Faith without love is lies. Without expressing and embodying the love of God toward others, our claim to love God himself falls apart. We are liars, in John’s words. If you don’t love your brother and sister who you see, how can you love God whom you have not seen?
17 This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. 18 There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love.
19 We love because he first loved us. 20 Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. 21 And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister.
1John 4:17-21 NIV
What is your confidence heading into the day of judgment? You might not think about it very much. You think it’s a long way off. Or you think you have your ticket. Jesus is your ticket to paradise. You can fast track through the line as if you are at a theme park. If we will just believe in Jesus, confessing with our mouths and believing in our hearts, we will be saved (Romans 10:9).
John, like Jesus before him, wants to up the game. To him, believing isn’t enough. For some of us, that sounds like heresy. The Reformation was all about returning to grace by faith. Works were set aside… In John’s world, active love is a mandatory part of the equation.
If we believe in Jesus but we do not live like Jesus, John would question if we even believe in Jesus. If we are relying on faith in Jesus to hold courage for the day of judgment but we are not living like Jesus toward our neighbours, then perhaps we should be less courageous and more fearful.
Lest you think you should then love as your ticket (we are always looking for tickets, aren’t we?), our motivation to love is not to get to heaven. We love, John says, because he first loved us. As a response to God’s love, we receive it and we pass it on because it is so great and life-changing. We believe our fellow humans deserve a chance to experience what we have experienced. In fact, it’s so great, this love, that even those we hate deserve it.
Without expressing and embodying this love of God toward others, our claim to love God himself falls apart. We are liars, in John’s words. If you don’t love your brother and sister who you see, how can you love God whom you have not seen?
John is not adding anything to grace by faith. He is, like James, revealing to us that faith without works is dead. Faith without love is lies. So love your neighbour. Love your brother. Love your sister. Love everyone.
Amen.
Marc Kinna
marckinna 