The sermon by Mike Davenport, titled 'Family Resemblance: Cain or Christ,' explores 1 John 3:10-16, which distinguishes between the children of God and the children of the devil based on their practice of righteousness and love for others. The sermon highlights the duality of spiritual lineage, emphasizing that one's actions and whom they love reveal their spiritual family. Cain is presented as a negative example, illustrating hatred and murder driven by unrighteousness, contrasted with Christ's sacrificial love. Davenport urges the congregation to examine their lives for these family resemblances, emphasizing the importance of love and righteousness as defining traits of God's children. The sermon also underscores the necessity of self-reflection and repentance to ensure alignment with God's family and the transformative power of Christ's love.

Today's scripture is 1st John 3, 10 through 16. In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain, who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him?

Because his works were evil and his brothers righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we have loved the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.

By this we know love because he laid down his life for us and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren." Lord God, we come before you this morning in the name of your Son. We thank you for this wonderful day, your day, that we were able to gather together to worship you, to hear your word proclaimed. I pray God that you would be with preaching of your word, open up our hearts and our minds to understand it, to apply it to our lives, that we can learn how best to love you and to love one another. Convict us Lord of hidden sin and draw us closer to you, God, that we may serve you and be of greater use for you and your kingdom. In Christ's name we pray.

Amen. Well, we find ourselves today in 1 John 3, 10 through 16. And I want to begin today by asking you children a question. Here's the Question, how many families are there in Hope Baptist Church? How many families are there in Hope Baptist Church?

In response to that question, you younger children would probably start looking around the room and start fidgeting with your fingers. You older children would probably want to make sure that you did not miss anyone, so you may reach for mom or dad's phone and pull out the church directory and go through the directory to make sure you got the right number. But before you go to that trouble, I want you to know that the Apostle John has already answered the question for us. How many families are there in Hope Baptist Church? Two.

Yes, two. Two families. In the opening words of John, verse 10, John makes it clear that there are only two families in Hope Baptist Church. Yes, it is true. The Reality applies to a greater context.

There are only two families in the entire world. But I want us today to focus on us, to focus on our church. After all, this letter was originally written in order to be read in churches just like ours. And we need to grapple afresh with the reality that within the four walls of this church, you will find two families. So first, verse 10.

In verse 10, we see first a faithful recognition, a faithful recognition. In this, the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest. Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother." So, who are these two families? Well, John tells us right here at the beginning of verse 10, the family of God and the family of the devil. These two, God and the devil, are set forth in this verse as fathers.

All of us are described as children and we find ourselves at this very moment either as a son or daughter of God or a son or daughter of the devil. There is no other family, and there are none today who find themselves fatherless. As you sit here this morning, you are either a child of God or a child of the devil. How are we to know which family we belong to? How can we be sure?

Well, this is the reason that John wrote this entire letter, and it is his desire that we know and be assured. To that end, John tells us that our family ties are manifested in light of our relationship to righteousness and to love. Another way of putting that is to say that our family resemblance is plainly recognized or known by what we practice and whom we love. Let me say that again. Our family resemblance is plainly recognized or known by what we practice and what we or whom we love, should I say.

Well, John is convinced that these two traits are enough to judge what family you belong to. These two things are in your DNA spiritually, or they are not. So, let's look at these two things a little closer. Practicing righteousness and loving your brother. Well, having stated the family resemblance of the children of God back in 2 29 where it says if you know that he is righteous you know that everyone who practices righteousness is born of him so having stated there were family resemblance of the children of God John here takes the opposite relationship to righteousness to describe the family resemblance of those who are the children of the devil.

They do not, do not practice righteousness. Now once again we run across John's use of this Greek word, poeio. It's our word here in this particular verse, practice. Now John uses this Greek word 11 times in this, his first epistle, and he uses it three times in his third epistle. He also uses this Epistle.

He also uses this Greek word some 110 times in his gospel narrative, and it's translated in English different ways. We've already seen it earlier up in verse 4, whoever commits sin, that word commits is poi-e-o, and here in this verse we see it as practice. So it's translated many different ways in the New Testament. But Thayer's Greek lexicon states the primary thought or emphasis behind this word in the following way. Poi eo is to follow some method in expressing by deeds the feelings and thoughts of the mind.

