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 WITNESS
A. Three witnesses: Spirit, water, blood (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. 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) as the propitiation of our sins (1 John 4:10)
C. We have no excuse to not love the brethren (1 John 4:11)
II. CONFESSING GOD’S LOVE
A. The good confession (1 John 4:15; Acts 8:37-38; 1 Timothy 6:12)
B. More than mere lip service (Matthew 15:8; 7:21)
III. ABIDING IN GOD’S LOVE
A. A mutual spiritual indwelling, a 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 person (1 John 4:19)
B. Love for the brethren flows from a love for God (1 John 4:20)
C. You cannot love God if you do not love your Christian family (1 John 4:21)
A. Stop believing every spirit
B. Test the spirits (Acts 17:11)
C. Many false prophets (Galatians 1:6-9)
II. 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. CONTRASTING JOHN’S READERS TO FALSE TEACHERS, AND FALSE TEACHERS TO TRUE APOSTLES (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. “By this we know love” (1 John 3:16; 1 Thessalonians 4:9)
B. No greater expression of love ever demonstrated (Luke 9:18-22; John 10:11, 15, 17-18; 19:10-11)
II. HIS LOVE SHOULD MOTIVATE US TO LOVE
A. We are indebted to each other (1 John 3:16; Romans 1:14)
B. Love in action (1 John 3:17; Acts 4:32-37; 2 Corinthians 8:1-4)
C. Actions speak louder than words (1 John 3:18; James 2:14-17; Matthew 25:31-46)
III. TRUE, ACTIVE BROTHERLY LOVE
A. Gives us assurance (1 John 3:19-20; 1:9)
B. Gives us confidence in prayer (1 John 3:21-22)
C. Ensures that we abide in Christ (1 John 3:23-24)
A. Taylor: “A love we don’t deserve, yet in which we may delight” (1 John 3:1; John 3:16; Romans 5:8)
B. The world does not approve of the Christian life, nor do they acknowledge God as the Almighty (1 John 3:1; John 15:18-19)
C. The promise of being like Him (1 John 3:2; 1 Corinthians 15:42-44, 51-53, 57; Philippians 3:20-21)
D. Hope – a blessed assurance, an eager perseverance (1 John 3:3; Romans 8:24-25; 1 Peter 2:21-22)
II. THE CHILD OF GOD AND SIN
A. The sin in view here is continual and habitual – not occasional weaknesses
B. Christ came to take away our sins (1 John 3:4-6)
C. The righteousness here is continual and habitual (1 John 3:7-8)
D. Love for sin is 100% incompatible with devotion to Deity
III. THE SIGNS OF RIGHTEOUSNESS
A. We are a family – we must love one another (1 John 3:10-11)
B. The unrighteous example of Cain (1 John 3:12; Genesis 4:1-8; Hebrews 11:4)
C. Lanier: “Godlessness is always upset by godliness” (1 John 3:13; 1 Peter 4:3-4)
D. Do you love your brother? (1 John 3:14-15; 1 Corinthians 13:1-7)
A. Instead of running from God, we should run to God when faced with struggles in life (1 Samuel 1:3-7)
B. The Scriptural challenge to remain faithful (1 Corinthians 16:13; Galatians 6:9; Ephesians 6:13; Hebrews 10:23; Revelation 2:10)
