Sermon #1647                                                         Miscellaneous Sermons

 

      Title:                                   “They Hated Me Without A Cause

      Text:                                   John 15:25

      Subject:                  Man’s Hatred of Christ

      Date:                                  Sunday Morning — February 5, 2006

      Tape #                    Y-88b

      Reading:     Psalm 35:1-28

      Introduction:

 

While you are turning to John 15, let me remind you that everything we read in John 13-18 took place in one evening. Everything our Lord said and did in these six chapters was on the night preceding his sin-atoning death as our Substitute upon the cursed tree.

 

·         In chapter 13 our Master washed his disciples’ feet, giving us an example of how we ought to love and serve one another. — Then, he told them plainly that his hour had come, the hour in he must glorify God and be glorified by God in the accomplishment of our redemption. — Then, the Lord Jesus told Peter plainly that, before the rising of the sun, he would deny him three times.

 

·         Chapter 14 begins with those blessed words that ought to be a source of constant comfort to our hearts, inspiring confident faith in him, even in the teeth of our sin. Remember, these were the Savior’s next words to Peter, who was about to be sifted as wheat, suffering a great fall. Just after telling Peter what a horrible thing he would do, the Lord Jesus assured him, and assures us, that no harm would come to him, in spite of his miserable failure.

 

(John 14:1-3)  “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. (2) In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. (3) And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

 

He goes on in that chapter to tell us that he is the Way to God, the Truth of God, and the Life in whom we have eternal life from God. — Beginning at verse 15 and going through the end of the chapter, our Savior instructs us in the blessed work and ministry of God the Holy Spirit as the One who is our Comforter. What a blessed title that is for the blessed Spirit — Comforter! He comforts us by taking the things of Christ and effectually showing them to chosen, redeemed sinners. — The entire 16th chapter is taken up with this same subject.

 

·         In chapter 15, we have our Lord’s description of himself as the true Vine and of us as the branches, again assuring us of our absolute security in him.

 

·         Chapter 17 records our Savior’s prayer for us as our great High Priest.

 

·         In chapter 18, we are given John’s account of our Redeemer’s arrest in the Garden of Gethsemane. — “Whom seek ye?…Let these go their way!

 

Now, lets look at the last paragraph of chapter 15. We will begin at verse 17. In these last verses of chapter 17, our Master gives us tremendous, needful words of gracious instruction about six things.

 

Brotherly Love

 

His first word is about brotherly love. He knew what hatred and opposition his people must constantly face in this world. In the face of constant foes, he urges us to stick together.

 

(John 15:17)  “These things I command you, that ye love one another.”

 

He told us to “love one another” three times on the eve of his crucifixion (John 13:34, 15:12, 15:17). If we abide in him, in his word, and in his love, we will love one another. We not only love him because he first loved us, but we love one another because he first loved us (1 John 4:19-20). We do not love him as we ought, and we do not love one another as we ought, but all who are born of God love Christ and love one another. Here our Savior says, “Everything I have said to you is intended to teach you to love one another, and to teach you how to love one another.”

 

(John 13:34)  “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another.”

 

(John 15:12)  “This is my commandment, That ye love one another, as I have loved you.”

 

·         Being one with Christ, we are one in Christ. So, let us love one another.

·         We are all one in the Savior’s heart, loved of him even as he is loved of the Father. So let us love one another.

·         We are all one in the election of grace. So let us love one another.

·         If he so loved us that he made us his friends, and treats us as friends, not as servants, so we ought to love one another.

·         If the Son of God loved us and laid down his life for us, it is only reasonable that we love one another and lay down our lives for one another.

 

The World’s Hatred

 

Next, in verses 18-21, our blessed Savior, the Prince of Peace, tells us that as long as we are in the world, we will be hated by the world. — Not ignored, but hated. — Not treated with indifference, but hated. — Not merely laughed at, but hated.

 

(John 15:18)  “If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”

 

The “world” here is not only the secular, irreligious world, but the religious world as well. They had seen the hatred of the Pharisees and the Sadducees. Now our Lord tells them that after his departure, it would only continue and get worse. And so it is to this day. All who follow Christ are hated because they follow Christ. We must never expect anything else from the world but hatred, hatred that is often hidden behind a smile and cloaked in morality, but deep-seated hatred still. It is the hatred of Cain for Abel, the hatred of Ishmael for Isaac, the hatred of Esau for Jacob, the hatred of the serpent for the woman’s Seed.

