Not of the Will of the Flesh

John 1:9-13 ESV

 

“The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God.”

 

The True Light

 

The true light is Jesus Christ, the Son of God (and God the Son), the second person of our triune God – Father, Son and Holy Spirit. He left his throne in heaven, came to earth, was born in the likeness of men, began his earthly ministry at around the age of 30, and became obedient to death on a cross, at the hands of his enemies, at around the age of 33 (See: Php 2:5-11).

 

During his years of ministry on the earth he healed the sick and afflicted, raised the dead, comforted the sorrowful, delivered people from demons, fed the hungry, and performed many miracles. He also preached repentance and obedience for the forgiveness of sins and for eternal life with God, and he taught that we must forsake all to follow him (Lu 9:23-26; Lu 14:25-33).

 

The crowds loved him for his miracles, for feeding their stomachs, and for the many healings he performed, but when he began to preach the cost of following him, many who had been following him deserted him, not to return, for they felt his teaching was too hard. For, he was teaching that we must eat his flesh and drink his blood to have eternal life (Jn 6:35-58).

 

Now, Jesus wasn’t teaching that we must literally eat his flesh and drink his blood, but that we must participate (partake) with him in his death to sin and in his suffering for the sake of the gospel. We must die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, for if we are genuinely saved, we have been delivered from our slavery to sin so we may now be his slaves.

 

Now we are to walk (in conduct) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. Sin should no longer be our master, for we are slaves of whoever or whatever we obey, and if it be sin, it ends in death, but if it be obedience, it ends in eternal life with God. If we sow to please the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if we sow to please the Spirit, we have eternal life.

 

[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

His Own did not Receive Him

 

Jesus Christ is God. He is our creator God. He was with God in the beginning, and all things were made through him (Jn 1:1-4). But when he came into the world, conceived of the Holy Spirit, and born as a baby to a human mother, and he grew to be a man, and he began his earthly ministry, his own people did not accept him for who he is.

 

They did not receive him as their Lord and Messiah, though some did. And to “receive” him is not mere words said or an intellectual assent to who he was and is, but it is to accept what is offered, and what is offered is Jesus Christ as our Lord (owner-master) and Messiah (Savior from our bondage to sin).

 

To receive him is to accept, to embrace, and to apply to our lives who he is and what he did for us. And this isn’t just about him dying so our sins can be forgiven so we can go to heaven when we die. This is about surrendering our lives to Jesus, making him our Lord and Savior, dying with him to sin, and living to him and to his righteousness in obedience to his commands.

 

Even though Jesus Christ is the promised seed of Abraham through whom all nations will be blessed (and are being blessed), and the Jewish people knew that their Messiah was to come, and they were waiting for him, most of them did not receive him as their Messiah. They did not embrace him as their master (Lord) and their deliverer from their slavery to sin.

 

But to All Who Receive Him

 

Many people today are teaching a diluted gospel, one which has been altered, and which appeals to human flesh. And so, they are teaching that to receive Jesus is mere words we say or a mere profession or confession of him as Lord, or a mere acknowledgment of who he is and of what he did for us in dying on that cross for our sins.

 

But Jesus taught that to come after him means to deny self, to take up our cross daily (to die daily to sin and to self) and to follow (obey) him. He said, basically, if we hold on to our lives of living for sin and self, that we will lose them for eternity, but if we lose our lives for his sake (if we die with him to sin and to self) that we will have eternal life (Lu 9:23-26; cf. Rom 8:1-17).

 

Paul taught the same thing, that we must die with Christ to sin, be transformed in heart and mind, and that we must live to Christ and to his righteousness, no longer walking (in conduct) according to the flesh, but now walking (in practice) according to the Spirit. For, he said if walk according to the flesh, we will die in our sins, but if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the flesh, then we will live (Rom 8:1-17).

 

For, the truth that is in Christ Jesus teaches us that we must put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, that we are to be renewed in the spirit of our minds, and that we are to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (See Eph 4:17-24).

 

And none of this is of ourselves, of our own flesh, for we can’t even come to genuine faith in Jesus Christ unless the Father first draws us to Christ, and he persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of our sins and to follow our Lord Jesus in obedience (Jn 6:44; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2).

 

So, we can’t become children of God through physical birth, nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. Therefore, our salvation and our faith have to align with God’s word (the whole counsel of God) regarding all teaching on the gospel and on salvation from sin and on eternal life with God, in context. It must be of God, and not of our flesh.

 

Therefore, we will submit our lives over to Jesus Christ in surrender to his will and his purpose for our lives, we will forsake our lives of living for sin and for self, and we will follow our Lord Jesus in obedience to his truth and to his ways which he has set out for us to live by – all by God’s grace, in his strength and power, and according to the will 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

 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

 

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg

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Have You Lost Your Saltiness?

Salt of the Earth

Matthew 5:13 ESV

 

“You are the salt of the earth, but if salt has lost its taste, how shall its saltiness be restored? It is no longer good for anything except to be thrown out and trampled under people's feet.”

 

Salt is used both as a preservative and as seasoning for the food that we eat, to give the food flavor and/or to enhance it, or to bring out the flavor that is already there.

 

It is also used metaphorically to signify purification. In a figurative sense, it can be translated to mean wisdom or prudence (forethought, carefulness, discretion, and good sense). If we preserve something, we maintain, uphold, keep (obey), continue in, protect (safeguard) and defend it.

