loved us and saved us from our sins.

How did God save us? As the Apostle John continues “And sent His Son (Jesus) to be the propitiation for our sins” The original Greek word translated as propitiation is “hilasmon” which can also mean “atoning sacrifice” Christ is the propitiation and atoning sacrifice for Your sins! Think about that! God has every right to send us to eternal Hell for our sins, however Christ took our place on the cross to pay our debt. That is the true love of God demonstrated for us!

So how do we respond? As the Apostle John says here “Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought to also to love one another” We love the Church, because Christ loves Us. Those who neglect the Church, have trampled on the blood of Christ. You have no choice but to love others, this is your calling and your orders by Christ, this is not an option.

We don’t do “good works” to be saved, yet because we are saved we produce “good works” because the Holy Spirit is living inside of us! This is not a hard concept to understand, yet many live in rebellion against God to not “Love their neighbor”. If you are truly saved, you will love your neighbor because Christ loves you. As Jesus said “A good tree produces good fruit” (Matthew 7:17) 

Remember you love Jesus because Jesus loved you first! God has called you, cleansed you, and sanctified you to be Born Again, Amen!

Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him. 1 John 4:7-9

We often hear the phrase repeated over and over again “God Is Love”, and this is a true theological statement as we see here in our scriptures. But what does it mean “God is Love”, how do we define love? The world likes to perverse the meaning of love by justifying whatever carnal sin their flesh desires. When they are convicted of their sin, they simply say “God is Love” as if this is the magic words that justifies all sin, however this couldn’t be farther from the truth!

As the Apostle John says here, In this the love of God was manifested towards us” meaning God demonstrated His love towards humanity, see love is not just words, its not just a cliche or a bumper sticker, love is an action (1 Corinthians 13) True love is demonstrated with your actions. For example, you claim to love your spouse, how do you demonstrate this love? You get married, you make a covenant with that person that you are united together under God for eternity. Many people want to claim they love their partner, but they won’t get married, why? Because they don’t really love that person, its just a convenience for them not a covenant

So how did God demonstrate or manifest his love towards You and the rest of humanity? As the Apostle John continues to tell us “God has sent His only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him” God demonstrated his love towards us on the cross (Romans 5:8) God didn’t just say He loves us, God demonstrated his love to us, so we can be forgiven for our sins!

Jesus loves You, as the old Hymn says, however the question really is “Do you love Jesus”? If you truly love Jesus Christ, then you would do what He says, right? Jesus said “ If you love me, Keep my commandments” (John 14:15) So did you “Repent of your sins and believe the gospel”? (Mark 1:15) These are the words of Jesus Christ, turn away from your sin and turn to Jesus Christ for salvation. Christ will send you the Holy Spirit to transform and sanctify your life. 

Christ died on the cross, not only because He loves you, but to pay the penalty for your sins. To justify your sin by saying “God is Love” is blasphemous and depraved. Christ demonstrated his love towards you by taking your place on the cross, to continue in your sin is to spit in the face of The Lord

The salvation of Christ is a Covenant, just like Marriage is a covenant. You are either all in or you’re an adulterer in heart, to truly Love The Lord your God is with all your mind, heart, and soul, Amen!

Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. They are of the world: therefore speak they of the world, and the world heareth them.We are of God: he that knoweth God heareth us; he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we the spirit of truth, and the spirit of error. 1 John 4:4-6

As Christians, the reality is the world is against you! As Jesus said “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me first” (John 15:18) You are in a spiritual warfare of good and evil, you are fighting against the demonic forces of this world, understand this is not going to be an easy walk.

However God has equipped you for this walk! As Jesus said to his disciples “It is to your advantage that I go away, if I don’t go away the Helper (The Holy Spirit) will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send Him (The Holy Spirit)  to you” (John 16:7) Christ has sent us the greatest gift , the gift of the Holy Spirit that is living inside of us, God living inside of his people, to guide, lead, and convict us!

As the Apostle John says here “You are of God and have overcome them, because He (The Holy Spirit) who is in you (Church) is greater than He who is in the world” God has equipped his Church to overcome the world because the Holy Spirit lives inside his people. Greater is the Holy Spirit than is any demonic force that may come against you! Rebuke the demons in Jesus mighty name!

