Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,201
“For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever 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 3:11-15 ESV)
The love that we are to have for one another, as followers of Jesus Christ, is divine love, the love that sent Jesus Christ to the cross to die for us. And in his death he put our sins to death with him that we might now die with him to sin and walk in obedience to him and to his commands in holy living. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. He shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our slavery to sin so we will now serve the Lord with our lives.
Romans 6:1-23; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; 2 Corinthians 5:10-21; 1 Peter 2:24
We are to love others like Jesus loved and loves us. We are to care about others and their needs. We are to minister to one another God’s love and grace. We are to show mercy and kindness and compassion to the hurting and to the lonely and to the rejected. And we are to speak words of healing to the afflicted. And included in all of that is speaking the truth of the gospel to them for their salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And we are to speak truth into situations where people are believing lies and not the truth.
We should not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. And there are many ways to “murder” someone without actually killing him physically. Those like Cain might ruin another person’s reputation by spreading lies (including half-truths) about him, damaging his reputation so that others will reject him, and mistreat him, and do other evil against the person, too, because they believed the lies.
And if our deeds are righteous in the sight of God, and if we are following him in truth and in righteousness in obeying his commands, in practice, and if we are speaking the truth of the gospel of our salvation to a world who needs the Lord, we should not be surprised if we are hated, but not just by the world, but by the religious, i.e. by pastors of “churches” and by others who also profess faith in Jesus Christ. For some of them will reject us because they are believing lies and not the truth, so they despise the truth.
But we are to love and treat with kindness even those who hate us and mistreat us and say all manner of evil against us. And our role model is Jesus Christ. But love and kindness are defined by God and not by the world, and it is expressed in many of the same ways that Jesus modeled for us. And his love and kindness to us not only got him killed, but it got him killed because he spoke the truth to the people that they needed to hear but that they did not want to hear, for it confronted them with their sins.
So, if we love others with the love of Christ we will not lie to them, and we will not sugar-coat the message of the gospel to make it more appealing and less offensive to human flesh. We will not willfully teach Scriptures out of context in order to avoid the truth that we know the people do not want to hear, and so that they will like us and think we are great. Our love for them will be greater than any lack of love or hate they might return to us. For we are to love even our enemies and pray for them and do good to them.
So when this says that whoever does not love abides in death, it is speaking of those who do not love with the love of God and the kind of love that sent Jesus to the cross so that we might be free from our addiction to sin, and so that we might live holy lives, pleasing to God, and so that we might live for our Lord and no longer for self. For the love God has for us is concerned about us being free from bondage to sin and living to please God. But if sin is our practice, and not obedience, then we abide in death, not in Christ.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
In Harmony
An Original Work / September 2, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Based off Ro. 12:9-21; 1 Pet. 3:8-17
Love each other truly.
Cling to what is good.
Hate all that is evil.
Never lack in zeal.
Serve the Lord with fervor.
Joyful in hope be;
Patient in affliction;
Praying faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
Share with all God’s people
Who are found in need.
Do not be conceited.
Sympathetic be.
Love, and show compassion
In humility.
Keep your tongue from evil.
Peaceful you must be.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
God sees who are righteous;
Listens to their prayers.
But He’s against evil –
Is His to avenge.
Do not fear what they fear.
Suffer patiently.
In your hearts, make Christ Lord.
Serve Him faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
Don’t Be Like Cain
An Original Work / February 16, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
The love that we are to have for one another, as followers of Jesus Christ, is divine love, the love that sent Jesus Christ to the cross to die for us. And in his death he put our sins to death with him that we might now die with him to sin and walk in obedience to him and to his commands in holy living. He died so we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. He shed his blood for us to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our slavery to sin so we will now serve the Lord with our lives.
Romans 6:1-23; 1 Corinthians 6:9-20; 2 Corinthians 5:10-21; 1 Peter 2:24
We are to love others like Jesus loved and loves us. We are to care about others and their needs. We are to minister to one another God’s love and grace. We are to show mercy and kindness and compassion to the hurting and to the lonely and to the rejected. And we are to speak words of healing to the afflicted. And included in all of that is speaking the truth of the gospel to them for their salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And we are to speak truth into situations where people are believing lies and not the truth.
We should not be like Cain who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. And there are many ways to “murder” someone without actually killing him physically. Those like Cain might ruin another person’s reputation by spreading lies (including half-truths) about him, damaging his reputation so that others will reject him, and mistreat him, and do other evil against the person, too, because they believed the lies.
And if our deeds are righteous in the sight of God, and if we are following him in truth and in righteousness in obeying his commands, in practice, and if we are speaking the truth of the gospel of our salvation to a world who needs the Lord, we should not be surprised if we are hated, but not just by the world, but by the religious, i.e. by pastors of “churches” and by others who also profess faith in Jesus Christ. For some of them will reject us because they are believing lies and not the truth, so they despise the truth.
But we are to love and treat with kindness even those who hate us and mistreat us and say all manner of evil against us. And our role model is Jesus Christ. But love and kindness are defined by God and not by the world, and it is expressed in many of the same ways that Jesus modeled for us. And his love and kindness to us not only got him killed, but it got him killed because he spoke the truth to the people that they needed to hear but that they did not want to hear, for it confronted them with their sins.
So, if we love others with the love of Christ we will not lie to them, and we will not sugar-coat the message of the gospel to make it more appealing and less offensive to human flesh. We will not willfully teach Scriptures out of context in order to avoid the truth that we know the people do not want to hear, and so that they will like us and think we are great. Our love for them will be greater than any lack of love or hate they might return to us. For we are to love even our enemies and pray for them and do good to them.
So when this says that whoever does not love abides in death, it is speaking of those who do not love with the love of God and the kind of love that sent Jesus to the cross so that we might be free from our addiction to sin, and so that we might live holy lives, pleasing to God, and so that we might live for our Lord and no longer for self. For the love God has for us is concerned about us being free from bondage to sin and living to please God. But if sin is our practice, and not obedience, then we abide in death, not in Christ.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
In Harmony
An Original Work / September 2, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Based off Ro. 12:9-21; 1 Pet. 3:8-17
Love each other truly.
Cling to what is good.
Hate all that is evil.
Never lack in zeal.
Serve the Lord with fervor.
Joyful in hope be;
Patient in affliction;
Praying faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
Share with all God’s people
Who are found in need.
Do not be conceited.
Sympathetic be.
Love, and show compassion
In humility.
Keep your tongue from evil.
Peaceful you must be.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
God sees who are righteous;
Listens to their prayers.
But He’s against evil –
Is His to avenge.
Do not fear what they fear.
Suffer patiently.
In your hearts, make Christ Lord.
Serve Him faithfully.
Honor one another.
Live in harmony.
Don’t Be Like Cain
An Original Work / February 16, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
