Our Adversary

“So I exhort the elders among you, as a fellow elder and a witness of the sufferings of Christ, as well as a partaker in the glory that is going to be revealed: shepherd the flock of God that is among you, exercising oversight, not under compulsion, but willingly, as God would have you; not for shameful gain, but eagerly; not domineering over those in your charge, but being examples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the unfading crown of glory.” I Peter 5:1-4 ESV

Who are the elders among us, the church? Well, they are elected (or chosen) men who serve as teachers, pastors, counselors, and rulers in the church. They are held to a high moral standard, too. A list of qualifications of church elders can be found in scripture (Tit. 1:5-9; 1 Tim. 3:1-7). So, they must live lives which are above reproach in all areas of their lives and ministry.

In theory, this is how it is supposed to be, but in reality or in practice, at least here in America in the 21^st Century, I get the strong impression that those who actually meet these qualifications are few and far between. They are rare, not the norm. And, that is sad indeed.

I believe the reason for why this is so is because Satan and his hordes have been able to stealthily slip into the gatherings of the church, largely unnoticed, and they have been able to introduce teachings which are contrary to God’s Word, which have largely been accepted. Wolves in sheep’s clothing appear to abound in today’s modern flesh-driven churches, which are void of the Spirit of God, and which follow man-made gospels.

Many of today’s “shepherds” within the church, thus, are these wolves in sheep’s clothing, and many are there to steal from, to kill and to destroy the church with their false teachings. Many are also men who are living to the flesh and not to the Spirit of God at all, so they don’t even know the God they claim to serve. And, so they majorly buy into the cheap grace gospel for it appeals to human flesh and to selfish desires.

And, of those who truly do know God, many of them are caught up in sinful practices, for they have been lured by Satan to believe that they can make sin their practice and still have heaven secured, and that God’s grace covers it all, anyway, so they don’t have to feel guilty about their sin. And, thus today’s church in America is on a massive spiritual decline with so many people within the gatherings of the church rejecting the gospel of Jesus Christ in favor of a feel-good gospel message which tickles itching ears.

Thus, not many elders (pastors, teachers, rulers) within today’s modern churches are living lives which are above reproach, and so they can’t lead the people by example, because they are poor examples of what a follower of Christ should be like. And, I am not preaching sinless perfection here, either. It is just that so many, many leaders within the church are abandoning the faith as taught by Jesus and his NT apostles in order to go after what appeases their flesh.

You would probably be surprised to know how many pastors are not only involved in porn addiction, but who also visit prostitutes, who are engaged in extramarital affairs, and who do all sorts of evil against God, against their spouses, their families, and against the church, too, and then lie about it, and pretend they are living righteously while they know they are not.

“Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. To him be the dominion forever and ever. Amen.” 1 Peter 5:8-11 ESV

So, for those of us who are followers of Jesus Christ, we need to be very discerning of error and of false teachings within the church, because it can be very difficult to spot, at times, because of all the deception that has been going on for so many years within the gatherings of the church. Thus, so many people believe the lies, which are disguised as truth, because they sound like truth, because they have elements of truth in them.

For, these false shepherds of the people do, to some extent, teach the scriptures, but often the scriptures are pulled out of context to teach a particular philosophy, and so the teachings appear as though what is being taught is, in fact, truth. Another ploy is to just suggest a scripture in a text and just let it stand out there, but then to teach something else. The psychological effect is to convince the person reading or listening that what is being taught about, thus, is from scripture, when it may not be at all.

What we have to be aware of here, and what we have to know is that Satan is out to destroy us, to destroy Jesus Christ, and to destroy the gospel of our salvation so that many will not turn from their sins to follow Jesus Christ with their lives, but so they will continue living in sin doing what their flesh desires. Thus, they have turned the gospel into a social gospel which does good deeds to people but which does not confront people in their sin or call them to repentance or to obedience to Christ, to keep from offending them.

That is why you may hear in today’s modern churches the phrase “stay in your own lane.” It means to not do or say anything that would make anyone feel uncomfortable or offended. Don’t confront them with the gospel. Just be “nice” to them, and that will be your Christian witness, so they say.

So, if we are going to resist Satan and his clever tactics he uses to deceive naïve minds, we have to daily be putting off the deeds of the flesh, by the Spirit, and we have to be putting on the armor of God with which to defeat Satan’s evil attacks and trickery against us (Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 6:10-20).

This means that we have to dedicate ourselves to studying the Word of God, while it is still available to us, book by book, chapter by chapter, and verse by verse, in context, praying for understanding from the Lord, and then doing what it teaches us. And, then we will be able to discern error, and we will be able to see the tricks of the devil, and see the schemes that he uses against us to try to deceive us into believing his messages.

We have to know that a lot of what is being passed off as truth is lies cleverly disguised as truth. Such is the cheap grace gospel which has elements of truth, but which is short circuited and twisted, and which ignores the bulk of teachings on the subjects of salvation and eternal life with God. And, this is why it is a must that we be students of the scriptures (in their context), so that we spot error and so that we are not easily deceived.

For, Satan has cheapened God’s gospel of salvation so that the sinner who desires faith in Jesus Christ is often convinced that a mere acknowledgement of Jesus, or a mere confession of faith in Him is enough to secure them salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But, they teach that turning away from their sin and following Jesus in obedience to his commands is not required, and it is even discouraged, and sometimes even accused of being works-based salvation.

