by Robert Fudge

Dear friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we obey his commands and do what pleases him. 23 And this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to love one another as he commanded us. 24 Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.

In these few verses we are given at least 4 ways that we can know that we have eternal life. It is not “choose the one you like” but a combination of these and other things that John gives in this book that give us the assurance that we are right with God. This morning I want to focus on faith. We must believe in the name of Jesus Christ the Son of God. But what does it mean to believe in Jesus? Some would say that means we are to acknowledge that Jesus is God’s Son. However in the book of James we are told that the devils believe and tremble. This then is a part but not the whole of belief. To borrow an illustration from someone else, I will tell a short story.

There was a man who after much fanfare agreed to walk a tight rope across the great waterfall. When the day came he asked how many in the gathered crowd believed that he could walk across this great fall. Many cheered and acknowledged that they believed he could make it. He then asked for a volunteer to show his faith and come and ride on his shoulders as he went across. It is easy for us (in our society) to acknowledge that we believe in God and in Jesus Christ. For many it is easier to say this than to deny that we believe in him. But are we willing to risk everything and ride on his shoulders for the rest of our life?

We play church and pretend religion but are we willing to do as Paul and be “crucified with Christ” so that we can say “it is no longer I that live but Christ lives in me?” Are we willing to become a new creation in Christ Jesus? Faith is trusting God enough that we allow him to rule our hearts and our lives. We are willing to give up what we want so that we can be what he wants. It is allowing God to remake us from within, not knowing what the transformation will be when he is finished with us. One part of faith is absolute trust in God and in Jesus as the Son of God and as our Savior. In the next article we will further discuss faith and what it means.

Dear God, please increase my faith so that I can really trust you. I confess that I like to think I am in control of my life but I do realize that you are the only one who can be in control. Help me to know and believe the love you have shown by giving your Son as a sacrifice for my sin. In Jesus name.

May God bless each of us as we live for him.