Craig T. Owens

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Whoever claims to live in Him must live as Jesus did. (1 John 2:6) 

If I claim…
…I have fellowship with Jesus
…I know the truth
…I am done with sinning
…I live in the light

Then I must think, speak, and act like Jesus. 

To prove my claims I must show that…
…I know the Truth and live in it
…I quickly confess and repent of sin
…I know His commands and obey them
…I know His love and I love others

There is no better proof for my claims than Christlikeness! 

As Charles Spurgeon said,

“When we try to be, in every respect, what God’s Word tells us we ought to be, then may we know that we are in God; but if we walk carelessly, if we take no account of our actions, but do, after a random fashion, whatever comes into our foolish hearts, then have we no evidence at all that we are in God.” 

The proof of our claims is self-evident. John uses the phrase “this is how we know” 8 times in this letter, and he uses the word “know” another 35 times! 

It’s not enough for me to verbally make the claims, but people should hear the words of Jesus in my mouth, see His compassion in my actions, and know His love fills my heart and informs my mind. 

I’ll say it again: There is no better proof for my claims than Christlikeness. I know it, everyone who sees or hears me knows it, and, most importantly, Jesus knows it. 

Dear children, let’s not merely say that we love each other; let us show the truth by our actions. Our actions will show that we belong to the truth, so we will be confident when we stand before God. (1 John 3:18-19 NLT) 

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