A. Who is my brother? (1 John 4:20-5:1)
B. Does John teach “faith only”? (1 John 5:1-2; Matthew 25:31-46; James 2:14-26; Matthew 22:37-40; Romans 13:8-10)
C. “For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments” (1 John 5:3; John 14:15,21,23,24; Romans 12:1)
II. Faith is the victory
A. We CAN overcome the world! We CAN be victorious! (1 John 5:4; 2:15-17; Hebrews 11:33-34)
B. Does it matter what one believes? (1 John 5:5; Romans 10:17)
III. Faith established by the testimony of witnesses
A. Three witnesses (1 John 5:6-8; John 16:13)
B. The witness of God is greater than the witness of man (1 John 5:9; John 5:33-36)
C. To have the Son is to have life (1 John 5:10-12)
A. Prodigal living (15:11-13)
B. Hitting rock-bottom (15:14-16)
C. He came to his senses (15:17-20a)
II. The patient father
A. Filled with compassion (15:20b-23)
B. He wasn’t looking at the past, but the present (15:24)
III. The older brother
A. He was angry (15:25-28)
B. He felt entitled (15:29-32)
IV. Application
A. We need to come to our senses (Isaiah 59:1-3; 1 Peter 4:3)
B. God is still patient and compassionate (1 John 1:5-9; Psalm 103:11-13; Ephesians 1:11-12)
C. Do not begrudge God’s forgiveness of another (Matthew 20:1-14)
A. Tried to get Jesus to defend Himself (Matthew 27:11-14)
B. Wanted to delegate jugdment to Herod (Luke 23:4-7)
C. Gave the people a choice (Matthew 27:15-23)
D. Finally gave in to the will of the people (Matthew 27:24)
II. The chief priests
A. The slanderous accusations against Jesus (Luke 23:2)
B. Envy (Matthew 27:18)
C. Incitement (Matthew 27:20; Luke 23:23)
D. Irreverence (Matthew 27:41)
III. The mockers
A. The mob (Matthew 27:25)
B. The soldiers (Matthew 27:27-31)
C. The passersby (Matthew 27:39-40)
D. The robbers on either side of Him (Matthew 27:44)
IV. The mourners
A. His mother, Mary (John 19:25; Luke 1:28, 30-31, 46; 2:51)
B. Other women, including Mary Magdalene (Luke 8:2; John 20:1-2, 11-18)
C. John, the disciple whom He loved (John 19:27; 20:30-31)
A. Knowing God (1 John 4:7-8; Philippians 3:8-11; Titus 1:16)
B. Christ gives us life (1 John 4:9; John 14:6; 1:4; 11:25; 5:24)
C. Christ is the propitiation of our sins (1 John 4:10)
D. We have no excuse to not love the brethren (1 John 4:11)
II. Confessing God’s love
A. The good confession (1 Jn. 4:15; Acts 8:37-38; 1 Tim. 6:12)
B. More than mere lip service (Matthew 15:8; 7:21)
III. Abiding in God’s love
A. Mutual indwelling and reciprocal abiding – the closest fellowship and communion possible (1 John 4:12-16)
B. We can be bold by conforming our lives to His (1 John 4:17; 1 Timothy 6:11; Ephesians 5:1-2)
C. There is no fear in love (1 John 4:18; Psalm 111:10)
IV. Practicing God’s love
A. Selflessly seeking the very best for another (1 John 4:19)
B. Love for the brethren flows from a love for God (1 Jn. 4:20)
C. You cannot love God if you do not love your Christian family (1 John 4:21)
A. The context: the complaint of the Pharisees and scribes (15:1-2); Jesus responds with parables
B. The parables: the lost sheep (15:4-7), the lost silver (15:8-10), the lost sons (15:11-32)
II. Looking
A. Light the lamp (John 1:9; Psalm 119:105)
B. Sweep your house (James 4:8)
C. Search carefully (Luke 19:10)
III. Love
A. When found—upon repentance—there is rejoicing
B. What is our attitude at the repentance of another?
A. Upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets (Ephesians 2:19-20a; Acts 2:42)
B. Jesus is “the chief cornerstone” (Ephesians 2:20b-21; Psalm 118:22; Isaiah 28:16)
C. Built together in unity for a dwelling place of God in the Spirit (Ephesians 2:22; 3:17; Colossians 3:16)
