Sunday, August 26, 2018

Word and Spirit

No one who abides in him, keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either known him or seen him. – 1 John 3:6 

This verse is intimidating... 

(Today is Sunday) A quote from today's sermon, "you can give without loving, but you cannot love without giving" caught my attention. As I prepare for this week's lesson for our youth group, the quote above is fresh in my mind. Today we are discussing confidence as a matter of our faith in God.

There are three ways to know we have faith; by the way we keep the commands, by our love for one another, and by the confidence we have in the Holy Spirit. Now, the Word of God shows us what we must do to serve God. On the other hand, the Spirit allows us to know what God is doing in our life. Our faith gives us the Word, and the Spirit.

How does this relate to my faith? Well, I read through the chapter we are studying and it closes with a small paragraph explaining why one might still doubt their faith even if they know they have asked God for salvation. The book What Every Christian Ought to Know by Adrian Rogers explains that doubt within a life of faith shows us that we are still allowing sin to linger in our life. Rogers directly says that we "are not obeying the Lord" and we must ask forgiveness.

Reading the Word is only half of a life of faith. Obeying the Spirit is the other half. I have been stuck in a position feeling distant and unsure how to progress in a life of faith. Reading this has shown me that I must go to God with my sins and ask forgiveness so that I may live for him, and him alone.

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