September 18, 2024 • 29 mins
Experience a transformative understanding of love, judgment, and the Christian life as I unpack the teachings of 1 John 4:17-21. Have you ever wondered how you can stand boldly on the day of judgment? In this episode, I promise to reveal how perfected love equips us for that very moment. I'll discuss the distinctions between the judgment seat of Christ for believers and the white throne of judgment for non-believers, and explore how our deeds will be tested by fire, enduring only if done for God's glory. Learn why loving others is not just a command but a divine reflection of our love for God, serving as a call to prioritize heavenly treasures over earthly comforts.
Join me as I continue with "The Command to Love Others," where we dissect the true essence of love as depicted in the Bible. Too often, personal biases can distort our image of God, leading to justifications for hatred or indifference. I'll challenge these misconceptions and underline John's message that true love for God is inseparable from our love for others. Discover practical ways to exhibit this love through acts of service, sacrifice, and genuine investment in the lives of fellow believers. By putting the needs of others first and sharing our lives within our faith community, we can truly live out God's command to love our neighbors and fortify our faith. Don't miss this heartfelt discussion designed to inspire and challenge your walk with Christ.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
B.R.Maul (00:29):
Hello and good day.
I am BR Maul and this is LivingGod's Way in an Ungodly World.
It's good to have you here withme.
Thank you so much for joining.
I do hope that all is goingwell for you and your loved ones
for joining.
I do hope that all is goingwell for you and your loved ones
.
We are here to learn more ofGod's Word and to discuss the
(00:50):
importance of living God's wayand not just reading about God
in the Bible.
We are still in 1 John and todaywe will end chapter 4.
We'll be going through verses17 through 21.
As usual, I'll go ahead andread the scripture first and
(01:11):
then we'll stop and go back andwe'll break it down.
Verse 17.
Love has been perfected amongus in this.
That we may have boldness inthe day of judgment Because, as
he is, so are we in this.
That we may have boldness inthe day of judgment because, as
he is, so are we in this world.
(01:36):
There is no fear in love, butperfect love casts out fear,
because fear involves torment.
But he who fears has not beenmade perfect in love has not
been made perfect in love.
We love him because he firstloved us.
If someone says I love God andhates his brother, he is a liar.
For he who does not love hisbrother, whom he has seen, how
(01:57):
can he love God whom he has notseen?
And this commandment we havefrom him seen, and this
commandment we have from him,that he who loves God must love
his brother also.
Heavenly Father, I pray youopen the hearts of those who are
listening, lord.
Help them to confront any pride, any insecurities, anything
(02:18):
else, lord, that may be holdingthem back to being able to just
accept your words and respond tothe Holy Spirit.
And protect my lips, lord, thatnothing I utter is for my own
gain, but only for the sake ofteaching your word.
I come to you and pray to youin the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen, all right, beloved.
(02:40):
So we will back up to verse 17,as has been the case for the
last couple of months as we havebeen going through the book of
1 John.
If you are only tuning in now,you can back up and eventually
you will find that I havecovered 1 John from the very
(03:01):
beginning, verse by verse.
And if you go back even further, I've done that with the book
of James.
So far as well.
As usual, you are welcome tocontact me.
There are several ways of doingthat.
If you are listening at apodcast in a directory like
Spotify or Apple or otherdirectories for podcasts, I have
(03:22):
a message me tab.
Go ahead and click on that.
It's a one-way, not a two-wayconversation, so you can let me
know how I'm doing.
Or you can ask me questions.
I am unable to respond to those.
So if you do want a response,just make sure you leave me your
email.
Otherwise, you can go to mywebsite that's brmaulcom
(03:47):
brmaulcom and just click oncontact and fill that out.
Pretty short, just basicallyyour email and your questions.
Send that in to me and I willget back to you as soon as
possible.
So let's go ahead and dive rightinto this.
So John tells us in verse 17,love has been perfected among us
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in this that we may haveboldness in the day of judgment.
So there's that day of judgment.
We know that there is that daycoming.
We're told that in many placesin the Bible.
Now, for born-again believers,the judgment seat of Christ.
That is where we will standbefore our Savior, who has paid
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our sin debt and has making itso, so we do not have to go
through the wrath of God becausehe has paid that.
However, before our belovedSavior, we will indeed stand as
all of our deeds over ourlifetime passes through the fire
, and that which is burned uplike straw and hay, those are
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all works that we have done forour self, whether it is flat-out
selfish works that we have done, or not even necessarily
selfish, but it wasn't for thekingdom.
But then those that remain,those that can withstand the
fire like gold and silver, thoseare acts that we have done for
our treasures in heavenwitnessing to people about Jesus
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, helping people out, being kind, giving our money, giving our
talent, giving our time to helppeople in whatever way we can,
to glorify him, not to glorifyourselves.
That kind of stuff will passthrough the fire, and what
remains, apparently that's goingto be our treasure in heaven.
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And what treasure in heavenlooks like beloved?
I really don't know.
That's all I can say, though,is that it's going to be amazing
.
I don't doubt that at all.
But what about the other day ofjudgment?
You might be thinking what?
There's two?
Yes, because the judgment seatof Christ that is reserved only
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for his people, his children.
But at the end of time itself,when all is said and done.
