Obedience to God demarcates the differences. Two believers may profess the same belief in God and may, in all appearances, be the same in all respects. But one believes in God and obeys God in all he does while the other believes in God but downplays obedience to God. There is a huge difference between them. Obedience to God demarcates the true believer from the false one. We know them by their fruits.
A true believer cannot have genuine fellowship with a false believer. They don’t enjoy the same things. They don’t love the same things. They don’t honor the same things. These set them apart from each other. They are separated by their core Christian principles. But true believers, whether they are different in age, in race, in social and economic status, and all other outward differences we can see, are naturally drawn to one another and are united in one faith to the Lord Jesus Christ. God Holy Spirit leads them to have that bond in their spirit and discernment that they are true.
Have you ever experienced God’s conviction through His Spirit, a discerning sense, that a person has another spirit not coming from God, or that a person has the Spirit of God? It is not a judgemental thought. A judgemental thought comes from the flesh and is not stemmed from love for others neither does it seek to glorify God. Instead, it looks to glorify the self. But, the discernment that comes from God has nothing like that. It is pure and its intention is not to put others down. It is a pointing of the Spirit of God to help us, guide us, or warn us of harm. God’s people have this discernment because they have God’s Spirit in them. And they are sealed by the Spirit of God.
Like night and day, true believers are different from the false ones. They cannot be one. So, when the time comes for Jesus to return, He will separate the true from the false. He will gather the true believers and cast away those who are false.
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give freely to him who is thirsty from the spring of the water of life. He who overcomes, I will give him these things. I will be his God, and he will be my son. But for the cowardly, unbelieving, sinners, abominable, murderers, sexually immoral, sorcerers, idolaters, and all liars, their part is in the lake that burns with fire and sulfur, which is the second death.”
– Revelations 21:6-8 (WEB)
Righteousness and wickedness never mix. If they mix and blend, then the righteousness portrayed is not true righteousness. In science, there is a thing called, immiscible mixture like oil and water. They do not mix. Unlike sugar in water, when mixed, they become homegeneous. The idea between the righteous and the wicked is somewhat akin to this. Even when they are mixed together, they don’t truly mix to become one. They are immiscible.
In the Bible, the righteous is symbolized as the sheep while the wicked as goat. Jesus will one day, on His return, separate the sheep from the goat (Matthew 25:31-32).
“He will set the sheep on his right hand, but the goats on the left. Then the King will tell those on his right hand, ‘Come, blessed of my Father, inherit the Kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world; for I was hungry and you gave me food to eat. I was thirsty and you gave me drink. I was a stranger and you took me in. I was naked and you clothed me. I was sick and you visited me. I was in prison and you came to me.’”
– Matthew 25:33-36 (WEB)
The righteous shall inherit the Kingdom of God while the wicked will be cast into hell. The righteous love God and love others. They serve people and not themselves. They care and help others who are weak, needy, helpless, and powerless. They do it because they do their righteous deeds not to be seen by men but to please God. The true church, the one that loves Jesus and His Kingdom and unbounded by group, denomination, or name, serves people in love. They are the true disciples because they show love to one another and to others. They are the sheeps of God.
May we all be sheeps of God in true spirit and love.
Life Hub Inspirations 
I think all religions need us to obey God, unquestioningly.
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Yes, true.🙏🏻
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🙏🏼
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Not really. Confucianism, Buddhism and Hinduism do not believe in a supreme deity. Only Christianity finds that God loves His creation so much that He came into it to show us how to gain eternal life.
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Thank you for this great input. 🥰
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Amen to the last sentence! In our community, workplace, and even in our own church, there are still many goats as i may say. Akel ba, ta manda gad mira kay they have Lord and tell people they love the Lord but not even reflected in their actions, how they decide on things, how they treat people. In so many experiences, i have witness very self-righteous people even in the church, those who put down others thinking they are better. Everytime i encounter them i always pray and say Lord pls give them wisdom, and also if i am capable of telling, i really tell them in a way they will realize what they are doing. I recalled in one of our officers’ meeting, the agenda is about someone serving in the parsonage (An ex-convict who has spiritual transformation trying his best to serve the Lord in any manwr that he is capable). In the meeting, they are trying to put the man down by accusing the man to be dangerously around, most specially near our pastor. My heart really cried a lot at that moment, and with all due respect to their authority, i stood up and said, if Jesus is with us in this meeting, what do you think he would do? That made them silent, and praise God, they stopped acting righteous and we end up having a decision pleasing to God. In my personal life, i always try to work on this aspect, with the grace of God, somehow, i have progress, i want to be a sheep, and Jesus is my shepherd.. thank you mam deb for the evryday fill. As i read everyday, i am on the path of becoming a sheep God wants me to be.. I love you.❤️❤️❤️
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God is great. And you are amazing. Keber ya pwde tu kel abla.. 🥰❤️🙏🏻 praise the Lord!
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The next 4 verses are surprising. The righteousness had to ask how they qualified. They qualified because their righteous acts were instinctive. I’ve served people in need at a public meal and sat down with them. I gave my service and my time to them. Others in our church conversed with one another and afterwards complimented themselves for their good deed. It’s only when our hearts are vested in those that have missed having the love of Jesus given to them in a meaningful way.
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Amen! ❤️🙏🏻🙌
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Thank you, Deb!
What an important teaching! The truly frightening thing is that, as Jesus has expressed elsewhere, the goats may have much practice acting like sheep, and may even have a pretty solid sheep resume of sheep-like things they have done that they think qualifies them as sheep (“many will say to me in that day, ‘Lord, Lord, have we not…'” But of course a sheep is a sheep by birth and a goat is a goat by birth, and no amount of righteous self-effort can transform a goat into a sheep. You cannot fool the shepherd. It is only those who truly repent of their sin and trust Christ with their lives who are born again as sheep. These are not trying to build a resume of good deeds to convince themselves and others that they are sheep. They simply love Jesus and their righteous acts spring from His love shed abroad in their hearts by the Holy Spirit. As you said, they don’t do things to be seen by men, but rather to please God. In the great day, they will not be trusting in their works, but only trusting in Jesus’ blood, thus their surprise when the Lord points out to them their righteous works, done in love, by His Spirit.
Thank you again for highlighting such an important teaching that is not sufficiently emphasized in so may churches.
God bless!
Craig
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Thank you, too. You have explained it very well and I appreciate this very much. I thank the Lord for the wisdom as He leads me to write. God bless you always, Craig.
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It is important to remember the parable of the weeds (see Matthew 13:24-30). We must be careful in judging whether another is really following Jesus. His words to Peter are important then, “When Peter saw [John], he said to Jesus, ‘Lord, what about this man?’ Jesus said to him, ‘If it is my will that he remain until I come, what is that to you? You follow me!’” John 21:21-22
Even Paul warned about judging anything before “the time:” “Therefore do not pronounce judgment before the time, before the Lord comes, who will bring to light the things now hidden in darkness and will disclose the purposes of the heart.” 1 Corinthians 4:5
❤️&🙏, c.a.
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Yes. I agree with this. In truth, God only knows the heart of man. We should be careful then.
We should seek God’s will and live it.l as we live our life to love God and love people.
Thank you for this. 🥰
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