For this is the message that ye heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous. (1Jo 3:11-12)

John revisits his earlier appeal to the historic manifestation of our honorable service to God. Both in John's teachings in the second chapter of this letter and throughout Jesus' teachings in the gospels, we learn that we fulfill the whole intent of God's law by "loving God and by loving our neighbor as ourselves." And we must remember that John's, and the whole New Testament's, definition of love directs us to conduct, not to feelings or to sentimental emotions. In that amazing chapter on love (1Co 13:1-13) Paul consistently defines charity, the God-kind of love, by what it does, not by what it feels. And John advances that same principle in this letter. We manifest our love to God and to His people by what we do toward them, not simply by how we feel toward them.

Had someone asked Cain how he felt about his brother, what do you suppose he would have said? Surely he would have professed love for his brother. Otherwise there is no compelling reason for John to use this situation here. But how could he defend the truthfulness of his profession when he murdered Abel? His actions and his words would not have agreed. We have all seen people who profess to love others, but their actions show anything but love. Cain left no doubt about his true feelings toward Abel when he murdered him. And that is the very point John makes in this lesson by the Cain example. According to John, was Cain a mixed up child of God in disobedience? Or was he "of the wicked one"? Why did Cain murder Abel? What does John say about it? He was of that wicked one and because his deeds were evil and Abel's deeds were righteous.

The Bible Knowledge Commentary offers this thought about the verse. "The reason for this murder was Cain's jealous resentment of his brother's superior righteousness (Ge 4:2-7). In saying this, John touched a sensitive nerve, since hatred toward another Christian is often prompted by a feeling of guilt about one's own life as compared with that person's. It is well to remember that such reactions are satanic, as John bluntly affirmed here." Cain wanted God's approval or at least His blessing, but he had no intention of altering his conduct to receive it. Apparently he thought if he eliminated Abel, God would have no alternative but to bless him, even in his sinful neglect and murderous conduct. Perverted sinners can't reason with God! And they certainly can't manipulate God into doing anything for them.

If every human being were to be convinced of the reality of life after death as taught by the Bible, how would the wicked react to it? Can you imagine a wicked unrepentant sinner acknowledging the reality of a literal heaven and an equally literal hell? Then in contemplation of their death they say they are truly excited and looking forward to hell? If asked whether they want to spend eternity in heaven or hell, they would all choose heaven. But would any of the wicked actually change their conduct? No, they would follow Cain's posture of trying to alter circumstances so as to force God into blessing them despite their sinful conduct.

John's primary emphasis here is not Cain, but a contrasting fact - that we should love one another. John uses Cain to create in our minds the exact antithesis of godly love. Sadly through the centuries of Christianity, many have professed faith in Christ and love for God, even love for their brothers and sisters in Christ, while at the same moment they heaped criticism and malice upon their professed brothers and sisters. John's admonition is timeless and timelessly necessary. Our conduct toward others proves our true state.

Take a moment to evaluate this lesson in terms of John's major concern in this letter with the gnostic errors he confronts. These people had very little regard for personal conduct toward others. In fact they viewed anyone who did not agree with their private knowledge as inferior in their faith. They relished their superior "knowledge" as the only notable issue of life. By this they viewed others with selfish pride. Conduct meant almost nothing to them. John responds that words or claims of superiority without concrete actions that validate true words mean nothing at all. We prove our love to God by one and only one action, by how we treat those whom God loves.

A superior attitude may be one of the most dangerous conditions we allow in our minds. We might reject every abominable tenet of gnostic philosophy, but adopt a superior attitude on other grounds. But in our superior arrogance we actually join the gnostic error and depart from God's way. Paul issued a similar warning to believing Gentiles in Ro 11:1-36. Because the Jews as a culture rejected Christ as the Messiah and as God's Son, God rejected them from gospel blessings. They eventually lost their identity as a nation because of this sin. Believing Gentiles, particularly those Gentiles who had been mistreated by arrogant Jews, could easily adopt an arrogant attitude of superiority over the rejected Jews. Paul reminds them that they are dealing with God. He was able to cut off the Jews and graft in the Gentiles. But the Gentiles stood by faith, not by a desperate act of God. And God could as easily cut arrogant Gentiles off as He had done to arrogant Jews. He reminded them that they stood in their current blessings only by faith. Remain in faith and in faithful dependence on God and retain the blessing. Depart form those blessings and they endangered continuation of their blessings.

I doubt that many Christians of whatever stripe today consciously think they hold to false doctrine. Despite significant variations in what they believe, each has some grounds for holding sincerely to his particular view. How easily we could adopt a superior attitude as we focus on our sincere belief that we, not someone else, hold to more of God's truth than others.

We may, and should, hold to God as the absolute Ruler and Governor of the universe and of our faith. We may, and should, reject relativism in all moral and spiritual issues. Sincerity alone is never accepted in Scripture as grounds for God's blessings. Sincerity in the truth and in true faith is commended, but sincerity in error is sincere delusion! God never offers grounds for blessing based on sincerity alone. How do we embrace God's absolute and final rule and deal with others who differ from us in their views of His rule? We must affirm His absolute governance in all things. But we can never know beyond doubt that we know all points of God's absolute truth absolutely. Therefore the way to avoid this sinful attitude is to hold tightly to the clear truths of Scripture and to hold more loosely to points that appear less clearly in Scripture. And we should hold to all points with a full measure of humility. We could be wrong in some of our views. Therefore we should hold to our personal understanding with loose and humble hands and hearts full of faith in God. Then where we later discover error in our own thoughts we will not unduly offend God's children who differ from us. And we will be more receptive to God's truth as we grow in grace and in our knowledge of His truth. While we grow experientially in our knowledge of God's truth, His truth remains constant and reliable. To fall prey to relativism (That is your truth; this is mine. One thing is true in one set of circumstances; something different, even contradictory, may be true in another set of circumstances.) is to deny God's final and competent rule.

God gave each of us very strong and functional emotions. He intended that they form an integral part of our existence. But He did not intend that we make them ruler over our lives more than He Himself. As a study in your own motives, think of a few people whom you have known and with whom you may have struggled to get along peacefully. For the sake of this exercise, try to remove all emotion from your relationship with them. Think of your relationship with them only in terms of actions. What would your actions alone show them? What would their actions alone show you? Would either of you be convinced of the other's love by the evidence of actions alone?

Take this study an additional step. Keep emotions out of the equation for the moment. What caused the tensions and the strained moments between you and this person? How much of the strain relates to emotions and how much to actual deeds? The very act of separating deeds from emotions is next to impossible isn't it? How easily we recall something the other person said and we cannot reconstruct their words without imposing a motive on their words and reacting with strong personal emotions. And we defend our response by saying they actually did something that justified our response. In fact our emotional interpretation created much of our response, not their actual deeds. Try to regroup and reconstruct old relationships on the basis of actions alone. Then show your love to them from this day forward by your actions.

1Jo 3:13-18 - Assurance and Love of Others

1Jo 1:1-3 - Implications of the Incarnation

1Jo 3:6-10 - Who Sins? Who does not sin?