Well, then there's the whitethrone of judgment, those who
have not accepted Jesus Christ.
They must pay for their ownsins themselves, and that's when
they will be cast into theeternal lake of fire, into hell.
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Now John is saying that we mayhave boldness in the day of
judgment.
Well, why is that?
Well, the second part of verse17, he says because, as he is
Christ, how Christ is, so are wein this world.
We're not here to make the bestof everything.
This isn't our home.
We are sojourners, we arepassing through and hopefully
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you are building your treasuresin heaven, beloved.
And what does that mean?
What does that look like?
Well, it means that we aregoing to give up things on this
side of the grave things of thisworld that may give us some
comfort, such as our reputations, because Jesus made it clear
there will be plenty of peoplewho hate you because they
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already hated him.
They don't like the gospelmessage and they hate Jesus, and
so they hate those who followhim.
And, of course, we'll give upmoney to help other people.
We're not going to keep it allfor ourself.
I'm not advocating that you giveeverything away.
We're not going to keep it allfor ourself.
I'm not advocating that yougive everything away.
There's nothing honorable aboutthat if it's for the wrong
reasons.
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But we're told we do not storeour goods up in barns and then
build bigger barns and keepstoring more and more Because we
can't take it with us, so wedon't have to worry about the
day of judgment.
There is absolutely nothing fora born-again believer to worry
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about.
Not at all, Because we haveJesus Christ as our advocate.
He's already paid our sin debt.
That Bill is done and over with, and so we can rest peacefully,
knowing that here and now isthe absolute worst it gets for
those who are following Jesus,who are born again.
Unfortunately, that's not thesame for those who are not
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following Jesus, who are stuckin other religions, who are
stuck in their own traditions,and they are putting everything
they have into that, but they'renot loving Jesus.
And many, by the way, do knowwho Jesus is, but they're not
loving Jesus and many, by theway, do know who Jesus is.
Many, many billions of peopleknow of Jesus and of those
billions, well, there's, withouta doubt, millions and millions
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of those who know a lot aboutJesus, especially in countries
like the United States that I'min, where there's so much access
to the Bible.
We have no excuse.
We have churches on every otherblock in our towns and our
cities.
It's no secret, in fact, theUnited States is founded on the
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Christian principles, on so muchof God's Word.
In verse 18, john says there isno fear in love, but perfect
love casts out fear, becausefear involves torment.
Some interpretations saypunishment, but he who fears has
not been made perfect in love.
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All right, let's talk aboutfear for a few minutes.
So, first of all, there is nofear in love.
If there is fear in love, thenit's not agape love.
It's not the kind of love thatJohn is talking about here.
It's not the kind of love thatGod has given us through his
Holy Spirit.
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If there's fear in love, wellthen this would be the cheap
love, or at least cheaper,worldly love, love that has
selfishness attached to it.
Whether receiving it or givingit, there's always some
motivation behind the love thatwe give.
That's worldly, and that's whythere is fear that's mixed up in
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this kind of love, the fear oflosing that person that you love
so much and you've told themthat you love them more than
anyone else, but for whateverreason, as time goes on, or it
seems like he or she is losinginterest, or there's others in
the picture that could take thatperson away, and there's
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jealousy involved, all kinds ofthings can happen.
And then there's that fear oflosing that loved one.
Well, in the love of Christ,there is no fear, absolutely no
fear in agape love, because Johnsays perfect love casts out
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fear.
You catch that Perfect lovecasts out fear Because fear
involves torment.
Agape love there's no stringsattached to that, and you can
feel it right To my brothers andsisters in the faith, when you
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do something out of purekindness, for the sake of the
fact that you know Jesus lovesyou.
So whether you give of yourtime, treasures or talent,
there's no strings attached.
You're not expecting anythingin return, and that feels good.
Loving others that way, well,it's the same love that we have
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received from our Savior.
How many times do we messthings up?
And yet he forgives us.
He loves us so much.
And for the many out there inthis world that they don't have
somebody who just truly lovesthem, my heart goes out to you.
But know this that Jesus Christ, he loves you, he loves you
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unconditionally, and if you arewaiting to become a better
person before you go to Jesus,well then you're taking the
wrong direction, because heloves you so much.
Jesus wants you to come to himjust the way you are.
How different that is rightFrom the love of this world when
I was younger and dating.
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What does a person do?
Clean themselves up, make sureI look my best, make sure I act
my best.
I want to try to get things inmy life nice and straight, nice
and clear.
That way I give a goodimpression.
But Jesus, no, not for him.
He says come as you are, bringyour brokenness to me.
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There's nothing to fear at all.
And John even says but he whofears has not been made perfect
in love.
That doesn't mean that, agape,love makes us perfect.
We're not going to be able tohit perfection Again.
That will be in our glorifiedstate, once we are made anew and
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we no longer are living inthese sin-infested bodies and
minds of ours.
So we're not perfect, butliving out that life gives us
the perfect life.
He who fears has not been madeperfect in love.
When you have that love, whenyou are loving Jesus and you're
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letting Jesus love you, you'rewalking with him and you're
reading his word, you're prayingto him, that fear goes away.
There's nothing to fear.
What is there to fear?
