The New Old Commandment
1 John 2:7-11
February 6, 2022
As you know we are working our way through the book of 1 John and we are falling in love with the clarity that John brings to the table.
• In a world that constantly seeks to blur the lines…
• In a world that hates absolutes…
• In a world where Christianity gets redefined by the latest fads…
It is so refreshing to read an epistle like 1 John
And be brought back to the roots of what is obvious Christianity.
It is so clarifying
It is so reassuring
It is so comforting
We love it when Scripture is able to solidify for us
Exactly what is true and what is not.
The book of 1 John does that as well as any book in the Bible.
As you know by now John has been drawing lines in the sand.
• John has been dividing truth from error.
• And John has been dividing the true church from the false.
As we talked about from the beginning of our study,
John battled a culture that was turning gnostic.
And the scary part was that this deception had even crept into the church.
And it had become very difficult to know
Who in the church was real and who was not.
John’s letter sought to settle the issue.
Steve Lawson spoke of it like this:
“There is always in the church, there is the visible church and there is the invisible church. The visible church is everyone who is in the building. The invisible church is everyone who is in Christ. And there needs to always be this differentiation between the visible church and the invisible church. That’s the value of 1 John. 1 John gives us the distinguishing marks of the true church. And when we say, the true church, we’re talking about the invisible church; we’re talking about those who are true believers in Jesus Christ. Whenever you walk into a church building there is always both tares and wheat and so John helps us discern, beginning with ourselves, who is truly born again; who truly knows the Lord, because Jesus Himself said, ‘Not everyone who says to Me Lord, Lord shall enter the kingdom of heaven.’ It’s not the one who professes Christ that is in the kingdom, it’s the one who possesses Christ who is in the kingdom. It’s very possible, if not easy, to profess Christ but not possess Christ.”
https://onepassionministries.org/the-bible-study-podcast-steven-lawson/ (sermon: “The Test of Love” 1 John 2:7-11; beginning at 3:24)
I think that is a great way of describing the purpose and point of 1 John.
Last week I told you there were 2 reasons for John’s writing.
1) To EXPOSE those with FALSE ASSURANCE.
• It is a truly awful reality that there are people in our world who are lost but think they are saved.
• It is nothing short of love and the grace of God for such people to be exposed in their lostness
• That they might repent, believe, and find forgiveness and salvation in Christ.
I was one of those, and I’m so thankful Christ exposed and called me.
2) To GRANT TRUE ASSURANCE to those who are saved.
• It is also and awful thing to be truly saved and truly secure and yet not be able to enjoy your salvation because of a lack of assurance.
Deceivers can come in with their false doctrines.
• In particular people like the Gnostics who boast of their deeper and extra knowledge
• And it can happen that a genuinely saved person can say, “We’ll I don’t have that extra knowledge, what if I’m not really saved?”
John wants to squash such foolishness by letting you know
How to know if you are saved.
Last week we saw that the test of obedience fulfills both of those desires.
Obedience is the proof that you are saved or not
So it is a great credential for exposing the lost and granting assurance to the saved.
NOW THIS MORNING,
I’d like to give you a 3rd reason for why John is writing this letter
To help you see the difference between a false brother and a true one.
I realize that just making such a statement feels a little judgmental and something a believer shouldn’t do, but it is very essential that this occur in the church.
WHY?
Well, let me read you some of the warnings of Jesus.
Listen to Jesus’ explanation of the wheat and the tares.
Matthew 13:41 “The Son of Man will send forth His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all stumbling blocks, and those who commit lawlessness,”
Or later when Jesus addressed the issue of church discipline:
Matthew 18:7 “Woe to the world because of its stumbling blocks! For it is inevitable that stumbling blocks come; but woe to that man through whom the stumbling block comes!”
When Paul wrote to the church in Rome, he wrote:
Romans 16:17 “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them.”
Or even Jesus’ warning to the church at Pergamum
Revelation 2:14 “But I have a few things against you, because you have there some who hold the teaching of Balaam, who kept teaching Balak to put a stumbling block before the sons of Israel, to eat things sacrificed to idols and to commit acts of immorality.”
In each of those passages the same Greek word emerges.
SKANDALON
It actually refers to a “trap stick” or “a snare”
It is the lever or mechanism in a trap to catch animals.
It is rendered “stumbling block” or “hindrance”
AND THE FACT IS THAT Satan has always sought to infiltrate the church with those who will be a stumbling block or a hindrance.
Jesus warned about them extensively.
