Encouragement for the Family of God by Kenton Cheek
6 December 2026
Reading From I John 5
“We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the One who was born of God keeps them safe, and the evil one cannot harm them. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one. We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true by being in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life.”
—I John 5:18-20
Habitual sins and addictions are common to the human experience. There are many people who are born again who do not immediately walk in freedom from every stronghold all at once. They have been delivered, they just don’t know it yet. Sanctification, the process of become holy and more like Jesus, is both an event and a gradual process. It is a process filled with continual repentance, grace and mercy. Jesus wants us to be delivered from all bondage to sin and fully experience that reality. We are delivered from the moment we are born again, but we need to learn to continually reject those old habits and walk in the newness of life, always moving forward in faith so that we endure to the end. Much of walking with Jesus is discovering the blessings we already have been given as part of our identity in Him. We are given great and precious promises, such as, “we are more than conquerors in Christ Jesus”[1] and, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it until the Day of Christ Jesus.”[2]
Every truly born again believer is convicted of, turns away from, and affirms God’s faithful forgiveness of sin (see I John 1:9), but that is not meant to be a once and for all act. Repentance is a lifestyle we are meant to walk in and so continually experience the freedom of forgiveness. John teaches in this very same letter, “My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous.”[3] The Father knows that His children will stumble, but He is there ready and willing to pick them up, dust them off, and set them on the right path as they turn to Him.
Matthew 3:8 tells us to, “bear fruit in keeping with repentance.” Bearing good spiritual fruit is not a one and done deal, we are called to walk in step with the Spirit, bearing His fruit as He works within us and through us. The Father is patient with humanity in this process of repentance. His patience is assured in II Peter 3:9 which says, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” Repentance begins at the new birth experience and reaches its fulness when we are made perfect at the resurrection.
I believe that those who are truly born again are children of God, as the Gospel of John and this first letter of John’s affirms. The sons of Adam and daughters of Eve are becoming sons and daughters of the Most High God through faith, repentance, confession and acceptance of Jesus as Savior and Lord of their lives. Through Him they are justified, made right with the Father and the Holy Spirit begins to gradually sanctify them until they share in the glory of Christ Jesus as partakers of the divine nature. There is a fundamental change in relationship: from enemies of God to friends, even more than friends, His very own children. Everlasting life is everlasting.
I do not believe anyone who has experienced this miracle of redemption would ever walk away from this life giving relationship. Those who do were never truly saved in the first place.[4] Once I became a son of God, I will always be His son; I have been sealed to the Father by the Holy Spirit of Promise.[5] I might stumble or wander, but the Holy Spirit continually draws me back into righteous, healthy fellowship with the Father.[6] The quality of fellowship may wax and wane depending on my degree of faithfulness, but the relationship remains sure.[7] My relationship with God is a partnership between me and His Holy Spirit.[8] Like any healthy, balanced relationship, it needs nurturing to grow. Spiritual disciplines such as prayer, worship, Bible study, meditation, and the like help to nurture my relationship with God and increases the strength and quality of our fellowship.[9] True salvation is to know God and be known by Him. Those who have experienced His salvation prove it by their changed lives, continuation in that covenant relationship, and their endurance to the end.
“Lord Jesus, thank You for being the Way, the Truth, and the Life. I come to the Father through You. Empower me with Your Spirit to resist temptation, to grow stronger in my faith, and to endure to the end so that my salvation will be made complete. I am grateful for Your forgiveness. Transform me from glory to glory to be like You. I want to glorify You in my thoughts, my words and my actions. In the Name of Jesus Christ I pray these things. Amen.”
He that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved
—Matthew 24:13
Who are you to pass judgment on the servant of another? It is before his own master that he stands or falls. And he will be upheld, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
—Romans 14:4
Now to him who is able to keep you from stumbling and to present you blameless before the presence of his glory with great joy
—Jude 1:24
[1] Romans 8:37
[2] Philippians 1:6
[3] I John 2:1
[4] I John 2:19, Matthew 7:21-23
[5] II Corinthians 1:21-22, Ephesians 1:13-14, 4:30
[6] Luke 15:11-32, Acts 2:16-17, John 16:8
[7] John 10:28-30, 15:4-5, 15:9, II Timothy 2:13
[8] Jeremiah 29:12-14, James 4:8
[9] I Corinthians 9:25, Acts 17:11, I Thessalonians 5:17, Matthew 6:16, Psalm 119:15, Luke 5:16, Ephesians 5:19
Forever Home in the Eternal Family of God 
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