Putnam Church Message – 10/05/2025

Last week, we continued through the letter of 1 John and explored how to have A Discerning Life: Discerning the Works of the Devil."

This week, we continue through the letter of 1 John, and we will explore how to have A Discerning Life: Not Like Cain, But Like Christ!" from 1 John 3:11-24 from the NIV, which is found on page 1901 of your Pew Bibles.

Repeatedly, John urges his readers to love God and to love one another. He warns them against loving the world (2:15–16). And he underscores the danger of embracing a sinful lifestyle (3:10). All these subjects begin to wear on the consciences of Christians who desire to be like Christ but constantly fall short. If we allow the full impact of these words to weigh on us, it’ll make us squirm because all of us fall short of the perfect standard of love given to us in Jesus Christ.

Considering these convicting truths, some believers might even begin to think, “Am I even saved? Have I loved the world too much? Have I not loved my brother or sister in Christ enough? Are there people in my life whom I hate?” Because these questions naturally begin pestering the consciences of believers who take God’s commands seriously, John applies a soothing balm to calm the disquieted conscience: the balm of grace.

John begins this section with a very familiar message. It’s a message that serves as a hinge on which much of the book of 1 John turns: “Love one another.” When Jesus spoke that simple command decades earlier at the Last Supper (John 13:34-35), John got the message. He never forgot it. That command filled John’s mind and heart, taking hold of his actions.

It’s not the first time John’s readers had heard the command. John had already mentioned a variation of it to them in 1 John 2:10. And no doubt the “love one another” theme was a frequent refrain in John’s teaching and preaching over the years. The recipients of 1 John, in fact, had heard this message “from the beginning” of their life as believers in Christ.

It’s clear, then, that loving one another is the heart of the Christian life. Along with loving God, it sums up what it means to observe the commandments (Matt. 22:36-40). It is a theme that emerges throughout the New Testament (e.g., Rom. 13:8; 1 Thes. 4:9; 1 Pet. 1:22). (Bulletin) And it’s a distinguishing mark of the authenticity of the disciples of Jesus (John 13:35). “Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.” As in our hymn this morning.

But what does 'love one another' look like? 3:12–18 If you haven’t noticed already, the apostle John loves using contrasts to drive home his points:

Not surprisingly, in these verses, John provides two contrasting examples to put flesh on the bones of the command to “love one another.” The first example illustrates the extreme opposite of loving our brother or sister in Christ (1 Jn. 3:12-15). The second example demonstrates the extreme ideal of love (3:16–18). By placing believers in the middle of these two examples, John tries to urge them away from the one /and toward the other.

In giving an example of brotherly hatred rather than brotherly love, John takes us all the way back to the original saga of sibling rivalry: the account of Cain’s murder of his brother Abel (3:12). Cain, John says, who belonged to the evil one.” This phrase parallels the phrase “belongs to the devil” in 3:8:

1 John 3:8 “When people keep on sinning, it shows that they belong to the devil.”

1 John 3:12 “Cain, who belonged to the evil one and killed his brother”

 

John sets Cain up as the original example of one who “belonged to the devil,” providing a smooth transition in his argument from 3:10. So now we can tell who are children of God and who are children of the devil. Anyone who does not live righteously and does not love other believers[a] does not belong to God. Cain is a perfect illustration of this category of person. Not only did he disobey God’s commands and fail to heed God’s warnings, but he also harbored hatred in his heart and took it to its extreme conclusion: the murder of his own brother Abel.

John uses a graphic term to describe Cain’s actions: sphazō [4969], which means “to butcher or slaughter.” It implies brutality, savagery, and hatred on the part of Cain toward his brother. This was no tragic, accidental death in which a fistfight of wrangling brothers went too far. Cain’s attack on Abel was a violent, premeditated murder.

