How Do We Know We Are Truly Christ's?

How do we know we are one of God’s saved people? I will let God from His Holy Word answer this question, lest I be accused of being a Pharisee for suggesting the truth that some of us are merely fooling ourselves.

John 14:15
 If you love me, you will keep my commandments.

John 15:14
 You are my friends if you do what I command you.

John 8:31
 So Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, "If you continue in My word, then you are truly disciples of Mine;

1 John 2:3-6
 By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments.  The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;  but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:  the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.

Please look these verses up in their Biblical context and see how they speak to your own personal walk. Read the entire Bible and draw on other sources and teachers to be sure you understand the perils of our own sinful disobedience to God. Yes, we all fall short of the glory of God. But that falling short doesn’t mean we just gloss over our own salvation experience with this lie of the devil that we can simply make some light-hearted confession while going on to live the same way we always have.

You can call me a Pharisee for always preaching these things, but trust me, I know my own heart and the depths of my own sinful nature. I know I’m not doing a very good job at following Christ in the way Jesus tells me to. As the above - mentioned verses speak to. The Pharisees believed themselves righteous. I know I have only one hope and that hope is in the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Call me something else because Pharisee isn’t the right term for me.

But even if I am a miserable failure of a Christian, that doesn’t lessen the truth of God’s Word which clearly states that true disciples obey their teacher. I am only trying to stay faithful to sharing the Word of God because that is what it says. I do not want to hear the terrible words that many will hear from Jesus on that day He speaks of in Matthew 7:21-23
 

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Jesus follows that up with this.

Matthew 7:24-27
 “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock.  And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand.  And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.”

That scares me. We need to encourage each other but we also must admonish each other with truth. I close with one more scripture, one I post a lot and it is always my response to those who wish to argue or accuse. Don’t listen to me. But listen to God.

Philippians 2:12-13
 Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.

 

 

 

Why We Fear Death and How Not To

Death. The very word sounds scary. The topic of death for many, is a subject they prefer not to talk about. We even have a word that people use when they feel uncomfortable when someone gets a little too familiar with death in conversation. We say they are being morbid, and the implication of the adjective is that we don’t wish to hear such talk.

Yet, the world of entertainment is filled with the subject of death. Go to the library and look at the novels. The shelves are filled with books about murders and the mysteries that surround them. Our movies and TV shows are often centered on the deaths that occur in real life. We even have dinner shows called Murder Mystery Dinners, that allow us to participate in the old ‘who done it” theme.

But then again, we spend millions upon millions on medical treatments and research on how to defeat death. We clamor against cancer and other diseases, demanding our government spend more on this quest for immortality.

In truth, death is a huge part of our lives. We even have a saying about it. We like to say that there are only two sure things in life; taxes and death. But that’s a poor statement. You do not have to pay taxes. There are several ways around that. But there is no way around death. It will come. And no one has a clue when. It could occur at any minute to anyone of us. And that scares us.

Why are we afraid of death? For one thing, as I alluded to above, we simply don’t know when it will strike. But the other thing about death is that it brings an end, and that end brings something that we have never experienced personally. That makes the other side of death a place of the unknown. And the unknown is scary.

But Christians who have read their Bibles know what death brings. They know that, while it is the end of life as we know it on earth, it is not the end. The Bible is clear about death. It tells us that though it is an end, it is also a beginning. The Bible tells us that all of us are eternal beings. And it tells us that in death, eternity will bring judgment. And judgment is scary.

The world hates judgment. People say they want justice, but they only really want justice to be served on others, because justice demands judgment and judgment demands punishment. Punishment is scary.

This is why the world hates Christians.

The world hates Christians because the world knows we speak of the truth when we speak of judgment and that we tell them that without Christ as their Lord and Savior, their death will bring judgment. They are afraid of death, because they are afraid of judgment and deep down in the recesses of their hearts and minds, they know they are guilty. They hate it when we quote the Bible. They hate when we quote Romans 3:23 which tells us that all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God. They hate it when we quote 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 that warns us about the consequences of sin with these words, “Or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived; neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor homosexuals, nor thieves, nor the covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor swindlers, will inherit the kingdom of God.” They hate this verse because they know all of us are guilty of the sins it speaks of.

