"Now that you know these things, you will be blessed if you do them" (John 13:17, NIV).
Salvation is not achieved nor earned but received as God opens one's eyes to the true identity of who Jesus is, as Peter exclaimed: "Thou art the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." And the Father had revealed this to him to open his eyes to spiritual truth. Faith is not in the acquiescence of the identity of Jesus nor of agreeing with church dogma, but in living out this faith and making it real in our hearts as we fall in love with our Lord in a lifelong relationship and experience. There is so-called story faith or head belief and then there's something a few inches lower: heart belief or acceptance into the heart.
To know Him is to love Him is the old cliche, but this is scriptural since we must follow on to know Him in reality (cf. Hos. 6:3) and Jesus equated knowing Him with salvation. Of course, it goes without saying that to know Him is to love Him. Not just knowing His identity but accepting its ramifications and to obey Him as He demands. If we love Him, we will obey Him--the only test of faith is obedience though (cf. Heb. 3:18-19). There is no salvation without obedience. Faith must be demonstrated by works or otherwise, it is suspect and empty talk. As James did say that dead faith (without accompanying works) cannot save. The Reformers taught it plainly: "We are saved by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone." Faith must be authenticated by works or its spurious and suspect.
We show others that we know Him by our testimony and life witness which should never be jeopardized by sin. We ought to freely show our faith, not privatizing it, but then again not flaunting it nor wearing it on our sleeve--let God open doors to share your story. Once you have a story you will be surprised at the opportunities God gives to share it. This is where faithfulness comes in and faith and faithfulness are the same words in Hebrew which is appropriate. Faith cannot be divorced from faithfulness for the "righteous shall live by their faith" (fulness)--Hab. 2:4. We prove we know Him by living out our faith and sharing it and showing it's not just pie-in-the-sky or wishful thinking but has a common application to everyday, mundane life. So, what's the gospel according to you? If we say we know Him and do not obey Him we are lying!
We must know Him in that He is real to us and we recognize and acknowledge His presence: "He is there, and He is not silent," according to Francis Schaeffer. When we know Him we will see Him in action as "God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform" (according to hymn writer William Cowper). Salvation is not only knowing Him but it is an ethic of proving this to others: We must know Him and make Him known. The ultimate proof of knowing Him is the miracle of a transformed or changed life--this is the whole point of salvation. Changing lives is Jesus' business! If there's no fruit there is no faith and good soil always produces fruit! Colossians 1:10 says that we grow or increase in the knowledge of God as we bear fruit in every good work!
It is important that we acknowledge that the important fact of salvation is not that we know Him but that He knows us (cf. Gal. 4:9). He knew us before the world was even created and this is called "foreknowledge" by theologians and scholars. For whom He knew, He predestined! This means that God ordered and arranged the events in our life so that we would get saved! And for whom He predestined He called (cf. Romans 8:29)! This means that God individually reached out and wooed us to salvation. And for whom He called He justified or saved! And finally, the terminus of the chain of salvation: For whom He justified He glorified. This means God sees the whole event as one unbroken and linked chain that cannot be separated. And it also means no one gets lost in the shuffle; there is no one who was called that didn't get justified and no one justified that didn't get glorified. In the final analysis, this the ultimate proof of our security in Christ that our salvation is a done deal or a fait accompli.
Knowing the Lord is more than acquired information or teachings about Him as at an academic level: We must experience Him and relate to Him on a personal level; i.e., we convert our knowledge about God into the knowledge of God. When we finally know Him we are not immune from knowing about Him, but we know Him on a level above that. We are never excused from knowing about Him and becoming believers or disciples entails matriculating in the school of Christ to dedicate one's life to the lifelong pursuit of the knowledge of God and its application. It's not enough to know; we must apply our knowledge and turn our creeds into deeds! You can know a lot about God and still not know Him! In the seventeenth century, it was every gentleman's hobby to be conversant in the Bible and basic holy talk. Today even in the churches it seems like no one wants to talk about the godly or holy but only to engage in the mundane and secular.
Finally, if we want to boast we should boast in the Lord. As Paul said, "I venture not to speak but of what Christ has accomplished through me" (cf. Rom. 15:18). What hath God wrought? We praise God for who He is and thank Him for what He has done, is doing and believe He will do. But Jeremiah 9:24 says that if a man should boast he should boast that he knows the Lord! This is more to be braggadocious about than riches, wisdom, or strength. Soli Deo Gloria!
