I am one of the most loyal, loving friends one can have. But, finding friendships that fit into the very narrow red-dot center of the dart-board of friendships is a very difficult and a very rare occurrence. It takes TIME and takes a PROACTIVE mindset and heart. Most of the guys in that center for me stood on my left side when I got married as my groomsmen back in 1999. Since then, I have added maybe two men to that red-dot list. True friendship for me has to go through the very narrow sift of discernment. Discernment is also a "spiritual gift "as laid out in Scripture (1 Corinthians 12:10). While every born-again believer has a certain amount of discernment, there are certain believers who have the spiritual gift of discerning spirits-that is, the God given ability to distinguish between the TRUTH of the WORD and the deceptive doctrines propagated by demons. This discernment does NOT involve mystical, extra-biblical revelations or a voice from God. Rather, the spiritually discerning are so familiar with the Word of God that they almost instantly recognize what is contrary to it. They use the Word of God to "test the spirits" to see which line up with God and which is in opposition to Him. 

This includes deceptive people who fail to speak the truth or who are are not being authentic at that moment or as a non-authentic person in whole. I know some people for MANY years who fall into this category. They by my estimation have been found wanting, but I maintain those friendships at a distance (on the outer rings of the board) because I do  NOT ENTRUST myself to them. This is biblical. 

In the Book of John chapter 2, we find many who believe in His name. John's purpose in recording Jesus' miracles was for people to believe and have eternal life (20:30-31). Many have concluded that though the text says these people believed, they did not have truth faith. Inasmuch as their faith was only based on Christ's miracles (alone), they say it was not saving faith. Furthermore, they note that Christ did not commit Himself to them (v.24). And this is the focus of my entry this new day.

The word "COMMIT" is the same Greek word translated "believe" in v.23. There is a play on words here. These individuals trusted Jesus, but Jesus (wisely) did not entrust Himself to them. Nicodemus is an illustration for that fact and John ties these comments and the story of Nicodemus together. He says Christ "knew what was in man" (Gk. Anthropos 2:25). And then adds, "there was a man (Gk. Anthropos) of the Pharisees name Nicodemus" (3:1). He, like Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple (19:38, 39). Thus, the Lord did not commit Himself to him like He committed Himself to others (like He did the apostles vs. 5:15). 

THE BOTTOM LINE

We need to ask ourselves how TRUSTWORTHY we are (Luke 16:1-13). Christ may be using the principle of readiness for receiving truth. In (2:25), In the Greek text "He" is emphatic. without being told by others, Jesus knew the hearts of people. He reads people like people read billboards, another indication of His deity. in the OT God alone was said to know the hearts of all people (1 Kings 8:39)

^"24 But Jesus on his part did not entrust himself to them, because he knew all people ²⁵ and needed no one to bear witness about man, for he himself knew what was in man." (John 2:24-25 ESV)

IN CONCLUSION

My model for trusting others comes right out of the Bible, through the life and ways of Jesus. Jesus gave us the PERFECT model for using discernment to choose our closest friends, or those in our very inner circular of friends. While I am one of the most loyal, loving friends one can have, I am no push over. I see everything and choose to take a certain percentage of hits and loss in an effort to see who is truly biblically authentic, giving, selfless, and authentic in Christ. The more authentic in Christ, the more true they are. I can discern this almost instantly when I first get to know a person. For others, I give it time. But if the truth is not made evident fairly quickly, it's almost always lacking the right stuff to make it into the dead-narrow center of friendship with me. From there, it takes more TIME to develop the friendship. I'm not special, but I trust a lot of people an in effort to find the true, tried and trusted in friendships in life. I pray that you will use the same discernment in your life when selecting your friends.

For God So Loved the World that he sent His ONLY Son so that we might receive eternal life. That being said, I find the words of Jesus in John 3:16-18 fascinating in that it gives us a simple, easy to follow blueprint for sharing our faith on a daily basis in our modern world. Jesus’ formula for evangelism is TIMELESS!

16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. 17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 2:16-18 ESV)

FIVE BULLET POINTS BY JESUS TO HELP YOU SHARE YOUR FAITH!