They hate it because this verse speaks to the result of those who die without Christ and who will face judgment on the basis of their own merits. This makes death very scary.

Therefore we must preach the entire Gospel, not just tell them that Jesus loves them. Death, without Jesus is scary and the world needs to know this. Without Christ we are slaves to fear and sin. But Christians have been set free from this fear of death. And it was the death of Christ by which we are set free.

Hebrews 2:14-15
Therefore, since the children share in flesh and blood, He Himself likewise also partook of the same, that through death He might render powerless him who had the power of death, that is, the devil, and might free those who through fear of death were subject to slavery all their lives.

Christians should not fear death. We have been freed from that fear because if our faith is in the work of Christ and not our own, we are free of the judgment that death will bring.

Romans 8:1-2
There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.  For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death.

Christians, we are free from the law of sin and death. We no longer should fear death.

The greatest witness to the lost and dying world is to show them this truth by how we live. We must live free of fear and free of the sin that causes us to be afraid.

Let us go forth in freedom.

Getting Over the Hump of Hump Day

Today is Wednesday, the day that those who go to work every Monday through Friday, call hump day. This is the day that when you get through, you know you are over the “hump’, your work week is halfway finished. Most people long for the weekend. They are like little worker ants, going back and forth to work, over and over until it becomes a monotonous life. The wisest man that ever lived understood the drudgery of this life. Solomon had this say in the Book of Ecclesiastes.

Therefore I hated life because the work that was done under the sun was distressing to me, for all is vanity and grasping for the wind.  Then I hated all my labor in which I had toiled under the sun, because I must leave it to the man who will come after me.  And who knows whether he will be wise or a fool? Yet he will rule over all my labor in which I toiled and in which I have shown myself wise under the sun. This also is vanity.  Therefore I turned my heart and despaired of all the labor in which I had toiled under the sun. - Ecclesiastes 2:17-20

For what has man for all his labor, and for the striving of his heart with which he has toiled under the sun?  For all his days are sorrowful, and his work burdensome; even in the night his heart takes no rest. This also is vanity. - Ecclesiastes 2:22-23

Can you relate? I know there were many days I felt exactly this way during the forty-some years I was in the work force. It all seemed pointless. Truthfully, without the hope we have in Jesus for the eternity to come, it is pointless. If you don’t live with the view of eternal life, you will die one day and someone else will have all that you worked for.

Solomon has a suggestion for those whose life is void of God.

So I commended pleasure, for there is nothing good for a man under the sun except to eat and to drink and to be merry, and this will stand by him in his toils throughout the days of his life which God has given him under the sun. - Ecclesiastes 8:15

And that is exactly what so many do. They whine, complain, and drag themselves through the week, living only to party. Some go home everyday and medicate themselves with drinks and drugs just to get through the day to day grind. The problem is this does not satisfy. Solomon knew this; he tested it out. No one partied like him. He had it all and in the end, he found it all to be a waste.

He came to this conclusion when the party ended.

The conclusion, when all has been heard, is: fear God and keep His commandments, because this applies to every person.  For God will bring every act to judgment, everything which is hidden, whether it is good or evil. - Ecclesiastes 12:13-14

It’s hump day. What will you do with the rest of your week? Your life?

There is a better way. Begin to live for Jesus. Do all things as if it was Him you are doing it for. Go to work and do it to His glory. Spend your time off enjoying life and giving glory to God by finding joy in the hope that this life is merely the path to eternity, where those who know Christ, will live in eternal bliss, unlike anything we can presently know. Listen to the words of Jesus as found in John 10:7-10 , "Truly, truly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.  "All who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.  "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.  "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came that they may have life, and have it abundantly.”

There’s a better way. There’s a better life. There’s an abundant life in Jesus.

Today is hump day. But it can be more, so much more.