Let me say that again. It is to follow, notice that word, follow some method in expressing by deeds the feelings and thoughts of the mind. So John here states that if you are not following some method and expressing outwardly a righteousness that has gripped the feelings and thoughts of your mind that you are not a child of God, you are a child of the devil. You are by nature Following some other method and by your deeds Proving that the feelings and thoughts of your mind are set on unrighteous things Now because we dealt with this truth last week in the previous verses 4 through 9, I will simply refer you back to the message given last week in terms of the practicing of righteousness, that is to be found in the believer and the lack of it which is found in that one who has neither seen God nor known him. That being so, I want to move on to the second family resemblance, that of not loving your brother.

They are the children of the devil who do not love their brother. Now John makes it clear that the children of the devil do not love their brother. And that should not surprise us. If they will not love God and His commandments, why would they love someone created in His image? One whom God commands to love.

If they will not, indeed if they cannot love him who is altogether lovely and perfect, then why would we expect them to love a fellow sinner. They are at heart an enemy of God, so they will show their hatred to all who will follow Him. In fact, their hatred for God is evidenced by their lack of love for their brother. Their treatment of their brother reflects the state of their heart before God. Now, John throughout his epistle makes it very clear that love is a distinguishing characteristic of the Christian.

And he also makes it clear that a lack of love on the other hand is a distinguishing characteristic of those who do not know God. Listen as I read what John says in the next chapter of his epistle chapter 4, 7, and 8. Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God. In other words, it's a family trait. And everyone who loves is born of God and knows God.

He who does not love does not know God, for God is love." How about verse 12 in chapter 4? If we love one another, God abides in us and His love has been perfected in us. See, it's a family trait, just like the Father so are His children. Verse 21 of chapter 4, and this commandment we have from him that he who loves God must love his brother also. If we love God, we love his children.

Now Do you see any connection between the two things, practicing righteousness and loving your brother? Do you see a connection between? Why these two things? Well I propose to you that these are a reflection of the two greatest commandments as defined by Jesus in Matthew 22, 24 and following, where he says, loving God with all of your heart soul mind and strength and Loving your neighbor are the two greatest commandments They had sought to capture Jesus in his words Which is the greatest command and he said Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, mind, and strength. And the second, they didn't ask for it, he gave it to them, The second greatest commandment is just like the first.

It's loving your neighbor as yourself. But wait, you may say, this verse here in Matthew 22 does not say anything about loving God. Does it not? Hear the words of Christ from John's gospel, chapter 14, from the upper room discourse. In John 14-15, Jesus speaking here says, if you love me, keep my commandments.

If you love me, keep my commandments. Practice righteousness if you love me. Verse 21 of John 14, again Jesus speaking, he who has my commandments and keeps them it is he Who loves me? Not just having the commandments, but keeping the commandments Jesus looks down and says that's the one who loves me He's practicing the righteousness that I have commanded. Verse 23 of John 14, Jesus responds to a question with these words, if anyone loves me he will keep my word.

So when John here is talking about practicing righteousness, he's talking about loving God. He's talking about loving God. So here are the two traits, practicing righteousness and loving your brother. Loving God and loving your brother. John's exposure of a heart that does not practice righteousness and will not love a brother should bring a level of godly fear to our hearts.

Due to the size of our gathering, it is no doubt a reality that there are in our midst children of the devil. He is their father. The thought of that should bring a level of sobriety to our hearts. With what earnest attention should we hang upon the Word of God as it is read, as it is preached and proclaimed? Moses told the people of Israel in Deuteronomy 32, 46, and 47.

Set your heart on all the words which I testify among you today, which you shall command your children to be careful to observe. All the words of this law, for it is not a feudal thing for you because it is your life. It is your life. This is a faithful recognition that John is setting before us so that we can know, so that we can be assured. And it's not a futile thing for us to give our hearts to what he is telling us.

It's our life. It's our life. By this we'll know, are we a child of God or are we a child of the devil? John is a faithful witness. He seeks to assure and yet to warn.

He seeks to make the distinctions clear. May we heed his words. Next we come to verse 11, a fervent reminder, not only a faithful recognition, but secondly, a fervent reminder. He says, for this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. My dear brothers and sisters, do you grow tired of being reminded, of hearing again being reminded, of hearing again things that you are already aware of, of being confronted with familiar truths and realities.

