To get good at anything, you’ve got to practice. Even truth has to be practiced! According to 1 John 1:6, we’d be “lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing truth.” (NASB) I John continues by showing us how to practice truth.
Here are the FIVE steps:
- Confess your sins to Jesus. He is faithful to forgive and cleanse you.
- Obey His commandments.
- Bible – you gotta read it to know His commandments.
- Jesus – Live your life as He did.
- Love one another.
If you practice these FIVE things, you can only get better at them! You will become a “Truth Bearer”, and learn to avoid worldliness. What is worldliness? It begins in the heart, and is characterized by three attitudes (1 John 2:15-16):
1. Craving for physical pleasure: sex, food, beauty
2. Craving for everything we see: yearning for and accumulating things; bowing to the god of materialism
3. Pride in our achievements & possessions: obsession with one’s own status or importance
The exact opposite of worldliness is what God values:
1. Self-control
2. Spirit of generosity
3. Commitment to humble service
True Christians don’t purposefully continue to sin. 1 John 3:6 says, “But anyone who keeps on sinning does not know Him (Jesus) or understand who He is.” If Christians do accidentally sin (no one is perfect, except Christ), it could be an act of weakness, a single mistake, or an occasional problem. But if someone claims to know Jesus and willfully continues to sin, they can’t really know God. To practice truth, and stay out of sinning (spiritual darkness), you simply follow these five steps (listed again below). You will get better at it! Remember to:
- Confess your sins to Jesus
- Obey His commandments
- Bible – read it
- Jesus – Live like Him (loving the Father)
- Love one another
If you practice truth, you’ll get better at it. Practice makes habit!
