Habakkuk 2

Then the Lord replied: "Write down the revelation and make it plain on tablets so that a herald may run with it. For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay."

Friday, March 26, 2021

He Alone is My Salvation

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

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=phWMcwYv9g4

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