A New Commandment

Order of Service

• Call to Worship — Psalm 150
• Hymn — Sing Hallelujah, Praise the Lord
• Prayer of Invocation
• Confession of Faith — 1 Timothy 3:16
• Scripture Reading — Joshua 3
• Hymn — On Jordan's Stormy Banks
• Pastoral Prayer
• Offering
• Prayer
• Hymn — Who Is on the Lord's Side?
• Sermon
• Hymn — Lavish Love, Abundant Beauty
• Benediction

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Sermon Title: A New Commandment

Scripture: John 13:21-38

I. Christian Love Is a Matter of the Heart

A. Judas departs after receiving the morsel of bread, and Satan enters him — Jesus commands him to act quickly

1. This appears to be a direct address to Satan, as in the confrontation with Legion in Mark 5
2. The "opportune time" Satan awaited (Luke 4:13) has arrived — Christ's hour has come
3. Yet Satan's action remains subject to Christ's sovereign command

B. Judas was not merely a passive victim of possession — he had been opening the door of his heart to evil for years

1. John 12:6 reveals Judas was a thief who stole from the money bag
2. Each act of wickedness opened his heart wider to Satan's influence

C. The disciples were completely deceived — they suspected nothing of Judas

1. Even after Jesus gives him the morsel, they assume he is going to give to the poor
2. Judas had convincingly feigned love for Christ before others for three years

D. Love for God is not determined by outward display before others, but by the condition of the heart before God

1. Jesus taught us to pray in secret, seeking reward from God alone, not from men
2. Recent scandals among prominent evangelical leaders illustrate that outward godliness can mask a corrupt heart
3. God's grace includes having sin exposed before the point of no return — pursue accountability within the body of Christ

II. Christian Love Is Obedience to a Command

A. After speaking of his glorification through the cross, Jesus gives the new commandment: love one another as he has loved them (John 13:34-35)

B. In what sense is this commandment "new"? Love is not a new concept — Jesus himself quotes Deuteronomy 6 and Leviticus 19 as the greatest commandments

1. The newness is similar to the way Paul speaks of faith in Galatians 3:23 — "before faith came" — not that faith is entirely new, but that it enters full bloom in Christ
2. Hebrews 11 and Genesis 15:6 confirm that Old Testament saints lived by faith
3. In the same way, love existed under the old covenant but was veiled under types and shadows — the cross brings it into full and blazing expression

C. The newness lies in its intensity and standard: love one another just as Christ has loved you — a cross-bearing, life-laying-down love

1. Talk of love in our world is cheap — rooted in sentiment, politics, and social performance rather than duty and covenant
2. At this same meal Jesus raises the cup of the New Covenant — new covenant, new commandment; members of the covenant are bound to love with covenant obligation
3. This is not a suggestion but a command — love is guarded by covenant guardrails, not by personal whims

III. Christian Love Is Christ's Presence in the World

A. The content of the new commandment is specifically the love of believers for one another within the body of Christ

1. Jesus teaches love of neighbor and enemy broadly (the Good Samaritan, the Sermon on the Mount), but the new commandment focuses on the community of his disciples
2. Tertullian (second century) recorded that unbelievers observed of Christians: "Look at how they love one another and how they are ready to die for each other"

B. Evangelism without the visible love of the church community is stunted and ineffective

1. Romans 10 affirms that preaching is necessary — how can they hear without a preacher?
2. But John Chrysostom later lamented: "There is nothing else that causes the heathen to stumble except that there is no love… they admire our doctrines but are hindered by our mode of life"
3. If unbelievers hear of Christ's transforming love and then observe pride, gossip, one-upmanship, and division within the church, the gospel witness is destroyed

C. The church's love for one another is the primary visible manifestation of God's people to a watching world

1. Jesus calls his disciples "little children" — soon to be adopted into the household of faith through the blood of the Son
2. A better question than "How many people did you evangelize this week?" is "How well have you loved your fellow members in the body of Christ?"
3. Where does such love originate? In Jesus Christ himself — believe on him and share in his love