John 13:31-38 “The Marks of a True Believer”

1:17It is the night in which Jesus went to the garden, prayed, was arrested, and was put through mock trials. It is the night before he was crucified. This section of scripture is also unique because Jesus issues a farewell message to his true disciples, those surrounding him in the room, and those who would come after him. And we know this because everything Jesus promised to his disciples in chapters 13 through 16 is prayed for in chapter 17 and extended to all who will ever believe in the very same chapter.

2:04Children and young people, I want you to listen for just a second. Over the centuries, Christians have displayed a large number of symbols to identify themselves as believers. They wear crosses, they wear cool t-shirts, they put lapel pins on, and some even put bumper stickers on their cars. But the way some of your parents drive, that's not a very good idea. I don't have any argument with any of you using such symbols, but they are very superficial.

2:44Because more definitive than the pins, the t-shirts, the stickers, the bumper stickers that you have are the internal spiritual marks or characteristics of a true believer. This sermon, when you get home, ask your parents to explain that to you if I do a poor job today. What are the marks or characteristics of a true believer? Who are the true followers of Christ? How can they be identified? It isn't by our profession. It isn't by the fact that we belong to some type of Christian organization. It isn't become weak because we follow a set of Christian ethics. It simply isn't about outward symbols, outward behaviors, or outward professions.

3:49The way that you know someone is a true believer is because of what happens in their heart. A true believer has been born again, regenerated, and transformed. And if you ask the question, what marks that transformation? Then you're really getting to the heart of what a true believer is. True believers are known by their character, by their affection, by the things that are important to them. And simply put, in a word, true believers are known by what they love.

4:30With a shout out to John MacArthur for inspiring this outline this morning, in what appears to be a passage that seems to be a kind of a hodgepodge of things: glory, new commandment or love, and a denial by Peter, we're going to organize these three thoughts around a framework of practical applications. We're kind of going to do it backwards, but that it'll make more sense to you. True believers are characterized by three types of love: a constant preoccupation with the glory of God, a continuous love for the children of God, and a ceaseless loyalty to the Son of God.

5:20So, first, true believers are characterized by a constant preoccupation with the glory of God. Verse 31. When he, Judas, had gone out, Jesus said, Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him at once. As a background to this, Jesus introduces this new paragraph with the John, I should say, introduces this new paragraph with the notation: what Jesus said is spoken after the departure of Judas. Okay? Jesus had. To qualify his words when Judas was present, Jesus did not want to give away any information that would result in his death at a time or in a manner different than what the scriptures had required. But now, alone at last, with his true disciples, Jesus speaks more candidly than he ever has before.

6:23For 33 years, Jesus had restricted the full manifestation of his glory. But tomorrow, because we're on Thursday night, tomorrow he would once again be glorified. What do I mean by glorification? When I refer to glorification, I'm referring to the cross, I'm referring to his resurrection, and I'm referring to Jesus' reinstatement at the right hand with the glory that he had with the Father before he came to earth. Jesus' glorification began in his death, continued in his resurrection, and culminated in his reinstatement at the right hand of God.

7:08So with this glory coming, with his glory in mind, and akin to something like a tennis volley, Jesus makes three statements about glorification. The first is in verse 31. Now is the Son of Man coming. Glorified. In just a few hours, Jesus and the disciples would go into the Garden of Gethsemane. There, Jesus would march in with the soldiers and set in motion the events that would lead to Jesus' glorification. It's just around the corner. But how is Jesus glorified on the cross?

7:51On the cross, Jesus would be glorified by giving eternal life to all those given to him by God. Jesus makes a second statement about glory. Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. Not only is the Son glorified on the cross, the cross also glorifies the Father. That is, the glorification of the Son is synonymous with the glorification of the Father. This is really pretty consistent with what John's gospel teaches, because throughout the gospel, John has emphasized, the Lord has emphasized the unity between Jesus and the Father. Chapter 1, Jesus was intimately involved, as was the Father, in the creation of the world.

8:46In chapter 2, at the cleansing of the temple, Jesus was looking after his Father's house. In chapter 5, Jesus claims to be working on the Sabbath by healing the paralytic by the pool of Bethsa. Because his father is at work. Over and over again, our Lord stresses his union with the Father. It should come as no surprise when we read that the time has come for Jesus' death and resurrection will glorify both Jesus and the Father alike. The third and final statement is about glory. Is this, if Jesus is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and glorify him at once.

