1 John 2:5-6 says, "but if anyone obeys His Word, love for God is truly made complete in them. This is how we know we are in Him: whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did." (NIV)
Paul, in His letters, greatly stressed the important of sanctification and holiness. We saw that when we looked at Ephesians 4. The Apostle Peter also put a great important on it, seeing as he devoted an entire letter to the topic. We even saw where the prophet Isaiah spoke about how vital sanctification and holiness are. Now we find a fourth confirmation of the importance of sanctification and holiness, this time from John in one of his letters. He says, "whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did."
How did Jesus live? There's a lot that can be said about how Jesus lived, but there's a few ways that really stick out to me.
1) He became the least among everyone. In Matthew 20:25-28 He told us we must be a slave before we can be the first. He demonstrated this in John 13:13-16 when He washed the feet of the disciples.
2) He forgave. He told Peter in Matthew 18:21-22 to forgive seventy times seven times. He showed forgiveness on Calvary's cross when He told the criminal, "today you will be with me in paradise." (Luke 23:43) He also showed forgiveness when He cried, "Father forgive them for they know not what they do." (Luke 23:34)
3) He didn't judge. In Matthew 7 He commanded us not to judge. He, being the only one with the right to judge, then demonstrated this with the Samaritan woman at the well. Rather than judging her for being a Samaritan woman who had 5 husbands and a "live in" boyfriend, He loved her into redemption. (John 4)
The people of today's world want to be on top, but they don't want to first be at the bottom. They want to be forgiven, but they don't want to forgive. They don't want to be judged, yet the judge. Jesus was very clear in His commands and the demonstration of His commands. In order to be first, we must first be last. In order to be forgiven, we must forgive. In order to not be judged, we must not judge. In the same way He was clear in the end result of His commands. Because He kept these commands (and all of the other commands) He is now with the Father. If we keep His commands, we will also receive great reward. On the flip side, if we don't keep His commands, we will be punished. Matthew 7 tells us we will be hewn down and cast into the fire.
For every command Jesus gave, He then led by example. We must do the same. If we claim Christ we must keep His commands. If you don't, you are a liar and the truth is not in you. (1 John 2:4)
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A New Transition
SpiritualA New Transition is the next part of the life series that started with Life and Shenanigans. In this we'll walk through what God has in store for the next 96 days before I am set to be in Oregon for YWAM. I can't wait to journey through the next 96...