So, we have to know that the scriptures teach that faith in Jesus Christ is death to sin and living to righteousness. It is walking (in practice) according to the Spirit of God and his righteousness and not according to the flesh. For, this is why Jesus gave his life up for us, to deliver us out of our slavery to sin and to free us to become slaves of his righteousness. And, we have to know that if we walk according to the flesh, we will not inherit eternal life, but we will die in our sins, without God, and without hope.

[Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Eph. 4:17-24; Eph. 5:3-6; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15; Lu. 9:23-25]

The Letters

An Original Work / December 17, 2013

Based off Revelation 2-3

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

House of Ill Repute

Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. Jude 1:3-4 ESV

Wouldn’t it be nice if we could always just write about things positive and that we never had to discuss anything negative? Yet, because we live in an evil world, and we have an enemy Satan who is out to destroy the church and the Lord Jesus and his gospel, we must address negative issues, too. For, if we don’t, many could be led astray to follow the wrong Jesus.

For many years now, Satan has been infiltrating the gatherings of the church with his followers, with his messengers, and with his false gospel message. But, he has done this very slowly and stealthily over a long period of time so that most people did not even notice the transition. For, what he does is he introduces little subtle lies one at a time, and he slips them into the truth, and so they sound good and people accept them, and then he slips in more, and then more until the lies have now been accepted as truth.

And, I have observed much of this transition taking place, for at least the last 20 years. And, when I read A. W. Tozer, I realized he was seeing this way back in the 1940’s, before I was even born, over 70 years ago (1).

What these wolves in sheep’s clothing, these false shepherds of the people, have introduced into the church and into the gospel are subtle lies which have grown into big lies that turn the gospel of Jesus Christ upside down to where now the truth is regarded a lie, and the big lie is now considered the truth. And, people are so indoctrinated and so convinced that the lie is the truth that they refuse to hear the truth. They want the lie, instead.

So, what is so appealing about the lie that people want it over the truth? It appeases human flesh, and it requires no submission to Christ as Lord, no turning away from self and sinful practices, and no walks of obedience to Christ’s commands. It is the broad road that leads to destruction and many are following in its path, for they have been convinced that the narrow road that leads to eternal life is evil, and so they choose the broad road, instead.

And so those who are buying into this false cheap grace gospel (the big lie) feel liberated to continue in willful sinful practices without guilt and without remorse, and they deny the Lordship of Jesus Christ over their lives.

But these people blaspheme all that they do not understand, and they are destroyed by all that they, like unreasoning animals, understand instinctively. Woe to them! For they walked in the way of Cain and abandoned themselves for the sake of gain to Balaam's error and perished in Korah's rebellion. These are hidden reefs at your love feasts, as they feast with you without fear, shepherds feeding themselves; waterless clouds, swept along by winds; fruitless trees in late autumn, twice dead, uprooted; wild waves of the sea, casting up the foam of their own shame; wandering stars, for whom the gloom of utter darkness has been reserved forever. Jude 1:10-13 ESV

Satan is not satisfied with just telling people the big fat lie, and with getting them to follow after the lie. He is also out to destroy the truth. And, so he has devised a clever scheme, not only to get people to buy into his cheap grace gospel, but to also attempt to discredit the true gospel. So, we who are teaching the true gospel are not only having to correct his false gospel, but we are also having to defend the true gospel against the lies.

So, what Satan has done is not only convince people that faith in Jesus Christ requires no repentance, no submission to Christ and no obedience to Christ’s commands, and even that God no longer sees when they sin against him, but he has convinced people that the true gospel of Christ is works-based salvation, and he has indoctrinated them to reject certain words or phrases and to automatically deny the truth in favor of the lie.

So, what this cheap grace gospel does is it gives its adherents free license to continue in willful sinful practices without guilt, without remorse, and convinced that their sins will not affect their eternal security. And, so many, many professers of Christ as Savior of their lives live no differently from those who make no such profession of faith in Christ. So, many of them live just like the world, and many of them are just as evil as the world.

Statistics have it that many pastors and spiritual leaders within the church (teachers, deacons and elders) are either addicted to porn or they regularly view porn. Statistics also have it that a high percentage of males who profess faith in Jesus Christ are addicted or are regular consumers of porn with a growing number of women doing the same. And, now a large percentage of children, as well, are addicted to some type of porn (with so many people now having open access to the internet via smart phones) (2).

Ministries and marriages and families are being destroyed because Satan has so convinced the church to accept his lies and to reject the truth, and with so many spiritual leaders now living in sin, instead of following after God.

But you must remember, beloved, the predictions of the apostles of our Lord Jesus Christ. They said to you, “In the last time there will be scoffers, following their own ungodly passions.” It is these who cause divisions, worldly people, devoid of the Spirit. But you, beloved, building yourselves up in your most holy faith and praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ that leads to eternal life. And have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire; to others show mercy with fear, hating even the garment stained by the flesh. Jude 1:17-23 ESV

Oh, this is so true of today! If you are someone who is trying to teach the true gospel of grace, which doesn’t just forgive people of their sins, but which delivers them out of their slavery (addiction) to sin, then you are easy target for those who have been convinced that you are teaching works-based salvation. And, so they will come after you to try to discredit you.

They are causing divisions in the church, because they are leading people to reject the true gospel in favor of a libertine gospel which leaves people still in bondage to sin. And, yet they will call you out as a “disunifier” because you do not adhere to the cheap grace gospel or to marketing 101 church.

So, what are we to do? Well, first of all we need to get into the Word of God and we need to study the scriptures IN CONTEXT to learn what they are really saying. For, many lies are being spread and accepted by taking scriptures out of context to support false doctrines of faith which deny Christ as Lord and which do not submit to Christ and to his commands.