And that is the SAME WORD JOHN USES here in verse 10.
“The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.”
“cause for stumbling” translates SKANDALON
What John is doing for us is helping us identify
Those in the church who may cause us to stumble.
Remember when Jesus spotted a potential stumbling block in His own life?
Matthew 16:23 “But He turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me; for you are not setting your mind on God’s interests, but man’s.”
That was the day when Peter was seeking to
Get Jesus to abandon the mission of the cross.
And this is what we are talking about.
Sometimes there can be those, even in the church,
Who can influence us contrary to the will of God.
And it is imperative for the health of the church,
And for your own personal spiritual walk,
That these people can be identified.
Again that may sound harsh,
But when you are in a spiritual war with a spiritual enemy,
It is foolish to assume that he will not try to infiltrate the camp.
Peter wrote:
2 Peter 2:1-2 “But false prophets also arose among the people, just as there will also be false teachers among you, who will secretly introduce destructive heresies, even denying the Master who bought them, bringing swift destruction upon themselves. Many will follow their sensuality, and because of them the way of the truth will be maligned;”
Jude wrote:
Jude 4 “For certain persons have crept in unnoticed, those who were long beforehand marked out for this condemnation, ungodly persons who turn the grace of our God into licentiousness and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ.”
Jude 12-13 “These are the men who are hidden reefs in your love feasts when they feast with you without fear, caring for themselves; clouds without water, carried along by winds; autumn trees without fruit, doubly dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up their own shame like foam; wandering stars, for whom the black darkness has been reserved forever.”
And one of the reasons John is writing is to help the church spot them.
It is an invaluable resource.
SO THIS MORNING we move forward in our study of 1 John.
LAST TIME we saw that the key criteria by which we evaluate both ourselves and others is OBEDIENCE.
1 John 2:4-5 “The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:”
Obedience to Christ is the key evidence that a person truly loves God
And that a person has been transformed by the Holy Spirit.
But even that is still a little generic.
THIS MORNING John sharpens his focus to a specific command.
AND THAT COMMAND IS LOVE.
We say that obedience proves salvation,
And if you want to start with a specific command to examine
Then start with the command to love.
This is the command by which we EVALUATE OURSELVES
And this is the command by which we EVALUATE OTHERS.
• No other command better indicates whether you are in Christ’s kingdom of light or if you are still in Satan’s kingdom of darkness.
• No other command better indicates if you are in the family of God or if you remain in Satan’s family.
There are so many religious commands and practices
That can be externally counterfeited but LOVE CANNOT BE FAKED.
LOVE IS FROM GOD and it is the chief command which distinguishes
Those who are in fellowship with Him versus those who are not.
And so John this morning would have us examine our love.
And to do that we will be studying verses 7-11.
There’s two main points to make this morning.
#1 LOVE IS THE POINT
1 John 2:7-8
It is an interesting play on words that John uses here
And one that can seem a little confusing.
• For in verse 7 John says, “I am not writing a new commandment to you”
• And then in verse 8 he says, “On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you,”
And we sort of want to say, “Which is it John?”
Is it an old command or a new command?
And John says, “Yes”
So let’s examine what he means.
“Beloved” – and that is a great title for those John is writing to.
Never forget, that despite the direct nature of this letter,
Every single word is written out of love for the church.
His objective is not to harm the church, but to help the church.
John loves the church.
History even actually calls him “The apostle of love”
“Beloved, I am not writing a new commandment to you, but an old commandment which you have had from the beginning; the old commandment is the word which you have heard.”
Now because we can read ahead we know that the specific command John is referring to is the command to love your brother.
And John starts out by saying this is NOT a new commandment.
In fact “you have heard” this commandment “from the beginning;”
And the point John is making is that
The command to love your brother is not some new development.
• From the first day you heard the gospel.
• From the first day you heard the word of God.
• This command has been at the center.
Who can forget Jesus instruction?
Matthew 22:34-40 “But when the Pharisees heard that Jesus had silenced the Sadducees, they gathered themselves together. One of them, a lawyer, asked Him a question, testing Him, “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” And He said to him, “ ‘YOU SHALL LOVE THE LORD YOUR GOD WITH ALL YOUR HEART, AND WITH ALL YOUR SOUL, AND WITH ALL YOUR MIND.’ “This is the great and foremost commandment. “The second is like it, ‘YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.’ “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
The command to love your brother is NOT a new thought.
It is actually rooted in the Mosaic Law.
Deuteronomy 6:5 “You shall love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your might.”
