Jim Wilson's Blog, page 25

Persevere

"May the Lord direct your hearts into God's love andChrist’s perseverance” (2 Thessalonians 3:5).

We have all known of God's love and that our hearts shouldbe directed into it. But we may not have known or thought of the steadfastness(RSV) or the perseverance (NIV) of Christ. What is it? And how was itshown, and how should our hearts be directed into it? Hebrews 12:1-4 answersall three questions:

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud ofwitnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles,and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us. Let us fix oureyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy setbefore him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the righthand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinfulmen, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. In your struggle againstsin, you have not yet resisted to the point of shedding your blood."

He endured the cross by keeping His eyes fixed on the joybeyond the cross. We consider Him who endured. We lay aside everything thathinders and entangles, and we persevere, keeping our eyes fixed onJesus.

 

Written March 1987.

This post coordinates with yesterday's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

For Fathers: Encouraging Your Children

“Just as you know how we were exhorting and encouraging and imploringeach one of you as a father would his own children, so that you may walk in amanner worthy of the God who calls you Into His own kingdom and glory” (1Thessalonians 2:11-12).

It seems to be a given from the Scripture that fathers encourageand comfort their children. It is part of common grace. However, in many casesfathers are not doing that. Here is a quotation from George MacDonald:

“Like many Scots, while Phemy was his one joy, he seldomshowed her sign of affection , seldom made her feel, and never sought to makeher feel how he loved her.” Heather and Snow, George MacDonald

Unhappily, in thirty-two years of ministering to high schooland college-age people, I have found that the above description is an accuratedescription of many father-child relationships. If you are a father, please donot let it describe you.

 

Written April 1988.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

How to Know You're Saved: Loving Christians, Loving Enemies, & Jesus Said So

Loving Christians

“We know that we have passed from death to life, because welove our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death” (1 John 3:14).

Christians love non-Christians. Non-Christians lovenon-Christians. It takes a Christian to love a Christian.

In her autobiography, Climbing, Rosalind Goforthtells of an elderly man who was unsure of his salvation. He said, “I wanted toconvince myself all these years that I’m going to heaven, but I can’t.” Sheasked him if he loved the Lord’s people. He said, “Oh, it’s my greatest joy inlife to be with the Lord’s people on the Lord’s Day singing the Lord’spraises.” Then she pointed out 1 John 3:14 to him: “We know that we have passedfrom death to life because we love our brothers.” Love for the brothers isevidence of salvation.

Consider the opposite. Suppose you brought a non-Christianto church. He would not feel comfortable. He might admire and respectChristians, but he wouldn’t love them like they love each other. He cannot.Jesus said that the pagans love pagans and that Christians are to love pagans;but it takes a Christian to love a Christian.

When you love other Christians, not only do you know thatyou are saved—everyone else also knows:

“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have lovedyou, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are mydisciples, if you love one another” (John 13:34-35).

Loving Enemies

“But to you who are listening I say: Love your enemies, dogood to those who hate you, bless those who curse you, pray for those who mistreatyou. If someone slaps you on one cheek, turn to them the other also. If someonetakes your coat, do not withhold your shirt from them. Give to everyone whoasks you, and if anyone takes what belongs to you, do not demand it back. Do toothers as you would have them do to you. If you love those who love you, what creditis that to you? Even sinners love those who love them. And if you do good tothose who are good to you, what credit is that to you? Even sinners do that.And if you lend to those from whom you expect repayment, what credit is that toyou? Even sinners lend to sinners, expecting to be repaid in full. But loveyour enemies, do good to them, and lend to them without expecting to getanything back. Then your reward will be great, and you will be children of theMost High, because he is kind to the ungrateful and wicked. Be merciful, justas your father is merciful” (Luke 6:27-36).

Jesus Said So

“I tell you the truth; whoever hears my word and believeshim who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed overfrom death to life” (John 5:24).

Notice the present tense: hears my word, believes in Him whosent me, has eternal life. Notice the future tense: will not be condemned.Notice the past tense: he has crossed over from death to life.

