Jim Wilson's Blog, page 26

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

Forgiveness & Consequences

“Then David said to Nathan, ‘I have sinned against theLord.’ Nathan replied, ‘The Lord has taken away your sin. You are not going todie. But because by doing this you have made the enemies of the Lord show uttercontempt, the son born to you will die’” (2 Samuel 12:13-14).

The complete story is in 2 Samuel chapters 11 and 12.

David’s sins were awful. He violated the clear commands ofGod “You shall not covet your neighbor’s wife,” “You shall not murder,” “Youshall not commit adultery.”

David, in order to hide his adultery, had Uriah called homefrom the front in order to attribute Bathsheba’s pregnancy to him. David wasconcocting a lie that did not work. David sent him to his home and sent him agift. Uriah did not go home. The next day David gave a dinner for Uriah andmade Uriah drunk. He did not go home. So David had him killed and then took hiswife.

David did not confess. He was still hiding his sins (orthought he was.) He was then confronted by Nathan the prophet. Before Davidconfessed, Nathan prophesied awful consequences. After he confessed anotherconsequence was prophesied. David did repent of his sins. David was forgiven. Theconsequences did happen. The baby son died. One of his other sons raped one ofhis daughters. Another son killed the son who raped the daughter. That son wasthen exiled. He was returned from exile, conspired against his father, theking, and openly committed adultery with his fathers concubines. That son wasthen killed. How do we know that David was forgiven? “Then I acknowledged mysin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, ‘I will confess mytransgressions to the Lord’—and you forgave the guilt of my sin’” (Psalm 32:5).

“Have mercy on my, O God, according to your unfailing love;according to your great compassion blot out my transgressions. Wash away all myiniquity and cleanse me from my sin. For I know my transgressions, and my sinis always before me. Against you, you only, have I sinned and done what is evilin your sight, so that you are proved right when you speak and justified whenyou judge…. Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will bewhiter than snow. Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushedrejoice. Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. Create in mea pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. Do not cast mefrom your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me. Restore to me the joy ofyour salvation and grant me a willing spirit, to sustain me…. Save me frombloodguilt, O God, the God who saves me, and my tongue will sing of yourrighteousness…. You do not delight in sacrifice, or I would bring it; you donot take pleasure in burnt offerings. The sacrifices of God are a brokenspirit; a broken and contrite heart, O god, you will not despise” (Psalm51:1-4, 7-12, 14, 16-17).

David did not minimize his sins. He realized his sins wereagainst God only. David counted on the greatness of God’s mercy, love andcompassion. He knew he would not be forgiven by ritual repentance.

David had the joy of forgiven sins but still had to face theresults of his sins.

 

Written in 1999.

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

Speaking Your "Truth"

"But you must not mention 'the oracle of the Lord'again, because every man's own word becomes his oracle, and so you distort thewords of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God” (Jer. 23:36).

For study, the whole chapter of Jeremiah 23 should be read.I pulled this sentence because of its application today. Weekly I come acrosspeople whose own words are their revelation of "truth." It is always a distortionof the word of God. In churches that recognize the gift of prophecy, the samething occurs. In many instances, there is no means or effort to shut down thesefalse prophecies. Several chapters in Jeremiah are given to shutting down orstanding up against these “prophets.” 

 

Written July 1986.

This post coordinates with tomorrow'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

Christ Our Peace

"His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace, and in this one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit" (Ephesians 2:15-18).

From this we find out there were two kinds of people in the world, both kinds estranged from God and from each other: Gentiles and Jews. Both kinds were sinners—sinners far away and sinners close at hand. They both needed reconciling to God through the cross. The cross put to death their hostility. Jesus Christ is our peace. He preached peace to both and died for both. Now we have three kinds of people in the world: Jews, Gentiles and the church of God (1 Corinthians 10:32).

 

Written June 1992.

This post coordinates with today's reading in the To the 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

God's Word Is Not Chained

"Remember Jesus Christ, raised from the dead, descended from David. This is my gospel, for which I am suffering even to the point of being chained like a criminal. But God's word is not chained. Therefore I endure everything for the sake of the elect, that they too may obtain the salvation that is in Christ Jesus, with eternal glory” (2 Timothy 2:8-10).

Paul says that he is suffering for two reasons: for the gospel, and for the sake of the elect.

In the middle of this, we find that “God’s word is not chained.” Isn’t that a glorious statement?

 

Written November 1985.

This post coordinates with tomorrow's reading in the To the 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

Christ's Unlimited Patience for Sinners

"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to his service. Even though I was once a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent man, I was shown mercy because I acted in ignorance and unbelief. The grace of our Lord was poured out on me abundantly, along with the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. Here is a trustworthy saying that deserves full acceptance: Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners—of whom I am the worst. But for that very reason I was shown mercy so that in me, the worst of sinners, Christ Jesus might display his unlimited patience as an example for those who would believe on him and receive eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory for ever and ever. Amen” (1 Timothy 1:12-17).

Notice that Paul was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and a violent man. We are quite sure that he was not an adulterer, or thief, or liar. He would have said so. He did say he was the worst of sinners. Mercy was shown him for two reasons: l) he acted in ignorance and unbelief; 2) he was the worst of sinners. Ignorance did not keep him from being the worst of sinners.

We are used to hearing of immoral sinners receiving Christ. We do not have the same hope for blaspheming, persecuting, violent men. Many nations have this type of person. Paul was used as an example of Christ’s unlimited patience for those kinds of people who would believe on him and receive eternal life.

 

Written October 1985.

This post coordinates with tomorrow's reading in the To the 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

Read Like a Berean

"Of making many books there is no end" (Ecclesiastes 12:12).

A serious temptation accompanies the widespread availability of Christian books, blogs, and podcasts. Because so many Christian books have been written about a multitude of subjects, it is far too easy to turn to a Christian book before opening the Bible. Books written by Christians are profitable only when they are approached as a supplementary, not primary, source of guidance. True godliness is cultivated in those who labor in the Scriptures, for there we find the Lord's counsel (2 Tim. 2:15, 3:15-17).

Luke commends the saints in Berea who measured the teaching of Paul and Silas against the Word of God: "These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily do find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11). The Bereans are a good example to all of us who desire to pattern our lives according to God's will.

 

Written September 1991.

This post coordinates with tomorrow's reading in the To the 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