1 John 4:17-18 - Homiletics

Love's boldness in the day of judgment.

Connecting link: The apostle had been speaking of God's love being perfected in us. He now glances forward to the outlook of believers, as bounded by the παρουσία and the κρίσις , and in so doing he shows that, as love attains its perfection, all dread which might otherwise attend on the prospect is removed; so that the believer may have παῤῥησία even on the judgment-day. As, however, in these verses there is some room for differences of interpretation, we must first state what appears to us to be the meaning of some of its clauses, since the entire structure of this homily depends thereon.

1 . "Herein is the love made perfect with us." "The love," i.e., God's love which ( 1 John 4:12 ) is perfecting itself in the soul that loves. "With us." With whom? "With us, as believers, one towards another?" or "with believers and God?" We adopt the latter view—God's own love consummating itself in working through believers; and their love consummating itself also in laying hold of God's. "It is difficult not to feel that there is some subtle reference to the idea of God with us." £ "Love is not simply perfected in man by an act of Divine power, but in fulfilling this issue God works with man" (Westcott).

2 . "Because as he is, so are we in this world." In what sense are believers in the world as Christ is? or rather, what is the sense in which it is so intended here by the apostle? Is it not this—we are looking forward to the day of judgment as the consummation of our hope, and the Redeemer is working in the world with a view to the day of judgment as the consummation of his mediatorial work? In this view we are confirmed by a remark of Canon Westcott: "'This world' as distinguished from 'the world' emphasizes the idea of transitoriness." Just so, Christ, in his redeeming work, and we in our believing hope, are working with the same goal in view—"the day of judgment." This world is but a passing phase of things.

3 . "Fear hath punishment [Authorized Version, 'torment']." There is nothing here to suggest that "fear" has any disciplinary effect in inducing love. The apostle views it simply as the ever-attendant penalty of unlovingness. He whose nature is out of harmony with God's must dread him everywhere and always. Spirits in league with evil will seek rest in vain. They will tremble. But in the perfecting of love all this is done away.

I. THE PRESENT PERIOD IS BUT A TRANSITION ONE . This is the day in which our Lord Jesus is carrying on his saving work in the world, and his educating process in the Church; and all with a view to "the great day." Believers, too, are only in the preliminary period of their training, and hence they too believe and hope and love with a view to "the great day." As their Lord is, so are they in this passing world, looking to and preparing for what lies above and beyond it. Hence such passages as these: Matthew 25:1-46 .; Mark 13:35-37 ; Luke 13:24 , Luke 13:25 ; Luke 18:8 ; Luke 21:36 ; John 14:3 ; Acts 2:20 , Acts 2:21 ; Romans 14:9-12 ; 1 Corinthians 4:5 ; 2 Corinthians 5:10 ; Philippians 1:6 , Philippians 1:10 ; Colossians 1:28 ; 1 Thessalonians 5:23 ; 2 Timothy 1:12 .

II. THE DAY TO WHICH WE ARE LOOKING FORWARD IS " THE DAY OF JUDGMENT ." It is the day of the Lord, when he shall be manifested. It may be as lengthened a period as the present one, which is "the day of salvation." As the day of judgment, it will close the probation of the race; while for those who are looking for our Lord it will bring in the salvation which is ready to be revealed at the last time. In the word "judgment," however, much more is included than at first sight appears. "Judgment" is indeed a rectification, an adjustment; but then what that may mean in detail depends on the person or thing to be judged. If, e.g., any one is unlawfully bound, judgment would be liberation. If any one be deprived of a right, his judgment would mean restoration. If unjustly accused, vindication. If misunderstood or misinterpreted, manifestation. If good and evil are mixed up together, judgment would be separation; and as the result, for the bad condemnation, and for the righteous glorification. Judgment is, in fact, the restitution of all things, not necessarily in the sense attributed to that phrase by advocates of universal restoration, but in a far higher sense, even that of rendering to every man according as his work shall be (cf. Acts 17:31 ).