 

In scripture, the Word of God is often symbolized by food or most specifically bread. Along that line of thinking, we are taught in scripture to preserve, maintain, uphold, continue in, sustain, and to safeguard our walks with the Lord and our testimonies for him and for and his word, as well as we are to keep (obey) and defend the Word of Truth. In this way, we are being the salt of the earth in attitude, thought, word and deed.

 

Therefore, we are to be the means of preserving righteousness, holiness, godliness, godly wisdom, and purity on this earth, and of preventing the growth of corruption, godlessness, and moral decay. And we do this by upholding God’s word, and by sharing it with others, but most of all by living what it teaches us that we must do as followers and believers in Jesus.

 

So, if we have lost our saltiness, i.e., if we are no longer preserving and defending God’s word, moral purity, righteousness, and holiness, but if we have caved to the ways of the world, and we are not much different than those who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ, then we are no longer good for anything. We are useless for preserving righteousness on the earth.

 

And, sadly enough, this is where many are who profess faith in Jesus Christ. And then they wonder why things are as they are in our present world. It is because those who are supposed to be the salt of the earth have lost their saltiness via becoming like the world, and therefore they don’t stand out as holy and righteous, and they are not teaching others to be holy, either.

 

So, both the church and the world are on a massive moral and spiritual decline, and holy living is under attack even within the gatherings of the church, and this should not be! The church needs to get back its saltiness via repentance and renewed walks of faith in Christ Jesus in absolute purity, holiness, and righteousness so that she can be the salt of the earth.

 

Light of the World

Matthew 5:14-16 ESV

 

“You are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hidden. Nor do people light a lamp and put it under a basket, but on a stand, and it gives light to all in the house. In the same way, let your light shine before others, so that they may see your good works and give glory to your Father who is in heaven.”

 

What is light? Light is Jesus Christ, it is moral purity, uprightness, and godliness. It is truth and righteousness. It is all that is holy and good. It is the gospel of our salvation, the one taught by Jesus and the New Testament apostles, not the cheapened gospel many are teaching today.

 

Light is the opposite of darkness, and darkness is all that is evil, wicked, immoral, corrupt, and decadent. Darkness is sin, and light is opposed to the darkness. Light also exposes the darkness for what it is, especially in light of all that is holy and righteous and just.

 

Light not only exposes the darkness for what it is, but it reveals truth, especially truth in opposition to the darkness. So, if we are the light of the world, one of the things we are doing is sharing the truth in opposition to the darkness and exposing the darkness for what it is in contrast to the light.

 

But we are the light of the world. So, we are to be truthful, holy, righteous, godly, moral, and upright. We are to represent Jesus Christ in all that we are, and do, and say. So, we are to live holy lives separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being made into the likeness of Jesus Christ.

 

Therefore, we can’t be the light if we are living immoral and sinful lifestyles, especially while professing faith in Jesus Christ. We can’t be the light of the world if we are just like the world, either. We have to stand out from the world and be different so that they can see the light in us.

 

So, we need our lives to be cleansed from all wickedness. We must be walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. And we must be sharing the truth of the gospel with others in both word and in deed. And we must be exposing the darkness in contrast to the light, too.

 

Know the Difference

 

Therefore, we need to know what the light is in contrast to the darkness, and we learn this through the study of God’s word (in context), through listening to the Spirit’s voice teaching us what we need to learn, and through obeying the word of God by putting it into practice in our daily lives.

 

For, the truth of the gospel is that we must forsake our former lives of living for sin and self, and we must now live our lives to God and to his righteousness in the power of God’s Spirit living within us. Sin should no longer be our master, but Jesus should be our only Lord.

 

The gospel of Jesus Christ does NOT teach that we can continue living in sin, but it teaches that if we habitually, deliberately and premeditatedly live in sin, in immorality, lying, cheating, adultery, and idolatry, that we have no part of Jesus or his heaven, but we will die in our sins.

 

Following Jesus Christ means we no longer live like we did before we believed in Jesus, but now we obey him, and we walk in his ways and in his truth, and we live holy lives pleasing to God, which is our acceptable worship of him. We are no longer conformed to the ways of this world, but we are transformed of heart and mind, and we live in the ways of righteousness.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

Praise the Lord

 

Lyrics by John Kempthorne (1775-1838),

Music by Lowell Mason (1841)

 

Based on Psalm 148:1-2

 

Praise the Lord! ye heav'ns adore him;

Praise him angels, in the height;

Sun and moon, rejoice before him;

Praise him, all ye stars of light.

 

Praise the Lord! for he has spoken;

Worlds his mighty voice obeyed;

Laws which never shall be broken

For their guidance he has made.

 

Praise the Lord! for he is glorious;

Never shall his promise fail;

God has made his saints victorious;

Sin and death shall not prevail.

 

Praise the God of our salvation!

Hosts on high his pow'r proclaim;

Heav'n, and earth, and all creation,

Laud and magnify his name.

 

Worship, honor, glory, blessing,

Lord, we offer unto thee;

Young and old, thy praise expressing,

In glad homage bend the knee.

 

All the saints in heav'n adore thee,

We would bow before thy throne;

As thine angels serve before thee,

So on earth thy will be done.

 

Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah!

Amen, Amen, Amen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu0LGJEcLRU

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He's Faithful to Who He Is

Our God is Faithful

Psalms 119:89-91

 

“Forever, O Lord, your word

    is firmly fixed in the heavens.

