3
Love in Place of Fear
Question 1:
What gives you a strong sense of contentment?
THE POINT: There is no room for fear when God’s love is in us.
THE BIBLE MEETS LIFE
One of my favorite holidays is Thanksgiving. Yes, I use the time to reflect on all God’s blessings, but I love Thanksgiving for a second reason: the food! Thanksgiving Day is the day I set aside thoughts of carbs and calories. I start the day off with the most glorious of sausage balls; then I make my way to lunch with all the fixings. Finally, I finish the day off with a slightly smaller dinner plate. The average person consumes over three thousand calories on Thanksgiving Day, and I believe it!
If a well-meaning relative asked me to go to Taco Bell® that evening, I’d surely decline. The reason is simple—and obvious—I’m full. I don’t have room for anything else.
This truth is not just true for culinary journeys; it is true when it comes to our relationship with God. When we are full of the truth and love of God, there is no room for fear. We’ll see this in 1 John. When we live full of the love of God, we can rest in who He is and walk confidently—with no fear.
WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY?
1 John 3:13-18
13 Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him. 16 This is how we have come to know love: He laid down his life for us. We should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him—how does God’s love reside in him? 18 Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in action and in truth.
The apostle John wrote this short letter probably from the city of Ephesus. In it, he focused on our intimacy and closeness to Jesus. Love was a central truth in John’s life and teaching, and in the Gospel he wrote, he even referred to himself as “the one Jesus loved” (John 13:23). This was no statement of pride, but it reflects where his security was found. Security is found in the one who loves you, and the One that loved John was the King of the universe.
In this passage, John painted a clear picture of what it looks like when we live in the love of Jesus and show it to others. Earlier in verse 12, he reminded us of the command he had heard from Jesus: Love one another. (See John 13:34-35.) When we love like Jesus, we will also experience the world’s hatred just as Jesus did. The unconditional love we’re called to display runs in direct opposition to the ways of the world.
Question 2:
How have you personally experienced God’s love working through others?
Some might wonder why people would be opposed to displays of love, especially an unconditional love that loves the individual no matter what. The light of such love exposes the darkness of the world that does not love. Like cockroaches that scatter when the light is turned on, living as “children of light” (Eph. 5:8) exposes the sin of others. John had already told his readers: “This is how God’s children and the devil’s children become obvious. Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother or sister” (1 John 3:10). When we love like Jesus, we will be opposed.
The world’s negative reaction to our love and life in Christ should not deter us in showing love. If this love resides in our hearts, not only will we not hesitate in expressing love “in action and in truth,” but we will even “lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters.” The love of Christ leads us to go and do likewise. Such selfless and sacrificial love will cause some tension and friction with the world, but we are still called to love.
1 John 4:14-16
14 And we have seen and we testify that the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior. 15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God—God remains in him and he in God. 16 And we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him.
John could personally attest to the truth that “the Father has sent his Son as the world’s Savior” (v. 14). But it’s not just the eyewitnesses who can say that. As Jesus told Thomas, “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet believe” (John 20:29b). By faith we too can confess that Jesus is the Son of God. It is that confession that brings us into a relationship with Him. John wrote that, for those who confess Christ, “God remains in him and he in God” (v. 15).
As God takes up residence in our lives, so does His love. They are inseparable. That means if we don’t express Christ-like love, it’s obvious His love does not reside in us. It’s a harsh truth that John repeated throughout this letter: “We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death” (1 John 3:14).
One of my favorite smells in the world is the smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. It is a smell that invites me to seek out and find the source. Because the aroma has enticed me, I will not be satisfied until I find the source and taste of its goodness. As followers of Jesus, we give off the aroma of Jesus and the love of the Father. Wherever we go and whatever we do, there should be the aroma of Jesus coming off our lives. Why? Because God’s love is within us and remains in us. We have the very Spirit of God dwelling in us so that we give off the aroma of His love and His life. The love of God overflows into the lives of those around us.
