Sorry I have been away for awhile. Here is the next part of “The Evidence of A True Believer Part 3 and I have listed the first four points that we have already discussed so far for you:
1. True Believers believe that Jesus is the Christ. I John 5:1
2. True Believers will live in the light as Jesus is in the light. I John 1:5-7
3. True Believers have a deep since of their sinfulness. I John 1:8
4. True Believers will keep His Commandments. I John 2:1-2
Now for number 5….
5. True believers will have a geniune love for others. I John 2:7-11
If anyone claims to live in the light yet hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is still living in darkness. In the NLT the end of verse 11 says that, “such a person is lost, having been blinded by the darkness.” On over in chapter 4 of I John verses 7–8 say, “Dear friends, let us continue to love one another, for love comes from God. Anyone who loves is born of God and knows God. But anyone who does not love does not know God-for God is love.” Chapter 4 in I John comes right out and tells us what “real love” is…..have you ever thought about it? Verse 9 confirms that God showed us how much he loved us by sending his only Son into the world so that we might have eternal life through Him. We did not love God first but He loved us while we were unlovely, while we were yet sinners as Romans 5:8 says. Real love is not what Hollywood promotes but real love is that God loved us and sent His only Son as a sacrifice to take away our sins. Obviously this is our standard to love others but we must remember that we can’t do it in our own strength which is why we so need to humble ourselves before our father and examine ourselves and then allow Christ to love others through us. The last part of verse 16 is quite direct….”God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.” Now hear verses 20-21, “If someone says, ‘I love God,’ but hates a Christian brother or sister, that person is a liar; for if we don’t love people we can see how can we love God, whom we have not seen? And God Himself has commanded that we must love not only Him but our Christian brothers and sisters, too.”
I have purposfully put all the verses in here today so that you can see clearly what the Word of God says. This is not opinion or even a good idea, it is God’s holy Word spoken to us. We can’t fake this one….we must have His Holy Spirit living in us and loving through us as we embrace the love that God has for us all.
I John 3:1 “See how very much our heavenly Father loves us, for He allows us to be called His children, and we really are!”
Dana