Love begets love

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. But whoever has this world’s goods, and sees his brother in need, and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? (1 John 3:16-17)

By this we know love

1. There is a way to know what love is
2. This is how we know what love is

Because He laid down His life for us

1. Love is demonstrated in action
   1. Through the action of the Lord Jesus
   2. Through the laying down of His own life for us
2. The self-sacrifice of the Lord Jesus for our own sake
   1. Has love as its cause
   2. Is the concrete expression of love

And we ought to lay down our lives of the brethren

1. This is our responsibility to lay down our lives for the brethren
2. Why responsibility?
   1. As followers of Christ Jesus who set the example
   2. As a natural outcome of our love for the brethren
3. There may come a time when we will need to give up all our rights, including our right to life, for the sake of our brethren

But whosoever has this world’s goods…and shuts up his heart from him

1. Someone is rich and has the opportunity to help his brother in need
2. And yet he has no sympathy for his brother in need
3. He therefore ends up not helping his needy brother
4. This scenario is not foreign to us

How does the love of God abide in him?

1. That rich man with a cold-heart does not have love for the brethren
2. Love for God and love for one’s brethren are the two sides of the same coin (Luke 23?)
3. Impossible is to have only love for God or vice versa
4. To claim one without the other is an empty truth
5. The simplest conclusion: the love of God does not reside in that person

A clear way of letting the love of God reside within us is to love our brethren in action!