And, then we need to be those who are following after the truth, who are putting the Word of Christ into practice in our daily lives, who are resisting the devil, who are fleeing temptation, and who are drawing near to God in full assurance of faith. And, we need to be living holy lives, pleasing unto God, separate (unlike, different) from the world, because we are being conformed into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

And, we are to be those who are exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness and flesh-driven gospels and market-driven churches (houses of ill repute), and who are telling people the truth about what God requires of us, his followers, for eternal life with God. We need to be those who are snatching people out of the fire by exposing the lies for what they are and by telling the people the truth of what God’s word teaches IN CONTEXT.

For, the truth is that Jesus died on that cross, not just to forgive us our sins and to promise us heaven when we die, but he died that we who believe in him might die to our sins and live to his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us (1 Pet. 2:24; 1 Co. 5:15, 21; 2 Co. 6:20).

The truth about God’s grace is that it is not free license to continue in willful sinful practices without guilt. The truth is that the grace of God, which brings salvation, instructs (demands) us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return (Tit. 2:11-14; Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

The truth also is that if we live to please our sinful flesh, if this is what we practice, no matter what we profess with our lips, we will NOT inherit eternal life with God. For, the truth is that it is only those who are walking (in practice) according to (in agreement with) the Spirit of God who will have eternal life with God (Lu. 9:23-26; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Eph. 5:3-6; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

So, know the truth and live the truth, for your eternity depends on it.

Songs in the Night 

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/112342407

(1)       http://www.ldolphin.org/oldcross.html

(2)       https://www.covenanteyes.com/pornstats/

Cherry Picking

There are a lot of people these days who are “cherry picking” scriptures which support their lifestyle choices, while they often ignore the context, as a whole, from which those scriptures are drawn.

This first verse here in Romans 8 is one of those scriptures. For, these people assume they are “in Christ Jesus” merely because they made a profession of faith in Christ, or merely because they made some acknowledgment as to who he is as the Lord, the Christ, the Son of God. Or, perhaps it was because they repeated some words after someone in a prayer where they were then congratulated that they are now in God’s family.

But, is that all there is to it to be “in Christ”? Or, is there more to it?

“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life has set you free in Christ Jesus from the law of sin and death. For God has done what the law, weakened by the flesh, could not do. By sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin, he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.” Romans 8:1-4 ESV

So, what happens is they read verse 1 and they stop there, they claim they are in Christ, and therefore they are no longer under condemnation, no matter how they live their lives from that point forward; no matter how much they willfully and knowingly deny Christ, disobey his commands, and walk in sinful rebellion against Almighty God. So, they console themselves.

But, we have to keep reading. For, if we keep reading we soon learn who those are who are “in Christ.” They are those who walk (in practice) not according to (in agreement with) the flesh (sin nature) but according to the Spirit of God and his holiness and righteousness. These people are those who are not under condemnation, for they are the ones in whom the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled. They are the children of God.

For, you see, Jesus didn’t die on that cross that horrible death just so we could be forgiven our sin and no longer be under condemnation. He died that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us. With his blood shed on a cross for our sins he bought us back for God so that we would now be God’s possession, and so we would now glorify God with our lives (1 Pet. 2:24; 2 Co. 5:15, 21; Tit. 2:14; 1 Co. 6:20).

“For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” Romans 8:5-8 ESV

So, what does it mean to live according to the flesh? It means the flesh is still on the throne of our lives. The flesh is still in control. Our minds and our hearts are set on pleasing the flesh, not on pleasing God with our lives. Though we may profess faith in Jesus Christ, we feel his grace gives us license to sin without guilt and without punishment. And, so we habitually sin against God, committing the same (often premeditated) sins over and over again, while lying about them and while making excuses for them. This type of lifestyle will end in death, because it is opposed to God and his law.

And, what does it look like to live according to the Spirit? It means the Spirit is the one in control and Christ is on the throne of our lives. It means we want to please God with our lives for Jesus delivered us from our slavery to sin, and now the Holy Spirit lives within us empowering us to live to his righteousness. It means we are developing a relationship with Almighty God through genuine God-given faith in Jesus Christ, and so we are in his Word daily learning what he requires of us, and then in his power we are walking in obedience to what he shows us (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

Nonetheless, it is possible for even those who have genuine faith in Jesus Christ to still sin against God, because we live in flesh bodies (1 Jn. 2:1-2). And, it is possible, too, for those who had been walking daily by the Spirit of God to wander off for a time and to need to be brought back to fellowship with the Lord via repentance (See Rev. 2-3).

But, God looks at our lives from beginning to end, and he sees who has genuine faith, and who does not. And, he sets the standard for how we must live. And he says if, in lifestyle, we habitually sin against God, as a matter of course, as our consistent conduct, then we don’t have eternal life with God. For, if we make sinning against God our regular practice, we don’t really know God, we are just going through the motions. So, we need to get this, for too many people have the idea that their conduct will not impact their relationships with God or their eternal security.

“So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.” Romans 8:12-14 ESV

This makes it quite clear that our conduct does matter, and how we live our lives on this earth, either for the flesh or for God, will affect our eternity.

But, this is not works-based salvation. This is not us trying to be good enough to earn or to deserve God’s grace. This is not about our good deeds outweighing our bad deeds. For, not one of us can be saved by good works. But, when Jesus Christ saves us from our sins, he saves us to good works (Eph. 2:8-10).

So, this is the deal here. We can only be saved by God’s grace through God-given and divine-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, and only because of what Jesus did for us in dying for our sins and in rising from the dead victorious over sin and Satan. We are all totally dependent on Jesus Christ to save us from our sins. I believe we can all agree on that (most of us).