9:34The Father glorified the Son, and having been glorified by the actions of the Son, the Father returns the favor and glorifies his Son now and in the future. While Jesus will be glorified at once, his greatest glory via his exaltation will be his return to the right hand of God, which is yet in the future, about 40 days in the future. John 17, 5, you don't need to look, I'll just read it. And now, Father, glorify me in your presence with the glory I had with you before the world began.

10:22So we've seen this tennis match. If these three statements highlight How important glorification was to both Jesus and the Father. How do these three statements inform us in how we are to be preoccupied with the glory of God? First, these statements highlight that the glorification of God is the ultimate goal of history. Some people live under the false assumption that God's purpose in history is to make us happy and to make our lives free from pain and trouble. Now, God's ultimate purpose in history was to redeem a people, to worship and enjoy Him through His Son. Back to John 17, verse 4, Jesus says, I have brought you glory on earth by finishing the work you gave me to do.

11:30As Jesus and the Father were preoccupied with bringing glory to God, we need to be preoccupied with the glorification of God as the ultimate goal of history. Second, these statements highlight that Jesus is glorified in his sacrificial death. He paid the price of God's justice and purchased for himself. All the elect of God. And when the offended justice of God and the broken law were fully satisfied, Jesus concluded his work by saying, it is finished. In all heaven and earth, no act is so worthy of praise, honor, and glory. We need to be preoccupied with the glory displayed by Jesus' sacrificial death.

12:33Third, these statements highlight that God's attributes are glorified in the cross. The power of God was made visible on the cross. In the cross, God broke every shackle, every dominance of sin, and every power of Satan forever. The justice of God was made visible on the cross. The wages of sin is death. And if God was going to redeem sinners, someone had to die for those sins. Thus, by paying the greatest price, Christ glorified God on the cross by displaying God's justice in the greatest way possible.

13:23God's holiness was visible on the cross. As Christ hung on the cross, Bearing the sins of the world, God turned away from his only begotten son because his holiness could not tolerate looking on the sins of the world. And that's why Jesus cried out in agony, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? God's faithfulness was visible on the cross. He had promised the world a Savior all the way back in Genesis 3, and God fulfills his promise by offering his only son on the cross to reverse the effects of the fall and redeem a people to worship him.

14:12God's love was visible on the cross. John writes in 1 John 4:10, In this is love, not that we have loved God, but that He loved us and sent His Son to be the propitiation for our sins. Friends, we simply need to be preoccupied with how God's attributes are glorified in the cross. And fourth, these three statements, our tennis volley statements, highlight the glorification of the Son in his return to the right hand of the Father. Jesus says in verse 33, Little children, I am with you a little longer. You will seek me. And as I said to the Jews, now I also say to you, where I am going, you cannot come.

15:06Earlier, Jesus had spoken to the Jews about his physical absence from the world. Now he says nearly the same things to his disciples. And much like the rest of the people that listened, the disciples simply did not understand Jesus' words. But why does Jesus need to return to the right hand of God? Let me give you three reasons. First, Jesus had to leave in order to be returned to his prior state of glory. We already said that. Second, Jesus had to leave in order to share his glory with us. Look on the screen behind you at John 17, verses 20 through 22. I do not ask for these, that is the disciples, but also for those who will believe in me through their word, that they may all be one, just as you, Father, are in me, and I in you, that they also may be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me. The glory that you have given me, I have given to them, that they may be one, even as we are one.

16:20And third, Jesus had to leave in order for the helper, that is the Holy Spirit, to come. John says in John 16, verse 11. 7, nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. So, for these three reasons, we need to be preoccupied with the glory given to us by his return to the right hand of God.

16:55In essence, these three statements about glorification-the Son, the Father, the Son again, in verses 31 and 32-should highlight that our true motive as believers, our theme, our goal, our reason, our purpose, is to give God glory in everything we do. And if you don't believe that's true, what does Paul write in 1 Corinthians 10, 31? So, whether you eat or drink or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. True believers are characterized by a constant preoccupation with the glory of God. Second, true believers are characterized by a continuous love for the children of God. All right, children, you can listen again for just a second. Look at verse 34: A new commandment I give to you that you love one another.

18:00I have loved you, you are also to love one another. By all of this, you will know that you are my disciples if you have love for one another. The children are looking at me and saying, Pastor, you're silly. Everyone knows that loving one another is not a new commandment. It's an old commandment. Because children remember that Jesus said when he had to sum up the Old Testament law, it was summed up in two commands: love God and what?

