“We know that we have come to know
him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him, but does not do
what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys
his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are
in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.”
1
John 2:3-6
There are
many people out there that claim they know God, but do not obey His commands. Scripture
has a name for them…LIARS! What is a liar? A liar is someone in which there is
no truth. It is evidenced by their unwillingness to live by God’s commands. This
is how the Apostle John describes Satan in John 8:44:
“He was a murderer from the beginning, not
holding to truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his
native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.”
Truth is
much more than knowledge! Truth must be held to. Practiced! Liars pride
themselves on knowing the Word of God, yet they do not live by His commands.
They are puffed up in their thinking, believing that by simply knowing the
scriptures they will have eternal life. However, it is not what we profess that
proclaims what we believe, but it is what we practice!
Too often, our
claims of faith are negated by our responses to God’s Word. We say “Yes and
Amen” when the preacher says that we must walk in forgiveness, yet in our
hearts we harbor unforgiveness towards others. 1 John 2:9-11 declares:
“Anyone who claims to be in the light but
hates his brother is still in darkness. Whoever loves his brother lives in the
light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. But whoever hates his
brother is in the darkness and walks around in darkness; he does not know where
he is going because the darkness has blinded him.”
You can
claim to be mathematician, but it cannot be proven until you solve the
equation. You can claim to be a surgeon, but it cannot be proven until the operation
has been completed. You can claim to be a Christian, but it cannot be proven
until you walk as Jesus did! Is that not what the passage above is telling us: “Whoever
claims to live in Him MUST walk as Jesus did?”
This is a
hard teaching! It is hard because it leaves no gray areas. If you obey God’s
Word, the love of God will be made complete in you. If you claim to know God,
but do not obey his commands…you are a liar and walk in darkness. Why is it so
important that we understand this? Because Revelation 21:8 tells us:
“The cowardly, the unbelieving, the
vile, the murderers, the sexually immoral, those who practice magic arts, the
idolaters and ALL LIARS- their place will be in the fiery lake of burning
sulfur. This is the second death.”
If our
profession of faith and our practice of faith do not BOTH line up with God’s
command…we are in sin! We must stop deceiving ourselves. We must repent! We must
take hold of truth and live according to the Word of God!
Pastor Scott
Burr
http://faithandworshipseries.blogspot.com/
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