 

You may ask, “Why?” The world hates you because you are not of the world, because you belong to him whom the world hates. Men do not hate their gods, nor the god they call “Jehovah,” but they hate the living God Who is revealed in Jesus Christ and in this Book (John 1:10-11; 5:16; 7:1; 8:59). — “Ye know that it hated me before it hated you.”

 

(John 15:19)  “If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.”

 

Believers are in the world, but we are not of the world (John 17:14). We were born in the world, brought up in the world, and loved the world. But God has translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son. Now, we are not of the world, because, as our Savior puts it, “Because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you.” The believer’s very existence, the fact that he lives by faith in Christ, the gospel message we believe condemns the world. Just as Abel’s sacrifice condemned Cain and his sacrifice, so our Sacrifice condemns the religion of the world. And just as Cain hated Abel because God accepted him, so the world hates us because God accepts us in Christ.

 

(John 15:20)  “Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.”

 

In chapter 13 our Savior said, “The servant is not greater than his Lord” (v. 16). We are infinitely less than our Lord. So we should never expect to be treated better. Those who hate our Master will hate all who serve him. Those who have heard his word will hear ours.

 

(John 15:21)  “But all these things will they do unto you for my name’s sake, because they know not him that sent me.”

 

All of the hatred, persecution, and evil done to believers is, our Savior says, “for my name’s sake,” because of our avowed faith in him. It is not hatred brought upon us by our actions, or even our character as people born of God, but hatred brought upon us because of the gospel we believe. Men and women do not hate us because we do good, or live in a manner that puts them to shame, but because we worship the God they hate. Their hatred for Christ compels them to hate all who worship and serve Christ. Being hated for Christ’s sake is no cause for shame, or self-pity, but for joy (Matt. 5:10-12).

 

(Mat 5:10-12)  “Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness’ sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (11) Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake. (12) Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you.”

 

Man’s Sin

 

Read on. Beginning in verse 22, the Son of God gives us some very plain instructions about sin. These next verses are confusing to many, but, when read in their context, they are crystal clear.

 

(John 15:22)  “If I had not come and spoken unto them, they had not had sin: but now they have no cloak for their sin.”

 

The sin Christ speaks of here is the sin of Israel and the religious Jews in rejecting the Messiah sent to them (Acts 3:25-26; John 1:11). If he had not come in his incarnation, in fulfillment of all their law and prophets, and with undeniable proof of his person, they would not be under such strong judgment for their particular sin; but he has come and they have no excuse and God has cast them off (Isa. 53:1-3; Rom. 11:7-10). — In a word, it is every person’s responsibility to walk in the light God gives him. Our Savior is here telling us that those who have greater light and refuse to walk in the light God gives them shall have greater condemnation.

 

(John 15:23)  “He that hateth me hateth my Father also.”

 

Many pretend to know, love, and worship God while rejecting and despising the Lord Jesus Christ. That is not so! All who hate Christ hate God who sent him. God the Father and Christ are One (John 10:30, 5:23). The hatred of the world is toward the Father, the Son, and all who love him.

 

(John 15:24)  “If I had not done among them the works which none other man did, they had not had sin: but now have they both seen and hated both me and my Father.”

 

By his works, as well as by his words, his gospel, the Lord Jesus was evidently set forth before that generation as the Christ of God. Yet, they despised him. They are, therefore, without excuse. — Did you hear that? Has the Lord Jesus Christ been evidently set before you? Has he made it clear to you that he is the Christ of God, the Lamb of God, the Savior of the world? Are those facts indisputably, irrefutably clear to you? If they are, your unbelief is inexcusable!

 

We see man’s sin everywhere. It is in our newspapers and on television every day. — Murder. — Rape. — Incest. — Sodomy. — Adultery. — Pedophilia. — Terrorism. All these evils we look at with utter disgust, crying out for law and justice. But, if you want to see the evil of depraved humanity most fully, you will find it plainly set before you in verse 25.

 

(John 15:25)  “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.”

 

When we think about the sin of our fallen race, we ought always to think of it in terms of deicide. Here is the essence of sin. It is the murder of God! Man, because of his hatred for his Creator, nailed the Son of God to a cross and threw a hellish party as they watched him die! That is the master crime of hell-bent humanity, the pinnacle of man’s guilt. Sin out did itself when it slew the Lord of glory, who came on earth to die in the place of fallen men. Never does sin appear so exceedingly sinful as when we see it nailing the Lamb of God to the cursed tree, whom it hated without a cause!

 

The Comforter

 

The fifth thing our Savior speaks of is the Person and office work of God the Holy Spirit, our Comforter (v. 26).

