Tag: Trials

Evidence of Salvation

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Take a little test that will help reveal to yourself some things about salvation. On a sale of 1-5 rate yourself:

  1. Never true
  2. Rarely true
  3. Sometimes true
  4. Usually true
  5. Always true
  • ____ I have an awareness and brokenness over my sin.
  • ____ I have a hunger for God’s word.
  • ____ I have a desire for living the Christian life of obedience.
  • ____ I have seen an increase in Satan attacking my faith.
  • ____ I have genuine love for others.
  • ____ I have a desire to share my faith with others.
  • ____ I have experienced social pressure or ridicule from non-believing family, friends, classmates, co-works, etc.

We will ALWAYS be growing in these areas, and we will NEVER reach a point where we perfectly do all of these things, but these seven areas are indicators that we are believers and are actively pursuing God. Let’s look at why these are solid evidences of salvation.

1. Brokenness over Sin:

  • 1 John 1:6 “If we claim to have fellowship with him yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live by the truth.”
  • 1 John 1:8-10 “If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word has no place in our lives.”

2. Hunger for God’s Word:

  • 1 Peter 2:2 “Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation,”

3. Christian Life Transformation and Obedience:

  • 2 Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come!”
  • 1 John 2:4 “The man who says, ‘I know him,’ but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him.”

4. Testing, Troubles and Trials in Life:

  • 2 Timothy 3:12 “In fact, everyone who wants to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted,”

5. Genuine Love for Others:

  • 1 John 4:7-23 “Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in him and he in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him. In this way, love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment, because in this world we are like him. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us. If anyone says, ‘I love God,’ yet hates his brother, he is a liar. For anyone who does not love his brother, whom he has seen, cannot love God, whom he has not seen. And he has given us this command: Whoever loves God must also love his brother.”

6. Desire to Tell Others About Your Faith:

  • Mark 8:28 “If anyone is ashamed of me and my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, the Son of Man will be ashamed of him when he comes in his Father’s glory with the holy angels.”
  • Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

7. Social Pressure Because of Your Faith:

  • John 15:18 “If the world hates you, keep in mind that it hated me first.”
  • John 17:14 “I have given them your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world any more than I am of the world.”
  • 1 John 3:13 “Do not be surprised, my brothers, if the world hates you.”

Marks of Maturity in James

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We are in the book of James, still chapter one, and we already looked at the first half of the first chapter. I thought I would give a brief outline and overview of where we are going.

James addresses what a mature Christian looks like:

  1. He is Patient in Testing (James 1)
    1. Trials on the Outside (James 1:1-12)
    2. Testing on the Inside (James 1:13-27)
      1. How to handle temptation (James 1:13-18)
      2. How to handle self-deception (James 1:19-27)
  2. He Practices the Truth (James 2)
    1. Faith and Love (James 2:1-13)
    2. Faith and Works (James 2:14-26)
  3. His has Power over his Tongue (James 3)
    1. Exhortation (James 3:1-2)
    2. Illustration (James 3:3-12)
    3. Application (James 3:13-18)
  4. He is a Peacemaker, not a Troublemaker (James 4)
    1. Three wars (James 4:1-3)
    2. Three enemies (James 4:4-7)
    3. Three admonitions (James 4:8-17)
  5. He is Prayerful in his Troubles (James 5)
    1. Economic troubles ((James 5:1-9)
    2. Physical troubles (James 5:10-16)
    3. National troubles (James 5:17-18)
    4. Church troubles (James 5:19-20)

So far we looked into turning trial into triumphs (James 1:2-12)

When “life gives you lemons” (the saying goes), “make lemonade,” but it is easier said than done. If we are going to turn trial into triumphs, James tells us we must obey four imperatives:

  1. Count (a joyful attitude – James 1:2) outlook determines outcome, and attitude determines action.
    1. Expect trials: James says when, not if (John 16:33, 1 Peter 4:12).
    2. Evaluate troubles: Put what is happening into perspective; joyful people live for the things that matter most (Hebrews 12:2).
    3. Embrace truth: our values determine our evaluations.
      1. If we value comfort over character, trials will bother us.
      2. If we live for the present, trials will make us bitter, not better.
  2. Know (an understanding mind – James 1:3) what do Christians know that make it easier to face trials?
    1. Faith is always tested: like with Abraham. For us, a tested faith means we are of the faith, born again.
    2. Testing works for us and not against us: a different word could be approval (1 Peter 1:7, Romans 8:28, 2 Corinthians 4:17).
    3. Trials rightly used helps us to mature: God wants to produce in us patience and endurance (Romans 5:3-4, Hebrews 6:12, 10:36, Romans 15:4).
  3. Let (a surrendered will – James 1:4, 9-12) God cannot build character without our cooperation; without our consent.
    1. Growth: don’t remain as little babies (1 John 2:12-14)
    2. Goals: there are three works involved in a complete Christian life.
      1. The work God does for us (the cross): salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9, John 3:16).
      2. The work God does in us: sanctification (Ephesians 2:10, Romans 8:29).
      3. The work of God through us: service. God must first work in us before he can work through us.
        1. God spent 25 years with Abraham before he had his promised son.
        2. God spent 13 years with Joseph in prison before he was exalted.
        3. Gos spent 40 years with Moses in the wilderness before he was ready to lead the people.
    3. Gravity: makes us all the same, we are all on a level playing field; we all fall at the same rate.
  4. Ask (a believing heart – James 1:5-8) the Bible has a lot to say about wisdom, here (James 1:5, 3:13-18) and Old Testament literature.
    1. What to ask for: wisdom. Why do we need wisdom more than asking for strength, deliverance or grace? So we will not waste the opportunities God has given us.
    2. How to ask for it: in faith. Be a single-minded person.
      1. Peter on the water (Matthew 14:22-33) faith and doubt.
      2. Paul to the Ephesian church (Ephesians 4:14)
    3. How to receive it:
      1. Growth in Christian character: the cross always comes before the crown.
      2. Growth in Christian love: it is the spiritual motivation behind all these imperatives. If we love God, we will have no problem with counting, knowing, letting or asking.
    4. Why we receive it: weaning. This adds one more word. Weaning is taken from Psalm 131:2. God can use trials to help us leave childish things.