Leviticus 19:18 “You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.”
Jesus then took those commandments
And they became the chief commandments of His teaching.
He said they were the greatest two.
Jesus said “On these two commandments depend the whole Law and the Prophets.”
Paul would certainly reiterate that:
Romans 13:8-10 “Owe nothing to anyone except to love one another; for he who loves his neighbor has fulfilled the law. For this, “YOU SHALL NOT COMMIT ADULTERY, YOU SHALL NOT MURDER, YOU SHALL NOT STEAL, YOU SHALL NOT COVET,” and if there is any other commandment, it is summed up in this saying, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF.” Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfillment of the law.”
You see how love is the fulfillment of the Law.
All of the things God commands you not to do to your brother are things you wouldn’t do to him if you loved him.
• You don’t have an affair with a man’s wife if you love him.
• You don’t murder a man you love.
• You don’t steal from a man you love.
• You don’t covet the stuff of a man you love.
It’s pretty clear.
It is a command you have HEARD FROM THE BEGINNING.
However, John goes on.
(8) “On the other hand, I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you,”
And of course this follows exactly the teaching of Jesus as well.
John 13:34-35 “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, even as I have loved you, that you also love one another. “By this all men will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.”
Jesus gave that same old commandment,
But actually called it “A new commandment”
HOW?
It’s NOT that the command to “love one another” is a new command that you have never heard.
However, when Jesus showed up
That command was understood in such a new way
That it’s like something you’ve never heard before.
In other words, you knew about the command to love your brother,
But until Jesus you never really knew
What that love was supposed to look like.
JESUS CLARIFIED that command to such an extent
That it began to feel like something totally new.
Remember Jesus’ parable of the good Samaritan?
• That parable took “love your neighbor as yourself” to a level that no Jew had ever even considered.
• That parable is actually the most condemning parable in Scripture because no one can read it and say, “I do that”.
The love with which Christ loved
Is bigger than anything the world ever comprehended.
Remember the passage Stephen Butts preached a couple of weeks ago.
John 15:12-17 “This is My commandment, that you love one another, just as I have loved you. “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. “You are My friends if you do what I command you. “No longer do I call you slaves, for the slave does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I have heard from My Father I have made known to you. “You did not choose Me but I chose you, and appointed you that you would go and bear fruit, and that your fruit would remain, so that whatever you ask of the Father in My name He may give to you. “This I command you, that you love one another.
That is really where the commandment took on a whole new life.
• The old commandment was “love your neighbor as yourself.”
• But the new commandment is “love one another, just as I have loved you.”
That’s a whole new understanding of love.
In the Old Testament that passage came with basic stipulations.
Leviticus 19:9-18 “Now when you reap the harvest of your land, you shall not reap to the very corners of your field, nor shall you gather the gleanings of your harvest. ‘Nor shall you glean your vineyard, nor shall you gather the fallen fruit of your vineyard; you shall leave them for the needy and for the stranger. I am the LORD your God. ‘You shall not steal, nor deal falsely, nor lie to one another. ‘You shall not swear falsely by My name, so as to profane the name of your God; I am the LORD. ‘You shall not oppress your neighbor, nor rob him. The wages of a hired man are not to remain with you all night until morning. ‘You shall not curse a deaf man, nor place a stumbling block before the blind, but you shall revere your God; I am the LORD. ‘You shall do no injustice in judgment; you shall not be partial to the poor nor defer to the great, but you are to judge your neighbor fairly. ‘You shall not go about as a slanderer among your people, and you are not to act against the life of your neighbor; I am the LORD. ‘You shall not hate your fellow countryman in your heart; you may surely reprove your neighbor, but shall not incur sin because of him. ‘You shall not take vengeance, nor bear any grudge against the sons of your people, but you shall love your neighbor as yourself; I am the LORD.”
• Leave some of the grain in your fields and vineyards for the poor.
• Don’t deal falsely or lie to each other.
• Don’t exploit each other in transactions.
• Don’t cause people to stumble.
• Walk in justice, don’t slander.
That’s all really good and basic advice for what it means to
“love your neighbor as yourself”.
But Jesus took that to a whole new level when He said that
The greatest love is to “lay down your life” for your friends.
AND HERE IS THE POINT TO THAT.
SUCH LOVE CANNOT BE DONE IN HUMAN STRENGTH.
Love is definitely an action and love is definitely a choice,
But it is a choice that an unregenerate man cannot make.
You can’t love like Christ
Apart from the transforming work of Christ in your life.
It is at salvation when that supernatural love is given to you.
