Romans 12:1 ESV
I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship.
Do you know that our salvation from sin is not a one-time
experience which then guarantees us eternal life with God, no matter what? We
don’t “get saved” and then we live our lives, and then one day we get to go to
heaven. And, do you know that the faith that we must have to believe in Jesus
Christ for salvation is also not a one-time event in our lives, which then guarantees
us heaven? Yet, this is what many have been teaching for a long time.
Yes, there is a point in each one of our lives when we make
that initial decision to trust in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our
lives, but that is just the beginning, but it doesn’t necessarily guarantee the
ending. For, the scriptures teach that it is those believing (present tense)
who have the hope of eternal life with God. And, it teaches us that the faith
to believe is initiated by God, is persuaded by God, and is a gift from God.
And, if from God, then it submits to God (to Jesus Christ), to his will and to
his ways.
Also, our salvation is not completed at the moment we
believe in Jesus. Scripture teaches that we are saved (past), we are being
saved (present), and that we will be saved (future) when Christ returns and our
salvation is complete. But, it won’t be complete unless we are walking by the
Spirit, according to the Spirit, and no longer according to the flesh, daily
dying to sin and self, and daily surrendering to the Lordship of Christ in our
lives. For, we must continue in Christ until the very end of time, to have
eternal life.
[Lu. 9:23-25; Jn. 6:35-66; Jn. 8:31-32; Jn. 10:27-30; Ac.
26:16-18; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Co. 6:20; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; Gal. 5:19-21;
Gal. 6:7-8; Eph. 2:8-10; Eph. 4:17-24; 2 Tim. 2:24-26; Tit.
2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24-25; Rom. 11:17-24; 1 Co. 15:2; Col. 1:21-23; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; &
1 Jn. 2:3-6]
Romans 12:2 ESV
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Also, do you know that separation from the world is not
optional? For, we are commanded in scripture that we are to be holy as God is
holy, and for us being holy means being separate (unlike, different) from the
world with its lust of the flesh, lust of the eyes, and the pride of life. And,
it means being separate (set apart) unto God to live holy and godly lives,
pleasing to him, living to Christ and to his righteousness in the power of God
within us.
We are not to participate in worldliness and what is unholy
and ungodly and unrighteous. We should be guarding our hearts against such evil
as this. For, if we are truly a child of God, it means we are being led of the
Spirit of God, that we are walking (in practice) according to (in agreement
with the Spirit), and that we are not walking (living) to fulfill the desires
of our flesh. And, it means that Jesus is our Lord (owner-master), and that we
are now bond-slaves of his righteousness, sold out to our Lord to obedience to
Christ.
And, the whole goal of all of this is that we might not only
discern the will of God – that which is holy, righteous, pure, honest, moral,
and upright – but that we might put these things into practice in our daily
lives, in our daily walks of faith with our Lord. For, when we come to faith in
Jesus Christ, we surrender our lives to our Lord. Our lives are no longer our
own to be lived however we want, but they are now to be for the honor, glory
and praise of God, our Lord Jesus Christ.
[Eph. 1:3-4; Eph. 5:25-27; 1 Thess. 4:7; 2 Tim. 1:9-101 Pet.
1:14-16; 1 Pet. 2:4-5; 2 Pet. 3:10-12; Jn. 8:12; Jn. 12:25; Jn. 15:19; Jn.
17:16; 1 Co. 2:12; Gal. 6:14; Eph. 2:2; Jas. 1:27; Jas. 4:4; 2 Pet. 1:4; 1 Jn.
2:15]
Romans 12:9 ESV
Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good.
Discerners of Good and
Evil
Thus, we must be discerners, not only of the good God has
for us, but we must discern also what is evil so that we don’t end up getting
trapped by the devil’s lies, and end up on the broad road that leads to
destruction rather than on the narrow road that leads to eternal life with God.