Your faithfulness endures to all generations;

    you have established the earth, and it stands fast.

By your appointment they stand this day,

    for all things are your servants.”

 

Our God is absolutely sovereign over all that he has made. There is nothing outside his control. Evil cannot exist except God allows it to exist for a time. Nothing can touch our lives but what God allows it and that he intends to bring good out of it, for he works all things for good for those who love (obey) him, who have been called according to his purpose (Rom 8:28).

 

No matter what humans do in opposition to our Lord and to his purposes, no human being can thwart God’s purposes, for his purposes will prevail. And no matter what people do to attempt to destroy the word of God and to bring it into disrepute, God’s word will remain steadfast and will not be destroyed. It is firmly fixed in the heavens.

 

Our Lord is completely faithful in all that he does, but not faithful to our man-made images of him, and not faithful to our misperceptions of him, and not faithful to what we want him to be, but he is faithful to who he says that he is, and to what he has said that he will do, and he is faithful to his will and to his purposes and to his designs for our lives.

 

My Delight

Psalms 119:92-93

 

“If your law had not been my delight,

    I would have perished in my affliction.

I will never forget your precepts,

    for by them you have given me life.”

 

As human beings living on this planet earth, we who live in flesh bodies are going to have pain, sorrow, and suffering. We are going to go through trials and tribulations. We are going to have surprises that are not all good, things that we did not anticipate happening, but they did.

 

I know that, for myself, I must keep reminding myself that God is in control, and that none of what I am going through catches him by surprise, and that nothing can thwart his purposes. He has a plan in mind for how he is going to work all things in my life for my good.

 

Also, as Christians, when we go through trials, we have a perspective of our trials that others don’t have. We don’t have to fear what is happening or what might happen, or how we are going to deal with this situation or that, or how we will survive, for we know our Lord is in control.

 

So, when we are afflicted, we can look to our Lord and to his word to be our comfort and our support. And we can be encouraged and strengthened in our faith, and we are then able to rise above our circumstances and to be at peace within even though a storm may be raging from without.

 

In 2016, the Lord moved me and my husband to a smaller place with much less storage space. I used to write journals of my times with the Lord in his word on paper, and I had notebook after notebook of these journals in a large bookcase. But they had to go because I had no space for them.

 

So, it was then that I moved my journaling (when I journal) to the computer, and so I also moved from reading a paper Bible to reading the Bible on the computer. But when I used to use a paper Bible more frequently, I used to underline and sometimes date Scriptures which encouraged my heart at particular times.

 

Sometimes I will go back to the paper Bible and see the times and dates which I underlined Scriptures and I can recall what I was going through at that time, and how much those Scriptures encouraged my heart, and they did give me life, and they still give me life every day.

 

The Wicked Lie in Wait

Psalms 119:94-96

 

“I am yours; save me,

    for I have sought your precepts.

The wicked lie in wait to destroy me,

    but I consider your testimonies.

I have seen a limit to all perfection,

    but your commandment is exceedingly broad.”

 

If we are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in wholehearted devotion to his will and to his purposes, we are going to have enemies, for there are many people in this world, and even within the gatherings of the church, who are opposed to our Lord and to his gospel of salvation. Thus, if they are enemies of Jesus, they also will be our enemies.

 

But we don’t have to fear their threats or their resolves to take us down and out. We don’t have to fear their opposition or their attacks against us. For, our God is in control. He will not leave us nor forsake us if we are his by genuine faith in him. So, we are not alone. We are not left comfortless.

 

Our Lord will give us the strength and the wisdom to know how to respond to all opposition, and he will work good out of every difficult situation. We just have to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus and not on our circumstances, and we must keep surrendering our lives to God, believing that he is in control.

 

The Great Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Francis Foster, 1915

Music by Samuel W. Beazley, 1915

 

How I love the great Redeemer

Who is doing so much for me;

With what joy I tell the story

Of the love that makes men free.

Till my earthly life is ended,

I will send songs above,

Then beside the crystal sea

More and more my soul shall be

Praising Jesus and His love.

 

He has purchased my redemption,

Rolled my burden of sin away,

And is walking on beside me,

Growing dearer day by day.

That is why I sing His praises,

That is why joy is mine,

That is why forevermore

On the everlasting shore

I shall sing of love divine.

 

Glory be to Him forever!

Endless praises to Christ the Lamb!

He has filled my life with sunshine,

He has made me what I am.

Oh, that everyone would know Him,

Oh, that all would adore!

Oh, that all would trust the love

Of the mighty Friend above

And be His forevermore.

 

He is everything to me, to me,

He is everything to me,

And everything shall always be;

I will never cease to raise

A song of gladness in His praise;

Here, and in the world above,

My soul shall sing of saving love;

Life and light and joy is He,

The precious Friend who died for me.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MD-LJGRnUZY

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Lovers of Pleasure or of God?

Times of Difficulty

2 Timothy 3:1-5 ESV

 

“But understand this, that in the last days there will come times of difficulty. For people will be lovers of self, lovers of money, proud, arrogant, abusive, disobedient to their parents, ungrateful, unholy, heartless, unappeasable, slanderous, without self-control, brutal, not loving good, treacherous, reckless, swollen with conceit, lovers of pleasure rather than lovers of God, having the appearance of godliness, but denying its power. Avoid such people.”

