RPG Adults
HONEST LOVE FROM OBEDIENT HEARTS
MONDAY, AUGUST 8
1 Peter 1:22-25
Psalm 15
“Make me to go in the
path of thy commandments…”
HONEST LOVE FROM OBEDIENT HEARTS
The true Christian heart is pure because of obedience to God’s truth. We were first purified by obedience to the Gospel message which told us that we were sinners and that we needed to place our trust in Christ for redemption from sin. We continue to keep our hearts pure by confessing our sins. They are then forgiven and we are cleansed, that is made pure by the blood of Christ (1 John 1:7-9).
This purity of heart results in honest Christian love for our fellow believers. Such love is not based on mutual interests, compatible personalities or other such things which form the basis of worldly friendships. True honest Christian love is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives as we live in obedience to the Word. Throughout this age the church’s greatest testimony to the world has been the love of Christians for one another. When disobedience to God’s Word is permitted in the Christian’s life this love is smothered and the testimony destroyed.
Our destiny is sure. We have been born again into an eternal relationship with God (1 Pet 1:23). This happened when we heard God’s eternal Word and placed our faith in Christ. What a great contrast this Christian destiny is when compared with that of unsaved man who, for all his striving for accomplishment, is doomed to ultimate failure in his endeavours because of sin and his rejection of Christ.
In all this futility of human activity, God sees you and me as His witnesses because of our obedience to His Gospel. Our love and testimony to the truth through obedience is the only hope doomed mankind has of coming to a knowledge of salvation. If we who have been redeemed allow our godly love for the brethren to be obscured by sin, then our greatest testimony is lost.
In these days of arguing and fault-finding among true believers, we must be careful not to be drawn into sin. Remember, the sign of a Spirit-filled life is honest open love for our brothers and sisters in Christ.
THOUGHT: How do I keep my heart pure before God?
PRAYER: Father, may I show Thy love by loving others (John 13:34).