Speaking here of Jesus Christ: “And He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed.” (1 Peter 2:24 NASB1995)
“Therefore, beloved, since you look for these things, be diligent to be found by Him in peace, spotless and blameless, and regard the patience of our Lord as salvation… (2 Peter 3:14-15 NASB1995)
“You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, be on your guard so that you are not carried away by the error of unprincipled men and fall from your own steadfastness, but grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.” (2 Peter 3:17-18 NASB1995)
The message spoken in 1 Peter 2:24 is the message of the gospel of our salvation in a nutshell, i.e. all in one sentence. For Jesus Christ did not die on that cross just to save us from our sins so that when we die we get to go to heaven and not to hell. He didn’t die just to forgive us our sins, by his grace. The reason he died and rose from the dead was so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in surrender to the will of God for our lives, all in his power.
And righteousness is what is deemed right in the eyes of God, what meets with his judicial approval, so it is what is holy, just, upright, morally pure, honest, faithful, and obedient to the Lord and to his commands, etc. And to be blameless is to be virtuous, righteous, and morally pure, no longer living in sin and in deliberate disobedience against God. And all of this is made possible for us via Jesus’ death and resurrection, and via his gift of grace to us in providing a way for us to die to sin and to obey our Lord, in practice.
And to be healed by his wounds is to be healed spiritually. It is to be reconciled to God, which means to properly and decisively change, to exchange our old lives of living in sin and for self for our new lives in Jesus Christ, surrendered to the will of God in walks of obedience to his commands. For Jesus said if anyone would come after him that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him in doing what he says we must do as his followers (disciples).
And our salvation, which is a gift from God, and not anything that any of us can earn in our own merit, is deliverance out of bondage (addiction) to sin so that we can serve our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. And it is not a one time thing we do guaranteeing us heaven for eternity. Biblical salvation is progressive – we have been saved (past), we are being saved (present active) and we will be saved (future) when Christ returns, but provided that we are not living in sin and in disobedience to God in practice.
So, please understand here that not everyone professing faith in Jesus Christ is a follower of Jesus Christ. And not everyone professing to be teaching the truth of the gospel of Christ is teaching the truth. There are many of these “unprincipled men” (and some women) among us who are teaching lies which tickle itching ears. They are not teaching that by faith in Jesus we must die to sin and live to righteousness in obedience to our Lord’s commands, but they are giving people permission to keep on in their sins. So know what the Scriptures teach in context, and obey the Lord always.
[Matthew 7:21-23; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 9:23-26; John 8:31-32; John 15:1-12; Romans 6:16; Romans 8:24; Romans 11:17-24; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; Colossians 1:21-23; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; 2 Timothy 2:10-13; Hebrews 3:6,14-15; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5,9; 2 Peter 1:5-11; 2 Peter 2:20-22; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6,24-25]
My Heart’s Desire
Based off Romans 10:1-21; Luke 9:23-26; Ephesians 4:17-24
An Original Work / June 29, 2013
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Loved Ones, Oh, my heart’s desire
Is that you might come to Jesus.
Many appear zealous for God,
But they do not trust in Him.
They have not submitted to the One
Who saved them from their sins;
Not forsaken their sins,
Nor have they obeyed their King.
The word of the Lord is near you:
The word of faith we’re proclaiming:
That you must confess your faith
In Jesus as your Lord and King:
Believe in Him as your Lord,
And follow Him where’er He leads.
Share the gospel; be a witness,
And meet others’ needs.
Beautiful are the feet of those
Who bring the good news of Jesus:
Anyone who would come to Him
Must deny himself today;
Die to sin and self, and
Let the Spirit transform you in heart;
Put on your new self in Jesus,
Yielding to the cross.
https://vimeo.com/115643303
Video Talk Based off the Same Message
https://youtu.be/ki314yRVIlM
So We Might Die to Sin
An Original Work / April 11, 2026
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