Let me remind you of what we read earlier in 1 John 3:13: the world hates us. For me, the aroma of Christ in the life of a believer is sweeter than the aroma of a chocolate chip cookie! Unfortunately, not everyone feels that way. As Paul wrote, “For to God we are the fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing. To some we are an aroma of death leading to death, but to others, an aroma of life leading to life” (2 Cor. 2:15-16).
My family has a creed we live by; it is how we define who we are as a family. There are five components to it: (1) We love God; (2) We love others; (3) We share our stuff; (4) We do our best; and (5) We are brave. We use this as a measuring stick to see how well we are doing as a family. The Christian life also has a measuring stick: the love of God. The love of God is the foundation on which we build our lives as followers of Jesus.
I hope you hear the security that comes with God’s love in our lives. His love flowing out of our lives is evidence that we are in Christ. We can rest with assurance in His love.
Question 3:
How have you come to know and believe the love that God has for you?
1 John 4:17-18
17 In this, love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we in this world. 18 There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear, because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love.
John began verse 17 with “in this” referring to the fact that “the one who remains in love remains in God, and God remains in him” (1 John 4:16). When we are secure in that relationship with God, “love is made complete with us so that we may have confidence in the day of judgment.” Nothing more can be added to the love of God in us; He loves us fully and His love is fully accomplished and completed in our hearts. And because God’s love is in us, we have absolutely nothing to fear on the day of judgment. His love fills our lives so that there is no room for fear. In fact, fear and love are mutually exclusive.
Question 4:
How does God’s love help us overcome fear?
If we don’t have a relationship with God based on faith in Christ, we have every right to be afraid. We will all one day stand before God. The book of life will be opened and anyone whose name is not recorded in the book of life will face condemnation, punishment, and death (Rev. 20:11-15). But when we trust in Christ, condemnation and punishment are removed because Christ took our punishment and death upon Himself. God sees us through the finished work of Christ, and He sees us as new creatures, fully justified and made new through Christ. Nothing can alter the completed work of Christ, and therefore, His followers have no need to fear judgment!
This takes us back to the heart of our previous Bible study in Romans 8. In that passage, we saw how nothing can separate us from God because of the work of Christ. The love that brought us into salvation and security in Him is the same love that now indwells His followers and dispels fear.
We can walk confidently because we have experienced the love of Christ. We can love confidently because of Christ who dwells in us. We can love fully and completely because that is how Christ has loved us. When all is said and done, let it be said of us that we have loved as Jesus loved.
Question 5:
Whom do you know who comes closest to living a loving and fearless Christian life?
LIVING IN FEAR OR LOVE?
Read 1 John 4:18, and consider if you are believing the following ideas.
Circle any that are a struggle for you.
Then offer a prayer to God, asking Him for help in dispelling any lies.
I fear what others are saying about me behind my back.
I fear others wouldn’t like me if they really knew me.
I fear God’s disapproval for not measuring up.
I fear for my future.
I fear God’s punishment for things I’ve done.
I fear for my safety.
My Prayer:
“For he himself has said, I will never leave you or abandon you. Therefore, we may boldly say, The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me!”
HEBREWS 13:5B-6
LIVE IT OUT
There is no room for fear when God’s love is in us. What does it look like to rest in God’s love, free of fear and loving as Jesus loves? Choose one of the following applications:
Write. Make a list of all the ways you know you are loved by Christ. Turn that list into a prayer, thanking God for His incredible love.
Serve. Look for a tangible way to show love to somebody in your life. Identify a need or way you can help the individual. This could be anything from providing a meal to leaving the person a note of encouragement.
Love. Identify someone you find hard to love. Do something intentionally that reflects how Christ has loved you. It is genuinely Christlike to love an enemy or someone who is annoying or gets on your nerves. Afterward, write down what you learned and what it revealed to you about Christ. Use this example as a testimony for others.
Just as we have no room for anything else on Thanksgiving day, we can be full to satisfaction with the love of Christ. In finding our satisfaction in Christ, there is certainly no room left for fear. By the grace of God, we are secure in Him.
Teacher's Notes:
1st Lesson
The Fear of God
gives us the foundation to face all other
fears.