II. Things necessary in order to build
A. Some things must be torn down (Judges 6:25-26; 2 Corinthians 10:4-6; Galatians 2:18)
B. Plans for growth (Ephesians 2:21; 4:11-16)
C. The proper foundation (1 Corinthians 3:11; Matthew 7:24-27; Psalm 89:14)
D. Wisdom and knowledge (Proverbs 24:3-6; James 3:13-18)
E. Workers (Matthew 9:35-38; 2 Timothy 2:15)
A. Not natural fear (hurricanes, thunderstorms, etc.)
B. Not sinful fear (Genesis 3:1-5; Matthew 25:24-25; 2 Kings 17:29-33; John 3:19-21)
C. Godly fear (1 Samuel 12:24; Jeremiah 33:8-9; Hosea 3:5; Romans 8:15)
II. Godly fear works together with…
A. Godly love (Deuteronomy 6:1-5; Psalm 145:19-20)
B. Trembling before God (Exodus 20:18-20; Psalm 2:11; Philippians 2:12)
C. Delighting in God (Nehemiah 1:11;Matthew 28:8; Exodus 15:11)
III. Godly fear leads to obedience
A. It is man’s all (Ecclesiastes 12:13)
B. His commands are delightful (Psalm 112:1), not burdensome (1 John 5:3)
C. Godly fear sustains us (Jeremiah 32:40)
D. His goodness motivates obedience (Romans 2:4; 11:22)
A. The purpose: forgiveness
B. Prophesied (Isaiah 53:12)
C. Perpetual intercession (Romans 8:34)
II. A prayer of lamentation (Matthew 27:46)
A. The pain of separation from God (Psalm 22:1; Hebrews 2:9; Romans 3:25; Isaiah 53:6)
B. “Why?” is not a question expressing doubt or unbelief, but faith seeking understanding
III. A prayer of submission (Luke 23:46)
A. A willing surrender (Psalm 31:5)
B. Jesus gave His life; it was not taken from Him (John 10:17-18; 19:10-11; Matthew 26:53)
C. An act of love (John 3:16), grace (Hebrews 2:9), and mercy (Hebrews 8:12)
A. Stop believing every spirit
B. Test the spirits (Acts 17:11)
C. Many false prophets (Galatians 1:6-9)
II. The context: a specific false doctrine (1 John 4:2-3)
A. Gnosticism stated the divine Christ did not actually inhabit a fleshly body
B. The spirit of antichrist
1. Disobedient (1 John 2:19)
2. Deniers (1 John 2:22)
3. Deceivers (1 John 2:26)
C. If a teaching does not originate with God, it must be rejected by the faithful
III. The contrast: truth vs. error (1 John 4:4-6)
A. His readers had overcome (Jude 3; Romans 10:17)
B. The false prophets are of the world (2 Timothy 4:2-4; Matthew 7:13-14)
C. The apostles are of God (Acts 2:42; 2 John 9-11)
A. “Loses one” (Luke 15:4)…”one of them goes astray” (Matthew 18:12)
B. The very real danger of leaving one’s salvation or falling from grace (Galatians 5:4; Hebrews 6:4-6; 12:15; James 5:19-;20; 2 Peter 2:20-22)
II. The affection for the lost
A. Deep concern for those outside (Romans 9:1-3; Psalm 119:136, Rivers of water run down from my eyes, Because men do not keep Your law.)
B. Rejoicing at repentance (Luke 14:5-6) – more than for the faithful! (Luke 14:7; Matthew 18:13)
III. The action toward the lost
A. “Go after” (Luke 15:4)…“go to the mountains to seek” (Matthew 15:12)
B. What do the lost need from us? They need us to:
1. Pray for them (James 5:16)
2. Take action (Galatians 6:1)
3. Tell them their faults (Matthew 18:15-20)
4. Tell them they are needed and missed (Romans 12:4-5)
5. Tell them to repent and return to their first love (Revelation 2:4)
6. Show them the depth of our love through discipline (1 Corinthians 5:4-5)
7. When repentance comes, reaffirm our love for them (2 Corinthians 2:6-8)
Adapted from a lesson delivered by David Smith at PTP Brandon 2025
But when they believed Philip as he preached the things concerning the kingdom of God and the name of Jesus Christ, both men and women were baptized. (Acts 8:12)
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