Well, the apostles found it wise, good, and necessary to remind their readers and hearers often. Consider the many instances in this epistle where John reminds his readers of things they had already heard. Chapter 2 verse 7, brethren I write no new commandment to you but an old commandment which you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Chapter 2 verse 18, little children it is the last hour and as you have heard that the Antichrist is coming even now many, many antichrists have come.

Chapter 2 verse 24, therefore let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father." In chapter 4 verse 3, the latter part of the verse says, and this is the Spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming and is now already in the world. So here in this one epistle, John reminds him, you've heard this, you've heard this, you've heard this, this is not something new, but I'm bringing it to your attention again. It's a fervent reminder. But the Apostle Peter also sought to issue fervent reminders to the readers of his epistles.

In 2 Peter 1, 12-15, Peter says this, for this reason I will not be negligent to remind you always of these things. Though you know and are established in the present truth, yes, I think it is right, as long as I am in this tent to stir you up by reminding you, knowing that shortly I must put off my tent just as our Lord Jesus Christ showed me. Moreover, I will be careful to ensure that you always have a reminder of these things after my decease." He says, you know what? As long as I'm alive and the short span that's left for me, I'm going to keep reminding you, I'm going to stir you up. Any of you children ever helped your mom in the kitchen before?

You ever made salad dressing? That's kind of an easy thing to do. That's a good starter thing, right? You put the oil in the water in there and what happens? It separates.

What do you have to do? Stir it up, stir it up, get it all going again so it doesn't separate. All right, John says as long as I'm alive and kicking I'm going to stir you up by way of reminding you so that The truths of God do not settle in and they don't have an impact. But you know what? Even after I'm gone, I'm going to make sure that somebody is going to sit here and remind you.

Second Peter 3 verses 1 and 2, Behold, I now write to you this second epistle, in both of which I stir up your pure minds by way of reminder that you may be mindful, in other words it's fresh again, that you may be mindful of the words which were spoken before by the holy prophets and of the commandments of us, the apostles of the Lord and Savior. He said I'm gonna stir you up with these epistles so that you'll remember the words of the prophets and the commands that we were giving you. Why is he so intent upon that? The words of the prophets and the commands that we have given you because the church of Jesus Christ, the foundation is built upon the Apostles and the prophets. That's why it's necessary.

This is our foundation and So John here gives a fervent reminder. And what is the apostle here reminding his readers of? He says that he is reminding them of a message that they heard from the beginning. The words from the beginning seem to indicate a reference to the Old Commandment as opposed to the New Commandment, a distinction we saw back in chapter 2 verses 7 and 8. Let me read that again.

Brethren, I write no new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word which you heard from the beginning. Again, a new commandment I write to you, which thing is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining." So there John says that they had an old commandment which was from the beginning and yet he was writing to them of a new commandment as well. Now it would seem from these passages that the words from the beginning indicates the presence of the command to love our brother. It's as far back as the sixth day of creation.

Now let me explain by means of asking you a question. Where do the commands of God originate? Where do the commands of God originate? What is their source? Love and the command to love, like every command from God, flow out of the essence of who God is.

Okay? Every command, the command to love, flows out of the essence of who God is. And because love finds its source in God, the requirement, the command to love has always existed. Does that make sense? God is love.

Therefore it's right to love. That's just, that's right, that's holy, that's what has to be done. That command finds its source in God. It is a command because God is love The command to love must exist simply because of who God is The necessity of our obedience finds its greatest demand Okay, The necessity of our obedience finds its greatest demand, okay, the necessity of our obedience finds its greatest demand not simply in what God has communicated, but in who he really is. Now what God communicated flows out of who he is.

Right? Be ye holy for I am holy. The command to be holy flows out of the fact that God's holy. The command to love flows out of the fact that God is love. So not only does the necessity of our obedience find its greatest demand in who he really is, but the vileness, on the other hand, the vileness of our sin finds its greatest offense not in the actual law it is breaking, but in the character of God that has been misrepresented.

So that's why I say it's an old commandment. It's from the beginning. But what of this new commandment that John tells us about? Because he does talk about a new commandment. What is this new commandment that he talks about in verse 8 of chapter 2?

Well, the command to love, which I think he's talking about, that commandment from the beginning and the new commandment all have to do with love. The command to love finds its newness in Christ and his demonstration of true love. Christ makes this clear in the Gospel of John chapter 13, verses 34 and 35, where he says, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another. That's a new commandment? They haven't had to love up till now?

