Stark Contrasts

In this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifest: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. For this is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another, not as Cain who was of the wicked one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous. Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren. He who does not love his brother abides in death. Whoever hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. By this we know love, because he laid down his life for us... My little children, let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth.

John sees only two kinds of people in the world—and your love reveals which one you are.

John Loves Contrasts

Perhaps you've noticed in our study of 1 John that the apostle really likes contrasts. This was a letter written 2,000 years ago to Christians living in Asia Minor—modern western Turkey. Throughout it John uses words like light and darkness, life and death, and in this passage the phrase children of God and children of the devil.

Preaching through a passage like this can be challenging, because there's a temptation to hold back a little. But it's hard to do when you look at what the text actually says. It's not my favorite thing to be confrontational, yet this text is confrontational. It presents some very stark contrasts, and according to John, inspired by the Holy Spirit, that's how he saw the world: there are two groups of people.

Why Stark Contrasts Unsettle Us

Some of you love that kind of clarity—you don't like the murky middle. You want dark and light, black and white, good and evil. So you love when Jesus says in Matthew 12, "He who is not with me is against me." But the rest of you are disquieted by such hard lines, because we live in a culture that has a hard time with that. When Jesus speaks of the narrow gate and the wide gate that leads to destruction, those words can be unsettling.

As I reread John's letter this week, it became clear that John himself was somewhat unsettled by these stark contrasts. It wasn't easy for him to write with such hard-line words. But he had resolved this many years before. By the time he writes this letter, John has been a follower of Jesus for about 60 years. And the reason he writes with such conviction is because the man who originally spoke like this predicted His own death and resurrection—and John saw Him die on a cross and rise from the dead. When you watch someone do that, you have a little conviction that His words are truth.

A Pluralistic Culture, Then and Now

We live in a gray, relativistically oriented culture. Because ours is a pluralistic society with all these competing worldviews, we all just want to coexist—you've seen the bumper stickers. That thought process is the ruling philosophy of our day, so we have a hard time with stark contrast.

But understand that the people John wrote to had the same difficulty. The Roman world was pluralistic: worship whatever you want, but you must also worship the Emperor. As long as you worshiped the political system of the day, you'd be just fine. Twenty-first century American culture is very similar—do what you want, as long as you worship the political situation of our nation. But Christ calls us to a different sort of allegiance, and that is a challenge to us.

Do Not Marvel If the World Hates You

That's why John's command in verse 13 is so important: "Do not marvel, my brethren, if the world hates you." The Christians 2,000 years ago were surprised that by merely becoming followers of Jesus they found themselves set outside the culture of the day, walking a counter-cultural line. I think it's true to say that Christianity, properly understood and practiced, will always be counter-cultural.

We haven't always experienced that in this nation. For most of American history the dominant influence on culture was a Judeo-Christian worldview. But back up 50 years—to the summer of '69—and consider the transformation you've witnessed over the last five decades. This culture is no longer predominantly a Judeo-Christian one. If you view the world through the lens of the Bible and begin to walk in line with it, you will increasingly feel at odds with this society. Futurists like Alvin Toffler called this destabilization "future shock"—and you've experienced it.

Two Distinct, Identifiable Groups

This is why John has to command us: do not be surprised if the world doesn't like you. We have a hard time with that because every one of us has a psychological desire to be liked. Maslow identified it—every human being has a need to love and be loved. As our culture shifts, we will increasingly feel like we are on the outside.

Consider the cultural debate over abortion. As an ardently pro-life person, I think pro-life legislation is good policy and in line with Scripture. But notice the protests—women silently wearing the long red robes and white bonnets of The Handmaid's Tale. The plotline of that show (which I read on Wikipedia—I didn't watch it) imagines a civil war won by religious fundamentalists who establish a totalitarian theocracy. A growing number of people in our country think you are that kind of person if you follow the Bible. That's not what Jesus taught, but that's how Christians are increasingly being viewed.

The fact that the church is at odds with the world only proves the worldview John presents here. There are two different groups, and the very identification upsets people because it sounds offensive. As John received it from the One who predicted His death and rose from the dead, there are only two classifications—not three, not one. The children of God and the children of the devil. And they are clearly identifiable. The word "manifest" in verse 10 means revealed, plainly seen.