Listen to these words of Jesus Christ also “In the world you will have tribulation, be of good cheer or peace, I (Christ) have overcome the world” (John 16:33) Satan has already been defeated at the cross, It Is Finished! As a Child of God, don’t walk this world in self-defeat you are victorious through Christ, the Holy Spirit is living inside of you, the same Spirit that raised Jesus Christ from the dead (Romans 8:11)

The Apostle John continues to say “We are of God, He who knows God listens to us, he who is not of God doesn’t listen to us, By this we know the Spirit of Truth and the Spirit of Error” Notice the separation, The Spirit of Truth (Holy Spirit) and the Spirit of Error (demonic) the only way to know truth is to know Christ, because Jesus is the truth (John 14:6)

Child of God, walk in victory because Christ has already overcome the world and The Holy Spirit is living inside of you, Amen!

Beloved, believe not every spirit, but try the spirits whether they are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. Hereby know ye the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesseth that Jesus Christ is come in the flesh is of God: and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.  1 John 4:1-3

There are many people within the Church, who claim to be prophets, who claim to be apostles, they claim to be speaking for God, yet these people are not of God , but of Satan. Just because someone quotes scripture or has a following, don’t automatically assume that they are filled with the Holy Spirit. We must test every spirit that comes into our path! As the Apostle John says “Beloved, don’t believe every spirit, but test the spirits whether they are from God”

Remember when Satan confronted The Lord Jesus he quoted scripture also (Matthew 4) Many people today would have believed Satan, they would have said “Well he is quoting scripture” but he twisted the Word of God to fit his agenda. Doesn’t that sound familiar today? Or remember Eve was deceived by Satan in the garden, “You surely won’t die” promised Satan, but it was a lie from the pit of Hell that condemned humanity. Be careful when believing the promises of a false prophet, because they could condemn your soul

So how do we identify a false prophet? Here are a few things from my experience and perspective. Firstly, everything they say must line up with the Word of God. Every statement the false prophet makes, can it be backed up with scripture? Every promise or “prophecy” can it be verified with scripture? Remember Satan used scripture also, are they using scripture in the complete context of the chapter in the Bible?

Secondly, a false prophets ministry will always be carnally minded and not interested in the Kingdom of God. As the old saying goes “follow the money trail” , when a preacher is mostly interested in money, its a huge red flag. When a preacher just keeps asking for money and makes claims your money can produce “blessings” in your life, they are false, they are carnally minded. The false prophet desires the things of the flesh instead of crucifying their flesh. Money, power, sex, worldly possessions, are all driving points for a false prophet. As Jesus said “What does it profit to gain the whole world and to lose your soul” (Mark 8:36)

One common denominator I always find with a false ministry is the denial of the Trinity, the denial of the Deity of Christ,the denial of the bodily resurrection of Christ,  which typically leads to the denial of the authority of scripture. As the Apostle John says here “By this you will know the Spirit of God, every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come into the flesh is from God” Many cults claim to follow Jesus, but what is their description of Jesus? Is their belief of Jesus Christ, the same as what the Bible says? Most cults always believe in a false Jesus, the purpose is they deny his deity, they lower Christ into nothing more than another creation of God. Beware of these false prophets and groups! Nobody can be saved without Christ (John 14:6, Acts 4:12) If you don’t know the real Jesus, it doesn’t matter what you do know!

As the Apostle John said “And this is the spirit of the AntiChrist, and is now already in the world” Satan’s ultimate goal is to mislead people on who Jesus is and damn everyone’s soul to Hell. You need to make sure you are following the real Jesus Christ of the Bible, any other variation is just a false idol and you are simply not saved at all! Test the Spirits, because your soul is on the line! Amen!

And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us. 1 John 3:24

What is the key to the Christian life? To abide in Christ! Because if we abide in Christ, Christ will abide in us, we are in total union with God through the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The original Greek word often translated as “Abide” is “Menei” meaning to remain, to stay, to wait. It’s putting your full and complete faith in Jesus Christ as Lord, even when you might not understand the way, you abide in Christ. Even when you don’t understand the purpose, you abide in Christ. Even when you don’t understand the pain, you abide in Christ!

