Articles
Jesus Growing Up / Can I Know That I Am Saved?
(by Kevin Heaton)
There are times when I look at my children, watching them grow up, that I am reminded of the humanity of Jesus. When I'm tucking them in to sleep, or when I see them playing, when I hear them laughing or saying "daddy" or "I love you."
The Bible only gives us a quick glimpse at His human life: we see His birth, a glimpse of Him at age 12, and then before you know it He's 30. I think it is easy at times for us to not really think about the life of Jesus being like every other human being. When we think of the humanity of Jesus, let's remember this:
Mary carried Him in the womb for 9 months. Jesus would have grown like every other baby. He would have slowly but surely developed features. Mary would've begun to feel Him kicking and moving inside of her.
Mary experienced the wonder of giving birth to Him and Joseph was there to see the miracle of birth. Jesus would have needed cleaning off and swaddling. He would have been crying and hungry to nurse. Jesus had a mom and a dad.
Jesus grew and learned how to talk and walk in His first few years. He would cry, laugh, play, get into trouble like any other toddler. He was bathed and changed. Jesus experienced what it was to be 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12 years old. Jesus had parents that He loved and obeyed and was corrected by. He submitted to His parents (cf. Luke 2:51). Jesus would have played in His daddy's workshop. He would have begun to do chores and help His parents like all other children. Jesus would have to learn right and wrong. He would have to make choices like everyone else. Jesus would have experienced bumps, scrapes, and bruises. He would have been sick at times and in need of rest and care.
Jesus knew what it was to grow up with brothers and sisters (cf. Mark 6:3). Did they fight at times? Most likely. Did they play together? Sure. Did they learn to love each other? Absolutely.
Jesus experienced His teenage years. He continued to grow and learn what it was to be an adult. He would eventually become a carpenter like His dad. He probably had important talks about life with His parents. He loved and cherished His mother. He respected and honored His father.
Jesus lived through His 20's. He worked, labored, and was a part of His family. He probably had friends and acquaintances.
We're not told much at all about Jesus' life between His birth and His ministry. But we can be assured He experienced one day at a time, one year at a time, one change at a time.
Above all, here's what we do know:
When Jesus was about 30 years old He began His ministry of teaching and healing people (cf. Luke 3:23). Jesus got busy with His Heavenly Father's work.
3 years later Jesus would feel the cold sting of betrayal. He would feel each blow and force of those who struck and beat Him. He would feel the wet of the saliva that was spat upon Him. Jesus would go on to feel the flesh being ripped apart on His back by scourging. Jesus felt the weakness of losing blood and being weary. He would feel the weight of the beam of the cross as He was forced to carry it to the point of exhaustion. He would feel the nails penetrating His wrists and feet as they were nailed in. Jesus would experience the pain of hanging from a cross by the nails in His body. Jesus saw His mother and beloved friends watching Him slowly suffer and die. Jesus felt His final breath leave His body and entered the realm of the dead.
But on the 3rd day after His death, Jesus experienced what no one had experienced before Him; He rose from the dead never to die again! He was in His body once again, a body that now would never be destroyed.
Jesus went through all of this for one reason: to save you and me from sin and death.
"Christ Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but made Himself nothing, taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Therefore God has highly exalted Him and bestowed on Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Philippians 2:5-11).
Can I Know That I Am Saved?
(by Matt Craig)
Can I know that I am saved? It appears to be a simple question, and one that I am sure many Christians would be quick to answer with an astounding, “YES!” But dig a little deeper, and ask how do you know that you’re saved? Then, it can be a little challenging for those who learned the first principles of becoming a Christian but have failed to mature spiritually. Those of us who have put on Christ through baptism should understand that this is the beginning point of the journey in the life of a Christian, and from that point forward each of us individually chooses how we live our life, whether in service to God, or to ourselves. So how can I know that I am saved? Here are a few points that can help us answer that question.
I can know that I am saved when I understand the need to love God. In Luke 10:25-28, the lawyer asked Jesus, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus asked him what is written in the law, and the lawyer replied, “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your strength, and with all your mind, love your neighbor as yourself,” to which Jesus said, “you have answered correctly,” and then proceeded to give the account of the good Samaritan. It requires more than just saying, “I love you.” It requires a total commitment of oneself to God, and to treat EVERYONE as you would treat yourself.
I can know that I am saved when I understand that love requires action on my part. In John 14:15-18, Jesus said, “If you love Me you will keep My commandments.” This is not a set of tasks that we check off to earn our salvation, but a willingness to do whatever God asks us to do because we love Him. In 1 John 3:11-24, John tells us that if we love God we will love each other, and to let us not love with word or with tongue but in deed and truth.
I can know that I am saved when I understand that I must not love the world or the things in it more than I love God. In 1 John 2:15-17, John warns us not to love the world and the things of the world, because if anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. If we love to participate in the things of the world, which is contrary to the true nature of the Father, how can we have fellowship with Him?
I can know that I am saved when I understand that I cannot be saved by doing it by myself. In John 15:1-8, Jesus uses the illustration of the vine and the branches. Jesus is the vine and we are the branches. The branches cannot bear fruit on their own, but have to be part of the vine. We as Christians need to understand that we are a part of the body (the church), and when we recognize that we are doing this for God’s glory, and not our own self-interest, then the bearing of fruit will take care of itself.
I can know that I am saved when I understand that I cannot give up and that I need to keep trying by drawing nearer to God, by encouraging others, by loving my brothers and sisters, and by doing good works. In Hebrews 10:19-31, the writer encourages the brethren to draw nearer to God by being an active participant, and not a passive participant. A relationship requires active participation to grow and nurture a relationship. We accomplish this one step at a time. If we become passive or stagnant we will tend to fall back into the world, which will result in a fearful expectation of the judgment.
These are only a few practical illustrations that will help us answer the question “how can I know that I am saved.” The challenge is to not only understand these things, but to put them into action.
- 9-1-24_-_Jesus_Gro ... at_I_Am_Saved.docx (23.96 kB)