 

(John 15:26)  “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:”

 

It is the work of God the Holy Spirit to comfort chosen, redeemed sinners, as he is sent regenerate, call, and keep God’s elect, sent from the Father, by and because of the accomplishments of God the Son, for the everlasting salvation and consolation of God’s elect. How does he comfort the redeemed? How does he comfort our souls? — “He shall testify of me.

 

God the Holy Spirit takes the things of Christ (wisdom, righteousness, justification, redemption, substitution, satisfaction, sanctification, adoption, eternal life) and shows them to chosen sinners, affirming them to us, and convincing us of them by his almighty, efficacious grace.

 

God the Holy Spirit never speaks of himself, glorifies himself, magnifies his gifts, or calls attention to himself. He always speaks of Christ, glorifies Christ, points us to Christ, and draws us to Christ (John 16:13-15).

 

Christ’s Martyrs

 

In verse 27, our Lord Jesus declares that all who are thus taught of the Spirit, being born again by his mighty operations of grace, all who follow Christ are his witnesses.

 

(John 15:27)  “And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.”

 

The word translated “bear witness” is the word from which we get our word “martyr”. Christ’s witnesses are men and women who, like the apostles, lay down their lives to and for him (Acts 1:8; Heb. 2:3-4; Acts 8:4; 2 Tim. 4:2). Faith in Christ is no more and no less than the surrender of our lives to him, the giving up of our lives to the Son of God.

 

You may think, “That’s just too much to expect.” I fully agree. If you have never seen him, that is just too much to expect. But I promise you this. — If ever he sends his Spirit to you, if ever God the Holy Spirit reveals Christ to you, you will more gladly lay down your life for him than the most loving husband lays down his life for the wife he cherishes.

 

Hated Without Cause

 

Now, if you will do so, I want you to go back to verse 25. I want to wrap this message up with this. Here, in verse 25, the Son of God says, “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.” There are several things here that deserve far more attention than I will give them today. But I do want to see them clearly

 

1.       First, let me remind you that there has never been a man so hated as the God-man, our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.

 

Our Lord Jesus here refers us to two verses in the Psalms (Ps. 35:19; 69:4), affirming plainly that the Psalms, though written by men from their own experiences, were written by divine inspiration as prophecies of our Savior. Let’s read those passages.

 

(Psa 35:19)  “Let not them that are mine enemies wrongfully rejoice over me: neither let them wink with the eye that hate me without a cause.”

 

(Psa 69:1-4)  “Save me, O God; for the waters are come in unto my soul. (2) I sink in deep mire, where there is no standing: I am come into deep waters, where the floods overflow me. (3) I am weary of my crying: my throat is dried: mine eyes fail while I wait for my God. (4) They that hate me without a cause are more than the hairs of mine head: they that would destroy me, being mine enemies wrongfully, are mighty: then I restored that which I took not away.”

 

From the time that he entered into this world, until the hour that he was hanged upon the tree, the Son of God was the constant, unceasing object of man’s cruel hatred.

 

·         Note that word “They.” It refers to all who refused to believe our Savior. Though they had no reason to do so, they hated him.

 

No human being was ever so lovely as our Savior. It would seem almost impossible not to love him. Yet, lovely, loving, and loveable as he was, — “Yea, he is altogether lovely!” — no creature ever endured such a relentless hatred.

 

As soon as he was born, Herod sought to kill him. And that was just the beginning. All the days of his life, he was “despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.”

 

Man’s hatred for the Savior displayed itself in different ways. Sometimes it was in overt deeds, as when they took him to the brow of the hill, and would have cast him down headlong, or when they took up stones again to stone him, because he said declared that he is God.

 

At other times the hatred showed itself in words of slander. — “He is a drunken man and a wine-bibber, a friend of publicans and sinners.” Sometimes it was manifest in looks of contempt, as when they looked suspiciously at him, because he ate with publicans and sinners, and sat down to table with unwashed hands. At other times the hatred was silent, entirely in their thoughts, as when they thought within themselves, “This man blasphemeth,” because he said to the woman taken in adultery, “Thy sins be forgiven thee.”

 

But the hatred was always there. Even when they tried to make him their king, it was not because they loved him, or even admired him. It was because they thought they could use him for their own advantage, nothing more. Remember, it was the same men who tried to make him their king who, just a little while later cried, “Crucify him, crucify him!

 

“They” who hated him were all men, in every rank and quarter of society. — The Rich and the Poor — The Men and the Women — The Old and the Young — The Pharisees and the Sadducees — The Governor and the Slave — The Learned and the Ignorant — The Powerful and the Powerless — The Prince and the Pauper!

