“And Jesus answered them, ‘The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. Whoever loves his life loses it, and whoever hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves me, he must follow me; and where I am, there will my servant be also. If anyone serves me, the Father will honor him.
“’Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? “Father, save me from this hour”? But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.” Then a voice came from heaven: ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’” (John 12:23-28 ESV)
Jesus Christ was talking about the death that he was about to die for the sins of the world. He had to die for our sins so that many people could come to faith in Jesus Christ and be delivered from their slavery to sin, so that they could now live new lives in Christ Jesus, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. If Jesus did not die on that cross, our sins would not have died with him, and we could not then die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, in his power, by the grace of God.
But he wasn’t talking just about his need to die so that others might live, but of our need to die to our old lives of living in sin and for self so that we could be raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. For if first of all we are not crucified with Christ in death to sin, then raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, we cannot bear spiritual fruit for the kingdom of heaven, because we would still be dead in our sins and not alive to God.
But so many people are bypassing this death to sin by just claiming Jesus as their Lord and Savior and that they believe in him, and then they claim forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal destiny. But that is not the gospel that the Scriptures teach. For belief in Jesus Christ is not something that we can make up in our own minds, for it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man. True belief that saves comes from God, is persuaded of God, and is gifted to us by God, and therefore it submits to God’s will and purpose for our lives, which includes dying with him to sin.
[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44]
So, if you want to be of genuine faith in Jesus Christ you must be crucified with him in death to sin and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer under the control of sin and of Satan, but now under Holy Spirit control in walks of obedience to our Lord in holy living. For if we love our lives more, and so we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, then we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, and follow Jesus in obedience, then we have the hope of eternal life (Romans 6:1-23; Luke 9:23-26).
Now, going back to Jesus, although when he was in the garden he did ask the Father that if it were possible for this cup of suffering to pass by him that it would be so, yet he also said, “Nevertheless, not my will but Thine be done.” And he also acknowledged here that it was for this very purpose that he came to the earth and that he was brought to that hour. And so he submitted to what he knew was going to be a painful death, and not just because of the physical suffering involved in that death, but because he who knew no sin became sin for us on that cross that we might also die to sin.
And we must also come to that place where we come to the realization of the necessity of us dying with Christ to sin so that we can live to him and to his righteousness, and so that we can have salvation from sin and eternal life with God, and so that we can be used of God in the lives of others in helping to bring them to the cross of Christ where they can also die with Christ to sin and be raised with him to walk now in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as the Lord’s servants and messengers.
[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 3:1-11; 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]
On My Knees
By David Mullen / Michael Hunter Ochs / Nicole Mullen
I get on my knees, I get on my knees
There I am before the love that changes me
See I don't know how, but there's power
When I'm on my knees
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xyrYir-FPGE
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