Friday, December 2, 2011

I John 3:7-8

I John 3:7-8 Dear children, don’t let anyone deceive you about this. When people do what is right, it is because they are righteous, even as Christ is righteous. But when people keep on sinning, it shows they belong to the Devil.

No one can do what is right in God’s eyes without his help. The proof of whether or not one has genuine faith in God is the life he lives. There is a consistent pattern of pure living, whether he is surrounded by people or all alone. Let us pause for a moment and think about this. The real test of faith is how it affects our lives when we are all alone. Do we act or think differently when we know no one is around to watch us? Do we yield to temptation or resist it? Think about it. What kind of stuff do you let in your mind when you are alone? How much of your alone time is devoted to feeding your soul? How much time do you waste on things that do you more harm than good? If your faith doesn’t help you when you are alone to do what is right before God, it is not much use to you at all.

The way we live matters. When we consistently are caught up in sin, it is a pretty safe bet that Christ does not have a hold of us. A true child of God has resistance power. He has the desire and ability to say no to temptation. Failure to resist Satan is a good sign that one’s allegiance is to him and not the Lord. Now, I am not saying that we will never sin. We do. But, we do not always yield to temptation. We have a desire to say no rather than yes. And when we fail, we have a desire to make it right with God.

Jesus gives us righteous hearts and we are more prone to not sin than are those who do not have Christ in them. The more Jesus has a hold of our hearts, the less likely we are to sin.

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