 

Here was a man who walked among men, who loved them, who spoke to rich and poor as though they were (as indeed they are) on one level in his sight. Yet, all conspired against him in unified hatred. They admired his eloquence, and frequently would have fallen prostrate in worship before him, on account of the wondrous deeds he did. Yet, they all conspired together to put him to death, nailing him to the tree, wagging their heads, taunting him, jeering at him, mocking him, spitting in his face, jerking out his beard, beating him, and laughing at him as if they were being entertained by a comedian!

·         He saved others. Himself he cannot save.”

·         Come down from the cross and save thyself, thou that buildest the temple in three days!

·         Wait, let’s see if God will have him!

 

2.        Anyone who bothers to read history, let alone the Word of God, knows that the Lord Jesus was the object of man’s cruel hatred. But why did they hate him? They had no reason. Yet, three times we read, “They hated me without a cause.

 

There is nothing that can be, or ever has been, pointed to in the life of our Redeemer that was even objectionable, let alone a cause for hatred.

·         Our Lord Jesus was perfect in his character.

·         In his conduct, he was without flaw.

·         His doctrine was pure and good. — The law of God he upheld, obeyed, and exemplified is, in the opinion of all sane men, good. — The doctrine he taught pure doctrine.

·         All his works were works of mercy.

·         His kindness, sympathy, and tenderness was obvious to all.

Yet, though there was no cause for it, the Lord of Glory was hated of all men in this world, and still is.

 

3.        Third, the cause of man’s hatred for Christ was and is altogether in himself. Here is the cause of man’s hatred for Christ…

 

(Rom 8:7-8)  “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. (8) So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God.”

 

Men hated him without a cause, because they hate God who sent him, and everything about the Lord Jesus stirred man’s hatred for God against him. They hated him because of the gospel he preached. Their hatred of him was and is drawn forth and made manifest by the fact that…

 

·         He declared himself to be God, one with the Father and equal to the Father (John 10:25-33).

 

(John 10:25-33)  “Jesus answered them, I told you, and ye believed not: the works that I do in my Father’s name, they bear witness of me. (26) But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you. (27) My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: (28) And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. (29) My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand. (30) I and my Father are one. (31) Then the Jews took up stones again to stone him. (32) Jesus answered them, Many good works have I showed you from my Father; for which of those works do ye stone me? (33) The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God.”

 

·         He exposed the evil of their hearts and the hypocrisy of their religion (Mark 7:20-23; Luke 16:15; John 8:40).

 

(Mark 7:20-23)  “And he said, That which cometh out of the man, that defileth the man. (21) For from within, out of the heart of men, proceed evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, (22) Thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness: (23) All these evil things come from within, and defile the man.”

 

(Luke 16:15)  “And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God.”

 

(John 8:40)  “But now ye seek to kill me, a man that hath told you the truth, which I have heard of God: this did not Abraham.”

 

·         He openly proclaimed God’s sovereignty in the exercise of his mercy and grace (Luke 4:25-32).

 

(Luke 4:25-32)  “But I tell you of a truth, many widows were in Israel in the days of Elias, when the heaven was shut up three years and six months, when great famine was throughout all the land; (26) But unto none of them was Elias sent, save unto Sarepta, a city of Sidon, unto a woman that was a widow. (27) And many lepers were in Israel in the time of Eliseus the prophet; and none of them was cleansed, saving Naaman the Syrian. (28) And all they in the synagogue, when they heard these things, were filled with wrath, (29) And rose up, and thrust him out of the city, and led him unto the brow of the hill whereon their city was built, that they might cast him down headlong. (30) But he passing through the midst of them went his way, (31) And came down to Capernaum, a city of Galilee, and taught them on the sabbath days. (32) And they were astonished at his doctrine: for his word was with power.”

 

·         He preached redemption, righteousness, and salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in him alone (John 6:37-40, 44-45, 47-51, 53, 61-65).

 

(John 6:37-40)  “All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out. (38) For I came down from heaven, not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent me. (39) And this is the Father’s will which hath sent me, that of all which he hath given me I should lose nothing, but should raise it up again at the last day. (40) And this is the will of him that sent me, that every one which seeth the Son, and believeth on him, may have everlasting life: and I will raise him up at the last day.”

 

(John 6:44-45)  “No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day. (45) It is written in the prophets, And they shall be all taught of God. Every man therefore that hath heard, and hath learned of the Father, cometh unto me.”

 

(John 6:47-51)  “Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath everlasting life. (48) I am that bread of life. (49) Your fathers did eat manna in the wilderness, and are dead. (50) This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. (51) I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world.”

