Tuesday, November 12,
2013, 6:04 a.m. – the Lord Jesus woke me with the song “Unless You Are Born Again” playing in my mind. Speak, Lord, your
words to my heart. I read Colossians 1
(NIV).
I
have become its servant by the commission God gave me to present to you the word
of God in its fullness… v. 25
The True Message
We
always thank God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, when we pray for you,
because we have heard of your faith in Christ Jesus and of the love you have
for all God’s people— the faith and love that spring from the hope stored up
for you in heaven and about which you have already heard in the true message of the gospel that has
come to you. In the same way, the gospel is bearing fruit and growing
throughout the whole world—just as it has been doing among you since the day
you heard it and truly understood God’s
grace. Vv. 4-6
All throughout scripture we read of the importance of truth,
because God is truth. The New Testament stresses the importance of speaking the
truth in love, of knowing the truth so the truth can set you free, of focusing our
minds on what is true; and of discerning truth from lies, false apostles from
true apostles, and false teaching from the true message of the gospel. We also
read about how true worshipers of God will worship him in the Spirit and in
truth, how Jesus Christ is the true bread from heaven, and the true vine, and
how our God is the only true God. The word of God also speaks concerning true
righteousness and holiness, true godliness, true sons and daughters of the
faith, and the true grace of God. God hates lies, and truth really matters to
him, for one reason because the enemy is the father of lies and his main goal
is to deceive and to lead God’s children astray.
What this means is that surely we need to know what is true
so that we can discern truth from lies, because our enemy is very clever,
stealthy, subtle and very convincing. So, we need to know and understand the
true message of the gospel and the true grace of God. Then we can reject the
lies when they come against the truth of the gospel of Christ.
From Darkness to
Light
For
this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for
you. We continually ask God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through
all the wisdom and understanding that the Spirit gives, so that you may live a
life worthy of the Lord and please him in every way: bearing fruit in every
good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power
according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience,
and giving joyful thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the
inheritance of his holy people in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us
from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he
loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. Vv. 9-14
The Apostle Paul (then Saul), when he was commissioned by
Jesus Christ to preach the gospel of salvation to both Jews and Gentiles, was
told by Jesus (See Ac. 26:16-18):
“I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and
from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins
and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me.”
This (above) is really the crux of the
gospel, i.e. Jesus Christ died on the cross, taking upon himself the sins of
the entire world, and he rose again from the grave in conquering sin, hell,
Satan and death, so that we would have our eyes opened to the truth, so that we
would be turned from darkness (sin, evil, deception) to the light (Christ’s
righteousness and holiness, truth), and from the power of Satan over our lives
(from slavery to sin) to God, to follow him through faith in Jesus Christ. The
result of this Spiritual transformation in our lives, initiated, provided for
and produced by the Spirit of God, as we submit to God and we cooperate with
that work of grace in our hearts and lives, is that we are forgiven of our
sins, and we are placed among those who are sanctified by faith in Jesus
Christ. Amen!
The result of this heart transformation
thus is that we should love other people, in particular those within the family
of God; the gospel of Jesus Christ should be bearing fruit (result) and growing
(increasing) among us as a result of us having understood and accepted the true
grace of God; we should be continually being filled with the knowledge of God’s
will for our lives through all spiritual wisdom and understanding, which we
receive from God; and because of this we should be living lives pleasing to
God, bearing fruit (harvest; outgrowth; result; product) in every good work. We
should also exemplify great endurance and patience in trial and tribulation,
giving joyful thanks to the Father – all in the strength and power of God
within us. In other words, true transformation should result in a life-altering
change of heart, mind, attitude and behavior – out with the old, in with the
new.
Peace
Through His Blood
The
Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in
him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and
invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have
been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all
things hold together. And he is the head of the body, the church; he is the
beginning and the firstborn from among the dead, so that in everything he might
have the supremacy. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him,
and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or
things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross. Vv.
