Tag: Knowing for certain

Four Clear Indicators a Christian is Walking in the Light-

Lisa M. PriceLeave a comment

Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven- Matthew 5:16 NASB

Okay, so, true confession time: 

 I know (and believe with all my heart) that all Scripture is good, useful and instructive (1st Timothy 3:16). Consequently, I believe everyone should read the Bible, all of it, not just the parts that give us good feels. Nonetheless, I am human and sadly there are books of the Bible I tend to avoid for devotional reading. Some of them make sense. Numbers is kind of depressing as is most of Judges.  I tend to avoid them both. The minor prophets involve a lot of thinking, because you have to know (and in my case remember) a lot of biblical history in order to understand them. Leviticus is well, Leviticus.  No one really likes Leviticus. 

However, some of the books I tend to avoid make a lot less sense. I think some of it comes down to writing style. 1stJohn is one of the books I tend to avoid. The Apostle John was definitely one of Jesus’ besties. He was also a VERY wordy guy, and I tend to gravitate towards a more abbreviated style of writing. 

Nonetheless, I recently felt compelled by the Holy Spirit to spend some quality time in the book of 1st John.  It has been incredibly gratifying. This little book is packed with wisdom, DEEP theology and some warnings that are especially relevant to our time. 

John begins his letter by stating in a very lovely but wordy kind of a way that Jesus is “life”. This means anyone who is “in Jesus” (2nd Corinthians 5:17, Romans 6:11, Romans 6:23) will experience the earthly joy and honor of becoming partakers of God’s divine nature (2nd Peter 1:4) and a life of bliss and fellowship with God forever (1stCorinthians 2:9). Then John describes both Jesus and the Father as “light”. This means God is a being that has no darkness, evil or sin in Him. He describes our relationship to the God of light in this way:

This is the message we have heard from Him and announce to you, that God is Light, and in Him there is no darkness at all.If we say that we have fellowship with Him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth- 1stJohn 1:5-7

 John makes it clear that a person can know, beyond a shadow of a doubt whether or not they are “in the light” or fumbling around in spiritual and moral darkness. Walking in the light means we are walking in holiness, love and truth. 

So, how do we know if we are walking in the light? There are four markers that clearly indicate a Christian is walking in the light and in fellowship with the God of light. They are:

Walking in the light means we love other Christians- 

John makes it clear that one direct measure of one’s spiritual maturity is their love for other Christians (1st John 2:9-11, John 13:34-35, John 15:11-13, Romans 12:10, Galatians 5:13). Unfortunately, many Christians either flat-out ignore this command and make a regular practice of publicly saying unkind things about fellow believers or they love other Christians in a manner that is not really scriptural.  Christian love should never devolve into a sappy sentimental kind of emotionalism that celebrates walking in sin or immaturity. Genuine Christian love receives people as they are but loves them enough to help them grow and transform into someone infinitely better and more holy (1st Corinthians 13, 1st Peter 2:2, 2nd Peter 1:3-11, Ephesians 4:17-32). Christian love is always all about wanting the moral and spiritual best for everyone. 

Walking in the light means we are real about who we are-  

A genuine believer in Jesus does not pretend to be perfect or without sin (1st John 1:8). Nor do they lecture others on the importance of transparency and holiness while they sin their faces off. Genuine Christians are real about their own struggles and never hide their sin. An individual who is walking in the light makes a regular practice of confessing their sin to God and to other Christians (Acts 19:17-19, James 5:16, 1st John 1:9).  

Walking in the light means we hate our own sin- 

Sin is one of the primary themes of 1st John. John’s aim is to answer the question: Can a born-again believer sin? His answer is a qualified “yes”. John is clear a Christian can sin, but he also makes it clear it’s abnormal for them to choose a life of sin and/or deceit (1st John 3:4-10). If a Christian sins, Jesus will advocate (help, root for, defend) for them and forgive their sin (1st John 1:7-10, John 2:1-2). HOWEVER, John also makes it clear that our eagerness (or lack of eagerness) to obey God’s commands is a powerful indicator of our salvation, or lack thereof (1st John 2:3-6).   

And finally, 

Walking in the light means we want light-  

According to the Apostle the Christian faith is a series of progressive moves towards more holiness, more righteousness and more truth. This means that if we are walking in the light, we will have a voracious appetite for even more light. Anyone who wants more light goes to great lengths to deal with the sin in their lives and love others with greater fervency all the time (1st John 4:7). 

Fake Christians- a Real and Growing Problem

Lisa M. Price1 Comment

Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith; examine yourselves! Or do you not recognize this about yourselves, that Jesus Christ is in you—unless indeed you fail the test? 2nd Corinthians 13:5 NASB

The deep thinkers in Church World have all sorts of opinions and theories as to what are the biggest and most vexing problems plaguing the modern-day Church. Weak preaching, scandals, bad doctrine, biblical illiteracy, legalism, lax sexual ethics, the acceptance of homosexuality, divorce, lack of strategy, division and Christian nationalism have all been bandied about as the cause of the Churches high attrition rates and inability to reach the lost and redeem the culture. 

