1 John 3:16-18

LIVE A LIFE OF LOVE

EXTEND YOUR LOVE [V16]

 16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus

Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to
lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.
 Romans 5:8 “But God proves his own love for
us in that while we were still sinners, Christ
died for us.”
EXTEND YOUR LOVE [V16]

 Matthew 20:26-28 : 26 Not so with you.

Instead, whoever wants to become great
among you must be your servant, 27 and
whoever wants to be first must be your slave—
28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be
served, but to serve, and to give his life as a
ransom for many.”
EXTEND YOUR LOVE [V16]

 Billy Graham said, “The greatest act of humility

in the history of the universe was when Jesus
Christ stooped to die on the cross of Calvary.”
 Love is not just service - it is also sacrifice


LOVE IS COSTLY [V17]

 17 If anyone has material possessions and

sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity
on them, how can the love of God be in that
person?
 John urges the brethren to have compassion
towards those in need, for it shows that the
Love of God is in them.
LOVE IS COSTLY [V17]
 ”Here is a test of this love; if we do not divide
our bread with the hungry, we certainly would
not lay down our life for him. Whatever love we
may pretend to mankind, if we are not
charitable and benevolent, we give the lie to
our profession.”
 To show our love to others, let us allow God to
use our talents, our time, our treasure to help
those in need.
SHOW YOUR LOVE [V18]

 John summarizes what it means to love like

Jesus loved in verse 18: “Dear children, let us
not love with words or tongue but with actions
and in truth.”
 Genuine love is never just talk, it is an action.
Without Jesus actually dying on the cross, John
3:16 is nothing but words! People who talk and
don’t do the walk, really do not love.
SHOW YOUR LOVE [V18]

 C. S. Lewis said, “The more often we feel

without acting, the less we will be able ever to
act, and, in the long run, the less we will be
able to feel.”
 As followers of Christ, our warm words must be
accompanied by warm deeds, real love is
demonstrated in actions.
LIVE A LIFE OF LOVE

 “What’s one thing I can do today to

demonstrate my love for you.”
 Am I meeting other people's needs? Am I lifting
my brother's burdens? Am I loving like Jesus? If
you want to be all that God has saved you to be,
then you must learn to love like He does.