WHY WE DON’T KEEP CHRIST’S NEW COMMANDMENT!

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Throughout his ministry, Jesus taught that we are to love one another. Jesus said, “A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another” (John 13:34). Notice how Jesus qualifies the love that He commands us to have for one another. Jesus does not say to tolerate one another. Jesus does not say to be nice to one another. Jesus does not command us to be polite. Jesus commands us to love one another, and to love one another as he first loved us. Jesus loved us so much that he was willing to lay down His life for us. This standard of love is unattainable without the grace of God.

I. First, Christ’s command to love one another was not kept in the Roman world.

This idea was foreign to the average person in the Roman world of the first century. The average person was born into poverty or slavery in the Roman world. They would grow up to be angry with what the world could offer them. Most people did not live to be forty years old. Many people were starving. Many people were enslaved. Many people were hopeless. The idea of loving each other was far and distant. People were concerned with surviving by any means necessary. Often that meant taking advantage of other people and using them. Everyone knew they would be forced to look after themselves. When Jesus told people of His new commandment, it was just as He described it: the commandment was new. Immediately those who followed Jesus and were saved by Him were set apart from the rest of the Roman world. Those who followed Jesus were not concerned with just themselves. Those who followed Jesus loved other people as Jesus first loved them. Just as our text says, the love the early Christians had for each other was a major attraction to people of the Roman world. The followers of Jesus loved each other. And through this love, the people of the Roman world knew that the Christians were the disciples of Jesus. They looked out for each other. They loved each other in a supernatural way. In a way that could only be possible after an encounter with Jesus.

II. Second, Christ’s command to love one another is not kept by the modern world.

Life can be a struggle. Despite the comforts of the modern world, life has not become any easier to live. Instead of dying at the age of 30, people live on into their 80’s, but they live in misery. They live in bigger houses, but have smaller families. They are not sold into slavery by another person, but instead they sell themselves into slavery. They slave away at a job they cannot stand to make just enough money to survive. People are just as cruel to each other today, as they were in the Roman world. In order to survive the experience of life a person is often forced to develop a certain toughness. A person may grow accustomed to relying very little on other people. They isolate themselves behind their computer screen. They protect themselves with technology.

A person may also learn not to be hurt by disappointment. A person in the modern world learns to take care of himself, rather than rely on friends. The person is lucky to find one or two people that he can trust in his life. He learns to stick mainly to this own small circle of friends. The society he lives in is seemingly designed to suck the life out of him. To deplete him of his money, of his dreams, of his hope. In modern society, people learn to love only themselves. In a rush to carve out a portion of life for themselves, they make compromises. A person may grow up wanting to be the kind of person that helps others, yet as they grow older, something changes. Through experiences, a person may realize that very few people will look after him. Therefore that person begins to devote the attention that was once meant for someone else, upon himself. He will care for those very few people who care for him. Everyone else is on their own, just as they have left him, on his own. He cannot possibly love one another as Christ commanded him to. Everything around him prevents him from doing so. Most of all, what is inside of him prevents him from loving other people. Because inside he is a sinner who hates the law of God. He hates the commandment Jesus gave. He is afraid that others will hurt him if he gives them real attention and real Christian love.

“A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another”
(John 13:34-35).

When the story of the Good Samaritan is told, it is hard to agree that the Levite and the priest were displaying love towards the man who had been wounded on the road. The tendency is to applaud the Samaritan for stopping to help a complete stranger so kindly. The virtue of the Samaritan as an example of Christian love is enduring. We would all like to imagine that we would also act in a similar way, if we ever discover a man wounded on the road.

“A certain man went down from Jerusalem to Jericho, and fell among thieves, which stripped him of his raiment, and wounded him, and departed, leaving him half dead. And by chance there came down a certain priest that way: and when he saw him, he passed by on the other side. And likewise a Levite, when he was at the place, came and looked on him, and passed by on the other side. But a certain Samaritan, as he journeyed, came where he was: and when he saw him, he had compassion on him, And went to him, and bound up his wounds, pouring in oil and wine, and set him on his own beast, and brought him to an inn, and took care of him. And on the morrow when he departed, he took out two pence, and gave them to the host, and said unto him, Take care of him; and whatsoever thou spendest more, when I come again, I will repay thee” (Luke 10:30-35).

The exhibition of love by the Good Samaritan was not characteristic of the Roman world. That sort of love was almost unbelievable. That sort of love was attractive. That Christ-like love shook the Roman world.

The attitude of the modern man is no different than a man of the Roman world. Both individuals would prioritize themselves. In doing so, they would be just the same as everyone was throughout history in their unsaved state: loving only themselves. The Bible says the reason for this is, “Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be” (Romans 8:7-8). A person in an unsaved state cannot obey the commandment of Jesus that we are to love each other. A person in his natural state will be naturally selfish. That was me. I thought of myself as a good person who loved others. But I actually loved only myself. Everything I thought or did was from a selfish motive.

A man will learn how to speak to people so that these people will like him, for himself. Every outward act that appears to be selfless is revealed to be totally selfish. Altruism is the practice of selfless concern for the well-being of others. Altruism is impossible without love. Yet, the literature of behavioral science has concluded again and again that altruism does not exist in normal human behavior. Everything we do that appears selfless and good is actually done with hidden motives. We cannot keep the commandment that Jesus gave us. It is impossible. It is outside of our ability. It is outside of our nature. If we are to love each other in a real way, as Jesus loved us, it would require a miracle. It would require the same miracle that the Christians of the Roman world had. It would require a conversion – a change of heart that only God can give. It would require an encounter with Jesus.

