1 John 2:3-6 ESV
“And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 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.”
Knowing Jesus isn’t just about a decision to believe in him
for salvation from sin. For faith in Jesus Christ isn’t just a confession of
Christ as Lord or an assent to who he is and to what he did for us on the
cross. It is a belief down deep in the depths of our heart that is proved
genuine by what we do.
If we believe that salvation from sin requires no obedience
to Jesus Christ, then we are believing a false gospel. For, the Scriptures make
it quite clear that to love God/Jesus, is to obey him, and that if we don’t
obey him, then we don’t really know him.
Jesus set the example for us in how we are to live to please
God. But a lot of people are teaching a false Jesus these days, too. They are
lowering Jesus to our level, and they are making him out to be like us, instead
of teaching us to be like Him.
Notice with me here that the Scriptures teach over again
that our salvation, and our faith in Jesus, which are both gifts from God, have
to do with our walks, with how we live, with what we do in heart response to
our Lord’s commands. They are not one-time events in our lives.
And, that walk of faith involves daily dying to sin and to
self, and daily putting on the armor of God with which to fight off Satan’s
evil schemes against us, and daily walking in obedience to our Lord (Lu
9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Eph 6:10-20; Gal 6:7-8; Rom
2:6-8).
And, to follow Jesus’ example, not only do we walk in
holiness, but we share the gospel of our salvation with others, and we teach
others to walk in holiness. We expose the fruitless deeds of darkness, and we
proclaim the whole counsel of God, not a half-truth cheap grace gospel.
We love others like Jesus loved, too. He cared about people’s
needs, and he spoke words of healing to their hearts. But he never placated
anyone in their sin. He called for repentance, and obedience, and submission
always.
1 John 2:9-11 ESV
“Whoever says he is in the light and hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother abides in the light, and in him there is no cause for stumbling. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes.”
Hate, to me, is the opposite of love. To love is to do for
others and to say to others what is beneficial for them spiritually or
physically or emotionally, as long as what we do and what we say does not go
against the word of God or God’s moral laws. It is not love to agree with sin,
in other words.
So, to hate others is to sin against them, to do what is
harmful to them knowingly and willingly. It is to lie, to cheat, to steal, to
commit adultery, to falsely accuse, to gossip against, to slander, to abuse, to
take advantage of, and to willfully mistreat and misuse others.
So, if we treat others with hate, as a matter of practice,
i.e. if we are hating them actively, presently, while we are claiming to be in
the light and while we are professing to be in fellowship with God, then we are
not walking in the light, but we are walking (in conduct, in practice) in the
darkness.
But, if we are loving others with a God-like love which
prefers what God prefers, which is what is holy, pure, righteous, moral, honest
and upright, and so we are not actively, willfully and/or premeditatedly
sinning against them, then we are abiding in the light, provided our faith and
trust is in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
1 John 2:15-17 ESV
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.”
As followers of Jesus, we are not to (agape) love the world
or the things in the world, that are of the world. We are not to take pleasure
in, to long for, or to esteem what is of the flesh and of this world. And, we
are not to prefer, or to embrace, or to choose to obey what is of this world.
But, when it is talking about the world here, it is talking
about the desires of the flesh, the desires of what we see with our eyes, and
the pride of life. These are of the flesh, not of the Spirit of God. They are
of this world, which is passing away. We are not to prefer, esteem, embrace or
obey what is of this sinful world. If we do, then the love of the Father is not
in us.
Jesus said that we are to come out from the world and to be
separate. Now, he was not saying that we should not be in the world or that we
should not be with the people of the world, for he certainly was. We are to
live in the world, and we are to love the people of the world with God’s love.
But we are not to be partakers of what is of this world or
of the flesh of man. We are not to be those who seek after what is of this
world, but we are to be those who seek the Lord and his righteousness and
holiness. We should not be those who are embracing the thinking, philosophies,
attitudes, and behaviors of this sinful world, but we should be embracing our
Lord.
For, it is whoever is doing the will of God who abides
forever. It is not those who merely make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
Remember, if we are not obeying our Lord, then we don’t know God. If we are
still walking according to the flesh, we are going to die in our sins. Only
those walking according to the Spirit of God have eternal life with God (Lu
9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Gal 5:16-21; Gal
6:7-8).
By G. M. Eldridge
In God is the light,
the brightest day.
He taught me to walk
the narrow way,
Yet still I chose
the path that was broad:
O, how could I be
enough for my God?
With mercy so sweet,
He led me along.
He held my hand, and
gave me a song,
Yet still I sinned,
a shameful fraud:
O, how could I be
enough for my God?
I never had dreamed
the day I’d see
the Son of God, who
died for me,
Yet here by His
side, I stand in awe:
Washed by His blood,
enough for my God.
And who could
forgive all the sins and the flaws?
O, how could I be
enough for my God?
But gently He’ll
lead by staff and by rod,
And help me to be
enough for my God.
I just want to be
Enough for You, God!
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