Don't have to fear aboutstarving to death, because God
makes it clear, I will take careof you.
Jesus even said to hisdisciples fear not God.
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The Father will give us food.
God, the Father, will make surewe have clothes on our back.
Not just because you said, yeah, sure, I'll follow Jesus.
No, because you love him andyou're doing everything you can
to follow in his ways and bydoing that, that's what makes
you perfect.
Not that you don't mess up, buthe takes care of us, and not
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just basic necessities.
But we also don't need to fearour enemies.
We don't have to fear death.
If God is for us, who can beagainst us?
And we don't have to fear thosewho can destroy the body but
cannot destroy the soul.
And who can destroy the soul?
Any people that you know of?
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No, no one can do that.
Oh, what about the demons?
No, they can't.
Oh, satan, he must be able toright.
Nope, only one, only ourHeavenly Father.
Think about that.
For those who fear death becausethey fear the unknown, they
fear because they have no ideawhat happens after they die, and
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I can't think of how horribleit is to be in a position where
the very thought of death ishorrifying, fearing Every time a
person gets sick or every timethey're afraid of the dark,
every time something happensthat they could lose their life
and they don't know what's goingto happen upon their death.
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That's horrifying, but we don'thave to.
Children of God, do not have to.
There's nothing for us to fearbecause, absent from the body,
is present with the Lord.
If an enemy gets a hold of meand kills me, all right, that's
all that person did is killed mybody.
I'm in heaven.
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I think of all those Hindus,muslims, atheists, even the
millions who are in cults thatuse the name Jesus.
They even call themselvesChristians, but they're not.
They go to church and theyworship their tradition.
My heart goes out to all ofthese people because they don't
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know Christ.
Verse 19,.
We love him because he firstloved us.
We're not able to love on ourown.
Not the agape love Once aperson is born again.
We get this precious giftthrough the Holy Spirit, being
able to love othersunconditionally and to love our
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Lord in return.
It certainly doesn't happenovernight.
We're so used to lovingselfishly.
There's some growing pains inthat, but the ability is there
and it's amazing.
It is amazing to love othersunconditionally.
This agape love, that's howwe're light and salt.
But we weren't able to love him.
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In fact, he loved us when wewere still yet his enemy.
Think about that, and thattruly is amazing of how much he
loves us.
Verse 20.
If someone says I love God andhates his brother, he is a liar.
For he who does not love hisbrother, whom he has seen, how
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can he love God whom he has notseen?
I sometimes think that, well,perhaps it's because it's easy
to love a God that we have madein our mind.
So if someone is saying that Ilove God and he hates his
brother, well, john makes itclear he's a liar, so he truly
does not love God, his brother.
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Well, john makes it clear he'sa liar, so he truly does not
love God.
But for those who are convincedthey are loving God but yet
they can still have hate towardsother people, well, I suggest
then, perhaps, just because youare loving your own God, you
have your own picture of who Godis.
You have made this God in yourmind who really does accept the
fact that you harbor hatetowards other people and somehow
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this God of yours is okay withthat because you're special and
it's okay that you hate becauselife has been so hard on you
After all, look at all thethings that has happened to you
in your life and so your God isokay with that.
You can go to church and youjust have communion and you do
what you need to do, and if youstick to your traditions at
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church, they certainly make youmore comfortable.
And certainly at holiday times,do all your traditions, keep
things as familiar as you can,and you'll be okay.
Well then, you're worshipingyour own God.
That's not the God of the Bible, because our God says if you do
not love your brethren, if youdo not love other people, well
(18:13):
then you don't love me, becauseGod is saying I am love.
Now, what does love look like?
Beloved?
Before we get to the last versehere, what does that look like?
It looks like taking time toserve your brothers and sisters
in Christ, even when you don'twant to, when you would rather
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sit at home and do somethingelse.
But you're aware of a need andyou can serve that need.
Maybe it's as simple as justspending time with that person
or people.
Well, that's loving them.
That's putting them above yourown priorities, your own comfort
.
Loving those who are in need,those who are in financial need
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that's common and putting asidethings that we may want.
So instead that money goes tohelping others, whether it's the
need for food and shelter orthe need to hear God's word.
When you support this ministry,you are being a part of that,
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because people are hearing thisand from around the world, and
that costs money.
This and from around the world,and that costs money.
So there's all kinds of way tolove other people, but it means
sacrificing.
That's when you know you'reloving other people, when we are
sacrificing, when giving moneyto the point of it even hurts a
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little because, oh man, I couldreally use that, but you know
you're doing the right thing.
Maybe it's the time that yougive.
That hurts Because, oh boy,that would just be nice to do
your own thing, but you knowthat there's a need out there,
and so instead you're going tolove them, you are going to go
and spend time with them, youare going to go help them,
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whatever it is that you're doing.
I would even say we're lovingone another when we meet weekly
with our brothers and sisters inthe faith.
Have you thought of that?
And I mean giving yourself, notjust showing up?
I hope you're not among thosewho just show up to church or
just show up to a small group,you know, just to appease people
.
I mean really.
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Then forget it, just don't doit, because, remember, god knows
your heart, god knows who'ssincere, but when you go,
because you want to invest inthe lives of your brothers and
sisters, your spiritual family,because even Jesus said who's my
family?
