How can one “live in the light”?

In 1 John 1:7, John informs us that “…if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another and the blood of Jesus Christ His Son cleanses us from all sin”. Very simply, if we live righteously avoiding darkness (sin), the blood of Christ will continually make us clean (acceptable to God).

         I would like to firstly make known what “living in the light” is not. It is not going to services on Sunday morning, it is not simply praying one time a day before you go to sleep, and it isn’t even occasionally reading your Bible. Only attending Sunday morning worship and not evening services or mid-week Bible study (without reason) is a direct violation of Hebrews 10:25 “…not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together…”. When one consciously decides that they do not want to fellowship with the Saints, they are sinning and therefore they are not walking in the light. Next, prayer is our greatest tool! It is foolish to take it for granted! In all honestly, sometimes when I pray I feel disconnected. We, me included, need to make sure that our prayer lives are of upmost importance, and not just a routine. The Bible teaches that we need to “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). This does not literally mean that we need to pray every single second of our existence, but that we need to continually pray, and not take the powerful tool of prayer for granted. Lastly, we have two points to make with this topic. You might ask “How can reading your Bible ever be unbeneficial?” Well, I cannot tell you how many times I have sat down to read my Bible, and then stood up 30 minutes later not having learned anything. When we “study the scriptures” (2 Timothy 2:15), we ought to really study them! Again, it comes down to not taking Gods gifts, or Gods tools that He’s given us for granted! The Bible was given to us to learn from, not to casually read at our leisure. The second point I would like to make is this: One can study the Bible all day long, but if the knowledge gained is not applied, what use is it? The Bible is like Gods medicine; we can buy all the medicine we want in order to cure our physical ailments, but if we don’t use the medicine we’re never going to get well. The same is true with Gods medicine; the Bible. We can read our Bible all we want, but unless we take it in and apply it, it’s like we’re sick but we refuse to take the medicine necessary to fix ourselves. 

          Finally, I would like to explain (using the Bible) what it means to “live in the light”, and how one can do it. According to the Bible and the principles it establishes, living in the light is living in Christ. In John 8:12, Jesus affirms that He is “the Light”. In the light there is knowledge and truth, which would lead one to logically conclude that in order to be in the light (Christ), you must possess some knowledge of the truth. Since Jesus is the light, and we know that there is no sin in Him (2 Corinthians 5:21), those who are in Him must be sinless. How can that be? Well coincidentally, those who are in him cannot sin! 1 John 3:6 “Whoever abides in Him does not sin”! This is only possible because we are continually cleansed from all sin (1 John 1:7) if we take the appropriate steps to achieve this purification (confession of sins, repenting, and striving to live a better life). As we have established, those who are “in Him” are sinless, and righteous in His sight (see Psalm 34:15). In order to become one of His and be “in Him” one must be baptized. One must then repent, and keep His commandments till the end of their life. As we’ve mentioned, studying His word makes this possible, along with continual prayer. One cannot keep commandments he does not know!

          In conclusion, all who are “in the light” will inherit the kingdom of God following His appearing (see 1 Corinthians 15:24). These are the ones who are not of the world, but of Christ; ones who keep His commandments, and ones who are sinless due to the purification of Jesus’ blood. In order to come to the light you must hear the truth, believe it, repent of the things you’ve done in the darkness, confess that Jesus is the Christ, and be baptized! Upon baptism, Christ will pull you from the darkness and you will be with Him in the light. Lastly, you must remain in the light until His coming (revelation 22:14)!


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I believe, therefore I’m saved

           Some denominations teach that in order to be saved, all one must do is believe. Verses like Acts 16:31“So they said, “Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved, you and your household” and Romans 10:9 “that if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved” can certainly be convincing until you examine these verses, and take into consideration the Bible as a whole.