But why? John asks this question: “For what reason did he slay him?” What stirred up so much hatred, anger, rage, and violence in Cain? Had Abel made Cain’s life miserable by constantly bullying his brother until he finally snapped? Did Cain have some sort of deep-seated derangement that made him delusional, believing he was doing what was right? The answer John gives should shock us: Cain killed Abel because he had been doing what was evil, and his brother had been doing what was righteous. (3:12).

To understand what John means by this, we need to look back at the original account of the slaying in Genesis 4. The narrative reveals that Cain, the firstborn, “cultivated the ground” while Abel, his younger brother, “became a shepherd” (Gen. 4:2). In other words, Cain was a farmer of produce, Abel a shepherd. But something happened that provoked Cain to envy, jealousy, and rage. Cain brought an offering to God—“presented some of his crops as a gift to the Lord” (Gen. 4:3). Abel, meanwhile, brought the best portions of the firstborn lambs from his flock (Gen. 4:4). On Abel’s offering of blood, The Lord accepted Abel and his gift, 5 but he did not accept Cain and his gift. (Gen. 4:4–5).

But why? Didn’t each brother bring an offering from the toil of his own hands? Why would God accept Abel’s animal sacrifice but reject Cain’s produce from the earth? The passage doesn’t clearly give a reason, but we can make a few observations. Both Cain and Abel likely knew what kind of sacrifice God required as an appropriate offering. It might be that a requirement of animal sacrifice was made clear immediately after the sin of Adam and Eve when “the Lord God made clothing from animal skins for Adam and his wife.” (Gen. 3:21). Think about it. To make coverings for Adam and Eve out of animal skins several animals had to die.

If Cain and Abel had God’s own sacrifice of animals as an example, they may also have had specific instructions from their parents regarding the need for animal sacrifice (see Lev. 17:11; Heb. 9:22). The sacrifice of a living thing and the shedding of its blood ultimately looked forward to the atoning death of Christ, who “removed sin by his own death as a sacrifice.” (Heb. 9:26). If Cain knew that only the shedding of blood was an acceptable sacrifice to God and instead chose to do it his own way by offering fruits or vegetables, this would reveal not a spirit of genuine faith and obedience, but of rebellion and self-reliance.

But there’s another, related dimension to Cain’s rejected offering. Hebrews 11:4 says, It was by faith that Abel brought a more acceptable offering to God than Cain did. Abel’s offering gave evidence that he was a righteous man, and God showed his approval of his gifts. Abel presented his offering “by faith.” He trusted God at His word, and he believed that His demands were right, that He knew best, and that He deserved complete obedience. Cain, on the other hand, apparently thought the sweat of his labor was good enough and that he didn’t have to follow God’s specific requirements as long as he offered something.

What would it have taken for Cain to offer a sacrifice in faith and obedience? Some effort to capture an animal worthy of sacrifice to the Lord? Or a barter with his brother Abel, trading the produce of his fields for animals from Abel’s flock? Perhaps he could have joined his brother Abel in offering animals together. In any case, Cain revealed a self-centered, faithless, disobedient heart that was already predisposed to a sour relationship with his brother.

We know the rest of the story. Cain became angry, and he didn’t hide it, This made Cain very angry, and he looked dejected. (Gen. 4:5–6). God Himself confronted Cain with a choice at that pivotal moment in his life: Why are you so angry?” the Lord asked Cain. “Why do you look so dejected? 7 You will be accepted if you do what is right. But if you refuse to do what is right, then watch out! Sin is crouching at the door, eager to control you. But you must subdue it and be its master.” (Gen. 4:7). Instead of heeding God’s plea for repentance while the cauldron of anger in his heart had not yet reached the boiling point, Cain slaughtered his brother in the field (Gen. 4:8)! By slaying his brother with bloody violence, it was as if he were thumbing his nose at God and saying, in effect, “You want blood? Here’s your blood!”

This episode vividly illustrates that Cain was “of the evil one,” and this association determined his movement from what he saw (his brother’s deeds were righteous) to what he did (killed his brother). The implication for John’s readers in the first century (and for us today) is clear: Many people in the world are “of the evil one” just like Cain. Even when confronted with the truth, they will continue down the path of wickedness. John states: So don’t be surprised, dear brothers and sisters,[c] if the world hates you. (1 Jn. 3:13).