Our Lineage Is Demonstrated in Our Conduct

Whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is he who does not love his brother. Point one: our descent—our lineage—is demonstrated in our conduct. Every parent knows this. Spend time with my children and you'll start to see things and say, "That's Miles." Sometimes for good, sometimes to my chagrin, you can see a person's nature by the way they act. Our core values are not merely expressed in our words; they are more clearly articulated by our lives.

Jesus said it this way in Matthew 7: "You will know them by their fruits. Every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit." It is not merely in the profession of our lips that our true nature is revealed; it is in our actions. We already saw this in 1 John 1: "If we say we have fellowship with God but walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth."

Jesus warned, "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' shall enter the kingdom of heaven, but he who does the will of My Father." Many will claim they prophesied and cast out demons in His name, and He will say, "I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness." And lawlessness, we learned earlier in 1 John, is sin. Entrance into the kingdom is based not on profession but on practice.

Children of God Practice Righteousness

So according to John, the children of God practice righteousness—not in order to become the children of God, but because they are the children of God. It's a heredity thing, a nature thing. My children don't behave like me so that I'll accept them as my kids; they are my kids, and therefore they do. You have a new nature from God, so you practice righteousness.

Conversely, the children of the devil do not practice righteousness and do not love—at least not as God commands. Are you saying only those who follow Jesus love? People who don't follow Jesus seem to love. Yes, but not according to the command of God. God sets the standard, because He's the one who judges. It's His world, and He gets to be the determiner.

Notice carefully what John says: not "whoever practices unrighteousness is not of God," but "whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God." That's a bigger difference than it seems. There are plenty of people who don't do evil things—good neighbors, co-workers, family members—who don't know God but do good things. And they're right; they're pretty good people. There are many moral atheists, and the fact that they practice morality is itself proof that there is a moral law their atheism cannot support. But you can abstain from unrighteousness, be a pretty good person, and still not be a child of God.

Love as the Evidence of Our Lineage

"This is the message that you heard from the beginning, that we should love one another." For a follower of Jesus, those words should instantly recall John 13: "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another." For Jesus' Jewish hearers, love wasn't new—it goes back to Leviticus and Deuteronomy. But Jesus added something: "as I have loved you." His standard is His own love, not the love of this world.

The greatest human love, Jesus says in John 15, is that a man would lay down his life for his friends. We celebrate that on the Fourth of July, Memorial Day, Veterans Day—those who laid down their lives for their countrymen. But God's love is greater. Romans 5:8: while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us—for the ungodly, for the enemies of God.

Point two: our lineage is most clearly evidenced in our love for others. John 13:35—"By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another." The child of God practices the righteousness of love. That sounds poetic, but what does it look like practically? That's what the rest of 1 John unpacks for us. "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God, and everyone who loves is born of God" (1 John 4:7-8).

Not as Cain

To illustrate the difference, John jumps back to one of the oldest stories in history. In Genesis 4, Adam and Eve, having been expelled from the Garden, bear Cain, a farmer, and Abel, a shepherd. Both bring an offering, because their parents taught them the importance of sacrifice. Cain brings fruit of the ground; Abel brings the firstborn of his flock. "The Lord respected Abel and his offering, but He did not respect Cain and his offering."

Clearly Cain's offering was not what God desired—not a righteous sacrifice—identifying him as a child of the devil, while Abel's right sacrifice identified his nature as a child of God. Cain became angry, his countenance fell, and despite God's warning that "sin lies at the door," he rose up and killed his brother. The word John uses in 1 John 3 means to slay or slaughter by cutting the throat—a sacrificial term. Jealous of his brother's acceptance, Cain spits on Abel's sacrifice and offers a wicked one in murdering him.

Why does Cain murder Abel? "Because his works were evil and his brother's righteous." One was a child of the devil, evidenced by unrighteousness; one was a child of God, evidenced by righteousness. And John's application follows: do not marvel if the world hates you. Just as Cain hated Abel for his righteousness and tried to stamp it out, so the children of the devil hate the children of God.

The Child of God Will Be Despised

Point three: the child of God will be despised by the children of the devil, and this should not surprise us. The Son of God said in John 15:18, "If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you. Because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, therefore the world hates you."

