The Knowledge of His
Will
Colossians 1:9-12 ESV
“And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
This is the reason the Lord Jesus has me write what he has
me write each day, that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all
spiritual wisdom and understanding. For this world is filled with charlatans, frauds
and deceivers who are leading people astray by the thousands or millions.
They are liars and manipulators who are convincing
Christians or prospective Christians that they can live however they want guilt
free, without the need for repentance, obedience to Christ, or submission to
the will of God for their lives. Thus, they are leaving people still bound in
their sins, headed for hell, while guaranteeing them that heaven is what awaits
them when they die.
But, what they are teaching is a lie which they have made
up, but which they support by twisting the Scriptures to their advantage, and
by teaching Scriptures out of context so as to give a false impression of what
the Scriptures are actually saying.
And, so they prey on the immature and the naïve who are not
grounded in the Scriptures, and who have not yet learned to test what they hear
and read and see against the Scriptures, in prayer. And, these charlatans will
even work at trying to discredit the mature in Christ, who know the Scriptures,
so as to keep the immature in their clutches, so that they will not know the
truth that sets them free.
To Walk Worthy
So, why do we need to be filled with the knowledge of God’s
will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding? It is so that we will walk in a
manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him. Because, that is God’s will
for us, his followers.
And, how do we get filled with this knowledge? We have to
dedicate much time, heart, and passion to the Scriptures, studied in context.
But, then we have to walk in obedience to what they teach us, too. And, we have
to set our minds and hearts on pleasing God, and we have to live lives which
are separate (unlike, different) from the world around us.
For, it is not the will of God that we merely acknowledge
Jesus or accept his grace or repeat some words after someone else and then consider
ourselves “saved” from that moment forward, regardless of how we live our
lives.
It is his will that we die with him to sin and that we live
to him and to his righteousness in the power of God, that we forsake our former
lives of sin, and that we now walk with God in obedience to his commands (1
Pet. 2:24; Rom. 6:1-23; Rom. 8:1-17; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn. 1:5-9; 1 Jn. 2:3-6).
And, this is not something we do once and then we are good
to go until we get to heaven one day. This dying to sin and self is something
we do daily. And this walk of obedience to our Lord’s commands (under the New
Covenant) is also something we do daily (Rom. 8:1-17; Lu. 9:23-26).
But, this is not something we do in our own strength and
willpower in order to try to earn our own salvation. We do this only in the
strength and power of God alive within us, who is working his will in our lives,
and out through our lives for his glory and praise (Eph. 2:10; Tit. 2:11-14; 1
Co. 6:20).
Transferred to the
Kingdom
Colossians 1:13-14
ESV
He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
Now, this is the crux of the whole matter. Our salvation
from sin is not just forgiveness of sin and the promise of heaven when we die.
When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith, we die with Christ to our
old lives of living for sin and self, we are changed in heart and mind of the
Spirit of God, and we are given new lives in Christ Jesus, created to be like
God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom. 6:1-23; Eph. 4:17-24; 1 Jn.
1:5-9).
But, this is not what is being taught in the majority of the
church today, at least here in America. What is being taught largely is that we
can profess faith in Jesus Christ, be forgiven our sins, and have the hope of
heaven when we die regardless of how we live our lives.
What is largely being taught requires no repentance, no
obedience to Christ, and no submission to Christ as Lord. And, so those who buy
into this cheap grace gospel feel at liberty to continue in their sinful
practices without guilt and without remorse, convinced that heaven is their
eternal destiny. And, then they falsely call that God’s grace. But, it is a
bold faced lie!
Holy and Blameless
Colossians 1:21-23
ESV
“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
So, what we have within the gatherings of the church, due to
the teaching of cheap grace, is a whole lot of people claiming faith in Jesus
Christ who are living in habitual, willful and premeditated sin against God,
without conscience, and while excusing away their sinful practices by claiming
that God’s grace covers it all.
Therefore, we have congregations filled with self-indulgent,
devious, prideful, fruitless, dishonest and immoral people who are living no
differently from those who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ at all.
In fact, there are many moral people who have no faith in Jesus Christ who put “Christians”
to shame, and there are many “Christians” who are living in moral filth without
conscience who put the name of Jesus to shame.
But, because they have bought into the cheap grace gospel,
they feel they are entitled to live however they want while ignoring God and
his commands. And, so they continue on in their sinful practices, and they
compromise with the world of sin, and they live perverted lives, following
after an evil course, just coasting along, running from God and from
responsibility, being unfaithful to God, and hurting themselves and others.
But, that kind of living is supposed to be behind us if we
are true followers of Jesus Christ. For, Jesus rescued us from the dominion of
darkness and he brought us into his wonderful light (truth, righteousness). This
kind of living is to be in our past, not in our present, and not in our future.
For, God’s will for our lives is that we live holy lives,
separate from sin and from the world, and that we do what is pleasing to him,
which is to obey his commands, i.e. what his word teaches we must do (under the
New Covenant). We are to live lives which are above reproach. We are NOT to
continue living in sin while arrogantly assuming God’s grace covers it all.
Continuing in Faith
And, this is the clincher here: We have to continue in that
faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel – the gospel
taught by John the Baptist, and by Jesus Christ, and by his NT apostles – not the
cheap grace gospel that so many are proclaiming these days.
We have to continue in that God-given faith which submits to
Jesus Christ as Lord (owner-master), and which leaves our lives of sin behind
us, and which follows our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands.
If we don’t, and if we decide we can live however we want,
and if we choose to live a life of sin, instead, then we don’t have the hope of
eternal life with God but a fearful expectation of the fires of hell (Gal.
5:16-21; 2 Co. 5:10; Rom. 2:6-8).
So, don’t be fooled! We are all going to reap what we sow on
this earth. If we sow to please the flesh, from the flesh we will reap
corruption. But, if we sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap
eternal life (Gal. 6:7-8).
So, walk with God. Turn away from your sins. And, follow
Jesus Christ in obedience to his will and to his ways. Do what his Word says to
do. And, walk in truth and in sincerity of devotion to Jesus Christ as your
Lord. And, don’t play with fire or you will get burned. Walk in His love and in
his grace.
When I Was Walking
An Original Work / January 16, 2020
When I was walking along the way,
My Lord was with me, and He did say,
“My child I’m with you. I hear you pray,
‘Oh, help me, Lord! Need You today!’”
He is my friend, near to the end.
Gently leads me. His servant be.
He helps me pray – knows what to
say.
He’s all I need. On Him I feed.
When I am wond’ring of what to do,
He gently leads me to what is truth.
He is my helper. He strengthens me.
When I’m in want, supplies my need.
He comforts me with all His love.
Gives me His grace from heav’n
above.
I heed His call to watch and pray,
To guard my heart throughout each
day.
When He is calling to come to Him,
To let Him lead you, trust Him within,
How will you answer to Him today?
Will you say, “Yes, Lord, have your way”?
Do not neglect to let Him in,
Cleanse you from sin, made new
within.
Leave all your sin, obey your Lord,
Trust in His Word – His mighty
Sword.
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