1. WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE PASSED FROM DEATH INTO LIFE, BECAUSE WE LOVE THE BRETHREN.

1 JN 3:14

1. We know, (oidas) by intuition or by revelation. In this case it is revelation.

1. Romans 8:16 tells us that the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are the sons of God.
2. What do we know? “That we have passed from death into life.”
3. What a wonderful thing to know.
4. Do you know that, are you assured of this truth?

1. In John 5:24 Jesus speaks about those who believe in Him as having passed from death into life.

1. Paul in Ephesians 2 said, “And you has He made alive, who were once dead in trespasses and sins.”

1. This is speaking of death from a spiritual definition. The separation of a man’s consciousness from God.

2. Paul tells us that in Adam all died, so that through Christ shall all be made alive who trust in Him.

3. Paul wrote to the Colossians,

• COL 3:1 If ye then be risen with Christ, seek those things which are above, where Christ sitteth on the right hand of God.
• COL 3:2 Set your affection on things above, not on things on the earth.
• COL 3:3 For ye are dead, and your life is hid with Christ in God.
• COL 3:4 When Christ, [who is] our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with him in glory.

1. How do we know that we have passed from death into life?

1. The witness of the Spirit in our spirit, and the work of the Spirit in our lives giving us love for the brethren.
2. In a little bit John will tell us that he that loveth is born of God and knoweth God, but he that loveth not knoweth not God for God is love.

1. HE THAT LOVETH NOT HIS BROTHER ABIDES IN DEATH.
2. This is very strong language.
3. We must be careful not to seek to modify this so as to fit our failure.
4. I think that many times when we read something like this, the tendency is to think that somehow this does not apply to us or or situation, and that somehow we have a special case.
5. I am always suspicious of myself when I try to modify what is the plain teaching of the Word.
6. I would much rather ask God to help me to come up to His standards rather than to reduce His standards to accommodate my shortcomings.
7. It is interesting to me that when Jesus said to His disciples “One of you is going to betray Me.” They all began to ask, “Lord, is it I?” None of them said, “I know it is not me.” When God warns us of something I think that it is good that we ask, “Lord is it I?”

1. If you have no love for those in the body of Christ no matter what you may profess of correct orthodoxy or election, you are abiding in death.
2. None of this hypocritical prefacing of your remarks of rancor and bitterness by saying “I love you brother, but,“
3. You are as guilty as the unrighteous Jews who would preface their cursing of their parents by saying “This is a gift for your own benefit.”

III. WHOEVER HATES HIS BROTHER IS A MURDERER.

1. This is where we need to be very careful about deceiving ourselves.
2. I have often heard people say, “Well I don’t hate him” and in reality they do. Their words and actions toward them prove that the hate them.
3. If you truly loved your brother and you felt he was in the wrong you scripturally should be going to him and personally seeking to resolve your differences and seek reconciliation rather than seek to publicly tear him down.
4. As long as you are saying, “I don’t hate him,” you can go on in your endeavor to destroy him, and feel you are doing the right thing.
5. People can go on for years living in hatred and never have to deal with it because they are in denial. In God’s eyes, I am certain He sees it for what it truly is.
6. If you confess your hatred then God can begin to deal with it in your life.
7. It is like an alcoholic, there is no help for him until he recognizes the truth that he is an alcoholic.

1. John’s assessment is very strong, “is a murderer.”
2. We think of Jesus in the Sermon on the Mount as He said that our righteousness had to exceed that of the scribes and Pharisee’s if we hoped to enter the kingdom of heaven.

2. He said, “You have heard that it hath been said, “Thou shalt not murder, and whoever murders is in danger of the judgment.” But I say unto you, whosoever is angry with his brother without cause is in danger of the judgment and whoever speaks in a derogatory way or calls him names is in danger of hell fire.

3. It is interesting to see what in the mind of the Lord what constitutes things that are equivalent to murder.

1. It is the attempt to destroy someone else’s character or effectiveness by your words of criticism.

1. There is something else that we also know, “No murderer has eternal life abiding in Him.”
2. Throughout this book John is warning that it is not what we are saying that really counts, but what we are doing.

2. You can be saying one thing while doing something else that totally negates what you are saying.

3. In a few verses John will be telling us not to love in words but in deeds and in truth.

1. It is our deeds that God is taking account of.
2. I am certain that God really doesn’t pay much attention to what we say, for so often what we say is a lie.
3. John warns over and over about lying.

1 Jn 1:6-9

• 1 Jn 1:6 If we say that we have fellowship with him, and walk in darkness, we lie, and do not the truth:
• 1 Jn 1:8 If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.
• 1 Jn 2:4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
• 1 Jn 4:20 If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?

1. Sometimes when someone says something to us that we know is not true, we say “That’s a lie.”
2. I wonder how many times when we are talking to God about ourselves and we declare, “God I really do love him,” that God responds, “That’s a lie.”
3. True love is shown in deeds, not declared in words.

Frustrations to the Fellowship of Life

We believe that the blood of the Lord Jesus has saved us. There is absolutely no question as far as our life is concerned; we are saved and are eternally forgiven. This part does not pose any problem to us.

But another matter may pose a problem. After we have believed in the Lord and are saved, our fellowship with God and with other children of God can be interrupted if we offend Him.

What does it mean for our fellowship to be interrupted?

Suppose a little girl goes to the kitchen secretly and steals the food her mother has prepared, or some fruit from the cabinet, or other things. Suppose she eats all the food while her mother is away.

She may close the door of the kitchen properly, clean her face, and wipe the table, but a transgression has been committed! Before this she was very intimate with her mother every night. But on this night, she may not be as intimate as before because she has stolen something. When her mother calls her from upstairs, her heart may start bounding downstairs.

She may think that her mother is going to spank her. Her mother may even offer her some food, but she will not have any taste for it.

She will be in constant fear that her mother knows what she has done. She may try to hide herself from her mother.

In this we see that the child’s fellowship with her mother has been interrupted.

After she steals the food, she does not cease to be her mother’s daughter; she is still a daughter, but her fellowship with her mother has been interrupted.

After you have sinned, you do not cease to be a child of God. You are still God’s child, but your fellowship with Him has been interrupted.

• Sin cuts off fellowship immediately.
• You no longer have a conscience that is void of offense.
• You must have a pure conscience before you can enjoy a continuous fellowship with God.
• If your conscience is offended, you have no way to fellowship with God.

Closing

Hebrews 10:21-23

²¹ and having a High Priest over the house of God,

²² let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water.

²³ Let us hold fast to the profession of our faith without wavering (for He is faithful who promised)