Beloved, now we are children of God, and it has not appeared as yet what we will be. We know that when He appears we will be like Him, because we will see Him just as He is. And everyone who has this hope fixed upon Him purifies himself, just as He is pure.
1 John 3:2-3 NASB
As those whose citizenship is not of this world, Christians eagerly await the appearing of the Lord Jesus Christ (Philippians 3:20; 2 Timothy 4:8). This is a mark of one who is truly born again. The love that one has for Jesus expresses itself in a longing for His return, just as we long to be united with loved ones who we are separated from in this life.
The true Child of God knows and understands that God is pure. They understand that He is without spot or wrinkle and they also desire to be pure in their conduct as well. As they await His return they are careful to live a life that is pleasing to Him.
They understand that to keep oneself pure, it is important to go to His word, and allow it to shape and mold our lives (Psalm 119:8). Keeping oneself pure in this way is not advocating a works based salvation, on the contrary, we are saved from our sins, and called to live holy lives. We are instructed to work out our salvation with fear and trembling (Philippians 2:12-13). We are to cooperate with God by yielding to His word, by submitting ourselves to the Lordship of Christ. In this way we purify our lives.
This is how a Christian lives. He lives to please Christ. He desires to be like his heavenly Father (Eph 5:1). Christ gave Himself to wash us clean, without spot or wrinkle (Eph 5:25-27), and this is the desire of the believers heart, to be clean in his conduct before God, to live a life beyond reproach.
Someone who claims salvation, but carelessly lives in this world, trusting that God will pass over his sinful conduct, while really not desiring to be clean and pure in God's eyes, is lacking the life of God within his heart.
No comments:
Post a Comment