Well, my family, he said, arethose around right now when he
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was teaching, and that's ourfamily too.
We have our family that we haveblood connection to right,
parents, siblings, extendedfamily, yeah, and they're
important.
But for those who are caught upin a family, who want nothing to
do with Jesus, it doesn't meanthat you give up your walk with
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Jesus.
No, not at all.
Find those who love the Lord,who are born-again believers
like yourself, and get with them, invest in them, walk with them
and together you open God'sWord and you read God's Word.
Together you open up, you shareyour hurts, you share your
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successes with one another andyou hold each other up.
That's loving, that's asacrifice People need to give of
their time, of their talent, oftheir treasure, all of that
coming together.
And the more you give, the moreyou love your brothers and
sisters, the more that, even asa small group or a church, and
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you start taking that love outto the community and are doing
it out of love.
Whatever doing, it is how youcan serve other people, whatever
that might be.
We can back up to chapter 2,verse 28.
And John says and now, littlechildren abide in him that when
he appears you catch that whenhe appears, not if when that's
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Jesus he's talking about that wemay have confidence and not be
ashamed before him at his coming.
Well, and why is that?
Well, we're not ashamed becausewe're loving each other and we
are loving others.
We are trying to get the wordof God out to the world, to our
communities, but we are alsosacrificing the time that Jesus
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has given us.
We ourselves, as born-againbelievers, we don't have our own
time because, well, our life isno longer our life.
When you were born again, youcommitted to that.
You had to admit that you werea sinner, that you are a sinner.
You came to that reality andyou forfeit your life to him.
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You are his slave.
Now, even Paul said hey, that'sgreat, being a bondservant to
Jesus.
That's awesome.
What else is there to serve inthis world?
Nothing, there's nothing worthit.
Who else is there to serve inthis world?
Compared to Jesus, no one.
And since we need him to beable to love others, to truly
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love others in that agape love,not our selfish love, we need to
be born again.
Well, the last verse in chapter4 reads and this commandment we
have from him that he who lovesGod must love his brother also.
That he who loves God must lovehis brother also.
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Now there's some key wordsthere for us that we better be
mindful of, in verse 21.
And this commandment, it's acommand and it says we have from
him.
Our Lord and Savior hascommanded us.
This is not an option.
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If you are following JesusChrist, you must do this.
He who loves God must love hisbrother also.
Brother being family, that'syour spiritual family and this
is the sacrificial love.
Now we are to love even ourenemies, yes, but we are to love
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our brothers and sisters inChrist, above and beyond those
who are unbelievers.
We must take care of oneanother.
Why am I such an advocate ofcoming together weekly with
brothers and sisters in thefaith.
Because what family meets everytwo, three, four weeks and what
family just meets at a churchfor an hour with everybody?
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Small groups are so important,beloved, because even at church,
where we go to worship andthere's classes there, I'm sure,
depending on the size churchthat you're at, and there's
classes there, I'm sure,depending on the size church
that you're at they're teaching.
So you're learning God's Word.
That's great.
But coming together in a smallgroup and you really get to know
one another and then trulyloving one another, helping each
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other out every chance you get,not trying to get ahead of
other people, but instead we putthem above us and every chance
we get we help them and being apart of the body of Christ.
How we help one another, well,some of that depends on our
spiritual gifts, and that's awhole other teaching.
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But every born-again believerhas a spiritual gift and those
spiritual gifts are to be usedto serve your family.
That's amazing that ourHeavenly Father gives us these
special skills to better thebody of Christ and to glorify
our God.
Isn't that great.
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If you're a born-again believerand you're feeling alone, well,
that means you need to cometogether with other born-again
believers.
I just use meeting weeklybecause everything we do weekly
truly becomes a part of who weare.
Anything important in your life?
Most things are done weekly.
It becomes habitual, it justbecomes part of your day-to-day
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living, and that is what I meanby it becomes a part of just who
you are.
You're so used to doing it.
But if you want to meet morethan once a week, more power to
you.
You'll just get to know eachother and grow with each other,
all the more so.
One more time that verse 21,john reminds us, and this
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commandment we have from him,our Lord and Savior, that he who
loves God must love his brotheralso.
No exceptions.
There's no exceptions at all.
I'm here for you, beloved.
I love you very much.
I hope and pray that you areindeed connected with the Lord.
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If there's anything I can do,if there's resources you're
lacking, there's questions thatyou have, whatever I can do to
help out.
Well, as I've said, you can geta hold of me at my website,
brmaulcom.
Click on contact and email meand we'll start communicating.
So keep reading his word, keeppraying to him, do that daily.
(27:24):
Click on Contact and email meand we'll start communicating.
So keep reading his word, keeppraying to him, do that daily.
Get together with your brothersand sisters, whether it's one or
two, 10, 12.
But get together with a smallgroup, do it weekly and see how
you guys grow with one another.
And if you are fortunate tohave a Bible-teaching and
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preaching church, please bemindful, beloved.
We live in a day and age wherethe deception is deep and even
many that look like they arechurch on the outside.
They're picking and choosingwhat part of God's Word that
they will listen to and in themeantime they are trying to fit
into the world.
They are trying to make peoplehappy and feel good, and I want
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you to make sure that you testthose spirits.