C. Faithfulness will not be forgotten by God (1 Corinthians 15:58)
II. BELIEF IN THE POWER OF PRAYER
A. When faced with a struggle beyond her ability to solve (1 Samuel 1:9-16)
B. Blessings from prayer (Matthew 7:7-11; 21:22; James 1:5-8)
C. According to His will (1 John 5:14-15)
III. KEEPING PROMISES TO THE LORD
A. Hannah kept her word (1 Samuel 1:11,19-28)
B. Stern warning against broken promises (Ecclesiastes 5:1-5)
C. Recognition of God’s power (1 Samuel 2:1-10)
A. Who is an Antichrist? (1 John 2:18; 2 John 9-11)
B. What does an Antichrist do?
1. Disobeys (1 John 2:19)
2. Denies (1 John 2:22-23; John 5:22-23)
3. Deceives (1 John 2:26; 4:1; Acts 17:11; 20:29-30)
II. THE ANOINTED
A. Word play: anti-christoi (1 John 2:18) vs. christoi (1 John 2:20)
B. Abide in the truth (1 John 2:24; Luke 12:8-9; Acts 2:42)
C. Abide in the Son and the Father (1 John 2:24-25; Mark 10:29-30)
III. THE ASSURANCE
A. What does inspiration teach? (1 John 2:27; 2 Timothy 3:16-17)
B. Confidence at His coming (1 John 2:28; Acts 4:13)
1. Prayer of Peter and John (Acts 4:29)
2. Prayer of Paul (Ephesians 6:18-19)
C. Roy H. Lanier, Jr.: “As the father in the family is righteous, so are the children. It is a family characteristic.” (1 John 2:29; 2 Timothy 2:11-13)
A. More than just words (John 14:15; 1 John 5:3)
B. Full dedication (Matthew 6:24)
II. LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR SOUL
A. Barnes: “to be willing to give up the life to him, and to devote it all to his service; to live to him, and to be willing to die at his command”
B. Stephen (Acts 7:57-60)
C. James (Acts 12:1-2)
D. Smyrna (Revelation 2:10)
III. LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR MIND
A. Train our minds (Acts 17:11)
B. Realize the importance of God’s Word (2 Timothy 3:16-17; 2 Timothy 2:15)
C. Realize the importance of fellowship (Hebrews 10:23-25)
D. Realize the importance of obedience (Hebrews 2:3; 1 John 5:3)
IV. LOVE GOD WITH ALL YOUR STRENGTH
A. Commitment (Romans 12:1)
B. Strength comes from the Lord (Philippians 4:13)
A. What type of “love”? Agape – sacrificial love
B. What is “the world”?
1. God’s creation (John 1:10)
2. Mankind (1 John 2:2; John 3:16)
3. “The mass of unbelievers hostile to Christ and resisting salvation” (John 15:18; 1 John 3:1; 4:4-5)
C. What is your primary concern? (Romans 12:2)
D. “…or the things of the world” (Mark 10:17-22)
E. “…the love of the Father is not in him” (Matthew 6:24; Romans 8:5)
II. THE TEMPTATIONS OF THE WORLD (1 John 2:16)
A. “The three avenues of temptation”
1. The lust of the flesh — the lust of the eyes — the pride of life
2. Good for food — pleasant to the eyes — make one wise (Genesis 3:1-6)
3. Stones to bread — riches of the world — heavenly protection (Matthew 4:1-11)
B. How to avoid the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life (Galatians 5:16-24)
III. THE FLEETING NATURE OF THIS WORLD (1 John 2:17)
A. The world is fleeting, temporary, non-permanent (2 Corinthians 4:18; 2 Peter 3:10-12)
B. “God himself is eternal; and those who abide in him, will share in his eternal nature” (Guy N. Woods)
A. Man’s relationship to the Almighty (1 John 2:3; John 12:48)
B. Self-deception (1 John 2:4; Matthew 7:21-23; 1 John 1:6,8,10; Titus 1:11,16)
C. Perfected love of God (1 John 2:5; Matthew 5:43-48)
II. DO YOU ABIDE IN HIM?
A. Walk just as He walked (1 John 2:6; John 8:12; 1 Corinthians 11:1; Ephesians 5:1-2)
B. The old commandment, made new (1 John 2:7-8; John 13:34-35)
III. THE DANGERS OF DARKNESS
A. Is it possible to follow Christ while in darkness? (1 John 2:9; John 8:12; Romans 13:12; 1 Thessalonians 5:5)
B. Our love of man (1 John 2:10; 1 Corinthians 13:1-8a; John 15:9-10; 13:34; Philippians 2:3)
C. Hatred causes blindness (1 John 2:11)
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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