I John

Death Is Not the End

March 28, 2024 by Tim Sherfy

Jesus lived a life so distinct from the culture that it got Him killed. By His life, we see we must cast aside the things of this world, no matter the cost. The world might imprison us. They might kill us. So what? They killed Jesus, but that wasn’t the end of the story. Jesus wasn’t just another man. He was and is the very Son of God (John 3:16).

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For those who deny everything for the sake of Jesus, for those who eschew cultural demands and norms for the sake of Christ, death is not the end of us either. Jesus lived the sinless life we could never live, He was crucified to pay a debt we never could, and He rose from the grave to provide an eternal life we could never otherwise attain.

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Lord of Your Life

March 14, 2024 by Tim Sherfy

If we aren’t spending every moment of this life preparing for the next one, what is the point of our existence? Jesus is our Lord, and that means we give everything to Him. Every activity, every thought, every interaction, they are all for Him. Anything you do that isn’t for the glory of Christ is a rejection of His Lordship. If we confess Jesus as Lord with our lips but deny it with the way we live, then our confession isn’t genuine. You might be thinking, “It’s impossible to live that way”, and you’d be right.

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Each one of us would be damned to Hell if not for the grace and mercy of Jesus Christ. That grace is His side of the equation. Our side is to accept that gift by acknowledging Him as our Lord. So, if at the core of your being, and with every ounce of your strength, you aren’t intent on pursuing every aspect of your life for His glory, then your surrender to Him as the Lord of your life cannot be genuine.

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Genuine Repentance

March 7, 2024 by Tim Sherfy

After recently writing about repentance (see “Repentance”), I didn’t think I’d be revisiting the topic so soon. Then I came across the following quote from Puritan Josias (Josiah) Shute concerning genuine repentance: “True repentance is when a man grieves for his sin to the extent that he abandons it.” It is one thing to think we are sorry for disobeying the commands of God. It is another to resolve from doing it again.

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But it is something else altogether for our sin to so grieve us that we abandon any thought of pursuing it in the future. We don’t just quit repeating the sin for a moment, or even for an extended period, but become so destroyed by even the thought of revisiting such sin that we scarcely even entertain a thought of it for the rest of our lives.

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The Very Words of God

March 4, 2024 by Tim Sherfy

We read God’s Word to learn about Him and to hear from Him. How, then, can we approach the Bible as a dry and dusty book? How can scripture not be our most valuable possession? You will find everything you need to know about how to live a life pleasing to God in the pages of the Bible. God’s word reveals everything you need to know about life, death, and the life to come.

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It is sufficient for our salvation, and it is complete in its revelation. While the Holy Spirit may give us fresh insight to help us understand and apply some of the Bible’s teachings, there is no new revelation. The very Words of God to man were gifted to us 2,000 years ago and have been guiding those who will come to Him ever since.

What Does God Require?

February 26, 2024 by Tim Sherfy

What does God require from you? Isn’t this the most important question you can ask after who you say Jesus is (Matthew 16:15-17)? What the Lord requires of you is simple and God clearly articulates in Scripture what His requirements are. Deuteronomy 10:12 says, “And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God ask of you except to fear the Lord your God by walking in all His ways, to love Him, and to worship the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul?”

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What He required of Israel is what He continues to require from His people today. We know if we love Him, we will keep His commands (John 14:15), so we must always be reminding ourselves of what those commands are. If the commands of God are not always at the forefront of our minds, we will quickly drift into living for the things we desire instead of what God requires.