With all due respect to the deep thinkers, all the above-mentioned problems are (for the most part) real and genuine. However, they are just symptoms of a much bigger and more complex problem:

Unsaved Christians.

For those screaming “oxymoron” at the ceiling right now, you are correct. There is no such thing as an unsaved Christian.  It’s an impossibility. One is either saved or unsaved, Christian or heathen. No one can be all those things all at the same time. Nonetheless, there is an increasingly large number of people who profess to be Christians, look like Christians and act like Christians (at least when people are watching) who have never actually made the journey from spiritual death to spiritual life (John 3:1-18 1st Peter 1:3-5). 

They don’t know Jesus. 

This sad state of affairs should come as no surprise. Jesus advised His people this day would come (Matthew 13:24-36). The apostle Paul warned the Ephesian elders there would be false teachers (unsaved Christians) who would infiltrate the church, preach a false gospel and create all manner of chaos for genuine believers (Acts 20:29-31). In 2nd Timothy 3:1-5 Paul describes in graphic detail what unsaved Christians look and act like (2nd Timothy 3:1-5). Jude and Peter both strongly warned of the problems unsaved Christians would introduce into the church. 

Most unsaved Christians have no clue they are not the real deal. Jesus hinted this would be the case when He taught on the wide and narrow gates (Matthew 7:13-14).  He stated it in the clearest possible terms when He taught about true and false disciples (Matthew 7:21-23).  Jesus said these things because He knew the conduct of unsaved Christians would create doubt concerning the goodness of God in the hearts of those wounded by unsaved Christians. Many Christians (including some who are the real deal) have abandoned church because of something terrible a (likely) unsaved Christian or Christian leader did. Jesus also knew one bad apple really can spoil a whole barrel. Therefore, it’s essential Christians take their cues on what’s right and wrong from the Bible—not the behavior of other Christians. Christians are commanded to follow Jesus—not people. People inevitably disappoint—Jesus never does. 

Furthermore: 

Christians ought to be very careful about making judgments based entirely on one or even three or four interactions. Even a genuine believer can have a bad day, week or season. The judgement of “unsaved Christian” should be applied sparingly. There should be zero gossiping or wild speculation concerning the spiritual state of others. That’s icky.  

Seriously. 

Nonetheless. It is wise to be on the lookout for behavior patterns in ourselves and others that indicate a lack of real relationship with Jesus. The following five behavior patterns indicate a serious spiritual problem that requires immediate attention:

A less than cozy relationship with truth-  

Anyone who routinely lies or who has no guilt about lying (even occasionally) is probably not saved. Jesus is clear: knee-jerk deceit is an indicator someone has a tighter relationship with the devil than they do with God (John 8:43-45).  

Do what I say—not what I do-

There are two ways this works itself out. One way is through acts of classic hypocrisy: saying something is right and demanding others obey, then doing the exact opposite. There is also a form of hypocrisy that is more nuanced and tougher to spot. Sometimes Christians (especially Christian leaders) will urge or demand others to work and serve while they sit. This is a spiritual problem. All Christians are called to DO good works, not just talk about the importance of doing them (Matthew 23:23-28, 3rd John 1:11)

Lots of foliage—zero fruit-  

False teachers and unsaved Christians are like the fig tree cursed by Jesus (Matthew 21:18-19). They look awesome from a distance, but up close they are missing all the hallmarks of authentic Christianity: faith, obedience, life transformation, love for others, good works, thankfulness and compassion. (Hebrews 11:6, Ephesians 2:10, Romans 12:2, 2nd Corinthians 3:18, Luke 6:36, Matthew 5:7, Matthew 23:3, Colossians 4:2, Hebrews 12:28, Galatians 5:22-23)

Faultfinding and nitpicking- 

We all nitpick and fault-find on occasion. It’s a part of our fallen nature. However, unsaved Christians tend to have a chronically harsh and legalistic spirit that sees the worst and always assumes bad intent. Many unsaved Christians believe in their heart messy people are irredeemable, rather than works in progress. Christian love believes the best and always hopes for heart change (Jude 1:16, 1st Corinthians 13).  

It’s all cool-  

Like it or not, God places some firm boundaries around the behavior of His people (Exodus 20:1-17, Galatians 5:19-21, Colossians 3:8-10). If an unsaved Christian is not a legalistic faultfinder there’s a pretty decent chance they will be a raging libertine. In other words, they will show contempt for God’s boundaries and encourage others to do the same (Romans 1:32). 

Christians are called to examine themselves to see if they are walking in and living out the teachings of the Bible (2nd Corinthians 13:5). If after a self-evaluation, you find you are lacking in Christian virtues, ask God for forgiveness and course correct ASAP (1st John 1:9-10). 

It’s critical Christians understand we are not called to judge the worthiness of others. However, we are commanded to be discerning about who we follow and spend time with (1st Corinthians 15:33). Sometimes that means separating from those who refuse to repent and show numerous signs of not being the real deal (1stCorinthians 5:11), although, we should never fail to pray for them.