Turn from Evil and Do Good

1 Peter 3:10-12 ESV

 

“For ‘Whoever desires to love life

    and see good days,

let him keep his tongue from evil

    and his lips from speaking deceit;

let him turn away from evil and do good;

    let him seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

    and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.’”

 

This passage of Scripture does a fairly good job of describing the gospel message. For the message of the gospel of our salvation is that Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross to liberate us from our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we might now walk in freedom from bondage to sin and in obedience to our Lord in holiness and righteousness, in the power of God, for the glory and praise of God. But it doesn’t stop there. It goes on.

 

What else the gospel message tells us is that if we do not turn away from our sinful lifestyles, and if we do not turn to God to walk in obedience to his commands, but if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and we do not walk in righteousness and holiness, that we don’t know God, and that we are not in fellowship with Jesus Christ. Our sins are not forgiven, and we do not have the hope of eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess.

 

The Opposite Being Taught

 

But this is not the message that most people are teaching these days here in America. Most are teaching that we can pray a prayer to receive Christ, or that we can just acknowledge who Jesus is and what he did for us on that cross, or we can accept God’s love, grace, and forgiveness into our lives and now all our sins are forgiven, and we will not be punished for our sins, and now heaven is guaranteed us as our eternal destiny.

 

No dying with Christ to sin nor living to Christ and to his righteousness required in that gospel message. No change of lifestyle or of sinful practices. We can just “get saved” and then go on living our lives without missing a beat, and when we die we get to go to heaven, according to what these people are teaching, which is false. Some of them may talk about holy living but they do not teach that we can’t be saved without living holy lives.

 

The Truth Being Proclaimed

 

But this Scripture passage says that the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are open to their prayer. And the righteous are not those who merely make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, but they are those who are living righteously in the power of God. But the face of the Lord is against those who DO evil, i.e. those who practice evil. The evil are not just those who make no profession of faith in Jesus, but who DO evil.

 

So, we must die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and we must live to Christ and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord, as a matter of practice. This is not saying we will be absolutely perfect in every way but certainly lack of perfection is no excuse at all for continued and deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord. And we must continue steadfast in that faith until the very end, and then we will receive eternal life with God.

 

The Message of the Cross of Christ

 

For Jesus said that if we want to come after him we must deny self and take up our cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self we will lose them for eternity. But if for the sake of Jesus we die daily with him to sin and to self and our lives are now surrendered to him to do his will for our lives, then we have the hope that one day we will enter into the kingdom of heaven.

 

And Jesus said that not everyone saying to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter into the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven. For Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. By his grace we are delivered from our slavery (addiction) to sin so that we might now walk in holiness and righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, until the very end.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 8:31-32,51; Jn 14:15-24; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 11:17-24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 5:9; Heb 9:28; Heb 10:26-27; 1 Pet 1:1-5; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10,24; 1 Jn 5:2-3; 2 Jn 1:6; Jas 1:21-25]  

 

How Beautiful Heaven Must Be

 

Songwriters: Cordelia J. Whiteside Bridgewater, 1920 / Andy Pickens Bland

 

We read of a place that's called heaven,

It's made for the pure and the free;

These truths in God's word He has given,

How beautiful heaven must be.

 

In heaven no drooping nor pining,

No wishing for elsewhere to be;

God's light is forever, there shining,

How beautiful heaven must be.

 

The angels so sweetly are singing,

Up there by the beautiful sea;

Sweet chords from their gold harps are ringing,

How beautiful heaven must be.

 

How beautiful heaven must be

Sweet home of the happy and free;

Fair haven of rest for the weary,

How beautiful heaven must be

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCfHh-Ra1N8

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