But, this is where it breaks down, and this is where a lot of people have been deceived, and that is in thinking that some mere profession of faith in Jesus or some mere acknowledgment of him is enough to secure them eternal life with God. They think that some prayer they prayed at one time in their life means they are saved from their sins, heaven is secured, and that is all they need. But, is it? No! Not according to scripture.

So, let me try to put it in a nutshell for you. If we read the New Testament from beginning to end, word by word and phrase by phrase, in context, and if we interpret the scriptures in context, it will become clear that some or all of what we were taught about our salvation may not be true. For, it becomes clear that our salvation from sin is not past tense alone, but it is present tense and future tense, and it won’t be complete until Jesus returns.

And, then it begins to make sense when we read all these many scriptures which state that it is those who walk (in practice) according to the Spirit who have eternal life with God, and that we have to continue in that walk until the very end, too. It doesn’t mean there won’t be blips in the road, at times, but that our desire is for God to do his will and we are not living to please our flesh or making excuses in order to keep on in sinful addictions.

So, if you have this notion that your lifestyle or your addictions will not impact your eternal security, then know what the scriptures teach, for they say if we live according to the flesh, we will die, but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, then we will live. For, we will all reap what we sow. If we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap destruction. But, if we sow to please the Spirit, then from the Spirit we will reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8). So, know the truth, and live the truth.

The Letters

An Original Work / December 17, 2013

Based off Revelation 2-3

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

Amazing Grace

The children of Israel were slaves in Egypt. God sent his servant Moses to deliver his children out of slavery. Moses was a type of Christ in delivering God’s people from their slavery. And, the blood that they had to apply to their doors to be spared death was a representation of the blood of Jesus shed on a cross for our sins, which we must apply to our lives, too.

So, what if Moses had merely told the people that if they believed in him, that he was their savior, that they could be freed from their slavery, and so they believed. But, what if the people felt that didn’t mean they had to do anything? Would they have been delivered out of their slavery? No!

They had to cooperate with Moses, and they had to leave everything behind them and follow Moses to the land God had for them. And, only then were they truly free from their slavery to Egypt.

Yet, this was a physical deliverance from a physical place, but it is an antitype of our deliverance from our slavery to sin, which involves us cooperating with God’s work of grace in our lives, and us leaving our lives of sin behind us to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands for our lives.

“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin. For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.” Rom. 6:6-8 ESV

Our freedom from sin, thus, requires our cooperation with God and with his work of grace in our lives. We can’t be set free from our slavery to sin if we won’t leave our “Egypt” (our sins) behind us to follow our Moses (Jesus) to wherever it is that he has us to go. For, the whole point of Moses was to deliver the children out of slavery to Egypt, and the whole point of Jesus’ sacrifice for our sins in putting our sin to death is that we would no longer be enslaved (addicted, in bondage) to sin.

“Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness. For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.” Rom. 6:12-14 ESV

So, because Jesus Christ died on that cross to deliver us from our slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin, we who have put our trust in him to be Lord and Savior of our lives should no longer let sin reign in our bodies, i.e. for sin to still be in control and to still have mastery over our lives. We should no longer walk (in practice, in conduct) in obedience to the passions of our sinful flesh, to do what ought not to be done.

Instead, we are to live our lives as though we truly have been delivered from death and have been given new life in Christ Jesus, and as though our sins truly have been put to death and they no longer have power over us. And, now we should give our bodies and our minds over to righteousness, holiness, purity, morality, honesty and faithfulness. For, the grace of God, which is amazing, set us free from our slavery (addiction, bondage) to sin.

“What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” Rom. 6:15-16 ESV

And, here is “where the rubber meets the road,” so to speak, i.e. the point at which something we believe is put to a practical test. For, if we truly believe that God, by his grace, has put our sins to death, and that he has rescued us out of our slavery to sin so that our bodies might become instruments of his righteousness, then our lifestyles should reflect this.

If we believe the Bible, then we believe this passage of scripture, and thus we should never see God’s grace as free license to continue in sinful practices without guilt or remorse. And, we definitely should not be looking for loopholes to excuse away sin, nor should we be trying to worm our way out of having to obey the scriptures.

So here now is the crux of the matter. If we, who profess faith in Jesus Christ, feel that God’s grace permits us to continue in our sinful practices without guilt, then we aren’t following what this scripture teaches. And, if we write off (ignore or reject) the fact that it says here that we are slaves to the one we obey, then we don’t really believe what we say we do.

For, we have to take this seriously. Paul was addressing the issue here of people having the wrong idea of God’s grace. So, he let them know that if they made it their practice to obey sin, that would end in death. But, if they made it their practice to obey obedience, that would lead to righteousness (cf. Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Eph. 5:3-6; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

“For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves of God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Rom. 6:20-23

I remember the first time I truly understood this. This first sentence here really jumped out at me. And, it is so true! For, when we are slaves of sin, we are free of righteousness. And, the opposite of that is true, too. If we follow (obey) Jesus Christ with our lives, we won’t walk (in practice) in darkness/sin (Jn. 8:12). The one cancels out the other.

And, what fruit did we get from those things of which we are now ashamed? We got guilt, sorrow, anger, bitterness, unforgiveness, idolatry, immorality, lack of peace, lack of joy, shame, broken hearts, broken relationships, damaged emotions, and separation from God, etc. It is a horrible way to live!! You feel lost, hopeless, trapped, and empty inside, looking for love in all the wrong places.

And, again, if this represents our lifestyle, the way we live, the things we give ourselves over to day in and day out, as a matter of course, those things end in death not in eternal life with God (Rom. 8:1-17).

