Deuteronomy 7:1-5 ESV
“When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it… You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.”
The Old Covenant God had with his people Israel, of old, is
different from the Covenant he now has with us, his people Israel today – the
body of Christ. Yet, there are many spiritual parallels between the Old
Covenant and the New Covenant, and there are some things which are repeated for
us.
The land we are in the process of entering is not a physical
place on this earth. It is the Kingdom of God, which is spiritual. It is our
spiritual inheritance, not a physical one. We have been saved (past), we are
being saved (present), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns,
provided that we continue in him faithful to the end (Col 1:21-23; Rom 8:1-17).
So, when we enter into relationship with Jesus Christ, by
God-persuaded faith in Christ, and we now enter into the Kingdom of God, we are
not supposed to live any longer like we did before. For, we died with Christ to
sin, so how can we live in sin any longer? (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).
We are to rid our lives of idolatry, impurity, sexual
immorality, filthy talk, lying, cheating, stealing, hate, and the like. For, now
we have put on Christ and his likeness, so we are to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness, in the power of God’s Spirit living within us (Eph
4:17-32; Tit 2:11-14).
And we are not to be unequally yoked (bonded) together with
unbelievers (the ungodly). We are not to partner with them in doing the kinds
of things that they do which are contrary to God’s commands for us, Christ’s
followers. But we are to be separate from (unlike) the world (2 Co 6:14-18).
Deuteronomy 7:6 ESV
“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”
Jesus 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 (Tit 2:14). We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people for God’s own possession (1 Pet 2:9).
As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to present ourselves to
God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing (acceptable) to God which is our
spiritual worship (Rom 12:1-2). God chose us in him before the foundation of
the world that we should be holy and blameless before him (Eph 1:4).
As God who called us to himself is holy, so we also are to
be holy in all our conduct (1 Pet 1:15-16). We are like living stones in God’s
spiritual building, his church, being built up as spiritual house to be a holy
priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:5-9).
And to be holy is to live lives which are separate (unlike,
different) from the world because we are being made into the likeness of
Christ. We are not to be like the world, to have the same thinking, attitudes,
and behaviors as them, but we are to be becoming like Christ in all that we are
and do.
Deuteronomy 7:9-11 ESV
“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.”
God’s love for us is conditional. His grace to us is
conditional. Our salvation from sin and eternal life is conditional.
True, we can’t do anything to earn or to deserve our own
salvation. It is only by God’s grace, through God-persuaded faith in Christ
that any of us are saved from our sins (Eph 2:8-9). So, how are his love, his
grace, and our salvation from sin conditional?
Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny
self, take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and self) and follow (obey)
him. For, if we hold on to our old lives (of living for sin and self), we will
lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives (die with him to sin), then we
have eternal life with God (Lu 9:23-26; cf. Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9).
We are slaves to the one we obey, either of sin, which leads
to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. And if slaves of God
and of righteousness, the fruit that we get leads to sanctification and its end
is eternal life with God (Rom 6:16-23).
We are warned in Scripture that if we walk according to the
flesh, to please the flesh, and if we make sin our practice (our habit), that
we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God. For we are
all going to be judged by our works.
Jesus said if we keep his commandments we will never see
death. And he said that if we keep his word that God the Father will love us,
and they (the Father and the Son) will come and make their home with us (Jn 8
and 14).
And John said that if we say we know God, but we are not
keeping (obeying) his commandments (New Covenant), that we are liars, and the
truth is not in us. For, by this we know that we have come to know Christ, if
we are keeping his commandments.
So, if we want to be saved from our sins and have eternal
life with God, we must die with Christ to sin and live to Christ and to his
righteousness. We must walk (in practice, in conduct) according to the Spirit
and not according to the flesh. And we must walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands.
[Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Co 6:9-10; Col 3:5-11; Gal 6:7-8;
Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10; Col 1:21-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Jn
15:1-11]
Servant
of the Lord
An
Original Work / July 26, 2012
Based
off Romans 1:1-17
Servant of the Lord;
For the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised through the prophets of old:
Jesus, Son of God.
Through Him, and for His name alone,
We receive His grace
To call people, Him to obey;
Coming from their faith.
Servant of the Lord,
For the gospel you’re set apart.
Promised through the prophets of old:
Jesus, Son of God.
You belong to Christ;
Loved by God, and called to be saints;
Serving God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching Jesus Christ;
Always praying for others’ needs;
Helping hand to lend;
Giving courage to others’ faith,
For the praise of God.
You belong to Christ;
Loved by God, and called to be saints;
Serving God with whole heart and mind;
Preaching Jesus Christ.
Servant of the Lord;
Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For salvation, power of God
To those who have faith.
In the gospel find righteousness:
Being right with God.
Turn from sin, and trust Jesus Christ.
By faith, live in Him.
Servant of the Lord;
Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;
For salvation, power of God
To those who have faith.
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