“Christian Love” (1 John 2:7-11)

Are You a True Christian?

“What does it mean to be a Christian?” “How do you know that you are a true Christian?” That’s the core question that the Apostle John is asking and also answering in his letter. In John’s time there were certain people called Gnostics who laid claim to some special knowledge, some mystical experience. They elevated themselves as “super-spiritual” Christians. For example, they would say, “If you have not had the experience of seeing a ball of fire and feeling that the whole room has been illuminated, you are not true Christians.” But in his letter John is telling us that the way to test ourselves is not to seek for some mystical experience, but to examine our conduct and our lives! John says it is not experience, not feelings, not vision that enables us to say that we are Christians. Singing the right songs, using the right vocabulary, praying the right prayers – these are not the things that John puts first. According to John, the surest sign of the true Christian is our love to God and our love toward other people.

In today’s passage John says, “Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you have had from the beginning… Yet I am writing you a new commandment that is true in him and in you…” (vv. 7-8a). So here, what is an old commandment? What is a new commandment? As we answer these two questions, we will learn what it means to be a true Christian. First of all, what is an old commandment? In this context, the old commandment refers to Leviticus 19:18, saying “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Then, what about a new commandment? In fact, it was Jesus who used the term “a new commandment” for the first time in John 13:34, saying, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” Why is this called a new commandment? It is new at least in three ways.

New in Character

First, it is new in character, new in quality. The old commandment says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Here the standard of love is ourselves. We love ourselves, but not always – not always in a balanced and healthy way. For example, we know it’s not good for ourselves to eat too much, or too many sweets, but we eat anyway. In a word, even our love toward ourselves is broken, not perfect. But now, Jesus gives us the new, perfect standard: “Love your neighbor as I have loved you.” So the first mark of the true Christian is to love others with Christ’s love.

It is amazing to think of how Jesus has loved his people. Look at the twelve disciples. How they must have broken Jesus’ heart again and again as they argued over who was the greatest or tried to keep people from seeing their Master. But Christ’s love was deep and broad enough to embrace each one in a personal way. He was patient with Peter’s impulsiveness, Thomas’s unbelief, John and James’ hot temper, and even Judas’s treachery. Consider too Christ’s love for all kinds of people. Jesus understood and loved spiritually hungry Rabbi Nicodemus who came to see him privately at night. Jesus loved and forgave a woman caught in the act of adultery. Jesus even loved and healed Malchus who came to arrest him in the garden.

One of the best places that we can see most clearly what Christ’s love looks like can be found in 1 Corinthians 13: “Christ’s love is patient and kind. Christ’s love does not envy, not boast. Christ’s love is not proud, not rude, not self-seeking, not easily angered. Christ’s love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. Christ’s love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. Christ’s love never fails!”  Christ has loved each of us with this agape love, and now he commands his disciples to do the same: “Love one another as I have loved you.” True Christians are those who love others as Jesus has loved them.

New in Extent

The second mark of true Christians is to love their enemies as well as their friends. The old commandment says, “Love your neighbor as yourself.” Who is my neighbor? For Israel in the Old Testament, “my neighbor” was my people, the people of Israel, those who look like me, think like me, talk like me, behave like me. That was their definition of neighbor. But Jesus gives us a new understanding of the old truth. According to Jesus, the “neighbor” we must love is anyone who needs our compassion and help, regardless of race, class, gender, background, and includes our enemy. One day a lawyer asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said, “Love your God and love your neighbor.” Then the man asked, “Who is my neighbor?” Jesus told him a story: A man was attacked by robbers on his way to Jericho. He was half dead. And by chance a priest was going down that road. When he saw the man lying there, he passed by. A Levite religious man showed up. He also avoided the injured man. But a certain Samaritan came along, and when he saw the man, he had compassion on him and helped him. As we know, in Jesus’ time Jews and Samaritans didn’t associate with each other. They were the enemies to each other. But this Samaritan helped and loved the Jewish man anyway. At the end of the story Jesus asked, “What do you think? Which of the three was a neighbor to the man attacked by robbers?” According to Jesus, the “neighbor” we must love is everyone, all the people, including our enemy.

Jesus restored the true meaning of the old commandment and extended the definition of “neighbor” in this way: “You have heard the law that says, `Love your neighbor' and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! Bless those who curse you. Do good to those who hate you. In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven.” (Matt 5:43-45a NLT). And he showed the perfect example how he loved his enemies on the cross. As they crucified him, mocking him, making fun of him, dividing up his clothes, Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (Luke 23:34). Jesus died for his enemies as well as his followers. True Christians are those who love their enemies, forgive those who did harm, and pray for difficult, unloving people.

New in Power

The first mark of the true Christian is loving others with Christ’s love. The second mark is loving the enemies. The third mark is loving others by the power of the Holy Spirit. If we are honest with ourselves, we soon realize that it’s impossible to love others as Jesus has loved us. We realize that it’s impossible to love our enemies. By nature, we are self-centered and hateful. But when we trust Christ, we receive a new life and a new nature. We receive the Spirit of Jesus. The Bibles says, “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us!” (Rom 5:5) So I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. And Christ enables me to love my enemy with His love. In Romans 12 the Apostle Paul tells us a new, wonderful life in the Holy Spirit. He says, “[Now by the power of the Holy Spirit] you get to feed your enemies, when they are hungry. You get to give them something to drink, when they are thirsty… [Now you have strength to love by the power of the Holy Spirit]… So do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good” (Rom 12:20-21, my paraphrase).

Abraham Lincoln is one of those who lived a life of love by the power of the Holy Spirit. When he was campaigning for the presidency, one of his archenemies was a man named Stanton. For some reason Stanton hated Lincoln. He used every ounce of his energy to degrade him in the eyes of the public. But in spite of this Lincoln was elected President of the United States. Then the time came when he had to select his cabinet. At that time one of the most important posts was Secretary of War. Can you imagine whom Lincoln chose to fill this post? Stanton! All his advisers said, “Mr. President, you are making a mistake. Don’t you remember all of the ugly things he said about you? He is your enemy. He will seek to sabotage your program.” Lincoln calmly answered, “Yes, I know Mr. Stanton. I am aware of all the terrible things he has said about me. But after looking over the nation, I find he is the best man for the job.” So Stanton became Abraham Lincoln’s Secretary of War. Not many years later Lincoln was assassinated. Many beautiful eulogies were said about him. But the words of Stanton remain among the greatest. Standing near the dead body of the man he once hated, Stanton referred to him as one of the greatest men that ever lived and said “he now belongs to the ages.” Indeed, Lincoln did overcome evil with good. He loved his enemy with Christ’s love. And through the power of the Holy Spirit Lincoln transformed an enemy into a friend.

Choose Love

So how do we know that we are true Christians? According to John, we know by asking these three following questions:  

• Do I love others as Jesus has loved me? [new in character]
• Do I love my enemies as well as my friends? [new in extent]
• Do I love others by the power of the Holy Spirit? [new in power] 

As we are coping with COVID-19 and navigating the recovery and next steps, we experience dissensions and disagreements between friends and family, between political parties, between pastors and leadership teams. Optimistic people call cautious people “soft.” The cautious label the optimists “reckless.” We may read the Bible faithfully and pray fervently, but if we have hatred in our heart, we are actually blinded. We are walking in the darkness. We are on the wrong track. Let us listen to Jesus’ command with new understanding: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another." (John 13:34-35). So sisters and brothers in Christ, let us choose love! Amen.