If You Are Converted

Conversion is repentance toward God and faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:21). The Holy Spirit enables you to repent and believe the gospel of Christ. God's goodness leads you to repent (Romans 2:4). If you are converted, you have faith in Jesus Christ our Lord.

If you are converted, it's the gospel of Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The Holy Spirit brings conviction as you hear the gospel. Conversion is preceded by the Spirit of grace. The Lord opens your heart to hear the gospel (Acts 16:13-15). The Holy Spirit convicts and convinces you of the need to believe in Christ (John 16:7-11). 

If you are converted, your life is changed through the Holy Spirit. Repentance is a change of mind through the renewing of the Holy Spirit transforming your life (Romans 12:2). Faith is an abiding gift of the Holy Spirit. He enables you to repent and believe on the Lord Jesus Christ (Acts 18:27).

Evidence that you are converted is clear. Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of Him (1 John 5:1). Conversion to Christ is evident, as you love God and others. Love is the greatest gift of the Holy Spirit, because God is love (1 Corinthians 13:13; 1 John 4:8). 

If You Fear God

Godly fear is the highest reverence for God. To the contrary, tormenting fear is not from God. It is never good, and always evil. It doesn't come from God (2 Timothy 1:7). Yet, Godly fear motivates you to have faith in God. "By faith Noah, being divinely warned of things not yet seen, moved with godly fear, prepared an ark" (Hebrews 11:7).

"And I will make an everlasting covenant with them, that I will not turn away from doing them good, but I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will not depart from Me" (Jeremiah 32:40).

If you fear God, you are in the everlasting covenant of our Lord Jesus Christ. Jeremiah prophesied the everlasting covenant. It is confirmation to you as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ (Hebrews 13:20-21). It means God is working in you what pleases Him. He puts His fear in your heart.

If you fear God, you have eternal salvation in Christ. Fearing God is designed for your good and gives you assurance that you will not depart from Him. Godly fear is evidence that God is at work in you. God says, "I will put My fear in their hearts, so that they will not depart from Me" (Jeremiah 32:40).

Do you fear God? Without the fear of God, you are lost without a saving relationship with God. "There is no fear of God before their eyes" (Romans 3:18). Thank God for putting His fear in your heart.

Interpreting the Bible

Frederick Bruce wrote,"Any part of the human body can only be properly explained in reference to the whole body. And any part of the Bible can only be properly explained in reference to the whole Bible." Dr. Bruce understood the danger of taking a verse out of context. It must be explained in the context of the chapter and book where we read it, as well as the context of the whole Bible.

Interpret verses in the Bible within the context. The Bible is given by inspiration of God the Holy Spirit (2 Timothy 3:16). When we interpret a verse with other verses, we are being taught by the Spirit of God. He will guide us into all truth (John 16:13).

Interpret verses in the Bible comparing Scripture with Scripture. Look at the other verses in the same chapter, as well as the book and the whole Bible. That is to say, you interpret Scripture with Scripture. A verse in the Bible is not properly interpreted, when taken out of context.

Satan tempted Jesus, quoting a verse taken out of context (Luke 4:3-8). Other Scripture was ignored. Jesus overcame this temptation, quoting another Scripture to interpret Scripture. That's a warning for us today not to take verses in the Bible out of context. Remember to interpret Scripture with Scripture. The Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth.

God Is with You

God is like the very air you breathe. You can't see the air. Yet, you know that without air, you can't live. So it is with God. His very presence sustains your life. "Where can I go from Your Spirit? Or where can I flee from Your presence?"(Psalm 139:7). Wherever you are now, you can know God is with you.

"God is spirit"(John 4:24). That means God is unseen to your eyes. God is like the air you breathe, you cannot see him. Only faith can recognize his presence. That's the reason you must come to God by faith. 

Our faith is not based upon what our eyes can see."Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen"(Hebrews 11:1). Faith is sure of God's presence everywhere and always.

Only the heart transformed by the Spirit of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, can know God's presence always. "For we walk by faith, not by sight" (2 Corinthians 5:7). God's Spirit enables us to believe his presence is with us. God says to us,"I will never leave you. I will never forsake you"(Hebrews 13:5).

God is with you. Think of the very air you breathe, in you and all around you. So it is with God. Walk with God by faith and talk with God along the way. He is there for you today and everyday. No matter where you are, recognize God is with you.

Born Again and Sure

Charles H. Spurgeon said, "You are born again if you believe that Jesus is the Christ, if you are relying upon a crucified Savior you are assuredly begotten again unto a lively hope." 

We may not comprehend all the movements of the Holy Spirit in our new birth, but we can be sure of our new birth by faith in Jesus Christ. There is mystery involved in our new birth (John 3:8). Jesus taught that people must be born again to enter the kingdom of God (John 3:5). It is a work of the Holy Spirit changing our hearts to believe in Christ (Romans 10:9).

The Bible confirms what Spurgeon clearly explained. "Whoever believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God, and everyone who loves Him who begot also loves him who is begotten of him" (1 John 5:1). If you are born again, faith in the Lord Jesus Christ is sure evidence.

If you are born again, you believe that Jesus is the Christ. You believe the gospel of Jesus Christ. He died for your sins. He is risen from the dead as your Lord (1 Corinthians 15:1-4). The written word of God and your faith in Christ is the evidence. That's certainly true, if you are born again.

If you are born again, the sure evidence is believing in Christ. Jesus is the Christ, the promised Messiah in the Old Testament and the Christ of the New Testament. New birth finds evidence by faith in Christ. That's the reason Spurgeon said, "You are born again if you believe Jesus is the Christ."