2 Thessalonians 2:9-12 ESV
“The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness.”
Right now in America the primary gospel which is permeating
the church is not the gospel that Jesus brought to us and that he lived by
example. It is not the gospel message that his New Testament apostles taught
us, either. It has the appearance of the true gospel, but it is a half-truth
gospel taught from Scriptures taken out of their context and twisted to say
what the Scriptures do not teach. And it is being brought to us by charlatans
and wolves in sheep’s clothing in high up positions in religious institutions.
Basically what it teaches is that we can “believe” (not
defined) in Jesus Christ and now our sins are all forgiven and heaven is
guaranteed us when we die, but regardless of how we live while we are still
here on this earth. But Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must
deny self, take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and to self) and follow
(obey) Jesus. For he said that if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin
we will lose them for eternity, but if for Christ’s sake we die to our old
lives, we will live.
And he also taught that not everyone who says to him, “Lord,
Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the ones DOING the will of
God the Father who is in heaven. For many are going to stand before Jesus on
the day of judgment claiming that they did this or that in his name, and he is
going to say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of
lawlessness!” So, we can’t just “get saved” and then live however we want until
Jesus returns to take his bride to be with him for eternity.
And the Apostle Paul taught that faith in Jesus Christ
involves us being crucified with Christ in death to sin and us being raised
with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, created to be like God in true
righteousness and holiness. For if our salvation is genuine, our old self was
crucified with Christ in order that the body of sin might be brought to
nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin but to God and to his
righteousness. So we are not to let sin reign in our bodies, to make us obey
its passions.
And he taught that if sin is what we obey, it ends in death,
not in life eternal. And if we walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the
flesh, and not according to the Spirit, it will end in death, not in life
everlasting. For if our minds are set on the things of the flesh and not on the
things of the Spirit of God, and thus we live according to our sinful flesh and
not in accord (in agreement) with God’s Spirit, it results in death, not in
life everlasting with our Lord. For the mind set on the flesh is hostile to
God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot. Those in the flesh
cannot please God.
All throughout the New Testament we read that we must die
with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, and that we must live to him and
to his righteousness in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New
Covenant) or we do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And
so we need to know what the Scriptures teach (in full context) so that we can
reject the lies of Satan and embrace the truth, for our eternity depends on us
knowing and believing the truth of the gospel of Christ.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 ESV
“But we ought always to give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and belief in the truth. To this he called you through our gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brothers, stand firm and hold to the traditions that you were taught by us, either by our spoken word or by our letter.”
But thank the Lord that not everyone who professes faith in
Jesus Christ has bought into the half-truth (lie) gospel of Satan which gives
people the impression that they can make some one-time profession of faith in
Christ and that they are now good to go for eternity regardless of how they live.
There is a remnant who are following the Lord Jesus in obedience to his word
and who are walking in his ways, not necessarily in absolute sinless
perfection, but in practice, as their regular life course.
Their faith is genuine of the Spirit faith because it aligns
with the teachings in the Scriptures on what it means to be saved from our
slavery to sin and what it means to have eternal life with God. And remember
here that we can’t pull a few Scriptures out of context and make them say what
the Scriptures do not teach, as a whole (at least in the New Testament). We
have to interpret the Scriptures in their full context to truly understand
their meaning. And then we should compare them to other like Scriptures.
So we need to be those who believe the truth of the gospel
as is taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles in their fulness. We
must die with Christ to sin, not just once, but daily, in the power of God’s
Spirit. And we must now walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit
and no longer according to the flesh, in walks of obedience to our Lord, and no
longer in sin. And we must continue in those walks of faith and obedience to
our Lord until we die or until Jesus returns to take us to be with him for
eternity.
For, if we do not, and if we choose to believe that Jesus
saved us from our sins so we can now continue in sin guilt free and punishment
free, and so we continue to live in sin according to the flesh, then we must
know that the Scriptures teach that we will not inherit eternal life with God,
but we will die in our sins. For if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness,
holiness, and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, then we will not
be saved from our sins when Jesus returns. So please take this to heart.
Our God Reigns
Song by Lenny Smith
How lovely on the mountains are the feet of Him,
Who brings good news, good news,
Announcing peace, proclaiming news of happiness:
Our God reigns, our God reigns!
Our God Reigns
Our God Reigns
Our God Reigns
Our God Reigns
It was our sin and guilt that bruised and
Wounded Him, it was our sin that brought Him Down.
When we like sheep had gone astray,
Our shepherd came, and on His shoulders,
He bore our shame.
Out of the tomb He came with grace and majesty.
He is alive. He is alive.
God loves us so, see here His hands, His feet, His side...
Yes, we know, He is alive!
Our God Reigns
Our God Reigns
Our God Reigns
Our God Reigns
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