And now turn with me, saints, in your Bibles to the book of 1 John chapter 3. This morning, 1 John chapter 3, when you found your place there, let's stand together for the reading of God's holy word today. Let us pray. And now God, as your Holy Spirit inspired your servant John long ago to write this epistle, that it should become a part of the New Testament canon. We pray by that same Holy Spirit that you would work grace in our hearts today by this word, that you God from heaven would speak to us in earth. to instruct us, to correct us, to encourage us, to bring us, Lord God, unto security and everlasting life in Christ Jesus. We thank you for all the ways that you minister unto your church and bless us in our lives through your word. It is your word we receive now in Jesus' name. Amen. So our sermon section today is 1 John chapter 3, verses 10 through 15. Listen now, friends, to the Word of God. 1 John chapter 3, verse 10, John writes, 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. But 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 brother's righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love 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. This is the word of the Lord. Amen. Please be seated. So in this passage, as you heard, the Apostle John refers in verse 12 to a murderer named Cain. So let's start by reviewing the story of Cain from Genesis chapter four. Cain and Abel, you remember, were the fallen sons of Adam and Eve. Cain was a farmer. Abel was a shepherd. And each of these brothers brought an offering to God. Cain placed a grain offering on God's altar. His brother Abel presented God with a sacrificial lamb. And spiritually speaking, we're to understand that these two offerings could not have been more different. Cain's was an offering of sweat, Abel's an offering of blood. Cain's offering smacked the pride of his works, Abel's savored of humble repentance before God. Cain presumed that he could fellowship with God without any need of atonement, whereas Abel, being convinced of his sin, couldn't imagine drawing near to God without it. And the writers of the Hebrews, you remember, commenting on this story in Hebrews 11, 4, declared that in this, Abel was, by faith, more righteous than his brother. As the story goes, God accepted Abel and his offering, but did not respect Cain or his. And in Genesis chapter 4, verse 5, we read, And Cain was very angry, and his countenance fell. Seeing this, God came and urged Cain to recognize his fault and follow the example of his more righteous brother. But instead, Cain's hatred for Abel grew so great that he murdered him. And that's the tragic story of Cain, to which the Apostle John refers here. Here in 1 John 3, 10 through 15, The Apostle John's first epistle begins to sound something like an Agatha Christie novel. There is murder in Christ's church. And where is the murderer? John, you understand, is pointing to the Gnostics, those heretics who arose in the churches in the first century, contradicting Christ's apostles, deceiving many people. The Gnostics left with their followers, they claimed to be God's servants. But John, sounding somewhat like Hercule Poirot, says, no, not of God, they are of the devil. And John makes his case in this epistle. Let me review it with you. First, the Gnostics have been heard denying that Jesus is the Christ. And John asks, how can they know the Father who denied the Son? Second, the Gnostics deny any need of the blood of Christ's sacrifice on the cross. What is that, John asks, but to make God a liar? Thirdly, the righteousness claimed by the Gnostics neither produced nor encouraged the practice of righteousness. And John here rips off the mask and shows us not righteousness, but lawlessness. He says, what is this but the very spirit of Antichrist? And now, fourthly, with a dramatic flourish, John declares the motive He says, these Gnostics, who once called us their brothers, do not love us, they hate us, and have treated us hatefully, as you yourselves know. Why? Because we have wronged them. No, because as true Christians, we are more righteous than they are, and they hate us for that. And that, John says, is a story that we've read before. This hatred that we Christians have felt from the Gnostics is of a piece with the hatred of Cain, who murdered his brother Abel long ago. And so, by all this, John concludes, I declare that these Gnostics are murderers, not of God as they claim, but truly of the devil like Cain. So that's impressive. detective work. What most interests me here is what John identifies as the motive behind the murderers in Christ's church. And the reference to Cain is key. We see here in this passage, there is love in the church, as we would expect. Verse 11 and also verse 14. But we also see that there is hatred in the church as well. Verses 12 and 13 and 15. even, as John says, murderous hatred. And at bottom, we find not one thing that is loved in the church and another thing that is hated, but one and the same thing is both loved and hated. Loved by some, hated by others. Jesus taught this to John, John teaches it to us. It's important that we understand this. if we are to understand the world and the church, and particularly the world in the church. The lesson is this, that that which we most love in each other, Christians, is the very thing for which we are hated by others. That which we most love in each other, Christians, is the very thing for which we are hated by others. Two points today. What Christians most love in each other is their Christianity. Do we love each other here? I hope so. John's pretty clear that if we don't love each other