God is moving in our world, He always has and He always will. He listened to our prayers for rain, snow and help in easing the drought. He sends that rain on both the righteous and the wicked. God loves the world He created and He will not be moved.
I am not a betting man but if I were I would wager that most of you have heard, know or have memorized John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son that who-so-ever believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life!”
So God did not send His Son into the world to judge the world but rather to save it! Jesus did not come into the world to throw stones at adulterers, condemn the guilty or shame the hideous and deformed man. No He came to stand in front of sinners to shield us from God’s perfect law which demands total justice.
Most of the religious leaders of Jesus’ day demanded everyone to tow the line, get it right and be blameless. Jesus pointed out to these men that their own lives did not measure up to God’s standards. Finger pointing only proves and highlights our own hypocrisy. The Pharisees publically and proudly wore their pseudo religious perfection while condemning all others.
If we were ever to witness authentic righteous anger it would have been found in the contempt Jesus held for the men who pretended to represent His Heavenly Father. What was true then is true today as Solomon reminds us “There is nothing new under the sun!”
In my own life I have sadly heard too many Christians rebuke someone for their conduct. They go on to explain how because of their past they are not fit for a ministry position in the church. So the truth be told, nobody on their own merit, in their own strength or by their own works, is worthy to have a position or ministry in God’s church.
And by the way, it is not our church; the church that Jesus died for belongs to Him! We are living stones being built up as a holy congregation to love, serve and minister to those God puts in our path.
1 John 3:23 says that the Greatest Commandment is “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.
When a soldier is in battle and parachutes behind enemy lines, or when his commanding officer is killed, the soldier is taught to obey the last command given. At the age of ninety-six, the Apostle John was the longest remaining disciple of the Lord Jesus Christ. God inspired John to write the Greatest Commandment as our last command.
We are all soldiers caught behind enemy lines; our commanding officer is not with us to direct the battle so have to obey the last command given. “And this is His commandment: that we should believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and love one another, as He gave us commandment.” Our mission is pure and simple so don’t need to complicate our salvation, sanctification or our relationship with God.
What is so great about this final command is that it is so easy to follow. Believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ and know His will for your life. Trust and obey His command to love one another. It is literally that simple and adding anything to this command is a “doctrine of works” or working for your salvation.
But what happens when we fail to love other people as we often do? Well, we go back to the first part of the Great Command “Believe on the name of His Son Jesus Christ”. You see how simple this is? Jesus paid the price for all sin past, present and future. When you trust on His name you’re saying that you believe and receive His eternal forgiveness of sin.
Friends, let us not judge one another. Let us not look at each other’s past but instead look to a future together with our Messiah, Savior and King. Nobody who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for the Kingdom of God. Let us not love only in word but with every heartfelt emotion putting our love into the way we live our lives and especially the way in which we treat others.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.”
