“Beloved, although I was very eager to write to you about our common salvation, I found it necessary to write appealing to you to contend for the faith that was once for all delivered to the saints. For certain people have crept in unnoticed who long ago were designated for this condemnation, ungodly people, who pervert the grace of our God into sensuality and deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ” (Jude 1:3-4 ESV).
And this is our present situation today, and one of the reasons the Lord has me writing these daily devotions, because so many people are being led away from the truth of God’s word by people who are presently perverting the grace of our God into sensuality and who deny our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ. For they are teaching lies instead of the truth, which includes lies skillfully blended in with the truth to make them look like truth, but while they are still lies made to appear as though they are truth.
Now this word “sensuality” shows up at least 8 times in the New Testament Scriptures (in Mark, Romans, 2 Corinthians, Galatians, Ephesians, 1 Peter, 2 Peter and in Jude). The word “sensual” is mentioned twice in 2 Peter where he speaks of “sensual conduct,” and of “sensual passions.” And it means: “licentiousness, wantonness, outrageous conduct, conduct shocking to public decency, lewdness, and violent spite which rejects restraint and indulges in lawless insolence (wanton caprice)” (see biblehub.com interlinear).
Other terms for this “sensuality” are “wastefulness, recklessness, immorality, depravity, corruption, wickedness, evil, self-indulgence, indecency, dishonesty, deceit, treachery, trickery, cheating, and hard-heartedness,” etc. So, this isn’t just about what is of a sexual nature, though much of it is, but this is about rebellion against the Lord, self-gratification, living according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit, and living in immorality, in practice. It is about doing the opposite of what God’s word teaches us we must do.
So, how are these people perverting the grace of our God into sensuality? And how are they denying our only Master and Lord, Jesus Christ?
Well, the Scriptures teach God’s grace in this way:
“For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14 ESV; cf. Ephesians 2:8-10).
“We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin.” “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions.” “What then? Are we to sin because we are not under law but under grace? By no means! Do you not know that if you present yourselves to anyone as obedient slaves, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness?” (Romans 6:6,12,15-16 ESV).
Nonetheless, so many preachers, teachers, and pastors today are not teaching the grace of God in this way at all, but the opposite of what this teaches. For they are giving the people the impression that they can profess faith in Jesus Christ once in their lives, and that all their sins are forgiven (past, present, and future), and heaven is now secured for them for when they die, and that no one can take it away from them, but regardless of how they live, even if they are living in gross deliberate habitual immorality.
And, thus, they do also deny Jesus Christ as Lord and Master of our lives, and they deny that his purpose in saving us from our sins is that we will no longer walk in sin but now in righteousness and holiness and in obedience to our Lord and to his commandments (New Covenant). And many of them are telling the people outright that they do not have to submit to Christ as Lord, that they do not have to repent of their sins, that they do not have to obey the Lord and his commands, and that no works are required of them.
But what did Jesus teach? He said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) 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 his sake we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant), then we have the hope of eternal life with God. But if we deny him by our lifestyles (habits), when he returns for his bride, he will deny (disown) us (see Luke 9:23-26).
And Jesus also taught 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. For many will stand before him one day claiming him as Lord and all the things they believed they did in his name, and he is going to say to them, “I never knew you. Depart from me you workers of lawlessness,” because they would not obey him, and they would not submit to him as Lord, but they continued living in sin (see Matthew 7:21-23).
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
So, please be students of the Scriptures who study them for yourselves, but in context, and under the direction of the Holy Spirit, and not in accordance with the teachings of human beings. And what I mean by this is that we are not to depend on other humans to tell us the truth of what the Scriptures teach, because many are not teaching the truth, but they are teaching lies cleverly disguised as truth. So, please be students of the Scriptures who are listening to the Lord, who are obeying him, and who are testing everything you read, hear, or see against the Scriptures, but IN CONTEXT.
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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