            Firstly, to “believe” means so much more than to just have faith in Jesus. If I told you that your house was going to burn up, and unless you believed me got out in the next minute you would burn up with it too, and you believed me, would you not act on those beliefs? Would you simply say “Okay, I believe you so I’m safe”?  No– of course you wouldn’t! If you believed me, and accepted what I said (Which according to some doctrine is all you have to do; believe and accept Jesus into your heart and you will be saved) then you would have listened to me when I gave you the command to leave! There is more to the word “belief” than some think.
          Now, that being said, let’s take a look at what the Bible says about becoming saved:

 

1.     Before you can believe something, you’ve got to know what it is you’re claiming to believe; you’ve first got to hear it (Romans 10:13-17, John 6:45, Revelation 1:3)!

2.     Once you’ve heard, you then have to believe or else “hearing” means nothing! You cannot believe something you do not even know exists. (John 2:30-31, Acts 16:31, Hebrews 11:6)

3.     This is where you act on your belief that you’ve gained after hearing. Once you’ve heard and then believed, you must repent (which really is getting your mind ready to become a Christian. There is a reason this comes before baptism, and that is because you’ve got to think like a Christian). If you truly do believe what you’ve heard, you would repent (or change your way of thinking) willingly. You would feel exactly like they Jews did in Acts 2:37 “Now when they heard this, they were cut to the heart…”

4.     After you believe and repent you must confess your belief. (Matthew 10:32-33, Romans 10:9-10)

5.      After you’ve confessed that Christ is the Savior, you are then ready to become a Christian being “…born of water…” (John 3:5) and therefore baptized (Mark 16:15-16, Acts 2:38, 1 Peter 3:21, Acts 22:16)

6.     Contrary to popular belief, once you are baptized and have become a Christian being added to The Lords church through baptism (Acts 2:41), you must continue to live a Godly life. You know, the parable of the mustard seed (Mark 4:30-32) talks about how the church will encounter rapid growth and will be spread throughout the world, but I believe the same principal should be applied to your spiritual growth. The reason I say that is this: We, as members, are the church. In order for “the church” to grow, we must grow ourselves. (Titus 2:11-14, 2 Peter 1:5-11, Romans 12:1-2)

As we can see from very clear Bible passages, there are more steps to ultimately becoming saved than just believing. Believing alone is merely the basis of becoming a Christian, or being saved. The Bible clearly and repetitively teaches that you must build upon your belief, fulfilling the required “steps of salvation” (which I have listed) found throughout the New Testament.

 

 

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(*Note: There could be more refute to this false teaching than I have covered. However, there are masses of sound articles concerning this topic all over the internet)

What’s wrong with cursing?

          The phrase “they’re just words” is commonly used when trying to defend cursing. That statement may be true, but what do those words say about the person who uses them? Would it not suggest that that person doesn’t care? Cursing suggest inappropriate and demeaning things that would most definitely not promote Christian ethics.
          Cursing, according to the world, is okay! Cursing is becoming more and more prominent in movies and television, even in films that are intended for children! The movie industry makes cursing seem more than acceptable, or even like it’s uncool not to! Cursing is unacceptable  to God, and to Christ’s Church.

           The New King James Version of the Bible mentions “cursing” only twice. James 3:10 “Out of the same mouth proceed blessing and cursing. My brethren, these things ought not to be so.”, and Romans 3:4 “’ Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness’”. In these verses, it could be suggested that “cursing” here means to condemn, especially in James 3:10. Even if that were the case, does the principal still not apply? How could one speak blessings, and then negative things, and think that’s okay? James 3:11-12 “Does a spring send forth fresh water and bitter from the same opening? Can a fig tree, my brethren, bear olives, or a grapevine bear figs? Thus no spring yields both salt water and fresh”! One can’t speak bad things, and then claim to be good! God knows the heart (Acts 15:8)! Just because one does not speak “cursing”, thinking it is just as sinful. Even though it can seem harmless to whisper that curse word under your breath when you stub your toe, remember what you’re saying. What that “harmless little word” means, and what it says about yourself. 

        How important are words, to God? When we pray, do we not use words? When we sing praises to God, do we not use words? What about the Bible, Gods Word? These are just a few examples of how important words are! As Christians, we should ALWAYS be mindful of what we’re saying, and the impact that our words have on those around us, and on ourselves.