Romans 5:5 “and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.”
• It is the Holy Spirit who enables that kind of love as love is actually listed as the
first “fruit of the Spirit”.
• When a person is saved they are then given the capacity to love like Christ
loved.
That’s why John says: “I am writing a new commandment to you, which is true in Him and in you”
It’s true in you if you’ve been redeemed.
And then John goes on to say this:
“because the darkness is passing away and the true Light is already shining.”
• “the darkness” is a reference to Satan’s kingdom.
• “the true Light” is a reference to Christ’s kingdom.
And though there is still plenty of darkness in this world
We know that Satan’s kingdom is operating on borrowed time.
Christ’s kingdom is currently A SPIRITUAL REALITY,
Evidenced by love, and it dispels the darkness.
And one day Christ’s kingdom will become a physical reality,
Categorized by love, and the darkness will be gone completely.
SO WHAT IS JOHN’S POINT?
THE CHIEF AND OBVIOUS DISTINCTION
Between the kingdom of light and the dominion of darkness is LOVE.
• Those who are in Christ’s kingdom and in Christ’s family love as Christ loved.
• Those who remain in the kingdom of darkness do not.
Love is the most obvious characteristic of genuine Christianity.
• Love has always been COMMANDED BY GOD.
• Love was certainly CLARIFIED BY CHRIST.
• Love most definitely CHARACTERIZES CHRIST’S KINGDOM.
LOVE IS THE POINT.
And again, that is OBVIOUS CHRISTIANITY.
That is Christianity 101
God intends for those who are His
To love one another as Christ loved them.
Philippians 2:1-5 “Therefore if there is any encouragement in Christ, if there is any consolation of love, if there is any fellowship of the Spirit, if any affection and compassion, make my joy complete by being of the same mind, maintaining the same love, united in spirit, intent on one purpose. Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus,”
1 Thessalonians 4:9-10 “Now as to the love of the brethren, you have no need for anyone to write to you, for you yourselves are taught by God to love one another; for indeed you do practice it toward all the brethren who are in all Macedonia. But we urge you, brethren, to excel still more,”
Ephesians 5:1-2 “Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children; and walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma.”
Ephesians 5:25 “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself up for her,”
You get the idea: LOVE IS THE POINT
And that point allows John to make the second point.
#2 LOVE IS THE PROOF
1 John 2:9-11
Because love is the undeniable chief fruit of Christianity
John can then make this obvious statement.
(9) “The one who says he is in the Light and yet hates his brother is in the darkness until now.”
We’ve met that guy before haven’t we?
He’s the imposter.
• In (1:6) he said he had fellowship but walks in darkness.
• In (1:8) he said he had no sin
• In (1:10) he said he had not sinned
• In (2:4) he said he knew Jesus but didn’t obey
And here he shows up again.
• He “says he is in the Light” (that is in Christ’s kingdom/family)
• But he obviously doesn’t because he “hates his brother”
Hatred for a brother is not something those in Christ’s family do.
That is something that those in Satan’s family do.
Which is why John says that guy “is in the darkness until now.”
He’s not saved, or in fellowship with God, or in Christ’s kingdom.
THIS IS OBVIOUS
Not everyone seems to be clear on this.
I read one commentary this week that said that it is a mistake to think John is making a distinction between those who are lost and those who are saved.
The held merely that, “a Christian who can hate his fellow Christian has not genuinely escaped from the darkness of this present passing Age. To put it another way, he has much to learn about God and cannot legitimately claim an intimate knowledge of Christ.”
(Walvoord, John F. & Zuck, Roy B. [The Bible Knowledge Commentary; New Testament; Chariot Victor Publishing; Colorado Springs, CO; 1983] pg. 889)
But listen John ISN’T making a distinction
Between those who love well and those who love a little.
John is talking about polar opposites.
He is talking about love and hate.
And while it is true that every believer could love better and love more
(none of us perfectly love like Christ)
The simple fact is that if someone claims to be a Christian
But they can hate another Christian, they are not a real Christian.
And John will circle back to this later:
1 John 3:14-15 “We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love abides in death. Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer; and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
1 John 4:7-8 “Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. The one who does not love does not know God, for God is love.”
1 John 4:20 “If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for the one who does not love his brother whom he has seen, cannot love God whom he has not seen.”
IT IS CLEAR.
• If there is no love for the brethren then there is no salvation.
• If there is hatred for a brother then there is no salvation.
But THERE IS A REASON why John is telling you this.
