The Most Difficult Thing

Introduction

Turn with me in your Bibles to 1 John 3. As you turn there, I would like to ask you, What is the most difficult thing you have ever done? Maybe it was a project that was challenging, maybe it was a decision that had to be made? Maybe it was deciding whether to volunteer your time or go to the grandchild’s birthday party? Maybe it is going through an MRI machine?

It is fair to say that we have each gone through difficult times in our lives. We have had to make decisions that were not easy, we have had to go somewhere that we did not want to go, we had to take a job somewhere that we didn’t want to work.

I would like to propose another difficulty this morning and that is, sacrifice. Is it an easy thing for you to sacrifice? I think most of us would agree that it is easy to sacrifice when the bank account looks good, the pantry is full, or when we have an abundance of time. But what about, when the bank account is a little light, or the pantry is somewhat scarce, or when time is a little constricted? Is it easy to sacrifice then?

My hope for us this morning is that we would work through verses 16-18 with our focus on sacrifice. I hope to look at three things regarding sacrifice. First, The Standard in Sacrifice (v.16), second, Sacrificial Disobedience (v.17), and third, I want to conclude with An Exhortation to Sacrifice (v.18). Let us read 1 John 3:16-18.

1. The Standard of Sacrifice (v.16)

We start at the beginning of verse 16. What I want us to see is The Standard of Sacrifice. Why do I say it this way? May I, first, draw your attention to the definition of love that John gives for us. He tells his readers “by this we know love.” What is he talking about? With all of the talk about love so far in this epistle, and how it is seen in the heavenly sphere as well as on earth, we have now come to the very foundation of what love is. John appropriately defines love by attributing it to our Lord Jesus Christ.

How has Jesus defined love? Verse 16 tells that he has laid down his life for us. It is important for us to remember that the love that Jesus has for us and has displayed is a close and endearing love for his people. It is ‘agape’ love. We have seen agape love as it has been fleshed out in the life of the brothers of the church. However, Christ is the source of agape love, and it is carried out by his sacrifice on the cross.

This text is appropriate for communion, is it not? I want to spend some time on what is the greatest act of love ever committed and the standard, or foundation, of sacrifice. What is this great act? It is that Jesus laid down his life for us. What does it mean for Jesus to ‘lay his life down?’ The idea of being laid down really means ‘to give up’ or ‘to set aside.’ What did Christ set aside? He laid aside all the rights and privileges that he had as the Son of God. He set those aside so that he could bear the sin of his people. Now, a perfect holy God cannot stand sin. Jesus did not strip himself of his deity in order to bear man sins, for that would be absurd. Jesus was, and still is, the Godman. So, if Jesus did not lose his deity, then what did he sacrifice? For starters, Jesus sacrificed the greatest relationship he ever knew. He was willing to be separated from the Father as he bore the sins of humanity. Philippians 2:2-3 tells us that “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men.” This tells us that Jesus sacrificed an emptying of himself to become a human being. You and I do not appreciate often enough how low Jesus had to come to take on human flesh. Please don’t take that as a criticism or a means of discouraging you. But in our limitations, we are unable to see the extent to which Christ went.

He made himself low, so low that he took on our sin and had it nailed to a cross. As Pilate said in Luke 23:4 “I find no guilt in this man.” Jesus lived a sinless life, yet he made himself low by laying aside his rights, being selfless all the way to death.

Why do I call Christ “The Standard of Sacrifice?” Well, the Bible tells us that he is. Romans 5:6-8 is the answer. “For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. For one will scarcely die for a righteous person—though perhaps for a good person one would dare to die—but God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Listen to the elders in Revelation 5 as they single out Christ as being the standard. “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation.” As I mentioned before, the Bible tells us that Christ is the standard of sacrifice. To no one else are these praises given and to no one else are these things attributed. In fact, the opposite is true as we read in Romans 5. Human beings are not prone to sacrifice their lives for one another, but Christ was. There is no human being who could die in the place of another that would come close to the sacrifice of Christ. Christ’s love is so great because, he, being God, took on human flesh and lived sinlessly but was killed for it. Human beings live as sinners, one to another. Therefore, the value of human life is less than the deific life of Christ. Verse 16 brings us to grips with this truth. Christ is far superior in every way than any human being on earth.

