Brought from Death to Life

Romans 6:12-23 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“12Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its desires. 13Do not present the parts of your body to sin as instruments of wickedness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and present the parts of your body to Him as instruments of righteousness. 14For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace.

 

“15What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law, but under grace? Certainly not! 16Do you not know that when you offer yourselves as obedient slaves, you are slaves to the one you obey, whether you are slaves to sin leading to death, or to obedience leading to righteousness? 17But thanks be to God that, though you once were slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were committed. 18You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.

 

19I am speaking in human terms because of the weakness of your flesh. Just as you used to offer the parts of your body in slavery to impurity and to escalating wickedness, so now offer them in slavery to righteousness leading to holiness.

 

20For when you were slaves to sin, you were free of obligation to righteousness. 21What fruit did you reap at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? The outcome of those things is death. 22But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you reap leads to holiness, and the outcome is eternal life. 23For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

 

Law and Grace

 

Now, this subject of “law and grace” can be easily misunderstood and misconstrued to teach that we, as followers of Christ, are under no law whatsoever and that God’s grace frees us from His commands so that we can keep sinning against God without consequence and without punishment. But the subject matter has to do with no longer being under the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary and Sabbath laws of the Old Covenant. We are not to become lawless.

 

Under the New Covenant we must deny self, die to sin, and obey God in life practice. It does not teach that we must be absolutely perfect in every respect or that if we sin once, “bang!,” we’re out!! (see 1 John 2:1-2) But that is not permission to keep on sinning and to ignore God’s New Covenant commands. For God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return (see Titus 2:11-14).

 

Grace and Faith

 

Therefore, by God’s grace, through God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, we die with Christ to sin that we might live to God and to His righteousness in obedience to His commands. We do not let sin reign (rule) in our lives so that we obey its desires. For sin should no longer be our master. For we are slaves to what we obey. And if sin is what we obey, our habit (addiction), that leads to death, not to eternal life with God. But obedience to God leads to righteousness and holiness, and the outcome is eternal life with God.

 

When this says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord,” this is not a blanket promise to everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ with their lips that the gift of salvation from sin is theirs to possess for eternity. In context, it is letting us all know that if sin remains our practice, our habit, and not obedience to God and to His New Covenant commands, we will NOT have eternal life with God. For the gift of God is deliverance out of our slavery to sin so we will now serve the Lord in obedience to His commands. And that is eternal life with God.

 

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

 

Brought from Death to Life

An Original Work / September 4, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Seek the Lord 

 

Based off Isaiah 55

An Original Work / July 20, 2012

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Musical Instrumentation by Mark Bradley

 

“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.

Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,

And your soul will delight in richest of fare.

Give ear to Me, and you will live.

I have made an eternal covenant with you.

Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”

 

Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.

Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.

Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.

Freely, God pardons him.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

Nor are your ways My ways,”

declares the Lord, our God.

 

“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.

It will not return to Me unfulfilled.

My word will accomplish all that I desire,

And achieve the goal I intend.

You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.

The mountains will burst into song… before you,

And all of the trees clap their hands.”

 

https://vimeo.com/379408296

Weathering the Storm

Storm clouds gather. Though they may,

I’ll choose not to be dismayed.

Trust in my Lord, what He says.

“Fear not” future. Fret is dead.

Hope has conquered. Peace subdues.

Lies of Satan, truth out rules.

Nothing life can throw at me

Escapes Jesus’ sympathy.

God of comfort, Lord of love,

Never changing, He’s our God!

He rules over all the earth,

For He gave us all our birth.

He supremely has in mind

What’s for our good; what is kind.

Gentle Savior, died for all,

Our salvation, our sin fall.

Freely given, grace we’ll find.

Turn from our sins; change of mind.

Walk with Jesus every day.

Read our Bible, kneel and pray.

He’ll forgive us all our sins,

When we let Him to come in.

Peace He’ll give us from above,

For He pardoned us in love.

Living for Him every day.

Trusting Him in every way.

Joy eternal, life, no end,

When on Him we now depend.

An Original Work / July 2, 2018

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

The Good Life

Romans 6:1-11 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“What then shall we say? Shall we continue in sin so that grace may increase? 2Certainly not! How can we who died to sin live in it any longer? 3Or aren’t you aware that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? 4We were therefore buried with Him through baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may walk in newness of life.

 

“5For if we have been united with Him like this in His death, we will certainly also be united with Him in His resurrection. 6We know that our old self was crucified with Him so that the body of sin might be rendered powerless, that we should no longer be slaves to sin. 7For anyone who has died has been freed from sin.