There’s alot of question whether someone is a true Christian or whether someone is saved at all, well what does the Bible say? The Apostle John says “He that keeps His (Christ) commandments dwells in Him (Christ) “ Those who remain in the “Will of God” , who are demonstrating fruits of the Holy Spirit, those who are obedient to their Lord Jesus Christ, are truly saved. How can you claim to love Jesus and not do anything he says? Is this truly love? Is this truly obedience? Is Jesus truly your Lord? 

Many want to abuse the grace of God to remain in sin, as the Apostle Paul said “What shall we say then, shall we go on sinning so grace may increase? Certainly Not!,  How shall we who have died in sin, live any longer in it?” (Romans 6:1-2) The grace of God is not a license to sin, the grace of God is His loving mercy , however we must become Born Again in Christ (John 3:3) We don’t remain as we are, once we have an encounter with Jesus, we will never be the same!

Again, how do we know if we are truly saved? The Apostle John continues “And by this, we know that He (Christ) abides in Us” As the Lord Jesus said “We will be known by our fruit” (Matthew 7:16) This is not legalism, this is the teachings of The Lord Jesus Christ himself. As Jesus also said “If you love me, keep my commandments” (John 14:15) If you are truly saved, then you keep the commandments of God because you abide in Christ and Christ abides in You!

Now you might say “I’m a sinful, fallen, wretch, I can’t keep the commandments of God” read the last part of this scripture today , the Apostle John says “By the Spirit, whom He has given us” If you are Born Again, you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you that has written the Law on your Heart and mind (Hebrews 8) You have been regenerated, you are a new creature, you are no longer that old wretch, you are no longer dead in sin, but alive in Christ

How can we simply apply this? Abide in Jesus in all things, in every facet of your life abide in Christ, and Jesus will abide in you, greater is He living inside of You, than He who is living in the world, Amen!

Beloved, if our heart condemn us not, then have we confidence toward God. And whatsoever we ask, we receive of him, because we keep his commandments, and do those things that are pleasing in his sight. And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment. 1 John 3:21-23

“Whatever we ask, we receive of Him” says the Apostle John under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, the carnal world will take this promise and try to exploit and use it for their will. We see false teachers , mega Pastors, telling you to ask Jesus for money, for a job promotion, for a house, is this proper exegesis of the scripture? Or is this a false teacher selling snake oil? There are many false converts in Christianity, because there are alot of false teachers pushing heresies for their own financial gain. Let’s read the Word of God in context.

First the Apostle John says “If our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence toward God” Notice first if our heart is right with God? What is the intention of your heart? Did we deny ourselves, carry our cross, and follow Christ? (Matthew 16:24) Or are you following after the lusts of your own heart? Remember God searches the hearts and minds of us all (Jeremiah 17:10) You can’t deceive God, The Lord knows your heart, are your intentions for the Kingdom of God or for your own Kingdom?

Next the Apostle John says this “And whatsoever we ask, we receive of Him, BECAUSE we keep HIS commandments” There is a stipulation in this relationship, we receive from Christ because we keep Christ’s commandments. Again, the false teacher will tell you to ask Jesus for the carnal desires of your heart, this is a heresy, we ask in the will of God because we are Christ’s servants. 

If you are not a servant of Christ, then Christ is not your Lord. Jesus said “You are either a slave to sin or a slave to Christ” (John 8, Romans 6) You were bought with a price , you as a Christian don’t belong to yourself anymore (1 Corinthians 6:20) So why do you try to exploit your Master for your own carnal desires? Remember the words of Christ, “deny yourself” This is the first step in becoming a disciple of The Lord, until you do this, you are not following the commandments of Christ. 

The Apostle John then goes on to say “That we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he commanded us” Love God and Love your Neighbor, this is the summary of Gods Law. Do the intentions of your heart and mind love God? Do the desires of your heart love your neighbor? Or do the desires of your heart have Love for yourself instead? 

The Apostle James said this “When you ask, you don’t receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures” (James 4:3) What are the motives of your heart? Is your intentions in the will of God or are you in the will of yourself? Is Jesus Christ truly your Lord? Or do you pretend to be your own Lord? Remember we receive of Christ because we keep His commandments, Amen!