as Christians, then we're not Christians. This was Christ's new commandment, as he called it, which John refers repeatedly in this epistle. I remind you of it, as the Lord says to his disciples in John 13, 34, quote, a new commandment I give to you, that you love one another, as I have loved you, that you also love one another. By this, Jesus said, all will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. So this is the brotherly love that John speaks of throughout 1 John 3, 10-15. Your brother, verse 10, is your Christian brother. The brethren, verse 14, are your brothers in Christ. and that you should love these, your Christian brothers, why that's what you heard from the beginning. In verse 11, it says, among the first things John taught people upon becoming Christians was Christ's new commandment. which John has said to these churches, is now an old commandment to you. But it's worth repeating, and John does repeat it again and again. Christians, let us love one another, as Christ himself has loved each of us. And what is that love about? Why do we love one another? I suppose we could offer a mystical explanation. It's just the Holy Spirit, you know, what else can you say? But I think we could say more than that. Do I love you as my brother in Christ because we just happen to have compatible personalities and common interests outside the church? Is that the basis of our brotherly love? No, of course not. So what is it then? Look with me at verse 10. John here names two ways in which Christians manifest themselves to be the children of God. He says there, 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. All right, so flip it. What does this say about the child of God? The child of God, practices righteousness and loves his brother. That's how you know that he is a child of God, according to John. And that child of God, John teaches us, is the Christian. It's the Christian who practices righteousness, that is, the righteousness of Jesus Christ. And it is the Christian who loves his brother, that is, his Christian brother. So practice of righteousness, Christ's righteousness, and loving your brother, your Christian brother. Do you think there's a relationship between those two things? Of course there is. What is it? Why do I love you? Perhaps your personality and mine are not exactly simpatico. Perhaps we have different interests outside of the church. So on that basis, you and I should not be friends. And yet I love you, Christian. Even so, I love you. Why? Because I see the righteousness of Christ in you. And that righteousness is lovely to me as a Christian. What do I mean by the righteousness of Christ? I mean all the ways that Jesus is better than us and all the ways in which he is making us better by making us more like himself. I could be more specific. First, like Abel, who was more righteous than his brother Cain, remember, by faith. You as a Christian do not presume in your pride to fellowship with God apart from the atoning blood of the land. Christ has shown you that you are a sinner and you've seen it. You know that your sins are offensive to God who is holy. You know that you need the blood of Jesus, the son, if God is to forgive you and you're to be restored to fellowship with God. And that's why you come to a Christian church to worship God. For the way of worship here is the way of Abel. There's a gospel order that is recognized and practiced here in the worship of this church on Sunday morning. And the order is this. First the sin offering, then the grain offering. First atonement. and then through eternal fellowship. That's the truth of the gospel and the gospel ordered worship of Christ's church. And that gospel truth is beautiful in my eyes as a Christian. And I see that truth in you when you meet with me to worship God in this way that we do. I love you for that. And I trust that's why you love me too. I see the gospel in you, and you see it in me in the way we worship on Sunday morning. But then secondly, as Christ has given you his Holy Spirit, so you now endeavor to practice the righteousness of Christ as his disciple, as I did. What has Jesus Christ taught us as his disciples? He's taught us to worship God and not idols. He's taught us to revere the Father and keep holy and entire His worship. He's taught us to honor the authorities that God has ordained in our lives. He's taught us to respect the lives of our neighbors and care about them and for them when we need to. He's taught us to be faithful in marriage. He's taught us to do honest work. He's taught us to speak what is true. He's taught us to be contented with what providence has given us and rejoice in the good fortune of others. What is that? That's God's law, isn't it? And it is a beautiful rule of righteousness. There's no other. And we see it perfectly in Jesus, and we see it imperfectly in each other. But it is there under the new covenant. You bear the name of Christian. You confess the faith of Christ. You endeavor in your life by God's grace to walk as Christ walked, being his disciple. And I, who do the same as a Christian, love you for that. You understand why. You understand me, where I most desire to be understood. You share with me in those experiences in which I most want the fellowship of other people. You and I have entered into this struggle to practice the righteousness of Christ together. Not as those who are competing against each other, But as compatriots in Christ, brother, I love to see you advance in this spiritual war of sanctification. When you advance, the kingdom of Christ advances with you. I advance with you. I rejoice to see you practice the righteousness of