 

“8Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with Him. 9For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has dominion over Him. 10The death He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God. 11So you too must count yourselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

 

What’s Your Viewpoint?

 

If someone were to ask you to define “The Good Life,” what would you tell them? What, in your way of thinking, is “The Good Life”? Well, not everyone is going to answer the same. But some people think of it in terms of being on a permanent vacation without a care in the world, just sitting back and relaxing, with no responsibilities, just doing whatever makes them feel good, eating what they like, watching movies, listening to music, playing games, and having all their worldly and fleshly desires gratified them every day.

 

Dead to Sin, Alive to God

 

And, sadly, many people have a similar perspective about faith in Jesus Christ. They have this notion that once they “accept Christ as Savior,” now all their sins are forgiven, and now heaven is what is guaranteed them when they die. Done deal! And so many of them are being taught that God does not require of them that they deny self, die to sin, and obey God, in practice. Or if they do teach repentance and obedience to God, they make them optional, as something recommended, but not critical to their salvation.

 

But God and His Word do not share that same perspective. His word teaches us that faith in Jesus Christ, if it is genuine biblical faith, will result in us dying with Christ to sin and us being raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in Him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to His righteousness. For if, by faith in Jesus Christ, we were spiritually baptized into His death, our old self was crucified with Him so that we will no longer be slaves to sin, but so we will now be servants of righteousness.

 

Not For Ourselves

 

The life we now live, we live by faith in Jesus Christ, according to His will and purpose for our lives. The life we now live should not be for ourselves, to please our flesh, and to sit back and enjoy worldly living while Jesus is largely ignored and put on a shelf somewhere only to be brought down and used as is convenient. For faith in Jesus Christ, which is of God, and not of human flesh, must result in us denying self, dying to sin (repenting of sin), and following our Lord in obedience, or it is not faith which saves.

 

Yes, we can do nothing in our flesh to earn or to deserve our own salvation. No amount of good works on our part will secure for us salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But our salvation, if it is biblical, it must result in us living for the Lord and doing the works He requires of us that we must do if we are to be those who are saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God. Works do not save us. But salvation without works is not genuine. So if sin and disobedience to God are our practice, we do not have salvation.

 

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

 

The Good Life

An Original Work / September 4, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Your Life

 

Based off of Colossians 3:1-17

An Original Work / October 22, 2011

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Set your hearts and minds on things up above

Where Christ sits with God; not on earthly things.

For you died and your life is now hidd’n with Christ.

When Christ, who is your life, is seen, you will be with Him.

 

Your sins, put to death. Don’t walk in these ways.

Don’t lie to yourselves or to others, too.

Since you have taken off your old sinful past,

Put on the new self in Jesus. Get rid of such things.

 

Therefore, holy ones, put on gentleness;

Kindness; patience, too. Be compassionate.

Bear with one another. Forgive others, too.

Forgive as the Lord forgave you. O’er all, put on love.

 

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts now.

You were called to peace. Be ye so thankful.

Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly now

As you teach and instruct others. Sing songs unto Christ.

 

Spoken: “And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him” (Col. 3:17 NIV 1984).

 

https://vimeo.com/125740353

Growing to Maturity in Christ

Faith in Jesus Christ

 

Romans 5:1-2 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.”

 

The faith to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives is not something which comes from our own flesh. It is not of our own doing. So we do not get to be the ones to define it, either. For this faith comes from God, it is authored and perfected by Christ Jesus, it is gifted to us by God, and it is persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to deny self, die to sin, and obey God in life practice, in the power of God. By faith we surrender our lives to God.

 

What does it mean to be justified? It means to be made righteous, to be conformed to a proper standard, which is God’s standard for how we ought to live as followers of Jesus Christ. And to be righteous is to be morally pure, upright, honorable, faithful, honest, decent, and obedient to God, in practice, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, which is not of our own flesh. For it refers to what is deemed right by the Lord, what is approved in His eyes. Justification is to show what is right, and to be cleared of all charges.

 

The result is then that we have peace with God. And peace is wholeness, fullness, and completeness. It has to do with us being joined together with Christ, united with Him by faith in Him, no longer separate (apart) from God, but now joined with Him in unity of heart, mind, purpose, and action. We are now in Christ by faith in Him, and He is in us by His Spirit. And we are at peace because our trust is now in our Lord and not in ourselves, and because we know God has all things under His control. So we trust Him.

