Live to Love Scripture Encouragement John 16.9

John 16:9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; The apostle Paul wrote to the Romans, “Whatever is not of faith is sin.” Do you believe this? The world doesn’t. Jesus commanded in John 14:1, “If you believe in God, believe also in Me.” To obey Jesus’ command is to believe that Jesus is God in the flesh, and that He is the way, truth, and the life, and is the only way to the Father that God has provided for mankind. Those who believe in Jesus, realize and therefore believe that Jesus is life and the source of all that is life. Everything they do that isn’t connected to Him or doesn’t come through His life in them, they believe to be sin. Why? Because the standard is the glory of God. If the words and work are not from and through Jesus, then God doesn’t get the glory, and their words and works fall short of the glory of God. Falling short of the glory of God is another way to define sin. Paul also wrote to the Romans, “For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (3:23). Look how convicting this is to the world concerning sin! Jesus said that we can do nothing apart from Him. So we conclude that apart from faith in Jesus, all is sin. Since the world has no connection to Jesus, everything they do is sinful. That’s convicting! We should not be surprised if they hate us as we live to love with Jesus, because holiness exposes sin and unbelief. Acknowledgment: Music from “Carried by the Father” by Eric Terlizzi. www.ericterlizzi.com