Don't get caught up in that.
But if you're fortunate enoughto have a church body that comes
together, they just love Jesusand the leadership teaches from
God's Word directly.
Well then, get involved.
And until next time, God bless,thank you.
Hello and good day.
I am BR Maul and this is LivingGod's Way in an Ungodly World.
It's good to have you here withme.
Thank you so much for joining.
I do hope that all is goingwell for you and your loved ones
for joining.
I do hope that all is goingwell for you and your loved ones
.
We are here to learn more ofGod's Word and to discuss the
(00:50):
importance of living God's wayand not just reading about God
in the Bible.
We are still in 1 John and todaywe will end chapter 4.
We'll be going through verses17 through 21.
As usual, I'll go ahead andread the scripture first and
(01:11):
then we'll stop and go back andwe'll break it down.
Verse 17.
Love has been perfected amongus in this.
That we may have boldness inthe day of judgment Because, as
he is, so are we in this.
That we may have boldness inthe day of judgment because, as
he is, so are we in this world.
(01:36):
There is no fear in love, butperfect love casts out fear,
because fear involves torment.
But he who fears has not beenmade perfect in love has not
been made perfect in love.
We love him because he firstloved us.
If someone says I love God andhates his brother, he is a liar.
For he who does not love hisbrother, whom he has seen, how
(01:57):
can he love God whom he has notseen?
And this commandment we havefrom him seen, and this
commandment we have from him,that he who loves God must love
his brother also.
Heavenly Father, I pray youopen the hearts of those who are
listening, lord.
Help them to confront any pride, any insecurities, anything
(02:18):
else, lord, that may be holdingthem back to being able to just
accept your words and respond tothe Holy Spirit.
And protect my lips, lord, thatnothing I utter is for my own
gain, but only for the sake ofteaching your word.
I come to you and pray to youin the name of Jesus Christ.
Amen, all right, beloved.
(02:40):
So we will back up to verse 17,as has been the case for the
last couple of months as we havebeen going through the book of
1 John.
If you are only tuning in now,you can back up and eventually
you will find that I havecovered 1 John from the very
(03:01):
beginning, verse by verse.
And if you go back even further, I've done that with the book
of James.
So far as well.
As usual, you are welcome tocontact me.
There are several ways of doingthat.
If you are listening at apodcast in a directory like
Spotify or Apple or otherdirectories for podcasts, I have
(03:22):
a message me tab.
Go ahead and click on that.
It's a one-way, not a two-wayconversation, so you can let me
know how I'm doing.
Or you can ask me questions.
I am unable to respond to those.
So if you do want a response,just make sure you leave me your
email.
Otherwise, you can go to mywebsite that's brmaulcom
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brmaulcom and just click oncontact and fill that out.
Pretty short, just basicallyyour email and your questions.
Send that in to me and I willget back to you as soon as
possible.
So let's go ahead and dive rightinto this.
So John tells us in verse 17,love has been perfected among us
(04:09):
in this that we may haveboldness in the day of judgment.
So there's that day of judgment.
We know that there is that daycoming.
We're told that in many placesin the Bible.
Now, for born-again believers,the judgment seat of Christ.
That is where we will standbefore our Savior, who has paid
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our sin debt and has making itso, so we do not have to go
through the wrath of God becausehe has paid that.
However, before our belovedSavior, we will indeed stand as
all of our deeds over ourlifetime passes through the fire
, and that which is burned uplike straw and hay, those are
(04:56):
all works that we have done forour self, whether it is flat-out
selfish works that we have done, or not even necessarily
selfish, but it wasn't for thekingdom.
But then those that remain,those that can withstand the
fire like gold and silver, thoseare acts that we have done for
our treasures in heavenwitnessing to people about Jesus
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, helping people out, being kind, giving our money, giving our
talent, giving our time to helppeople in whatever way we can,
to glorify him, not to glorifyourselves.
That kind of stuff will passthrough the fire, and what
remains, apparently that's goingto be our treasure in heaven.
(05:42):
And what treasure in heavenlooks like beloved?
I really don't know.
That's all I can say, though,is that it's going to be amazing
.
I don't doubt that at all.
But what about the other day ofjudgment?
You might be thinking what?
There's two?
Yes, because the judgment seatof Christ that is reserved only
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for his people, his children.
But at the end of time itself,when all is said and done.
Well, then there's the whitethrone of judgment, those who
have not accepted Jesus Christ.
They must pay for their ownsins themselves, and that's when
they will be cast into theeternal lake of fire, into hell.
(06:25):
Now John is saying that we mayhave boldness in the day of
judgment.
Well, why is that?
Well, the second part of verse17, he says because, as he is
Christ, how Christ is, so are wein this world.
We're not here to make the bestof everything.
This isn't our home.
We are sojourners, we arepassing through and hopefully
(06:47):
you are building your treasuresin heaven, beloved.
And what does that mean?
What does that look like?
Well, it means that we aregoing to give up things on this
side of the grave things of thisworld that may give us some
comfort, such as our reputations, because Jesus made it clear
there will be plenty of peoplewho hate you because they
(07:08):
already hated him.
They don't like the gospelmessage and they hate Jesus, and
so they hate those who followhim.
