1 Peter 1:22-25

²²Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. ²³For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, ²⁵but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

Forgotten

To the young thinkers or if you think you are still youngster: Do you normally reflect and ponder on the temporal life on earth that one day, you will be gone and forgotten? Whenever you attend a funeral, do you reflect the expiration date of your own lifespan?

People in their retirement age may look at the mirror and asked their selves, “Where did that youthful selfie go?” At old age, reality of temporal life on earth is much clearer. Like any other living things, physical body will surely return to dust eventually.

While others may prefer to be grumpy, cranky and irritable, others just cannot smile at their selves when they see their face in the mirror. There are also individuals who make sure that they look pretty always and not just on special occasions.

A young lady observed and asked the older woman, “You look pretty. Are you going somewhere?” “It is always nice to look pretty!” the elderly casually said.

Is it not normal to behave differently on different occasions? And someone had warned, “My attitude depends on your behavior towards me. If you don’t like my attitude, blame your behavior towards me.” How should believers behave properly?

Anyone may blame anybody how they react or behave. Consequently, the Lord rewards lifestyle pleasant to him. We choose to be rewarded and not miss our reward.

The Lord Jesus Christ declared in Matthew 16:26-27, ²⁶What good will it be for someone to gain the whole world, yet forfeit their soul? Or what can anyone give in exchange for their soul? ²⁷For the Son of Man is going to come in his Father’s glory with his angels, and then he will reward each person according to what they have done.

Friends: Have you heard older people who said, “Life is very short. It seems like only yesterday. Now, I’m old”? Every year, when we celebrate our birthday, we are reminded that we also grow older every year, and the return of Christ is coming nearer. As we live in this temporal world, we must diligently prepare for life in eternity. So make sure that you have been born again and received the gift of eternal life.

But, how do we know if we are genuine born again Christians or just pretenders? How can we be assured that we received God’s gift of eternal life? 1. By faith, we trust God’s promise in the Scripture. 2. We sense the presence of the Holy Spirit in our heart. 3. Our lifestyle as Christians. As born again Christians, we have purified ourselves

1.  Purify

²²Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. 

Our lifestyle practically proves if we’re born again Christians and not pretenders.

Purified life practically shows that believers had been born again. Purified life is best exhibited in sincere love for each other and obedience to the truth. Who is the truth? Jesus Christ is the truth. Obedience to him is obedience to the truth. Christ warns, teaches, instructs and declares the truth. Reject or trust cannot affect the truth.

When it says, “purified yourselves by obeying the truth,” the term “truth” is the term that Christ used when he said in John 14:6, “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

To purify ourselves by obeying the truth, we obey the instruction of “Christ the truth.” Obedience to Christ helps us sense his presence in our innermost being. Purified life and love of others happens when Christ the way, the truth and the life empowers us.

To clearly identify purity, we need light. When it is dark, purity is not appreciated.

Darkness vs. Light

Someone suggested, “If you want to study the features darkness, don’t stay in a bright light; likewise, if you want to study the features light, don’t stay in darkness.”

Which one do you prefer: A bright shining day when you can see appearance, color and perspectives of the surrounding or a room of total darkness without light?

We believe what Jesus Christ declared in John 8:12, ¹²I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me will never walk in darkness, but will have the light of life.

Personally, Jesus the Light helps us understand very clearly and practically apply how we can be purified born again believers. We pray that Christ helps us obey him and sincerely love each other. Godly love is biblically explained in 1 Corinthians 13:4-8: ⁴Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. ⁵It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. ⁶Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. ⁷It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. ⁸Love never fails.

To memorize and personally practice this is truly challenging because love is the fruit of the Holy Spirit; and if we let him fills and empowers us, love will spontaneously grow in our life. So, when you sense love is absent, pray to be filled and empowered by the Holy Spirit of Christ. As love develops in our heart, purified life becomes apparent.

A sanctified, sacred, consecrated, and set apart life is purified life. A purified life exhibited in sincere love for each other and obedience to the truth helps us determine that we are truly born again and not just pretenders. Another proof that would assure us as genuine born again believers is the seed of new life that will never perish.

2.  Perish

²³For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. 

The term “born again” is properly interpreted as “given a new life.” “New life” of genuine born again Christians is inspired by the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit of God inspires us, he produces in us sincere love for each other and obedience to his words.

We believe what Christ declares in John 3:6-8, ⁶Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. ⁷You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ ⁸The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

When we placed our faith in Jesus Christ, the Lord sent his Holy Spirit into our innermost being. The Holy Spirit of Christ is the seed that will never perish or decay. He practically assures us that we received eternal life. When Christ returns, he takes us into his heaven. Do you sense the presence of the Holy Spirit of Christ in your life right now?

It declares in Galatians 4:4-7, ⁴When the set time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born under the law, ⁵to redeem those under the law, that we might receive adoption to sonship. ⁶Because you are his sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, the Spirit who calls out, “Abba, Father.” ⁷So you are no longer a slave, but God’s child; and since you are his child, God has made you also an heir.