18:39What's so different about this Lord's command here that Jesus calls it new? First, this new command to love one another refers specifically to love within the community of believers. For evangelicals, the command to love has often been translated into the command, love the world. That's an appropriate attitude. It's tied to evangelism, and we use it to increase the work of the gospel in the world. But Leon Morris very clearly states: Jesus is not speaking here of love to all people, but of love within the community of believers.

19:30Pastor Chris said, there are many places you can go to find communities of shared interest. There are many places you can go to find people who, like yourself, love sports, music, bouldering, or gardening. But it is the mandate of the church to become a community of love, a circle of Christ's followers who invest in one another because Christ has invested in them. It is the mandate of the church to exhibit love not based on the mutuality and the attractiveness of its members, but on the model of Christ who washed the feet of everyone, including Judas.

20:26The world is hostile towards the light. Therefore, the community of believers must be a refuge, a place of unparalleled affections and service that will set it apart from the world. Thus, when a non-Christian steps inside the church, his or her first observation should be, verse 35, by this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you Love one another. Second, the new dimension of our Lord's command here is the standard which he sets for the love he requires. Just as I have loved you, you are also to love one another.

21:23The love which our Lord displayed was a self-sacrificing love, which prompted him to serve the disciples by washing their feet, but most of all, by dying on the cross to save sinners from their guilt and the penalty of their sins. Brothers and sisters, how can we manifest the love of Christ to fellow believers? We can show love by going to somebody we have wronged and make things right. We can show love by forgiving those who have wronged us, whether we ask or not.

22:12Christ forgave those who mocked him, spit on him, and ultimately crucified him. The wrongs we generally suffer are pretty insignificant compared to what he suffered. And yet, he was willing to forgive. Are we? We can show love by being selfless. Selfless love is being indifferent to personal gain, personal satisfaction, personal fulfillment, and personal ambition. We are devoted to the well-being of the one loved. We can show love by serving. The disciples refused to wash the feet of each other because of their lack of true love for one another.

23:02Their love was like the love we see and read about in our culture: a self-serving love, which continues to love only as long as our interests are being served. But like Christ, we should do the simple, humiliating tasks because we're concerned about the well-being of the other, the benefit of the other, the blessing of the other, and demonstrating our love to the other. And finally, we can show love by being sacrificial. We must be willing to give any commodity, any possession, anything we have, even our life for a fellow believer. Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 12:15, I will most gladly spend and be spent for your soul.

23:58True believers are. Characterized by a constant preoccupation with the glory of God. True believers are characterized by a continuous love for the children of God. Third, true believers are characterized by a ceaseless loyalty to the Son of God. Now, I'll admit right up front, this third mark is a little more implied than expressed in the context of John 13. But do know this: discipleship is more than a promised loyalty. Discipleship demands a practiced loyalty, an operating, functioning kind of loyalty that holds up under any kind of pressure. Verse 36, Simon Peter said to him, Lord, where are you going? Jesus answered him, Where I'm going, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow afterwards.

24:55Note, Jesus' statement has two meanings. Peter would later follow Jesus in the way of death by being crucified, and Peter would later follow Jesus into glory. Back to verse 37. Peter said to him, Lord, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you. I love how Pastor Chris said this. Jesus answered, Will you lay your life down for me? Truly, truly, I say to you, the rooster will not crow till you have denied me three times. There is A huge gap between Peter's promised loyalty and his practice loyalty. Peter, who so loudly boasted that he would stand by the Lord, fails miserably. Instead of giving his life for Jesus, he tried to save it by denying him.

25:52What can we learn from Peter's boast? John MacArthur noted four things in one of his sermons on this passage that contributed to Peter's failing the test of loyalty. I want to give him credit for barring this. First, Peter was too proud to listen to what Jesus was telling him. Peter spoke the words of promised loyalty before and after Christ's prediction in John 13, 38. We know that it was before, because if you go to Mark 14, it was before he made the prediction. And then in Matthew 26, he promises this after Jesus' prediction, which occurs here in John 13. Peter simply ignored the warning of Jesus because Peter was too sure of himself.