And, of course, we'll give upmoney to help other people.
We're not going to keep it allfor ourself.
I'm not advocating that you giveeverything away.
We're not going to keep it allfor ourself.
I'm not advocating that yougive everything away.
There's nothing honorable aboutthat if it's for the wrong
reasons.
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But we're told we do not storeour goods up in barns and then
build bigger barns and keepstoring more and more Because we
can't take it with us, so wedon't have to worry about the
day of judgment.
There is absolutely nothing fora born-again believer to worry
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about.
Not at all, Because we haveJesus Christ as our advocate.
He's already paid our sin debt.
That Bill is done and over with, and so we can rest peacefully,
knowing that here and now isthe absolute worst it gets for
those who are following Jesus,who are born again.
Unfortunately, that's not thesame for those who are not
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following Jesus, who are stuckin other religions, who are
stuck in their own traditions,and they are putting everything
they have into that, but they'renot loving Jesus.
And many, by the way, do knowwho Jesus is, but they're not
loving Jesus and many, by theway, do know who Jesus is.
Many, many billions of peopleknow of Jesus and of those
billions, well, there's, withouta doubt, millions and millions
(08:34):
of those who know a lot aboutJesus, especially in countries
like the United States that I'min, where there's so much access
to the Bible.
We have no excuse.
We have churches on every otherblock in our towns and our
cities.
It's no secret, in fact, theUnited States is founded on the
(08:56):
Christian principles, on so muchof God's Word.
In verse 18, john says there isno fear in love, but perfect
love casts out fear, becausefear involves torment.
Some interpretations saypunishment, but he who fears has
not been made perfect in love.
(09:17):
All right, let's talk aboutfear for a few minutes.
So, first of all, there is nofear in love.
If there is fear in love, thenit's not agape love.
It's not the kind of love thatJohn is talking about here.
It's not the kind of love thatGod has given us through his
Holy Spirit.
(09:37):
If there's fear in love, wellthen this would be the cheap
love, or at least cheaper,worldly love, love that has
selfishness attached to it.
Whether receiving it or givingit, there's always some
motivation behind the love thatwe give.
That's worldly, and that's whythere is fear that's mixed up in
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this kind of love, the fear oflosing that person that you love
so much and you've told themthat you love them more than
anyone else, but for whateverreason, as time goes on, or it
seems like he or she is losinginterest, or there's others in
the picture that could take thatperson away, and there's
(10:19):
jealousy involved, all kinds ofthings can happen.
And then there's that fear oflosing that loved one.
Well, in the love of Christ,there is no fear, absolutely no
fear in agape love, because Johnsays perfect love casts out
(10:40):
fear.
You catch that Perfect lovecasts out fear Because fear
involves torment.
Agape love there's no stringsattached to that, and you can
feel it right To my brothers andsisters in the faith, when you
(11:01):
do something out of purekindness, for the sake of the
fact that you know Jesus lovesyou.
So whether you give of yourtime, treasures or talent,
there's no strings attached.
You're not expecting anythingin return, and that feels good.
Loving others that way, well,it's the same love that we have
(11:21):
received from our Savior.
How many times do we messthings up?
And yet he forgives us.
He loves us so much.
And for the many out there inthis world that they don't have
somebody who just truly lovesthem, my heart goes out to you.
But know this that Jesus Christ, he loves you, he loves you
(11:44):
unconditionally, and if you arewaiting to become a better
person before you go to Jesus,well then you're taking the
wrong direction, because heloves you so much.
Jesus wants you to come to himjust the way you are.
How different that is rightFrom the love of this world when
I was younger and dating.
(12:05):
What does a person do?
Clean themselves up, make sureI look my best, make sure I act
my best.
I want to try to get things inmy life nice and straight, nice
and clear.
That way I give a goodimpression.
But Jesus, no, not for him.
He says come as you are, bringyour brokenness to me.
(12:26):
There's nothing to fear at all.
And John even says but he whofears has not been made perfect
in love.
That doesn't mean that, agape,love makes us perfect.
We're not going to be able tohit perfection Again.
That will be in our glorifiedstate, once we are made anew and
(12:46):
we no longer are living inthese sin-infested bodies and
minds of ours.
So we're not perfect, butliving out that life gives us
the perfect life.
He who fears has not been madeperfect in love.
When you have that love, whenyou are loving Jesus and you're
(13:07):
letting Jesus love you, you'rewalking with him and you're
reading his word, you're prayingto him, that fear goes away.
There's nothing to fear.
What is there to fear?
Don't have to fear aboutstarving to death, because God
makes it clear, I will take careof you.
Jesus even said to hisdisciples fear not God.
(13:29):
The Father will give us food.
God, the Father, will make surewe have clothes on our back.
Not just because you said, yeah, sure, I'll follow Jesus.
No, because you love him andyou're doing everything you can
to follow in his ways and bydoing that, that's what makes
you perfect.
Not that you don't mess up, buthe takes care of us, and not
(13:51):
just basic necessities.
But we also don't need to fearour enemies.
We don't have to fear death.
If God is for us, who can beagainst us?
And we don't have to fear thosewho can destroy the body but
cannot destroy the soul.
And who can destroy the soul?
Any people that you know of?
(14:11):
No, no one can do that.
