Living as Jesus Did: Choosing Love Over Hate

John’s words in 1 John make a plain claim: knowing Christ cannot stay at the level of saying the right thing. John says that whoever claims to know him but will not keep his commands is lying, because love for God is made complete as his word is obeyed. The text puts discipleship right down where life happens, in behavior, relationships, and the way people treat one another. Christ’s grace saves, but Christ’s grace also changes the heart and calls it toward holiness.

Jesus’ picture of the wise builder gives that call a foundation. The house built on rock stands because the builder does not merely hear Jesus’ words but puts them into practice. The storms still come, the rains still fall, and the winds still beat against the house. The foundation holds because Christ’s commands have become embodied in the life of the disciple. Grandfather Reagan’s cellar carried that same kind of confidence: a foundation without cracks means the house has somewhere solid to stand.

Jesus gives the heart of those commands in love for God, love for neighbor, and the new command to love as he loved. Christ’s own self-sacrificial love becomes the unique identity of his followers. The call to “live as Jesus did” can feel daunting because Jesus is fully God, fully human, and perfect. Yet the call does not ask for pretending to be perfect; it calls believers to strive toward perfection by following close behind Christ.

John names hatred as one of the great stumbling blocks on that path. The person who claims to walk in the light while hating a brother or sister is still walking in darkness, blinded and unsure where to go. Hatred can become like a downed tree across the trail, making the way of discipleship harder and threatening to trip up the one who walks it. John Wesley’s angry hearers, even while belonging to the church, show how religious people can reject the very love they claim to honor.

God’s image in every person provides the first guard against hate. Psalm 139 says that God knows, forms, and wonderfully makes each human life. Romans reminds every person that all have sinned and fall short of God’s glory, leaving no room for spiritual pride. Jesus calls the disciple to deal with anger early, seek reconciliation, refuse judgmental hypocrisy, and practice forgiveness without keeping score. Christ’s question, “What would Jesus do?” belongs in conversations, social media posts, political opinions, cultural decisions, and every place where hatred tries to take root.

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Knowing Christ requires lived obedience John refuses to separate confession from conduct. A claim to know Christ becomes empty when it does not shape the way a person lives and loves. Obedience is not an attempt to earn grace, but the fruit of grace received. Christ’s love becomes complete in the life that takes his words seriously. [46:47]
• 2. Love reveals who walks in light John treats love for brothers and sisters as a real test of whether someone is living in the light. Hatred does not merely create an unpleasant feeling; it blinds the heart and leaves a person spiritually disoriented. Love does not deny conflict or injury, but it refuses to let contempt become the ruling power. [52:15]
• 3. Every person bears God’s image God’s creative care extends to every person, including the person who feels difficult to love. Psalm 139 leaves little room for reducing another human being to a political problem, a cultural enemy, or a personal irritation. Belovedness does not erase sin, but it changes the way sin is confronted. [60:51]
• 4. Reconciliation deals with anger early Jesus traces murder backward to the anger, insults, and contempt that can grow unchecked between people. Reconciliation matters because broken relationships should not be left to harden into hatred. The disciple takes every interaction seriously enough to seek peace before resentment gets out of hand. [65:33]
• 5. Forgiveness refuses to keep score Jesus answers Peter’s question about limits with a picture of forgiveness that does not calculate an ending point. Forgiveness does not call evil good or deny the wound, but it releases the right to nourish hatred. Christ’s people receive forgiveness from God while learning to extend it to others.
  
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Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [39:04] - 1 John and the Call to Change
• [41:28] - A Foundation That Will Not Move
• [45:00] - Hearing Jesus and Putting His Words Into Practice
• [47:46] - The Commands to Love God and Neighbor
• [49:38] - Knowing Jesus’ Story
• [51:24] - Hatred as a Stumbling Block
• [55:44] - John Wesley and Angry Churchgoers
• [60:22] - Seeing Others as Beloved Children of God
• [62:34] - Humility and Refusing to Judge
• [64:30] - Reconciliation and Forgiveness
• [69:00] - What Would Jesus Do?

Bible Reading

1 John 2:3-11
And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked. Beloved, I am writing you no new commandment, but an old commandment that you had from the beginning. The old commandment is the word that you have heard. At the same time, it is a new commandment that I am writing to you, which is true in him and in you, because the darkness is passing away and the true light is already shining. Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes. [40:11]

Matthew 7:24-27
Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was its fall. [45:05]

Matthew 5:21-24
You have heard that it was said to those of old, ‘You shall not murder; and whoever murders will be liable to judgment.’ But I say to you that everyone who is angry with his brother will be liable to judgment; whoever insults his brother will be liable to the council; and whoever says, ‘You fool!’ will be liable to the hell of fire. So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you, leave your gift there before the altar and go. First be reconciled to your brother, and then come and offer your gift. [01:05:33]

Psalm 139:13-14
For you formed my inward parts; you knitted me together in my mother’s womb. I praise you, for I am fearfully and wonderfully made. Wonderful are your works; my soul knows it very well. [01:01:52]

Observation questions

1. In 1 John 2:3-6, what words and actions does John connect with truly knowing Christ?
2. What is the difference Jesus gives in Matthew 7 between the wise builder and the foolish builder, even though both houses face rain, floods, and wind? [45:56]
3. According to 1 John 2:9-11, what does hatred do to a person’s walk, vision, and sense of direction? [55:10]
4. In Matthew 5:21-24, what actions or attitudes does Jesus name before he gives the command to seek reconciliation?

Interpretation questions

1. John says that obedience makes God’s love complete in a believer. How can obedience be the fruit of receiving God’s grace rather than an attempt to earn God’s love? [49:12]
2. Jesus says the house on the rock belongs to the person who hears his words and puts them into practice. What might it look like for Christ’s commands to become a foundation in ordinary relationships, not merely ideas that someone agrees with? [45:40]
3. John describes hatred as darkness that blinds a person. Why can resentment, contempt, and hatred make it harder for someone to recognize the faithful next step in a conflict? [01:08:29]
4. Jesus tells a worshiper to seek reconciliation before offering a gift at the altar. What does this show about the importance God places on broken relationships among his people? [01:06:34]

Application questions

1. Is there an area of life where it is easier to hear Jesus’ words than to put them into practice—such as at home, work, church, online, or in a difficult relationship? What would one concrete step of obedience look like this week? [46:37]
2. When storms, stress, disappointment, or conflict come, what usually shows whether a person’s foundation is built on Christ’s words or on something less steady? Where does the group need a stronger foundation right now? [46:03]
3. When the word “hate” is mentioned, is there a person or group that comes quickly to mind? Without sharing more than is appropriate, what feelings, assumptions, or repeated stories may be feeding that resentment? [54:07]
4. Every person is created by God and bears his image, including people who are difficult to understand or love. How might remembering that truth change the way someone speaks about a political opponent, a neighbor, a family member, or a person online? [01:00:51]
5. Jesus warns against anger, insults, and contempt before they grow into deeper division. Is there a strained relationship where an early, peaceful conversation, apology, or act of reconciliation may be needed? What would it take to make that first step wisely? [01:05:59]
6. Forgiveness does not pretend that a wound did not happen, but it refuses to keep nourishing hatred. Is there a hurt that is still being counted and replayed? What might it mean to bring that hurt honestly to God and begin releasing the right to hold onto resentment? [01:07:35]
7. Before a conversation, social-media post, cultural opinion, or political decision, how could asking, “What would Jesus do?” change the words chosen and the spirit in which they are shared? [01:09:31]