2002-01-01
Good Morning Faithful Ones,
Today, we will look at what the Scriptures say about how our faith affects that of others. 1JN 2: 7-11 deals with this issue. “My dear friends, this command I am writing you is not new; it is the old command, the one you have had from the very beginning. The old command is the message you have already heard. However, the command I now write you is new, because its truth is seen in Christ and also in you. For the darkness is passing away, and the real light is already shining. Whoever says that he is in the light, yet hates his brother, is in the darkness to this very hour. Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and so there is nothing in him that will cause someone else to sin. But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness; he walks in it and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has made him blind.” What is this old command referred to in verse 7? It goes all the way back to LV 19: 18, “Do not take revenge on anyone or continue to hate him, but love your neighbor as you love yourself. I am the Lord.” This same concept is repeated in LK 10: 27b. The new command is seen also in JN 13: 34-35, “And now I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. If you have love for one another, then everyone will know that you are My disciples.”
The light which God sends through the Son is the only light that will defeat the darkness of this very materialistic, greedy, idolatrous, mean world. That darkness is indeed the work of the devil. We got a glimpse into the unseen spiritual warfare that goes on between God’s angels and the forces of evil in DN 10: 13, when God’s messenger angel, Gabriel, explained his 21-day delay in responding to Daniel’s intercessory prayers for Israel. He was delayed by having to flight the evil angel prince of Persia until the Archangel Michael, the guardian angel of Israel, could get there to help him. To my understanding, this unseen warfare is still going on and will do so until Christ eventually wrests dominion of the earth back from the adversary in our future. Spiritual warfare is mentioned again in EPH 6: 10-13, and we are given insight into the fact that we are equipped to join in the fight and help Christ win this victory. “Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of His might power. Put on all the armor that God gives you, so that you will be able to stand up against the devil’s evil tricks. For we are not fighting against human beings but against the wicked spiritual forces in the heavenly world, the rulers, authorities, and cosmic powers of this dark age. So put on God’s armor now! Then when the evil day comes, you will be able to resist the enemy’s attacks; and after fighting to the end, you will still hold your ground.” Please go on to read the gorgeous metaphor of EPH 6: 14-18 on your own. You don’t want to miss it.
We are our brother’s keepers. We are told to love one another as Christ loves us. That makes it so. The way we live our lives matters not only to our own salvation and glorification, but it also affects the chances that other people will be brought to faith. God, through Paul, makes this abundantly clear in RO 14: 13, “So then, let us stop judging one another. Instead, you should decide never to do anything that would make your brother stumble or fall into sin.” From a practical point of view, we can’t change another person’s behavior directly, but we can set an example of love for him which might impact his attitude toward repenting and coming to faith in Christ. I always thought it was so interesting that the salvation made available to the Gentiles is intended to make Jews who sinned against God jealous [RO 11:11-12]. This doesn’t mean that God’s mercy doesn’t extend to the Jews. That kind of fallacious thinking can be attributed to bogus replacement theology that is sometimes taught, the belief that God has given up on the Jews when He gave the Gentiles the Gospel. In no way as God given up on his chosen people. That is why Paul teaches us in RO 11: 25 that once all the Gentiles who have been called come to faith, then the veil will be lifted from the eyes of the Jews as to Who their Messiah really is, and those Jews who answer God’s call to faith will know Yeshua (Jesus) is the One. God’s attitude here is really shown in RO 11: 12, “The sin of the Jews brought rich blessings to the Gentiles. Then, how much greater the blessings will be when the complete number of Jews is included.”
We can do a lot to plant the seeds of faith in another, and we can do a lot to encourage spiritual maturation in others. That is one reason why Christ took the attitude toward little children that he did in MK 10: 13-14. “Let the children come to Me and do not stop them, because the Kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I assure you that whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God like a child will never enter it.” It is also the reason that we are taught to accept one another regardless of cultural differences in RO 14: 1, “Welcome the person who is weak in faith, but do not argue with him about his personal opinions.” I have to do this with members of my own family who think the Scriptures of value solely as great literature. Then, I must pray that some day the message of faith in the Scriptures will eventually reach them. We must remember what we are told in RO 15: 4, “Everything written in the Scriptures was written to teach us, in order that we might have hope through the patience and encouragement which they give us.” The example of our spiritual lives is like a pebble dropped into a pool of calm water. Concentric waves go out from it in all directions that can affect the lives of others. If we live in Christ and our attitudes reflect experiencing God by obeying Him, then that is the example that we set for others around us. When we make our lives a living sacrifice pleasing and acceptable to the Lord, then others will see how happy it makes us and want that for themselves as well. That is how we can be an instrument in allowing God’s light to reflect from us and enable it to pierce through the darkness of this world.
PRAYER: O Lord, you keep repeating the command for us to love our neighbors for Your sake. To this you add, love your neighbors as Christ loves you. This message can truly make a difference in the world, and yet, we don’t always put it in practice. Help us to see what we must change or what we must do, so that the examples of our spiritual lives will bring light to where there has been darkness. You have equipped us to do spiritual warfare, and we too often forget to take up Your sword and to believe that You have equipped us for victory, not defeat. We get caught in the trap of judging others, especially those who don’t appeal to us or with whose opinions we don’t agree. When we do this, we arrogantly usurp Your sovereignty, for You have given Your Son the authority to judge, not us. We confess these sins and dedicate ourselves to repenting of them. It is our intention to trust and obey You when You tell us to accept one another and to love one another, even those who don’t make it easy to accept and love them. You have asked us to remain ever mindful that the example we set by the way we lead our lives can have a powerful effect on encouraging or discouraging the faith of another. We approach You in humility and offer our thanks, praise, adoration, worship, obedience, trust, and loyalty for giving us Your great wisdom in these matters. In Christ’s name, amen.
Tomorrow, we will go on looking at this new command from the point of view of its timelessness and our need to be in this world without being of this world. Know that our Father in heaven loves us more than we can comprehend. Peter and I send you our love too.
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn