Psalms 62:1-2 ESV
“For God alone my soul waits in silence;
from him comes my salvation.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.”
Jesus Christ, God the Son, died on a cross nearly 2,000
years ago in order that we who believe in him might die with him to sin and
live to him and to his righteousness. For, he gave his life up for us on that
cross so that we might be delivered from our slavery to sin, and so become
slaves of God.
Jesus Christ is our ONLY HOPE of salvation from our bondage
to sin and for empowerment of the Spirit to live godly and holy lives, pleasing
to God. He alone has the power to set the sinner free from his addiction to
sin. And He is the only way to God the Father and to life eternal with God in
heaven.
Because Jesus Christ was crucified for our sins, and because
he was resurrected back to life by God the Father, we, too, can die with him to
our sins, and we can be reborn of the Spirit of God to newness of life in
Christ, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Eph
4:17-24).
We who believe in Jesus Christ with genuine God-persuaded
faith have, thus, forsaken our former lives of living for sin and self, we have
been reborn of the Spirit of God, and now, by God’s grace and in his strength,
we are able to live no longer under the control of sin, but now according to
the Spirit of God (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; Gal 2:20).
Psalms 62:3-4 ESV
“How long will all of you attack a man
to batter him,
like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
but inwardly they curse. Selah”
There are many people today professing faith in Jesus Christ
who don’t genuinely believe in Jesus Christ. And that is because they have not
died with Christ to sin, and they are not living to Christ and to his
righteousness, by the power of God’s Spirit at work within them.
They have given lip service to Christ, but they have not rendered
their hearts to God, and they have not made Christ their Lord. But they are
still the lords of their own lives, and they are still living to please their
own flesh while they claim Jesus as Savior and heaven as their eternal destiny.
And this has largely taken place because so many false
teachers are teaching a false (diluted, adulterated) gospel which is absent of
repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord. So, while they promise
the people freedom, they are cursing them by leaving them still in slavery to
sin.
But this false gospel is permeating the church of today, and
many people are buying into the lies because the lies sound good, and because
the lies allow them the freedom to keep on in their sins only now without
guilt. But the Scriptures teach that if we continue in sin, we will die in our
sins (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8).
Psalms 62:5-7 ESV
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
for my hope is from him.
He only is my rock and my salvation,
my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
On God rests my salvation and my glory;
my mighty rock, my refuge is God.”
Too many people who profess faith in Jesus Christ are relying
on what other humans are telling them, and they are not studying the Scriptures
for themselves. But, if we don’t test what we hear against the Scriptures, in
context, we might fall for the lies.
So, we can’t depend on other humans to tell us the truth,
for there are too many liars out there disguising themselves as servants of
righteousness. Just because it looks good, smells good, feels good and sounds
good, it doesn’t mean it is good. Bad can be disguised to make it look good.
So, we must not make idols out of human beings. We must not
let them take the place of God in our hearts. We must not trust everything
coming out of their mouths, either. If we want God alone to be our fortress and
our salvation, then we must not look to other humans to save us.
So, if we believe in Jesus, it means we die with him to sin
and that we live to him and to his righteousness. It doesn’t mean we can keep
on sinning deliberately and habitually. For, if we continue living in sin, we
will die in our sins. We will not have eternal life with God.
Belief in Jesus Christ, therefore, is more than just words
we say or some emotional experience we go through once in our lives. Belief in
Jesus is proved genuine by what we do in heart response to what Jesus did for
us, and in obedience to his commands (New Covenant).
One day we will be judged by our works. If we sow to please
the flesh, from the flesh we will reap the destruction of our lives. But if we
sow to please the Spirit, from the Spirit we will reap eternal life. If we live
to the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if we live to Christ, we will have
eternal life with God.
[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Tit
2:11-14; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10;
2 Co 5:10]
God So Loved the World
“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting
life.
“For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through him might be saved.” John 3:16-17 KJV
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