 

Ever since Adam and Eve sinned against God, and we were, thus, all born into sin with sin natures, these things have existed in human hearts and in people’s actions and words. So, none of these things are new. Rather, they are increased in severity to the point to where they become the norm more often than not, and so they stand out.

 

The sad reality in all of this is that these things describe not only those who make no profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but that they describe many of those who do profess faith in Jesus. For, there is not much difference these days between those without faith and those who profess to have faith in Jesus. For often their attitudes, words, and actions are the same.

 

Not everyone is like this, praise the Lord! But I believe we are seeing a huge increase in severity of what this describes here in our present time, including within what is called “church.” Even the faith in Jesus that is commonly being taught today is based in self and in what God/Jesus can do for us, but not in how we can honor, obey, and submit to him as Lord.

 

For, the predominant gospel being taught today makes no demands for repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord. Instead, it gives free license for its adherents to continue living in sin, only now without guilt, without remorse, and with no fear of punishment for their habitual, deliberate, and premeditated sinning against God.

 

Since many people are professing faith in Jesus Christ, but they aren’t dying with Christ to sin and living to Christ and to his righteousness, and thus they are still dead in their sins, they are still living like the unsaved, the ungodly. They are still lovers of self, unholy, without self-control, reckless, loving pleasure rather than God, and appearing righteous, but denying its power.

 

We are to avoid such people. We are not to be partakers with them in their lifestyles and in their adulteries. It doesn’t mean that we treat them with hate, for we are to love even our enemies. And we are called out into the world to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ to the ungodly. But we must be careful regarding our associations so that we don’t get dragged down.

 

For, bad company corrupts good character, and evil is often stronger than good, and there is a danger of being influenced by, and becoming like, and blending in with those we are around so that we end up losing our witness for Christ and we end up straying from our pure devotion to the Lord. As believers in Jesus, we need the encouragement of one another.

 

Among them are Those

2 Timothy 3:6-9 ESV

 

“For among them are those who creep into households and capture weak women, burdened with sins and led astray by various passions, always learning and never able to arrive at a knowledge of the truth. Just as Jannes and Jambres opposed Moses, so these men also oppose the truth, men corrupted in mind and disqualified regarding the faith. But they will not get very far, for their folly will be plain to all, as was that of those two men.”

 

There are many people in this world and within the gatherings of the church who are skilled at manipulation, charm, smooth talk, and persuasive words, who know how to talk others into sin. They know how to spot those who are emotionally and spiritually weak, and they are skilled at convincing them to do things they might not have otherwise done.

 

They are not guilty of the other people’s sins, but they are guilty of leading others into sin. But those who sin bear the guilt of their own sin, for they had a choice to listen to the lies and to follow them, or to refuse them and to follow the truth instead. And this is one reason why we must stay strong in our faith so that we don’t fall prey to being led into sin.

 

And this is another reason, too, why we must use wisdom and discretion regarding our close associations, and why we must pray for wisdom regarding friendships and partnerships. For there is no fellowship between light and darkness, and if we are not careful, we can become more like the people of the world rather than becoming like Jesus.

 

And this includes our choices of church fellowship. If we choose to participate in gatherings of the church (or what is falsely called church) in which a diluted gospel is being taught, and we are being pushed to believe that Jesus requires of us no repentance, submission, or obedience to our Lord, we are subjecting ourselves to following those who oppose Jesus, and who oppose his gospel, and we are in danger of being led astray.

 

The Godly are Persecuted

2 Timothy 3:12-14 ESV

 

“Indeed, all who desire to live a godly life in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, while evil people and impostors will go on from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. But as for you, continue in what you have learned and have firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it.”

 

Paul had just finished (in vv. 10-11) describing his walk of faith and the persecutions he suffered for his faith at the hands of those who were opposing the Lord and his gospel. And then he went on to tell us who follow Jesus with our lives that we will also be persecuted in like manner.

 

Why will we be persecuted? Because we are living godly lives, holy and pleasing to God, and we are sharing the truth of the gospel of our salvation, and the enemy doesn’t like that. And that is an offense to those who are perishing because it reminds them of their own sins and the fact that they have not surrendered their lives to Jesus.

 

For, there are liars and deceivers, wicked people, people who are evil, who are impostors, who pretend one thing while they live another, and so they persecute those of us who are living righteously, because what we live and what we believe is an offense to them.

 

But we who are in Christ Jesus, by God-given faith in him, are to continue strong and steadfast in our walks of faith and in teaching the gospel of our salvation with others, and for the salvation of human lives, despite all opposition against us For…

 

“All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work” (vv. 16-17).

 

Broken and Contrite  

 

An Original Work / May 13, 2012

 

I come before You, Lord, my Savior,

With humble heart and crushed in spirit.

I bow before You, I implore You,

Heal my broken heart, I pray.

Love You, Jesus, Lord, my master,

You are the King of my heart.

Lord, purify my heart within me;

Sanctify me, whole within.

 

Oh, Lord, I long to obey fully

The words You’ve spoken through Your Spirit.

I pray You give me grace and mercy,

Strength and wisdom to obey.

Father God, my heart’s desire,

Won’t You set my heart on fire?

Lord, cleanse my heart of all that hinders

My walk with You, now I pray.

 

Oh, Jesus, Savior, full of mercy,

My heart cries out for understanding.

I want to follow You in all ways,

Never straying from Your truth.

