“By this my Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit and so prove to be my disciples.” John 15:8

                   

I read this passage in 1 John this morning and it took my mind down this path of remaining in Christ and being certain that we (Christians) are steadfast in expressing our newness of life. That we truly hate sin, and pursue the things of God. We must be diligent in examining our own lives and asking hard questions like the temperature of our Faith. Are we hot, cold or lukewarm?

“Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: Whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.” 1 John 2:4-6

            Many profess with their mouths that Jesus is their Lord, yet by their actions we can see that they deceive themselves and sully the name of “Christian”. We are charged to Exhort each other daily in following the Way!

 Hebrews 3:13 “But exhort one another every day, as long as it is called “today,” that none of you may be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold our original confidence firm to the end.”

         Scripture is clear that we can be deceived about our faith from our own sin. In Mark, it says that many receive the Word with joy, but then fall away with the worries or life, and the deceitfulness of our hearts. Those who Love Christ walk as Christ walked persevering until the end. Take an honest look into your own life and make sure that it reflects the Spirit of our Holy God. Be faithful is making the truth about God and His Salvation known. Encourage the Saints in his Word and exhort those who need to see truth. These things we are commanded to do.  Our own salvation and the salvation for others is the most important thing in this life. Don’t take it lightly. 

1. Revelation 3:14-16 To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation. I know your deeds, that you are neither cold nor hot. I wish you were either one or the other! So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.

2. Matthew 7:16-17 You can detect them by the way they act, just as you can identify a tree by its fruit. You need never confuse grapevines with thorn bushes or figs with thistles. Different kinds of fruit trees can quickly be identified by examining their fruit.

3. Matthew 23:25-28 Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside they are full of greed and self-indulgence. Blind Pharisee! First clean the inside of the cup and dish, and then the outside also will be clean. “Woe to you, teachers of the law and Pharisees, you hypocrites! You are like whitewashed tombs, which look beautiful on the outside but on the inside are full of the bones of the dead and everything unclean. In the same way, on the outside you appear to people as righteous but on the inside you are full of hypocrisy and wickedness.

4. Isaiah 29:13 The Lord says: “These people come near to me with their mouth and honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship of me is based on merely human rules they have been taught.”

5. Titus 1:16 They claim to know God, but by their actions they deny him. They are detestable, disobedient and unfit for doing anything good.

6. Mark 4:15-19 Some people are like seed along the path, where the word is sown. As soon as they hear it, Satan comes and takes away the word that was sown in them. Others, like seed sown on rocky places, hear the word and at once receive it with joy. But since they have no root, they last only a short time. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, they quickly fall away. Still others, like seed sown among thorns, hear the word; but the worries of this life, the deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.

        If I call myself a follower of Christ, I have a huge responsibility to bear, that I cannot hold up on my own. That is why when Jesus left he gave us his Spirit to enable us to walk according to his Word. I pray that His word would be profitable today in the lives of all Christians all over the world. As we passionately serve God and serve each other daily! God’s grace and peace be yours in abundance today!