Walking like Christ

1 John 2:6 says that '"whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked." How do we do this? Some answers we gave today~ 1) Walk in love - Ephesians 5:2. 2) Walk as children of light (doing what is good, right and true) - Ephesians 5:8. 3) Walk in wisdom, watching carefully how you walk - Ephesians 5:15. 4) Walk worthy of your calling in God - Ephesians 4:1-3. 5) Walk in newness of life - Romans 6:4. 6) Walk in the Spirit - Galatians 5:16-24. We hope that these truths will be an encouragement to you as you seek to walk like Christ.

Am I a Liar?

1 John 2:4 says "Whoever says 'I know him' but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him." Does this sound familiar? John writes in chapter 1 verse 6 this same concept about claiming fellowship but not being obedient. As little children need to be reminded of how they are to behave, so we as God's little children need to be reminded of the same truths again. So pay attention each time these "repeated" concepts occur! Out of this text, ask yourself this question - why would you be a liar if you do not keep God's commandments?

Jesus, our Righteous Advocate

We spent yesterday talking about Jesus as our Advocate. What is an advocate? It is one who pleads another's cause, who helps another by comforting him. Christ is our advocate! Hebrews 4:15-16 gives us such a comfort in that Christ is able to sympathize with our weaknesses and so we can with confidence draw near to the throne of God's grace! We pray that you will see Christ as your advocate when you are struggling with sin - what a powerful resource that you have - use it! Today we answered the question - why is Jesus Christ righteous? He is without sin! Praise God! 1 John 3:5 tells us that there is no sin in Him as well as many other verses in Scripture. Are you thankful for His righteousness? What do you do with this information that Jesus Christ is our Righteous Advocate? Are you using the resource that God has given you or are you giving in to the temptation to sin? Are you looking to the Bible for your help or are you seeking the secular advice of the world? If you have sinned are you recognizing that Christ has pleaded your cause to the Heavenly Father and has forgiven you? You can live confidently knowing that if you do sin that you have Jesus Christ, who is your righteous advocate!

1 John 2:1

John again states his purpose for his writing - "so that you may not sin." John is also giving his readers hope that they do not have to sin. We DO NOT HAVE TO SIN!!! What an encouragement to us! Yet, in the battle for godly living we know that there are times where we do sin. He continues on to tell us that if we do sin we have an advocate.... When you are faced in a difficult circumstance do you believe the truth that you do not have to sin? Or do you throw in the towel and give up and sin anyway thinking it's too hard to live godly? It's important that our minds are filled with the TRUTH that we do not have to sin. Other verses you may look up to help you in this area are Romans 6:12-14 and 1 Peter 1:13-16, Psalm 119:105. Also, it is important that our motivation to obey is right. Do you obey because of fear of consequences or because you LOVE God?

The Promise of Forgiveness

1 John 1:9 is such a comforting verse to us as believers. It gives us the promise that God will forgive and cleanse us from our sin when we confess our sin to Him. He does this because He is faithful and just! We all know that we struggle with sin daily and what a blessing to know that God has PROMISED forgiveness to us when we sin - but we must confess that sin to Him. Why then would we not confess our sin? Pride? Embarrassment? How has the truth of this verse encouraged you in your walk with the Lord?