 

And what is this grace of God in which we are to be standing? Well, the grace of God, which is gifted to us by God, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. God’s grace is what sent Jesus Christ to the cross to put our sins to death with Him, and to be raised from the dead, so we can now die to sin and obey God, in practice. For it is God’s purpose that we no longer walk in sin but in obedience to Him.

 

[Matthew 7:21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Acts 26:18; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Hebrews 12:1-2; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Peter 2:24]

 

Rejoicing in Suffering

 

Romans 5:3-5 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“3Not only that, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; 4perseverance, character; and character, hope. 5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.”

 

All throughout the New Testament writings we learn that suffering is for our good, and it is a necessary component of what it means to believe in Jesus Christ. For through suffering we are humbled, we are drawn closer to the Lord, we mature, and we learn about life and people and God’s plan and purpose for our lives. When we suffer it leads us to go to the Lord, and to seek His counsel and His wisdom and strength. And we become more compassionate people with a greater desire to live for the Lord Jesus.

 

Suffering helps to mold us into the people of God who God wants us to be to be used for His purposes and for His glory. From personal experience I realize now how much the things I have suffered throughout my life, and the things I am still suffering, how much they have prepared me for this calling God placed on my life 22 years ago. I don’t believe I would have been equipped for this ministry God has given to me had I not suffered the things I suffered throughout my entire 76 years of life. And it wasn’t all bad.

 

For suffering helps to build character in us. It helps us to exercise much perseverance, even at times when all may look hopeless. It helps us to gain wisdom and understanding of the sufferings of others, too. We learn better how to respond to difficult situations and to people challenging us in our beliefs and practices. And we learn better ways to approach people and to respond to them and how best to word what we want to say. And that doesn’t mean we will get everything perfect, for this is a growing process.

 

[Matthew 5:10-12; Matthew 10:16-25,34-39; Matthew 24:9-14; Luke 6:22-23; Luke 12:49-53; Luke 21:12-17; John 15:18-21; John 16:33; Acts 14:22; Romans 5:3-5; 2 Corinthians 1:3-11; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 3:7-11; 1 Thessalonians 3:1-5; Hebrews 12:3-12; James 1:2-4; 1 Peter 1:6-7; 1 Peter 4:12-17; Revelation 6:9-11; Revelation 7:9-17; Revelation 11:1-3; Revelation 12:17; Revelation 13:1-18; Revelation 14:1-13] 

 

Growing to Maturity in Christ

An Original Work / September 4, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Forever with Us

 

Based off Psalm 46

An Original Work / February 5, 2016

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

Be still and know God is over all things.

Throughout the earth, He’ll be honored as King.

The Lord Almighty, forever with us.

He is our refuge when we’re in distress.

 

Therefore, we have not a reason to fear.

Trials will come, but our God is still near.

He is our helper, so we do not fall.

Mountains will quake, but on Jesus we call.

 

Joy to the Church, even if sorrow comes.

Enemies rage, but our faith marches on.

God’s Holy Spirit, now living within,

Gives peace and comfort, and grace without end.

 

https://vimeo.com/154477497

A Christian is One Inwardly

 

When Miracles Don't Happen

When miracles don’t happen 

Exactly when we hoped, 

And things go on as normal; 

We don’t know how to cope; 

When troubles, disappointments,

Are foll’wing us around,

And sadness starts to linger,

And gladness turns to frowns;

When all the world around us

Is turning upside down,

And honesty is missing,

And faithfulness not found;

When liars and deceivers

Are pulling all their tricks,

And people start believing

Those who are really slick;

And, many who are faithful

Are being treated bad,

Because they share the gospel,

And it makes people mad;

Then, we must look to Jesus.

He is our King of kings.

He is our Only Savior.

To Him our praises bring!

Our Lord will bring us comfort,

And He will show the way

That we must go to follow

Our Lord throughout the day.

We’ll trust Him with our future,

Believe He really cares,

Submit to all He purposed,

Our lives to His cross bear;

Believe in all He promised,

Surrender to His will,

And all that He has purposed,

He surely will fulfill.

Our Lord, completely faithful,

Has what is best in mind.

We will not be forgotten,

Our peace, in Him, we’ll find.

An Original Work / June 28, 2018

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Will You Escape God's Judgment?

Romans 2:1-11 BSB (Berean Standard Bible)

 

“You, therefore, have no excuse, you who pass judgment on another. For on whatever grounds you judge the other, you are condemning yourself, because you who pass judgment do the same things. 2And we know that God’s judgment against those who do such things is based on truth. 3So when you, O man, pass judgment on others, yet do the same things, do you think you will escape God’s judgment? 4Or do you disregard the riches of His kindness, tolerance, and patience, not realizing that God’s kindness leads you to repentance?