No. As I have loved you, he continues, that you also love one another. By this all will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another." So the newness of the commandment that Christ has given, he says, as I have loved you, so you ought to love one another." And this is what Christ did with all the commands, with all the law, right? Matthew chapter 5, what are the words that are repeated over and over in Matthew 5? You have heard that it was said, the Old Commandment, the commandment you've had from the beginning.

You've heard this before, the Old Commandment. You have heard that it was said, but I tell you There was a newness brought to it, a newness that came because the God-man has come and he is now showing us what true practice of righteousness is. He said, I have come to do the will of my Father in heaven and he came to demonstrate love, love. So after a fervent reminder that this command to love our brother is from the beginning. John takes us back to the early chapters of Genesis to demonstrate the root of our family, to help us trace out our lineage, to show us clear examples of family resemblance that we might check our hearts.

And so thirdly and finally we have in the remaining verses a family resemblance, a family resemblance. And this is the title of the message, Family Resemblance, Cain or Christ. And that's what I want us to draw out of these remaining verses before us. Remaining verses before us. So by taking us to the beginning, John traces our family ties back to Adam and Eve.

And he's doing this spiritually, not physically. We all know we descended from Adam and Eve. They were the first parents. But John is tracing our spiritual ancestry back to Adam and Eve. And he first sets Cain before us here in the verse here in 1 John chapter 3.

So we should love one another, verse 12, not as Cain, who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous. John says that our love for our brother should demonstrate itself in vastly different ways than Cain. Now note first in verse 12 that John is very deliberate in declaring the family ties of Cain, right?

He just finished telling you this is the manifestation of whether you're a child of the devil or a child of God. The first thing he says, not as Cain who was of the wicked one. First thing he does, he ties him to the devil, a child of the devil. He was of the wicked one. And what was the logical outworking of that family tie?

He tells us next, and murdered his brother. He was of the wicked one, and he murdered his brother. This murder and the hatred behind it did not come out of the blue. It was not the result of the heat of the moment. It was not a stand-alone action that is to be judged apart from Cain's heart.

The book of Genesis gives us a brief picture into the window of the heart of Cain. He refused to bring an acceptable sacrifice in spite of knowing what was acceptable to God. Well, how do we know he knew what was acceptable? His brother brought an acceptable sacrifice and made sure he included the fat in the sacrifice. So Cain first refused to bring an acceptable sacrifice.

Second, he became angry with God because God refused to accept his idea of an acceptable offering. Third, this anger toward God permeated his heart such that it was evident in the expression of his face, in his body language, and in his dealing with others. It said Cain became angry and his countenance fell. The Bible also makes it evident that Cain did not heed the rebuke of the Lord. The Lord came to him and told him why his offering was unacceptable and told him, I will accept the right offering from you.

It's not you, it's the offering. And of course the offering was of him, right, because it was revealing his heart, but he refused to change his heart. He refused to hear the rebuke of the Lord. This refusal to deal With the sin lying at the door, or in the old King James crouching at the door, you young children, have you ever seen a cat get ready to pounce on something? They crouch and they get low and you know it's coming.

And sin was crouching at the door of Cain's heart. Is sin crouching at the door of your heart today, children? God comes and says, look out, watch out. But Cain refused to hear. He refused to deal with the sin that was lying at the door.

And so what happens? His refusal to deal with the sin lying at the very door of his heart is what carried him so far as to actually murder his younger brother. So we see that this murder, this lack of love for his brother is not unattached from his refusal to worship God according to God's commands. That's where it started. Do you get that?

That's where it started. It started because he wanted to worship God like he wanted to. At the heart of it, Cain sought a righteousness of his own, refusing the ways of God. And why? Because he was of his father the devil.

And this relationship, as do all relationships, This relationship had an impact on his heart. Cain's heart was set on the ways of his father the devil. The Words of Jesus in describing the hearts of the Pharisees in John 8 44 were true of the heart of Cain and they're true of your heart as well. He says, you are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do. You are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do.

You are of your father the devil and the desires of your father you want to do. As you sit here this morning, the desires of your heart are determined by who your Father is. That's why Jesus came and said, I've come to do the will of my Father. And what were these Pharisees doing in opposing that very one who had come to do the will of God. They were doing the will of their Father, the devil.

And that's true of all of us. We are right now doing the will of our Father, be it God or be it the devil. When we see a child who in looks or in actions resembles a parent, what do we say? The apple didn't fall far from the tree. Well, the same can be said in regards to our spiritual family.