Oh, what about the demons?
No, they can't.
Oh, satan, he must be able toright.
Nope, only one, only ourHeavenly Father.
Think about that.
For those who fear death becausethey fear the unknown, they
fear because they have no ideawhat happens after they die, and
(14:35):
I can't think of how horribleit is to be in a position where
the very thought of death ishorrifying, fearing Every time a
person gets sick or every timethey're afraid of the dark,
every time something happensthat they could lose their life
and they don't know what's goingto happen upon their death.
(14:56):
That's horrifying, but we don'thave to.
Children of God, do not have to.
There's nothing for us to fearbecause, absent from the body,
is present with the Lord.
If an enemy gets a hold of meand kills me, all right, that's
all that person did is killed mybody.
I'm in heaven.
(15:16):
I think of all those Hindus,muslims, atheists, even the
millions who are in cults thatuse the name Jesus.
They even call themselvesChristians, but they're not.
They go to church and theyworship their tradition.
My heart goes out to all ofthese people because they don't
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know Christ.
Verse 19,.
We love him because he firstloved us.
We're not able to love on ourown.
Not the agape love Once aperson is born again.
We get this precious giftthrough the Holy Spirit, being
able to love othersunconditionally and to love our
(16:03):
Lord in return.
It certainly doesn't happenovernight.
We're so used to lovingselfishly.
There's some growing pains inthat, but the ability is there
and it's amazing.
It is amazing to love othersunconditionally.
This agape love, that's howwe're light and salt.
But we weren't able to love him.
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In fact, he loved us when wewere still yet his enemy.
Think about that, and thattruly is amazing of how much he
loves us.
Verse 20.
If someone says I love God andhates his brother, he is a liar.
For he who does not love hisbrother, whom he has seen, how
(16:45):
can he love God whom he has notseen?
I sometimes think that, well,perhaps it's because it's easy
to love a God that we have madein our mind.
So if someone is saying that Ilove God and he hates his
brother, well, john makes itclear he's a liar, so he truly
does not love God, his brother.
(17:07):
Well, john makes it clear he'sa liar, so he truly does not
love God.
But for those who are convincedthey are loving God but yet
they can still have hate towardsother people, well, I suggest
then, perhaps, just because youare loving your own God, you
have your own picture of who Godis.
You have made this God in yourmind who really does accept the
fact that you harbor hatetowards other people and somehow
(17:28):
this God of yours is okay withthat because you're special and
it's okay that you hate becauselife has been so hard on you
After all, look at all thethings that has happened to you
in your life and so your God isokay with that.
You can go to church and youjust have communion and you do
what you need to do, and if youstick to your traditions at
(17:50):
church, they certainly make youmore comfortable.
And certainly at holiday times,do all your traditions, keep
things as familiar as you can,and you'll be okay.
Well then, you're worshipingyour own God.
That's not the God of the Bible, because our God says if you do
not love your brethren, if youdo not love other people, well
(18:13):
then you don't love me, becauseGod is saying I am love.
Now, what does love look like?
Beloved?
Before we get to the last versehere, what does that look like?
It looks like taking time toserve your brothers and sisters
in Christ, even when you don'twant to, when you would rather
(18:34):
sit at home and do somethingelse.
But you're aware of a need andyou can serve that need.
Maybe it's as simple as justspending time with that person
or people.
Well, that's loving them.
That's putting them above yourown priorities, your own comfort
.
Loving those who are in need,those who are in financial need
(18:55):
that's common and putting asidethings that we may want.
So instead that money goes tohelping others, whether it's the
need for food and shelter orthe need to hear God's word.
When you support this ministry,you are being a part of that,
(19:16):
because people are hearing thisand from around the world, and
that costs money.
This and from around the world,and that costs money.
So there's all kinds of way tolove other people, but it means
sacrificing.
That's when you know you'reloving other people, when we are
sacrificing, when giving moneyto the point of it even hurts a
(19:37):
little because, oh man, I couldreally use that, but you know
you're doing the right thing.
Maybe it's the time that yougive.
That hurts Because, oh boy,that would just be nice to do
your own thing, but you knowthat there's a need out there,
and so instead you're going tolove them, you are going to go
and spend time with them, youare going to go help them,
(19:58):
whatever it is that you're doing.
I would even say we're lovingone another when we meet weekly
with our brothers and sisters inthe faith.
Have you thought of that?
And I mean giving yourself, notjust showing up?
I hope you're not among thosewho just show up to church or
just show up to a small group,you know, just to appease people
.
I mean really.
(20:19):
Then forget it, just don't doit, because, remember, god knows
your heart, god knows who'ssincere, but when you go,
because you want to invest inthe lives of your brothers and
sisters, your spiritual family,because even Jesus said who's my
family?
Well, my family, he said, arethose around right now when he
(20:39):
was teaching, and that's ourfamily too.
We have our family that we haveblood connection to right,
parents, siblings, extendedfamily, yeah, and they're
important.
But for those who are caught upin a family, who want nothing to
do with Jesus, it doesn't meanthat you give up your walk with
(21:01):
Jesus.
No, not at all.
Find those who love the Lord,who are born-again believers
like yourself, and get with them, invest in them, walk with them
and together you open God'sWord and you read God's Word.
