Christianity Oasis Forum

[cimi]

September 30
Tuesday


THAT YOU
MAY KNOW

READ:
1 John 5:6-13
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One day, while Wim was in the marketplace in the Netherlands, he struck up a conversation with a woman who remarked that you can get to heaven by dong good works. His attempt to explain that it is by God's grace that we are "saved through faith" (eph. 2:8) brought a smile as the woman repeated confidently: "and... by doing good works." Then another woman volunteered, "You can hope you'll go to heaven, but you can't be sure." Wim's assertion that he did know for sure was met with a muttered, "Nobody knows for sure."

Wim then showed the woman what 1 John 5:11-13 says. He explained: "See, it doesn't say hope there, it says know." Unconvinced, she said, "Like you, my pastor says that we have to have faith, but you really never know whether you've been good enough. You may think you have, but who can be sure?"

To some, Wim's confidence may seem incredible, But he based his words on this statement: "For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works" (Eph. 2:8-9).

It's true. We can't be good enough. We can never do enough good things. But we can be sure of heaven if we simply believe on the Lord (Acts 16:31). __Cindy Hess Kasper
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```````````````````We cannot earn our way to heaven`````````````
```````````````````````By word or work or worth;````````````````
```````````````````But if we trust in Christ to save us,`````````````
``````````````````Then we'll enjoy new birth. __Branon````````````
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We are saved by God's mercy, not by our merit__
by Christ's dying, not by our doing.

***************Today's Bible Reading __ 1 John 5:6-11*************

6 This is He who came by
water and blood__Jesus
Christ; not only by water,
but by water and blood.
and it is the Spirit who
bears witness, becasue the
Spirit is truth. 7 For there
are three that bear witness
in heaven: the Father, the
Word, and the Holy Spirit;
and these three are one.

8 And there are three that
bear witness on earth; the
Spirit, the water, and the
blood; and these agree
as one. 9 If we receive the
witness of men, the witness
of God is greater; for this is
the witness of god which
He has testified of his Son.

10 He who believes in the
Son of God has the witness
in himself; he who does not
believe God has made Him
a liar, because he has not
believed the testimony that
God has given of His Son.

11 And this is the testimony;
that God has given us
eternal life, and this life is
in His Son. 12 He who has
the Son has life; he who
does not have the Son of
God does not have life.

13 These things I have
written to you who believe
in the name of the Son of
God, that you may know
that you have eternal life,
and that you may continue
to believe in the name of
the Son of God.

>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>INSIGHT<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<

In this letter, John combats two forms of early Gnostic heresay:
Docetism denies Christ's humanity by saying that Jesus only seemed
to be human but was not. But John testifies that he had physically
touched Jesus (1:1; 4:2). Cerinthianism denies Christ's deity by
claiming that the divine Christ joined the human Jesus at baptism
and departed before He died. Here John testifies that Jesus Christ
came by water and blood (5:6), testifyinig that Jesus was already
divine both at His baptism and at His death. __Sim Kay Tee