Holy Spirit, come in power,

Fill me with Your love today.

Lord, mold and make me;

Your hands formed me;

Live Your life through me, I pray.

 

https://vimeo.com/118841304

For His Name's Sake

If we study the Scriptures, particularly the New Testament, in context, one verse at a time, chapter by chapter, and book by book, we will soon discover that the picture some of us have had painted to us of Jesus Christ and of his gospel, and of the life of a believer in Jesus, is false.

 

Too many people these days are misrepresenting Jesus and his gospel. They are painting a picture of Jesus Christ as someone greatly admired even by the unsaved, and they are painting a picture of his gospel as something largely accepted and embraced by many people.

 

They are misrepresenting his gospel and the life of a believer in Jesus as something easy and comfortable and simple, too. For, they have diluted his gospel to a mere acknowledgment of Jesus or a mere profession of faith in him as though that secures people heaven when they die.

 

But Jesus taught that to follow him meant daily dying to sin and self and following him in obedience to his ways. He taught that it meant a life of suffering (sharing in his sufferings), becoming like him in his death. And he taught that we would be hated and persecuted for his name’s sake.

 

Matthew 10:21-23 ESV

 

“Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next, for truly, I say to you, you will not have gone through all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.”

 

Many Christians over the past 2000 years have experienced this kind of treatment. And they were treated this way because they believed in the Jesus of the Scriptures, not the “other” Jesus many are proclaiming today. And they were treated this way because they were proclaiming the gospel which Jesus and his apostles taught, and they weren’t buying into cheap grace.

 

If you believe in a Jesus who was a “good deed doer” who just went around loving on and blessing everyone and who never upset anyone but who made everyone feel good about themselves all the time, and if you believe in a gospel of salvation which makes no demands for repentance, obedience, or submission to Christ as Lord, but just forgives everyone, then you are believing lies, and thus you are unlikely to be persecuted for Jesus’ sake.

 

But if we are teaching the Jesus of the Scriptures in his fulness, and if we are teaching the gospel in its fulness as Jesus taught it, and as his NT apostles taught it, then we are going to have people who aren’t going to be happy with us, and some may even get angry with us and they may oppose us, mistreat us, falsely accuse us, and even betray us to death.

 

Even our own family members may turn against us and reject us, persecute us, ignore us, want nothing to do with us, and/or they may hate and betray us because they are offended by what we are teaching, because we are teaching the truth and not the lies which tickle itching ears.

 

But the one who endures such persecution to the end will be saved. For, the Scriptures don’t teach once saved always saved. They don’t teach that if we pray a prayer that we are now saved, it can’t be taken away from us, and that heaven is guaranteed us when we die no matter how we live our lives.

 

The Scriptures teach that we must die with Christ to sin and live to Christ and to his righteousness, that we must walk in conduct no longer according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, and that sin should no longer be our practice, but that righteousness should be our practice if we want to be saved from our sins and have eternal life (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; Tit 2:11-14; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; 1 Co 6:9-10).

 

Matthew 24:9-10 ESV

 

“Then they will deliver you up to tribulation and put you to death, and you will be hated by all nations for my name's sake. And then many will fall away and betray one another and hate one another."

 

So, why will we be hated? For Jesus’ name’s sake. We will be hated because we speak the words Jesus spoke and we speak the words the apostles taught which were not broadly accepted by the masses, and some (or most) of which are what got Jesus and the apostles killed.

 

We will be hated because we are teaching the truth of the gospel that we must deny self and die daily to sin and to self and that we must follow Jesus in obedience to his ways and that we must honor him as Lord (master). And that is because the flesh of humans resists holiness and righteousness, and it prefers what is immoral, wicked, false, and self-serving.

 

Most people don’t want to hear that they must leave their lives of sin behind them to follow Jesus in obedience to his ways. They don’t want to hear that they must make Jesus their Lord (owner-master) and that salvation means we are dying with Christ to sin and living to him and to his righteousness.

 

They like the messages which tickle their itching ears which make them feel good about themselves even in their sins, which do not tell them that they have to stop sinning, and which give them the impression that heaven is their eternal destiny no matter how they live their lives on this earth.

 

Luke 21:12, 16-19 ESV

 

"But before all this they will lay their hands on you and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues and prisons, and you will be brought before kings and governors for my name's sake."

 

"You will be delivered up even by parents and brothers and relatives and friends, and some of you they will put to death. You will be hated by all for my name's sake. But not a hair of your head will perish. By your endurance you will gain your lives."

 

It isn’t just the people of the world who will hate us and persecute us and who will reject the truth of the gospel in favor of a lie. Remember who Jesus’ greatest persecutors were. They were the rulers and teachers of the law in the temple of God. So, we should not be surprised if we are hated and persecuted by those within the gatherings of the church.

 

If the church, overall, has adopted the cheap grace gospel, which consoles people in their sins rather than teaching death to sin, those who have bought into the cheap grace gospel are going to be offended by us and by what we teach if we are teaching death to sin and obedience to Christ.

 

We also should not be surprised if we are kicked out of some local fellowships which have adopted the cheap grace gospel and thus they don’t want us to be part of them because we are teaching the truth of the gospel which offends those who are perishing in their sins. For, Jesus said it would happen and it is happening.