Working together with him, then, we appeal to you not to receive the grace of God in vain.  For he says, “In a favorable time I listened to you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you.” Behold, now is the favorable time; behold, now is the day of salvation. - 2 Corinthians 6:1-2

It's Not About Us - Understanding The Tragedies of Life

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I have something we all need to hear this morning. You might want to sit down or at least grab ahold of something to steady yourselves. Here it comes. This world does not exist for your good pleasure. It does not revolve around you.

Even if you are a follower of Christ, this truth is no different. God did not create us so that we might live out these wonderful little lives, filled with fun and happiness. God created us, so that in us, He would be glorified. This oft misunderstood truth is presented throughout the scriptures, but this morning I present this truth through the well-known story of Lazarus, the man Jesus raised from the dead.

Take a moment to open your Bible and turn to the Gospel of John, chapter 11. Beginning in verse one, we read that there was a man named Lazarus who got sick and ends up dying. Knowing he is already dead, Jesus takes His time getting there. But before he goes, He makes a statement that is key to understanding the Christian life. He says this in John 11:4, "This sickness is not to end in death, but for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

Take a moment and digest what Jesus said. This entire event has occurred “for the glory of God.” Why? So that the “Son of God may be glorified by it."

To the person who fails to understand God and who He is, this story comes across as harsh. Lazarus gets sick. Jesus is very close to the three people in the story, Lazarus, Mary, and Martha, as a matter of Biblical record, he loves them. Yet, despite His proclaimed love for them, He doesn’t rush to the scene to perform one of His great miracles of healing. No, He lets him die.

Now think about this from the perspective of Mary and Martha, who have sent word to Jesus that their other friend was sick. They know Jesus has the power of healing. They probably know Jesus, in His deity, would have already known Lazarus was sick. From our viewpoint we would say they have every right to be very upset over how Jesus responds.

The truth is, when tragedy befalls us or someone we love, we go to God in prayer and we ask Him to respond to our request and save us from the pain of whatever the tragedy is. And that is the proper response, for it demonstrates our dependence on Him. Sometimes God shows up and immediately answers the prayer. When that happens, we raise our hands and praise Him. We share the story and give God the glory.

But what happens when God, like Jesus does here in this story, doesn’t show up. What happens when death takes our loved one? When sickness lingers on and brings great suffering? What do we do when the answer to our prayer is no? Or when the answer is wait?

The key to our faith is to trust in God and to cling firmly to our faith. But that answer will not suffice unless we fully understand that the purpose of all things has at it greatest point, the glory of God. We must understand that sometimes we simply will not understand. Listen to what God says to us from the great prophet, Isaiah.

Isaiah 55:8-9
"For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways," declares the LORD.  "For as the heavens are higher than the earth, So are My ways higher than your ways And My thoughts than your thoughts.”

Sometimes, we simply cannot understand God’s ways. But we can know this for a fact; whatever has occurred has occurred, “for the glory of God, so that the Son of God may be glorified by it."

The story of Lazarus turns out well, Jesus raises Him from the dead. John adds this fact at the end of the story, “Therefore many of the Jews who came to Mary, and saw what He had done, believed in Him.”

Maybe your story hasn’t ended that way. But even so, you can be sure that it ended as God intended it to, and it will bring Glory to Him. This story ought to also motivate us to be very active in sharing the Gospel for no matter what this life brings, to those who receive Christ as their Lord and Savior, they, like Lazarus, will be resurrected unto new life.

The life we live on this earth is hard and even Jesus promised we would have tribulation. We simply must understand that there are things at work much higher than our understanding and at the apex of it all, is the Glory of God. He didn’t create us so we could eat, drink, and be merry. He didn’t save us for that either.

Ephesians 2:10
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.

When we walk in good works, we bring glory to God. It isn’t always easy, but he has promised to walk with us though the journey. But the journey isn’t about us; it’s about Him.

Now unto him that is able to keep you from falling, and to present you faultless before the presence of his glory with exceeding joy,  To the only wise God our Saviour, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and ever. Amen. - Jude 1:24-25

What Is a True Believer

Recently I was somewhat attacked for using the term “true believer” in a comment I had made on a Facebook post. It wasn’t a non-believer who attacked my use of the term, it was someone who claimed to follow Christ. This morning as I was spending time studying God’s Word, I happened to be in John 8:30-36, in which Jesus addresses this very topic.

