Isaiah 53:3-6 ESV
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He Became Sin for Us
When Jesus Christ, God the Son, died on that cross for our
sins he became sin for us so that when he died he put our sins to death with
him. So, him being smitten by God was also sin being smitten by God. Through
Jesus’ death on that cross God put our sin to death so that he might free us
from our slavery to sin and so that we might walk in his ways and in his truth
and in his righteousness in obedience to his commands (New Covenant).
But not everyone is healed. Not everyone is living in peace
with God. Just because Jesus died on that cross and put our sin to death with
him it does not mean that sin is put to death in us. And just because we might
make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, it does not mean sin has been put
to death in us. We have to cooperate with God in his work of grace in our
lives. It is not automatic just because of what Jesus did in dying for our
sins.
And this also is not a one-time experience that happens in
our lives which guarantees us heaven when we die regardless of how we live our
lives from now until we die. Daily we must, by the Spirit, be putting sin to
death and be walking in obedience to our Lord. For God’s grace instructs us and
trains us to say “NO!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live
self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ soon return.
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. He shed his blood
for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so we would now
honor God with our lives. And Jesus died to free us from our slavery
(addiction) to sin so we would now be slaves of God and of his 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 Pet 2:24; 1 Co 6:19-20; 2 Co 5:15; Tit
2:11-14; Jas 1:22-25; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; 1 Co 15:58; Php
2:12-13; Col 1:21-23]
Our Response to What Jesus Did
The Scriptures do not teach that we can just pray a prayer
to receive Christ as Savior of our lives and now our sins are forgiven and heaven
is guaranteed us when we die no matter how we live from now on. The Scriptures
teach that we must be crucified with Christ in death to sin and be raised with
Christ to WALK in newness of life in Him, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness.
Yes, this is of God! Yes, we can’t do this in our own flesh.
But it doesn’t happen without our full cooperation. And it doesn’t end there.
We are to now consider ourselves dead to sin and alive to God in Christ Jesus,
and we are to not let sin (our choice, our actions) reign in our mortal bodies,
to make us obey its passions (our choice, our actions). We are now to present
ourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and our
members (body parts) as instruments of righteousness (of holy and godly
living).
Now we must WALK (in practice) not according to the flesh
but according to the Spirit, for if we walk (in conduct, in practice) according
to the flesh, we will not inherit the kingdom of God. We will not have eternal
life with God. If sin is what we practice, and if righteousness is not what we
practice, and if we do not practice obedience to our Lord but disobedience is
our practice, we do not know God and we do not have heaven as our eternal
destiny.
For, Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must
deny self, take up his cross daily (daily die with him to sin) and follow
(obey) him. And Paul taught that the truth that is in Christ Jesus is that we
must put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life and is
corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of our
minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true
righteousness and holiness. And we are to no longer live like the ungodly.
[Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Lu 9:23-26; Eph 4:17-24; 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;
Heb 10:26-27; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Matt 7:21-23; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15]
A False Grace and Gospel and Church
It is sad to say, though, that most people professing Christ
as Savior today in America do not follow those Scriptures and what they teach with
regard to our salvation and our eternal life with God. They cherry pick a few
Scriptures they like which they largely take out of context, and they build
their own gospel of grace that is of the flesh of man and not of God, and which
was created to appeal to and to appease human flesh, not to please God.
Not only that, but before that or in connection with that
they recreated what church is now, too, for they turned the body of Christ into
institutions of men and into corporations under the state, and they are
marketing “the church” like any other business or product. Thus they appeal to
the felt needs of the people and to their fleshly desires, and so they have
altered the gatherings of the church to draw in large crowds of people from the
world.
Thus they are now largely just businesses of men which are
about entertaining and appealing to the world. Thus they also altered the
gospel of Jesus Christ by removing God’s requirements for surrender to him as
Lord (Owner-Master), and for repentance (forsaking our lives of sin), and for
obedience to his commands (New Covenant) and to walking in his ways and in his
truth. And they chose the ways of the world and of the flesh over the ways of
God and of righteousness and holiness.
So, God is calling out to his people to listen to him, to
test what they are hearing against the whole counsel of God (his word in
context), to reject the lies of the enemy, and to follow him in truth. But it
appears that most are not listening, and they are still holding on to the lies,
and they are still going their own way, and they are still holding on to their
institutional churches with their worldly and fleshly gatherings and they are
not returning to God.
Even though God has been disciplining them, and he has been
correcting the lies and proclaiming the truth through his servants, still most
professers of faith in Jesus in America seem to be going on, business as usual,
with no concern that how they are living will not end in eternal life with God
because they refuse the truth and they embrace the lies. And the addicted to
sin are still descending, still not responding to the voice of the Lord calling
them to repentance and to surrender to him as Lord. They are accepting the
supplanter in place of God’s true grace, and they are continuing in sin.
But God is still calling out to his church to “leave Babylon”
so that she does not share in her sins and punishment, for her sins are piled
high to heaven, and God is judging and will judge her even more. He is calling
out to his adulterous and wayward people to return to him as their only Lord,
but again, most appear to not be responding to his calls, and they are
continuing as they have been. And he is calling to all who have forsaken his
ways and his commands to repent and to turn back to him in obedience to his
will.
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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