1) Understand that God LOVES us and all humans (man and woman) are made in His image (Genesis 1:27).
2) WHOEVER BELIEVES in Jesus Christ will receive eternal life and never perish.
3) God did not send Jesus to CONDEMN the world. This is a SHOCKER for many Christians. Don’t be fooled. God is a God of justice, but Jesus came in Love, out of God’s love for us, and as Love so that none should perish (2 Peter 3:9).
4) Jesus came so that every single person on earth might be saved through Him.
5) By DEFAULT, whoever does not believe in Jesus is already condemned because of their unbelief in the ONLY Son of God. Jesus does not condemn; those who don't believe condemn themselves.

IN SUMMARY when we share our faith, all we need to do is share our faith out of our love for God and others in the name of Jesus Christ. Lastly, we need to understand that only the Holy Spirit can and does change the heart. It’s our job and mission to share the good news and allow God to change the heart. It’s each person's individual responsibility to RECEIVE that free gift of eternal life. In the end, our job is not to save people, but to present the Truth and the great news of eternal salvation as a free gift offered. How freeing that is for you and I, knowing what our role is part of God’s great plan! I pray this encourages, motivates and better equips your for the Great Commission (Matthew 28) and in your walk with Christ.

Lest we be be tempted to believe that all religions somehow lead to the same true God of the universe and go to heaven, let's recall, remember and submit to the words of Jesus Christ who said…

“17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him. 18 Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.” (John 3:17-18 ESV)

Rewinding one verse-to verse 16, Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his ONLY Son, that whoever believers in him should not perish but have eternal life.”  

SO WHAT is Jesus saying? This is what we know:

1) God so loved the world that He gave his ONLY Son for us! That includes you and me! That's HUGE. God's love is not restricted to any one nation or to any spiritual elite. "World" here may also include all of creation (Romans 9:19-22; Col.1:20). The Greek word for "begotten" suggests a one and only Son.

2) HEAVEN: Any of us who believes in Jesus as the true Son of God, God Himself, will not perish but have eternal life in heaven with God. Simply put, we go to heaven for ETERNITY. Forever is a very long time. Actually it's infinite-it's outside of what we consider the time-space contimuam itself. 

3) ETERNAL LIFE: What is that exactly? Eternal life is a new quality of life starts here and now on earth, not just an everlasting “this-life”. Here begins another major theme of John, the dual one of REDEMPTION and JUDGMENT. Of course in the present, it's "a new quality of life" and in eternity, it's "forever eternal life". It reappears at 5:22; 8:15; 9:39; 12:47. Simply put, anyone who believes in Jesus is not judged or condemned in the future judgement. Anyone who does not believe has been judged already, here and now. The future judgement confirms but does not determine one's eternal destiny.

4) The emphasis on ETERNAL LIFE here is on the fact that men judge themselves. The acquitted are those who believed in Him; the condemned are those who rejected Him. This is the state of our current world.

IN CONCLUSION:
Despite one’s feelings, opinion or beliefs, the truth is that God is the Standard of all Truth. He is the Truth. As such, He is the (only exclusive) Truth and the only true God. Hence, all other religions and gods are false. That is very politically incorrect, but it is the truth. Islam, Hinduism, Mormonism, JW’s, atheism, and certainly secular humanism are nothing more than an arrogant efforts by mankind to make God into our own image. And that doesn’t work, but instead leads only to a believe in a false god, which in turn leads to a false salvation. This is our start point when sharing our faith with people of different faiths and beliefs.

Lastly, I want to reiterate that one's eternal destiny is determined on earth, not in heaven. Anyone who believes in Jesus is not judged or condemned in the future judgement. WHY? Because anyone who does not believe has been judged already, here and now. The future judgement confirms but does not determine one's eternal destiny. When a person trusts Christ, he or she is born again and receives eternal and spiritual life (v.15), God's kind of life. The focus is not on our faith but on Christ, the object of our faith, Faith doesn't save. It is the channel to the One who saves-Jesus Christ.

Glory be to the God of the universe through His Son Jesus Christ! 
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.“ (John 3:16)