Look at the scriptures:

John 8:30-36
As he was saying these things, many believed in him.  So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”  They answered him, “We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, ‘You will become free’?”  Jesus answered them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin.  The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever.  So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed.

Jesus has once again been preaching and teaching and the reading says that because of His preaching, “many believed in Him.” But Jesus is not content with that fact, because as my point was when I got attacked for suggesting there are two types of believers, true believers and false believers, He makes a direct reference to this truth. Listen to him:

“If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.”

There is a test to determine if we are “truly” His disciple. Paul gave us a warning and an instruction in 2 Corinthians 13:5, saying, “Examine yourselves, to see whether you are in the faith. Test yourselves. Or do you not realize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you?—unless indeed you fail to meet the test!”

According to both Jesus and the Apostle Paul, it is possible to be deceived into thinking one is a true follower of Christ. Still not buying this? Here are some more scriptures that speak to the test of true discipleship from God’s Word:

Matthew 12:50
“For whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother.”

John 14:15
“If you love me, you will keep my commandments.”

John 14:21
Whoever has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me. And he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him.”

John 14:23-24
Jesus answered him, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.  Whoever does not love me does not keep my words. And the word that you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me.

John 15:10
“If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love.”

John 15:14
“You are my friends if you do what I command you.”

1 John 2:4-6
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. By this we may know that we are in him:  whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.

1 John 3:24
Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us.

1 John 5:3
For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome.

Yes, there is a test of what defines us as a true Christian. The Bible is clear; it is the test of our faith that if we keep His commandments, we are His. If we think we can simply go to church, hear a preacher tell us to “accept” Jesus, walk down the isle and say a prayer, get baptized, but then go back out into the world and just keep living the same life we had before, we are deceived by the devil and are in eternal peril.

I’m not passing judgment upon any one, I’m merely sharing the truth of the Bible. Each of us are called to examine ourselves, to take this test of faith. True Christians, listen carefully, are not saved by their good deeds and by ceasing to sin, they are saved only by the grace and mercy of God through faith in the atoning work of Christ, who paid the penalty of our sin on the cross. But according to scripture, that faith is proved by our obedience to the commands of the Word of God, and we are commanded to test that faith.

I close with another passage from Jesus, in which we see the importance of following this command to test ourselves.

Matthew 7:21-23
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.  On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’  And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’”

Jesus teaches that there is a difference between a disciple and a true disciple. And that truth is what determines our eternal destination.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

How To Live 2019 Without Worry, Anxiety, and Fear

Isn’t it amazing that we Christians say that we trust God with our eternal destination? We say we believe in the Jesus of the Bible. We say that we trust that that the Bible is the very word of God, though written by the hand of men, we believe they were supernaturally inspired by the Holy Spirit to write it. We say we trust in the story of Jesus as the Bible records it, that He was born of a virgin, healed the sick, raised the dead, was crucified on the cross, died, was buried only to be raised from the dead three days later, to then finally ascend back to heaven, where He now sits at the right hand of God, having made the way for us to enter into the very presence of God upon our death, where we will live for eternity.

We say we believe all that. That takes faith, a lot of faith. By faith we trust God has saved us unto eternal life, yet we worry and get anxious over the physical elements of life on earth.

Cancer scares the daylights out us. The possibility of losing our jobs petrifies us. The stock market, the price of gas, and the rising cost of medical insurance weighs heavily upon our minds. The crime, violence, drugs, and the possibility of our children becoming kidnapped into the hands of child pornographers, has created a culture that is afraid to even let their children play outside or walk the dog, unless we are within reach of them. The list of things that bring fear and anxiety has no end.

Yet, the message of the same Bible that tells us that we have a sure hope of eternal life, rails against worry, anxiety, and fear. It makes no sense to live in the belief that our eternal life is secure, but our earthly one is in such constant peril that we worry and get anxious.

