Rev. Don Campbell
Keeping Oneself in God’s Love
Jude urged us to keep ourselves in the love of God. John gives the measuring stick for testing our relationship to God: “By this it is evident who are the children of God, and who are the children of the devil: whoever does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is the one who does not love his brother” (1 John 3:10, ESV). John goes deeper:
Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ has been born of God, and everyone who loves the Father loves whoever has been born of him. By this we know that we love the children of God, when we love God and obey his commandments. For this is the love of God, that we keep his commandments. And his commandments are not burdensome (1 John 5:1-3, ESV).
Some people are practicing sinners, who sometimes do right. Other people are practicing saints, who sometimes do wrong. When saints sin, we have an Advocate (counsel for the defense) with the Father, who pleads our case on the merits of his sacrifice (1 John 2:1-2). When practicing sinners do right, even their righteousness is like filthy rags (Isa 64:6).
