1 John 3:10b-15 HCSB Whoever does not do what is right is not of God, especially the one who does not love his brother. 11 For this is the message you have heard from the beginning: We should love one another, 12 unlike Cain, who was of the evil one and murdered his brother. And why did he murder him? Because his works were evil, and his brother’s were righteous. 13 Do not be surprised, • brothers , if the world hates you. 14 We know that we have passed from death to life because we love our brothers. The one who does not love remains in death. 15 Everyone who hates his brother is a murderer, and you know that no murderer has eternal life residing in him.

Dear Fellowship of the Burning Heart:

As we saw in the previous post, moral conduct is an essential test of a person’s spiritual heritage. The last part of verse 10 ties a failure to love with a failure to do what is right. As Plummer notes in his commentary, “Love is righteousness in relation to others” (Plummer, Epistles of S. John, 128). And that is how John moves from discussing what it means to live in a right relationship with God to loving others. No one can be right with God without love for others.

He draws on the Old Testament story of the first murderer, Cain, for an illustration. Cain failed to have faith and please God with the offering of his sacrifice. He was jealous of his brother Abel and developed a hatred for him because God had respect for Abel’s offering. God himself warns Cain:

“Why are you angry, and why has your face fallen? If you do well, will you not be accepted? And if you do not do well, sin is crouching at the door. Its desire is for you, but you must rule over it.” (Genesis 4:6-7 ESV)

He allowed sin to take control and, in a moment of temptation and opportunity, took his brother’s life. The word that John uses for murder is one that points to its brutality and violence. He thought, as so many still do, that if you get rid of the person who is irritating you (by doing right or experiencing success), that you will solve your problem. We should not be surprised when the world hates us, because our lifestyle stands in stark contrast to its ways. By offering a constant witness against its evil ways, we invite its ire. We should not be surprised by the statement that the presence of love in our lives is one witness to our new life. We should not be surprised by the statement that the one who hates is a murderer. Jesus deals with the heart of murder in his sermon on the mount. He says:

    “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. (Matthew 5:21-22 ESV)

Let our attitude be one of love rather than hatted.