Taking a Look at 1 John

“Now, little children (believers, dear ones), remain in Him [with unwavering faith], so that when He appears [at His return], we may have [perfect] confidence and not be ashamed and shrink away from Him at His coming. If you know that He is absolutely righteous, you know [for certain] that everyone who practices righteousness [doing what is right and conforming to God’s will] has been born of Him.”- 1 John 2:28-29 Amplified Bible  

            “… true faith always results in good deeds, those who claim to have faith and who consistently do what is right are true believers. Good deeds cannot produce salvation_{(see Ephesians 2:8-9)}, but they are necessary proof that true faith is actually present.”_{(James 2:14-17) (1)}

                  John is once again stressing that his readers remain in Christ. Self-assessment time: Are you locked into Christ and all he stands for? Are you striving to be more like him in your thoughts, words and actions each and every day? You should ask yourself those questions every day. 

                  What exactly does ‘righteousness’ mean? By definition it means, to be “morally upright; without guilt or sin”; Christ is righteous and according to his word we stand as righteous before God because of what Christ did for us. That is worth more than anything this world can offer. If we practice living as Christ lived we will be living righteously by ‘doing what is right and conforming to God’s will’for our lives. Until next time, walk with the King and be a blessing! rlkeller

Resource: The Life Application Study Bible.
(1) The Life Application Study Bible notes, page 2813.

Ephesians 2:8-9 New Living Translation– “God saved you by his grace when you believed. And you can’t take credit for this; it is a gift from God.Salvation is not a reward for the good things we have done, so none of us can boast about it.”

James 2:14-17 New Living Translation–“What good is it, dear brothers and sisters, if you say you have faith but don’t show it by your actions? Can that kind of faith save anyone? Suppose you see a brother or sister who has no food or clothing,and you say, “Good-bye and have a good day; stay warm and eat well”—but then you don’t give that person any food or clothing. What good does that do?So you see, faith by itself isn’t enough. Unless it produces good deeds, it is dead and useless.”