Salvation is not achieved nor earned but received as God opens one's eyes to the true identity of who Jesus is, as Peter exclaimed: "Thou art the Messiah, the Son of the Living God." And the Father had revealed this to him to open his eyes to spiritual truth. Faith is not in the acquiescence of the identity of Jesus nor of agreeing with church dogma, but in living out this faith and making it real in our hearts as we fall in love with our Lord in a lifelong relationship and experience. There is so-called story faith or head belief and then there's something a few inches lower: heart belief or acceptance into the heart.
To know Him is to love Him is the old cliche, but this is scriptural since we must follow on to know Him in reality (cf. Hos. 6:3) and Jesus equated knowing Him with salvation. Of course, it goes without saying that to know Him is to love Him. Not just knowing His identity but accepting its ramifications and to obey Him as He demands. If we love Him, we will obey Him--the only test of faith is obedience though (cf. Heb. 3:18-19). There is no salvation without obedience. Faith must be demonstrated by works or otherwise, it is suspect and empty talk. As James did say that dead faith (without accompanying works) cannot save. The Reformers taught it plainly: "We are saved by faith alone but not by a faith that is alone." Faith must be authenticated by works or its spurious and suspect.
We show others that we know Him by our testimony and life witness which should never be jeopardized by sin. We ought to freely show our faith, not privatizing it, but then again not flaunting it nor wearing it on our sleeve--let God open doors to share your story. Once you have a story you will be surprised at the opportunities God gives to share it. This is where faithfulness comes in and faith and faithfulness are the same words in Hebrew which is appropriate. Faith cannot be divorced from faithfulness for the "righteous shall live by their faith" (fulness)--Hab. 2:4. We prove we know Him by living out our faith and sharing it and showing it's not just pie-in-the-sky or wishful thinking but has a common application to everyday, mundane life. So, what's the gospel according to you? If we say we know Him and do not obey Him we are lying!
We must know Him in that He is real to us and we recognize and acknowledge His presence: "He is there, and He is not silent," according to Francis Schaeffer. When we know Him we will see Him in action as "God works in mysterious ways His wonders to perform" (according to hymn writer William Cowper). Salvation is not only knowing Him but it is an ethic of proving this to others: We must know Him and make Him known. The ultimate proof of knowing Him is the miracle of a transformed or changed life--this is the whole point of salvation. Changing lives is Jesus' business! If there's no fruit there is no faith and good soil always produces fruit! Colossians 1:10 says that we grow or increase in the knowledge of God as we bear fruit in every good work!
It is important that we acknowledge that the important fact of salvation is not that we know Him but that He knows us (cf. Gal. 4:9). He knew us before the world was even created and this is called "foreknowledge" by theologians and scholars. For whom He knew, He predestined! This means that God ordered and arranged the events in our life so that we would get saved! And for whom He predestined He called (cf. Romans 8:29)! This means that God individually reached out and wooed us to salvation. And for whom He called He justified or saved! And finally, the terminus of the chain of salvation: For whom He justified He glorified. This means God sees the whole event as one unbroken and linked chain that cannot be separated. And it also means no one gets lost in the shuffle; there is no one who was called that didn't get justified and no one justified that didn't get glorified. In the final analysis, this the ultimate proof of our security in Christ that our salvation is a done deal or a fait accompli.
Knowing the Lord is more than acquired information or teachings about Him as at an academic level: We must experience Him and relate to Him on a personal level; i.e., we convert our knowledge about God into the knowledge of God. When we finally know Him we are not immune from knowing about Him, but we know Him on a level above that. We are never excused from knowing about Him and becoming believers or disciples entails matriculating in the school of Christ to dedicate one's life to the lifelong pursuit of the knowledge of God and its application. It's not enough to know; we must apply our knowledge and turn our creeds into deeds! You can know a lot about God and still not know Him! In the seventeenth century, it was every gentleman's hobby to be conversant in the Bible and basic holy talk. Today even in the churches it seems like no one wants to talk about the godly or holy but only to engage in the mundane and secular.
Finally, if we want to boast we should boast in the Lord. As Paul said, "I venture not to speak but of what Christ has accomplished through me" (cf. Rom. 15:18). What hath God wrought? We praise God for who He is and thank Him for what He has done, is doing and believe He will do. But Jeremiah 9:24 says that if a man should boast he should boast that he knows the Lord! This is more to be braggadocious about than riches, wisdom, or strength. Soli Deo Gloria!
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