Together you open up, you shareyour hurts, you share your
(21:22):
successes with one another andyou hold each other up.
That's loving, that's asacrifice People need to give of
their time, of their talent, oftheir treasure, all of that
coming together.
And the more you give, the moreyou love your brothers and
sisters, the more that, even asa small group or a church, and
(21:45):
you start taking that love outto the community and are doing
it out of love.
Whatever doing, it is how youcan serve other people, whatever
that might be.
We can back up to chapter 2,verse 28.
And John says and now, littlechildren abide in him that when
he appears you catch that whenhe appears, not if when that's
(22:13):
Jesus he's talking about that wemay have confidence and not be
ashamed before him at his coming.
Well, and why is that?
Well, we're not ashamed becausewe're loving each other and we
are loving others.
We are trying to get the wordof God out to the world, to our
communities, but we are alsosacrificing the time that Jesus
(22:34):
has given us.
We ourselves, as born-againbelievers, we don't have our own
time because, well, our life isno longer our life.
When you were born again, youcommitted to that.
You had to admit that you werea sinner, that you are a sinner.
You came to that reality andyou forfeit your life to him.
(22:56):
You are his slave.
Now, even Paul said hey, that'sgreat, being a bondservant to
Jesus.
That's awesome.
What else is there to serve inthis world?
Nothing, there's nothing worthit.
Who else is there to serve inthis world?
Compared to Jesus, no one.
And since we need him to beable to love others, to truly
(23:21):
love others in that agape love,not our selfish love, we need to
be born again.
Well, the last verse in chapter4 reads and this commandment we
have from him that he who lovesGod must love his brother also.
That he who loves God must lovehis brother also.
(23:42):
Now there's some key wordsthere for us that we better be
mindful of, in verse 21.
And this commandment, it's acommand and it says we have from
him.
Our Lord and Savior hascommanded us.
This is not an option.
(24:03):
If you are following JesusChrist, you must do this.
He who loves God must love hisbrother also.
Brother being family, that'syour spiritual family and this
is the sacrificial love.
Now we are to love even ourenemies, yes, but we are to love
(24:28):
our brothers and sisters inChrist, above and beyond those
who are unbelievers.
We must take care of oneanother.
Why am I such an advocate ofcoming together weekly with
brothers and sisters in thefaith.
Because what family meets everytwo, three, four weeks and what
family just meets at a churchfor an hour with everybody?
(24:52):
Small groups are so important,beloved, because even at church,
where we go to worship andthere's classes there, I'm sure,
depending on the size churchthat you're at, and there's
classes there, I'm sure,depending on the size church
that you're at they're teaching.
So you're learning God's Word.
That's great.
But coming together in a smallgroup and you really get to know
one another and then trulyloving one another, helping each
(25:15):
other out every chance you get,not trying to get ahead of
other people, but instead we putthem above us and every chance
we get we help them and being apart of the body of Christ.
How we help one another, well,some of that depends on our
spiritual gifts, and that's awhole other teaching.
(25:36):
But every born-again believerhas a spiritual gift and those
spiritual gifts are to be usedto serve your family.
That's amazing that ourHeavenly Father gives us these
special skills to better thebody of Christ and to glorify
our God.
Isn't that great.
(25:57):
If you're a born-again believerand you're feeling alone, well,
that means you need to cometogether with other born-again
believers.
I just use meeting weeklybecause everything we do weekly
truly becomes a part of who weare.
Anything important in your life?
Most things are done weekly.
It becomes habitual, it justbecomes part of your day-to-day
(26:22):
living, and that is what I meanby it becomes a part of just who
you are.
You're so used to doing it.
But if you want to meet morethan once a week, more power to
you.
You'll just get to know eachother and grow with each other,
all the more so.
One more time that verse 21,john reminds us, and this
(26:43):
commandment we have from him,our Lord and Savior, that he who
loves God must love his brotheralso.
No exceptions.
There's no exceptions at all.
I'm here for you, beloved.
I love you very much.
I hope and pray that you areindeed connected with the Lord.
(27:03):
If there's anything I can do,if there's resources you're
lacking, there's questions thatyou have, whatever I can do to
help out.
Well, as I've said, you can geta hold of me at my website,
brmaulcom.
Click on contact and email meand we'll start communicating.
So keep reading his word, keeppraying to him, do that daily.
(27:24):
Click on Contact and email meand we'll start communicating.
So keep reading his word, keeppraying to him, do that daily.
Get together with your brothersand sisters, whether it's one or
two, 10, 12.
But get together with a smallgroup, do it weekly and see how
you guys grow with one another.
And if you are fortunate tohave a Bible-teaching and
(27:45):
preaching church, please bemindful, beloved.
We live in a day and age wherethe deception is deep and even
many that look like they arechurch on the outside.
They're picking and choosingwhat part of God's Word that
they will listen to and in themeantime they are trying to fit
into the world.
They are trying to make peoplehappy and feel good, and I want
(28:08):
you to make sure that you testthose spirits.
Don't get caught up in that.
But if you're fortunate enoughto have a church body that comes
together, they just love Jesusand the leadership teaches from
God's Word directly.
Well then, get involved.
And until next time, God bless,thank you.
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