For, there are many wolves in sheep’s clothing, many liars
and deceivers, thieves who have come into the sheepfold by another way, who are
there among us only to steal, to kill and to destroy. And, they have inserted
into the gospel of our salvation “the big lie” which is targeted for our
destruction. And, that big lie is teaching that we can be saved from our sins,
be bound for heaven, but that it doesn’t have to impact our lifestyles much at
all.
But, this is not accidental. This is purposeful, and this is
of Satan. He has spun his webs of deceit within the church over many years,
slowly and stealthily inserting his lies and deceptions and manipulations of
truth one little bit at a time so that they were barely noticeable. And, today
this is not just about teaching a half-truth gospel, but this is about the
blending of Christianity in with the world and with other religions and
alternate lifestyles.
He and his servants, who disguise themselves as servants of
righteousness, have very intentionally been lying to you, twisting the truth to
their advantage, and altering (adulterating) the gospel of our salvation, fully
intending to destroy your lives and to send you straight to hell, while
promising you heaven. For, their goal is to overpower you and to defeat you and
the gospel of Jesus Christ so that people reject the truth for the lies.
And, the reason behind all of this is Satan’s bitterness,
his anger, and his hatred toward God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit – which he
has also passed along to his servants. Thus, this is spite, it is malice, and
it is revenge. This is Satan getting even with God, and it is getting even with
the Lord’s servants, too, for God stealing people away from Satan’s control.
So, they are on a full attack against the gospel and against
the Lord’s servants (See Rev. 12-14) to either bring people back under Satan’s
control, which is the primary objective, or else to silence them from sharing
the gospel in any way that they can, even through false accusations and the murdering
of the Lord’s servants and messengers.
Know The Truth
So, they are either poisoning people’s minds with lies
regarding how we are saved from our sins, and with regard to what constitutes
eternal life with God, or else they are poisoning people’s minds against the
Lord’s servants so that people will reject the truth and believe the lies,
believing the lies are truth and that the truth is a lie.
But, their Big Lie which tells people that they can be saved
from their sins and have heaven guaranteed them on the basis of some one-time
confession of Christ as Savior but with no requirements for repentance,
obedience or submission to Christ, is leaving people still addicted to sin, and
thus they are bound for hell, not heaven, and one day they are going to stand before
God and he is going to say, “Depart from me. I never knew you.”
So, their gospel of salvation from sin frees no one from
their sins, and thus it forgives no one, cleanses no one, and secures heaven
for no one. For, you can’t save people from their sins based on a lie which
leaves them still in slavery to sin with no hope of eternity with God. For, if
we have not died with Christ to sin, and if we have not been raised with Christ
to newness of life in Christ, to be lived to his righteousness, then we are not
in Christ.
So, please know the truth, for your eternity depends on it.
For, scripture teaches that if we walk (in lifestyle, in practice) in accord
(agreement) with our flesh, then we are going to die in our sins, not have
eternal life with God. And, you can tell yourself all the lies that you want to
console you in your sinful addictions, but no lie is going to save your soul
from hell, either.
So, know the truth, and live the truth, for the truth will
set you free. For, scripture says that what we sow we are going to reap. If we
sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction (decay, death).
But, if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life
(Gal. 6:7-8).
Praise
Be Told!
An
Original Work / December 28, 2013
Based
off Various Scriptures
He was pierced for our transgressions.
He was crushed for all our sin.
Our chastisement was upon Him.
By His stripes, we now are healed.
He has witnessed all our trials,
And the sins we choose to wear.
Yet, while we were dead in our sin,
Jesus died, our sins to bear.
He himself bore all of our sins
In His body on a cross,
So that we might die to our sin,
And live for His righteousness.
By faith in the pow’r of Jesus
And His blood shed for our sins,
We can be forgiven our sin,
And have life with God in heav’n.
He will lead us and He’ll guide us
In the way that we should go.
He will comfort and protect us,
Because Jesus, we do know.
Though He disciplines for our good,
He will heal us – Praise be told!
Do not fear, your Lord is with you.
Just have faith in Christ your Lord.
Tuesday, May 28, 2019
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