Have No Fear—Perfect, Fearless Love Is Here | 1 John 4:17-19

Lord's Day: September 28, 2025 Preacher: Carlos Montijo Series: First John Topic: Love Scripture: 1 John 4:14–19; Ecclesiastes 12:13; Hebrews 4:14–16; 1 Corinthians 2:16; Philippians 2:5–11; Romans 11:22; Ephesians 2:3–9; 1:4–6; Romans 5:6–11; 2 Peter 3:16; 1 John 2:1–2; Titus 3:4–7; Romans 8:29–30

I. We have more departed brothers who, being united to Christ, are now confident and without fear in the next world

• Death of Voddie Baucham, please pray for his wife and large family, 9 kids, personal inspiration for us to live up to
• Llisten to his preaching, teaching, and read his books
• God has not abandoned us, nor His church. He will continue to raise up godly men for such a time as this, who may not be as famous, but nevertheless faithful, uncompromising brothers, and God’s people can still continue to be edified by the contributions of the faithful men that have recently departed

II. There is no fear in love…

• Fear as in “afraid of” or fear as in “awe, reverence, worship”? φόβος phobos
• God reassures us by telling us not only that perfect love has no fear, but that “perfect love casts out fear”—expels fear

III. How then does perfect love cast out fear? What is this perfect love?

• Our perfect love ultimately refers to—and points back to—God’s own perfect, redemptive love for us—the gospel
• God’s love gives us confidence to live without fear, to have the same mind of Christ (1 Cor. 2:16) that the Song of Christ (Carmen Christi) reveals to us
• God is always good, always, without fail and without exception, both in His kindness and in His severity, holiness, justice, judgment (Rom. 11:22)

IV. All of this and more is why the God-breathed apostle continues to reveal to us in verse 19…

• We ourselves love God and our fellow man, because He Himself first loved us

V. This is one of the most emphatic doctrines in all of Scripture—the gospel of what God’s love has done for us.

• One of the most obvious examples that “are so clearly set forth and explained in one place of Scripture or another” (2LBCF 1:7), of why we no longer have a fearful expectation of God’s judgment, of why we have a perfect love that casts out all fear, is because of God’s own perfect, omnipotent, sovereign, sufficient, sacrificial love for us, His Redemptive, Restorative, Regenerative, Reformative Love
• Do you see this? Do you believe this? Do you have this perfect, mature, fearless love, that does not fear God’s judgment, but instead looks forward to it? Eagerly anticipates it?

What have I to dread, what have I to fear,
leaning on the everlasting arms?
I have blessed peace with my Lord so near,
leaning on the everlasting arms.
safe and secure from all alarms

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• ThornCrown Covenant Baptist Church
  4712 Montana Ave
  El Paso, Texas 79903

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Scripture quotations taken from the (LSB®) Legacy Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2021 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. Managed in partnership with Three Sixteen Publishing Inc. LSBible.org and 316publishing.com