Devotion Column: Erasmus Makarimayi
WE need to know the implications of receiving Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Being born again entails partaking of the dividends of work already done by Christ in His finished or done or accomplished work, Grace. Born again believers are beneficiaries of something that already is. The realisation, thereof, is based on truth. This means the Good News or Glad Tidings have to reach the heart, mind and spirit of the believer.
Allow me to repeat an example I have often used on this platform. A story is often told of the end of Zimbabwe’s liberation struggle, which culminated with independence in 1980. It’s said there were cadres who remained in the bush well after the end of the war because the news had not reached them. They remained in holes and caves, dodging imaginary bullets well after the enemy had surrendered.
May I posit that there are Christians who, after genuinely confessing the Lordship of Jesus and were duly forgiven by God, are being lied to by the devil that their sins still stand. Open your eyes, the war is over!
Some exemplify it to boarding a bus and keeping your suitcase on your head. Diligently searching the truth becomes very important. Apostle Paul says to Timothy and us in 1 Timothy 2:4, Amplified: “Who [God] wishes all men to be saved and [increasingly] to perceive and recognise and discern and know precisely and correctly the [divine] Truth.”
Lack of knowledge shouldn’t be allowed to destroy believers. We should vehemently eschew ignorance. Believers shouldn’t be taken advantage of.
2 Corinthians 2:11 is instructive, “Lest Satan should get an advantage of us: for we are not ignorant of his devices.” We enjoy believers’ victory and authority because of knowledge and we thus live in peace and enjoy the grace of God. In my writings, I sign off with this: 2 Peter 1:2; “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord,” Let it be so with you.
A construct of the fundamentals of the Gospel of Christ will help before I delve into other matters. The four gospels of the Bible; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John give us the story of the incarnation of God in Jesus to point to Him alone as Redeemer. We see Jesus teaching in order to point to a new covenant.
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Speaking of the Gospel of Luke, Acts 1:1 says: “The former treatise have I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and teach.” We’re drawn to believe Jesus as the Messiah or Saviour. The emphasis of the gospels is for us to believe.
John 20:31 puts it: “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.”
We, therefore, have enough of what Jesus taught and did during His earthly ministry to believe His life-giving power. Please, mark the word believe.
With the appreciation of His incarnation and eventual death, resurrection and ascension, we have the persuasion to confess Him and be saved.
Romans 10:9-11 directs: “[9] That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. [10] For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. [11] For the scripture saith, Whosoever believeth on him shall not be ashamed.”
Please, note that it’s confession of Jesus and not of sins that leads to salvation. The fact that Jesus of Nazareth is the Messiah is important to appreciate, because there are some still awaiting the Messiah. They suppose that Jesus was just another prophet.
We’re warned in 1 John 4:2-3, New King James Version that: “2 By this you know the Spirit of God: Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is of God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is not of God. And this is the spirit of the Antichrist, which you have heard was coming, and is now already in the world.”
After the gospels lead us to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, we’re encouraged to grow in knowledge.
1 John 5:13 teaches: “These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God; that ye may know that ye have eternal life, and that ye may believe on the name of the Son of God.”
Please, note that the writer of the Gospel according to John is the same who wrote the epistle of John. In the epistle, he emphasises knowledge while building our belief system.
With the revealed knowledge; doubt, fear and condemnation fade away and we grow in trust and confidence in God the Father.
Our total reliance on the unending life of the resurrected Christ in us and assurance of eternal salvation anchor our peace. Grace and peace be multiplied to you through knowledge.
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