6th March 2024

6th March 2024


Pray (ACts)


Read - (1 John 5:13)


Message (Alan Burke)


I looked at the weather forecast today before I left the house, no rain apparently so I wore an old coat the kind of one we all have, that’s warm, been around for years and when it finally falls apart we’ll be gutted. Maybe it’s just me that sees coats and jackets like that but I wore the old coat which is far from waterproof because the forecast toul me that it wusnae going to rain and it’s lashing out there. If I had known it was going to lash I’d have put on the waterproof and brought the umbrella. I’ve made similar points before but in effect what we believe impacts the choices we make, it impacts how we live and for the believer, believing in the name of the Son of God means that we will live obediently. 


What does that look like, well it means that we are going to be living or at least trying to live obediently. We’re going to try to keep his commandments, all of them. Ok we still sin on this side of glory, any of us who think otherwise deceives themselves as John has said (1:8), we still sin, it is a battle to obey, sometimes it is easier than others, but at the very heart of the matter is that we are trying to obey, we want to, when we fail we keep trying, we don’t just give into sin every time. Also that belief in the Son of God will lead to transformation. What happens in our lives is that we believe, again it impacts how we live and in the believer they do not want to keep on sinning, they want to turn from it, we know sin isn’t good, it is not pleasing to our heavenly Father. Faith is incompatible with wilful sinning, of continuing the pattern of sinful behaviour that is like that of an unbeliever. For the believer we want to live in obedience, we want to be transformed more into the likeness of our elder brother Jesus Christ, we want to bear a family likeness, we want to resemble our saviour so we obey, we long not to sin and we are transformed over time and to a greater or lesser degree we should see it in our lives. 


So we have obedience, transformation, in addition to those things belief in the Son of God will lead to living righteously. I need to clarify what I mean because in Romans Paul makes it clear that there is no one righteous not even one (Rom 3:10). But what happens is that when we have been believed in the Son of God it leads to acts that are righteous, they are good, pleasing to our Lord. Look back to chapter 2v29 “29 If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him” (1 Jn 2:29). When we come to believe then we do what is right, or we are trying to do what is right, we are wanting to do what is right because that reflects the very character of our God. Remember John is trying to give us assurance, when we fail, Jesus Christ pleads on our behalf, he stands before the Father pleading our case and the case is grounded in the work that he has done to secure a favourable verdict for us (Rom 8:1-4). 


Finally Love, believing in the Son of God leads to obedience, transformation, righteousness and love int eh life of the believer. We love because we have come to know the love of God that was so vividly displayed towards us, in how Jesus Christ laid down his life for us is not something simply that we acknowledge but do nothing with, no, it is rather a love that will lead us to live in a certain way. Just as our saviour Jesus Christ showed a self giving, sacrificial love we to are to show that love in our lives, it is a love that transforms us, from death to life, from hatred to love a love that means we give up our self will, our self interest, the times when it is costly, the countless little opportunities that we have. Are we living in this way? We should but if we are struggling to see it in our lives ask a fellow believer to give an honest evaluation of your progress if you cant, sometimes it is better to ask someone else, someone whom we trust. Asking them do they see those things in us, for what we struggle to see may be much clearer for others to see.


Pray (acTS)


Sing


WSC
Q86 What is faith in Jesus Christ?
Faith in Jesus Christ is a saving grace, (Heb. 10:39) whereby we receive and rest upon him alone for salvation as he is offered to us in the gospel. (John 1:12, Isa. 26:3–4, Phil. 3:9, Gal. 2:16)
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