And in John 8, 44, Christ goes on to say that the devil was a murderer from the beginning. And so in Cain, we see a strong resemblance with the devil who is his father. His father was a murderer from the beginning. And what does Cain do? He murders his brother.

John next asks his readers to consider the reason why Cain murdered his brother Abel. He says, and why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous. It was not due simply to the evil in the heart of Cain. Cain had a heart of evil.

But this murder did not come about simply because of the evil in Cain's heart. It was also the response of that evil to the righteousness that was evident in the life of Abel. It was in answer to that righteousness that the evil in Cain's heart rose up. There is a natural enmity that exists between the sinner and a holy God. There is natural enmity between the sinner and a holy God.

Man in his natural state hates any light that will expose the true nature of his heart, the darkness, the depravity, the decay, and the death that exists there. He hates God. He hates the Word of God, and he hates the people of God. That's why we read of Saul breathing out hate. He was breathing it out because he hated God.

He hated his word and he hated the people of God. The sinner loves darkness and hates the light. He loves sin and hates righteousness. Cain hated his brother Abel because Abel's sacrifice portrayed a righteousness that he was devoid of. So that is why we are told that Cain murdered his brother.

It had to do with the righteousness and the lack of it. Well in verse 13, John wants us to understand that this response of Cain to the righteousness of his brother is not some strange thing. He says, do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. Do not marvel if the world hates you. As we have already seen, this hatred finds its roots in family ties.

Cain was of the wicked one. Abel was not. So John speaks to his fellow family members, he's here talking to them, do not marvel, brethren, my brethren, do not marvel. So he's speaking to his fellow family members and tells them not to be surprised if they find the world hating them. In fact, we should be surprised if the world's not hating us.

So there is, in John's words, a measure of expectancy, That this is just the way it is. Don't marvel. Don't be surprised. As he comes to the end of this epistle, John makes the following declaration in chapter 5 verse 19. We know that we are of God and the whole world lies under the sway of the wicked one.

John's expectancy of the hatred of the world toward the children of God does not originate in some pessimistic attitude. I know they're going to hate us. It doesn't originate in a martyr complex. All right, I'm gonna go forward and I'm gonna come at you so that I can die as a martyr. Bring it on.

That's not where it originates. This expectancy comes from a realization that those who are the children of the devil have neither seen God nor known Him. John was simply embracing and repeating the things he had learned from his master. Jesus himself prepared his disciples for the world's hatred. In John 15, 18-25, Jesus says, if the world hates you, you know that it hated me before it hated you.

If you were of the world, the world would love its own. That's why I say it wasn't simply due to the evil in Cain because the world loves its own. It was that righteousness in Cain that rose up and Cain's sin, his hatred, rose to meet it. So he says, if you were of the world, the world would love its own, yet because you were not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you. I chose you out of the world.

You're no longer a child of the devil. Behold what manner of love the Father has given unto us that we should be called children of God. He has taken us out of the world and there's a separation. Therefore, the world hates you. Remember the word that I said to you, a servant is not greater than his master.

If they persecuted me, they will also persecute you. If they kept my word they will keep yours also, but all these things they will do to you for my name's sake because they do not know Him who sent me. If I had not come and spoken to them, they would have no sin, but now they have no excuse for their sin. He who hates me hates my father also." See, it's a family thing. They hated me, They hated God.

Guess what? They're going to hate you. If I had not done among them the works which no one else did, they would have no sin. But Now they have seen and also hated both me and my father, but this happened, that the word might be fulfilled, which is written in their law. They hated me without a cause.

No cause. It's simply family ties. Note the fact that John in our passage points to the very same causes of this hatred that Jesus does here in John 8, because they do not know the Father and because righteousness has exposed their sins. That's the reason Christ gave for the hatred. They haven't known the Father and my righteousness has exposed their sins." The world hates God.

Let us not be shocked or surprised that the world hates his children as well. You know, the world's bumper sticker, the world's bumper sticker promotes the desire to coexist. Coexist. You see it everywhere. Why?

Why that bumper sticker co-exist? Because they desire like Cain that their concoction of their own sacrifice would be as acceptable to God as ours. That's why they want to coexist, so that their concoction of a sacrifice to their God would be as acceptable as our sacrifice. They wish to hear that all roads lead to God. They demand tolerance for that which God considers intolerable and offensive.