2018 is over. If you are reading this, you survived another one. If you are a Christian and you died in 2018, you are in the presence of Jesus. Either way, the Bible spoke the truth. As we begin a new year, what if we made it our life’s passion to make one change? What if we followed through with the faith we are called to have and actually believed God?

Let’s take a quick look at the Word of God and see what He has to say about worry, anxiety, and fear.

Matthew 6:25-34
 "For this reason I say to you, do not be worried about your life, as to what you will eat or what you will drink; nor for your body, as to what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?  "Look at the birds of the air, that they do not sow, nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they?  "And who of you by being worried can add a single hour to his life?  "And why are you worried about clothing? Observe how the lilies of the field grow; they do not toil nor do they spin, yet I say to you that not even Solomon in all his glory clothed himself like one of these.  "But if God so clothes the grass of the field, which is alive today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you? You of little faith!  "Do not worry then, saying, 'What will we eat?' or 'What will we drink?' or 'What will we wear for clothing?'  "For the Gentiles eagerly seek all these things; for your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.  "But seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.  "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

In case you don’t remember, that was a quote from Jesus. Let’s sum up what He said. Don’t worry. God will feed you. He will clothe you. It makes no sense to worry, it won’t change anything anyway. Oh, and one more important thing; each day will have trouble. That’s just simply life. Instead of making money, getting healthier, trying to stock up food, or making anything else your goal in 2019, simply seek first His kingdom. Make God and His kingdom the most important thing in your life. Do that and trust in Him to get you through the troubles of the day. As Christy Lane sang so well, take it one day at a time.

Here is another reminder form God’s Word.

1 Peter 5:6-7
Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you at the proper time, casting all your anxiety on Him, because He cares for you.

Are you anxious? Give that to God., because He cares for you. But to do that we see we must humble ourselves before Him. This means simply admit to Him that you just cannot handle all this. But take note here, it says He will exalt you at the proper time. Giving our anxiety to Him and living by faith means we need patience.

Proverbs 12:25
Anxiety in a man's heart weighs it down, But a good word makes it glad.

The secret here is to stay in His Word, for that is the good word that we can believe.

And then what about fear?

Luke 12:4-7
 "I tell you, my friends, do not be afraid of those who kill the body and after that can do no more.  But I will show you whom you should fear: Fear him who, after the killing of the body, has power to throw you into hell. Yes, I tell you, fear him.  Are not five sparrows sold for two pennies? Yet not one of them is forgotten by God.  Indeed, the very hairs of your head are all numbered. Don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.”

Again, Jesus speaks. He tells us there is only one person to fear. It’s not any man or woman on the face of this earth. They can do nothing to you that our sovereign God doesn’t allow. And if they do happen to kill you, you go straight into the arms of Jesus if you are a Christian. If you are not a Christian, then you need to fear God, for He can and will use His power to throw you into hell. God is the only one with that power, so He is the only one to fear. And the Bible also tells us that perfect love casts out fear. Jesus is that perfect love.

The real question we need to ask ourselves this very day, as we start this new year, is do we really believe God? If we do, then we can know that even though we serve a powerful God, who has the power to cast us into hell, He has sent us His son, whose perfect love will cast out our fear of death.

Will there be times in 2019 in which we face difficult and trying times? Probably. But we can know with certainty that Jesus will be with us through it all if we humble ourselves before Him. We do have an enemy that fights against us. So, do as 1 Peter 5:8 commands us, “Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.” But remember what God has told us from 1 John 4:4

“You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world.”

2019 is upon us and we have no idea what we will face. But Jesus was clear on what this life will be.

John 16:33
I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.”

In this world we will face troubles and tribulations. But we do not need to worry, be anxious, or be afraid. In the midst of it all, is the truth that Jesus has overcome the world, God is sovereign and still in control, and in Him we can have peace.

Make 2019 the year you believe God. Do that and it doesn’t matter what comes to be, you will have peace. It won’t even make sense, but when the people around you see it in you, they will want to know Jesus too.

Here is the plan for us Christians in 2019.

Philippians 4:4-7
Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!  Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Do that and it will be a happy, peace filled, worry free 2019.