15-20
Jesus Christ is God the Son. He was with God in the
beginning, and all things are made by him. He is our creator and sustainer. Yet,
he willingly left his throne in heaven, came to earth, took on human form,
suffered as we suffer, and was tempted as we are tempted, yet without sin. And,
he also willingly submitted to death on a cross, although he had done no wrong,
just so you and I could go free from slavery to sin (power of Satan), free from
eternity in hell, and so we could be free to walk in Christ’s righteousness and
holiness each day while we still live on the face of this earth. Because he
conquered sin we no longer have to be controlled by it. It does not mean we
will never sin again, but it means we are free from the power and sway of sin
over our lives. He has provided the way out if we will take it. Satan, though,
likes to convince Christians that they are still under that power of sin and
that they can’t be free from it, but Christ has already paid the price and has
set us free! We just need to walk in that freedom in the power and strength of
the Spirit within us.
Enemies in Our Minds
Once
you were alienated from God and were enemies in your minds because of your evil
behavior. But now he has reconciled you by Christ’s physical body through death
to present you holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation— if
you continue in your faith, established and firm, and do not move from the hope
held out in the gospel. This is the gospel that you heard and that has been
proclaimed to every creature under heaven, and of which I, Paul, have become a
servant. Vv. 21-23
When we were outside of faith in Jesus Christ we were
alienated from God and thus we were his enemies in our minds because of our
evil behavior. The sad reality here, though, is that many professing Christians
still live their lives as though they are still enemies of God in their minds
because of their evil behavior. Jesus Christ said:
“He who is not with Me is against Me; and he who does not
gather with Me scatters” (Matt. 12:30). He also said, “If anyone wishes to
come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross daily and follow Me.
For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life
for My sake, he is the one who will save it. For what is a man profited if he
gains the whole world, and loses or forfeits himself? (Lu. 9:23-25;
cf. Eph. 4:17-24).
An enemy is an opponent, adversary, rival or competitor. When
we behave in opposition to God’s grace in saving us, to his Word, and to the
law of Christ Jesus – through sinful behavior which begins in our minds - we
are acting as enemies of God and of his gospel. Many professing Christians,
though, have bought into the lie of Satan that says God’s grace covers it all
so it doesn’t matter really what we do, because our eternity is secure. So,
they fill their minds with the things of this sinful world, take in its garbage,
excuse away being entertained by sinful behavior if it is not “too bad,” and
then wonder why they still struggle with sinful behaviors of their past lives.
Brothers and sisters, we can’t play with fire and expect to not get burned. We
have to throw off everything that hinders and the sins that so easily entangle
us so we can run with perseverance the race marked out for us. We have to stop
accepting the lies of the enemy, and we have to stop taking his filth into our
minds, so that God, by his Spirit, can purify our minds, and then our behaviors
will follow suit.
This passage of scripture, and many others like it in the
New Testament, says that God has reconciled us to himself by Christ’s death and
blood to present us holy in his sight, without blemish and free from accusation
– IF we continue in our faith, established and firm, and we do not move from
the hope held out to us in the gospel (Cf. Rom. 11:17-24; I Co 15:2; II Tim
2:10-13; Hebrews 3:14-15; II Peter 1:5-11; & I John 2:24-25, et al.). I
believe we should take these scriptures to heart, and realize that the true
gospel of salvation is not just about getting our ticket into heaven, but it is
about a transformed life of the Spirit of God while we still live on the face
of this earth. One day we will all come before God and many will hear God say, “I
never knew you. Depart from me.” To whom will he say this? – To those who
thought they knew him but did not because they were still operating in the flesh
of man rather than living by faith in the Son of God who loved them and who
gave himself up for them so that they could walk in freedom!
So
Jesus was saying to those Jews who had believed Him, “If you continue in My word, then you are
truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make
you free” (John 8:31-32).
Unless You Are Born
Again
An Original Work / November 3, 2013
Based off John 3:1-21
Nicodemus came to
Jesus.
He acknowledged God
was with Him.
Jesus said, “You can’t
see heaven
Unless you are born
again.”
“How can a man be born
when he’s old?
Can he enter into his
mother’s womb?”
Jesus answered, “Flesh
is flesh,
So of the Spirit, you
must be.”
Jesus said to
Nicodemus,
“You’re a teacher, and
yet you don’t
Understand of what I
tell you,
Because you will not believe.
“For God so loved the
world that He gave
His one and His only
Son for your sin.
So, whoever believes
in Him
Has eternal life in
heav’n.
“Light has come into
the world,
But human beings love
the darkness,
Because their deeds
are so evil,
So in truth, they
stand condemned.
“Everyone who
practices evil
Fears that the Light
will expose his sin.
Yet, whoever lives his
life by the Light
Does so through his
God.”
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