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Not only has God given us rest, but His heart is
also at rest because we were lost, but now we have
been found.
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In this was manifested the love of God
toward us, because that God sent His only
begotten Son into the world, that we might
live through Him. Herein is love, not that
we loved God, but that He loved us, and
sent His Son to be the propitiation for our
sins. (1 John 4:9-10)
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We often refer to the words that people say as "real
gems," but are there any words more like a precious
gem than these? God sent His only begotten Son into
the world so that we might live eternally. "Herein is
love, not that we loved God, but that He loved us."
There's a hymn that says something similar to this:
I've found a Friend, oh, such a Friend!
He loved me 'ere I knew Him;
He drew me with the cords of love,
And thus He bound me to Him. 11
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This is the faith by which we live. There's also a
hymn that includes the following lines:
Let mock who may the way that you are taking,
Be we but witnesses, confident and true. 12
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Wherein lies the confidence of a believer regarding
his faith? If you ask someone who claims to
believe, "How can you be so sure?" there will be
some who will answer, "I have spoken in tongues,"
or "I have prophesied." But this isn't the reason
for our confidence. Neither is healing the sick evidence
of faith. What is the evidence on which our
faith is founded? First and foremost, it's the conviction
that comes to the individual when he realizes
that it was for his sins that Jesus, the Son of
God, was crucified, died, was buried, and three days
later rose from the dead.
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If we receive the witness of men, the
witness of God is greater: for this is the
witness of God which He hath testified of
His Son. (1 John 5:9)
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The witness of God is greater than any witness
that man can give. Let's take a look at what this
witness of God is.
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He that believeth on the Son of God hath
the witness in Himself: he that believeth
not God hath made Him a liar; because he
believeth not the record that God gave of
His Son. (1 John 5:10)
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Anyone who believes in God has the witness inside
him. What is this witness? It is the belief that Jesus
died for me, providing me with eternal redemption.
Anyone who doesn't have this conviction doesn't
believe, even though God has provided His witness.
People who don't believe have the power to reject
this witness, thinking, "God lied. His Son didn't die
for me." Those who believe, however, have the witness
in themselves and so they don't make God out
to be a liar. What is it that bears witness to the Son of
God? It's faith in the fact that He died for my sins.
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And this is the record, that God hath
given to us eternal life, and this life is in
His Son. He that hath the Son hath life;
and he that hath not the Son of God hath
not life. (1 John 5:11-12)
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"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath
not the Son of God hath not life." Here we can see
that there are those who have the Son and those
who don't. Think about your own position. To which
of these two categories do you belong?
11 James G. Small (1817-1888),
I've Found a Friend, 1863
12 Translated by John T. Underwood,
Go Forward, 1988
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