Knowing this, we should stop trying to be liked by those who hate God. But what I see in American Christianity is the temptation to lessen the challenging realities of the faith so people will like us. They will not like you—because you are a child of God walking in righteousness, in conflict with a world under the sway of the wicked one.

That the world hates us, however, does not license us to hate them back. "Eye for an eye, tooth for a tooth" is the mindset of Cain, whose descendant Lamech boasted of killing for being struck. Jesus said, "You have heard that it was said, 'Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.' But I say to you, love your enemies, bless those who curse you, do good to those who hate you, and pray for those who persecute you—that you may be sons of your Father in heaven." We walk as our Father walked, manifesting His nature in a fallen world.

The Transformation of New Birth

"We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love the brethren." The born-again child of God experiences an astounding transformation at conversion. By the supernatural work of God, you become one who loves God, loves His family the church, and even begins to love the unlovely who hate us. This is the perfection of God's love in us: "If we love one another, God abides in us, and His love has been perfected in us" (1 John 4:12).

If love has begun to be manifested in you, it is evidence that the Spirit of God resides in you. Galatians 5:22—"The fruit of the Spirit is love," and from that love flows joy, peace, patience, kindness, gentleness, self-control. That you would be patient, self-controlled, kind, and gentle is not of this world; it's of God.

Hatred in the Heart Is Murder

"Whoever hates his brother is a murderer." Point four: hatred in the heart is as murder before God. That might seem overblown, but it's exactly what Jesus taught in Matthew 5: "You have heard, 'You shall not murder.' But I say to you that whoever is angry with his brother without cause shall be in danger of judgment... and whoever says 'You fool' shall be in danger of hellfire."

"No murderer has eternal life abiding in him." If the eternal life of God is in you, you will begin to love God, love others, and love this world with the love of Christ. "If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, behold, all things have become new." But Paul warns in Galatians 5 that the works of the flesh include hatred, jealousy, wrath, envy, murder—and "those who practice such things will not inherit the kingdom of God."

How a Child of the Devil Becomes a Child of God

So we come to the all-important question: how do we become the children of God? Here I must confront a teaching that I believe is anti-God, anti-grace, and anti-mercy—what Arminius called heresy, and I agree. It is the view that God predestined some to be His children and others to be children of wrath apart from anything they do, destining them to hell because He ordained it so. That is not in line with the nature of God. That god is closer to the Allah of Islam than to the God of the Bible. It is a false teaching, and unfortunately a growing one.

So how do we become children of God? Not by works of righteousness we have done, but according to His grace. "Behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed on us, that we should be called children of God" (1 John 3:1). "For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life." John 1:12—"As many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, to those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood, nor of the will of man, but of God."

Christ's Sacrificial Love

We become aware of this through the preaching of the gospel—that those dead in trespasses and sins can be made children of God, according to His grace, as we trust in Him. "By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us." Point five: Christ's love led Him to sacrifice Himself to make us His children. Because God loved us, He laid down His life so that we could be called His children.

These stark contrasts are heavy, and I don't want to diminish their weight. There are children of God and there are children of the devil. But God's desire is to translate us from death to life through the work of Jesus on the cross and our trust in Him for salvation. This is the good news we carry to a world in desperate need of it. Would to God that He give us a passion to share it—even though in sharing it you set yourself further outside the cultural norms.

Closing Prayer

God, thank You for Your word that is living and powerful and sharp. It cuts deep and reveals our weaknesses, fears, and anxieties, so that You can purge them and replace them with Your power by Your Spirit. You promised, Jesus, that we would receive power as Your Holy Spirit came upon us, so that we could be witnesses of You in our fallen world. So Lord, if we have put our trust in You, You have made us Your people and filled us with Your Spirit. Give us power and boldness to share the good news of the gospel.

And if anyone here today realizes they do not know the Lord, the Scriptures say that to as many as trusted in Him, He gave the right to be called the children of God. If you would like to trust in Christ today and become a child of God, pray this with me: Dear Jesus, I know that I have sinned against You. I pray that You would come into my life, that You would forgive me of my sin, that You would help me to follow You by faith and trust You as my Lord. In Jesus' name, amen.