1 John 3:1-3 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)
“1Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. 3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.”
Christianity Redefined
We live in a day and time when Christianity has been
redefined. The gospel of Christ, of our salvation, has been altered. And the
church has also been redefined and rearranged to suit the desires of the flesh.
So, if truly we are following the ways of the Lord, according to the teachings
of the Scriptures, it isn’t just the world who does not know us, but it is all
who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who have adopted the ways of this sinful
world and a diluted gospel message which appeals to the sinful desires of human
flesh.
Children of God Redefined
Therefore those who are the “children of God” has also been
redefined to include anyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ with their lips
regardless of lifestyle and of whether or not obedience to our Lord’s commands
and submission to Him as Lord actually exists in their lives. For the predominant
“gospel” message being taught and accepted today, at least in my nation, is
that all you have to do is say you believe in Jesus, in his death and
resurrection, and now you are saved, and heaven is your eternal home.
The Gospel of Salvation
So, if we are those who hold on to the truths of the
Scriptures, and the gospel message taught by Jesus and by His New Testament
apostles, taught in the correct biblical context, and so we teach that God
requires that we deny self, die to sin, and obey God’s commands, in life
practice, in the power of God, then we are regarded as weird or as antiquated
or as those who teach “works salvation” because we are teaching what the
Scriptures literally teach is the gospel of Christ, which determines who is or
is not truly saved.
For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our
own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ
to walk in newness of life in Him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as
slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no
longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires.
For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is
what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with
God (see Romans 6:1-23).
Don’t Be Surprised
So don’t be surprised if you are rejected more by the institutional
modern market-driven “church,” than you are by the world, if you actually hold
to the teachings of the gospel as taught in the correct biblical context, and
if you take God and His Word seriously. Don’t be surprised if your Christian
friends think you are weird or “over the top” because of what you believe, and
what you stand for, and because of what you share with the people of the world.
And don’t be surprised if they cast you out of these market-driven “churches”
because of your strong convictions with regard to the gospel.
Be Pure and Follow Christ
The mark of a true follower of Jesus Christ is that we, by
faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, deny self, die to sin, and follow
our Lord in walks of obedience to His commands in holy living, in the power of
God. Sin is no longer what we practice, by habit, but obedience to our Lord and
to His commands is now what we live by, in practice, although not necessarily
in absolute perfection. Now we live morally pure lives, by the grace of God, in
submission to Christ as Lord of our lives, because we love and serve God.
For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training
us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled,
upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For it is not the one
who claims he is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has
denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to
our Lord and to his commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the
hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven (see Titus 2:11-14; 1
John 1-3).
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts
26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans
8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians
5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14;
Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24;
1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation
3:1-22]
Children of God
An Original Work / November 6,
2026
Christ’s Free
Servant, Sue J Love
Your Grace Divine
An Original Work / November 6, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
All I have is Yours,
Lord. You gave all to me
When You died at
Calv’ry on that cruel tree.
Crucified for my
sins; You paid what I owe,
So I’d be forgiven; my
God come to know.
All I have is Yours,
Lord. You gave all to me
When You died at
Calv’ry on that cruel tree.
Lord, I am so
thankful for Your grace divine.
I invited You, Lord,
in this heart of mine.
I have been forgiven
for all of my sins,
So I’d live with
Jesus; His grace flow within.
Lord, I am so
thankful for Your grace divine.
I invited You, Lord,
in this heart of mine.
Growing in Your
grace, Lord; live for You each day;
How I love to
worship You throughout my day.
Sitting at Your
feet, Lord, list’ning to You speak,
Leads me to love
You, Lord, more throughout the week.
Growing in Your
grace, Lord; Live for You each day;
How I love to
worship You throughout my day.
