Good morning! Sorry this post took a little longer in coming than the others. This section was very, very long, so I had to chop a lot out and tweak it a bit! We have been discussing the evidences of salvation, and today we will go over number 3 of 5. All Scripture if from the ESV Bible unless indicated. All italics within Scripture are mine. Please remember that I did a lot of research for this study, but did not write down any citations because it was an oral study and I didn’t think I’d need them (I so wish I would have cited!). So please don’t quote anything as mine, for it may not be. Any questions or comments are welcome :).
E. What takes place after/because of salvation? What are the evidences of salvation?
3). Live the life. We will now elaborate on new birth, or regeneration. Remember that you are a “new creation” (2 Cor. 5:17). This new life refers to the righteous life that God requires of those who are saved—those who have received the Holy Spirit and are now indwelt by the Lord Jesus Christ. A Christian’s old, sinful self died with Christ, so they should not do now (being saved) the sinful things they did then (before being saved). It’s not that you can’t sin, it’s that you don’t want to sin-the overwhelming power in you is the Spirit of God! We are now going to discuss a few characteristics, or proofs, of new birth. Not all of these characteristics are as evident in each child of God as they can be or as they should be, but they should be there to some degree. These are in no particular order.
a) You will have a new attitude toward sin. Your new nature, if you are truly saved, will have an aversion for sin. You should not want to sin, and you actually should hate sin. “O you who love the Lord, hate evil! …” (Ps. 97:10), and “… Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good” (Rom. 12:9). Sin should shame you. You will not want to be surrounded by evil (sinful) people or the sin of others; therefore you will find yourself seeking different friends, breaking off some friendships, limiting others. It’s a must for a Christian to have Christian friends. “Iron sharpens iron, So one man sharpens another” (Prv. 27:17). This means that those you surround yourself with influence you and shape your character. You must beware of what you let into your mind, heart, eyes, and ears…it will eventually control or persuade you.
b) You will not live in sin, because you despise sin. “No one who abides in [Christ] keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him, and he cannot keep on sinning because he has been born of God” (1 Jn. 3:6-9). We gain victory over sin through the strength of the Holy Spirit. As a Christian, you will regularly stay away from evil, you will not live in sin, you will not live a life characteristic of sin—that is being saved, that is having accepted, fully and from the heart, Jesus Christ and having received the Holy Spirit. If nothing in your life has changed, whether it be your heart, your mind, or your actions in regard to sin, then you’re not saved.
c) You will live a holy and godly life. This is what Christians are called to do. We should be eager to do what is good and to worship God. God calls and commands us to be holy (1 Pt. 1:15-17). God wouldn’t be a good God if He required a holy and godly life and put a desire and willingness in our hearts for it, but didn’t provide the resources or strength to do it. It is only because of Jesus’ death that we are able to live holy and godly lives—through the power of the Holy Spirit. “… your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, …” (1 Cor. 6:19). We can live in purity by keeping God’s Word and living in obedience to it (Ps. 119:9). We know that we know God if we obey His commandments (1 Jn. 2:3). But “[i]f we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth” (1 Jn. 1:6). Many people are working for Jesus and professing His name, but they are not really walking with Him; it’s the world that is in their hearts, not the Holy Spirit. They’re not saved…they have a false sense of salvation. If you think you can walk in holiness without living in fellowship or having a relationship with Jesus, you are dead wrong.
d) You will have an insatiable appetite for righteousness. “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied” (Mt. 5:6). This includes more than wanting to live a righteousness life, it’s about desiring all that is good, including the Word of God. We should have a regular home Bible study time, attend a Bible study/Sunday School, have regular worship habits, and be open-minded to truth. If you have absolutely no desire or hunger for God or for the things of God, you’re spiritually dead. The psalmist’s soul “pants” and “thirsts” for God in Psalm 42:1. Soul here refers to his very self as a living, conscious, personal being. The deer’s life relies on water—this psalmist says he cannot live without God. We should always thirst for God in one way or another.
e) You will have a whole new attitude towards God, His will, and His people. We should love God. The greatest commandment is to love Him with everything that you have and everything that you are, and the second is to love all those around you (Mk. 12:30,31). You must give your all to God. If you love God, you will read His Word. The more you read the Bible, the more you’ll love its author. Love for God’s creation, His people, is an essential component of love for God. By showing contempt towards your neighbors, you show contempt towards God, because He made them in His image. The Bible tells us to do unto others as we would have them do to us, build each other up, help others, forgive others—love them. No, not everyone is likable, but you should be able to love them through God.
I pray you have a wonderfully blessed day!
Niki Ƹ>Ï<Ʒ
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