My heart is burdened. Why is
it so burdened? Because so many Christians, or professing Christians, are
walking (living) in sin and not in freedom!
The Lord Jesus led me to read
Galatians 5 (Select vv. ESV).
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm
therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. V. 1
You were running well. Who hindered you from obeying
the truth? This persuasion is not from him who calls you. Vv. 7-8
I wish we could all get this.
I wish we could all grasp the truth that Jesus’ blood was shed on a cross for
our sins, but not just so we could escape hell and go to heaven when we die. He
didn’t take our punishment on that cross just so we don’t have to be punished
for our sins. And, His grace to us is not just forgiveness of our sins, and his
forgiveness is not unconditional, either.
But, we don’t repent of (turn
from) our sins and turn to follow Jesus Christ with our lives to earn our
salvation. Repentance and obedience to Christ are our heart response in faith
in Jesus Christ. And, our faith is divine persuasion from God to repent and to
walk in obedience to his commands. For, if we truly believe, we die with Christ
to sin and we are raised with Christ to newness of life, created to be like God
in true righteousness and holiness.
Yet, we still live in flesh
bodies. We still have the propensity to sin, and to fall back into old sinful
patterns. So, this is both an encouragement and a warning. Christ set us free,
if we are truly in Christ, by faith in him. So, we should stand firmly in that
freedom, resist Satan, flee temptation, and draw near to God, and not allow
ourselves to be persuaded otherwise.
For you were called to freedom, brothers. Only do not
use your freedom as an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one
another. For the whole law is fulfilled in one word: “You shall love your
neighbor as yourself.” But if you bite and devour one another, watch out that
you are not consumed by one another. Vv. 13-15
I think a lot of people see
their salvation as merely freedom from the punishment of sin so they can escape
hell and go to heaven when they die. But, this is only one part of our
salvation. But, because this is what they believe, they feel they have the
liberty to live how they want, and to continue in sinful practices, because,
after all, heaven is guaranteed them, or so they think. So, there is no
motivation to live holy lives.
And, that is because they
have the wrong concept of freedom in Christ, and the wrong concept of God’s
grace, too!
Although we are forgiven our
sins, if we truly believe in Jesus, this is not free license to continue in sin
without guilt and without remorse. In fact, if you profess to believe in Jesus,
and you have absolutely no conscience about your sinful practices, then I
would, if I were you, reexamine the scriptures and what they teach on what it
means to really be saved from sin.
Freedom in Christ is not an
opportunity for the flesh to thrive. And, God’s grace to us is not a pat on the
back or consolation in our sin. God’s grace, which brings salvation, 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 (Tit.
2:11-14). So, don’t be fooled!
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not
gratify the desires of the flesh. For the desires of the flesh are against the
Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are
opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. Vv.
16-17
We can be a Christian and
still sin against God (1 Jn. 2:1-2). God does not demand sinless perfection out
of us, otherwise Jesus Christ would not have had to die on a cross to free us
from our sins – both the punishment of and the slavery to. Yet, the scriptures
teach that if we walk in darkness (sin); if we walk after the flesh; if we
continue in sinful practices; and if we hold on to our old lives of living for
sin and self, we don’t have heaven guaranteed at all! (See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom.
8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:19-21, etc.).
For, you see, the flesh and
the Spirit are opposed to each other. We can’t walk in the Spirit and walk in
the flesh at the same time. This doesn’t mean we will never sin, but it should
mean that, if we do sin, that we repent of that sin, and then we continue in
our walks of faith. Paul said that if we walk according the flesh that we will
die in our sins, but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the
flesh, that we will live with God for eternity. So, if we walk (live our lives)
in accord with the Spirit of God, we should not be living to gratify the
desires of our sinful flesh. Amen!
Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual
immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy,
fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies,
and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do
such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,
self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to
Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Vv. 19-24
We really need to get the
context of this passage of scripture. Paul, all of a sudden, did not switch
gears and start talking about all those who have made no profession of faith in
Christ at all. This is a warning to those who do profess Christ as Savior of
their lives! And, we need to take the warning seriously!!
For, you see, if someone is
telling you that you can be saved and that heaven is guaranteed you, no matter
what, no matter how you live your life from that moment forward, they are lying
to you. Our salvation is not a one-time experience followed by whatever kind of
lives we choose to live, including whether or not we even acknowledge God after
that.
Jesus made it clear, and Paul
made it clear that eternal life is guaranteed only those who are presently
believing in him, who continue in Christ till the end, who abide in him and in
his Word, who walk in obedience to his commands, and who walk (in lifestyle),
not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. This is not
works-based salvation, though. This is the fruit that shows whether or not our
faith in Christ is genuine faith.
Jesus died so that we could
walk in freedom, not so we could continue to walk in the flesh, in sin, and in
willful rebellion against our Lord.
The Ransom
An Original Work / September 8, 2011
Jesus paid the ransom,
so we’d be forgiven;
Purified from our sin,
so we’d be set free.
Crucified on a tree;
took on him our sin.
Buried our sin with Him;
rose in victory.
Jesus calls us to Him;
asks that we flee from sin;
Obey His commandments;
live eternally.
God our Father loves us,
which is why He gave us
His Son to die for us
on a cruel tree.
God created us to
walk in fellowship with Him,
daily trusting in His righteousness.
He has a plan for us
to abide in His grace;
Be transformed in our hearts;
live for him always.
Won’t you trust in Jesus?
Be your Lord and Master?
He wants to forgive you;
give you victory
Over sin and yourself;
Jesus set you free.
Daily walking with Him,
live victoriously.
Invite Him in your heart.
He’ll give you a new start.
Your old life behind you,
a new creature be.
Tuesday, December 12, 2017,
8:01 p.m. – Thank you, Jesus, for these words which you have spoken to my
heart. I pray that all of us would take this to heart, and put these words into
practice. Amen!
No comments:
Post a Comment