 

But, again, through endurance we will gain our lives, for our salvation will not be complete until Jesus returns. And we will only receive that salvation and eternal life if we endure with Christ to the end, and if we walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. So, make certain you are obeying your Lord and that you continue until the very end, by God’s grace.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Rom 12:1-8; 1 Co 12:1-31; Eph 4:1-16; Jn 6:44; Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2]

 

Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer

 

Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897

Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897

 

Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,

This is my constant longing and prayer;

Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,

Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,

Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,

Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,

Seeking the wandering sinner to find.

 

O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,

Holy and harmless, patient and brave;

Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,

Willing to suffer others to save.

 

O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,

Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;

Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,

Fit me for life and Heaven above.

 

Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,

Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;

Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;

Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg

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The Worth of Knowing Jesus Christ

Watch Out for Dogs!

Philippians 3:2-4 ESV

 

“Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh. For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also.”

 

A “dog” is a term used to mean an unclean person (spiritually unclean). It was also often a reference to false teachers who were leading people away from God and away from Jesus Christ and his gospel message to follow after other humans and a man-made gospel which appealed to human flesh.

 

Whether the false gospel is one of legalism and the adding of works to our salvation which are not required by God, or if it is one of liberalism (libertinism) which makes provision for the flesh, and which does not put sin to death, and which does not demand obedience to the Lord, and which does not call for submission to Christ as Lord, it is still of the flesh.

 

Circumcision was something physically performed on all Jewish males under the Old Covenant. It was a cutting away of physical flesh. It is not required by God under the New Covenant. But a different kind of circumcision is required by God under the New Covenant, and it is a cutting away of our sinful flesh by being crucified with Christ to sin.

 

“The flesh” is speaking either of our physical flesh (our physical bodies) or it is symbolic of our sin natures, our fleshly appetites which war against the Spirit. When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith, our sinful flesh is put to death with Jesus so that we can now walk in his righteousness.

 

Our confidence is not in our own flesh, in our own good works of our own flesh of our own doing and of our own choosing. Our confidence is in Jesus Christ and in his blood sacrifice on that cross so that we could be delivered from our slavery (addiction) to sin and so that we can now become slaves of God and of his righteousness, by his grace.

 

We glory in Christ Jesus in what he did for us in dying on that cross so that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. We glory in what he did in dying for us so we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. And the works that we now do are the works of the Spirit which God prepared that we should walk in them (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21; 1 Co 6:19-20; Eph 2:8-10; Rom 6:1-23).

 

I Count as Loss

Philippians 3:7-11 ESV

 

“But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.”

 

Paul had much to take pride in in his flesh, but whatever he gained in the flesh he counted as loss for the sake of Christ. He no longer gloried in his fleshly accomplishments, but his glory was in the cross of Christ and in Christ’s sufferings for us so that we could be delivered from our slavery to sin so that we can live to God and to his righteousness.

 

But it wasn’t just his fleshly accomplishments that he counted as loss, but he counted everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus our Lord. And this is what is involved when we come to faith in Jesus Christ. We surrender everything to Jesus Christ in order to follow Jesus wherever he leads us. For we are now his possession, and he owns us.

 

“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

 

When we understand that everything we have in Christ comes from Christ and not from ourselves, and that we can’t even believe in Jesus unless the Father first draws us to Christ, there is nothing for us to glory in but Christ. Even what we accomplish as followers of Jesus in our spiritual lives in the way of spiritual growth or spiritual fruit is all because of Jesus.

 

Do we have things we must do? Yes! But they are not the works of the flesh but the works of God which he prepared in advance that we should walk in them, as his workmanship. We do them in his power and in his strength and according to his will and purpose, so it is God who gets the glory and not us.

 

For, to know Jesus is to die with him to sin and to live to him and to his righteousness. To know him is to no longer walk in conduct according to the flesh but now according to the Spirit. To know him, too, is to obey him in doing what he says we must do.

 

And to know him is to suffer with him, becoming like Jesus in his death so that we might live with him for eternity. And this is possible because to know him is also to know (experientially, intimately) him and the power of his resurrection. And that power is the overcoming of sin so that we no longer walk in sin, but now by the Spirit we walk according to the Spirit of God.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:9-10, 19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 3:4-10]

 

Living by Faith

 

Lyrics by James Wells, 1918

v. 4 by Robert E. Winsett, 1918

Music by J. L. Heath, 1918

 

I care not today what the morrow may bring,

If shadow or sunshine or rain,

The Lord I know ruleth o’er everything,

And all of my worries are vain.

 

Living by faith in Jesus above,

Trusting, confiding in His great love;

From all harm safe in His sheltering arm,

I’m living by faith and feel no alarm.

 

Though tempests may blow and the storm clouds arise,

Obscuring the brightness of life,

I’m never alarmed at the overcast skies—

The Master looks on at the strife.

 

I know that He safely will carry me through,

No matter what evils betide;

Why should I then care though the tempest may blow,

If Jesus walks close to my side.

 

Our Lord will return for His loved ones someday,

Our troubles will then all be o’er;

The Master so gently will lead us away,

Beyond that blest heavenly shore.

 

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

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Don't Grow Weary or Fainthearted

Lay Aside Every Weight

Hebrews 12:1 ESV

 

“Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”

 

We have the examples of the prophets of the Old Testament, the Old Testament saints, the New Testament apostles, and the New Testament saints who have gone before us to teach us how to live for the Lord and to do his will. Not one of them was perfect, though, so we can also learn from their failures regarding what not to do.

