Love Is the Proof You’re Alive


"Love Is the Proof You’re Alive"

1 John 3:14–15 (KJV)

We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.


I. Introduction – The Heartbeat Test

Church, there’s a test doctors give to check if someone is alive — they check for a pulse.
But John is giving us the spiritual pulse test:


Do you love your brothers and sisters in Christ?

You can’t fake a heartbeat for long.
You can’t fake love for long either — eventually your real spiritual condition shows.

If love is absent… John says, You’re still in death.


II. Passing From Death to Life

John doesn’t say, We hope, we think, or we guess.
He says, We know.
The moment you were born again, God took you from the graveyard of sin into the kingdom of life.
Ephesians 2:1 says you were dead in trespasses and sins — not sick, not weak, but dead.

And the proof that you’ve crossed over? Love for the brethren.

Not just love for the ones you like…
Not just love for the ones who agree with you…
But love for the family of God — all of them.


III. Abiding in Death

John says, He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.
That word “abide” means to live there.

Some people attend church but live in the cemetery spiritually.
They clap during worship, but go home with grudges.
They say “God bless you” with their mouth, but curse people in their heart.

Friend, you can’t live in death and claim to walk in life.


IV. Hate is Murder

Verse 15 cuts deep:

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer.

Jesus said in Matthew 5:21–22 that anger and hatred in the heart is already murder in God’s eyes.

You don’t have to pull the trigger to be guilty — you just have to harbor the poison.
Hatred is slow murder…
It kills your peace.
It kills relationships.
It kills your fellowship with God.

And John says, No murderer hath eternal life abiding in him.
Not “less” eternal life — no eternal life.


V. The Only Cure – God’s Love in Us

You can’t force yourself to love this way.
You can’t grit your teeth and say, “I’ll try harder.”
You need a heart transplant.
And there’s only One who can do it — Jesus Christ.

Romans 5:5 says, The love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost.

When you truly encounter the cross —
When you see how Jesus loved you while you were His enemy —
That love begins to flow through you to others.


VI. Call to Repentance

Church, I believe there are some here who have been walking with a dead heart.
You’ve been holding on to bitterness…
You’ve been rehearsing wrongs instead of releasing them…
You’ve been saying “I can’t forgive” — but really it’s “I won’t forgive.”

Jesus is here tonight to raise the dead.
If you’ve been in death — spiritually cold, dry, and loveless — He’s ready to breathe life into you.

But you must come.
You must repent.
You must lay that hatred, bitterness, and unforgiveness at the foot of the cross.


VII. Conclusion – The Life Test

Here’s the question: If love is the test of life, do you pass?

If not, don’t leave this place the same way you came.
God is calling you from the graveyard into the garden.
From bitterness into blessing.
From hatred into holiness.
From death into life.



If the Holy Spirit has touched your heart tonight…
If there’s someone you’ve been hating, avoiding, or refusing to forgive…
If you realize you’ve been spiritually dead and need God’s life in you…
Come to the altar. Kneel before Him.
Let Him pour His love into you right now.


Closing Prayer:

Lord Jesus, we confess that without You we are dead in sin. Forgive us for hatred, bitterness, and unforgiveness. Wash us clean by Your blood. Fill our hearts with Your love, so we may truly live. Let us pass from death to life today, and let the proof be our love for one another. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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