III. IF THAT DAY BE DREADED ON OUR PART , IT IS EVIDENT THERE IS SOME DEFICIENCY IN OUR LOVE . That aught so solemn as the final destinies of a race can be contemplated without a feeling of awe—an awe that is sometimes overwhelming—is not desirable, even were it possible. Reverence, indeed, forbids it otherwise. But this holy, reverent awe must not be confounded with the servile dread referred to in the text: εὐλαβεία ( Hebrews 12:28 ) is very different from φόβος . The fear which is inconsistent with perfect love is the fear of the slave dreading the lash, or the culprit dreading the verdict. But if the love of God is within us, sweetly subduing us with its tenderness, and if through that love sin is pardoned and destroyed, why, there is no lash to dread, there is no adverse verdict to fear ( John 5:24 , Revised Version); for in such a case, to see the Judge upon the throne will be to look upon the face of an infinite Vindicator and Friend, in whose love we have lived here, and the enjoyment of whose love is the highest heaven for ever! And so far as the judgment will bear on others, the man of love will be more than content with the decisions of the Son of God and Son of man, and will desire nothing more than that the entire race should be dealt with by Christ as he sees fit. Evidently, if this be not our state of mind, there must be deficiency in love in exactly the same degree as there is any restless fear.

IV. CONSEQUENTLY , OUR GREAT CONCERN SHOULD BE TO BE PERFECTED IN LOVE . We may take this in either or both of two ways.

1 . Let it be our concern that God's own love may be so richly communicated to us as to transform us to his likeness.

2 . Let it be our concern to have so clear an apprehension and knowledge of God, that we shall see in him and in all his attributes only pure and perfect love. In the former case there can be nothing to dread for ourselves. In the latter case we shall dread nothing in him. φόβος has no door of entrance whatever.

V. WHEN PERFECTED IN LOVE WE SHALL HAVE παῤῥησία IN THE DAY OF JUDGMENT . "Confidence," "boldness," "freedom of speech" (cf. 1 John 2:1-29 :38; 1 John 3:21 , Greek). Dread seals the lips. Love opens them. The "salvation" which will serve then is not an artificial plucking out of a burning ruin, irrespectively of character; it is being made perfect by Divine grace, even as our Father in heaven is perfect.

VI. CONSEQUENTLY , as the apostle of love shows us here, EACH OF US MUST FACE THE SOLEMN QUESTION —What will the judgment-day bring to me—"boldness" or "punishment"? One or the other must be. £ Which? There may be an attempt to lessen the weight of these thoughts by objections or pleas; e.g., it may be said:

1 . The "punishment" is corrective. We suggest three replies.

2 . There is no knowing when the judgment may come (cf. Ezekiel 12:27 ). But men forget that the judgment is but the manifestation of that which is going on now and ever. A spirit out of harmony with God must be ill at ease always and everywhere. Fear hath torment, now; and can never be separated from it, any more than a man can flee from his own shadow ( Job 15:21-35 ).

1 John 4:19 - Creed and life: the relation between them.

Connecting link: The apostle had shown that only as love is perfected in us can we be free from the fear which has torment, and so have boldness in the day of judgment. The verse before us declares that, as matter of fact, this love is being inwrought, and the sole cause thereof is that God first loved. "We love, because he first loved us." The verse is one of peculiar beauty and value. "It is the sanctuary of my soul," said an aged Christian to the writer, referring to this text. And well it may be. We propose its homiletic exposition here, as a verse which sets forth with striking, yea, almost startling, clearness the relation between creed and life. Often have we been pained by the statement, "Religion is not a creed, but a life." There is enough truth in those words to make them attractive, and enough error to make them deceptive. Let us rather say, "Religion is not only a creed, but also a life," and then we shall be nearer the truth. Following the words of our text, observe—

I. IN RELIGION THERE , IS A CREED . "He first loved us." Here, in these four short words, is the first creed of the Christian Church—a creed which it had before even the New Testament existed; and through all the Christian centuries, with all their perplexing entanglements and sharp controversies, these words have run like a golden thread through the faith of the Church. "He first loved us." What is love? It is righteousness and benevolence acting in harmony. Now, here is love's origin. He first loved. That is, God loved. Note: The word "love" is current coin throughout the universe of God, and means with him what it means with us. (For an opening up of the wonders of God's love, see homily on 1 John 4:7-12 .)