 

What many of them taught us, both in the Old and in the New Testament, is that we are to forsake our sins to follow our Lord in obedience to his ways. That message has not changed. The message taught by the prophets of old is basically the same message taught by the apostles in the New Testament, that we must repent of our sins, obey our Lord, and submit to him as Lord.

 

Therefore, if we want to be the Lord’s disciples, and if we want to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God, we must forsake all sin (which clings so closely) so that we can run with endurance the path our Lord has laid out for us to take. And this includes getting rid of every hindrance to our walks of faith or anything that might be leading us into sin.

 

A weight can be anything which is weighing us down, which is preventing us from walking as we ought. Or it can be something which is leading us into sin and thus is a hindrance to our walks of faith. Many people professing faith in Jesus Christ who are still living in addiction to sin are still entrapped by sin because they will not remove what is leading them into sin.

 

So, they leave the door wide open to continue on the same path they had been on before, and then they act surprised when they keep falling into sin. And then they will make excuses for their sin by stating that a “back door” got them or that something came at them “from the side” they weren’t expecting. But they know better. They just won’t do what they need to do.

 

Therefore, we can’t ignore those back doors and side doors into sin and think we won’t fall for them again. We must get rid of them! We must be proactive in our fight against sin by removing all obstacles to our walks of faith. Or we are tempting fate, and we are making ourselves vulnerable to going right back to what we have done before with the same results.

 

Looking to Jesus

Hebrews 12:2 ESV

 

“Looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”

 

Jesus Christ, when he walked this earth, was both fully God and fully man (human). He was tempted in like manner as we are also tempted, yet without sin. And he suffered like we suffer, for he was despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

 

Jesus lived a pure and holy life, fully righteous, in full surrender and obedience to God the Father. He is our example to follow for how we are to live our lives. And through his death on that cross, he made the way for us to be delivered from our slavery to sin so that we could be slaves of his righteousness. We just have to take the way he provided for us.

 

His grace, which brings us salvation, trains (instructs) us to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for his soon return. His grace is not free license to continue living in sin only now without guilt, punishment, or remorse.

 

For, Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. And he shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now be God’s possession and so we would now honor God with our lives (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15; 1 Co 6:19-20; Tit 2:11-14; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17).

 

So, the joy that was set before Jesus was our deliverance from slavery to sin so that we would become slaves to God and to his righteousness. It was that we would no longer live to sin but to righteousness. And it was that we would revere, respect, honor and obey him as our Lord (owner-master).

 

Therefore, since Jesus Christ is the founder and the perfecter of our faith, our faith will align itself with his will and purpose for our lives. If our faith is from God, founded in Jesus Christ, and perfected by him, we will submit to Christ as Lord, forsake our lives of sin, and we will follow Jesus in obedience to his ways, with our lives surrendered to him to do his will.

 

If we don’t, then we don’t have saving faith, and we will die in our sins.

 

Consider Him

Hebrews 12:3 ESV

 

“Consider him who endured from sinners such hostility against himself, so that you may not grow weary or fainthearted.”

 

If you have forsaken your sins to follow Jesus Christ in obedience to his ways, and you are walking not according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit, and you are sharing the truth of the gospel with others so that they can also believe on him and die with him to sin and live to his righteousness, you will face the same kind of hostility Jesus faced from sinful humans.

 

You will be hated. You will be falsely accused of what you did not do, or you did not say. Your words will be twisted. You will be mocked, ridiculed, made fun of, called names, attacked vehemently, and attempts will be made to try to trick you, to trap you, and to trip you up. And people will be angry with you for no reason other than their own bitterness of spirit, too.

 

So, don’t let them get to you. We need to remain strong in our faith and not give in to enemy attacks. We must not be frightened by those who oppose us or afraid of what they might do to us or say about us. But we must persevere in our walks of faith and in continuing to share the truth of God’s word with all who will listen, and let God be our strength and help.

 

Praise the Lord

 

Lyrics by John Kempthorne (1775-1838),

Music by Lowell Mason (1841)

 

Based on Psalm 148:1-2

 

Praise the Lord! ye heav'ns adore him;

Praise him angels, in the height;

Sun and moon, rejoice before him;

Praise him, all ye stars of light.

 

Praise the Lord! for he has spoken;

Worlds his mighty voice obeyed;

Laws which never shall be broken

For their guidance he has made.

 

Praise the Lord! for he is glorious;

Never shall his promise fail;

God has made his saints victorious;

Sin and death shall not prevail.

 

Praise the God of our salvation!

Hosts on high his pow'r proclaim;

Heav'n, and earth, and all creation,

Laud and magnify his name.

 

Worship, honor, glory, blessing,

Lord, we offer unto thee;

Young and old, thy praise expressing,

In glad homage bend the knee.

 

All the saints in heav'n adore thee,

We would bow before thy throne;

As thine angels serve before thee,

So on earth thy will be done.

 

Hallelujah! Amen. Hallelujah!

Amen, Amen, Amen.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Iu0LGJEcLRU

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Why Do They Rage?

Peter and John were under arrest for preaching about Jesus Christ and his gospel. The rulers in the temple of God took counsel against them and charged them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus.

