There are people who wreck the lives of other innocent people. Many do this intentionally, taking advantage of innocents for their own selfish gain. This is not love. Love doesn’t intentionally hurt others. It’s crazy we have to clarify this, but you’d be surprised at just how many Christians embrace wolves whose only intent is to harm innocent people. A main reason this happens is that we are inherently terrible at identifying wolves, so the assumption is that we’re all in this church together.
John paints a very different picture. He says very bluntly, “And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. Whoever says, ‘I know him’ but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected” (1 John 2:3-5 ESV). John goes on to say that we know that we are in Christ because whoever says he abides in Christ ought to walk as he did. That’s it. People who claim to love Christ but don’t keep his commandments, hurting innocents in the process, are liars.
If we understand this one simple truth, we will be way ahead of the majority of Christians who keep welcoming wolves into the church in the name of Jesus.