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Station One
Sept. 2, 2008
Speaker: Dior de Leon

You will know the tree by its fruit. Calling an orange tree and apple will not make it bear apples. This very simple and very obvious statement likewise applies to Christians.

Being a Christian isn’t just about the name– it’s about holiness and changed lives! One of the biggest heresies in church is praying a prayer of acceptance without repentance! There has to be repentance, a complete turn-around away from your old life and on to the new life in Christ.

“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’ (Matt. 7:15-23)

A genuine Christian has been given a new nature. He cannot continue to live in sin. This doesn’t mean that you would automatically stop sinning, but you will walk in the path of righteousness. Whenever you stray, God will discipline you and put you back on track.

Because if you’re a Christian, your life has to show it! If a man meets a truck head-on, he would be left unarguably marked (and possibly irreparably/fatally damaged), how much more if you meet God! If you say that you’re a Christian, but your life doesn’t show, then there’s a definite chance that you’re not a Christian at all.

Looking to others and pointing, “But what about him? I’m just as good a Christian as he is!” doesn’t really mean anything. We are not being judged by the standards of man, but against God’s.

Are you living a life based on the Word of God?

So examine yourself—there’s nothing wrong with that. You have nothing to lose, but everything to gain! Because being a Christian is having a burning desire to walk as Jesus walked!

Examine yourselves to see whether you are in the faith; test yourselves. Do you not realize that Christ Jesus is in you—unless, of course, you fail the test? (2 Cor. 13:5)

So, do you have Christ in your heart, just as you had prayed that he would be, or not? Read the Word of God and find the answer there. While it’s not too late. Because you can say that Jesus knows you, but what’s more important is that He knows you!

We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did. (1 John 3:3-61 John 3:3-6
English: King James Version (1611) - KJV
3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure. ⁴ Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. ⁵ And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin. ⁶ Whosoever abideth in him sinneth not: whosoever sinneth hath not seen him, neither known him.  

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See you guys at Station One (Every Tuesdays, 7:30 p.m.) in Basement 2 of Union Church of Manila, cor. Rada and Legazpi st., Legaspi Village, Makati City.

Cheers,

Stef