Written by Pastor Jack Wellman– Francis Chan
Doing What He Says
I find it hard to swallow when someone says that they believe in God but don’t do what He commands. It’s like saying, “God, I believe in you, but I won’t do what you ask me to do.” That seems ridiculous. For one thing, even the demons believe and tremble; but that doesn’t save them (James 2:19). I am sure Satan and the demons witnessed the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ; but it didn’t change them. We do what Jesus says, and that obedience proves our love for Him. Otherwise, to say someone believes but doesn’t obey means that they’ve just qualified for being a demon. Doing is believing, not believing alone. I can believe in speeding; but if I don’t obey the speed limit, my belief means nothing!
Going Into All the World
Seeking the lost was Jesus’ mission while He was here on Earth. So the question is, is that our mission too? Jude wrote that we are to “have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh” (Jude 1:22-23). By going into all the world, we show God that we are doing what He asked us to do (Matthew 28:19-20) and not just by talking about it.
Being Shaped Into Jesus’ Image
In writing about believers, the Apostle Paul wrote, “For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers” (Romans 8:29), and so “just as we have borne the image of the man of dust, we shall also bear the image of the man of heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:49). That is God’s plan for our lives–to become more like His Son and less like us. More of Him and less of us!
By Loving Our Neighbor
The two greatest commands were given by Jesus. Of course, the first one was, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” This is the great and first commandment. And a second is like it: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets” (Matthew 22:37-40). If we are not loving our neighbor, then we are not obeying God, as the Apostle John writes, “Whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks in the darkness, and does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded his eyes” (1 John 2:11).
Conclusion
God will measure our lives by how we love. Our love of God is proven true by our doing what He asks us to do–by entering into the harvest of souls, by being shaped into the image of the Son of God, and by loving our neighbor as ourselves.
