What Does John Mean by Knowing God in 1 John, Part 1
People who become born again or born from above (cf. John 3) are still required to make the decision to enter into fellowship with God on a daily basis. When we choose not to fellowship with God, the world seems far more appealing.
Jesus’ Life was Not Easy By Any Stretch
If we truly love the world, we will continue to speak the truth because the truth of the gospel is what saves people. If we are cowed into silence, then we will be guilty of loving ourselves more than we love the lost. That is something we must avoid at all costs, in spite of what the world might throw at us because of the conviction of our position.
All the World’s a Stage and So Much of It is Absolute Vanity
Because of the misplaced value of too many in society, things that have no real eternal value are lifted up and adored, while the things that have eternal value are denigrated or ignored. This is sadly true even among Christians. It’s all about what we “accomplish” for God whether it’s His will or not. It’s all based on how things look on the outside, things we can brag about or put our faith in.
Christ, Our Fellowship, Part 20
Look, if Satan can’t keep a person from gaining salvation (he can’t), he will do whatever he can to keep us from fellowship with God (he can). In essence, this is what he accomplished in the Garden of Eden through his temptation to eat of the forbidden fruit. He knew that succumbing to that temptation would cause the fellowship that Adam and Eve enjoyed would be broken. The final result was death, spiritually and physically. Satan knows that he cannot keep people from gaining salvation so his next best thing is to keep them from fellowship.
Christ, Our Fellowship, Part 19
There has been tremendous confusion among believers (myself included), over this whole issue of eternal security. I believe, along with Kelley and many others, that salvation is absolutely something that we can never lose once we actually have it. Fellowship with God, on the other hand, is something that can be broken and even destroyed because it is conditioned, as Kelley notes, upon our behavior. Though God will never cast us out of His Kingdom, He will not continue to fellowship with us when we involve ourselves in sin. It’s that simple. Though all of our sin – past, present, and future – is forgiven by God, we still need to confess it as we are made aware of it because it is that sin that dampens and breaks our fellowship with God. Once we realize that we have sinned, confessing it restores that fellowship with God.
Is Perfect Peace Attainable and What Does It Mean?
The goal then of the Christian is to continue to mature in Christ and to be a witness for Him on all fronts while in this evil world. We’ve noted previously in an article the fact that all in life is really vanity, and that it is so because of our outlook. We constantly plan and run to and fro because we have things “to do” and it seems that we place a very high prize on accomplishments. Yet, it is clear – or should be – that in reality, it really shouldn’t matter what a person does to make a living (provided of course, the means by which is not in the immoral realm), but whatever a person’s lot in life is, the overriding goal is not found in the job or career itself, but in the evangelism. This world is heading toward its own death and multitudes with it.
Speaking of the Groaning Creation…Part 2
You want to know where you will find sin? Follow the money. It’s also that simple. Money is such a useful tool of the devil because it promises fame, fortune, the high life, and most importantly, power. People like having power because power gives them control over others. Most people are suckers for that. Give them the opportunity to become wealthy and famous and they will grab at the chance as the many areas of TV’s “reality programming” can attest. Oh, and by the way, the original reality TV shows began because of greed.
Speaking of the Groaning Creation…Part 1
Since we’ve talked about death, let’s continue the discussion. What does death have to do with these people? Well in general, sin creates death and these people already mentioned are sinners like us, so they’re dying. But more than that, because of their love of money, they’re also being used by the enemy of our souls to create as much death as possible. “Oh, Dr. Fred, isn’t that going overboard?” No, not at all. Look at some of the companies these people own (or owned and sold). Whether it’s a Big Pharma or Big Food company, they are doling out death in some form or another.
A Groaning Creation Continues to Groan
Every time a loved one gets sick or dies, we are reminded of our sin. Every time we have to put a beloved pet down, we are reminded of our sin. Every time we see something terrible happen in the world, we are reminded of our sin. It is fully humanity’s fault that sin exists in this world and death because of it. We have only ourselves to blame, but fortunately, God has made the solution available. Yet, even with that perfect solution, people and animals will die in this life. Sin has its consequences and even salvation will not change that for the time being. Ultimately, even sin itself (along with death) will finally be eradicated but for now, we must live with the effects of our sin, whether we like it or not.
Christ, Our Fellowship, Part 18
The antidote to avoid living selfishly (which hides the light of our salvation), is to seek out God in fellowship. This can only happen after we have gained salvation, but too many people stop there. We must press on – as Paul says in Philippians 3:12 – and Paul also prods us onto continue to work out our salvation in fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12). He’s not talking about earning our salvation, but entering into and maintaining our fellowship with God. This is done through the many things we’ve outlined in this series.
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