Articles
1 John 3:18
Let us not love in word or in tongue, but in deed and in truth. (1 John 3:18)
John uses a relative comparison to stress the idea of active faith. He is not saying, “Don’t use loving words.” He is saying, “Don’t let your love stop with words but follow through with actions.” It is a lot easier to speak admirably than to practice what we preach.
Why is that? One reason is that we recognize ideals in the abstract, but those ideals have to be acted upon in real-world situations. For example, Peter knew it was noble to defend Jesus and declared he would never do otherwise – just a few short hours before he actually had to practice his words while surrounded by the enemy. He loved in word but not in deed.
In the context of the above admonition, John reflected on Jesus’ love for us: “By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us” (1 Jn 3:16). The true test of Jesus’ love for sinful man came when he did for man what only He could do. He did not merely say He loved us; He demonstrated it at great cost.
It is easy for a man to say he loves his wife, but the validity of his assertion will be sustained or denied by his behavior. The same is true for brethren. Unity and love are proven in action.