• Certainly we can examine ourselves here…
• Certainly we can use this to find assurance…
But the reason John tells you here is because
You need to know that some people, even in the church,
Should not be allowed to influence you.
(10-11) “The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him. But the one who hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
The contrasts are obvious.
You have a man who loves his brother and he is in the light
• “there is no cause for stumbling in him.”
You have a man who hates his brother and he is in the darkness and he is totally misguided and lost.
• “in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
And the warning from John is simply this.
BE CAREFUL WHO YOU ACKNOWLEDGE AND LET INFLUENCE YOU
• Satan has seen fit to sew tares among the wheat.
• Satan has seen fit to infiltrate the church with false brethren.
• Satan has seen fit to put stumbling blocks in your midst.
Jesus talked about them:
Matthew 15:12-14 “Then the disciples came and said to Him, “Do You know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this statement?” But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father did not plant shall be uprooted. “Let them alone; they are blind guides of the blind. And if a blind man guides a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”
If you follow those guys, whom My Father did not plant,
Then they will lead you right into a pit.
They don’t know God.
They are not in God’s kingdom.
They will lead you straight to destruction.
Matthew 23:15 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites, because you travel around on sea and land to make one proselyte; and when he becomes one, you make him twice as much a son of hell as yourselves.”
And that coupled with all those warnings
We read at the beginning of the sermon about stumbling blocks.
You’ve got to realize, as difficult as it sounds,
That not everyone who claims Christianity
Can be trusted or should be followed.
WELL HOW DO I KNOW THE DIFFERENCE?
You look for the one who loves.
“The one who loves his brother abides in the Light and there is no cause for stumbling in him.”
The one who loves like Christ loved will not cause you to stumble.
And let me clarify that even a little further.
Today LOVE HAS BEEN REDEFINED and used as a deceptive tool.
• Today, love has become synonymous with tolerance.
• Today, if you confront someone in sin you’ll be accused of not being loving.
• Today, if you don’t follow the cultural whims you’ll be called a person of hate.
It is important that the definition for love remain accurate.
We are looking for the person who loves like Christ loved.
There is actually a definition.
1 Corinthians 13:4-7 “Love is patient, love is kind and is not jealous; love does not brag and is not arrogant, does not act unbecomingly; it does not seek its own, is not provoked, does not take into account a wrong suffered, does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.”
That is a definition of Christ-like love.
• The brother who loves will be long-suffering or patient.
• The brother who loves will be kind.
• The brother who loves is not jealous of what another brother has.
• The brother who loves is humble, not bragging or arrogant.
• The brother who loves doesn’t act unbecomingly
• The brother who loves is not selfish
• The brother who loves doesn’t fly off the handle
• The brother who loves doesn’t hold a grudge
• The brother who loves does not lead you into sin or let you remain in sin
• The brother who loves rejoices when you walk in truth
That is Christ-like love.
Did Christ confront sinners? Of course
Did Christ call for repentance? Absolutely
Did Christ ever lead anyone into sin or condone their sin? Never
So don’t let the world redefine love, look at Christ’s love.
And remember that Christ then gave Himself up
For the salvation even of His enemies.
And people who do that are clearly those who are in His kingdom.
Now, certainly we offer grace here as well,
For none of us can say that we always love like Christ.
That is a criteria none of us lives up to.
We certainly strive for it, but we also fall short of it.
So we’re NOT SAYING if you don’t love like Jesus all the time
Then you aren’t saved.
John doesn’t say that.
John says you aren’t saved if you hate, which is the extreme other end.
No, we’re a work in progress
And clearly some people are doing better than others.
There must be some love even if it is not yet perfect love,
John will be clear later that if you don’t love at all, you aren’t saved.
But what is clear is that though none of us loves as much as we should,
Hatred has certainly been removed through Christ.
And if there is a so-called brother in the assembly who hates another brother,
• That is a man you should avoid, not follow.
• That man is in the darkness and he’ll lead you where you do not want to God.
Romans 16:17-18 “Now I urge you, brethren, keep your eye on those who cause dissensions and hindrances contrary to the teaching which you learned, and turn away from them. For such men are slaves, not of our Lord Christ but of their own appetites; and by their smooth and flattering speech they deceive the hearts of the unsuspecting.”
• The goal for us is to love like Christ loved.
• The goal for us is to encourage one another to love like Christ loved.
• The goal is to follow those who love like Christ loved.
This is the distinguishing mark
Of those who have been rescued from the domain of darkness
And transferred into Christ’s kingdom of Light.
