1 John 3:1-3 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

“1Behold what manner of love the Father has given to us, that we should be called children of God. And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him. 2Beloved, we are now children of God, and what we will be has not yet been revealed. We know that when Christ appears, we will be like Him, for we will see Him as He is. 3And everyone who has this hope in Him purifies himself, just as Christ is pure.”

Christianity Redefined

We live in a day and time when Christianity has been redefined. The gospel of Christ, of our salvation, has been altered. And the church has also been redefined and rearranged to suit the desires of the flesh. So, if truly we are following the ways of the Lord, according to the teachings of the Scriptures, it isn’t just the world who does not know us, but it is all who profess faith in Jesus Christ but who have adopted the ways of this sinful world and a diluted gospel message which appeals to the sinful desires of human flesh.

Children of God Redefined

Therefore those who are the “children of God” has also been redefined to include anyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ with their lips regardless of lifestyle and of whether or not obedience to our Lord’s commands and submission to Him as Lord actually exists in their lives. For the predominant “gospel” message being taught and accepted today, at least in my nation, is that all you have to do is say you believe in Jesus, in his death and resurrection, and now you are saved, and heaven is your eternal home.

The Gospel of Salvation

So, if we are those who hold on to the truths of the Scriptures, and the gospel message taught by Jesus and by His New Testament apostles, taught in the correct biblical context, and so we teach that God requires that we deny self, die to sin, and obey God’s commands, in life practice, in the power of God, then we are regarded as weird or as antiquated or as those who teach “works salvation” because we are teaching what the Scriptures literally teach is the gospel of Christ, which determines who is or is not truly saved.

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in Him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

Don’t Be Surprised

So don’t be surprised if you are rejected more by the institutional modern market-driven “church,” than you are by the world, if you actually hold to the teachings of the gospel as taught in the correct biblical context, and if you take God and His Word seriously. Don’t be surprised if your Christian friends think you are weird or “over the top” because of what you believe, and what you stand for, and because of what you share with the people of the world. And don’t be surprised if they cast you out of these market-driven “churches” because of your strong convictions with regard to the gospel.

Be Pure and Follow Christ

The mark of a true follower of Jesus Christ is that we, by faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to His commands in holy living, in the power of God. Sin is no longer what we practice, by habit, but obedience to our Lord and to His commands is now what we live by, in practice, although not necessarily in absolute perfection. Now we live morally pure lives, by the grace of God, in submission to Christ as Lord of our lives, because we love and serve God.

For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For it is not the one who claims he is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven (see Titus 2:11-14; 1 John 1-3).

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

Children of God
An Original Work / November 6, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Your Grace Divine

An Original Work / November 6, 2011
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

All I have is Yours, Lord. You gave all to me
When You died at Calv’ry on that cruel tree.
Crucified for my sins; You paid what I owe,
So I’d be forgiven; my God come to know.
All I have is Yours, Lord. You gave all to me
When You died at Calv’ry on that cruel tree.

Lord, I am so thankful for Your grace divine.
I invited You, Lord, in this heart of mine.
I have been forgiven for all of my sins,
So I’d live with Jesus; His grace flow within.
Lord, I am so thankful for Your grace divine.
I invited You, Lord, in this heart of mine.

Growing in Your grace, Lord; live for You each day;
How I love to worship You throughout my day.
Sitting at Your feet, Lord, list’ning to You speak,
Leads me to love You, Lord, more throughout the week.
Growing in Your grace, Lord; Live for You each day;
How I love to worship You throughout my day.