1 John 2:1–6 (ESV) —
1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 2 He is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the sins of the whole world. 3 And by this we know that we have come to know him, if we keep his commandments. 4 Whoever says “I know him” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him, 5 but whoever keeps his word, in him truly the love of God is perfected. By this we may know that we are in him: 6 whoever says he abides in him ought to walk in the same way in which he walked.
NOTE: Once again, behavior (or works) is not a means to salvation but an indicator of salvation. Jesus did all the work on the cross. Salvation is a gift, unearned in any way. The Holy Spirit is given upon belief (Eph 1:13), and that is why "change" should be evident. Another aspect of our salvation is "propitiation." God hates sin and propitiation means that God's wrath against sin has been satisfied by our advocate, Jesus. We are now children of God, we never were before belief. We are created by God but not children of God. When we place our faith in Christ, we are adopted into the family of God -- now we can call ourselves God's children. Most people don't understand that, thinking that the whole world's people are God's children, but they are not.
PONDER:
- Have I experienced transformation?
- What is my assurance that I believed and received the gift of salvation?
PRAYER: Father, transformation is integral to true faith. Without any real change, what does salvation mean?
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