If you, being a follower of
Jesus Christ, were to write a testimony of what difference Jesus Christ has
made in your life, what would that say? Surely, each of our testimonies would
be as individual as we are, but there should also be a common thread weaved
throughout all of them.
The Lord Jesus led me to read
Ephesians 2 (Select vv. ESV).
And you were dead in the trespasses and sins in which
you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of
the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of
disobedience— among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh,
carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children
of wrath, like the rest of mankind. Vv. 1-3
One part of this common
thread should be that we WERE dead in the trespasses and sins in which we ONCE
walked… Notice with me that this is past tense, both positionally and practically,
i.e. we are no longer dead in our sins, destined to hell, nor are we any longer
enslaved to our sins.
We were dead in our sins,
without hope, but then we trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our
lives. Thus, we died with Christ to sin and we were resurrected with Christ to
newness of life, to be lived to his righteousness. Now, we walk (conduct our
lives) according to (in agreement with) the Spirit, and no longer according to
our sinful flesh. This is not saying we will never sin again, but that sin
should no longer be our master.
When we were dead in our
sins, we followed (walked in) the ways of this sinful world, we were under the
power of Satan, and we lived in the passions of our flesh. This was our lifestyle.
It was what motivated us, drove us, moved us. It was what consumed our
energies, thinking and behaving. We were given over to self-pleasure, and we
indulged in what our flesh desired.
But, now that we have been
saved, by God’s grace, through faith, and we have been born again of the Spirit
of God, and set free from sin, we should now be motivated by the Spirit of God,
by the Word of God, and we should be passionate about the kingdom of heaven,
and that should be what consumes us and what our lives are given over to, not
over to the flesh.
But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great
love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us
alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— and raised us up with
him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in
the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness
toward us in Christ Jesus. Vv. 4-7
Another part of this common
thread that should be weaved throughout all of our testimonies is that we have
been made alive in Christ Jesus, for Jesus died that we might die to sin and
live to righteousness. He didn’t just deliver us out of slavery to sin, but he
gave us new lives in him, created to be like God (in his likeness) in true
righteousness and holiness. He didn’t die just to save us, but to transform us!
And, this should give us
hope! And, the hope is that Jesus Christ gave his lifeblood on that cross not
just to forgive us our sins, but to eradicate sin from our lives, i.e. to free
us from our chains! Our salvation is not just an escape from hell and the
promise of heaven when we die, but it is God freeing us from our prisons and
giving us a new lease on life; a new start.
Satan no longer has any power
over us. Sin has no power over us. We don’t have to give in to temptation.
Jesus has given us the way out, the escape! We just have to take it!! He will
empower and strengthen us to resist Satan, to flee temptation, and to live
godly and holy lives pleasing to him. So, we don’t have to struggle with sin,
regularly giving in to the desires of our flesh.
We can live and walk in
victory, not necessarily in absolute sinless perfection, but daily, by the
Spirit, we can be putting to death the deeds of the flesh and yielding control
of our lives over to the Spirit of God within us. For, God’s grace to us is not
just forgiveness of sin and heaven when we die, but it is a new life, in the
Spirit, free from the control of sin, and free and empowered of the Spirit to now
walk in righteousness and holiness.
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And
this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so
that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for
good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Vv.
8-10
Lastly, at least one other
common thread in our testimonies should be our acknowledgment that we can’t do
any of this in our own flesh. If we are to be victorious over sin, and walking
according to the Spirit, and no longer according to the flesh, we must be in
Christ, by faith in Him, born again of the Spirit of God, washed in the blood
of Christ, and cleansed from our sins.
First, God draws us to
Christ, then he persuades us to accept his salvation into our lives, by faith,
and as to his will and purposes for our lives. We are, thus, moved of the Holy
Spirit to repent of our sins, to yield our lives to Christ, to leave our lives
of sin behind us, and to walk in the ways of the Lord. The Holy Spirit changes
our hearts, and he gives us new lives in Christ Jesus, but only as we surrender
our lives to his work of grace in our lives.
Then, he strengthens and
empowers us to resist Satan, flee temptation and to walk in the Spirit and no
longer according to the flesh. His grace, in fact, teaches (instructs) us to
say “NO” to ungodliness and worldly passions (lusts) and to live
self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we await Christ’s return. Yet, all
of this comes from God, and not from our flesh.
There is nothing we can do,
in our flesh, to earn or to deserve our own salvation. Only by God’s grace,
through faith in Christ, are we saved from our sins, set free from slavery to
sin, and reborn of the Spirit of God.
So, although the works of our
flesh will never save us, nor will we ever find true freedom in them, our
salvation is not absent of works, but they are the works of the Spirit, which God
ordained for us that we should walk in them, yet empowered by God, strengthened
by his might, and led by the Spirit. We must always acknowledge this, that we
are totally dependent on God for the breath of life, for salvation, for
deliverance from sin, and the power to walk in freedom and in holiness, and to no
longer be enslaved to sin. Amen!
I Sing of His Mercy / An Original Work
Based off Psalm 32 / April
10, 2014
Blessed are those whose sins
are forgiven
By the blood of Jesus Christ.
Blessed is the one whose sin
the Lord does
Not count against them;
freedom found.
When, in silence, I did not
confess
My sin to You; had no
strength.
Then I owned up to my sin and
You forgave and cleansed me
within.
Therefore let the godly pray
to You;
Draw near to You; grace
they’ll find.
They will not be o’ertaken by
afflictions,
But in Christ peace abounds.
Lord, You are my hiding
place.
I find my refuge in You
secure.
You protect me from all evil.
You give songs of vict’ry in
You.
Lord, You teach me to walk in
Your ways;
Counsel me in love, I know.
Help me to not be stubborn
and
Unwilling to follow in Your
truth.
Thank You for Your love and
mercy.
I put my trust in You always.
I rejoice in my Lord and
I sing of Him throughout all
my days.
Friday, December 15, 2017,
8:55 a.m. – Thank you, Jesus, that you have given us all we need to live godly
lives, holy and pleasing to you, and free from the control of sin over our
lives, as we yield control of our lives to you.
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