Love Is Not A Workout

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January 28, 2007 - The lesson for this week is 1 Corinthians 12:31b-13:2 1. This study guide is for 1 John 3:11-24 which is a passage that speaks of love.

Open It

  1. Who is someone (in history or alive today) whose life is an example of what it means to love?

  2. Who is someone (in history or alive today) whose life is an example of what it means to hate?

Explore It

  1. What message had the readers of 1 John heard from the beginning? (3:11)

  2. Why did Cain murder his brother? (3:12)

  3. About what should believers not be surprised? (3:13)

  4. How can a person know that he or she has passed from death to life? (3:14)

  5. What is the result of hating one's brother? (3:15)

  6. How do we know what love is? (3:16)

  7. What question did the author ask his readers? (3:17)

  8. How should Christians love? (3:18)

  9. What is God greater than? (3:20)

  10. What is the result of not being condemned by one's heart? (3:21-22)

  11. What is God's command? (3:23)

  12. What is the result of obeying God's command? (3:24)

  13. How do believers know that God lives in them? (3:24)

Get It

  1. How does the world hate believers today?

  2. When have you experienced the hatred of the world?

  3. What does it mean to love one's brother?

  4. When do you struggle with loving other Christians?

  5. How do you demonstrate your love for fellow believers?

  6. Why do we struggle with loving other Christians with our material possessions?

  7. Why is it easier to love with words rather than actions?

  8. In what way does love result in life, and hate result in death?

Apply It

  1. For what fellow Christian whom you have difficulty loving will you do something kind this week?

  2. How can you use your material possessions to love another believer this week?

  3. What specific step will you take this week to put your love for another Christian into action?

Notes

1 John 3:15: John echoes Jesus' teaching that whoever hates another person is a murderer at heart (Matthew 5:21-22). Christianity is a religion of the heart; outward compliance alone is not enough. Bitterness against someone who has wronged you is an evil cancer within you and will eventually destroy you. Don't let a "bitter root" (Hebrews 12:15) grow in you or your church.

1 John 3:16: Real love is an action, not a feeling. It produces selfless, sacrificial giving. The greatest act of love is giving oneself for others. How can we lay down our lives? By serving others with no thought of receiving anything in return. Sometimes it is easier to say we'll die for others than to truly live for them-this involves putting others' desires first. Jesus taught this same principle of love in John 15:13.

1 John 3:19-20: Many are afraid that they don't love others as they should. They feel guilty because they think they are not doing enough to show proper love to Christ. Their consciences bother them. John has these people in mind in this letter. How do we escape the gnawing accusations of our consciences? Not by ignoring them or rationalizing our behavior, but by setting our hearts on God's love. When we feel guilty, we should remind ourselves that God knows our motives as well as our actions. His voice of assurance is stronger than the accusing voice of our conscience. If we are in Christ, he will not condemn us (Romans 8:1; Hebrews 9:14-15). So if you are living for the Lord but feeling that you are not good enough, remind yourself that God is greater than your conscience.

1 John 3:23: In the Bible, a person's name stands for his or her character. It represents who he or she really is. We are to believe not only in Jesus' words, but also in his very person as the Son of God. Moreover, to believe "in the name" means to pattern your life after Christ's, to become more like him by uniting yourself with him. And if we are living like Christ, we will "love one another."

1 John 3:24: The mutual relationship, living in Christ as he lives in us, shows itself in Christians who keep these three essential commands: (1) believe in Christ, (2) love the brothers and sisters, and (3) live morally upright lives. The Spirit's presence is not only spiritual and mystical, but it is also practical. Our conduct verifies his presence.

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