Tag Archives: that person is a liar

LOVE EQUALS OBEDIENCE

Christian Life, ,

LOVE EQUALS OBEDIENCE


“And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”
1 John 2:3-6 NLT

How many church goers today live in self-deception!  Claiming to be “born-again” believers is no criterion unless obedience to Jesus as Lord accompanies the claim.

Jesus gave His disciples a simple test… “Do you love me? Then do what I tell you.” He asked a question of those who persistently followed Him without ever having any intention to be true disciples.

“So why do you keep calling me ‘Lord, Lord!’ when you don’t do what I say? I will show you what it’s like when someone comes to me, listens to my teaching, and then follows it. It is like a person building a house who digs deep and lays the foundation on solid rock. When the floodwaters rise and break against that house, it stands firm because it is well built.”
Luke 6:46-48 NLT

Obedience to Jesus’s teaching is the only proof that we are His disciples, in union with Him through the indwelling Holy Spirit and representing Him to an unbelieving world. Such followers experience the power of His life working in and through them.

Unfortunately, there are streams in the modern church that go after “signs and wonders” to prove their allegiance to Jesus. Some claim supernatural offices and accompanying “ministries” as their superior authority in the church.

“Not everyone who calls out to me, ‘Lord! Lord!’ will enter the Kingdom of Heaven. Only those who actually do the will of my Father in heaven will enter. On judgment day, many will say to me, ‘Lord! Lord! We prophesied in your name and cast out demons in your name and performed many miracles in your name.’ But I will reply, ‘I never knew you. Get away from me, you who break God’s laws.’ “
Matthew 7:21-23 NLT

Jesus set a different, simple test to authenticate a true disciple. “Knowing Him” is the real issue.

“And this is the way to have eternal life—to know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, the one you sent to earth.”
John 17:3 NLT

What does knowing Him mean?

King Jehoiakim, son of Josiah, failed to live up to his father’s example. He lavished his wealth on himself instead of caring for his needy subjects. God came down hard on him, revealing, at the same time, His criterion for knowing God.

“But a beautiful cedar palace does not make a great king! Your father, Josiah, also had plenty to eat and drink. But he was just and right in all his dealings. That is why God blessed him. He gave justice and help to the poor and needy, and everything went well for him. Isn’t that what it means to know me?” says the Lord.”
Jeremiah 22:15-16 NLT

So, we can only prove any claim that we know God to be true if we genuinely share Jesus’ heart for people. This means doing something about their needs if we can. Of course, we can’t save the world but, as Mother Teresa said, when challenged, “I can save this one!”

Jesus judges the nations by the same standard as He judges individuals.

“But when the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit upon his glorious throne. All the nations will be gathered in his presence, and he will separate the people as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. He will place the sheep at his right hand and the goats at his left. “Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the creation of the world. For I was hungry, and you fed me. I was thirsty, and you gave me a drink. I was a stranger, and you invited me into your home. I was naked, and you gave me clothing. I was sick, and you cared for me. I was in prison, and you visited me.’ “
Matthew 25:31-36 NL

Just imagine, if the church, including those who fight about doctrines, claim illegitimate authority, or sniff out those who don’t believe or do what they do, cared more about loving Jesus by loving His people, what a witness to the world that would be!

SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE

Christian Life, ,

SHOW ME THE EVIDENCE


“And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”
1 John 2:3-6 NLT

It’s a tragedy that so many people who claim to be God’s children have been lulled to sleep or lured away from the simple truths of the gospel by additions to His Word that pander to the flesh. Their unchanged lives expose their self-deception and reveal the lie that they know God.

The Bible is very clear. Faith in Jesus produces miraculous changes in us that only God’s grace can make. Outside of the power of His grace revealed to us in His salvation, we can make claims and pretend for a while but, inevitably, our self-effort will fail and we will revert to our old, ungodly ways.

What changes has grace made in our lives that confirm our new position and status as members of His family and citizens in His kingdom?

We have a new Master. Our faith in Jesus is based on the truth that Jesus, not Satan, is Lord.

“If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.”
Romans 10:9 NLT

We have been supernaturally delivered from Satan’s domain to live under the supreme authority of Jesus in God’s kingdom.

“For he has rescued us from the kingdom of darkness and transferred us into the Kingdom of his dear Son,”
Colossians 1:13 NLT

He has raised us from spiritual death and given us new life in Christ.

