Title: The One Who Has Nothing to Reproach 1John 3:21-24
Text: 1 John 3:21-24
If you become a person who has nothing against which you can reprove yourself, you will gain confidence before God and receive answers to whatever you ask (1 John 3:21-24). Therefore, today, I would like to testify about what we must do to become a person who is blameless in the sight of God, to receive God’s love and to receive authority and power from above.
1. Blessings enjoyed by those who do not blame themselves
It would be a truly happy day if a person lived a life without any shame in looking up to heaven. A person who lives a life with no regrets in his conscience regardless of whether he has wealth, honor, or authority will not only have peace in his heart, but will also receive respect and praise from others.
Moreover, what if in the Lord we become people who are not ashamed before God, and who have no reproach of ourselves? Not only has God promised a tremendous blessing that He will answer whatever we ask for (1 John 3:21-24 ), but He also said that we can reach a noble place in the eternal heaven, so we have nothing more to lack. is.
Colossians 1:21-22 says, “You, who were once alienated and enemies in your heart because of your evil deeds, now have reconciled you through the death of his flesh, in order to present you holy and blameless and blameless before him.” are doing The reason Jesus died is to make us holy, without blemish, and without reproach. If you are God’s servants and officials, you should look at yourself and become perfect people without shame.
2. If you want to be blameless on yourself
Even if we belong to the truth and live diligently, we often find ourselves in violation of the truth when we listen to God’s Word. How much more so in the presence of Almighty God? Even the hairs of our heads are numbered (Matthew 10:30), so God knows even the depths of our hearts. Therefore, if we have things to reprove ourselves, we should realize that there are more in God’s sight, so we should strive to become a person who can’t be blamed for ourselves.
Thus, if our conscience bears witness to the truth that it is blameless and without blemish, we can gain confidence before God. As Hebrews 10:35 says, “Do not forsake your courage, for this will have a great reward.” You will receive God’s answers and blessings.
As an example, let’s say a student took an exam at school and got a score of 100. Then, how proud would you be when you go out in front of your parents holding the 100-point test paper? Even if it is something you would not normally ask for, you will be able to ask your parents boldly for that time. Parents, too, must be eager to answer even the most difficult requests because their children are so lovable.
So, what should we do if we are to become people who are not without reproach before God?
First, we must stand firm in our faith in the Almighty and Almighty God.
Faith in God here means absolute trust in God and means the truth of our hearts. It is only when we have this faith that we are qualified to go boldly before God by pleasing God. We can fulfill the desires of our hearts and enjoy the blessings of all things (“Hebrews 11:6, Psalm 37:4”).
If you look in the Bible, you can see that many forefathers lived a truly brilliant and beautiful life through faith. First of all, what kind of faith did the young David go before the Philistine general Goliath, who was afraid of the whole army of Israel? 1 Samuel 14:9 says, “You come to me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have insulted.” At this time, God was pleased with David, who boldly marched forward believing that the war belonged to Almighty God, and gave him a wonderful victory by defeating the enemy leader Goliath with one slingshot.
Joshua and Caleb were also people who experienced the work of God through faith. When the other 10 spies and all the people of Israel looked at the reality and were discouraged and blaming God, they did not doubt God’s promise and boldly said, “Do not be afraid of the people of the land, for they are our food” (Numbers 14:9). make a confession. Because of their faith in looking only at Almighty God, they were the only among the generation of Exodus to enter the land of Canaan, and they were able to enjoy God’s blessings and glory.
Even today, God is looking for spiritual generals who can believe not only with their lips but with their heart and can obey the Word under any circumstances, because such people can never change.
On the other hand, the Israelites who came out of Egypt were people who thought they believed in God because they had seen countless works of power through Moses. However, when real difficulties came to them, they forsook their faith, complained about Moses, and disobeyed. In Numbers 14:11, God said, “How long will this people despise me?” When the Israelites distrusted God’s promises to the land of Canaan, they despised God. As a result, they could not enter the land of Canaan and had to die in the wilderness.
If you look at the reality and environment unfolding before your eyes rather than looking at Almighty God like this, it is because you do not stand in faith. Also, if your lips come out with grudges, complaints, and blaming others instead of praise and thanks, this is also evidence of lack of faith. Because we do not have courage in front of us, we cannot receive answers and blessings even though we are children of God.
Second, there must be works that perfect our faith.
As James 2:14 says, “If a man says he has faith, but has no works, what profit does it have? Can his faith save him?” It clearly states that faith without works cannot be saved. Also, James XNUMX:XNUMX says, “Behold, faith worked together with his works, and by works his faith was made perfect.” In other words, he is talking about the importance of works, that faith must be accompanied by works, and only then can faith be perfected and lead to salvation.
On the other hand, if you say you have faith and do not do it, it is as dead faith before God as the body without the soul is dead (James 2:26). The scribes and Pharisees at the time of Jesus were among those who were rebuked by Jesus for their faith without works.
In Matthew 23:3, as it is said, “Whatever they say, do and keep, but do not follow the way they do, for they only talk and do not do.” was just eating out. This is because a person who teaches others without practicing the truth on his own will eventually have to pretend to be holy and pretend to be right in front of people. However, since there are many things to reproach before God, we cannot gain courage in our hearts, and even if we pray, answers do not come.
Therefore, in order to be praiseworthy in the sight of God, we must perfect our faith not only with word and tongue, but also with deeds and truth for the sake of the kingdom and righteousness of God.
Third, we must practice love.
Even if we have faith and act according to it, it is of no use without love. So what really is love?
1John 5:3 says, “This is the love of God, that we keep his commandments, and his commandments are not burdensome.” said. In other words, the proof of loving God is keeping his commandments, and keeping his commandments is keeping the words of the 66 books of the Bible and fulfilling the law with love. Only those who love God can keep all the commandments that God has commanded, ‘Do, don’t, forsake, keep’.
Also, 1John 3:23-24 says, “And these are his commandments, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ, and love one another as he commanded us. He who keeps his commandments abides in the Lord, and the Lord in him. We know that he abides in us by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Just as Jesus loved us even to the point of laying down his life, so we also love one another in deed and truth to keep God’s commandments, and then the Lord will be with us.
Then, even if we have great faith and works to move mountains, and even if we have the devotion to give up our bodies for fire, what is the reason for saying, “If we do not have love, we are nothing (1 Corinthians 13:2-3)?”
This is because we are in the Lord and the Lord abides in us only when we love God and keep His commandments. Jesus is the vine, and we are the branches, so just as the branch cannot bear fruit unless it abides in the vine, so we can do nothing unless we are in the Lord (John 15:5).
Dear brothers and sisters, if you study the Bible, you can find out what kind of life the people who loved and loved God lived.
For example, Abraham, who became the father of faith, did not seek his own gain in all things, but pursued good and love. David, who was recognized as a man after God’s own heart (Acts 13:22), feared God and He did not do anything but depended only on Him and walked humbly. And the Apostle Paul, who boldly confessed that he fought the good fight of faith and waited only for the crown of righteousness, preached the gospel with all his life, glorifying only God and living a life of gratitude and joy even if persecution and tribulation came. will be
In this way, those who love God not only receive God’s love and approval, but also come out wholly without reproach because they always walk in the truth.
In the name of the Lord, I pray in the name of the Lord that you will become a person who can not be blamed before God and please God through today’s Word, and that you will receive answers to whatever you boldly ask for and give glory to God in the name of the Lord.
