1 Thessalonians 1:4-7
“For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, because our gospel came to you not only in word, but also in power and in the Holy Spirit and with full conviction. You know what kind of men we proved to be among you for your sake. And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit, so that you became an example to all the believers in Macedonia and in Achaia.”
We read in Matthew 22:14 ESV: “For many are called, but few
are chosen.” The many are urged to believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior,
and to leave their lives of sin behind them to follow Jesus in obedience, but
the chosen are those who follow Jesus Christ in obedience and in surrender to
his will, and who walk in holiness and in righteousness in the power of God.
And it is obvious that they are chosen by God because their actions reveal that
their faith is genuine and that it is not lip service only.
So, they don’t just listen to the word and then walk away
and forget what they heard, but they become doers of the word and not hearers
only. They apply the word of the Lord (under the New Covenant) to their daily
lives, and they put it into practice in their lives. And they cooperate with
the Lord in becoming like Jesus more and more, and they do not continue in
deliberate and habitual sin. It doesn’t mean they never sin, but that sin is
not their practice, but righteousness and obedience are what they practice.
Those who are truly following Jesus Christ with their lives,
in surrender to his will, and in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), will
be hated and persecuted, even by others who profess faith in Jesus Christ but
who are still walking according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit.
But this can serve to actually strengthen them in their walks of faith and to
make them even more determined to stay the course and to keep following the
Lord in obedience and in surrender to his will for their lives.
And those who are walking in genuine fellowship with the
Lord, and not in sin, can be an example to other believers in Christ as to how
they should live for the glory and praise of God. It doesn’t mean they are
perfect in every way, for we won’t reach perfection until we go to be with
Jesus for eternity, but that they are walking the walk and not just talking it.
They are making righteousness and holiness and obedience to God their practice,
and sin is not their practice, for daily they die to sin and live to righteousness.
1 Thessalonians 1:8-10
“For not only has the word of the Lord sounded forth from you in Macedonia and Achaia, but your faith in God has gone forth everywhere, so that we need not say anything. For they themselves report concerning us the kind of reception we had among you, and how you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, Jesus who delivers us from the wrath to come.”
Now those who are truly walking in obedience to the Lord,
and in surrender to his will, are also those who are not silent about their
faith in Jesus Christ and about his gospel, but they are sharing the truth of
the gospel with others, and they are encouraging their fellow Christians to
walk in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to the Lord, and not in
sin. But it is not talk only. They are walking the walk, and it is obvious to
those who have discernment to know when faith is genuine and when it is not.
For when we believe in Jesus Christ with genuine faith in
him, we die with him 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. So our
new lives in Christ should not resemble our old lives of living in sin. Now
that doesn’t mean we become perfect immediately, but there should be an obvious
transformation which has taken place to where others can see that we have
turned from sin and from idolatry to serve the living and true God.
Full
Release
An
Original Work / April 15, 2012
Walking daily with my Savior
brings me joy.
Loving Father; precious Jesus;
He’s my Savior and my Lord.
Gently leads me; follow Him.
I’ve invited Him within.
Now abiding in His presence,
oh, what peace.
From my self-life
He has brought me,
By His mercy, full release.
Hope and comfort,
peace and safety Jesus brings
When I daily bow before Him;
Obey freely; do His will.
Follow Him where’er He leads.
Listen to Him; His words heed.
Now obeying his words fully,
oh, what love
That He gives me
through salvation,
By His Spirit, from above.
Loving Father; precious Jesus,
He’s my friend.
With my Savior, by His Spirit,
I will endure to the end.
Share the gospel, tell what’s true.
Witness daily; His will do.
Tell the world of how their Savior
bled and died.
On a cruel cross He suffered
So that we might be alive.
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