Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,436
“By this we know that we have come to know Him, if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I have come to know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; but whoever keeps His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him: the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as He walked.” (1 John 2:3-6 NASB’95)
There are many people today claiming to know God, to be “in Christ,” to be saved from their sins, and to be on their way to heaven, but regardless of how they live. For they are being taught that a mere verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ will guarantee them forgiveness of all sins and eternity with God in heaven. But if we read the Scriptures in their appropriate context we will learn that isn’t the truth. We cannot just “claim to be in Christ” and that it will cover all addictive sinful patterns of behavior.
For knowing God is not head knowledge only. There are many people who know of God, and they know what the Bible teaches about God, at least intellectually they do, but they are not in an intimate relationship with God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – because they do not obey God and his New Covenant commandments, not in practice. But this word “know” has to do with intimacy of relationship with God via personal experience in dying with Christ to sin and now walking in obedience to his commands.
And to know God is to be in fellowship with him. And fellowship with God is a union, partnership, and participation with God in his work of grace in our lives via dying with him to sin, in practice, and walking (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his commands in holy living, by the grace of God, empowered by God, via God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, which is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of humans. All this originates with God, but we must cooperate with God in his work of grace.
So if we want to be assured of our salvation and that we are now “in Christ,” by genuine biblical faith in the Lord Jesus, then we must obey our Lord’s New Covenant commands which are all throughout the writings in the New Testament. And we must obey him when he calls us to a specific ministry, and when he lets us know of the gifts of the Spirit we have been given, and the body parts (within the body of Christ) to which he has assigned us, and we must do what he has called and equipped us to do, as his servants.
For obedience to God is not just about following a bunch of rules, but it is submitting ourselves to his will and purpose for our lives, willing to go wherever he sends us, and to say whatever it is he wants us to say, and to do whatever it is he wants us to do, as his followers. For we are now to be his possession, and he is to rule over our lives, and we are to submit to him and to who he has called us to be and to what he wants us to do. For we are not on this earth to serve ourselves, but to serve God with our lives.
Therefore, if we claim to know God, to be in intimate relationship with him, by faith in him, and to be “in Christ,” but then obedience to him and to his New Covenant commands is not what we practice, but sin is still our practice (habit, addiction), then we are liars, and the truth is not in us. For we cannot know God, in an intimate and biblical relationship with him, and to be of him, and to have the hope of eternal life in him, if our practice is sin, and if obedience to him and to his calling on our lives is not our practice.
For it is those who make it their practice, in the power of God, and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, to keep (obey) God’s Word, who are truly “in Christ,” and in whom the love of God has been perfected. For to love God is to obey him, to keep his commands. And if we do not obey him, in practice, we do not love him or know him, so we are not truly in relationship with him. For love, which comes from God, prefers what is of God, which is all that is upright, godly, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to God.
So, if truly we are “in Christ,” by genuine God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in the Lord Jesus, and so we are abiding in (continuing in) Christ, in walks of obedience to his commands, then our walks of faith should reflect the character of God. Our walks of faith should reflect our Lord’s walk of faith and obedience to God the Father when he lived on the earth. And this is not claiming that we will be perfect, as Jesus was perfect, but that we should be following him, and he is to be our example for how we are to live.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Do You Know Him Truly?
An Original Work / March 25, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
There are many people today claiming to know God, to be “in Christ,” to be saved from their sins, and to be on their way to heaven, but regardless of how they live. For they are being taught that a mere verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ will guarantee them forgiveness of all sins and eternity with God in heaven. But if we read the Scriptures in their appropriate context we will learn that isn’t the truth. We cannot just “claim to be in Christ” and that it will cover all addictive sinful patterns of behavior.
For knowing God is not head knowledge only. There are many people who know of God, and they know what the Bible teaches about God, at least intellectually they do, but they are not in an intimate relationship with God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – because they do not obey God and his New Covenant commandments, not in practice. But this word “know” has to do with intimacy of relationship with God via personal experience in dying with Christ to sin and now walking in obedience to his commands.
And to know God is to be in fellowship with him. And fellowship with God is a union, partnership, and participation with God in his work of grace in our lives via dying with him to sin, in practice, and walking (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his commands in holy living, by the grace of God, empowered by God, via God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in him, which is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of humans. All this originates with God, but we must cooperate with God in his work of grace.
So if we want to be assured of our salvation and that we are now “in Christ,” by genuine biblical faith in the Lord Jesus, then we must obey our Lord’s New Covenant commands which are all throughout the writings in the New Testament. And we must obey him when he calls us to a specific ministry, and when he lets us know of the gifts of the Spirit we have been given, and the body parts (within the body of Christ) to which he has assigned us, and we must do what he has called and equipped us to do, as his servants.
For obedience to God is not just about following a bunch of rules, but it is submitting ourselves to his will and purpose for our lives, willing to go wherever he sends us, and to say whatever it is he wants us to say, and to do whatever it is he wants us to do, as his followers. For we are now to be his possession, and he is to rule over our lives, and we are to submit to him and to who he has called us to be and to what he wants us to do. For we are not on this earth to serve ourselves, but to serve God with our lives.
Therefore, if we claim to know God, to be in intimate relationship with him, by faith in him, and to be “in Christ,” but then obedience to him and to his New Covenant commands is not what we practice, but sin is still our practice (habit, addiction), then we are liars, and the truth is not in us. For we cannot know God, in an intimate and biblical relationship with him, and to be of him, and to have the hope of eternal life in him, if our practice is sin, and if obedience to him and to his calling on our lives is not our practice.
For it is those who make it their practice, in the power of God, and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, to keep (obey) God’s Word, who are truly “in Christ,” and in whom the love of God has been perfected. For to love God is to obey him, to keep his commands. And if we do not obey him, in practice, we do not love him or know him, so we are not truly in relationship with him. For love, which comes from God, prefers what is of God, which is all that is upright, godly, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to God.
So, if truly we are “in Christ,” by genuine God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in the Lord Jesus, and so we are abiding in (continuing in) Christ, in walks of obedience to his commands, then our walks of faith should reflect the character of God. Our walks of faith should reflect our Lord’s walk of faith and obedience to God the Father when he lived on the earth. And this is not claiming that we will be perfect, as Jesus was perfect, but that we should be following him, and he is to be our example for how we are to live.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Do You Know Him Truly?
An Original Work / March 25, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