But, for those of us who have truly been set free of our slavery (addiction) to sin by God’s amazing grace, and who have now truly become slaves of God and of his righteousness, in his power and strength, the fruit we get is that we have been cleansed of our sins, the Lord is making us holy, and we are set apart from the world and unto God for his purposes. And, its end is eternal life.

Now, read that last verse in that context, and I believe you will come away from it with perhaps a different understanding than you had before. In context this is saying that if we obey sin, as our practice, it will end in death, not in life with God. But, if we obey (adhere to) obedience it leads to righteousness, and the end is eternal life with God. For, if we obey sin, we are still slaves to sin, not slaves to God, and thus not freed from sin.

Thus, we need to understand here that the wages of sin is death, and this is talking not about the sin nature but the practice of (slavery to) sin. It will lead to death. But the free gift of God is freedom from our slavery to sin so that we are now slaves of God and of his righteousness, because of God’s amazing grace. And, the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. But, “free” should never be interpreted as we do nothing or that we are now free to remain in slavery to sin only now without punishment.

I mean, the reason it is grace is because it sets us free from our slavery to sin. And, if you have ever been in prison, even in your own mind, or if you have ever been really addicted to something to where you felt your life was out of control, and then you were set free from it all, well, that is a picture of God’s grace! For, it is not grace if we are still left in slavery to sin, resulting in death. True grace sets us free from our addictions to sin and it frees us to now walk in Christ’s righteousness and holiness, and that is GOD’S AMAZING GRACE! AMEN!

Your Servant  

An Original Work / September 21, 2011

Lord, I love to have You near me

As I go throughout my day,

Walking daily in Your footsteps,

As I humbly pray.

List’ning to You, hear You teaching

Me to live and work for You,

Lord, I pray You lead and guide me

Daily in Your truth.

Lord, I want to be Your witness,

Telling others of Your grace;

Telling how they can be set free

Of their sins today;

Share with them the love of Jesus,

He died on a cruel tree,

So that we’d be forgiven

For all eternity.

Lord, I want to serve You only,

As I bow on bended knee,

Making You my Lord and master,

And Your servant be.

Humbly walking in obedience,

Doing what You say to me,

Lord, may I be an example

Of one who’s set free.

https://vimeo.com/126318100

Would You Follow Jesus?

“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.’” Luke 9:23-26 ESV

This was Jesus speaking. And, he told us what is required of any of us who would want to come after him… to follow after him… to be his disciples. And, it wasn’t easy believism, and it still isn’t. It wasn’t the cheap grace gospel message, and it never was. And, it didn’t change after he died and rose again, either. For, his New Testament apostles taught the same truth.

What he said is that we have to deny self, to die to our self-life, basically. We have to turn away from our self-life and our old sin-life, and we have to turn to Jesus Christ with our lives to now follow him in obedience to his will and to his ways. And, we have to do this daily, not in our own flesh, but in the power of God’s Spirit living within those of us who have trusted in Jesus Christ to be Lord (owner-master) and Savior of our lives (cf. Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:16-21; Tit. 2:11-14).

But, and this is the clincher, if we are unwilling to forfeit our former way of living for sin and for self, and we choose to retain control over our own lives, and we are unwilling to submit to Christ as Lord of our lives, then we are going to lose our lives for eternity, plain and simple. But, if we willingly lay down our lives for the sake of Jesus Christ, and we humble ourselves before him, and we turn away from our sins, and we walk with him in obedience, then our lives will be saved for eternity (cf. Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

Yet, too many people these days who profess faith in Jesus Christ will not do what this says. They feel they don’t have to. They believe that a profession of faith in Jesus Christ is enough to save them from their sins and to secure them eternal life with God. They see God’s gift of grace to them as though he does it all and that nothing, absolutely nothing is required of them.

For, they see the gift of God’s grace as God just handing us forgiveness of sins and eternal life with him on the basis of some profession of faith, regardless of whether or not we ever submit to Christ as Lord, and regardless of whether or not we ever walk in obedience to him, and regardless of whether or not we ever turn away from our sinful lifestyles.

But, this passage and others like it make it abundantly clear that if we go after the lusts of the flesh, and if our desire is for the world, instead of for Christ, and if we don’t give up our former lives of living for sin and self, we are going to lose (forfeit) our own lives for eternity.

For, if we are ashamed to make him Lord of our lives and to follow him in surrender and obedience to his will and to his commands, and if we are ashamed to give up the world of sin to become his disciples, then when he comes back one day, he is going to be ashamed of us to the point to where we won’t be going with him.

Supporting Scriptures

So, some people will say that this was what Jesus taught before he died on the cross and rose again, so they may claim that this is Old Covenant. But, Jesus didn’t teach Old Covenant. He taught New Covenant.

And what he taught, his New Testament apostles also taught, and with the same strength of conviction. And, they did so with the same warnings to those who professed faith in the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, that if they did not accompany their profession of faith with obedience to his commands, that they did not have the promise of eternal life with God.

[Please prayerfully read these scriptures: Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6; 1 Jn. 3:15; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Heb. 4:1-13; Eph. 5:3-6]

I am amazed

I am continually amazed at how many people, even after they have been given the truth over and over again, will still hold on to the lies, because the lies console them in their sin. The lies tell them that they can make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ but it doesn’t have to alter their lifestyles at all. It requires no humility before God, no repentance, no submission to Christ as Lord, and no walks of obedience to Christ’s commands.