My little children, let us not love in word, neither in tongue; but in deed and in truth. And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before him. For if our heart condemn us, God is greater than our heart, and knoweth all things 1 John 3:18-20

We have heard the expression, action speaks louder than words, this is also true in our Christian walk. As we talked about in my previous post, Love is an action, if we say we love someone or Love God, we should demonstrate that love, just as Christ has demonstrated that love towards us. And so is the same with our faith, if we say we are a Christian, if we profess that Jesus is our Lord, then our lives should reflect this, faith is an action, not just a slogan

As the Apostle John says here “”Let us not love in word, neither in tongue, but in deed and in truth” It’s easy to say the things a Christian should say, but is your life reflecting those words? It’s easy to say you love Jesus, but does your life reflect this profession? Do people around you see Christ in you? Do you love your neighbor as yourself? Or does your life reflect a totally different picture than your words?

As the Apostle John continues under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit “And by this, we know that we are of the truth” And by what? It’s by our actions, its by the way we live our lives we know if we are abiding in Christ, whether or not we are filled with the Holy Spirit. Jesus said “You will be known by your fruits” (Matthew 7:16) We can profess to be a Christian all we want, but if our life reflects a different profession, then we are a fraud!

This is not works based salvation, we are not doing anything to earn our salvation, as we cant. However this is evidence of our salvation, this is evidence that we have truly become Born Again in Christ, that the Holy Spirit lives inside of us, has regenerated us with a new heart and new mind. There has to be evidence of your salvation, as Jesus also said “ A tree that doesn’t bear fruit is thrown into the fire” (Matthew 7:19)

Sometimes we make mistakes, sometimes our actions are wrong , however the good news is we have an Advocate for our sins, The Lord Jesus Christ, as the Apostle John says here “if our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and knows all things” God is searching our hearts and minds and knows us, God’s grace is greater than our sins, repent and put your faith in Christ for salvation alone, be led and guided by the Holy Spirit, “work out your salvation with fear and trembling”(Philippians 2:12) Amen!

Hereby perceive we the love of God, because he laid down his life for us: and we ought to lay down our lives for the brethren But whoso hath this world’s good, and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up his bowels of compassion from him, how dwelleth the love of God in him? 1 John 3:16-17

Love is an action! The world likes to throw around the word “love” , they like to say “I love this” and “I love that” but does the world really love? Can you really love without action? If a parent says they love their children , yet never take care of them, is that really love? No of course not, Love is more than just words or feelings, Love is an action, its a demonstration of your allegiance to someone

How do we know God loves you? Jesus demonstrated it on the cross, even though we were still sinners Christ died for us (Romans 5:8) Again Love is an action, God demonstrated his love towards us, are you demonstrating your love towards God? As the Apostle John says “By this we know love, because He (Christ) laid down his life for us”  The greatest love story happened at Calvary, when Jesus Christ laid down his life for you, why? Simply because He loves you, not that you deserved it or earned it, just because God loves you!

Knowing the love that Christ demonstrated for you, how can you ignore this? The Creator of the Heaven and Earth became flesh, suffered and died on a cross to pay for the penalty of your sins, what is your response? Christ has given his life for you, have you given your life to Christ? Again love is a demonstration, many will say they “Love Jesus”  yet does your life reflect this? Are you willing to lay your life down for Christ? Are you able to forsake all for The Lord?

Notice in Johns teaching here there is a second part “And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren” Here again we see a strong emphasis on the Love for the Church, our brothers and sisters in Christ, the brethren. Not only should you just love the Church, but willing to lay down your life for the Church, are you able? Many self professed Christians won’t even gather with the Church, yet alone lay down their lives. They have forsaken the assembly (Hebrews 10:25) Love is an action, by abandoning the Church you are not demonstrating the Love of Christ, you are known by your fruit (Matthew 7)

And the Apostle John goes on “Whoever has world goods and see his brother in need , and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him?” Again love is an action, if your brethren is in need and you just ignore them, there is no love of God in you. You claim to be a Christian, you claim to love God, yet the fruits of your life demonstrate the works of the devil. To forsake the Church is not the love of God, its the works of the devil

God has demonstrated his love towards us on the cross, Go now filled with the Holy Spirit to love and serve One another in the love of our Lord Jesus Christ, Amen!