Everything that the church does is meant to point to Christ. Jesus is our cure. However, a person will not see his need for Christ until he first realizes he is sick. More than sick. He is dead in sin according to the Bible. Therefore we preach using the sword of the Word of God in surgery. We operate in the attempt to reveal to you the condition of your own heart. The horrible selfishness of your heart. With the law, the preaching of the Word of God cuts away the lies that you tell yourself, to show you the truth. To show you the truth that you are not a good person, but a selfish one. To show you that you only love yourself, and not others. To show you that you are alone. That even if you are surrounded by friends, they love you no more than you love them, because without Christ none of you are truly capable of loving anyone but yourself. The preaching of the law of God shows you that you have broken God’s laws. You have even broken the new commandment Christ gave you.

Can you do that? No, you cannot do that! You are a ruined sinner who loves only yourself, if you are honest.

Suddenly you come to realize that not only have you broken the laws of God, but that you are also incapable of keeping them. By the grace of God, you begin to realize that you are a hopeless sinner. That you have a desperate need of Jesus to change your very nature. “Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster to bring us unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith” (Galatians 3:24). When you are convinced that you are sinful, that you are selfish, that you are loveless, and that you are hopeless, the Gospel directs you to Jesus.

Jesus came to this world to make alive those that are dead in sin. Jesus loves you. Jesus loves you so much that He came to this world to suffer and die on a cross to pay the penalty for your sin. Jesus shed His Blood for you on the Cross, that your loveless, selfish heart could be changed. Jesus rose from the dead to conquer sin and death. Through what Jesus did for you on the Cross your loveless heart can be changed to love another person, as Jesus first loved you. However, you must have an encounter with Jesus by trusting Him through faith before you can love another person as Jesus loved you.

As I was writing this sermon, Dr. Hymers helped me to realize that the way I had written the message was too much like a teaching. I had tried to teach people how to love one another when it was impossible. Even after being saved, it is often extremely easy to slide back into being loveless. It requires no effort to slip into a position of relying on yourself and looking out only for yourself. It is easy to return to the natural mentality of caring for yourself and forgetting about others. People can come to the same church for years and never show love to any fellow brother or sister in Christ. Because you have nothing in common. You have nothing in common with that brother or sister: besides sharing the same church. You don’t even try to get close to them. You don’t even pray for them. Do you? No teaching or insight that I could offer would be able to help you love another person. There is only one person who could change your heart to love someone other than yourself. Only Jesus Himself can change a person’s heart so that they can follow His new commandment.

However, just as the Word of God operates on an unconverted person’s heart to show a person his need for Jesus, the Word of God must also operate on a Christian’s heart as well. The law shows a Christian that he has fallen short of the standard of love that Jesus set when He loved him. That standard was raised high on the Cross. Jesus loved us so much that He died for us. Every Christian here has become an expert at taking care of a stranger on a Sunday morning. We try to please that person in an attempt to show him Christian love. But we may never think of treating someone that is already here with the same care. We forget to give other Christians the same love because within ourselves we do not have love. Yet, Jesus told us to love each other. But we can’t do it. We are either unsaved or backslidden. So we cannot obey Jesus and love each other! It is impossible!

Therefore, even those who are saved must be convinced of their lack of love. Jesus taught us to love our brothers and sisters in Christ. Jesus was asked who His family was. Jesus said, “For whosoever shall do the will of my Father which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother” (Matthew 12:50). Those who are in the church, and are faithfully serving God, they are your family. They are the family of Jesus. Yet, there are things that have prevented us from loving each other as Jesus has commanded us.

Maybe someone hurt a person’s feelings some time ago. And they imagine that this person did this intentionally. The feelings of pain that a person experiences eventually develop into feelings of anger. The person has allowed these feelings to separate him from a brother or sister in Christ. Now he hardly speaks to that person. If he meets him on the sidewalk he barely makes eye contact with that person. Something that once began as ordinary and small, has become a sin. But the law of God shows you your bitterness has created a separation between you and that person. The law of God shows you that there now exists at least one brother or sister in Christ in this church that you do not love. The law of God shows a Christian that he has not kept the commandment of Jesus.

In the modern world and in the Roman world this separation between people seems normal. But in the church, the body of Christ, it is disastrous. Therefore the law of God must convince a Christian of his need to be changed by Jesus. “Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed…” (James 5:16). The Bible says, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I John 1:9). Upon confessing our sins to each other, Jesus heals our loveless hearts. Jesus makes all things new. Jesus must change your heart so that you can keep Christ’s new commandment and love others as Jesus first loved you.

If you are lost, you must admit it, repent, trust Jesus and be saved by His Blood. If you are backslidden you must confess it. Only then can God give you a heart filled with love for others in the church and in the world. Revival only comes when we confess our faults to each other and pray for each other. Dr. Hymers, please come and close this service. Amen.

WHEN YOU WRITE TO DR. HYMERS YOU MUST TELL HIM WHAT COUNTRY YOU ARE WRITING FROM OR HE CANNOT ANSWER YOUR E-MAIL. If these sermons bless you send an e-mail to Dr. Hymers and tell him, but always include what country you are writing from. Dr. Hymers’ e-mail is at rlhymersjr@sbcglobal.net (click here). You can write to Dr. Hymers in any language, but write in English if you can. If you want to write to Dr. Hymers by postal mail, his address is P.O. Box 15308, Los Angeles, CA 90015. You may telephone him at (818)352-0452.

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Scripture Read Before the Sermon by Mr. Aaron Yancy: John 13:34-35.
Solo Sung Before the Sermon by Mr. Benjamin Kincaid Griffith:
“Those Who Confess” (by Rebekah Cecelia Lee, 1998-; altered by the Pastor;
to the tune of “There Shall be Showers of Blessing”).