And, this makes a mockery of what Jesus Christ did on that cross in giving his life up for us that we might die with him to sin daily, and that we might live with him, walking in his righteousness, in the power of God now living within us. It makes a mockery of all that he suffered for us that we might be delivered out of our slavery to sin and in order that we might now become slaves to him and to his righteousness, too (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

And, it ignores all the scriptures which teach what Jesus taught, which say that we must die with Christ to sin, and we must live with him to his righteousness, and that we must walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit if we want to have eternal life with God. And, they ignore all the warnings that were given to the gatherings of the church against them being deceived, letting them know that if they make sin their practice, that they will not inherit eternal life with God. And, they, too, ignore many of the scriptures which tell us what we must do to inherit eternal life with God.

And, so they hold on to this idea that they can just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, or even just acknowledge who he was (and is), and that guarantees them eternal life with God, and that it no longer matters to God how much they sin, for they believe all their sins are now covered by the blood of Christ. But, if all of that was true, then we could throw out most of the New Testament, particularly all the warnings to the church about not being taken in by those who are teaching free license to sin.

The Bottom Line

The bottom line in all of this is what Jesus said here in Luke 9, and which his New Testament apostles repeated throughout the New Testament. If we want the promise of eternal life with God, then we have to die with him to sin daily, and we have to follow him in obedience to his commands.

This is not saying that we have to live in sinless perfection. But, what it is saying is that sin should no longer be our master. We should no longer be living like we did before we made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ. We should no longer be under the control of sin, but we should now be under the control of the Spirit of God.

Yes, we will fail sometimes, and we will then have to repent, die to that sin, and then continue on in walking in obedience to our Lord. But, there is a HUGE difference here between one who has genuinely turned from sin and to follow the Lord in obedience, but who sometimes fails and needs to be restored, and those who feel they don’t have to turn away from their sins and that they can continue in their sinful practices and that it won’t affect their eternal security.

John said that if we claim to have fellowship with God, but we walk (in practice) in darkness (sin), we lie and we do not live by the truth. He said we must walk (in practice) in the light as God is in the light and the blood of Christ cleanses us from all sin. And, Paul said that if we walk (in lifestyle) according to (in agreement with) the flesh that we will not inherit eternal life with God. But, if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, and we are walking (in conduct) according to the Spirit of God, then we have eternal life with God (1 Jn. 1:5-9; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8).

So, please know that a profession of faith in Jesus Christ absent of death to sin and living to his righteousness is not a true profession of faith in Jesus Christ. And, also know that eternal life is guaranteed only on the basis of our walks of faith throughout our lives on this earth. We must not only walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, but this must be continuous, and we must endure in this faith until the very end.

For, when John 3:16 says that whosoever believes in him has eternal life, that word “believes” is present tense, not past tense, and it is God-given and God-persuaded faith which submits to Jesus Christ as Lord of our lives.

Only in Him  

An Original Work / February 19, 2014

Based off Isaiah 30

Woe to those who look to man’s help;

Who turn away from Jesus Christ;

Forming an alliance not in step with God;

Making their own plans, and praying not.

Willing not to listen to truth,

They close their ears to what is right.

Pleasing words are all that they’ll hear;

Feel good messages that bring cheer.

Trust in your Lord; turn from your sin.

Put your faith now ONLY IN HIM.

Do not turn to idols. They’ll not satisfy.

Jesus will save you. That’s why He died.

Your Lord will be gracious to you.

He cares all about you, ‘tis true.

He forgives you all of your sin

When you give your life up to Him.

Oh, how truly gracious He’ll be

When you bow to Him on your knees;

Turning now from your sin; walking in his ways.

He’ll lead and guide you all of your days.

Now you will sing praises to Him.

He delivered you from your sin.

You’ll tell others now of His grace,

So they may see Christ face-to-face.

https://vimeo.com/87181019

The Grace of God

“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” Titus 2:11-14 ESV

There is a lot of confusion these days as to what exactly is God’s grace to us. Some people see his grace merely as a get-out-of-jail-free card. Some people see it solely as “fire insurance” against them continuing in their sinful practices, so that they can continue on in their sinful practices without fear of judgment. And, some people see his grace solely as forgiveness of sin and the hope of heaven when they leave this earth. But, is it any of those?

I believe, if we do a careful study of this subject of God’s grace in the New Testament, that we will learn that God’s grace is none of these or none of these solely on their own. And, I believe, too, in this careful study of scripture on this subject, that we will also learn that the early Christians struggled to understand God’s grace to them, and some of them had misconceptions about God’s grace which then had to be corrected.

And, I believe this passage in Titus 2 is one of those passages of scripture which corrects wrong thinking about God’s grace, and which sets the record straight. And, there are others, too. But, first I want us to examine this passage in Titus and see what God would have to say to us through it.

Grace bringing salvation

Ok, so this is talking about the grace of God which brings us salvation from sin and eternal life with God. The word “grace” here means God’s kindness, his favor, his benefit which he brings to us, which he is freely extending towards us. And, he did this extending of his grace towards us through Jesus’ death on a cross for our sins and via his resurrection from the dead.

So, what benefit did God intend for us by sending his only begotten Son to die on a cross for our sins? Was it merely to forgive us our sins and to give us the hope of eternal life with God? NO! For, we read in scripture that Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). He died that we might no longer live for ourselves, but for him who gave his life up for us, and that we might become the righteousness of God (2 Co. 5:15, 21).

Also, when Jesus died on that cross, he who knew no sin became sin for us, thus when he died our sins died with him. But, also when he died he purchased us back for God (he redeemed us) with his blood, shed on a cross for our sins, so that we would now be God’s possession, and so that we would now glorify God with our lives (1 Co. 6:20; 2 Co. 5:21; Tit. 2:14).