Going a little further, Christ came to earth knowing that he would bear the punishment for the sins of the people. He knew that he was the Messiah who was to come and take away the sins of the world. Do you see how low Jesus had to come? Jesus is the one who John says is “mightier than I is coming, the strap of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire.” And what did Jesus have to do to usher in the Holy Spirit and fire in Acts 2? That’s right, he had to sacrifice himself as the perfect, one-time atonement of man’s sins. The Bible illustrates a beautiful picture for us as we see the life of Christ and its consummation at the cross.

Now that we have seen Christ as the Standard for Sacrifice, I want us to see the response that John gives at the end of verse 16. He says that “we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers.” In our culture, the word ‘ought’ is more suggestive than definitive. You ought to mow the yard, or you ought to clean your room. The way that John uses the word is “to be under obligation” (Strong’s). Another definition is to be bound or to be obligated to.

This is where we see the command to follow Christ. You and I are bound to this command. If you were to be asked, how do I follow Christ? What can I do to show my allegiance to him? Here is an answer, lay your life down for one another.

What does it mean to lay down your life for a brother? It means to come to aid in a time of need, it means when you say that you will pray for someone that you actually pray for someone, it means that you drop something that is important to you to go help someone in their time of need, it means to love and support a brother even if it causes you great pain to do it, it could look like driving a far distance to help someone in need, it could be financial. Maybe you don’t take a vacation, but you help someone in need. The point here is that Christ went to the furthest extreme for us in our greatest time of need. That is why communion is so precious to us who take it. Communion is the remembrance that Christ went to the greatest end to save and serve his people. Therefore, although sacrifice is going to look different for each one of us, what we need to grasp and meditate on is that Christ has given the greatest sacrifice, and we must follow his example!

Another point to be made here is that Christ’s sacrifice was not conditional. He did it for believers who were going to deny him (Matthew 26:30-35, Mark 14:66-72, Luke 22:54-62, John 18:15-18, 25-27). Christ died so that “you (who) were dead in the trespasses and sins…following the course of this world…carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath” (Ephesians 2:1-3) could be saved!

Then it must be said that sacrificing for others in our life must not be conditional. It is not right to sacrifice for a pastor or family member, but to exclude a brother in the Lord. The Spirit speaks to us in James 2:8-9 saying, “If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well. But if you show partiality, you are committing sin and are convicted by the law as transgressors.” I ask you this question, How do we love one another? We do so by giving of ourselves for one another. Therefore, let us not be partial in who we sacrifice for.

2. Sacrificial Disobedience (v.17)

Let us turn our attention to verse 17. As we look there, I want us to see Sacrificial Disobedience. John changes course from what we have just looked at. He moves from the truth that Christ is the model for love. Now, John gives an example of an opportunity to sacrifice for someone. What follows this opportunity to serve a brother, is the failure to do so.

The scenario that is given is an individual who has earthly goods. This is a brother who has been blessed financially and materially, with great abundance. Vines says that this person has the ability to give to another person. We are not told in this example how well off the individual is. But we do know that the person has more than enough to satisfy his own needs and he could satisfy another brother’s need as well. The Lord has promised to provide all that we need. Luke 12:22-31 tells us that. Verses 28-30 tell us “But if God so clothes the grass, which is alive in the field today, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, how much more will he clothe you, O you of little faith! And do not seek what you are to eat and what you are to drink, nor be worried. For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them.” So, there is no excuse for the Christian to not freely give to another, for God will provide the one who is in need all that he needs, and he will meet our needs as well.

I would like to make the point that you do not have to be wealthy to give sacrificially. I believe John does not define wealth amounts in order to give so that there would be no excuse for someone who is able to give less to not give at all. One example that comes to mind is the shoeboxes that were packed for Operation Christmas Child. If I were to ask, was the monetary value of each box exactly the same? You would answer, of course not. Those who packed them went to different stores and got different items, but the cheerful giving is the consistent line that was present in the givers who packed the shoeboxes. So, it can be said that the person who can give of great abundance or small abundance are both guilty if they do not give as God has made them able.

Because this text does not set limits for giving, as we move through verse 17, we could say that each one of us has seen a brother in need. There have been people in this church who have been in need. There have been people in our extended families that have been in need. Now the word ‘sees’ is of interest. Why? To ‘see’ does not mean to, just look. As in, “oh, I noticed that, or did you see that over there…” but it has a perceptual meaning. It has a meaning that is deeper than sight. The ‘seeing’ is the intentional notice of a person’s condition. You can walk by someone and see that they might be struggling and continue to walk on your way without a care in the world. A few years ago, Krystle and I were walking in downtown Baltimore late at night and we saw many people on the streets that were in need. There were several that were laying by sewer grates staying warm (we went in January). We felt pity for them and felt bad for them, but we were on our way to a jazz concert, so we didn’t stop to help. However, in this context, seeing is with particular interest toward a brother. Vines defines seeing as “used of one who looks at a thing with interest and for a purpose, usually indicating the careful observation of details.”

John continues the flow of these passages by telling us that our conduct toward one another matters. This should not surprise us because we have seen this in verses 11-16. The pronouns that John uses to refer to the brothers are a consistent theme throughout the epistle.

It might seem obvious that the need of the brother is severe, and this is true. It is a need out of destitution. In a few moments we will see why John considers the question “how does God’s love abide in him if he doesn’t give?”

We come to the part of the passage where sadness lies. John says that a brother sees another brother who is in need…but closes his heart against him. How sad! I think this goes further than seeing people in downtown Baltimore. As I mentioned a few moments ago, John is speaking about interpersonal relationships among believers in Jesus.

It might seem that upon reading this, that the Christian ignores his brother and does not attend to his need. A more detailed definition is “to become lacking in affection, pity, or emotional warmth; conceived of as shutting up one’s compassionate aspect of one’s soul” (Logos). John tells us that the closing of the heart is a form of hardening of the heart. Now, I would not go so far as to say that John is thinking of Pharaoh (1 Samuel 6:6), the Canaanites (Joshua 11:20), or Zedekiah (2 Chronicles 36:13). This is here for us as a comparative example. How would you stack up against verse 17? Are you guilty of closing your heart against a brother? That is what John is getting at. He gives the example to say that it must not be so in the Christian to shut a brother out in any circumstance, especially when he is in need.

To close the heart, simply stated, is to neglect any compassion toward a brother. Now, the context is speaking to believers, but this is true of unbelievers. We must love those in the world. However, this must occur within the church and with the brothers in Christ at large. Non-existent compassion is the antithesis to what Jesus said in our Scripture reading in Matthew 15:32. Even Spurgeon wrote, “Zealous words will not warm the cold; delicate words will not feed the hungry. If there is no act there is no sympathy.”

The closing of the heart in the original language was related to the shutting of the bowels. “The nobler entrails, which are regarded as the seat of the affections, and hence equivalent to our popular use of heart” (WSNT). Thus, affection or compassion is aligned with the bowels of a person.

Now we get to the question, how can the love of God abide in this kind of person?

John asks the question how is it possible for the love of God to continue in a person if he does not open his heart in love toward his brother. The two, loving a brother in self-sacrifice and the love of God, go hand in hand. Going back to verse 16, Christ could not lay down his life for us if he had no love for us. He would not have done it as a “matter of fact.” He did it because he loves people. For God says in Ezekiel 33:11 “As I live, declares the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn back, turn back from your evil ways, for why will you die, O house of Israel?” Now, this verse speaks of the ultimate form of love and that is life and death. If God does not desire that man would die in his sin, then we must conclude that God does not want to see those in need not be provided for by his people. Hence, why John asks the question if the love of God can abide in someone who does not self-sacrificially fulfill a need for another.