“The remarkable thing about God is that when
you fear God, you fear nothing else, whereas if you do not fear God, you fear
everything else.”
Oswald Chambers
2nd Lesson
Security in Place of Fear
The Eternal Security Chain
Justified – Sanctified – Glorified
Faith in Jesus is the only “on ramp”
to this eternal security chain, and there are no “off ramps.”
God finishes what He starts. Philippians 1:6 being confident of this, that he
who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ
Jesus. Since the entire chain is up to God, there is nothing that can break it.
Because of Christ, nothing will keep us from God and His work in our lives.
Today's Lesson
Love in Place of Fear
When we are full of the truth and love of God,
there is no room for fear.
The primary fear John was concerned about was a
spiritual issue — the fear associated with the Lord’s coming again in judgment.
Video: What gives you a strong sense of contentment?
John is writing this morning to believers, and
he emphasizes that our behavior should match our profession.
Love is the major theme in First John: love
from God, love for God, love for others. John gives us a definition of this
kind of love, not a dictionary definition, but a practical definition.
Love is something you can see when love
becomes something that you do.
Love is a behavior, it’s something that we do.
1 John 3:13-18
Do not be surprised, brothers and sisters, if
the world hates you. We know that we have passed from death to life because we
love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love remains in death.
Everyone who hates his brother or sister is a murderer, and you know that no
murderer has eternal life residing in him. This is how we have come to know
love: He laid down his life for us. We
should also lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has this world’s goods and sees a
fellow believer in need but withholds compassion from him — how does God’s love
reside in him? Little children, let us not love in word or speech, but in
action and in truth.
11-13
Cain killed his brother, Abel, when God
accepted Abel’s offering and not his (Gen. 4:1-16). Abel’s offering showed that
Cain was not giving his best to God, and Cain’s jealous anger drove him to
murder. People who are morally upright expose and shame
those who aren’t. If we live for God, the world will often hate us, because we
make them painfully aware of their immoral way of living.
15
John echoes Jesus’ teaching that whoever hates
another person is a murderer at heart (Matt. 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.
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.
17-18
These verses give us an example of how to lay
down our lives for others – to help those in need. This is strikingly similar
to James’ teaching in James 2:14-17. How clearly do your actions say you really
love others? Are you as generous as you should be with your money, possessions,
and time?
John focused on our intimacy and closeness to
Jesus. Love was a central truth in John’s life and teaching, and in the Gospel,
he wrote, he even referred to himself as “the one Jesus loved” (John 13:23).
This was no statement of pride, but it reflects where his security was found.
Security is found in the one who loves you, and
the One that loved John was the King of the universe.
Questions
What are some reasons the world hates
believers?
When we love like Jesus, we will also experience
the world’s hatred just as Jesus did. The
unconditional love we’re called to display runs in direct opposition to the
ways of the world. Some might wonder why people would be opposed to displays of
love, especially an unconditional love that loves the individual no matter
what. The light of such love exposes the darkness of the world that does not
love. Like cockroaches that scatter when the light is turned on, living as
“children of light” (Eph. 5:8) exposes the sin of others. When we love like
Jesus, we will be opposed.
What is one piece of evidence that a person has
eternal life?
Life in Christ results in love for others.
Love for others signifies life in Christ.
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.
How do we know what God’s love is like?
The supreme demonstration of the kind of love
John was referring to is found in God’s love. He clarified that the love spoken
of here is God’s love. He laid down his life for us.
Love (agape) is more than a word of God or from
God.
It is an act of God.
What is the connection between God’s love for
us and our love for others?
God showed us His love by giving Jesus to die
for our sins. Knowing His love for us ought to motivate us to love others with
the same kind of sacrificial love.
We may not die for others, but we still can act
compassionately toward them.
God’s love cannot “reside” (CSB), cannot
possibly dwell in a person who is so insensitive to others as to slam the doors
of compassion in the face of one in need.
God’s love dwells within us.
1 John 4:14-16
And we have seen and we testify that the Father
has sent his Son as the world’s Savior. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son
of God — God remains in him and he in God. And we have come to know and to
believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and the one who remains in
love remains in God, and God remains in him.