 

“5But because of your hard and unrepentant heart, you are storing up wrath against yourself for the day of wrath, when God’s righteous judgment will be revealed. 6God ‘will repay each one according to his deeds.’ 7To those who by perseverance in doing good seek glory, honor, and immortality, He will give eternal life. 8But for those who are self-seeking and who reject the truth and follow wickedness, there will be wrath and anger.

 

“9There will be trouble and distress for every human being who does evil, first for the Jew, then for the Greek; 10but glory, honor, and peace for everyone who does good, first for the Jew, then for the Greek. 11For God does not show favoritism.”

 

From They to You

 

When these words were first penned by the apostle Paul, they were not divided by chapters and verses. So if you begin a new chapter, look back at the one previous to that one to see if a thought is being carried over from the previous chapter, which is the case here. And Paul was writing these words to all who were loved by God and called to be saints, first to encourage them in their walks of faith, and then to address the issues of God’s wrath against sin and of all hypocritical judgments against others.

 

For he was talking about “they” and then he switched to “you.” So, after listing all sorts of sins being committed by those who had exchanged the truth about God for a lie, he went back to addressing all those who professed faith in Jesus Christ, who claimed to be followers of Jesus Christ. For it appears they were not all living righteously, but many (or some) of them were doing the same things (or worse) as those they were condemning for their sins against God. So they would not escape God’s judgments.

 

The Lies Being Taught

 

And this goes to the heart of what so many people are being taught in today’s institutional market-driven “churches” which are partnered with the world and with the government in unholy unions. For so many of them have exchanged God’s truth for a lie and they are giving the people of their congregations carte blanche (full freedom) to keep on in their deliberate and habitual sins against the Lord under the guise of God’s grace and forgiveness of all sins once they “believed” in Jesus or “claimed who they are in Christ.”

 

But the Scriptures make it clear that if sin remains our practice, and not obedience to God and to His commands, that it will not matter if we profess Jesus as Lord with our lips. What matters is what we do with our lives once we make those professions of faith. Did we, in truth, die with Christ to sin? Did we repent of our former sins and have a change of heart and mind resulting in a change of behavior away from sin to obeying God? And are we now living to please the Lord with our lives in surrender to the will of God?

 

Storing Up Wrath

 

This Scripture passage, and many others like it (I will provide Scripture references), make it clear that a mere verbal confession of Christ as Lord of our lives is not enough to secure for us salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And this is not about us, in the flesh, trying to be good enough to be approved by God. This is us, in the Spirit, by the grace of God, and in the power of God, living the lives God has for us to live via our submission to God and to His will and purpose for our lives. This is God at work within us.

 

But if any people who profess faith in Jesus Christ choose to continue in their deliberate and habitual sins against God, they need to know that they are storing up wrath against themselves for the day when God judges us all. For we are not saved and on our way to heaven based on lip service to God. God will judge us all according to our deeds. If we are living to please the Lord, perhaps not perfectly, but in life practice, we have eternal life with God. But if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, we will face the wrath of God.

 

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 12:1-2; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:1-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]

 

So, don’t buy into the lies which tell you that if you make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ that salvation from sin and eternal life with God are guaranteed you regardless of how you live. How you live matters to God, and it matters with regard to where you will spend eternity. Believe it!

 

Will You Escape God’s Judgment?

An Original Work / September 3, 2026

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

The Letters

 

Based off Revelation 2-3

An Original Work / December 17, 2013

Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

 

To the angels of all the churches write:

These are the words of your Lord and your God.

I know all your deeds, and your witness, too,

And who holds to My words and tells what’s true.

I know all your hard work and your perseverance,

Yet I hold against you: you’ve forsaken Me.

Listen to what I say to you.

 

You have people there who deny My name,

And who put the cross of Christ up to shame.

They entice the people to Me, profane,

And their worship of Me is all in vain.

They are so adult’rous as they chase their idols,

And you put up with them easily enough.

Listen to what I say to you.

 

You give off an image of godliness,

But what you present is so fraudulent,

Or else you lack passion for Jesus Christ,

So you look to others to tell what’s right.

I say turn from your sin, or you will face judgment.

He who overcomes will have eternal life.

Listen to what I say to you.

 

I know your afflictions and poverty;

How you suffer for your Lord patiently.

Do not fear the devil and company.

You be faithful to your Lord endlessly.

I know all your weakness and your dedication.

You have kept My Word and not denied your Lord.

I will write on you My new name.

 

https://vimeo.com/114655138