Luke 9:23 ESV
“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me.’”
Many people today, at least here in America where I live,
are professing faith in Jesus Christ. Many are claiming that their sins are
forgiven (past, present, and future), that they are free from the punishment of
sin, and that heaven is their eternal destiny when they die or when Jesus
returns for his bride, whichever comes first. But many of them are not denying
self, and they are not taking up their cross daily (daily dying with Christ to
sin), nor are they following our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant).
So, they are totally ignoring Jesus’ words. And they are
ignoring the teachings of the apostles, too, who taught the same thing as Jesus
taught. And they are making up their own gospel to suit their own chosen
lifestyles, so that they can assure themselves that they will not be punished
for their sins, and so that they can assure themselves that heaven is their
eternal destiny, even though they deliberately (knowingly and premeditatedly)
continue in habitual sin against the Lord and against other humans.
For, rather than walking by faith in Jesus Christ, they are
living by their feelings, doing what their flesh desires, and not doing what
God requires. For, they want to be able to live to gratify the sinful cravings
of their flesh while still professing faith in Jesus. And so they are
deliberately ignoring the Scriptures they don’t like, and they are embracing
the Scriptures they do like, which taught out of context, and twisted, are
tickling their itching ears, and are giving them permission to keep on living
in sin.
And so it is epidemic now, within the gatherings of what is
largely being called “church” here in America, that so many professers of faith
in Jesus Christ are still living in addiction to sin, to doing what their flesh
craves, regardless of our Lord’s commands, and regardless of who gets hurt in
the process, too. For it is all about them having their sinful cravings met. It
is all about them getting high on intoxication to sin and getting that exhilarating
feeling that they get when they “fall in love” with someone else.
For, their idea of “love” is romance. It is about their
feelings, their emotions, and how it makes them feel. It is very flesh based,
and selfish in nature. It is about “being in love,” but not about loving
others. And since it is very feelings based, it is also temporary, and it goes
away when the feelings die out. And so they can fall in and out of love, and
flitter from this relationship to that, and they can cheat on their spouses
without conscience, and without regard to the damage they are doing to their
marital relationships, too.
Luke 9:24-25 ESV
“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?”
They, the ones mentioned above, are those who are saving
their lives, i.e. they are holding on to their lives of living in sin and for
self, and they are not losing their lives by surrendering their lives to Jesus
Christ, and by dying with him to sin and living to him and to his
righteousness. So, they will lose their lives for eternity because they refused
to bow the knee to Jesus Christ and to make him Lord and Master of their lives.
Instead, they are the ones still maintaining control over their own lives.
So, they may be living high off their emotions right now,
doing what they know is wrong, forsaking the Lord and his ways, and
deliberately sinning against the Lord and other humans without conscience, but
it will come back to bite them in the end. They will lose their lives for
eternity. Heaven is not their eternal destiny. Hell is. So, living high off
their emotions will profit them nothing but eternity in hell separate from God.
Their only hope of salvation is to repent of their sins and to turn to the Lord
to obey him.
Luke 9:26 ESV
“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.”
Being ashamed of Jesus Christ goes far beyond just embarrassment
to mention his name around family, friends, and in the public. It is embarrassment
to be identified with the Lord and with his gospel in practice, in lifestyle. It
is fear of actually taking the Scriptures seriously and doing what they say for
fear of having to give up their own sins, and for fear of losing friends and of
having other humans reject them and call them names and persecute them, for
they want to be accepted by other humans.
They don’t mind being identified with the “popular Jesus”
who everyone likes and thinks he is such a nice guy who just forgives their
sins and promises them heaven when they die but then turns a blind eye to
future sins. For that “Jesus” doesn’t make them feel badly about sinning
against him, and he makes no requirements for repentance (forsaking of sins),
nor for obedience to his commands, nor for submission to him as Lord
(owner-master) of their lives. But he just loves on them and consoles them in
their sins.
Obviously that is not the Jesus of the Scriptures, though, but
it is a man-created Jesus/God who allows his followers to keep on in their sins
without making them feel badly about their sins and who makes no demands of his
followers. But the true Jesus of the Scriptures does demand submission,
obedience, and repentance (turning away from our sins). And so they don’t want
to identify with him, because then they would have to forsake their sins, which
they don’t want to do. So, they are ashamed of him.
And because they are ashamed of Jesus and of his gospel
message, then he will be ashamed of them when he returns for his bride one day.
But, convinced that God should let them into his heaven, they will say, “But
didn’t we do this or that in your name?” And he will reply, “I never knew you;
depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.” For, not everyone who says to
Jesus, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the
will of God the Father who is in heaven (See Matt 7:21-23).
For
Our Nation
An
Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: we’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
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