"All my life I still have found,

And I will forget it never—

Every sorrow hath its bound,

And no cross endures for ever.

After all the winter's snows

Comes sweet summer back again

Patient souls ne'er wait in vain:

Joy is given for all their woes.

All things else must have their day;

God's love only lasts for aye."

But that does last—the constant wealth, life, and joy of believers. This, this is their creed; not held, indeed, as a dead dogma, but as a living and inspiring faith through the energy of the Spirit of God.

II. IN RELIGION THERE IS A LIFE . "We love." Although we hold fast to the principle that the word "love" means the same as applied to God and to us, yet we cannot shake off a sense, even painful, of the wide contrast in degree. "God loves… we love." That is from sunlight to rushlight in a moment. They are both lights, it is true; but what a space between them! Again, God's love is a self-kindled fire. Our hearts are like fuel in a grate, needing the spark from without ere it will burn. Still, in our measure "we love." But what? whom?

1 . We love God. He is our love's supreme Object.

2 . We love each other as fellow-believers.

3 . We love man as man.

If this is the word in which our Christian life is summed up, three additional matters should be noted ere we pass on to the next main division.

III. IN RELIGION THERE IS A LIFE BECAUSE THERE IS A CREED . We love because he loved. God first loved. Even so. There is the spark, and there only, which kindles ours. We may set this truth on several grounds.

1 . We set it on the ground philosophy. We do not believe it possible for any created being to learn to love except through being loved. We do not believe any angel in heaven would have ever come to love God had he not known that God was love. Nor could we.

2 . We set it on the ground of history. Take:

3 . We set it on the ground of experience. What first moved us to love? What moves us still? What revives us when we are sluggish? Is it not this

"Sweet the moments, rich in blessing,

Which before the cross I spend"?

It is this—it is this which kindles us to a flame. If we love, it is because he first loved us.

APPLICATION

1 . It is quite intelligible how some men should come to hate what they call dogma. If a man accepts a form of sound words, and is dead withal, he must not be surprised if his words are thought to be "an empty sound." Can anything be more unutterably offensive than a bundle of dead creeds avowed by dead men? Men ought to hate them. But if a man says, "My religion is this—'I love God and man because God loves me;'" and if he shows it while he says it, men will not despise him or his doctrine either. He will redeem dogma from discredit by inspiring it with life.

2 . Whoever expects a living Church without a creed, expects an impossibility. If we let go our faith, we put out our fire. If any Church lets go its hold on the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord, its life will not be worth twenty years' purchase.

3 . If God first loves, then we should consent to let God's love be first. What is the use of trying to work ourselves into favour with God? The very effort is sin. If God did not love us out of the promptings of his own nature, nothing that we can ever do would be good enough to induce him to love.

4 . If God first loves us, and seeks "the love of poor souls," how ungrateful and unjust will it be on our part if we do not love in return!

5 . Here is a glorious object on which we may set our gaze—Divine love. Yea, it is a staff on which we can lean, a pillow on which we may repose; nay, more, it is a vast and gorgeous cathedral in which we can worship and adore; it is the soul's home and joy and rest. Here is" the simplicity which is in Christ." Here are theology, religion, and philosophy in one sentence. Theology: God loves. Religion: we love. Philosophy: we love because he loves. Here is that which is simple enough for the child, yet so grand that not the wisest philosopher as such has found, or ever will find, aught worthy to be compared with it.