Our assurance of salvation is based on the perfect and complete salvation God has provided for us through Jesus Christ. Some people hope that they will receive eternal life. John says we can know we can have it. This is true whether we feel close to God or far away from Him.
Eternal life is not based on feelings but on facts. If so, we know by faith that we are indeed children of God. Please continue to join us on Asempa Your email address will not be published. Save my name, email, and website in this browser for the next time I comment. Powered by WhatsApp Chat. WhatsApp Chat is free, download and try it now here! Jesus Christ is your Advocate and High Priest. If God began the good work in you, then the only way for you to lose the salvation which God has won for you is to send the time machine into fast forward reverse: Christ would have to come down from His Ascension; Christ would have to go back to the tomb; Christ would have to be swept back on the cruel cross, where the nails would have to go back in to his hands and feet.
Yes, it is ludicrous. Christ died for our sins once and for all. He will not go back on His own word and He will not reverse the sacrificial work of His Son. Paul could say that He was confident of the perseverance of the saints in Philippi because the Spirit of God guaranteed that He would preserve them. The Father covenanted with the Son to save you before the foundation of the world for His pleasure and not because of any good He saw in you.
He sent His Son to live the life that you could never live and die the death that should have been yours. The ruling motif of the Gospel—the cross becomes a crown, the sign of shame is the sign of salvation, the darkness of the tomb becomes the golden glow of resurrection —is now the operative power in your life.
God the Spirit is actively making all things work together in your life to bring you home to the Lord. If salvation is about your keeping it, then your rights as a son or daughter are based on fraudulent papers.
But, since you have been saved by God, you are also sealed by Him. And this is the gift of God for you. At best it finds them much less meaningful than other things. Christians, however, feel less at home in this world the more they grow spiritually. They also look increasingly toward their true and eternal home, the Celestial City. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. Christians can hardly wait for Jesus to fulfill His promise to return to the earth Matthew 24, ; John The ones who know Christ often think, I wish He would come today.
Like a bride anticipating her wedding day, so those who are part of the bride of Christ—the church—expectantly await their union with Jesus at His return. And of course, the Lord knows now, not just at His return, when we do something wrong. Still, this attitude should represent the heart of a Christian, young or old. Have you mused about looking into His radiant face and being transformed?
Do you ever longingly wonder what it will be like never to think another sinful thought or commit another sinful act? Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning.
By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother. But much of the meaning of these verses turns on the word practices.
Instead it means that Christians are those who, throughout their lives, habitually do what is right more and sin less. They most often write about smoking, overeating, and masturbation.
They fear their struggle with such things means they are locked into a pattern of sin. A Christian, however, has a drastically different way of relating to God.
A true Christian can still sin, and may even do so frequently, but sinning frequently is not the same as practicing sin. In 1 John we see that a true believer can do the first, but not the second. If you hope you are a Christian, look at your life this way: Over the past few years, has it been your habit to do what is right more and more and to sin less?
Some people, as we said before, feel spiritually secure primarily because of the things they do not do. Which of these two types of attitudes describes you? As you look back over the past few years, if you can honestly say that you habitually do what is right more and sin less, then you are most certainly a Christian. At the very least it is a love that makes you want to be with other Christians and willing to sacrifice to do so. Do you have that kind of love?
Behind all this Christian family love is the sacrifice of our time, starting with the time required to gather when the family gathers. Many have been deluded about whether they love the people of God. A member of our church, even in the midst of job stress and moving from one apartment to another, has been showing up unannounced to mow the yard for me on occasion so I would have more time to write this book.
This person often gives up privileges and preferences in similar ways for others in the church family, not just for me. There are countless ways, of course, to show the love of Christ to your brothers and sisters in Christ. Even giving financially can be a way to express love to believers in other lands. But followers of Jesus will sacrifice— even profits and pleasures if necessary—because of the depth of their love for their family and Father.
Do you do this? And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us. By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
This is very much like Romans In Galatians , Paul listed several qualities he called the fruit of the Spirit. Are you aware of a joy in God?
This is a fair question for all professing Christians, even children and teenagers. I see many people who claim to be Christians give the impression that they never have moments of sheer joy in knowing God. But if you have occasions such as in public or private worship when you are thrilled with God because He is God or just because you are His, that is excellent evidence that you know God. Those who truly know the infinite and holy triune God cannot help but have moments where they find sheer delight in Him.
The Holy Spirit of almighty God cannot live in a human being without making Himself known. Whenever there is a human spirit in a body, that spirit makes itself known. It moves the body, it communicates through the body, and it gives evidence that there is life within that body.
We are from God.
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