Light Steps: It matters what we know and say, but it also is proven in what we do...

Sunday, November 15, 2020

It matters what we know and say, but it also is proven in what we do...

Anyone who confesses that Jesus came in the flesh and that He did the will of the Father is telling a truth that only the Spirit of God puts on people to realize and confess. Anyone who does less has the spirit of the antichrist in them.

The Apostle John says, " By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already." (1 John 4:2-3 ESV)

Now, lest we think that saying the right information is enough to prove we are secure in God, consider how John continues.

Number one, John says whoever refuses sound doctrine is not from God: "We are from God. Whoever knows God listens to us; whoever is not from God does not listen to us. By this we know the Spirit of truth and the spirit of error." (1 John 4:6 ESV) There is no shortage of people who claim to know Jesus but who blatantly refuse sound, biblical teaching.

Number two, there are plenty of people who know the right information but do not walk in love toward others. The Apostle John says, "Beloved, let us love one another, for love is from God, and whoever loves has been born of God and knows God. Anyone who does not love does not know God, because God is love." (1 John 4:7-8 ESV)

Love acts righteously, even when the recipient of the love does not behave or believe righteously! Many can regurgitate all sorts of information about Jesus, the Bible, or a host of religious facts, but living out love must go with understanding information!

Lastly (for now), and number three, people who really know God testify of Him. They share the gospel. They witness to others. The Apostle John goes on to say, "By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world." (1 John 4:13-14 ESV)

Of course, John saw Jesus bodily. John saw Jesus' miracles, His death, His resurrection, and His ascension. Believers today must see God, and see the Lord Jesus with the eye of faith, but, having believed, a believer cannot not share Him! Jesus told the Apostle Thomas, "Have you believed because you have seen me? Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed." (John 20:29 ESV)

Many have information without transformation. May God grant us to believe, to receive sound doctrine, to live out love, and to be witnesses of the Lord Jesus. Peace to you all.

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This Says it for Me!

Every Christian is a contradiction to this old world. He crosses it at every point. He goes against the grain from beginning to end. From the day that he is born again until the day that he goes on to be with the Lord, he must stand against the current of a world always going the other way. God expects him to be "beside himself," "a fool for Christ's sake," "drunk on new wine." If he allows it, men will tone him down, steal the joy of his salvation, and reduce him to the dreary level of the general average. If the devil cannot keep us from being saved, he next endeavors to make average Christians of us, and in this he usually succeeds. He tames the holy recklessness of God's dare-saints until they sink into the drab pattern of most of us, "faultily faultless, icily regular, splendidly dull." The devil does not mind our joining church if we behave like most of those who are already inside. But when a real, wide-awake Christian breezes along, taking the Gospel seriously, the devil grows alarmed and begins plotting his downfall. He gets plenty of assistance right in the church, for many church folk do not like to have their Laodicean complacency upset by these who turn the world upside down. So they conspire with Satan to turn the young Christian's fever into a chill. There are always plenty of human wet blankets to smother the zealot's flame, and they have put out more spiritual fires than have all the skeptics and infidels. -- Vance Havner

A Little About Me...

I was born in South Boston, VA, but was raised on the state line in the Person Co., NC - Caswell Co., NC - Halifax Co., VA region. I always tell people you know you are a country boy when your idea of being a "multi-national" means you've been to three counties in your lifetime.

Enough of my geographical meanderings...I became a Christian (ask me about THAT!) at the age of 25 and have done my utmost to serve God since that day. I worked as an associate pastor for 4 1/2 years and now serve in the role of Executive Director of My Life Matters, where I've been since March 2005, and I also serve as the pastor of East Rock Community Church, a church plant, along with fellow elders, Brett Carver & Casey Adams, where we've been since June 2007.

I love to write. I share a devotion in our local paper each week. This blog site is really just an extension of my writing. I really hope to share the Word of God with people...any kind of people, every kind of person. I also do a weekly podcast called "Light Steps Live," which can be found on several platforms.

Thanks for "stopping by"! Y'all come back now, ya hear?