SCRIPTURE READING: 1 JOHN
The apostles could write with confidence about what they knew of the Lord Jesus Christ. Their faith could not be shaken by arguments or persecution because they actually heard, saw, and touched the resurrected Jesus many times in the 40 days between his resurrection and ascension to Heaven. The fellowship of Christians today, just like those first-century disciples, is based on being a community of people who have also had encounters with Christ. Though we were not with the original first-century disciples who saw him after he rose from the dead, the fellowship of Christians today is based on an equally-real encounter with Jesus Christ today. But you can’t have fellowship with people if you are not being real with them. There have been many times I have not lived my life as Jesus did even after publicly acknowledging him. I got really good at deceiving myself. Internally, I was often loving the things of the world in wickedness while appearing outwardly like I had it all together. I often wondered if I was so disconnected that it was too late for me. I would read the story of Pharaoh's hard heart in Exodus or Esau's lack of repentance and feel hopeless. But God could see me the whole time and he has never stopped pursuing me. He loved me before I made a profession of faith in him and he continued to love me while having an appearance of loving him that did not match up way too often with what was happening on the inside of me. Not only did I fall short of God's perfect standard, but I also have proudly and defiantly run far in the other direction way too many times.
The book of 1 John tells us that we belong to the devil if we keep on making a practice of sinning. Words are important, but they are empty words if they are not backed up by actions. We are not saved by works, but our faith is dead if works do not accompany the faith we claim to have as the book of James teaches. If a professing Christian is not willing to give up their life for their fellow believers (in service to them or literally if circumstances ever call for such an extreme sacrifice), then that person is still dead in their sins no matter what they may say.
This heart-change that is required is not something we can strive for or work really hard to obtain. You cannot conjure up that which you do not have. If you want your heart to change, you can't do it yourself no matter how hard you try. No amount of self-help can result in a lasting change from the inside out. Luke 9:24 in The Message paraphrase of the Bible reminds us that self-help is no help at all. It is the Lord that must change our hearts because we cannot. You cannot conjure up that which you do not have. Our part is to give up trying harder and instead choose to surrender to God by the power of the Holy Spirit, trusting in what Jesus did on the cross. We must use our free will to make the choice to surrender our will to God's will. Only when you do that can God grant you what you cannot get any other way. Choose to repent of your sins and then trust in what Jesus has done. Don't strive or struggle within yourself, but have faith in the Lord to help you to do it. Only when we do this can we really truly know and understand who God is. Only the Holy Spirit can change the default settings of our sinful nature so that what comes out of us is godly rather than evil.
But what if, like as I described of myself earlier, you feel like you have gone too far and there is no turning back? I have talked to many people while praying with them who have expressed that very concern. They say things like, "I feel too filthy. I have gone too far. God could never forgive me. What's the use in trying when I just keep failing?" I have had all those same thoughts. But 1 John 1:9 tells us that if we confess our sins to God the Father, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all wickedness. He can do this only because of the perfect sacrifice of Jesus on the cross because he is the only one who lived a sinless life and then died in our place. We broke the law and Jesus paid our fine. I owed a debt I could not pay. He paid a debt he did not owe.
The Apostle John warns us not to love this world nor the things it offers us. Jesus said we ccannot serve two masters. We will be loyal to and love only one master. When we call Jesus our Lord, it is not an expression of his divinity or equality with God. The Greek noun translated "Lord" is "kyrios." Your lord is the person or thing to whom you belong. Your lord is the person or thing that makes decisions for you or by which you make decisions. Your lord is your master. When you refer to Jesus of Nazareth as the Lord Jesus Christ, you are identifying Jesus as the Messiah not just of the Jewish people but of the world, and you are calling him your master. Before conversion to Christ, Satan is your owner and controller. Whether you intellectually accept or deny the reality of Satan's existence is irrelevant to the fact that he actually does exist and he is your master if you do not belong to Jesus. If you love the things of the world and what it offers you, Jesus is not your master. God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness. We are not practicing the truth. This is a state I chose to live in off and on far too many times and it has had disastrous results every time I have drifted that way. That is why I write about this now, not just as an encouragement and warning to my readers, but also for my own future accountability.
On the other hand, if your actions and not just your words are righteous, it will give you confidence when you stand before God on Judgment Day. Again, this is not because our actions save us. Ephesians 2:8-9 is clear that God saves by his grace when we believe. We cannot take credit for God's grace when we choose to surrender to it. We would have nothing to surrender to if he wasn't offering his grace to all people as a gift. Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it. If we are professing believers in Christ, let us go through the rest of this day and all future days acting as Jesus does and not just talking a good game. Let us cleanse ourselves and our surroundings of everything that does not please God. Live today actively trusting in what the Lord has done. Don't strive to earn what you can only trust in to legitimately receive.
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