Notice on a slight format change:

Except for July 2012, these are mostly a collection of current devotional notes.

July 2012 is a re-write of old quiet times. My second child was born Nov 11, 1987 with multiple birth defects. I've been re-reading my QT notes from that time in my life, and have included them here. They cover the time before the birth and the few years immediately after the birth. They are tagged "historical." I added new insights and labeled them: ((TODAY, dd mmm yy)).

Tuesday, January 21, 2025

QT 1/21/2025 1 Jn 1:5-10, Salvation should result in real change

1 John 1:5–10 (ESV) —

5 This is the message we have heard from him and proclaim to you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all. 6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin. 8 If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9 If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 10 If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.

 

NOTE: Some have suggested that John's teaching is meant to combat antinomianism -- where salvation negates the need for behavioral change. In essence, there is no law after salvation. While it is certainly true that our continuance in the faith is not dependent on keeping any law, it is an expectation that members of the family of God live in a manner worthy of the new name we represent. The New Testament is full of commands and encouragements to live lives worthy of the gospel. Additionally, and I believe this is John's argument, works is a sort of internal proof that we have been born again. If our lives are not changing, we need to ask if the Holy Spirit is truly in us, and if we truly believed, versus an emotional response or forced response or peer pressure. If your life is not changing, then I would be worried:

 

2 Corinthians 5:17 (ESV) — Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.

 

Too many so-called Christians don't look any different after salvation than they did before. They are as John says, "deceived."

 

PONDER:

  1. Have I experienced a changed life upon salvation?
  2. Am I still changing as I grow in my knowledge of the savior?

 

PRAYER: Father, wake up the "deceived" to their lost state. It is not enough to go to church or go through the motions. Religion does not save a person. Only belief in Jesus saves and transforms people. Open people's eyes to the real gospel.

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