Colossians 3:1-4 ESV
“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.”
When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith in him,
we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to
walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness. For, Jesus died on that cross to put sin to death so that we
would no longer live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his
righteousness. Therefore, sin is to no longer reign in our mortal bodies to
make us obey its sinful desires, for Jesus set us free from sin (Rom 6:1-23;
Eph 4:17-24).
Therefore, we are to be those who are seeking after the
things of God and not the things of this sinful world. Our lives should be
surrendered to Jesus Christ to do his will for our lives. Our lives are not to
be surrendered to the things of this sinful world. Our passion should now be
for Jesus Christ, to do his will, and to minister his love and grace to the
people of this world, and to be an encourager to the body of Christ for our
mutual edification and spiritual growth. We are not to be serving the flesh of
man.
Colossians 3:5-11 ESV
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.”
Now, the popular gospel that is permeating the church today
is teaching that we don’t have to put to death what is earthly and sinful in us,
that we don’t have to repent of our sins or obey the Lord or submit to his will
for our lives. But that goes directly against what the Scriptures teach, and it
is a slap in the face to Jesus Christ who died on that cross that we might die
with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness in obedience to him
and to his commands (New Covenant). That popular gospel dishonors our Lord.
We absolutely must put sin to death in our lives daily, by
the Spirit, and daily we must be walking in obedience to our Lord. All these sinful
things listed here are to have no part of our lives. Addiction to sin is not an
illness. It is slavery to sin, and Jesus died to free us from slavery to sin so
we’d be slaves of God and of his righteousness. And we can’t be slaves to both.
So, if sin is what we are enslaved (addicted) to, and it is what we obey, it
will end in death not in eternal life with God (Rom 6:16).
All these sins are bad, but it appears that sexual
immorality is the predominant sin now permeating the church. Statistics have it
that 60% (+/-) of Christian men are engaged in or are addicted to pornography,
with young boys at even higher numbers, I think, and with women and girls
increasing in numbers but still trailing the males. And I think statistics have
it that as great as 35% of pastors of churches are engaged in the use of
pornography. We live in a sex-craved society here in America.
So, the church at large is in a massive spiritual and moral
decline here in America, and she has lost her testimony for Jesus Christ and
for his gospel in the world. And it is largely because she, the majority of the
church, has adopted a diluted half-truth gospel which does not put sin to death
in the life of the “believer” in Jesus, but it gives sin full reign. But we are
not to walk in sin. That is supposed to be in our past, not in our present. “In
these you too ONCE walked, when you WERE living in them” (past).
Instead, we are to put off the old self with its sinful
practices, and we are to put on the new self, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image
(likeness) of its creator (God – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit). And we are to
walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and not according to the
flesh. And we are to live holy lives, pleasing to God, and we are to walk in
obedience to the Lord. For if we don’t, we don’t have eternal life with 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 Pet 2:24; 1
Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10, 15; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Eph 2:8-10; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Gal
5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal
6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb
10:26-27; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Matt 7:21-23; Rev. 2-3; Rev
18:1-6; Rev 21:8, 27; Rev 22:14-15]
Songs
in the Night
An Original Work / December 18, 2013
“About
midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other
prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84
Lord, I praise You forevermore.
You, my Savior, I now adore.
Hope in heaven awaiting me,
Because You died at Calvary.
I have been forgiven,
And I’m bound for heaven.
Jesus set me free from
All my sin, I say.
I will praise Him always!
Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:
Overcame death, my vict’ry won!
Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!
I rejoice in His love for me.
I will walk in vict’ry!
My sin is but hist’ry!
I am free to please Him
With my life today.
I will love Him always!
Lord, I thank You for giving me
A new life bought at Calvary.
Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.
Tender mercies now flow within.
Lord, I am so thankful;
Through my Lord, I’m able
To sit at His table;
Fellowship with Him.
I will thank Him always!
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