Victory in the
Christian Life
by brother
bob....<><
It is not uncommon for people
who have just become Christians to start to doubt that they really are saved.
The emotions that felt so good the first day wear off and normal life seems to
return. But it is not the emotional high that proves that you are
saved....something different has happened in your life...you have become a new
creation in Christ Jesus. Old things have passed away, and you are given a brand
new start with your life.
Therefore if any man be in
Christ, he is a new creature:
old things are passed
away;
behold, all things are
become new.
2 Cor 5:17 (KJV) That is why Jesus refers to it
as being "born again" (John 3:3).
Jesus replied, "With all the
earnestness I possess I tell you this:
Unless you are born again, you
can never get into the Kingdom of God."
John 3:3 (TLB) The following Bible verse gives
us assurance when we start doubting that we really are Christians. Consider
this...
But as many as received Him,
to them He gave the right to become children of God,
to those who believe in His name:
(John 1:12 NKJV) This verse tells us that
everyone who receives Jesus Christ into their life is given the right to become
a child of God. To "receive Him" means to welcome Him gladly into your life.
Before you may have been running away from God, denying His existence, and
doubting the truth of the Bible. But now, the Holy Spirit has done a work in
your life, forgiven your sins and blotted out your past. And you feel a new
presence of Christ in your heart. Paul
puts it this way...
I am crucified with
Christ: nevertheless I live;
yet not I, but
Christ liveth in me:
and the life which
I now live in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God,
who loved me, and
gave himself for me.
Gal 2:20 (KJV)
But then, the enemy of our faith, Satan,
realizing that he has lost his power over you, will try to plant doubts in your
mind that you really are saved. Especially if you should go back to doing some
of the same sins you did before you were saved. However, this time if you should
do them, something is different...you feel guilty, dirty, repulsive within
yourself...you cannot believe that God could forgive you or love you ever
again...you are experiencing "conviction of sin" . The Holy Spirit who now lives
on the inside of you is pointing out your sin so clearly, you can think of
nothing else. You want to be rid of it and be done with it....but how? How can
God forgive me when I went back on my commitment to Christ? The answer is found
in 1st John 1:9...
If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us
from all unrighteousness.
Confess your sin, agree with God
that it is sin, and make an inner commitment that you will never do it again.
But if you do, the same remedy is always open to you...confession, and
repentence, and God will forgive and continue to cleanse you of all
unrighteousness.
The Walk of Faith -
Put your trust in the promises of God
For I am not ashamed of the
gospel of Christ:
for it is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth;
to the Jew first, and also to
the Greek.
{17} For therein is the
righteousness of God revealed from faith to faith:
as it is written, The just
shall live by faith.
Rom 1:16-17 (KJV)
The chief characteristic of
children of God is faith: they "believe in His name". This means that they trust
Jesus and know that He is the way to God. Therefore if you have prayed and
received Jesus Christ into your life then God has given you the right to become
a child of God. So, instead of putting your trust in your "feelings", which can
change from moment to moment like a wave of the sea, put your faith in the
promises of God, which are settled forever in heaven, and cannot
change.
...if you confess with your mouth the Lord
Jesus
and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the
dead,
you will be saved.
{10} For with the heart one believes unto righteousness,
and with the mouth confession is made unto
salvation.
{11} For the Scripture says,
"Whoever believes on Him will not be put to shame."
{12} For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek,
for the same Lord over all is rich to all who call upon Him.
{13} For "whoever calls on the name of the LORD shall be
saved."
(Romans
10:9-13 NKJV) This Bible verse tells us two
things that we need to believe if we are truly Christians. The first of
these is that we must believe in our heart that Jesus Christ was raised from the
dead. In order to believe this we need to believe that Jesus Christ actually
lived, died on a cross and then was raised from the dead by God. This is
critical to our proper understanding of Christianity.
The second thing we have to
believe and live by is that Jesus Christ is Lord. This is to say that Jesus is
the Supreme Commander of the universe and is above every individual, government
or human structure. This means that we must obey His Word. And in order to obey His Word, we
must read and study His Word, and make it a part of our very lives, that is ,
let it change us.
For unto us was the gospel
preached, as well as unto them:
but the word preached did not
profit them,
not being mixed with faith
in them that heard it.
Heb 4:2 (KJV)
[1}I beseech you
therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God,
that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God,
which is
your reasonable service.
{2}
And be not conformed to this world:
but be ye
transformed by the renewing of your mind,
that ye may prove
what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of
God.
Rom 12:1-2 (KJV)
God wants us to read and study and hear
His Word, apply it to our lives, throw out the old worldly ways, and replace
them with God's heavenly ways....one command at a time..."walking" from precept
to precept, examining the ways of God, and taking them by prayer and faith into
ourselves, confessing and rejecting the old ways of the world the flesh and the
devil, and leaving them behind for the new life in Christ. And then God gives us
this wonderful promise that we already have eternal
life...
And this is the
record, that God hath given to us eternal life,
and this life
is in his Son.
{12} He that
hath the Son hath life;
and he that
hath not the Son of God hath not life.
{13} These
things have I written unto you
that believe on the
name of the Son of God;
that ye may
know that ye have eternal life,
and that ye
may believe on the name of the Son of God.
1John 5:11-13 (KJV)
Having filled your life with the
Presence of Christ, the joy of doing His will, and the peace which comes from
having your sins forgiven, and the assurance that you have eternal life, you
will be overflowing in your desire to share Him with those around
you...
Your attitude should be the kind
that was shown us by Jesus Christ,
{6} who, though he was
God, did not demand and cling to his rights as God,
{7} but laid aside
his mighty power and glory,
taking the disguise of a slave
and becoming like men.
{8} And he humbled
himself even further,
going so far as actually to die
a criminal's death on a cross.
{9} Yet it was because of
this that God raised him up to the heights of heaven
and gave him a name which is
above every other name,
{10} that at the name of
Jesus every knee shall bow
in heaven and on earth and under
the earth,
{11} and every tongue
shall confess that Jesus Christ is Lord,
to the glory of God the
Father.
Phil 2:5-11
(TLB)
Are you ready to confess that
Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father?
Jesus
said...
Whosoever therefore shall
confess me before men,
him will I confess also before
my Father which is in heaven.
Mat 10:32 (KJV)
God bless you as you
do.
In Christ.
brother bob.......<>< IXTHEUS CHRISTIAN GROWTH
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- [nazerene] *Victory in the Christian Life Brother Bob...<><
- [nazerene] *Victory in the Christian Life Brother Bob...<><
- [nazerene] *Victory in the Christian Life Brother Bob...<><