13
When we become Christians, we receive the Holy
Spirit. God’s presence in our lives is proof that we really belong to Him. He
also gives us the power to love. Rely on that power as you reach out to others.
As you do so, you will gain confidence.
As God takes up residence in our lives, so does
His love. They are inseparable. That means if we don’t express Christ-like
love, it’s obvious His love does not reside in us. It’s a harsh truth that John
repeated throughout this letter: “We know that we have passed from death to
life because we love our brothers and sisters. The one who does not love
remains in death” (1 John 3:14).
One of my favorite smells in the world is the
smell of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies. It is a smell that invites me to
seek out and find the source. Because the aroma has enticed me, I will not be
satisfied until I find the source and taste of its goodness. As followers of
Jesus, we give off the aroma of Jesus and the love of the Father. Wherever we
go and whatever we do, there should be the aroma of Jesus coming off our lives.
Why? Because God’s love is within us and remains in us. We have the very Spirit
of God dwelling in us so that we give off the aroma of His love and His life.
The love of God overflows into the lives of those around us.
My family has a creed we live by; it is how we
define who we are as a family. There are five components to it: (1) We love
God; (2) We love others; (3) We share our stuff; (4) We do our best; and (5) We
are brave. We use this as a measuring stick to see how well we are doing as a
family. The Christian life also has a measuring stick: the love of God. The
love of God is the foundation on which we build our lives as followers of
Jesus.
I hope you hear the security that comes with
God’s love in our lives. His love flowing out of our lives is evidence that we
are in Christ. We can rest with assurance in His love.
Questions
For whom did Jesus provide salvation?
The world
On what does a relationship with God depend?
Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God
How is that relationship described? What do
those who confess Jesus as the Son of God come to know and rely on?
An indwelling relationship with God. God abides
in us.
Because of God’s love we may be inextricably
bound to Him.
God’s love gives us confidence and dispels
fear.
1 John 4:17-18
In this, love is made complete with us so that
we may have confidence in the day of judgment, because as he is, so also are we
in this world. There is no fear in love; instead, perfect love drives out fear,
because fear involves punishment. So the one who fears is not complete in love.
17
The day of judgment is that time when all people
will appear before Christ and be held accountable for their actions. With God living in us through Christ, we have no
reason to fear this day, because we have been saved from punishment. Instead, we can look forward to the day of
judgment, because it will mean the end of sin and the beginning of a
face-to-face relationship with Jesus Christ.
18
If we ever are afraid of the future, eternity,
or God’s judgment, we can remind ourselves of God’s love. We know that He love
us perfectly (Rom. 8:38-39). We can resolve our fears first by focusing on His
immeasurable love for us, and then by allowing Him to love others through us.
His love will quiet your fears and give you confidence.
Questions
Why is there no room for fear when we’re filled
with God’s love?
If we ever are afraid of the future, eternity,
or God’s judgment, we can remind ourselves of God’s love. We know that He love
us perfectly (Rom. 8:38-39). We can resolve our fears first by focusing on His
immeasurable love for us, and then by allowing Him to love others through us.
His love will quiet your fears and give you confidence.
How does loving others help give us confidence
for the day of judgment?
Living in God’s love gives us a sense of
confidence concerning the coming of the Lord. We look forward to it; we are not
afraid of it.
How does God’s love dispel fear in our lives?
When we trust in Christ, condemnation and
punishment are removed because Christ took our punishment and death upon
Himself.
God sees us through the finished work of
Christ, and He sees us as new creatures, fully justified and made new through
Christ. Nothing can alter the completed work of Christ, and therefore, His
followers have no need to fear judgment!
Conclusion
Certain things generate fear in the sense of
caution — and they should. I should be terrorized at standing on a railroad
track with a massive train bearing down on me. The primary fear John was
concerned about was a spiritual issue — the
fear associated with the Lord’s coming again in judgment. There is no room — or need — of such fear
when God’s love has been completed in us.
The return of the Lord Jesus will be a time of
judgment for unbelievers, but a time of joy for believers.