 

“But Peter and John answered them, ‘Whether it is right in the sight of God to listen to you rather than to God, you must judge, for we cannot but speak of what we have seen and heard’.” Acts 4:19-20 ESV

 

Acts 4:23-31 ESV

 

“When they were released, they went to their friends and reported what the chief priests and the elders had said to them. And when they heard it, they lifted their voices together to God and said, ‘Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth and the sea and everything in them, who through the mouth of our father David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit,

 

“’Why did the Gentiles rage,

    and the peoples plot in vain?

The kings of the earth set themselves,

    and the rulers were gathered together,

    against the Lord and against his Anointed’—

 

“’For truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, to do whatever your hand and your plan had predestined to take place. And now, Lord, look upon their threats and grant to your servants to continue to speak your word with all boldness, while you stretch out your hand to heal, and signs and wonders are performed through the name of your holy servant Jesus.’ And when they had prayed, the place in which they were gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and continued to speak the word of God with boldness.”

 

Nations Rage, People Plot

 

What is it about the name of Jesus that leads people to get so angry? What is it about his gospel that enrages people? It is who Jesus is and what he stands for, and it is the truth of his gospel that gets people stirred up because they do not want to leave their lives of sin behind them. So, they are offended by messages which tell them that they must.

 

But the sad reality here is that it isn’t just the nations, and it isn’t just the people of this world who are getting angry and who are offended by the gospel of our salvation, but it is many of those who also profess faith in Jesus Christ who are angry, and for the same reasons, because they do not want to forsake their sins, and so they don’t want to hear that they must.

 

They don’t want to be confronted with their sins anymore than did the religious rulers in the temple of Jesus’ day, or any more than did Jesus’ brothers. They don’t want to be told that what they are doing is wrong and that they need to change, or that they need to submit to Christ as Lord, and that they are no longer to be the ones running their own lives.

 

They like the idea of a Jesus who died on the cross for their sins in order to forgive them their sins, and in order to give them eternal life with God, and who will not punish them for their sins. They like the notion of a grace of a god which permits them to keep on living in their sins and a god who will just look down and smile at them even when they are steeped in sin.

 

But they don’t like the concept of the one and only true God who puts conditions on his grace and who tells us that there is a cost to following Jesus with our lives, and that if we don’t meet those conditions, and if we are not willing to do what is required of us, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, but that we will die in our sins.

 

The Offense of the Gospel

 

The gospel message which Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught is not the modernized version many are used to hearing today, at least here in America. If it was, they wouldn’t have hated him and them, and they wouldn’t have tried multiple times to destroy him and them, and they wouldn’t have crucified him, nor would they have persecuted his followers.

 

For today’s gospel demands no death to sin and no living to righteousness and no surrender of one’s life to follow Jesus in obedience to his will and to his ways. All one has to do is to “believe” in Jesus, although that is rarely explained, or they just have to invite him into their hearts, or confess him verbally as Lord, and they are told their sins are forgiven and that they are guaranteed entry into God’s heaven when they die.

 

But Jesus taught if we want to come after him that we must deny self and take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and self) and follow (obey) him. For, if we hold on to our lives of living in sin we will lose them for eternity, but if we lose our lives for his sake, i.e., if we are crucified with him in death to sin and we are resurrected with him to new lives in him, we will be saved.

 

Jesus taught that there is a cost to following him with our lives, and that if we do not count the cost, and if we don’t do what he said, that we will not have eternal life with him. He demanded that he be number one in our lives, and that following him should be first priority over everything else, including over our own families. And he demanded that we die with him to sin and that we surrender all to him to follow him in obedience.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Lu 14:25-33]

 

And the apostles taught the same message. They taught we must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and that we must live to Christ and to his righteousness. They taught that we must not continue living in sin or we will die in our sins, but that we must now walk according to the Spirit and in righteousness, by God’s grace and in his power, to have eternal life.

 

[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 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; Tit 2:11-14]

 

Speak the Word with Boldness

 

So, we need to be teachers and ministers of truth and not of lies which tickle itching ears. We need to teach that we must die with Christ to sin and live to him and to his righteousness and that we must forsake our sinful lifestyles in order to follow Jesus in obedience to his will for our lives. We need to teach that Jesus died to deliver us from slavery to sin so we would now be slaves to God and to his righteousness.

 

And we need to not let the opinions or criticisms of others discourage us. We must not let any opposition against us or anyone warring against us keep us from continuing to share the gospel of our salvation. We must obey God rather than man always if man (or woman) tries to persuade us to disobey our Lord or attempts to command that we disobey God. And our Lord will give us all the grace, strength, and wisdom we need to do so.

 

I Surrender All  

 

Hymn lyrics by Judson W. Van De Venter, 1896

Music by Winfield S. Weeden, 1896

 

… Lo, we have left all, and have followed Thee. (Mark 10:28)

 

All to Jesus I surrender,

All to Him I freely give;

I will ever love and trust Him,

In His presence daily live.

 

All to Jesus I surrender,

Humbly at His feet I bow;

Worldly pleasures all forsaken,

Take me, Jesus, take me now.

 

All to Jesus I surrender,

Make me, Savior, wholly Thine;

Let me feel the Holy Spirit,

Truly know that Thou art mine.

 

All to Jesus I surrender,

Lord, I give myself to Thee;

Fill me with Thy love and power,

Let Thy blessing fall on me.

 

All to Jesus I surrender,

Now I feel the sacred flame;

Oh, the joy of full salvation!

Glory, glory, to His Name!

 

I surrender all,

I surrender all;

All to Thee, my blessed Savior,

I surrender all.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j2BnL_zI7uw