Galatians 6:7-8 ESV
“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”
This is a warning to Christians and to those professing
faith in Jesus Christ but who may not be of genuine faith. There are many such
warnings all throughout the New Testament. We must guard our hearts against
being deceived. For if we practice (deliberately and habitually) such sins as
these – sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, drunkenness, and
orgies, etc. – we will not inherit the kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:16-21).
But many preachers today are telling you that once you “believe”
in Jesus Christ that your sins no longer matter to God, that he can’t even see
when you sin against him, and that he will not judge you for any of your sins. And
they teach that repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord are no
longer required of God, and that if someone says they are, that they are
teaching “works-based salvation” or legalism.
And so we need such warnings as this to bring us back to
reality and to get us to focus on what the Scriptures actually teach so that we
are not building our faith and practice on the teachings of humans but rather
on the Word of God. For all throughout the New Testament Scriptures which teach
the New Covenant teachings, we are taught that how we live in this life and
what we practice will determine where we spend eternity.
For faith in Jesus Christ is not just words we say or a one-time
decision we made in our lives to believe in Jesus Christ. First of all, faith
comes from God, not from ourselves. It is gifted to us by God. Jesus is the author
and the perfecter of our faith, and we can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ
unless God the Father first draws us to Christ, i.e. unless he persuades us as
to his holiness and righteousness, of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent
of our sins, to follow him in obedience, and to walk in the fear of God.
So, since our faith comes from God, it will be aligned with
God’s will and purpose for our lives and with his divine character and with his
holiness and righteousness. And this is why the Scriptures teach a faith that
is repentant, obedient, and submissive to Christ as Lord. And this is why the
Scriptures teach that if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin and not in
obedience to our Lord that we will not inherit eternal life with God.
[Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2; Jn 6:44; 2
Pet 1:1; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 14:15-24; Jn 8:51; Jn 15:10; Matt 7:21-23; 1 Jn
2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10,24; 1 Jn 5:2-3; 2 Jn 1:6; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17;
Eph 4:17-24; Heb 5:9; 1 Pet 1:1-2; Jas 1:21-25; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb
4:1-13; Php 2:12-13]
So, let’s look at some of these passages of Scripture which
let us Christians (and professing Christians) know that what we practice on
this earth, in the way of behavior, does matter for eternity.
For faith in Jesus Christ is obedience and it is repentance
and it is submission to Christ as Lord. For Jesus died that we might die with
him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He gave his life up for us
on that cross and he put our sins to death with him so that by faith in him we
would no longer be enslaved to sin but to God and to his righteousness. And he
died that we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who died and who
was raised (1 Pet 2:24; Rom 6:1-23; 2 Co 5:15,21; 1 Co 6:19-20).
For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must
deny self and take up his cross daily (daily die to sin) and follow (obey) him.
For, he said if we hold on to our lives (of living in sin and for self) that we
will lose them for eternity, but if we lose our lives for his sake (die with
him to sin) then we will have the hope of eternal life with God. But this is
not a one-time thing that takes place in our lives. We do this daily in the
power of God’s Spirit. (Luke 9:23-26)
Jesus also said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’" (Matt 7:21-23 ESV).
And then we read in Romans 2:6-8 that God will render to
each one according to his works, and for those who are self-seeking and who do
not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. And
we read in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 that we are not to be deceived for neither the
sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor practicing homosexuals, nor thieves, nor
drunkards, etc. will inherit the kingdom of God.
And in 2 Corinthians 5:10 we read that we must all appear before
the judgment seat of Christ so that each one of us may receive what is due for
what we have done in the body, whether good or evil. And in Ephesians 5:3-6 we
read another list of sins with the same message which says that those who
practice such things as this have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and
God. “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the
wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”
And we read in Romans 6:16-23 that if we are slaves of sin,
and sin is what we obey, that it leads to death, but if we are slaves to
obedience, that leads to righteousness and to sanctification and to eternal
life with God. Amen! And we read in Romans 8 that we are debtors, not to the flesh,
to live according to the flesh. For if we live according to the flesh we will
die, but if by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live.
And then in 1 John 1-3 we read that if we say we are in
fellowship with God but we walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin that we lie
and we do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as God/Jesus is
in the light, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. And if we say that
we know Jesus but we do not keep his commandments, we are liars and the truth
is not in us. And we read that whoever practices righteousness is righteous and
that no one born of God makes sin his practice. Whoever practices sinning is of
the devil.
So, then we go back to Galatians 6:7-8 where we read that we
are not to be deceived for God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will
he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap
corruption (destruction, decay, death), but the one who sows to the Spirit will
from the Spirit reap eternal life. So, please take this to heart.
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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