Articles
Accepting God and Standing for Him
John 15:7 says, “ if you abide in me and my words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you.” An Old Testament verse that sounds similar to John 15:7 is Psalm 37:4, “Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.” On the surface—if read on their own—these verses make God sound like a wish fulfilling genie for those who follow Him. However, in order to get a verse’s context, we should also read the sentences before and after it. Psalm 37:3 and 5 read, “Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act.” To understand the context of John 15:7, a person should read John 15:4 through John 15:10. This section of verses explain that a person cannot glorify God through righteous actions if they do not accept God and heartfully obey His standards.
Simply being generous and acting in a way that could be considered Godly isn’t the key factor that differentiates righteousness. Accepting Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior in the waters of baptism is what truly differentiates Christ followers. Romans 6:3-5 explains that children of God are buried with Christ in baptism so that they can be united with Him in His resurrection. Baptism is necessary for us to be united with God in Heaven. The act of baptism is an important step because in it the new Christian commits his or her life to serving God and obeying His standards—as Jesus teaches.
Bathing in the waters of baptism that represent Jesus’ blood cleanses us from the sins of our old ways of life, but it does not make us immune to future sin. 1 John 1:6-10 say, “If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 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. If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us.” As much as God’s children try their best to stay on His righteous path, mistakes are going to happen. Yet, it is not our mistakes that will define us, but the actions we take afterward. 2 Cor 7:9-10 stresses the importance of repentance when it says, “As it is, I rejoice, not because you were grieved, but because you were grieved into repenting. For you felt a godly grief, so that you suffered no loss through us. For godly grief produces a repentance that leads to salvation without regret, whereas worldly grief produces death.”
Righteous actions are not what grants us eternal life because Christ’s divine blood is what grants us amnesty with God (Eph. 2:8-10). Our God glorifying deeds keep us abiding in His righteous light, as a testament to our commitment toward Him (John 15:8). In both the Christian and non-Christian areas of life, there are traditions, teachings, and other influences that come from mankind and not from God. These will hinder God’s children from carrying out His true will. 1 John 4:1 says, “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world.” As you go about your daily routines, make sure to stop and ask yourself, “According to His word, have I truly accepted Him? Am I conducting myself in a biblically contextual way?”