The children of the devil are not unlike their elder brother Cain. There is a family resemblance. They hate righteousness and they hate their brother. And once their righteousness is declared unacceptable, the plea to coexist is no longer in sight. It disappears.

The hatred of the heart then manifests itself. Then manifests itself. But John is persuaded of better things in regards to these whom he calls brethren. Verse 14, we know, we know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. In verse 14, John describes the family resemblance portrayed by all who are the children of God, those who have passed from death to life.

The family trait mentioned here in this verse that is passed down to All who are the children of God is a true love for others, especially those who are of the household of faith as we read other places in Scripture. Well, here the children of God are described as those who have passed from death to life. What are the works of the devil? To steal, to kill, and destroy. And remember we just saw in the previous passages that Christ was manifested to destroy those works, to destroy the stealing, to destroy the killing, to destroy the destroying.

This is why Christ was manifested. But these are the works of the devil. And because of the results of the fall of man in the Garden of Eden, death entered into the world and all men now abide in death. Those who have been born of God are adopted into his family as we saw at the start of chapter 3. They're adopted into his family and as we saw in verse 9 they have a seed, a seed of God that is planted in their hearts and they are translated from the kingdom of death into the kingdom of life.

Even as the physical man, Adam, did not become a living soul until God did what? Breathe into his nostrils the breath of life. Even so, Until God comes and breathes life into our spirits, we are dead. There is no spiritual life in us until God moves. Well in the second part of verse 14 and continuing into the next verse, John reflects a concern that there may be someone reading his letter who is assuming that a general love for the church as a whole or a love for the invisible church is sufficient evidence of their passing from death to life.

He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. John is careful to bring the reality of this truth from a corporate, somewhat intangible level down to a personal, intimate, relational level. Do you see that? Look at verse 14, the very first part.

We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brethren. So he's talking about, in general, overall, I love the church of Jesus Christ. We sing, I love thy kingdom, Lord. I love the invisible church. But John says, he who does not love his brother, he takes it from this corporate, kind of intangible, You can't put your finger on it.

Do they really love the church or did they not? He brings it down to an intimate, personal, relational level. Children of God are not only known by their love for the brethren. They are known by their love for their brother. Do you love your brother?

Do you love your brother? If you do not love your brother, you hate him. If you hate him, You are not a child of God. You still abide in death. As Christ tells us in Matthew chapter 5, hatred found in the heart and hatred found on the tongue, okay, in the heart and in the tongue.

That's nothing short of murder. And John makes it clear here in our passage that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him." And John's reason for the strong warning here is made clear by what we read in chapter 5 verse 13. He says that you may know that you have eternal life, that you may know, that you may know, that you may know whether you're a child of God or a child of the devil, do you know that you have eternal life abiding in him so that you may know, I want you to know that he who hates his brother is still abiding in death. He wants to make the family resemblance clear. His purpose is not, His purpose is not to cause doubt, but actually to bring about assurance.

But he wants to make sure that assurance is built upon those things which manifest a true knowledge and acquaintance with God the Father. So we conclude our consideration of family resemblance with verse 16. By this we know love because he that is Christ lay down his life for us and we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren. Now the publisher of your Bible may have placed verse 16 with the verses that follow as did the publisher of the Bible I have before me. They put verse 16 as the start of another section.

And it is connected to what follows, but it is not disconnected from what we have been studying this morning. I think that John is not done with the reflection of the message from the beginning nor of his message concerning the family resemblance that exists among the children of the devil and the children of God. Having spoken of Cain, the elder brother of those who are of the children of the devil, John here goes on to speak of Christ, the elder brother of those who are the children of God. The enmity that came into the world was declared long before Cain killed his brother Abel. That enmity was declared long before that.

That's when we first see it exposed, brought out, brought to the surface. But the enmity was declared before Cain killed Abel. This murder, Cain of Abel, was a mere reflection of a greater enmity that God put between the devil and Christ at the time of the fall. Remember what he said, I will put enmity between your seed and the seed of the woman. Christ was the promised seed of the woman, the one who was promised, as we saw earlier in this chapter, to destroy the works of the devil and to take away the sins of his people.

That's why he was manifested, to take away our sins and to destroy the works of the devil. John has already told us these things. And so he sets before us Christ. Having told his readers to love one another not as Cain, he now tells his readers to love one another as Christ loves. Having shown his readers through a portrait of Cain what true love is not, he now shows his readers what true love is through a portrait of Jesus Christ.

