1 John 4:20
[20] “If a man say, I love God, and hateth his brother, he is a liar: for he that loveth not his brother whom he hath seen, how can he love God whom he hath not seen?”
I want you to think about the first phrase of our verse today, “If a man say”. People will say a lot of things, but just because someone says something, that doesn’t make it true. In fact, the Bible teaches us here that if a man says one thing, but his life doesn’t back it up, then he is a liar. You cannot say you love God and hate your brother. Saying that something is so, does not make it so.
Think about the man in our text. I think the man is saved, because the verse declares that he has a brother in Christ. The Bible is clear in the phrase “loveth not HIS brother”. You cannot have a brother without being a brother. The truth is that he may be saved, but he is a hypocrite, and an imposter. He is saying he has a right relationship with God, but he does not have a right relationship with his brother. The Bible calls this man a liar.
This man needs to remove the mask of religious pride and hypocrisy. He needs to get real about himself, his relationship with God, and the broken fellowship he has in his heart toward a brother. How much stronger and thriving would our churches be today if God’s children would exercise this principle? We could have revival, if only believers would lay aside feelings and differences, and restore relationships with each other. The mask must first be removed. If you have something in your heart toward another believer, then make it right today. This will hinder your walk with God. No matter what you say, the Bible is clear that you can’t love God, whom you cannot see, if you can’t love your brother, whom you can see. Take off the mask.