Though this horrific episode sheds light on the kind of wickedness John meant when he spoke of those who were “belong to the devil” and “of the evil one,” this example also communicates an essential point about the true believer’s situation. In what follows, John sets up another contrast, between those who “love our brothers and sisters” and the person who “hates his brother.”  A person who hates fellow Christians “But a person who has no love is still dead.” (3:14), meaning they do not truly possess eternal life by grace through faith (3:15). This person is also a murderer because, as in the case of Cain, murder is the ultimate end of unchecked hatred (Matt. 5:21–22; 15:19).

John’s purpose, though, is not to cast doubt on his readers’ salvation. Rather, unlike those who hate other believers and lack salvation,  it proves that we have passed from death to life. (1 Jn. 3:14). How do we know this? Because we love the brothers and sisters. John intends that, as his readers consider the disposition and murderous actions of Cain, they will not see themselves as being like him. Just the opposite. Instead of behaving like Cain, who slew his brother to satiate his own anger, children of God ought to follow Christ’s extreme example of self-sacrificial love (3:16). We know what real love is because Jesus gave up his life for us. So we also ought to give up our lives for our brothers and sisters.

John has a practical application in mind to prove that we have passed from death to life:  If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister[f] in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person? (3:17). To follow Christ’s example, Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. (3:18).

Right now, you may be wondering where you stand. None of us lives perfectly like Christ. None of us exhibits continual self-sacrificial love for our brothers and sisters in Christ. All of us have moments when we mistreat each other through our actions—neglecting them in times of need, lashing out at them with our words, and failing to minister to them as fellow members of the body. We may not be shedding blood like Cain did to Abel, but we frequently find ourselves failing to love fellow Christians as Christ loved us.

John knows that all of us are in this predicament, in which we know the good we ought to do, but we fail to do it. This is why he includes the essential words of encouragement in these verses. Genuine believers who waffle between Cain and Christ need to remember that they’re not made righteous by their works, but by faith in the name of the Son of God.

John says, “ Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. ” (3:19). By what? By loving our brothers and sisters in Christ in deed and truth (actions). When we love as He loved, we demonstrate that a new nature dwells in us from above. However, when sin inevitably finds its way into our thoughts, words, and actions, we can still have assurance before God, who is greater than our self-condemning hearts. He knows us. He knows the genuineness of our faith and love. He knows all about our bouts with evil and our struggles against habitual sins. And He provides the strength to overcome them by His Spirit.

John desires to strengthen our assurance.

“You’re not like Cain!” he says.

That’s John’s main point in 3:19–24. He’s not trying to make true children of God doubt their salvation because of their sins, but to motivate them to return immediately to the way of righteousness and truth whenever they find themselves beginning to take even small steps in Cain’s direction.

In this process, John uses positive encouragement rather than negative warnings. He spells out the benefits of a life lived in such a way that such doubts aren’t able to creep into the believer’s heart. When we have a clean conscience before God because we keep His commands and please Him, we can have confidence before Him that our prayers will be answered (3:21–22). Dear friends, if we don’t feel guilty, we can come to God with bold confidence. 22 And we will receive from him whatever we ask because we obey him and do the things that please him. The term “confidence” is the same word John used back in 2:28 And now, dear children, remain in fellowship with Christ so that when he returns, you will be full of courage and not shrink back from him in shame. This term conveys the notion of boldness.

Because of this confidence brought on by a life of obedience, we don’t shy away from prayer. We don’t skulk in the margins while others go to God with their requests. Few things keep people from genuine prayer to their heavenly Father more than unconfessed sin and a resulting guilty conscience. Shame is a barrier to fellowship with God. But when we confess our sins, /clear the air, /and walk in the light, /we find ourselves going to God constantly and confidently,...