26:47Second, Peter failed because he prayed too little. While Jesus was praying in agony in Gethsemane, Peter falls asleep. He was Boasting when he should have been listening. He was sleeping when he should have been praying. Third, Peter failed the test of loyalty because he was impetuous. God's will is not always easy to accept, but those who are truly loyal will be sensitive to what it is. Peter might have thought that he was helping the cause of God by grabbing his sword and reaching out and striking the ear, but that was impetuous. And all he did was he got in the way of God's purpose. And the final reason for Peter's great failure is that he left Jesus aside and began to follow at a distance. Reading from Luke 22:54. Having arrested him, they led Jesus away and brought Jesus to the house of the high priest. But Peter was following at a distance. And here's the logical consequence of all of Peter's weaknesses: cowardice.

27:58He had foolishly boasted of his willingness to die, and when now he has the opportunity, he drifts away from Jesus. So that's what we see Peter doing. But what can we learn from Peter? What about your loyalty? How many promises have you made to God but never kept? That you would love him, that you would serve him, that you wouldn't deny him at your place of business or in a public setting, that you would forsake sin, that you would witness to your neighbor, that you would change your behavior.

28:50How have you done? Are you any better than Peter? Did you boast too much? Did you pray too little? Did you act too fast? Did you follow too far away? Discipleship is more than promised loyalty, it is permanently practiced loyalty. In conclusion, how do we know when someone is a true believer? We learned this morning that John 11, 31 through 38, or Lin 13, 31 through 38, shows us explicitly or implicitly that true believers are characterized by three types of love: a constant preoccupation with the glory of God, a continuous love for the children of God, and a ceaseless loyalty to the Son of God. So, in closing, I want to just briefly make three closing comments. Number one, this text emphasizes that Jesus was in complete control. In John 13, Jesus knows that it is his time to be glorified. He knows of the betrayal of the Lord. Judas, and he actually dismisses him early to carry out his deed. Jesus is not taken in by all of Peter's assurances of loyalty and faithfulness because he knows of Peter's denial. But in all of this mess, Jesus is going to be glorified because Jesus was in complete control. Second, the one who is most confident that he will not fall is the one most likely to fall. How is this? It is because that person's confidence is in himself or herself.

30:42It is far better to be wary of falling than to be confident of standing. It is far better to have no trust in oneself and to only trust in God. It is far better to know that you do not have the strength to stand, but you need to lean on Jesus than to stand alone and fall on your face. Here is one of the great dangers of the message proclaimed by many of the motivational books and seminars today that evangelicals read or attend.

31:21If those books or seminars make you confident in ourselves rather than in God, they are pointing us in the Wrong direction, they're setting us up for a fall. And finally, the most important lesson in our text is about loving fellow church members. Some people think of love as a feeling. Jesus describes love here in terms of our actions. If loving one another is a commandment, it's a new commandment, to love one another, then love is a duty we must perform indeed.

32:08Do your actions show that you love the brothers and sisters in this congregation? What if that brother or sister is continually needy? What if that brother or sister routinely attempts to dominate conversations? What if the brother and sister never reciprocates your hospitality? Do your deeds show you love those in the church even if they're difficult to love? Or do you only love those that you enjoy spending time with? What if you allow your children to go to public school and they don't? What if you like Trump and they don't? What if you are for vaccinations and they aren't?

33:00What if you believe that there's not an existential climate crisis, and they do? Do your deeds show that you love those in the church who differ from you, or do you only love those who share your same views? If you want to have a continuous love for the children of God, do not look to our culture to define it. Look to the Word of God, to the cross, and to Him who is love, the Lord Jesus Christ.

33:37Let us pray. Father, we admit that this passage at first reading is a little confusing. And yet, embedded within this passage are real truths that can apply to us who profess to be believers. Are we as preoccupied with the glory of God as the Son and the Father are? Do we truly love those in this fellowship sacrificially? Selflessly, and even sometimes, in spite of the loving ability, even if they aren't lovable, and do we make promises that we simply never keep?

34:50Are we truly preoccupied with the glory of God? Do we have a continuous love for the children of God? And are we faithfully, ceaselessly loyal to the Son of God? Lord, while this message clearly is for believers, there may be some in this room who do not yet know Jesus Christ. And everything that has been said here this morning is very difficult for them to embrace because they've never made a profession of faith in Christ. If the individuals in this room are thinking that, may they look and realize that they are sinners and they cannot save themselves. They cannot do it by works. But you sent your Son to die on the cross to pay for the sins of those who will believe. And if you accept that you are a sinner and you place your faith in Christ's work, one can be saved.

36:03Grant us extra motivation, extra wisdom, and provide us with extra grace this week to apply this scripture faithfully. For it's in Jesus' name that we pray. Amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.