Basic HTML Version
Test of Discipleship
37
We want to be like Him and have His Spirit in us. We desire to
follow His way and to please Him in everything.
If we become new persons in Christ Jesus, we will have the fruits
of the Spirit in our lives. They are “love, joy, peace, patience, kind-
[56]
ness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control.”
Galatians
5:22, 23
. Followers of Christ will no longer act as they did before.
They will follow by faith in Christ’s footsteps. They will show His
character and be pure, just as He is pure.
Those who follow Christ will love the things they used to hate.
They will hate the things they used to love. The proud will become
humble. The foolish will become wise. Those who used to get drunk
will stay sober. Impure people will become pure. Those who loved
the proud fashions of the world will lay them aside.
Christians will not try to gain attention by the things they wear.
“Instead, your beauty should consist of your true inner self, the
ageless beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of the greatest
value in God’s sight.”
1 Peter 3:4
.
True repentance changes a person. The sinner will confess his
sins and return what he has stolen. He will love God and other
people. When the sinner does these things, he will know that he has
passed from death unto life.
When we come to Christ and accept His pardon and grace, love
develops in our hearts. Our work does not seem hard, and what God
asks us to do becomes a pleasure. The path that used to be dark is
made bright by rays from the Sun of Righteousness.
[57]
The beauty of Christ’s character will be seen in His followers.
Christ was delighted to do what His Father asked. Love to God was
the guiding power in our Saviour’s life. Love made all His acts kind
and beautiful.
Love comes from God. It cannot come from sinful hearts. It is
found only in hearts where Jesus lives. “We love because God first
loved us.”
1 John 4:19
. In hearts made new by God’s grace, love is
the guiding power. Love changes our characters, rules our feelings,
and controls our desires. It drives out hate and helps us be true to
those we love. God’s love in our hearts sweetens our lives and has a
good influence on every-one around us.
Children of God need to guard against two mistakes in thinking.
People who have just started to trust God especially need to watch