We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death [1 John 3:14].

"We know that we have passed from death unto life." You can know whether you are a child of God or not. The idea that we cannot know is a big mistake because the Word of God says that we can know that we have passed from death unto life. How do we know it? "Because we love the brethren." Do you have a love in your heart for the brethren?

One of the greatest experiences that I have had in my ministry is to travel throughout this country, speaking at conferences in many places and meeting many wonderful believers. We have had several rather interesting experiences as we have gone on our way. I recall one time when I was in a city in the East, and I felt very much alone. My wife was not with me at the time, and I felt very, very lonesome. I had gone into a restaurant and had just given my order to the waitress when a man sitting at the next table got up and came over to me. He said, "Dr. McGee, I didn’t expect to see you here!" I said, "Well, to whom do I have the pleasure of speaking?" He said, "I have never met you before. To tell the truth, I’ve never seen you before, but I listen to you on the radio. May I sit down?" So he sat down, and he and I had one of the most wonderful times of fellowship. How did we have it? Well, he was a child of God, and I am a child of God. He hadn’t even known that I was to be speaking in that area, but he came with his wife to the meetings after I told him about them. We went out after the service for refreshments, and I probably ought to say that he picked up the tab—which to me was a proof that he was a real brother! It is quite wonderful to be in the ministry today and to meet wonderful Christians all around the country.

Another time I was on a golf course in Florida, and there was a couple ahead of us who were slowing us down. I even yelled at them one time because of it. Finally, when we came right up to where they were playing, the man looked up at me and said, "Dr. McGee, I didn’t know you were here playing golf. In fact, I didn’t even know you were in this part of the country. Were you the fellow who was trying to hurry us along?" When I admitted that I was, he said, "I’ll be very frank with you. I’ve been to the doctor, and I’m not too well yet so I must play slowly." So I had to apologize to the man for my being very rude and abrupt and trying to get him to hurry. Then we just had a wonderful time of fellowship. Our twosome joined his twosome, and we played along together. We got so involved talking that the foursome behind us yelled at us for not moving along! Again, that was someone I had never seen before, and yet I found him to be my brother, and we enjoyed fellowship together. This is what John is talking about. Do you love the brethren? When you can meet around the person of Christ, when you can talk about Christ with other folk, you have a brother or sister, my friend.

"He that loveth not his brother abideth in death." There are those who do not seem to have any concern for the children of God, but you and I are to have a concern. I always look forward to our Bible conference tours because a lot of the folk will be people whom I have never met before. Yet we will have about two weeks of the most wonderful fellowship that you have ever heard of. Why? Because we love the brethren, and that’s a proof of our salvation, friend. There is no greater proof than that as far as your heart is concerned.

Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer: and ye know that no murderer hath eternal life abiding in him [1 John 3:15].

"Whosoever hateth his brother is a murderer." I didn’t say that; John said that, and again he is quoting the Lord Jesus. In Matthew 5:21–22 we read, "Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment: But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire." May I say to you, these are strong words. The Lord Jesus said that if you have hatred in your heart toward your brother, it means that you are a murderer. Envy and jealousy lead to hatred, and hatred is murder. How many murderers are there around today? By this standard that God has put before us, there are more murderers out of jail than there are in jail.

I am sure you realize that this passage does not teach that an actual murderer cannot be saved. Christ paid the penalty for all sins—even taking the life of another. However, when a man is saved, he will no longer live in hatred.

May I remind you that John’s emphasis in this section is the two natures of the believer. When you become a child of God, you do not get rid of your old nature. Rather, you have two natures—an old nature and a new nature. We have seen that the new nature is the only nature that can please God. Man in his natural state is unable to please God; the carnal mind is enmity against God. Therefore, as believers, there are times when we feel like praying, and there are times when we do not feel like praying. There is a hymn ("Come Thou Fount" by Robert Robinson) that says:

Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it

Prone to leave the God I love.

Someone read that and said that it didn’t express his feelings; so he changed the wording. You will find one version in some songbooks, the other version in other songbooks. The other wording is:

Prone to worship, Lord, I feel it,

Prone to serve the God I love.

Which is true of a believer? Is he prone to wander, or is he prone to worship? I would say that both are true. I have a nature that I’ve discovered is prone to wander. I have another nature that’s prone to worship. God says, "If you are My child, then you will manifest My nature. You will manifest that new nature which I have given to you."

McGee, J. V. (1991). Thru the Bible commentary: The Epistles (1 John) (electronic ed., Vol. 56, pp. 104–106). Nashville: Thomas Nelson.