Guilty by Association

“Because on account of him many of the Jews went away and believed in Jesus.” John 12:11

I remember growing up and being warned about certain kids that I was forbidden to hang around because “they are trouble”. As a kid I did well to heed that warning. However when I got older and the supervision wasn’t there, not only did I associate with them, I was one of them.

It’s a little different now, I am “guilty by association”, but it’s become a good thing. This verse in John 12 is referring to Lazarus and because of him being raised from the dead his testimony caused certain Jews to believe.

The value of a good testimony is a great tool God uses to bring people to Himself. If you’re a child of God and you live in such a way that people who don’t know Christ will come to know Christ because they knew, and now know you (you might want to re-read that last line) is a responsibility we all have.

There can be a type of symbolism in the story of Lazarus, “You were dead because of your sins and because your sinful nature was not yet cut away. Then God made you alive with Christ, for he forgave all our sins.” Colossians 2:13 NLT People should see a new life, like the sign says outside of Keswick from 2^nd Corinthians 5:17 “Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new”.

Then of course we have the opposite, Jesus said “If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you”. But that’s the subject for another Freedom Fighter.

The focus here is that you were saved and delivered for greater reason then you know. I once heard it asked, “If you were brought up on charges for being a follower of Jesus, is there enough evidence to find you guilty”?

Ephesians 5:1, 2 tells us “Therefore be imitators of God as dear children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ also has loved us and given Himself for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God for a sweet-smelling aroma.” An Aroma is much different than an odor. Martha thought that Lazarus was going to give off a stench, instead it was a sweet smelling aroma.

So let’s remember when we walk to follow what the Apostle Paul said in Ephesians 4, “ I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called,  with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love,  eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. – Rob Russomano is a weekly Freedom Fighter blogger and is a graduate of the Colony of Mercy. He serves full-time at America’s Keswick

Daily Bible Reading: Romans 8-10

Think About This: So often we are in danger of abusing the Scriptures… We use them as mere phrases in that manner, or lightheartedly we sing our hymns, and we feel better for the time being. But the question is, How do we stand up to temptations when we are in the street outside, and what are we like at home? When you turn Scripture into a drug, into something which gives you a temporary relief without your knowing why or how, the effect does not last. It gives a temporary feeling of exhilaration, but fails you when you are in the struggle and in the heat of the battle. Martyn Lloyd-Jones

This Week’s Verse to Memorize: Now may our Lord Jesus Christ himself, and God our Father, who loved us and gave us eternal comfort and good hope through grace,  comfort your hearts and establish them in every good work and word. 2 Thessalonians 2:16-17