That's what he says. By this, by this, we know love. We know it by this. Having described the children of the devil as those who by nature take away life, he now describes the children of God as those who like their elder brother lay down their lives. John here describes that newness of the commandment.

Remember we looked at that earlier? What is the newness of the commandment? The newness of the commandment is as I have loved you, you also love one another. That's the new commandment that Christ brought when He was in the world. When we see that here, John's here describing the newness of this commandment.

Christ has redefined love. He's redefined it. This is love. In this we know love. There is only one way There is only one way for us to understand what love is.

We must go to Golgotha. We must go to Mount Calvary. We must gaze upon Christ there on the cross. That's where love is defined, and if we have any other love, It's not a right love. It's not a true love.

Paul brings this front and center when writing to the Romans In chapter 5 in verse 6 through 8, he says, for when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. For scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet perhaps for a good man Someone would even dare to die but God Demonstrates his own love toward us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us The demonstration of God's love was not contingent upon the worthiness of the object of his love. Notice the words, we were without strength, ungodly sinners. This is the description of those whom God chose to love. This my dear brother and sister was the description of you when Christ died for you.

When he showed that love, You were without strength. You were ungodly. You were a sinner. And God's demonstration of love was to send His Son and to die for you in that state. 1 John 4 11, Beloved, If God so loved us, we also ought to love one another.

So I want to close with some applications. Got a few questions. Application number one, do you know something of this love? Do you know something of this love? In the Geneva series commentaries published by Banner Truth, Robert Candlish in commenting on this passage says the following, at all events when my character is changed, The character of all my love is changed in a corresponding manner.

Got that? When my character is changed, The character of all my love is changed in a corresponding manner. There is not one of those I loved before whom I love now as I used to. My love to every one of them is quite a new love. The wife of my bosom, the child of my house, the servant and stranger within my gates, the beggar at my door, the queen reigning over me, the companion of my leisure, the partner of my business, the holy man of God, the child of misery and vice.

There is not one of them whom I love now as I did before. It is a new affection that I feel to every one of them. Do you know something of this in your heart? One of the things that I often ask young people when they come and come to the elders and say, I'd like to be baptized. And we meet with them and interview them.

And one of the things I often ask, if not always, what impact has your Salvation had on your relationship to your parents and to your siblings You say that you're saved. That's great What impact has it had on your relationship to your siblings? What impact has it had on your relationship to your parents? The question of the impact of our salvation upon our treatment of others is something that we all need to ask ourselves. So do you know something of this love?

Secondly, Are you withholding love from any brother or sister? Let us not be too quick in responding to this question, but give serious thought and consideration. I'm going to quote Mr. Candlish again. He says it better than I can.

Very penetrating. Listen to these words. He says, let me ask myself a plain but pointed question. Is there no child of God, no godly man or woman of my acquaintance, the fault of whom or the sight of whom or his or her talk in the field, " he's referring to Abel and Cain there talking in the field, or his or her talk in the field troubles me and makes me feel uncomfortable. Many professing Christians I know and like, many who pass for serious and evangelical, I can meet and converse with easily and satisfactorily enough.

There were 400 prophets of the Lord that Ahab had no sort of objection to have here near him and to listen to, But there was one Micaiah that he did not care to sin for. I hate him said the king. He doth not prophesy good concerning me, but evil. Is there any Micaiah who is thus a sort of eyesore to me? Any able who provokes in me a kind of cane-ish spirit?

It is not, strictly speaking, envy or mere jealousy of another's superior excellence. It is the tacit rebuke administered to my shortcoming in sin, the awakening of a lurking consciousness of something wrong in my state of heart or way of life, the unsettling of my security, the beginning in me of, I scarcely know what to call it, dissatisfaction, apprehension, an uneasy and unpleasant feeling of my not being altogether in some particulars what I ought to be or might be. It is that which disturbs me in the presence of some child of God or in the thought of such in one as an unquestionable type of godliness. Ah, he continues, it is a dangerous symptom. You brother, as well as I may give good heed to it, it is the very germ of Cain's murderous mood.