In other words, Jesus’ purpose in dying for us on that cross was not just to forgive us our sins, and it was not just to promise us eternal life with God. But, it was to deliver us out of our slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin, and to empower us to walk daily in his righteousness, holiness and purity (See: Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Lu. 9:23-25).

So, the gift of God’s grace to us is not just forgiveness of sin, and an escape from hell, and the promise of heaven when we die. The gift of God’s grace is also deliverance out of our addiction to sin and empowerment of the Spirit of God, who is dwelling within those of us who believe in Jesus, to live holy lives pleasing to God, free from the control of sin and Satan, and now free to be slaves to God and to his righteousness (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24).

His Grace Trains Us

So, not only does his grace deliver us from our addiction to sin and empower us to live holy lives pleasing to God, but it trains (it instructs) us in how to walk in freedom from addiction to sin, and how to walk in holiness and purity. So, the gift of God’s grace is so much more than what most people think it is. The gift of his grace makes it possible for us to no longer live (walk) in darkness but to now walk in the light as He is in the light.

Therefore, when people say that faith in Jesus Christ means God does it all and we do nothing, or that if we do believe that we have to obey Christ, that it means we are trying to work our way into heaven, we can refer them back to these verses. For, the gift of God’s grace does not give us carte blanche to continue in our sinful practices. It frees us from the control of them and it gives us the power to live righteously. So, we are just operating in the gift of God’s grace when we repent of our sins and we follow our Lord in obedience.

So, again, God’s grace to us does not give us permission to continue in our sinful practices without fear of punishment. It also doesn’t look the other way when we do sin. And, it does not placate or coddle people in their sin. His grace forgives the repentant sinner, but there is no forgiveness for those who stubbornly refuse to bow the knee to God and to submit to his will, and who go on in their sinful practices thinking God’s grace covers it all (Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8; Eph. 5:3-6; Lu. 9:23-25; 1 Jn. 1:5-9).

So, how does his grace train us? It instructs us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives while we wait for Christ’s return. And, this is exactly what we have to do to live free from the control of sin and to walk in holiness before our God.

We have to refuse to yield to sin’s control, we have to put off all sinful practices, we have to get rid of all that is leading us into sin, too, and we have to resist Satan and flee temptation and then we need to put on the armor of God daily and walk in the Spirit so that we do not gratify the sinful cravings of the flesh (Jn. 8:12; Heb. 12:1-11; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Eph. 6:10-20).

To Redeem Us

Again, we are reminded here, too, that the purpose of God’s grace to us, the gift that he provided for us, is that in his death on that cross he redeemed us from all lawlessness (evil, wickedness, sin) to purify (cleanse) us from sin so that we would be a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works, which God prepared in advance that we should do, that we should walk in them, by allowing him to do his work in our hearts and lives (See also: Eph. 2:10).

So, know that God’s grace to us is not just forgiveness of sins so that we can escape hell and so we can go to heaven when we die. His grace to us freed us from our addiction to sin so that we can live holy lives, pleasing to him, in his power and strength within us. So, know, too, that God’s grace to us is not license to continue in sinful practices without fear of punishment. For, scripture is real clear that if we walk according to the flesh, and we don’t walk according to the Spirit, we will die in our sins, not have eternal life with God (Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 8:1-17; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; Gal. 5:16-21; Gal. 6:7-8).

To Be Like Him 

An Original Work / March 16, 2014 

Based off Scripture

Crucified you are with Jesus.

To be like Him, oh, you’ll be,

Because He died at Calv’ry,

So from sin you’d be free.

Oh, what joy He brings into your life,

Giving life with Him endlessly.

Oh, what plans He has for your life.

Share the gospel faithfully.

Show the people He loves them.

Now His witness you’ll be.

Tell the world of sin about Jesus,

How He died for them on a tree.

Purifying hearts, He saves them,

Who believe on Christ, God’s Son.

Turning now from their idols,

New lives they have begun.

Jesus saves from sin; we’re forgiven.

Over sin, the vict’ry He won!

When He comes again to take us

To be with Him evermore,

There will be no more crying.

Gladness will be in store.

Heavens joys will now overtake us:

We’ll be with our Lord evermore.

https://vimeo.com/89237609

Crucified Life

“I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.” Gal. 2:20 ESV

This is a passage of scripture that the cheap grace or the easy-believism people like to exploit. This is one of those scriptures they use to say that Christ does it all and that we do nothing. But, the faith they say they have is some obscure faith that merely professes to know Christ, but the evidence is not there of a life truly crucified with Christ, for they still live to the flesh. For, no death to sin or living to God and his righteousness is required.

So, let’s break this verse down and see what it is truly saying.

I have been crucified with Christ

“I” is key here. For, “I” is not just an expression of an individual person, but it also signifies our self-life, our pride, and our selfish wills. So, this could be read to say that my pride, my self-life, and my selfish will was put to death with Jesus on that cross.

But, they will say, that Jesus did that for us when he died on the cross. For, he who knew no sin became sin for us on that cross so that when he died our sin died with him. True. But, not everyone is crucified with Christ. And, this is where faith enters in, with which they agree, only the “faith” they speak of is often a mere acknowledgment of that fact, and then it is an applying of what Jesus did for us to one’s life, only it is more like a carte blanche for them to then continue in sin without guilt or remorse.

So, while it is true that Jesus, in his death on a cross, put our sin to death, we still have to die with him to sin and live with him to righteousness. Our faith in him is not just saying to Jesus, “You do it all. I believe you did it. Therefore, I am saved and on my way to heaven.” James, in the book of James, warned about such thinking when he exclaimed that even the demons believe and they shudder.

