No More Excuses

“Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments” (1 John 2:3)

How do you know if you really know Jesus? It’s not because you can remember a time when you walked the aisle, said a prayer, was baptized or joined the church. The Bible gives us the answer in 1 John 2:3, “Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.”

Good works never saved anyone. In fact, God’s Word tells us that our righteousness appears to God as filthy menstrual rags (Isaiah 64:6).

You are saved from your sins by grace through faith in Jesus (Ephesians 2:8-9). But you prove you are saved by obeying God’s Word.

Stop making excuses such as 1) I said or did what I did because of what he or she said or did to me; 2) I sleep with him or her, even though we are not married, because I love him or her; 3) I don’t give because that’s all the preacher talks about; 4) I don’t go to church because it’s full of hypocrites; 5) I can’t serve because of my busy schedule; 6) I would have, could have, should have, but...

All these things are excuses.

You said or did what you did because you ignored the Golden Rule (Matthew 7:12; Luke 6:31).

You sleep with him or her, even though you’re not married, because you are filled with lust.

You don’t give because you’re stingy.

You allow the hypocrites to be closer to God than you because you’re allowing them to stand between you and God. Besides, that is just an excuse you are using to not obey. God is not going to allow you to use hypocrites as a reason why you didn’t faithfully gather with the church to worship Him. On top of that, at times, we are all hypocrites, including you. All of us, whether we know Jesus or not, still live in earthly vessels. Because we do, we still sin. That is all the more reason we should go to church—to encourage one another.

You don’t serve because you don’t use your time to do what is most important.

You would have, could have, should have, but you didn’t because you chose not to.

How about you decide today, no more excuses! How about you make up your mind that you are going to obey God come what may?

If you know the Lord, prove it by doing what He has said to do and refraining from those things He has said not to do.

You will stumble and maybe even fall from time to time, but if you refuse to commit to obeying Him, you are either living in rebellion or you don’t really know Him.

Read John 14:23, 45; Luke 6:46; James 1:22; 4:7