Matthew 5:44 (KJV)
But I say unto you,
Love your enemies,
bless them that curse you,
do good to them that hate you,
and pray for them which despitefully use you,
and persecute you.
Some will tell you that it is easy to become a child of God.
They will tell you that you only need to hear the gospel, believe it, and ask Jesus to come into your life or heart as the Lord, and personal Savior of your life.
To prove it they point you to Romans 10, where you can read:
Romans 10:9-10
⁹If you confess with your mouth Jesus as Lord,
and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead,
you will be saved;
¹⁰for with the heart a person believes,
resulting in righteousness,
and with the mouth he confesses,
resulting in salvation.
But these verses speak of the process of believing after repentance. And confessing your belief in the Christ.
To become a child of God, you must be born again
John 3:3
Jesus answered and said to him,
“Truly, truly, I say to you,
unless one is born again
he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
Which comes within your reach after you received Him
John 1:12
But as many as received Him,
to them He gave the right
to become children of God,
even to those who believe in His name
Confessing that Jesus is Lord, may even be difficult for some while they are in church, yes there are people who do not want to stand before the congregation and declare that Jesus is their Lord, and how this change started in their lives.
Leave it, when such a confession was to be made by them
▪︎ between friends, who may leave them because of it,
▪︎ or at their job, where it may cost them their position
“If you confess with your mouth” was not an easy thing for the Romans to whom this was written.
▪︎ Confessing with their mouth, could mean for them that they would be crucified.
▪︎ Confessing with their mouth, could mean for them that they would be fed to the lions.
▪︎ Confessing with their mouth, could mean for them that they would be burned alive.
No it was not an easy thing for them, and following the Christ is today also not an easy decision for many.
With your decision to surrender to the Christ it is all just starting.
When God gives you a new heart and a new life, when He gives it to you to be born again, your life of following Jesus, and taking up your cross, just started. And so will the attacks from satan and the world.
Therefore it is important to ask the Lord to bring you in contact with good brothers and sisters, so you may help and support eachother. And so you will be taught the Word of God and how to use the Bible to make it meaningful to you.
Becoming a child of God does not make you immune from your enemies. In fact, the devil will use people against you, even some of your Christian brethren.
Still Jesus tells us in Matthew 5:44, that we should
▪︎ love our enemies
▪︎ bless them that curse us,
▪︎ do good to them that hate us,
▪︎ and pray for them which despitefully use us, and persecute us.
These are difficult things, and impossible things for the flesh.
But when you are born again, when you are really a child of God, this is not impossible to you.
You are able to do this, and you will be able to win them for Christ.
May the Lord give you grace to love your enemies, so you may be a living testimony, showing that you truly are a true child of God.
Sharing of these messages is highly appreciated.
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