 

(John 6:53)  “Then Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except ye eat the flesh of the Son of man, and drink his blood, ye have no life in you.”

 

(John 6:61-65)  “When Jesus knew in himself that his disciples murmured at it, he said unto them, Doth this offend you? (62) What and if ye shall see the Son of man ascend up where he was before? (63) It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. (64) But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. (65) And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father.”

 

·         They hated him because he forgave sinners of their sins freely and fully, while refusing to accept and honor their works of righteousness. — (The Woman Taken in Adultery — The Gadarene).

 

For all these things they hated him. Yet, had they believed him, the gospel he preached would have saved them (Matt. 11:25-30).

 

(Mat 11:25-30)  “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes. (26) Even so, Father: for so it seemed good in thy sight. (27) All things are delivered unto me of my Father: and no man knoweth the Son, but the Father; neither knoweth any man the Father, save the Son, and he to whomsoever the Son will reveal him. (28) Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. (29) Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. (30) For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

 

4.        Fourth, I want you to see that all this was done that the Scriptures might be fulfilled, according to our God’s sovereign, eternal purpose of grace toward us.

 

(John 15:25)  “But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that is written in their law, They hated me without a cause.”

 

The hatred of men for Christ resulted in him being crucified upon the cursed tree as our Substitute (Acts 2:23, 36; Acts 4:27-28).

 

(Acts 2:23)  “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain:”

 

(Acts 2:36)  “Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

 

(Acts 4:27-28)  “For of a truth against thy holy child Jesus, whom thou hast anointed, both Herod, and Pontius Pilate, with the Gentiles, and the people of Israel, were gathered together, (28) For to do whatsoever thy hand and thy counsel determined before to be done.”

 

Yet, the guilt rests on men, for they did what they wanted to do. Nothing in him gave them cause for this hatred; the evil was in themselves. Be sure you understand this. — Wicked men are responsible for all the havoc they attempt to wreak upon the kingdom of God, and shall be judged accordingly; but let us never imagine that they have the power to accomplish their evil designs. — It is written, “Whoso hearkeneth unto me shall dwell safely, and shall be quiet from fear of evil…Jerusalem shall dwell safely” (Pro. 1:33; Jer. 23:6).

 

5.       Fifth, the Lord Jesus Christ, our God and Savior is hated by men without a cause, and that is exactly how he saves sinful men and women who hate him — “without a cause” — “freely”.

 

(Hosea 14:4)  “I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely: for mine anger is turned away from him.”

 

(Rom 3:19-24)  “Now we know that what things soever the law saith, it saith to them who are under the law: that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God. (20) Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. (21) But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; (22) Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: (23) For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; (24) Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.”

 

(Rom 8:32)  “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things?”

 

(Rev 21:16)  “And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.”

 

(Rev 22:17)  “And the Spirit and the bride say, Come. And let him that heareth say, Come. And let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely.”

 

6.       Now, I have a question for you. — Do you hate him, or do you love him?

 

·         Let be speak frankly to you, and tell you what the Word of God plainly declares. If you refuse to trust him, if you refuse to bow to him and believe him, your unbelief reveals your hatred for the Son of God (1 John 5:10).

 

(1 John 5:10)  “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.”

 

·         If you trust him, your faith in him causes you to love him. — “Unto you, therefore, which believe, he is precious.” — “Lord, thou knowest all things; thou knowest that I love thee.

 

“Do not I love Thee, O my Lord?

Behold my heart and see;

And turn each cursèd idol out,

That dares to rival Thee.

 

Do not I love Thee, O my Lord?

Then let me nothing love;

Dead be my heart to every joy,

When Jesus cannot move.

 

Is not Thy Name melodious still

To mine attentive ear?

Doth not each pulse with pleasure bound

My Savior’s voice to hear?

 

Hast Thou a lamb in all Thy flock

I would disdain to feed?

Hast Thou a foe, before whose face

I fear Thy cause to plead?

 

Would not mine ardent spirit vie

With angels round the throne,

To execute Thy sacred will,

And make Thy glory known?

 

Would not my heart pour forth its blood

In honor of Thy Name?

And challenge the cold hand of death

To damp th’immortal flame?

 

Thou know’st I love Thee, dearest Lord,

But O, I long to soar

Far from the sphere of mortal joys,

And learn to love Thee more!”

Philip Doddridge

 

(1 John 4:19)  “We love him, because he first loved us.”

 

Believing him, trusting him, loving him, I am confident that he loves me even as he is loved by his Father, with an everlasting love. And his love for me casts out all fear!

 

(2 Cor 5:20-21)  “Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God. (21) For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

 

Amen.