So, this is talking about us agreeing with God about our sin, by surrendering our lives to him, by humbling ourselves before him, and by willingly dying with him to our self-life, our pride and our selfish wills. What he did for us on that cross paved the way to where we could die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteous in his power and strength, but it is not automatic or all people would be saved and bound for heaven.

No longer “I” who lives

And, let us look at this also. What did it mean for Jesus to die on that cross? He had to give up his life on this earth to put our sin to death. He had to be willing to be falsely accused, falsely arrested, mocked, spat upon, scourged, thought to be a criminal, and hung on a cross so that we could be free from our slavery to sin.

So, if we are crucified with Christ, we have to be willing to die to ourselves, to our wills, and to our reputations in order for us to be free from our slavery to sin, too. And, when Jesus died, he put sin to death. When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, and we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, we also die to our old lives of living for sin and self, so that we can now live new lives in Christ Jesus, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph. 4:17-24; Rom. 6:1-23; Lu. 9:23-25).

But Christ lives in me

When we come to faith in Jesus Christ, and we die to sin and self, and our self-life is put to death with Jesus on that cross, our pride, our selfish wills, and our “My do it” is put to death with him on that cross. But, we still live in flesh bodies. Our flesh is still at war with the Spirit and the Spirit is at war with the flesh. So, this is going to be a battle we face daily where the flesh will try hard to resurface. So, this dying with Christ to sin is not once, but it is daily that by the Spirit we must be putting to death the deeds of the flesh.

Yet, by coming to Christ in God-given faith, and by putting our self-wills on the altar, and by submitting ourselves to Christ and his cross, we are then indwelt with the Spirit of God so that Christ (God) is now living within us. But, it isn’t just that the presence of God is now within us, but it is that his life now lives and thrives within us in place of our self-life, for this is what it means to be crucified with Christ to where we no longer live but Christ lives I us. We still exist, but “self” is put to death so that Jesus can now reign!

So, what this means for us is that, as we daily die to sin and self, and as daily we surrender our lives to God and to doing his will, he is able to live his life out through us, and we are able to live the Christian life he designed for us to live through his power and strength, for it is no longer us trying to please God in our own strength, but we are now surrendering ourselves to the Lord where we are now allowing him to live his life out through us.

And, the life I live

Again, we still live in flesh bodies. We are still going to be tempted to sin. We still have the propensity to sin against God. So, we walk by faith. But, this faith is not some intellectual assent to who Jesus is or some casual acceptance of what he did for us on that cross. This is God-given and divinely persuaded faith which submits to the will and purposes of God.

And, it is a life that we consciously live by the power of God within us in submission to his will and purposes for our lives, too. It is a walk of faith, whereby daily we are, by the Spirit, putting sin to death, and whereby we are moment by moment surrendering our lives over to the Lord Jesus, and whereby we are allowing his life to be lived out through us for his glory, honor and praise.

In Context

Again, context is everything. We can’t pull scriptures out of context to make them say what we want them to say in order to appease our sinful flesh. So, in the context of Galatians, as a whole, we read that Jesus gave himself for our sins to DELIVER us from the present evil age. It also warns us against trying to be perfected by our human flesh instead of by the Spirit. And, it warns against us using our freedom in Christ as opportunities for the flesh, too.

And, then we are instructed that we must WALK (in lifestyle) by the Spirit so that we do not fulfill the lusts of the flesh. And, then it names for us some of those works of the flesh, which are idolatry, sensuality, impurity, sexual immorality, and the like. And, then we are warned that those who practice (walk in) such things will not inherit the kingdom of God (Gal. 5:16-24).

And, then it warns us against being deceived, and it tells us quite frankly that we are going to reap whatever we sow in this life. 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 then reap eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8).

And, then we need to read Galatians in the context of the whole of the New Testament, too. And, there we find other scriptures which, in context, agree with what is said in the book of Galatians, that we must die with Christ to sin and we must live with Christ to his righteousness if we want to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God.

For, if we profess with our mouths that we are no longer in the darkness, and that we are now in fellowship with God, but in lifestyle (in practice) we are still living to please our sinful flesh, especially while denying that God requires from us repentance and obedience to his commands, then we are still in the darkness, we don’t know God, he doesn’t know us, and we don’t have eternal life with God. And, these are not my words. They are what the scriptures teach. So, we need to take this seriously, for our eternity depends on us knowing and living the truth.

[See: Lu. 9:23-25; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Gal. 5:16-24; Gal. 6:7-8; Eph. 4:17-24; Tit. 2:11-14; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 2 Co. 5:15; 1 Pet. 2:24.]

To Be Like Him 

An Original Work / March 16, 2014 

Based off Scripture

Crucified you are with Jesus.

To be like Him, oh, you’ll be,

Because He died at Calv’ry,

So from sin you’d be free.

Oh, what joy He brings into your life,

Giving life with Him endlessly.

Oh, what plans He has for your life.

Share the gospel faithfully.

Show the people He loves them.

Now His witness you’ll be.

Tell the world of sin about Jesus,

How He died for them on a tree.

Purifying hearts, He saves them,

Who believe on Christ, God’s Son.

Turning now from their idols,

New lives they have begun.

Jesus saves from sin; we’re forgiven.

Over sin, the vict’ry He won!

When He comes again to take us

To be with Him evermore,

There will be no more crying.

Gladness will be in store.

Heavens joys will now overtake us:

We’ll be with our Lord evermore.

https://vimeo.com/89237609