He Humbled Himself by Becoming Obedient

Philippians 2:3-4 ESV

 

“Have this mind among yourselves, which is yours in Christ Jesus, who, though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”

 

Jesus Provided the Way

 

Jesus Christ, in his death on that cross, provided the way for us to be delivered from slavery (addiction) to sin, to be cleansed of our sins, and to be made new creations in Christ Jesus, free from the control of sin, who now walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. For Jesus Christ died on that cross not just to forgive us our sins, and not just to promise us eternal life with him, but to free us from our bondage to sin so that we could now serve him in holiness and in obedience.

 

Nonetheless, many people professing the name of Jesus today are rejecting his salvation from sin in favor of an alternate gospel which permits them to keep on in their deliberate and habitual sin in direct defiance to God. They are the self-indulgent, the irresponsible, and the foolish who are spiritually blind and who are selfish and full of malice and wickedness who want to continue the way that they are yet while claiming God’s grace over their lives and a false assurance of salvation from sin and of eternal life with God.

 

So, instead of listening to the Lord and to the truth of the gospel as Jesus taught it, and as his New Testament apostles taught it, they are choosing to believe in a cheap grace gospel (the supplanter) which makes no demands for repentance (turning away from sin) nor for obedience to the Lord nor for honoring Jesus Christ as Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives. And cheap grace also removes all of God’s judgments against those who choose to continue in their sinful lifestyles in direct defiance of God and of his commands.

 

The self-indulgent professing faith in Jesus Christ have, thus, cast off living righteously and in spiritual wholeness in favor of the cheap grace gospel message which permits them to continue in deliberate and habitual sin. For it allows them to continue in their sin now guilt free. And if they begin to feel a twinge of guilt, many are being told to just claim who they are in Christ, even though they are not in Christ if they have not died with Christ to sin and if they are not living to God and to his righteousness.

 

Many Paths to Heaven Being Taught

 

There are many paths to heaven being taught these days but there is only one way which will save you from your sins and give you the hope of eternal life with God, and that is via the way of the cross. And this isn’t just about Jesus dying on that cross to save us from our sins, but it is about us taking his mindset on our selves via us, by faith in him, dying with him to sin and living to him and to his righteousness in the power of God’s Spirit. And it is about us humbling ourselves by being obedient to Christ to the death.

 

By faith in Jesus Christ 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. Since Jesus died to free us from our slavery (addiction) to sin, we are to no longer walk in sin, but we are now to walk in righteousness and holiness and in obedience to our Lord by faith and by the grace of God. Sin should no longer be our master but Jesus Christ is to be our only Lord, and now we are to serve God with our lives.

 

For, if we continue to live in sin, in deliberate and habitual sin, we will not have salvation from sin and we will not inherit eternal life with God. For God’s forgiveness of sin is not extended over the life of one who deliberately, habitually, and premeditatedly keeps on sinning against the Lord, no matter what that person professes with his lips or says he believes in his heart. If we walk in sin we will die in our sin, and we will not have eternal life with God no matter what the cheap grace gospel teaches.

 

For God’s grace and his salvation and his forgiveness of sins have restrictions and conditions. Although Jesus is the one who paid the price for us to have forgiveness of sins, forgiveness is not given to everyone who professes the name of Jesus. For Jesus said that not everyone saying to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven. Many are going to hear him say one day, “Depart from me you workers of iniquity. I never knew you!”

 

Philippians 2:9-11 ESV

 

“Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

 

So, we need to be those who bow the knee to God in humility and in submission to his will and purpose for our lives. We need to be those who bow the knee to the Lord in genuine repentance (turning away from sin) and in obedience and in submission to Christ as Lord and King of our lives. And we need to be those who confess him as Lord (Owner-Master) in truth and not in name only, meaning that we are those who are following him in obedience to his commands and who are walking righteously by his grace.

 

We are not to be among those who are unfaithful to God, who profess his name, but who live the opposite of what his grace has provided for. We are not to be the disloyal to God. We are not to be the deceiving who are being deceived who turn their backs on God, and on those they are supposed to love, so that they can engage in sinful practices. And we are not to be those who are telling lies to others and who are lying to themselves, blessing themselves with God’s grace while they continue in deliberate sin.

 

And we are not to be those who are accepting the cheap grace gospel (the substitute for God’s true grace) which teaches us that we do nothing and that God does it all, or that we don’t have to repent, obey, or submit to Christ as Lord, and that we can continue living in sin and that God will not judge us, but he will smile upon us, instead. Jesus is not going to keep on forgiving us if we are living in habitual and deliberate sin against him. Thus, we will not have salvation from sin and eternal life if this is how we continue.

 

[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 5:10,15,21; Tit 2:11-14; Jas 1:21-25; Rom 12:1-2; Php 2:12-13; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-10; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-11; 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; Ac 26:18; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15; Eph 2:8-10]

 

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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