It’s going to be a great few weeks. Wait a minute, did I say, “few” weeks?

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The Wisdom, Goodness and Word of God

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This is the first lesson for the New Beginnings Bible study class at King’s Grant Baptist. Our study in the book of James begins this weekend. It is a practical little book about Christianity in blue jeans. It helps us to see what a mature believer looks like and how that person lives in the world.

Here is a brief outline of chapter one:

The Wisdom of God (1–11). You need wisdom in trials so you will not waste your suffering and miss the spiritual growth that should result. When you trust God, trials work for you and not against you; but be sure your heart is wholly yielded to Him. If your heart and mind are divided, trials will tear you apart. I want to show this video in class this Sunday:

The Goodness of God (12–20). When you realize how good God is to you, you will have no interest in the temptations the enemy puts before you. When you are tempted, count your blessings; and you will soon have strength to say no.

Have you ever thought about how to change the world? Sometimes we wonder about any goodness in the world. Why do bad things happen to good people? The better question may be, “Why do any good things happen anybody?” We are the hands and feet of God, so if God is the giver of all good gifts (James 1:17), he can certainly work through us to bring it about. This video clip suggests that if we want to change the world, start with one random act of kindness (goodness):

The Word of God (21–27). The Word gives us spiritual birth (James 1:18; 1 Peter 1:22–23). It is like seed planted in the heart that produces spiritual fruit (James 1:21). It is a mirror that helps us examine ourselves (James 1:23–25) and cleanse our lives. We must do the Word of God, not just read it or study it; the blessing is in the doing.

When we encounter God through his Word, lives are forever changed. When we read the words, we must allow them to abide in us and allow Christ to mold us into his image. Grace is the foundation of the gospel, getting something we can never earn and will never deserve. This clip shows how God’s Word, forgiveness and grace changed several generations of a family:

Here are “famous” verses we will encounter in this little book:

  1. “Count it all joy when you fall into various trials.” James 1:2
  2. “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach.” James 1:5
  3. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and comes down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning.” James 1:17
  4. “Let every man be swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath; for the wrath of man does not produce the righteousness of God.” James 1:19–20
  5. “Be doers of the word, and not hearers only.” James 1:22
  6. “Faith without works is dead.” James 2:20
  7. “Yet you do not have because you do not ask. You ask and do not receive, because you ask amiss, that you may spend it on your pleasures.” James 4:2–3
  8. “God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” James 4:6
  9. “Resist the devil and he will flee from you. Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James 4:7
  10. “To him who knows to do good and does not do it, to him it is sin.” James 4:17
  11. “The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.” James 5:16

I hope to see you this Sunday in the Welcome Center.

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Life Can Be Hard

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After Paul had his near death experience (the stoning at Lystra – Acts 14:8, 19), the group packed up and headed to Derbe (Acts 14:20). They preached the gospel faithfully and then went back through the previous cities to strengthen the believers by telling them that “we must suffer many hardships to enter the kingdom of God” (Acts 14:21, 22). The converts needed to be reminded to stay true to the faith.

What did Paul mean using the word, “must?” He meant that it was inevitable in the nature of things. Hardship has a place in the life of a believer, check out 2 Corinthians 4:17, mentioning “our light and momentary troubles achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweigh them all.” Perspective helps us to see that what happens on earth is temporary but our eternity is worth it. Our struggle is not against fresh and blood but against spiritual forces that would have us fail (Ephesians 6:12). A great reminder comes from 1 John 4:4, that God is greater than our common enemy who wants us to fall.

At first we may not think a message of unavoidable troubles very appealing, but check this out:

Recognizing inevitable hardships can motivate us to redirect our energies; fear of the trial can consume more energy than just facing the trial. In redirection, we change our focus from fear to faith. I’m not talking about a prosperity gospel that says if one has enough faith these hardships won’t defeat us, but to stand on what Peter says that hardships will prove that our faith is genuine (1 Peter 1:7).

Believing a heretical prosperity gospel can leave us disappointed, broken, wounded and discouraged. A friend once told me “the only people who believe such a gospel are baby Christians in America.” I tend to agree. I have seen great faith of believers in Africa, who regularly suffer greatly. I see their faith to be genuine, not a result of what they get out of a relationship with God. It is such an insult to their faith to say that if they only had enough faith they would not have children die of worms or malaria, or they would have plenty of food on the table.

We also know unbelievers who may suffer as terribly as believers, but the difference is that our suffering is never in vain; Paul says that we will enter the kingdom of God (Acts 14:22).

Application: Do you ever feel that God is against you when your life seems to be falling apart? Take courage in the fact that you and the apostles and early believers are in good company. They did not escape the hardships of life, so why should we be immune to them? See life from God’s perspective, he walks through life with us. We may not experience his deliverance as we would like, but we always have His presence. Paul encouraged Timothy that all who desire to live a godly life will be persecuted (2 Timothy 3:12, John 15:20). Sounds like a certainty to me. Keep the faith.