The law or command of God exposes that we are law-breakers and rebellious.

We agree that nobody can perfectly obey the law of God, except God. Christ perfectly obeyed the law of God, he never sinned, and his Holy Spirit gives us confidence to call God our Father. Born again believers are God’s children and heirs. Can you believe it?

Church Members

Anybody may claim to be born again. Anybody can pretend as Christian. It is easy to imitate what born again Christians do. We don’t judge how people live their life. But there are necessary requirements for church membership. Church membership requirements are clearly stated in the church Constitution and By-laws.

TMEC Constitution and By-Laws ARTICLE V Section 1 states that “Any individual who demonstrates repentance toward God and faith in Jesus Christ alone for salvation, who has given evidence of submission to Christ and to His Word of godly behaviour, who accepts and upholds the fundamental beliefs enunciated in the Bible, views, and practices of this church as stated in its Constitution and By-Laws, and who has received or is willing to receive the ordinances of baptism (by immersion) and the Lord’s Supper, shall be eligible for membership.”

To understand more about church membership, classes are offered to anyone who wishes to become members of this church. Listen carefully: To be member of a local church is not a guarantee that one is genuine born again Christian.  So, make  sure that you have received personally the Holy Spirit of Christ in your innermost being.

Make sure that you did not deceive yourself, not born again pretenders.

Atheist

There were news articles about a popular pastor who claimed to have stopped being Christian and now he doesn’t believe God. Another news article features a former worship leader whose parents are church leaders, does not want to attend any Christian church anymore. There was also a professor in a Baptist seminary who studied many Eastern religions but later teaches that there are various ways to heaven.

Do you consider them as good pretenders? Their pretension that they’re genuine Christians may have deceived others. But what is much worst? They did not know that they have deceived themselves. Do foolish people know that they are foolish?

Christ Jesus had declared it clearly in John 8:31-32, ³¹If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. ³²Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.

Jesus Christ is the truth. He can set anyone free from pretension to sincerely and honestly live as genuine born again Christians. Our confidence as Disciples of Christ will grow stronger when we persevere in obeying his teaching to love each other sincerely.

Christ had personally commanded all his disciples in John 13:34-35, ³⁴A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. ³⁵By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.

Pray that the Holy Spirit produces fruit of love in us, so that we spontaneously love one another. And together, we encourage each other to persevere. The Holy Spirit of God himself assures us that we have received the right to become children of God.

Pertaining to Christ, it says in John 1:12-13, ¹²Yet to all who did receive him, to those who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God— ¹³children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband’s will, but born of God.

How strong is your confidence that you received the right to become children of God? By faith in Christ, we received imperishable, incorruptible eternal life that won’t decay or grow old but remain the same forever. Make sure that you have consecrated, sacred, set apart and purified life. We truly believe what it warns in Philippians 3:18-21. ¹⁸Many live as enemies of the cross of Christ. ¹⁹Their destiny is destruction, their god is their stomach, and their glory is in their shame. Their mind is set on earthly things. ²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, ²¹who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

Make sure that you are born again Christians and did not deceive yourselves.

Personally, how strong is your confidence that you are indeed citizens of heaven? Do you eagerly wait for the second coming of Christ?

Pray that the Holy Spirit of Christ gives you firm and strong confidence that you’ll live with him in heaven eternally.

Two practical sources that assure us as genuine born again believers are purified life and the Holy Spirit; the third source is the Scripture that we heard preached to us.

3.  Preach

²⁴For, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, ²⁵but the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word that was preached to you.

Purified life, the Holy Spirit and the Scripture assures us as born again believers. Why do we need to be assured that we are really are born again Christians?

It says, “All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, ²⁵but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

This statement is biblical. It is a warning from God that our lifespan will expire sooner than expected. Moreover, the word of God is eternal and the Scripture includes the promises of the Lord to all who believe in him. The Lord promised that believers of Christ will have eternal life. Make sure that you are genuine believers. Make sure that you personally experience being born again to new life in Christ.

The Holy Spirit of Christ is the seed of new life in him. He creates new self in us.

Personally, how do you interpret what it says in 1 Corinthians 5:17? ¹⁷Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

To be in Christ is to have faith in him. Faith is most practically exhibited in our confidence that his instructions are beneficial to us so that we obey him.

By faith, Christ creates a new self in us. New creation is manifested in purified life. Purified life includes sincere love for each other and obedience to his word.

Pray for increase of faith, godly wisdom and empowerment of the Holy Spirit. Remember the gospel of Christ and share it when given a chance or divine opportunity.

            Listen: By faith we believe that the Lord took all our sins and crucified them with Christ, that our old self died and buried with Christ, that we resurrect to new life in Christ, that Christ returned to heaven and prepares a place for each of us, and that when he returns, he takes us into heaven and live with him eternally. Be sure you are born again!

Check these if you are born again: 1. Lifestyle – a purified life exhibited in sincere love and obedience to Christ; 2. The Holy Spirit – he guarantees that we are children of God; and 3. The Word of God promises all who believe in Christ will live with him eternally.

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