Lord's Day: April 13, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: The Christian Life Scripture: 1 John 3:13–16, John 15:18–25, Hebrews 3:12–13, Romans 1:16, John 10:27–30, Ephesians 1:13–14, Philippians 2:12–13, Hebrews 11:6, 1 John 2:19, John 5:24, Galatians 5:6, Hebrews 12:24

13 Do not marvel, brothers, if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed out of death into life, because we love the brothers. The one who does not love abides in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him. 16 By this we have known love, that He laid down His life for us; and we ought to lay down our lives for the brothers. 1 John 3:13–16

I. Worldly Hate

II. 1 John 3:14 is a difficult verse at face value, but we can understand and distinguish it rightly (2Ti 2:15) with the analogies of Scripture/Faith, and the other means God has given the church to grow in her understanding (Law & Gospel Distinction, pastors, teachers, sound doctrine, etc.)

III. God is the one who gives us the gift of faith, which justifies us, and those who believe in Him have eternal life. Now! Already! You cannot lose it!

• This is our initial assurance, and He is the one who keeps us to the very end
• God the Father chose us and gave us to Christ, Christ is the one who finishes (perfects) the good work that He began in us (Phil 1:6), which is the primary work of the Holy Spirit that has sealed us and guaranteed us for redemption (Eph 4:30, cf. 2Co 1:22, 5:5)—and these three are one

IV. If you do have “an evil, unbelieving heart that falls away from the living God” (Heb 3:12), and therefore do not and cannot love truly, because without faith it is impossible to please Him (11:6), then you were never saved to begin with

V. How much love for the brothers is required of us, to assure us that “we have passed out of death into life”?

• What is the threshold for the lack of love that leads to “abiding in death”?
• The answer lies in the gospel promises and assurance, beautifully summed up in verse 16

We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com

John Piper Says He Could Fall Away From the Faith, dir. by Jon Harris (Conversations That Matter, 2025) .

John Piper | The Privilege of Preaching | Coram Deo 2025: Session Three, dir. by Clearly Reformed, Coram Deo Pastors Workshop, 2025 .

‘When Protestants Err on the Side of Rome: John Piper, “Final Salvation,” and the Decline and Fall of Sola Fide at the Last Day (Part I)’, The Scripturalist, 6 May 2018 .

Lord's Day: April 6, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Assurance Scripture: 1 John 3:10–12, Isaiah 46:8–11, Genesis 4:4–14, Jude 1:10–13, Hebrews 11:4, Luke 11:49–50, 1 Kings 18:20–46, 2 Kings 2:11, Hebrews 12:24, 1 Timothy 2:2, Romans 12:1–3, Romans 15:4–6

I. Concluding Cain and reprobation, then God’s powerful Object Lesson of Righteousness in Abel’s brief life and death

10 By this the children of God and the children of the devil are manifested: everyone who does not do righteousness is not of God, as well as the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message which you have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another; 12 not as Cain, who was of the evil one and slew his brother. And for what reason did he slay him? Because his deeds were evil, and his brother’s were righteous. 1 John 3:10–12

II. God’s Progressive Revelation of Scripture into the New Testament does not have anything good to say about Cain, while it does celebrate, honor, and praise Abel's life and death

• Be sensitive to your own sin. Repent and confess it, whenever your conscience accuses you, a friend confronts you, the Spirit convicts you

III. Cain is a clear object lesson in what we should not be and do, while Abel is an object lesson in what we should be and do

• Abel was a righteous, God-believing, God-fearing man, who walked the straight path of the Lord in a quiet, humble, unspectacular way

IV. Abel was not a radical, Lordship Salvation guy that threw himself into full-time ministry, sold everything he had, and left it all to follow after God

• Abel, his life and his death, continues to speak to us today

V. Abel’s death—his blood—signifies death, condemnation, and vengeance for sin and its consequences

• Abel was a normal, godly unspectacular shepherd, living a quiet and peaceable life in all godliness and dignity (1 Tim 2:2), and Jesus called him “righteous Abel”

We meet on Sundays for worship at 10:00am:

• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

Contact us at:

• web: ThornCrownCovenant.Church
  call/text: (915) 843-8088
  email: ThornCrownCovenantBChurch@gmail.com

Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com