11-27-11 PM - Testing of Our Faith

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TESTING OF OUR FAITH
1John 2:3-6
 3. And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. 4. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. 5. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him. 6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

Seven Tests to Know if we Really Know God.

1. The Test: Do we keep God’s commands?

John 3:13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven.

John 8:42 Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.

John 3:16 For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.

John 3:36 He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.

John 6:29 Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent.

John 8:26  I have many things to say and to judge of you: but he that sent me is true; and I speak to the world those things which I have heard of him.
 (Vs. 3) And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments.

What are His commands?....
1John 3:23 helps us with that question.  And this is his commandment, That we should believe on the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another, as he gave us commandment.

So there are two important things in this verse what are they?
1. To know God we must believe on the name of Jesus Christ. And by believing on Jesus Christy we keep His commands.

2. To know God we must love one another. Love covers all the commandments of God. If we love one another we will not hurt or cause pain for one another; we will not offend or sin against one another. And this is exactly what scripture declares.

Romans 13:8-14 Owe no man any thing, but to love one another: for he that loveth another hath fulfilled the law. 9 For this, Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not kill, Thou shalt not steal, Thou shalt not bear false witness, Thou shalt not covet; and if there be any other commandment, it is briefly comprehended in this saying, namely, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. 10 Love worketh no ill to his neighbour: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law. 11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation nearer than when we believed. 12 The night is far spent, the day is at hand: let us therefore cast off the works of darkness, and let us put on the armour of light. 13 Let us walk honestly, as in the day; not in rioting and drunkenness, not in chambering and wantonness, not in strife and envying. 14 But put ye on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make not provision for the flesh, to fulfil the lusts thereof.

Luke 6:32 If you love those who love you, what credit is that to you? Even 'sinners' love those who love them.

2.THE PROFESSING MAN: Says he knows God but does not keep His commands. (4)
4 He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.

The Amplified Bible says the word believe means to: trust in adhere to rely on.  So making a verbal commitment without a working commitment is a faulty view of the things of God and certainly is not the way the Kingdom works.   

Matt. 7:21 "Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven.

3. THE OBEDIENT MAN: Keeps Gods word.
5 But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,

1 Cor. 2:12- We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words. 14 The man without 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 they are spiritually discerned. 15 The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment: 16 "For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?" But we have the mind of Christ.

4.    THE RESPONSIBLE MAN: Lives up to his profession.
6 He that saith he abideth in him ought himself also so to walk, even as he walked.

The word “walk” means a continuous walk.
The word “ought” means debt, constraint, and obligation. So the one that claims to know Jesus Christ is obligated to walk as He would walk.

How did Jesus walk?
– Believing and trusting God.
– Worshipping and praying to God.
– Fellowshipping and communing with God.
– Giving and sacrificing all He had and was to God.
– Seeking and following after God.
– Teaching and telling others about God.
– Loving and caring for others as God said to do.
– Obeying and keeping all of God’s commands.                                                 
–  Rom. 6:4; Gal. 5:16; Eph. 5:2; 1 Peter 2:21.