“Once you were dead because of your disobedience and your many sins…. But God is so rich in mercy, and he loved us so much, that even though we were dead because of our sins, he gave us life when he raised Christ from the dead. (It is only by God’s grace that you have been saved!)”
Ephesians 2:1, 4-5 NLT

He gave us His nature which we share by accessing His promises of power and grace.

“And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”
2 Peter 1:4 NLT

He has permanently erased our past and made us a new species in Christ.

“This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!”
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT

We are no longer God’s enemies. He has reconciled us to Himself by forgiving our sin and giving us the righteousness of Jesus.

“Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us…. For since our friendship with God was restored by the death of his Son while we were still his enemies, we will certainly be saved through the life of his Son.”
Romans 5:1, 10 NLT

We have God’s peace ruling in our hearts.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6-7 NLT

He has given us everything we need to live godly lives.

“By his divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know him, the one who called us to himself by means of his marvellous glory and excellence. And because of his glory and excellence, he has given us great and precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share his divine nature and escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.”
2 Peter 1:3-4 NLT

And so we can go enumerating every detail of this miraculous transaction called “salvation” that Jesus accomplished through His death in the cross.

Our allegiance to Jesus and the transformation He has made in us by His grace gives us a powerful motivation to obey His commandments. Our response to His great love binds our hearts to Him.

“This is real love—not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins.”
1 John 4:10 NLT

Jesus bound up all His commandments in one simple instruction.

“So now I am giving you a new commandment: Love each other. Just as I have loved you, you should love each other. Your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples.”
John 13:34-35 NLT

“Dear friends, since God loved us that much, we surely ought to love each other. No one has ever seen God. But if we love each other, God lives in us, and his love is brought to full expression in us.”
1 John 4:11-12 NLT

“Live a life filled with love, following the example of Christ. He loved us and offered himself as a sacrifice for us, a pleasing aroma to God.”
Ephesians 5:2 NLT

Loving His people is Jesus’ simple test and prescription for obeying Him. How did He restore Peter after His denial?

“After breakfast, Jesus asked Simon Peter, “Simon son of John, do you love me more than these?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter replied, “you know I love you.” “Then feed my lambs,” Jesus told him. Jesus repeated the question: “Simon son of John, do you love me?” “Yes, Lord,” Peter said, “you know I love you.” “Then take care of my sheep,” Jesus said. A third time he asked him, “Simon son of John, do you love me?” Peter was hurt that Jesus asked the question a third time. He said, “Lord, you know everything. You know that I love you.” Jesus said, “Then feed my sheep.”
John 21:15-17 NLT

Not, “Why did you do it?” or “You are suspended for a while,” or “You are disqualified from ministry,” but “Do you love me?”

Jesus asks us to…
Take care of our family’s practical needs…

“If someone has enough money to live well and sees a brother or sister in need but shows no compassion—how can God’s love be in that person?”
1 John 3:17 NLT

Guard our unity by submitting to one another…

“Make every effort to keep yourselves united in the Spirit, binding yourselves together with peace. For there is one body and one Spirit, just as you have been called to one glorious hope for the future. There is one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God and Father of all, who is over all, in all, and living through all.”
Ephesians 4:3-6 NLT

“And further, submit to one another out of reverence for Christ.”
Ephesians 5:21 NLT

Preserve and protect our fellowship with each other…

“Always be humble and gentle. Be patient with each other, making allowance for each other’s faults because of your love.”
Ephesians 4:2 NLT

Build each other up in our faith…

“Now these are the gifts Christ gave to the church: the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, and the pastors and teachers. Their responsibility is to equip God’s people to do his work and build up the church, the body of Christ. This will continue until we all come to such unity in our faith and knowledge of God’s Son that we will be mature in the Lord, measuring up to the full and complete standard of Christ. Then we will no longer be immature like children. We won’t be tossed and blown about by every wind of new teaching. We will not be influenced when people try to trick us with lies so clever, they sound like the truth. Instead, we will speak the truth in love, growing in every way more and more like Christ, who is the head of his body, the church. He makes the whole body fit together perfectly. As each part does its own special work, it helps the other parts grow, so that the whole body is healthy and growing and full of love.”
Ephesians 4:11-16 NLT

So, unless there is evidence of God’s powerful intervention to transform our lives, any claim to know God without the evidence is a lie.