1 John 4:1-21

We often have a hard time distinguishing between that which is fake and that which is genuine.  Unfortunately there are many who profess to posses faith who really have not been saved from their sin.  This is a very real concern that all men should honestly evaluate in their own hearts.  John writs this book in order to be able to help us test our faith and verify that it is genuine.  Here are a few things that are true about those who have truly been transformed by the Gospel.
THEY LISTEN TO THE WORD OF GOD: Believers love the truth and stand up to defend the truth.  God is true and the Word He has revealed is the standard for all truth.  There are many false teachers who are out there trying to pawn off their false teachings as truth, but we are called to test all teachings against the Word of God in the power of the Spirit of God.  True believers who have listened to the Word of God and are sensitive to the Spirit of God will not be led astray by false teachings or false doctrines.  We must be committed to the truth and deepen our knowledge of Word of God so that we can stand firm in the shifting sands of this world’s standard of truth.
THEY LIVE BECAUSE OF THE WORK OF GOD: Believers recognize that only Christ is in the true source of eternal life and forgiveness of sin.  God has demonstrated His love to us by sending Jesus to pay sin’s price and free us to live in a way that is pleasing to Him.  He is the source of our life and His love is our greatest treasure.  We must never allow that truth to fade from the forefront of our minds.  We must daily stand in amazement that the Creator and Sustainer of the universe, the holy, just and only God loves us.  His love is so full and complete that He sent Christ to die in our place so that we might have the joy of sharing in His image.  This love is the source of our eternal life and ought to be the driving force behind all that we do.
THEY LOVE TO DO THE WILL OF GOD: Believers are loved by God and therefore they love to obey God.  God’s will is that we love Him and love others.  It is a very simple concept, yet it is a very difficult task to perform.  In fact it is an impossible task for us to perform apart from the transforming work of Christ.  However, those who have truly experience the love of Christ in their own lives will, because of God’s grace, have an overflow of love from their own lives that will spill out onto the lives of others.  Believers who do not love are not being obedient to the will of God and are simply deceiving themselves.  Genuine believers will love because they have experienced the perfect love of God and their greatest delight is to do the will of Him who loved them so.

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