Excerpted from Assurances ofSalvation , available at ccmbooks.org and Amazon.com.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

How to Know You're Saved: Obedience & Discipline

Obedience

“No one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No one whocontinues to sin has either seen him or known him” (1 John 3:6).

“No one who is born of God will continue to sin, becauseGod’s seed remains in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born ofGod. This is how we know who the children of God are and who the children ofthe devil are: Anyone who does not do what is right is not a child of God; noris anyone who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:9-10).

“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin;the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him”(1 John 5:18).

We know we are saved because we are no longer living in sin.If it looks like we are living in sin, then there is no reason for others toknow that we are Christians, and no reason for us to, either.

“We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands”(1 John 2:3).

Obedience is not the means of salvation; it is evidence ofour salvation. Are you obedient?

Discipline

If obedience is a means of knowing that you know the Lord,what happens when you disobey?

“And you have forgotten that word of encouragement thataddresses you as sons: ‘My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, anddo not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those heloves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.’ Endure hardship asdiscipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by hisfather? If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), thenyou are illegitimate children and not true sons. Moreover, we have all hadhuman fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much moreshould we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! Our fathers disciplinedus for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for ourgood, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at thetime, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousnessand peace for those who have been trained by it” (Hebrews 12:5-11).

God does not discipline those who are not His children. Ifyou are getting away with disobedience, you are not a child of God. If you arebeing disciplined, pay attention and repent. It is evidence that you are saved.

To be continued on Wednesday.

 

Excerpted from Assurances ofSalvation , available at ccmbooks.org and Amazon.com.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

How to Know You're Saved: Confessing Jesus as Lord

“Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by theSpirit of God says, ‘Jesus be cursed,’ and no one can say, ‘Jesus is Lord,’except by the Holy Spirit” (1 Corinthians 12:3).

“That if you confess with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,’ andbelieve in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. Forit is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with yourmouth that you confess and are saved” (Romans 10:9-10).

This confession is not a matter of the mouth only. Peoplewho do not have the evidence of the Holy Spirit say it in liturgies all of thetime.

“The good man brings good things out of the good stored upin his heart, and the evil man brings evil things out of the evil stored up inhis heart. For out of the overflow of his heart his mouth speaks” (Luke 6:45).

To be continued on Monday.

 

Excerpted from Assurances ofSalvation , available at ccmbooks.org and Amazon.com.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Where Morning Dawns & Evening Fades

This morning* my attention has been drawn to every phrase ofthe sixty-fifth Psalm. Here are a few of those phrases:

Verse 3: “When we were overwhelmed by sins you atoned forour transgressions.”

Verse 8: "Where morning dawns and evening fades you callforth songs of joy.”

Verses 9-13: “You care for the land and water it; you enrichit abundantly. The streams of God are filled with water to provide the people withgrain, for so you have ordained it. You drench its furrows and level its ridges;you soften it with showers and bless its crops. You crown the year with yourbounty, and your carts overflow with abundance. The grasslands of the desertoverflow; the hills are clothed with gladness. The meadows are covered withflocks, and the valleys are mantled with grain; they shout for joy and sing.

 

*Written June 1985.

This post coordinates with Friday's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

How to Know If You're Saved: Change of Character

“The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexualimmorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy,fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissentions, factions and envy; drunkenness,orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live likethis will not inherit the kingdom of God” (Galatians 5:19-21).

If this list describes your normal state, you will notinherit the kingdom of God.

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience,kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such thingsthere is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinfulnature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keepin step with the Spirit” (Galatians 5:22-25).

If this describes you, you are saved. Jesus saves out of thefirst list into the second list. If you find yourself in both lists, it is forone of the following reasons:

1) You are mistaking natural personality traits for part ofthe fruit of the Spirit. It is not. The fruit of the Spirit is the characteristicsof God given to a person when he is saved.

2) You are saved, but are deliberately choosing to go backinto the first list. Confess and forsake it right now.

3) You are naturally in the first list, but faking thesecond list. That is, you are a hypocrite. You are not saved.

Jesus Christ saves us out of the first list into the secondlist.

To be continued on Friday.

 

Excerpted from Assurances ofSalvation , available at ccmbooks.org and Amazon.com.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

How to Know If You're Saved: The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is a means of knowing you are saved.

“We know that we live in Him and He in us, because He has givenus of His Spirit” (1 John 4:13).

“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we areGod’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God andco-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we mayalso share in his glory” (Romans 8:16-17).

God’s Spirit talks to our spirit to tell us that we belongto Him. We are His children. I cannot explain it, but to those to whom this hashappened it does not need explaining.

The Holy Spirit is the present guarantee of our finalsalvation, the resurrection of our bodies:

“And you also were included in Christ when you heard theword of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were markedin him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing ourinheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to thepraise of his glory” (Ephesians 1:13-14).

“Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and hasgiven us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come” (2 Corinthians5:5).

We either have the Spirit or we do not have the Spirit.Whoever does not have the Spirit does not belong to Christ. He is not aChristian. He is not saved.

“You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature butby the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not havethe Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ” (Romans 8:9).

“Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God” (Romans8:14).

Have you been led by the Spirit? That is supernaturalguidance. If you have not been led by the Spirit or if you have and do notrecognize it, you should wonder if you are saved.

“For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except theman’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of Godexcept the Spirit of God. We have not received the spirit of the world but theSpirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in wordstaught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. The manwithout the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God,for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because theyare spiritually discerned. The spiritual man makes judgments about all things,but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment: ‘For who has known themind of the Lord that he may instruct him?’ But we have the mind of Christ” (1Corinthians 2:11-16).

The natural man may be a genius, but unless he has theSpirit of God, the Word of God is foolishness to him.

To be continued on Monday.

 

Excerpted from Assurances ofSalvation , available at ccmbooks.org and Amazon.com.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

How Do You Know If You're Saved?

There is a minimum of truth without which a person cannot besaved. This is the gospel.

“Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel Ipreached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. Bythis gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you.Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you asof first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to theScriptures, and that he appeared to Peter, and then to the Twelve” (1 Corinthians15:1-5).

Here is the basic truth of the gospel:

1) Who Jesus is—He is the Christ.

2) Christ died for our sins according to the Scripture.

3) He was buried. His burial did two things: It confirmedHis death—He was dead and buried. It confirmed His resurrection.

4) He was raised on the third day according to the Scripture.

This is the truth that saves. Believing any less than thiswill not result in salvation.

It is possible to know that you are saved.

“I write these things to you who believe in the name of theSon of God so that you may know that you have eternal life” (1 John 5:13).

1 John was written so that you may know that you haveeternal life. Do you want to know? Read the letter twice. Then go through it athird time and mark every occurrence of the word “know.” It will show up withtwo different meanings, but mark them all. Each verse will tell you how you canknow that you have eternal life.

To be continued on Friday.

 

Excerpted from Assurances of Salvation , availableat ccmbooks.org and Amazon.com.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships

Guilt Gone, Sins Forgiven

There is a wonderful phrase in the poetry of Jeremiah that tellsus something of the character of God's forgiveness:

“‘In those days, at that time,’  declares the Lord,  ‘search will be made for Israel's guilt,  but there will be none,  and for the sins of Judah,  but none will be found,  for I will forgive the remnant I spare’" (Jeremiah50:20).

Guilt and sins, regardless of how great and how many, cannotbe found even when searched for, when God forgives. Zechariah said of his sonJohn the Baptist in Luke 1:76-77, "And you, my child,will be called a prophet of the Most High; for you will go on beforethe Lord to prepare the way for him, to give his peoplethe knowledge of salvation through the forgiveness of their sins." Sins gone, guiltgone, and a knowledge of salvation, all through the forgiveness of sins.

 

Written September 1989.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the Tothe Word! Bible Reading Challenge. If you are not in a daily reading plan,please join us at TotheWord.com. We would love to have you reading with us.

How To Be Free From Bitterness and other essays on Christian relationships