When you believed …
Summary: The topic of belief is a very deep well. Paul’s use of the word in Ephesians is directly related to the gospel of salvation. This is the “message of truth” Paul is talking about.
When you believed in the “message of truth” and learned about the “gospel of salvation,” something in you changed.
Why we believe is a long discussion. What happens when we believe is a bit easier to explain. Jesus put it this way: “Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” (John 3:6).
The flesh, what some call the “natural man,” is mortal. It has a will of its own and lives to feed its own desires. Yet there is more to us than flesh. We are also part spirit.
Because of humanity’s fall in the Garden of Eden, because of our rebellion, we became estranged from God. Like a son or daughter who turns their back on their family, we are “dead” to God spiritually. Until we are “born again.”
To be “born again” is simply to come home to God. Jesus explains this in his parable of the “Prodigal Son.” (Luke 15:11-32) In the last line of his story Jesus says, “…this brother of yours was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.” (Luke 15:32)
The reason we can come home again is because of Jesus. We have to believe that God will forgive us if we return. We have to believe that we will be welcomed home. Jesus died and rose again to prove to all of humanity that we are loved by our Creator. He wants us all to come home again.
It is not enough to believe that there is one God (James 2:19). We have to believe that there is a reason to love him. We have to believe that he loves us. Without love, all that is left is fear.
When you believed in God’s love, you discovered a reason to hope. When you believed in God’s love, you found a reason to live. When you believed in Jesus, you found that you are loved beyond measure.
Application: Believe!
Food for Thought: What happens when we share God’s message of truth without love?
Excellent reminder, Jeff! May Our Lord increase our belief!
Welcome Jim!
Thanks for leaving a comment! 🙂
I have way too many examples of people who say they are turned off to faith in Christ because of an unloving believer who “shared” with them. Kindness does matter.
Ephesians 4: 15 – 16 reminds us to speak the truth of the gospel in love and to mature to become more like Christ. People will still be “turned off” to the gospel, but it will be Jesus they are rejecting instead of us.
I cringe thinking how often I may have done this. If we speak the gospel in anger or for self righteous reasons rather than love, people will know the difference and remember. Love is required. 1 Corinthians 13: 1 – 8a.
Rich,
Thanks! I love the 1 Corinthians 13 passage. It describes so well the agapé kind of love that God has for us and desires us to have.
It is a difficult thing to balance love and truth. Truth is not always pleasant and love does not always feel soft and cuddly.
If love is doing God’s desired best for someone else – yes, sometimes it will not be warm and fuzzy. But it will always be what is best for someone else
Amen!
I believe when we share God’s message of truth without His love we paint a picture of God as a dissatisfied overseer ready to drop the hammer on us instead of a Heavenly Father who desires a meaningful relationship with us. Understanding the measure and fullness of His love releases us from condemnation, and allows us to realize that God sees us, not our sin, and wants a personal relationship with us. Our desire to turn away from our sin then comes from a true desire to follow God’s Will, not because it is a “rule” but because we desire God’s love, and to love God, more than we love our own gratification. When we fail at this, because we often do, we don’t need to put on our fig leaves and hide because we are afraid. We humble ourselves, confess our sins, ask for forgiveness (even though it has already been given), and continue to seek His Will in our lives.
I just want to be clear though, we cannot actively sin and be ok with it because God has forgiven us. Understanding His love means understanding that it is our sin that separates us from Him.
1 John 4:18 Such love has no fear, because perfect love expels all fear. If we are afraid, it is for fear of punishment, and this shows that we have not fully experienced His perfect love.
Ephesians 3:18-19 And may you have the power to understand, as all God’s people should, how wide, how long, how high, and how deep His love is. May you experience the love of Christ, though it is too great to understand fully. Then you will be made complete with all the fullness of life and power that comes from God.
Thanks Chris!
The “perfect love casts out all fear” passage is another great one, especially for this topic. Fear is what keeps us from trying to broach the topic of salvation with other people. Perfect love is what should motivate us to share, no matter how clumsy our attempts. There are other motives, of course, and that is what we have to be careful about.
02-24-2023, What happens when we share God’s message of truth without love?
We are sharing OUR message, NOT allowing Christ to share God’s message through us.
1 Corinthians 13:2-8, Galatians 2:20
John 3:16-17, For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.17 For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved.
In His Love for mankind, God chose to confine Himself to a physical body and walk among us, teaching, healing and spreading the good news of salvation among us because He desires all mankind would be saved by faith in Him.
John 1:12, John 3:3, John 5:24, John 14:6
In the end, He allowed men to brutally beat Him until He was no longer recognized, nail Him to a cross where He hung for approximately 6 hours, and before giving up His Spirit He declared, “ Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing.”
Luke 23:34
Only Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit can lead people to salvation. Do we allow Jesus Christ in us to love and minister to all those around us regardless of their outward appearance, actions, or station in life? He will if we allow Him.
Luke 12:12, for the Holy Spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.
Matthew 10:20, For it is not you who speak, but it is the Spirit of your Father who speaks in you.
Ron,
You make a really important point. Loving others is the same thing as “God’s message of truth.” We really can’t do one without the other.
We can’t.
The very fact we are sharing God’s truth reflects Jesus’ love for each of us. That love makes it possible for me to tell of His love for all sinners.
Hi Anon!
Love, as you allude to, is the fuel that powers the Gospel message!