Love God, Love People

 Love God, Love People

October 28, 2024

1 John 3:11

11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another;

1 John 3:23-24

23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us. 24 The one who keeps His commandments abides in Him, and He in him. We know by this that He abides in us, by the Spirit whom He has given us.

In today’s verse, the apostle John boils down the gospel into two commandments; believe in Jesus Christ and love one another. This is basically the same message as in the contemporary gospel song by Danny Gokey, “Love God Love People.”

Thus stated, the gospel is simple but not easy. That is to say that is is easy to say believe in Jesus and love one another, but it’s hard to put into practice when things get tough. The Apostle John tells us in verse 13 that following this gospel will cause problems.

1 John 3:13

13 Do not be surprised, brethren, if the world hates you.

We see this all around us today. When you are not allowed to proclaim “Jesus is Lord!” in a political rally in a church, then you know that the world hates you. The message is no longer subtle, the forces that be hate you and want to silence your voices. Don’t let them. A part of believing the Jesus is Lord is having the courage to proclaim it in the public square without fear of what repercussions may follow. Any loving your neighbor includes loving those that are trying to silence you and put you down. Now that is definitely not easy!

There is a lot more that could be said about this, but today, I’ll keep it simple: Love God and Love People.