Colossians 1:13-14 ESV
“He has delivered us from the domain of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of his beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.”
When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given and God-persuaded
faith, and we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with
him to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness, he delivers us from the domain (power, control) of darkness (sin,
wickedness) and he transfers us to the kingdom of Christ. Our old self is
crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing,
so that we will no longer be enslaved to sin.
[Eph 2:8-10; Jn 6:44; Heb 12:1-2; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; 1
Pet 2:24]
For when Jesus shed his blood for us on that cross it was to
buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now be God’s possession,
and so that we will now honor God with our lives in how we think and believe
and live. For when Jesus died on that cross it was so that we would die with
him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, and so that we will live
for him now and no longer for ourselves. For we are to no longer let sin reign
in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions, for Jesus set us free.
[1 Co 6:19-20; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15,21; Rom 6:1-23; Eph
4:17-24]
For forgiveness of sins and the hope of heaven when we die
is not the totality of the gospel message, even though many people have made it
out to be such. So, when we study the New Testament Scriptures in their context
we learn that Jesus died so that we will die with him to sin and live to him
and to his righteousness. And Jesus said that if anyone would come after him
that he must deny self, take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and to self)
and follow (obey) him. And that was his consistent message.
So, we don’t just “get saved” (a one-time deal) and now all
our sins are forgiven and heaven is our eternal destiny. For Jesus said that
not everyone who says 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. And Paul
taught that the righteous requirement of the law is fulfilled in us who walk
(in conduct, in practice) no longer according to the flesh but according to the
Spirit. So, a saved life is a changed life, not the same old life.
[Lu 9:23-26; Matt 7:21-23; Rom 8:1-14; Eph 4:17-24; Tit
2:11-14]
Colossians 1:21-23 ESV
“And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.”
So, when we believe in Jesus Christ with genuine faith, and
we die with Christ to sin and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of
life in him, we are changed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God. Now we want
to obey the Lord. We want to do what pleases God. We don’t want to continue
living in sin. And I am certainly not saying that we instantaneously become
perfect in every way, for the Christian life is a process of sanctification.
But lack of perfection should never be used to excuse away deliberate and
habitual sin.
So, when we believe in Jesus with God-given faith this is to
be a picture of our lives. We used to be hostile in our minds towards God. We
used to be doing (in practice) evil deeds. This is not to be who we still are. For
God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, trains us to say “No!” to
ungodliness and fleshly lusts, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly
lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. So such things as sexual immorality,
lust, idolatry, lying, cheating, stealing, unfaithfulness, impurity, etc. are
to be no more.
Yet, many people professing faith in Jesus Christ today have
this mistaken idea that once they believe in Jesus that heaven is now secured
for them regardless of how they live, and so they continue in deliberate and
habitual sin while claiming Jesus as their Lord and Savior and while claiming
heaven as their eternal destiny. For they have not had that transformation of
the Spirit of God, for their faith was of the flesh, not of God, and they don’t
really want to die to their sins, but they want to continue in them, truth be
told, even if some of them may claim they want rescued.
For many of them are still living to please their fleshly
appetites and so they live for the pleasure of their senses. Although they may
claim to be Christians, they don’t live like those who have been delivered from
slavery to sin. Many of them are still contemptible people, evildoers, meanies,
monsters, scoundrels, and villains, while they profess faith in Jesus. For they
are drawn to what gives pleasure to their senses regardless of right and wrong,
and regardless of who gets hurt in the process. It is all about them!
But Jesus Christ did not give up his life for us on that
cross so that we could continue in deliberate and habitual sin guilt free, and
so we could continue to live to please our flesh and not to please the Spirit
of God. He died to free us from all that so we would now honor him with our
minds and our bodies. He freed us so we would now be slaves of God and of his
righteousness, and so that we would live holy and godly lives while we wait for
our Lord’s return. But his grace to us has stipulations. His salvation has
requirements.
If we want to have eternal life with God and heaven as our
eternal destiny and be assured that our sins are forgiven we have to walk (in
conduct, in practice) no longer according to the flesh but according to the
Spirit. We have to forsake our former lives of living in sin and for self and
we have to follow Jesus in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). And then
we have to continue in that faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the
hope of the gospel, and until the end of time. So please take this to heart.
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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