1 John 3:23 This is His commandment, that we believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, just as He commanded us.
As we talked about prayer and our relationship with God yesterday, I hope you were encouraged. I know I was encouraged, at least until I read the second half of verse 22 again. “Because we keep His commands and do the things that are pleasing in His sight.” As I’ve said, we are sinners, and I have broken the commands of the Lord. Does God hear my prayers then? As I thought about this and looked at verse 23, I’m tempted to say that this is the command we are to keep. We must believe and by obeying that command we are saved. That is sort of how it works, the call throughout Jesus’ ministry is for people to believe. Often though, even this command seems impossible to keep. I find that my thoughts and actions betray my doubts that God is who He says He is, that I am saved by grace alone. I see my salvation as something I am earning and my rebellious heart wants to be in control. How can I keep these commandments? Can I obey the commandment to believe on my own?
Paul’s letter to the Romans has been really helpful as I think through these questions. If you remember the quote from Romans 4, we are in God’s story, not our own. We are reminded that it is God who saves us and not the works of our hands. Later, in chapter 8 Paul writes:
12 So then, brethren, we are under obligation, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh— 13 for if you are living according to the flesh, you must die; but if by the Spirit you are putting to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
The Spirit gives us life, first to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, and also to love our brothers. We see in this passage that it is a process, we grow and mature in our adopted position as the children of God. We can pray with confidence knowing that it is the Spirit who is at work within us, even to help us believe. Prayer is the apt application (see Mark 9, when a man came to Jesus to ask healing for his son and cried ‘I do believe; help my unbelief’). So as we reflect on this, how is Christ’s coming in the flesh important to how I live my life now? How are my actions showing what I believe?
Comments
Post a Comment