1 John 3

For this, by this.

1 John 3:11-24

1 John 3:11

For this is the message that you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. (use)

1 John 3:12

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. (use)

1 John 3:14

We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. Whoever does not love abides in death. (use)

1 John 3:15

Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. (use)

1 John 3:12

We should not be like Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his own deeds were evil and his brother’s righteous. (use)

Such persons truly, by external works, strenuously labor to deserve well at the hands of God; but, retaining a heart inwrapped in deceit, they present to him nothing but a mask; so that, in their labourious and anxious religious worship, there is nothing sincere, nothing but mere pretense.

Calvin, J., 1555. Commentary.
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Isaiah 64:6

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away. (use)

Q15 Everyone is born innocent in the eyes of God. U.S. Evangelical Finding - 65% agree

Ligoner., 2022. The State of Theology 2022.
ligoner-2022-sotheo~q15

Hebrews 11:4

By faith Abel offered to God a more acceptable sacrifice than Cain, through which he was commended as righteous, God commending him by accepting his gifts. And through his faith, though he died, he still speaks. (use)

This distinction between what human beings see and what God sees is of great importance to every age. Although we have responsibilities to others, we are primarily accountable to God. It is before Him that we stand and to Him that one day we must give an account. We should not, therefore, weight human opinion too high, become depressed when criticized, or elated when flattered. We need to remember that the Lord does not look at the things that man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart. He reads our thoughts. He knows our motives and He can see how much reality is behind our profession; how much life is behind our facade.

Stott, J.R., 2003. What Christ Thinks of the Church: An Exposition of Revelation 1-3.
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1 John 3:13

Do not be surprised, brothers, that the world hates you. (use)

Proverbs 29:10

Bloodthirsty men hate one who is blameless and seek the life of the upright. (use)

1 John 3:16

By this we know love, that he laid down his life for us, and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. (use)

We ought to lay down our lives for the brethren - We should risk our life to save the lives of others; and we should be ready to lay down our lives to redeem their souls when this may appear to be a means of leading them to God.

Clarke, A., 1831. Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible.
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1 John 3:17

But if anyone has the world’s goods and sees his brother in need, yet closes his heart against him, how does God’s love abide in him? (use)

It is therefore faith alone which justifies, and yet the faith which justifies is not alone.

Calvin, J., 1547. Antidote to the Council of Trent.
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1 John 3:18

Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth. (use)

The church is a supernatural society living a supernatural life of communion with Christ and fellowship with one another in Christ, and each local congregation must work creatively and hard to manifest this in every appropriate way.

Packer, J.I., 2013. Taking God Seriously. pg. 45
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Our institutions have sometimes failed us; Jesus has not.

Moore, R., 2021. Integrity and the Future of the Church.
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There are no possible excuses, no rationalisations for our church’s failure to share the love of God and value each and every person; our very Scriptures consistently tell us to care for the weak and vulnerable and yet, as a church, we have failed to do so.

Welby, J., 2022. Past Cases Review 2.
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Mark 14:7

For you always have the poor with you, and whenever you want, you can do good for them. But you will not always have me. (use)

The authentic task of the church is not primarily to make people happy; it is not to make people healthy; and it is not even to make people good... Her essential task is to restore men to the right relationship with God.

Lloyd-Jones, M., 1969. Will Hospital Replace the Church?
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1 John 3:19

By this we shall know that we are of the truth and reassure our heart before him; (use)

God cares for you because he created you, redeemed you, and made you his own (see Isa. 43:1). You are precious to God because he redeemed you and adopted you into his family (see Gal. 4:4–5). He calls you by his name and has even given you a new name (see Rev. 2:17). He says, "You are mine."

Tautges, P., 2020 Anxiety, Coronavirus, and the Promises of God - Counseling One Another.
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Authentic disciples cannot cling to the the truth about Jesus while avoiding the way of Jesus. The Jesus truth plus the Jesus way equals the Jesus life.

Vreeland. D., 2018. We've Gotten Salvation All Wrong: Let's Reclaim the Heart of Christian Discipleship.
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John 14:6

Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (use)

Your eternal destiny is determined by the truth. Your relationship to the truth will determine where you will spend all eternity. Your relationship to the truth will determine whether you are in heaven or in hell forever. Your relationship to the truth will chart the course of your life in this world. Your relationship to the truth will define your family. It will direct your business. It will be a lamp unto your feet and a light unto your path. Your entire life is marked by the truth. Everything that does not measure with the truth is a facade. Only once the truth has spoken may we understand what true reality is.

Lawson, S., 2018. The Moment of Truth: Its Reality.
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1 John 3:20

for whenever our heart condemns us, God is greater than our heart, and he knows everything. (use)

1 John 3:21

Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; (use)

It is as necessary to speak truth to the people as it is to speak truth to power.

Major, J., 2018. Sir John Major's Full Brexit Speech
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No fate I dread, I know I am forgiven The future sure, the price it has been paid For Jesus bled and suffered for my pardon And He was raised to overthrow the grave

CityAlight., 2018. Yet Not I But Through Christ In Me.
cityalight-2018-yet~v3

Hebrews 4:16

Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need. (use)

1 John 3:23

And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. (use)

1 John 3:24

Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. (use)

Great Father of mercies, thy goodness I own, And covenant love of thy crucify'd son: All praise to the spirit whose whisper divine Seals mercy and pardon and righteousness mine.

Stocker, J.S., 1777. Thy Mercy My God
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