"THE BIRTHMARKS OF A CHRISTIAN"

May 20  “The Birthmarks of a Christian”   1 John 2:3; 3:14; 3:24

Good morning from Pastor Glen Brock, Baptist Tabernacle Church, Wendell, North Carolina… “We know that we have come to know him if we keep his commands.”(1 John 2:3) / “We know that we have passed from death unto life, because we love the brethren. He that loveth not his brother abideth in death.” (1 John 3:14) / “ And he that keepeth his commandments dwelleth in him, and he in him. And hereby we know that he abideth in us, by the Spirit which he hath given us.” (1 John 3:24)

Often we are born with birthmarks.  In fact, it has been said that we all have birthmarks.  Some are more obvious than others, but we all have birthmarks of one kind or another.  When we are “Born” into the Kingdom of God, the Bible teaches that we will have; what I like to call, “Birthmarks” of some kind! I would like to look at some of the Spiritual “Birthmarks” of a Christian.  The first is the BIRTHMARK OF OBEDIENCE.  Before we accepted Christ as our Savior and Lord, we faithfully served the devil day and night.  Now, when we accept Christ as Savior, we are supposed to become Obedient to the voice of Jesus.  We are supposed to stop being obedient to the old “Taskmaster,: Satan, and become completely obedient to Christ.  This “Birthmark” should be obvious in the Life of a Christian!  1 John 2:3 says, “And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.”  Many claim that they know God!  Many may claim they have accepted Christ as Lord and Savior, but the proof is, “And hereby we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.”  Christ says that many will claim to know Him, yet He doesn’t know them!  Can you imagine how those who have publically proclaimed to know Christ, joined the Church and held various offices in the church, are going to feel when they stand before Christ and He says, “Depart from Me,…..I NEVER KNEW YOU:” All that we have done on Earth is lost because we failed to commit our lives to HIM! So, who does know Christ?  “We do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments!!”  The second “Birthmark” is “THE BIRTHMARK OF LOVING THE BRETHREN.”  The Bible doesn’t say that you have to agree with me to be a Christian.  It does not say that you have to like all of my ways to be a Christian, BUT it does say that you have to LOVE me! Before accepting Christ, we were living in “Death,” and when we accepted Christ, we were born again into “Life!”  The “Birthmark” that shows that we have “Passed from Death to Life is, “LOVE FOR THE BRETHREN.”  The third “Birthmark” is THE BIRTHMARK OF SEPARATION FROM THE WORLD.  Some would have you to think that the Bible is difficult to understand.  How could this message be any simpler?  God is saying that if we love the world and the things of the world, the love of God is not in us!  Everyone one of us, as Christians, should bear the “Birthmarks” of the True believer!  As Christians, we should all have these obvious “Birthmarks”:   *BIRTHMARK OF OBEDIENCE / *BIRTHMARK OF LOVING THE BRETHREN /  *BIRTHMARK OF SEPARATION FROM SIN/  If we have been born into the Kingdom of God these “Birthmarks” will be obvious in your life!  The story is told of an elderly Native American Chief who often spoke of his love for Jesus.  A man once asked him, “Why do you talk so much about loving Jesus?”  The Chief didn’t say a thing.  He gathered some small sticks and dry weeds and placed them in a circle.  He set fire to them and soon it was a circle of flames.  He placed a caterpillar in the middle of the fiery circle.  The caterpillar began to feel the heat and he tried desperately to find a way through the circle, but he soon discovered that there was no exit.  The caterpillar raised its head back as high as it could reach and seemed to say, “My help can only come from above.”  The Chief stuck his hand down into the fiery circle and the caterpillar crawled aboard.  The Chief then replied, “That is why I talk about my Lord so much.  I was trapped and there was no hope for my soul, but Christ reached down and saved me from a burning, everlasting Hell.”  Christians, we should bear these “Birthmarks” so that others can see that we have been born again into God’s Kingdom---CAN SINNERS SEE THESE THINGS IN YOU?  Christ died on that old cruel Cross, bearing our sins so that we might be able to have the opportunity to bear these “Birthmarks!”  Isn’t the promise of an eternity of happiness worth serving Him for a few short years here?  I Believe so!  Remember, we have to trust HIM and believe that HE will honor HIS promises!  Stay Strong, Stay Focused… Remember, THE BEST IS YET TO BE!