Christ in the Holy Spirit. No one outside this fellowship of the church is even trying. But we are trying here. I think our baptism in Christ means something. There's power in it. And that's why I like being here with you. I'm not a guy who makes or needs a lot of friends. Mostly I like being alone. But I look forward to being with you, my Christian brethren, on Sundays. And I do every Sunday. I don't want to come in here and do my private devotion. and sing a solo in this empty hall and serve communion to myself so that me and God can be alone together without you? That's not the Lord's day that I love. That's not Christianity at all. I'd like to be around you, your disagreeable personality and strange interests notwithstanding. Christ is in you, as He is in me. I cannot but feel affection for you, and I need you. We need each other. We're an odd couple, you and I, but there it is. That's amazing, isn't it? It's not amazing. It's an amazing thing that has happened to us. It's an amazing thing to be a Christian among Christians. Loving Christ in each other as he has loved us all. And that is the feel-good part of this sermon. I hope you enjoyed it. Because most of what John says in 1 John 3, 10-15 is not about lovers. It's about murderers, isn't it? Alas, not everyone loves Christians the way that Christians love Christians. Gnostic stone, apparently. Muslims don't. Progressives don't. Is there anyone who is not us who does? What do they, who John, you'll note, calls the world, so hate about us that they would want to murder us, apparently, as Cain murdered Abel? That brings me to the second point. Secondly, the Christianity that we love in each other is the very thing that the world hates in us. And that's why Cain fitly represents them. Cain was of the wicked one and murdered his brother, John says in verse 12. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous. So follow John's argument. These Gnostics who talk of righteousness but practice lawlessness hated you Christians, John said, and treated you hatefully as they left this fellowship. I don't know what they did, but John certainly has something in mind, and he assumes that everybody else in these churches saw it too. John says you both were once brothers. in this church, but whereas your faith in Christ was sincere and your works righteous, their professed faith in Christ, alas, was false and their works evil. Yes, they were here once, but they were never part of that which we are and what keeps us here, and that's why they left, John says. And that's why they hate you, too. In their story, you are able. You're the more righteous brother. You are true Christians and in you is all that is right about believing in and following Christ. And they are not that. We see it and they see it too. And so yes, there are hard feelings like Canaan. Their countenance has fallen and in their hearts there is murder toward you. John says in verse 13, Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. I learned something recently from from Brian Moore that shocked me. Brian, you know, is a Christian missionary in Germany. Did you know that the Germans today blame Adolf Hitler and the Third Reich on Christianity? Did you know that? I didn't know that. Germans hate us and blame us for the Nazis. Now, I have a lot of German blood in me, so I can say this to the German people as my people. You monsters. You murderers. You want to pen the atrocities of World War II on Jesus Christ and his church? That is madness. I marvel at that. And yet John says, don't marvel, brethren. Don't marvel if the world hates you, as it hated Christ. Was it ever sensible? Spiritually, it's the same story. And the motive is ever the same. Why did they hate him? For the same reason that you love him, because he was more righteous than us. Thank God Jesus was more righteous than us. Why do they hate you? There's a reason, there's a motive behind the murder. Look, your poor Roy here has discovered it. They hate you because in you, What is your consolation? Your consolation for enduring the world's hatred, Christians, is greater, John says, than your enjoyment of one another's love. You do have that and a lot more. John says in verse 14, quote, We know that we have passed from death to life because we love the brother. You see what John is saying there? To not only be a professing Christian, mouthing Christian words, but to love the vibrant Christianity in others in your church bespeaks the experience of a great spiritual deliverance in your own life. Your own exodus, you might say. Unregenerate people still in their sin don't love what you love. As you love it, they hate it. So evidently the God of Israel has brought you through the Red Sea, so to speak, in bringing you to Christ his son. Out of death, John says, and into life. How does he know that? Because you love the brother. That's why you feel love for the righteousness of Christ and these Christian people rather than hatred, as everybody else does. But John says in verse 14, he who does not love his brother abides in death, still in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer. And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. Remember, in Genesis four, we read that Cain's punishment for murdering his brother Abel was more than he could bear. And the same will be said of those who hate you, Christian. Banished to the outer darkness, while you abide forever in the light of the Savior, the pains of eternal death will be more than they can bear. And that is not, obviously, the feel-good part of the sermon, but still it's good for us to hear it. The world's hatred does have teeth, but better is able