If Indeed You Continue in The Faith

“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.” (Colossians 1:21-23 ESV)

A true follower of Jesus Christ should be described as one who once (in the past) was alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds. He should not be one who is presently hostile in mind toward God, doing (practicing) evil deeds. For if we have truly been reconciled to God, it means we have changed – away from our lives of living according to the flesh to now living our lives according to the Spirit and according to the will of God. It means we have exchanged our old life of sin for our new life of righteousness.

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.” (Romans 8:6-8 ESV)

For being reconciled to God means that we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For the purpose of the reconciliation is so that Christ Jesus can now present us as holy and blameless and above reproach before him, but not in some form of status, but in reality in how we are living our lives, in practice. For holy means to be unlike (different, separate) from the world because we are being made into the likeness of character of Jesus Christ.

But so many people today in America professing faith in Jesus Christ are buying into a different gospel other than the one that Jesus and his NT apostles taught. For they prefer their comfort food over the healthy meal, i.e. they prefer the feel good messages which tickle their itching ears and which make them feel good about themselves rather the full gospel message which Jesus and his NT apostles taught which requires death to sin, living to God and to his righteousness, and walking in obedience to his commands.

Thus there are many who profess Jesus as Lord and Savior who are not following Jesus with their lives but who are still hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, much in the area of sexual immorality, which appears to be the predominant sin permeating the church in America today. So many are addicted to various forms of sexual immorality because so much is now easily available with the use of smartphones which can be viewed in a crowded room in a corner with no one seeing what they are doing.

So, the vain and worthless (in the sight of God), who are the intoxicated to sin, and who are the self-indulgent, yet are professers of faith in Jesus Christ, are going after the feel-good messages which allow them to indulge in riotous and immoral behavior while claiming heaven as their eternal destiny. But their professions of faith are not genuine for they are engaged in sensuality in its various forms of expression, in practice, and not in holy living, and not as those who are living above reproach.

For they are the selfish and the prideful who want to maintain control over their own lives and who will not yield control of their lives over to the Lord. So they prefer the feel-good messages which do not confront them in their sin and which do not require that they change how they are living, but which still promise them heaven when they die. And this is their covenant of marriage which they think is to Christ but it is a false substitute (another lover), not the real deal (the covenant that God designed for us).

Now the Lord is speaking through his word and through his messengers and he is warning the self-indulgent professers of faith in Jesus Christ to not go after the comfort food, spiritually speaking, and that time is running out, and that there may not be enough time left for the sensual to get right with God and to lead future generations in the paths of righteousness. But so many of them are not heeding the warnings but they are continuing to go after what makes them feel good so that they can continue in sin without feeling guilt.

And this is while the Lord and his word and his messengers are feeding the children of God the pure milk of the word, i.e. the gospel that Jesus and his NT taught which requires death to sin, living to God, and obeying his commands. And it requires that we remain steadfast in genuine biblical God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ in denying self, dying daily to sin, and in daily following our Lord in obedience to his commands until the very end of our lives here on this earth, not shifting from the truth of the gospel. For this is required of us to have the hope of salvation from sin and eternal life.

So, please don’t play with fire or you will get burned. Don’t assume that time is on your side. It isn’t. Not one of us knows when we will breathe our last breath. And don’t assume that you are going to still have a chance one day to turn your life around for the good whenever you decide. You may not have that chance. So get reconciled with the Lord today, in truth. Repent of your sins and now follow the Lord in obedience to his commands in holy living. And please know what the Scriptures teach in context, for they teach we must obey the Lord and forsake our sins to have salvation from sin.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Broken Cord

An Original Work / August 29, 2018

Your bond is broken with your Lord and Savior

And your testimony is separate from Him.

Your words not matching your actions today.

Repent of your sin and bow down and pray.

Live what you testify in truth always.

Purity’s lacking in your life and witness,

For you profess one thing, but other you do.

Not moral, spiritual. Still of the flesh.

Not living in truth to what you confess.

Lying about it puts you in a mess.

Living a lie is your practice, ‘tis true of you.

Masquerade righteousness – none of it true.

Your heart is not given to your Lord God.

Because of how you live, you are a fraud.

Turn from your sin and give your life to God.

https://vimeo.com/287303934