Our New Nature
Week 26, Wednesday
Ginger Spradlin
Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, “I know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
1 John 2:3-4 (nkjv)
All through Scripture we are clearly taught that we are saved by grace, and we could never do enough good to earn our salvation. God in His love and mercy reached down to us in our helplessness and rescued us from our hopeless situation. Wow, what love!
When we have truly experienced His amazing love and the God of the universe comes to live inside us, it is impossible for us not to be changed. We still retain our old nature, but we now possess a new nature in Christ. That new nature should reflect the love and character of Christ.
The way we can know that we really know Christ is to examine ourselves to see if we obey Him. We have all heard the saying, “If it looks like a duck, acts like a duck, and sounds like a duck, then it’s probably a duck.” If we look like Christ, act like Christ, and sound like Christ, then we probably know Christ. We can say anything, but the truth is in what we do.
Who we are always determines what we do. It is impossible to know God and not be changed by this transforming relationship. Nowhere in Scripture are we taught that our obedience brings about salvation, but the Bible does teach that our salvation brings about obedience. We are wise to examine our relationship with the Lord and see if we have a desire to obey Him. If we don’t, we may be lying to ourselves about life’s most important issue: our salvation.
Lord, thank You for my salvation, which You have freely given by Your grace. Thank You that I don’t have to do anything in order to earn Your love. Give me a heart that desires to trust and obey You. Lord, help me to see my heart as You see it. Give me the courage to be honest with myself and with You regarding what You reveal. In Your Son’s name, amen.
