Text: “A new commandment I
give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love
one another. By this (proof) shall all
men know that ye are My disciples, if ye have love one to another.”
John 13:34-35.
Good morning, proven Christian
disciple! You and I have been saved by
grace though faith in the once for all time Atonement Sacrifice of Jesus
Christ, the Son of the living Lord God, at Calvary’s Cross. We trust not in
ourselves for Salvation - or any so-called good works that we could ever
do. Our Salvation is totally ‘…of the Lord…’ God, and by His
matchless grace we are granted a Standing before His Holy throne - in His Son,
Christ Jesus.
Hallelujah! We are genuine Christians, and we know
it. We are genuine Christians if we seek
to continually show it. Glory and praise
to the Lamb!
“When my soul
fainted within me I remembered the Lord; and my prayer came in unto Thee, into
Thine Holy temple. They that observe
lying vanities forsake their own mercy.
But I will sacrifice unto Thee with the voice of thanksgiving; I will
pay that that I have vowed. Salvation
is of the Lord.” (Jonah 2:7-9
“Not by works of
righteousness that we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, by the
washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost; which He shed on us
abundantly through Jesus Christ our Saviour; that being justified by His grace,
we should be made heirs according to the hope of Eternal life.” (Titus 3:5-7)
“Yes, Dr McClinton,
I am already aware of this truth - but you have addressed this study to ‘…proven Christian disciples…’, therefore, how do I actually PROVE to myself that I
am indeed a genuine follower of Christ?”
In order to adequately answer
such a frequently asked question, I immediately return each reader to our
selected text for today. Please read it
again. We prove we are genuine followers
(disciples) of Christ Jesus by the obedience we seek to practice continually to
His written teachings.
False ’Christians’ will not seek to
obey the risen Christ - self still rules in their unregenerate, disobedient
hearts!
Furthermore, our text for
today’s study clearly sets out
Christ’s commandment to every soul
who would faithfully follow after him and partake of His great and Eternal
Salvation: we must love one another.
“Beloved, let us
love one another; for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God,
and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love.” (1 John 4:7-8)
Now, let us bring this
Biblical principle into the everyday world in which we live, and ask ourselves
the vital questions: Do we love our
Christian brothers and sisters? Do we
manifest such a Christian love that might prove beyond any doubt that we are in
fact genuine followers of Christ?
Well? Do we?
How many times do we learn of
professing Christian congregations who are reputed to be ‘…sound in the details of their Biblical doctrine, but
sadly lacking in any real Christian love.’? What a dismal situation!
‘The Pastor is
detested because of his imperfections‘; ‘the choir sung that piece out of tune again‘; ‘the worship and
praise was too happy-clappy‘; ‘the service went on too long‘ - many sing ‘I surrender all’ then, when they think about the cost of such
committed surrender, sit with long faces devoid of any semblance of true
Christian joy and love. What a sad state
to be in!
Dry formalism is commensurate
with latter-day Phariseeism - beware!
‘Happy-clappy’ liberalism is superficial, needing Biblical instruction -
beware!
False love devoid of
Scriptural truth is a dangerous balance - beware!
Carnal discord among
professing brethren is forbidden - beware!
Strict, ritualistic religion and piety leaves
Christ outside the church - beware!
The Lord Jesus in today’s passage for study is admonishing His disciples to
truly love one another, encourage one another with such love; be there for each
other in a spirit of mutual love and willingness to forgive faults. (James 5:16)
We the Church - universal and
international - the true Body of Christ in this 21st Century; need
to care for each other and strengthen each other with love and truth in a fine
balance. In this manner, we can all ‘…grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ.” (2 Peter 3:18)
Thought: How can we say we
love God, yet detest our brethren in Christ?
If we are loved by God, let us seek to love one another. Discipleship requires proof!
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