Evidence of genuine faith

When God gives eternal life, the recipient experiences change. 2 Corinthians 5:17 is clear: “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.”

Whether faith is genuine isn’t whether changes have happened but the nature of those changes. One of them is that a genuine Christian loves God and His people. Another is that he hates sin and turns from it. Today, Tozer writes that hating sin and loving righteousness go together. I cannot claim one and dismiss the other. As one OT prophet says, God is looking for both:

“For I know how many are your transgressions and how great are your sins— you who afflict the righteous, who take a bribe, and turn aside the needy in the gate. Therefore he who is prudent will keep silent in such a time, for it is an evil time. Seek good, and not evil, that you may live; and so the Lord, the God of hosts, will be with you, as you have said. Hate evil, and love good, and establish justice in the gate; it may be that the Lord, the God of hosts, will be gracious to the remnant of Joseph.” (Amos 5:12–15)

Tozer gives examples. For instance, I cannot claim to love honesty without hating dishonesty, nor can I claim to love purity without hating impurity, or say I love truth without hating lying and deceitfulness. If I am a child of God and growing in likeness to Jesus Christ, I will hate evil just as He hated evil.

This is part of what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. In my human sinfulness, I cannot do it. That old nature is drawn to the darkness and listens to the lies of the devil. My selfishness seeks to overthrow the will of God when He asks me to sacrifice what I want for His glory or the sake of others. Yes, I am a new creation and a child of God, yet still plagued by all kinds of opposition to His goodness.

Understanding the language of the Bible involves realizing the object of its words. Sometimes they are addressed to a Spirit-filled believer. Sometimes they are spoken to a rebellious sinner or to a Christian who has stepped outside the will of God. Sometimes the words are for a disobedient person, or an obedient person. The Scriptures are both universal and personal, depending on the work of the Holy Spirit to enlighten the person who is reading. This must be done carefully in that we are not saying “God told me” when our ideas come from our old nature or worse, the devil.

The Bible is a living book with the power to build faith or challenge it, depending on what is needed. It can teach or undo false teaching, lift or humiliate, produce sadness over sin or joy over salvation. This is one reason there are so many ‘interpretations’ — God says the same thing to others as He does to me, but we each hear it through the illuminating work of the Holy Spirit. One verse does not have two different meanings but it can have two or more applications. Our common ground is loving good and hating evil, loving Jesus Christ and hating sin. Disunity happens when we focus on our differences instead of those universals upon which we agree.

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Jesus, I’m thankful that You changed my attitude toward sin. While the world, the flesh and the devil make their appeal, my heart is drawn to You and away from sin. For this and other reasons, I know that I belong to You; You have changed my heart and mind about many things, even to give me the desire for change, for renewal, for new life always fresh flowing into me. I love You, dear Savior.