3. An Exhortation to Sacrifice (v.18)

Finally, we come to an exhortation to sacrifice. Look with me in verse 18. This verse is familiar to us. “Let us not love in word or talk but in deed and truth.” In other words, John is telling us that our talk must match our walk.

it is possible to love one another in word. We can say kind things to one another and let people know that we can care about them. You can write cards to show sympathy. You can encourage someone to continue to press on during a rough patch. You can help someone by giving counsel with the word of God.

John is not telling us not to do these things. We must continue to love in word and in talk. However, it is not to stop with the verbal. It is not enough to speak the truth in love. There must be an action. Peter agrees. Turn with me to 2 Peter 1:5-11. As you are turning there, I want us to see that although it is important to believe what we believe and we must speak the truth in love, Peter includes the truth that we must live it out. As we take a sample from chapter 1, it is evident that beliefs and truth come together. Turn back with me to 1 John 3 and let us place our eye in verse 18 as we see John’s rendition of our words and deeds come together.

As we saw in verse 17, words are not enough to meet someone’s need. There might be a deed or an act that is required. What the Greek gets at is the idea of laboring or working. In this case, you and I are to labor and work at the need of a brother. I have heard of several people in this church that have met real physical needs. There are needs to be prayed for. Please don’t mistake me on the power of prayer. Prayer must be a part of our lives as we minister to others. But deeds must be done from time to time too.

John goes further and says that these deeds are to be done on the basis of the truth that lies within us (Vines). I love that John does this. Do you know why? See, in doing this, John eliminates any notion that we are the center of attention in the deed that is done. In other words, deeds that are done for the brothers are done to the glory of God aka the truth! Our premise for doing good works is the truth. There is another reality as we think about this for a moment. Who is the doer of the good work? The human who does the work, correct. Does the person do a good work on his own accord? Psalm 14:1-3 answers that for us. “The fool says in his heart, “There is no God.” They are corrupt, they do abominable deeds; there is none who does good. The Lord looks down from heaven on the children of man, to see if there are any who understand, who seek after God. The have all turned aside; together they have become corrupt; there is none who does good, not even one.” Therefore, may we take this as an exhortation to sacrifice because you and I are no longer counted as those who are corrupt. The power of the Holy Spirit resides in us and because he is there, we have the power to overcome our self-centeredness and give of our time, efforts, and financial resources as we sacrifice for one another.

Conclusion

It is difficult to sacrifice, isn’t it? Even the smallest of sacrifices can be hard. The text that we have seen calls us to sacrifice. I would like to leave you with a few things to consider for the week upcoming.

1. See sacrifice through the eyes of Christ. When we consider sacrifice, we think most of the time about how it will affect us. Jesus did not do that. Jesus did not consider all that he would lose by laying himself down. His thoughts were on how he could love others and he was willing to go as far as dying for his people. He is the embodiment of sacrifice. Let us follow him.
2. Sacrifice is service. When you and I view sacrifice as service it brings about a warm and good feeling inside. Like this is the right thing to do. When we see sacrifice as service to others, we know that our sacrifice is not in vain because people matter to God, even if the sacrifice does not yield any fruit immediately, may we not be discouraged to sacrifice for others.
3. Finally, sacrifice is a good thing. As difficult as sacrificing can be, it always brings about good. Yes, that may not mean that your external circumstances will improve in every instance, but it does show us that we are living lives as Christ did. As we imitate him in this life, we do so in preparation for the life that we are to live going forward which is incomparable to the life we live here. So, brothers, sacrifice for the glory of God seeing that we have eternal life in his glory to look forward to.