Promise Promotes Practice

See what kind of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God; and so we are. The reason why the world does not know us is that it did not know him. Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1 John 3:1-3)

I was raised thinking that, even though salvation was a free gift, it was something I had to work to keep. And if I didn't obey Jesus, didn't do things right, then I would lose my salvation and go to hell forever. As a teenager, this led to a very insecure view of my standing before God. I would constantly find myself begging God not to cast me away, but to have mercy on me and forgive me. I promised him all the time that next time I would do better. Next time I would try harder. Next time I would obey, if he would just give me the chance.

I didn't believe in eternal security back then. I was always told that people who believed in eternal security (or once-saved-always-saved) made lazy Christians. They would live however they wanted because they couldn't lose their salvation. I've come since to see that believing eternal security in fact promotes the opposite - because God has saved me and will not let me go, I cannot continue living how I want to. The passage above from 1 John is one of such passages that have helped me see how this works.

Our Position Before God
Verse 1 tells us that, as Christians, we are God's children. This is not so for everyone. Only those who have received Christ, who have trusted in Him alone are called children of God (John 1:12). We are children, adopted by the Spirit, who have the right to call God, "Father" (Romans 8:14-17). God has called me his child; through Jesus Christ, He has made me his son.

God's Promise to His Children
Verse 2 points us to the tremendous promise that God has made to us: we will see and be like Christ. When Christ returns in glory, we will become like him. How? John says that it will happen by our seeing him in his glory, we likewise will be transformed. This same idea is what Paul refers to in 2 Corinthians 3:18 when he says that as we behold his glory, we are being transformed into the same image.

John tells his readers that we will be like him when we see him. This is God's promise to his children: we will be glorified. We will make it to the end. And though we do not know what that will look like, we can know that it is sure for us as believers. Paul tells us that all those who are justified, and therefore saved, will be glorified (Romans 8:30).

How the Promise Affects the Way I Live
This is a tremendous promise, but it's not something that John says so that I will not change. John means for this promise to impact how I live my life. John says that everyone who hopes in this should be changed by it. Now when the Bible speaks of hope, it's not an uncertain thing, like saying "I hope it doesn't rain today." The Bible speaks of hope as a confident expectation. It's something we bank on.

So, what should I do if I expect to be glorified like Christ at his return? John says that since we know that we will be made like him then, we should purify ourselves like him now. Believing in the surety of my salvation in God's hands should encourage me to continue to break free from the sin that seeks to destroy me and to pursue living a life of love towards all.

How Does This Work?
Today, I was tempted to get angry and yell at someone. But in that moment, I recalled these verses, and reminded of these truths, I turned away from anger and responded rather in a more appropriate way. The Spirit reminded me of the promise and moved me to respond with God-honoring practice.

We must strive to keep God's truth before us. When we firmly hold to his promises to us, we will be better equipped to glorify him with our beings.

Compassionate Risk in Ministry

40 And a leper came to him, imploring him, and kneeling said to him, “If you will, you can make me clean.” 41 Moved with pity, he stretched out his hand and touched him and said to him, “I will; be clean.” 42 And immediately the leprosy left him, and he was made clean. (Mark 1:40-43)

Our men's group is currently doing a Bible study on the Gospel of Mark. This is part of our weekly passage, and it struck me as having a lot to say about ministry.

Moved with Pity
This tells us of what our motivation should be in ministering grace to others. It's not pride; it's not because we can. Compassion should drive us to want to help others. Nothing else will do. Approaching a hurting person with arrogance or an attitude of "I completely understand this and you need to listen to what I have to say" will push them away from the gospel. Judging them is out of line with the character of our God. Jesus was moved with pity to help this man.

"I will"
We have to be willing to help. Compassion motivates us to serve. But we must be willing to serve whole-heartedly. We must be willing to sacrifice the time, the energy, the effort to be able to help effectively. This means we have to be willing to listen and understand as best as we can.

This is more than reading a book or a few stories of other people and then offering "help" based on what worked for them. It also means more than just saying "Well I heard about this, and this must be true for you..." This is not being willing to help. This is being judgmental. Especially if all you say is negative stuff.

"Be Clean"
Real solutions. Not pat answers, and definitely not our own misinformed advice. We need to provide people with Biblical hope - hope grounded in the gospel. Regardless of what their circumstances are, and regardless of what they have done, we need to point them to the real solution to their needs and problems.

He Touched Him
Jesus did more than just talk to this man. He touched him. He touched a leper, a man cut off from the people because of his infectious skin disease. Jesus risked "catching the disease" in order to serve this man.

So it should be with us. We have to be willing to get dirty for the sake of the gospel. We can't hold people at arm's length and just tell them what to do or else. This again is a form of judging them. And, in case you were wondering, it is not helpful. Risk yourself. Risk your safety. Risk your attitude. Risk all that you have to help others, regardless of how dirty you think they are. Regardless of how little you understand about them. Regardless of what you think you understand about what they are going through.

I hope we will all be encouraged and challenged to live a life of compassionate risk-taking service for the true benefit of others.