to suffer a brother's betrayal than to suffer God's banishment came. Cain's punishment was more than he could bear. What you may have to bear for Christ's sake, you can bear. Christ bears it with you. We bear it together. But what the enemies of Christ and his church will have to bear eternally for their lawlessness and their denial of the Son of God and the hatred of his disciples, that they will bear in darkness alone. As we close, I want to go back to something I said earlier. If 1 John 3, 10 through 15 were an Agatha Christie novel, its title would be Murder in Christ's Church. Not the murder of Christ's Church, but murder in Christ's Church. John speaks in verse 13 of the world and its hatred for Christians. Hatred that is analogous to Cain's hatred of Abel. Ask yourselves, from whence did this murderous world raise its head? From outside the membership of these churches? From outside the household of God? No. This is the hatred of fratricide. These murdering Gnostics were once brothers. Baptized brother. And so much for the theory of the pure church. So let me issue two warnings and then an exhortation. First, there may be times in the life of the church when other Christians are more Christlike than you. Other Christians, I mean, outside the local church. Christians in other churches and other denominations, more Christ-like than you. I also mean other Christians in your own church, more Christ-like than you, more sincere, more devout, more sanctified in their speech and behavior, more manifestly abounding in Christ's love and good works. And seeing that in these others, you may begin to hate those brethren in your heart. rather than loving the loveliness of Christ in them and rejoicing in their spiritual advancement as their own and being inspired by their example to humble yourself and do more as they have done. Instead, you begin to envy them. and envying them, you resent them, and resenting them, you find them intolerable, and you eye them with evil suspicion, and you mock them, and you slander them, and you long for their comeuppance. Do you see what you're becoming? Do you see, Cain, the sin that crouches at the door? God comes to you in that moment, because it may not be too late to repent of this wickedness, Be more like your better brother. But as for the sin of envy, learn from the story of Cain. It's not a thing with which you want to play. And there's the warning. Secondly, don't imagine that a growing Christ-likeness in you will always be appreciated by other professing Christians. It depends. Some will find Christ in you lovely, you note those bones. But others may not love you for it. Like Cain, their countenance towards you may change. And that's why in the pursuit of personal holiness, Christian, it will not do just to try and please people, even the people in the church. Because precisely when you turn to do what is right in God's eyes, you may find others in the church turning against you. They may speak evil of you. They may plot against you. And if there are many, they can make your life pretty miserable. Again, all for doing what is right in God's eyes, as a follower of Christ. If you misread that, you may turn back when you ought to go forward and be a Christ-like example to these others. So your rule of faith in practice, Christians, is God's word in the scripture, not the approving or disapproving faces of people, including other church people. Those who are of God will respect your respect for God's word. And those who don't respect that are suspects. But should you suffer for righteousness' sake as a member of Christ's church, remember the Lord's words to his disciples in Matthew 5.10, blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Stay the course. Finally then, and lastly, this exhortation. To all of you as Christ's disciples and my brethren, again, love one another. As Christ has loved us, so let us love one another. Because we are Christian, I will love the Christianity in you, and you love the Christianity in me, and let us rejoice in this shared experience of Christ as members together of his church. By this, all will know that we are his disciples. We need each other. We need each other to worship God in the humility of Abel, or the blood of the Lamb. We need each other to practice the righteousness of Christ in his Spirit. This is a struggle not to be entered into alone. We need each other to endure the world's hatred of us, even when that comes from other sections of the Church. We may be slandered as Nazis, apparently. Who should marvel? What would I as a Christian do without you, my Christian brother, and this Christian fellowship? What would I do without you? I met a man this week who professed to be a Christian but admitted that he did not attend any church and had not for a long time. And I run across men like this more and more. And I ask, what would Christ himself think of that? What would Christ think of that? The church is his body, his kingdom, his bride. Every drop of blood that he shed at Calvary was for the church, for her purity, for her unity. And shall I call myself a Christian and regard that body and that kingdom and that bride and the experience of its common life a matter of indifference to me? The canes of this world aside, we who are of able spirit are meant to know each other, to worship together, to aspire to the righteousness of Christ as compatriots in army. And so I exhort you, let us not forsake the assembling of ourselves together. And when we are together, let us love each other for all the same reasons that we are hated by those who are not of God as we are. May Christ be with us always. Amen. Let us pray.