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.”
How are people being deceived today? Oh my, they are being
deceived in so many different ways, far too many to count. And the deception is
coming from all areas – the church, pastors, the government, the media, the
pharmaceutical industry, the world of sports, the world of entertainment, TV,
the music industry, movies, videos, stories, memes, and social media, etc. So,
this is why we must test everything we read, hear, and/or see.
But what is the major area of deception most concerning
here? It is that many people are being deceived by clever enchanters who are
deceivers and manipulators who twist the Scriptures and who alter the gospel to
make it more acceptable and appealing to human flesh and to the people of the
world and to the worldly. And they are teaching that you can “believe” in Jesus
and be guaranteed heaven while you still live in deliberate sin.
But the Scriptures don’t teach that we can believe in Jesus
and be guaranteed heaven as our eternal destiny while we continue in deliberate
and habitual sin. They teach that we must be crucified with Christ in death to
sin and that we must be raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him,
created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, and that we must now
walk not according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.
They teach that sin should no longer have mastery over our
lives for Jesus died to set us free from our slavery (addition) to sin so that
we would now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. We are to no longer
walk (in conduct, in practice) like we did before we believed in Jesus, but now
we are to put off our old sinful self and to be renewed in the spirit of our
minds and to put on the new self in Christ Jesus created to be like God in
truth.
For Jesus gave his life up for us 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 for us
and who was raised from the dead. 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 (with
our bodies). He did not die just to forgive us our sins and to promise us
heaven.
So, don’t accept the lies which tell you that you can “believe”
(not defined) in Jesus, have all your sins forgiven (past, present, and
future), be assured heaven as your eternal destiny, but that how you live will
not impact your salvation or your eternal security. For we are all going to be
judged by God according to the things we have done in this life. And we are all
going to reap what we have sown.
So, if you sow to please the flesh, from that flesh you will
reap corruption (destruction, death). But if you sow to please the Spirit, from
the Spirit you will reap eternal life with God. If you walk (in practice)
according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit, and if you do not walk
(in conduct) in obedience to the Lord, in submission to Christ, and in his
righteousness, you will die in your sins. You will not inherit 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 5:10,15,21; 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]
Galatians 6:9-10 ESV
“And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith.”
Now on the positive side of this reaping, if we who are
genuine believers in Christ Jesus continue in him in walks of obedience to his
commands, in daily dying to sin and to self, and in walks of holiness and
righteousness, and we do not give up the faith on account of persecution or on
account of wanting to return to a life of sin, in due season we will reap what
we have sown for the good, and we will be blessed to be with our Lord for
eternity.
So, this is an encouragement here to not grow weary in doing
good. For I know it can get really hard sometimes. Following the Lord Jesus
Christ with wholehearted devotion in a day and time when most people are living
to the flesh, instead, can be a difficult trial. It can get very lonely at
times when most professing faith in Jesus Christ are living worldly lives and
not godly lives, and especially if they exclude you because of your walk of
faith.
It can be trying if you are out there teaching (sharing,
preaching) the truth of the Scriptures with few to encourage and support you
while the majority either oppose you or just plain out ignore you as though you
don’t exist. And I am not just speaking of people from the world but of people
who claim to also be followers of Jesus Christ who do not support and encourage
the teaching of the full gospel message (the whole counsel of God).
So many professing Christians these days are buying into the
“cheap grace gospel,” which is an altered and diluted gospel message created in
the minds of humans in order to deceive and in order to turn hearts away from
pure devotion to Jesus Christ to continuing to walk in deliberate and in habitual
sin against God. For they are not teaching the necessity of repentance,
obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord (Owner-Master).
So, don’t let their disobedience be a cause for you to stumble.
Don’t let their rejection of you discourage you to the point that you give up
and you join in with them instead. Be strong and be courageous and keep on
doing what you know is right even if all desert you. Keep obeying the Lord and
keep teaching what is true and keep doing the good to everyone that our Lord
has called us to do. And one day you will be rewarded for your faithfulness.
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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