Germ of Cain's murderous mood. It may not lead you to slay your able, him or her, who is thus obnoxious to you, whose imminent nearness to God causes you to be sensible of your distance. You have other ways of getting rid of the troubler of your peace without raising the cry, crucify him, away with him, you can evade his company. Keep out of hearing of his voice and elude the glance of his eye. You can shut him out of your mind and bid him to be to you as if he was not.

Or you may try another plan. You may open your ears to whispers against him. You may sharpen your sight to discover faults and follies in him. You may sit and speak against your brother, slandering your own mother's son, if by any means you can make him out to be not so very immaculate or so very heavenly after all, but that you may stand your ground and pass muster beside him in the end." What is all that but slaying your brother, slaying him virtually if not literally, slaying him very cruelly. And wherefore?

Because your own works are evil and your brother's righteous. Let us, like Mr. Candlish, ask ourselves that plain but pointed question, are you withholding love from any brother or sister? Thirdly, are you guarding your heart from disaffection? Are you guarding your heart from disaffection.

What measures are you taking to ensure that no seeds of disaffection or hatred are taking root in your heart? I quote Mr. Candliss again, You need for yourselves in the special reference to the world's hatred of you to be ever on your guard lest somewhat of the old dark spirit should creep in again into your own hearts. And remember it may insinuate itself very insidiously and stealthily. Consider once more the stages or steps.

And what he does here is he goes back to the text here where he says, he who does not love his brother abides in death, whoever hates his brother is a murderer. He says consider once more the stages or steps, not loving, hating, murdering. Hating, murdering. Ah, how easily may the first of these steps begin. Not loving.

It is a simple negation. No taking of any positive step, but only as it were not taking any step at all, or not this or that particular step giving up letting alone using less energy of prayer and pains, feeling less interest. That's getting down to the roots. Are you guarding your heart against disaffection even at the basic level of losing an interest? And then lastly, as you look at your life, what family resemblance do you bear?

As you look at your life, what family resemblance do you bear? Is there a resemblance to Cain or is there a resemblance to Jesus Christ? Are you taking life and well-being slowly away from those around you or are you laying your life down in a sacrificial manner? If You are not practicing righteousness and you do not love your brother. You have no reason to think that you are a child of God.

But I have good news for you if that's the case. This good news can be found in this same epistle. John who gave this warning and said if you do not love your brother you're abiding in death There is no everlasting life in you. This same one who gives you this warning. If you see, oh that's me, that's me.

John's got good news and it's found in chapter 4 verses 9 and 10. In this the love of God was manifested toward us. That God has sent his only begotten son into the world that we might have life through him. And this is love. Not that we love God, because in our natural states we don't, we can't love God.

But herein is love, not that we loved him, but that he loved us and sent his son to be the propitiation, the satisfaction for our sins. And John's already told us he's the satisfaction, he's the propitiation for all of us who are in Christ. But not only us, but for the whole world. If the whole world would have turned to Jesus Christ, there is love, there is grace, there is mercy in him to save the entire world. Will you come to Christ?

You don't have to remain a child of the devil. Cry out to him, oh Lord open my eyes to see Christ in all of His beauty. To have my heart drawn out to Him. Oh Lord, I am one who practices unrighteousness. I don't love anyone but Me.

Oh come by your might, save me. I cry out to Christ who is an advocate because he's the righteous one. He's the only hope I have and he's there before you, O God. May he be an advocate. May he plead my cause.

May he be before you the satisfaction of my sins which have offended you. I no longer want to remain in death. I want to pass from death to life, but my spirit is dead. Give me a new heart, oh God, and call me to be your own. This love that you've manifested to my mom or my dad or to these people in church here.

That love that you have manifested in calling them children. Oh, manifest that love to me. Cry out to God. May you pass from death to life. May you come to see Him and to know Him, to have eternal life, and to follow your elder brother Jesus Christ to practice righteousness and to love your brother God helping you by his Spirit.

Let's pray. Oh gracious God we thank you that we now know what love is, true love, for it's manifested in Christ who came and laid down his life. Oh Father, we thank you that we can have assurance, and yet we want assurance grounded in truth. So thank you for these words of John that sets these two things before us. Oh, help us to examine our hearts by your Spirit that we might see what's in the inner man.

And may it be manifested. May it be known to us. And, O God, those who do not know Christ, who still abide in death, O be merciful to them. O, may you by your Spirit come and may they pass from death to life as they gaze upon true love there at Golgotha, manifested to us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. In His name we pray, amen.

Let's have a few moments of reflection before we discuss.