Daily Archives: November 26, 2015

The Test Of A True Believer

Bible Study, ,

THE TEST OF A TRUE BELIEVER

Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and His love is made complete in us. This is how we know that we live in Him and He in us; He has given us of His Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent His Son to be the Saviour of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God (1 John 4: 11-15).

How can we identify true believers against the backdrop of so much false Christianity in the world today?

Some preachers tell us that we must subscribe to the doctrines of their denomination or persuasion to be authentic Christians. As long as we believe, for example, that we have a passport to heaven if we have signed a decision card or answered an altar call and have “accepted Jesus as our personal Saviour”. Any of these actions guarantees that we have been “saved”.

The Bible’s criteria for assurance that we the faithful sons and daughters of God are somewhat different from what these preachers present. John wrote that the test of a true believer lies not in what he says but in what he is and does. The first test of authentic faith is love for God and love for one another. God’s love in us comes from the Holy Spirit. He makes our dead spirits live when we believe and confess that Jesus is the Son of God, and the God raised Him from the dead.

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved (Rom. 10: 9).

He pours the love of God into our hearts.

God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us (Rom. 5: 5b)

He changes us from selfish and greedy rebels to loving and obedient children and reassures us that we are children of God.

The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by Him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children (Rom. 8: 15-16).

Peter explained the meaning of the strange behaviour of the first disciples on the Day of Pentecost. God was fulfilling His promise to “pour out His Spirit on all flesh”, just as Joel had prophesied. The people of Jerusalem were witnessing the culmination of God’s promise to save His people from their sin and to fill them with His presence.

Peter did not invite them to “accept Jesus as their personal Saviour” to save them from the penalty of their sin. He declared the truth that Jesus Christ is both Lord and Christ

Therefore, let all of Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah (Acts 2: 36).

Peter’s statement electrified the people. They responded with the conviction of what they had done and a cry of alarm.

When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do (Acts 2: 37).

Peter reassured them that God would save them if they changed their minds about what they had done to Jesus and received His forgiveness of sin.

Peter replied, “Repent and be baptised, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off – for all whom the Lord our God will call” (Acts 2: 38-39).

Peter’s hearers understood his words. He commanded them to change their minds about Jesus. They crucified Him as a blasphemer. God proved them wrong by raising Him from the dead. He was not an imposter as they believed; He was the Son of God. What they had to do was to acknowledge Him as Lord and confirm their allegiance to Him by submitting to the ritual of baptism into His name. Baptism initiated them into Jesus and identified them with Him and His Body of believers.

Let’s get back to the Word of God!

Scripture is taken from THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.

Have you read my first book, Learning to be a Son – The Way to the Father’s Heart (Copyright © 2015, Partridge Publishing)? You’ll love it!

ISBN: Softcover – 978-1-4828-0512-3,                                                                              eBook 978-4828-0511-6

Available on www.amazon.com in paperback, e-book or Kindle version, on www.takealot.com  or order directly from the publisher at www.partridgepublishing.com.

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WHO MAY DWELL IN YOUR HOLY HILL?

Christian life

With the passing of time we have come to realise that we are living in a world of constant change. Godly principles and values that were once embraced and practised by people to be the only way of life are almost non-existent. The statistics of crime, which include murder, rape and a host of other evil things, continue to show an increase. Churches that once were filled with people seeking God, are now empty, with sport stadiums being filled instead. We are warned of all of this in 2nd Timothy 3:1-4. However, the choice is ours who we will serve.

What I like about reading God’s word is, that the more we delve into it, the more we are see the way Christians should live awaiting their soon coming King. When reading through Psalm 15 especially through verse 1, I seem to think that David, who wrote this psalm, was busy communicating with God when certain thoughts flashed through his mind. It could only be God who made David ask the question about eternity. Verse 1 “Lord who may dwell in your sanctuary? Who may live on your holy hill?” The only thing I could think of was the place where God dwells, heaven, God’s kingdom. Where there is a kingdom, there are citizens who dwell in that kingdom. The sobering thought is what requirements are expected of us to inherit the Kingdom of God. Well the answer is simple. Verse 2 of Psalm 15 has the answer. “He whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous.” As Christians we need to be transparent so that the world can see Jesus in our lives.

When Judy and I were on honeymoon down in Cape Town, busy sightseeing, we were approached by a little Malay boy selling fruit. At the same time two “Duck tail” hooligans went towards the little Malay boy. One of the Duck tails grabbed a lovely big peach without paying for it and was about to eat it when I challenged this individual to either pay for what he had taken or give it back to the seller. By that time I was ready for a fight. Nevertheless the hooligan got the message and replaced the peach. As Christians we know beyond a shadow of a doubt that allowing Christ to be in control of our lives, and not submitting to evil desires, we have a permanent place to dwell in called Heaven with our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. I end by encouraging you to read Jude 1 verses 24&25.

WHO MAY DWELL?

Pastor's Desk,

Dear Family

I am enjoying our “Journey through the Psalms” on a Sunday morning so much. Never before did I realize just how rich and complete the psalms actually are. It’s clearly no wonder that these were used by the ancient (and present) lovers of God to express their devotion, confidence in, inner feelings, fears, faith, hope and pure love for the God of Gods. They are filled with real life people, in real life situations, with real life questions and answers as they interact with a real life God.

One of the many questions which can be found in the Psalms is David’s human attempt to understand who is actually entitled to be found in God’s presence. In Psalm 15 he provides an answer to his question, “Lord, who may dwell in your sanctuary”, listing 11 things:- blameless walk, does what is right, speaks truth, no slander, no wrong to neighbour, no slur against fellow man, despises a vile man, honours those who fear the LORD, keeps his word, lends money without interest, does not accept a bribe. That’s quite a list! It would become a burden above burdens were we to attempt to follow that for the sake of following it by the letter, every day, all day. If you think otherwise, just start with always walking blamelessly and always doing the right thing or being righteous. It’s just not going to happen—if you think you are then you’ve already missed the plot!

I prefer to think that these things are the fruit of true God-lovers. These things will follow those who follow hard after God, who love him with fullness of heart, soul, mind and strength. God’s attributes flowing through his people. The new covenant teaches us in many different ways that “It does not depend on man’s desire or effort, but on God’s mercy.” It’s really all about what he has achieved on our behalf—his righteousness become ours because of what he has done for us. What a relief! My end of the agreement to is keep loving him and allowing him to change what needs to be changed. Co-operation with his ways, led by his Spirit is what’s needed, not an exhausting attempt to keep a list of rules and regulations. When I look around at the practices of some “Christian” churches and see the cloaks of religious practice in order to please God, I am just so thankful that this is not what Jesus came for! I choose to enter His rest rather than my struggle.