God wants you to know that you can’t always follow the lead of other Christians. There is a time you must start doing things on your own. You need to have your own reasons for doing what you do in your Christian life. Your need to develop three qualities of faith – certainty, conviction, and conduct. Luke 1:4 says it’s important “that you may know the certainty of the things you have been taught.”Certainty is the mental persuasion that God’s truth for you has been settled in your mind once-and-for-all. God promised you, you believe it. That settles it. And that’s all there is to it. You don’t need any more encouragement or enlightenment. Hebrews 11:1 states “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” Conviction is a fixed, strong belief. It includes your values, commitments, and motivations. Howard Hendricks, of Dallas Theological Seminary, has a great description. “A belief is something you will argue about. A conviction is something you will die for.” Today many people have strong convictions about weak issues (politics, sports, fads and fashion, etc.) and weak convictions on major issues (good and evil, right and wrong, and God or no God. Keep your convictions on track with God. You should reflect in your conduct your certainty and conviction. 2 Timothy 2:15 explains “Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth.” (NIV). And Colossians 3:23 “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men.” (NIV). Your conduct represents God. You can honor Him with your best words and actions. Your Biblical certainty, conviction, and conduct are essentials for you in your own spiritual growth and maturity. You can be your own best resource when you have grown in yourself to completely depend on Christ for your sufficiency in all things. You may want to make a list of your certainties, convictions, and conduct. Look to see where you are weak, or strong, and where you need to improve and grow. Jerry Evans
Posted on: Fri, 28 Jun 2013 08:56:11 +0000
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