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"Whoever hates his brother is a murderer..."

Text: 1 John 3:15

THE PROBLEM OF HATRED

Once again the Apostle John addressed the problem of hatred. It is one thing to understand that the world hates those who belong to the Lord. It is another when believers allow hatred to fill their hearts! This problem needs to be addressed.

“Whoever hates his brother is a murderer,
and you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him.”
1 John 3:15

1. “Whoever hates his brother”

a) The problem of hating is highlighted here.

b) Hatred is not presented as an abstract noun.

c) The Greek text here (The Present Participle)

i) It describes a person.

ii) It describes a person actively hating another.

iii) It is an on-going problem.

iv) It is a current problem.

d) The object of hatred

i) It is not the world.

ii) It is not an enemy.

iii) It is “a brother”.

e) The word “brother”

i) It describes a sibling.

ii) It describes a fellow believer.

2. “Is a murderer”

a) A very startling word.

b) It is sobering to read this word.

c) It makes us pause and consider the problem of hating a brother.

3. “And you know that no murderer has eternal life abiding in him”

a) This is an obvious statement.

b) How can the person who declares faith in Christ and has eternal life have hatred for a brother?

c) John strongly urges his readers to ponder afresh the problem of hating a brother!