In today’s world many claim to be Christian.

What is obedience to Christ? Salvation is a free gift to all who believe and call upon His name, but is believing on Him and calling on Him only a one time event as many today take it, or is it a way of life as Jesus and the scriptures imply it to be? Faith is not meant by God when He imparts it to be a once and done decision. We walk by faith daily. Why else does the writer of Hebrews talk of obedience? — was there something that Jesus said that initiated this thought?

15 “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments. John 14:15 NASB1995

Becoming a child of God is a commitment to a process of growth, which results in doing the things which are pleasing to Him and life changing for us. This happens not because we are better then others, but because we are committed to Him and are being changed by Him, and it is our desire to please Him and others over and above ourselves. Paul says that we are being changed into His likeness. But with that comes obedience. We are to take on the mind of Christ. so that the requirement of the Law being formed in us might be fulfilled in and through us, who no longer are to walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. See Romans 8

The flesh is greedy, the Spirit is generous. The flesh is resentful; the Spirit is forgiving. The flesh is easily led astray; the Spirit is discerning.

Spiritual growth is preparation for ministry. We are all witnesses. When we fail Him in our walk not only do we suffer, but others around us suffer. We only have this hope which the world does not have, and of which Paul often speaks, because Christ is in us.

These days are filled with troubling circumstance. We having been so blessed in this country can and are tempted to give up at times, and that because most of us have not been tested in ways that believers in the past have been. James says, do not fail this test when it comes, because afterward we will receive the crown of life.

Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him. James 1:12 NASB1995

Brothers there are many ways to deny Christ. We tend to think that denial comes only by word, but many today are deceivers. Many claim to be Christian but fail in their actions. By their fruit you shall know them. Spoken by Jesus.

Who is the liar but the one who denies that Jesus is the Christ? This is the antichrist, the one who denies the Father and the Son. Whoever denies the Son does not have the Father; the one who confesses the Son has the Father also. As for you, let that abide in you which you heard from the beginning. If what you heard from the beginning abides in you, you also will abide in the Son and in the Father. 1 John 2:22-24 NASB1995

Obviously to deny Him was not just a one time act. Peter denied Him thrice.

“If you love Me keep my commandments.” Spoken by Jesus.

14 For the gate is small and the way is narrow that leads to life, and there are few who find it.

Matthew 7:14 NASB1995

“By their fruit you shall know them.” This truth spoken by Jesus is to give us discernment. Do we stand apart from the world? Or is it difficult to tell us from the world around us? Love is not just feeling, love is action. In fact, in the end only our actions can prove our love. God and others are watching.

Jesus is the Word of God, and of life. In Him we walk in the way, for He is the way. He is all we need. He is the truth and the life. No man comes to the Father but by Him. These words that He spoke require a daily commitment to Him and the way that He has laid out for us. Abide in Him and we will walk in the Spirit.