“If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
“Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. On account of these the wrath of God is coming. In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. Here there is not Greek and Jew, circumcised and uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave, free; but Christ is all, and in all.” (Colossians 3:1-11 ESV)
Now, this came right on the heels of the teachings about self-made religion and legalistic requirements that are not of God. So this solidifies that self-made religion is not that which demands the forsaking of our sins and walks of obedience to our Lord in holy living. It is not works salvation, in other words, if we are taught of God that we must forsake our sins and follow him in walks of obedience to his commands if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For this is the message of the gospel of Christ.
For true faith in Jesus Christ, the kind that saves, comes from God, is authored by Jesus Christ, is persuaded of God, and is gifted to us by God. So it is not of our own selves, not of our own doing, not of the will nor of the flesh of man. So we do not get to determine what this faith looks like. God does! His word does! And he requires that we die with him to sin daily and that we are raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.
Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; 1 Peter 2:24
So, if we have been raised with Christ, it means first of all that we must have died with him to sin. And that requires that we no longer walk in sin, making sin our practice, but now righteousness and obedience to our Lord are what we practice, instead. So sin is no longer to have reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if we obey sin, it leads to death. But if we obey obedience to God, it leads to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).
So, if we have died with Christ to sin, and if we have been raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness, then we should be seeking the things of God in our lives and not the things of this sinful world and of our fleshly appetites. And the things which are of God are holiness, righteousness, honesty, moral purity, uprightness, faithfulness, self-control, and obedience to his commands. These are to be what we focus on and what we practice.
So, just like what it says in Galatians 5:16-21, it says here, too, that we are to put to death what is earthly in us: “sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry” and “anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth.” And we are not to lie to one another, for if our faith is genuine God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, and not a faith which is of the flesh, then we should have put off the old self with its sinful practices, and we should have put on our new self in Christ.
And our new self in Christ Jesus requires that we now no longer walk in sin but that we now walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to our Lord in holy living. For Jesus gave his life up for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) out of our lives of slavery to sin so that we will now honor and serve the Lord Jesus with our lives in obedience to his commands. For if sin is our practice, and not obedience to the Lord, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips have professed.
[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 8:1-14; Rom 12:1-2; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-17; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; 1 Peter 1:15; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 10:23-31; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
My Heart’s Desire
An Original Work / June 29, 2013
Based off Romans 10:1-21; Luke 9:23-26; Ephesians 4:17-24
Loved Ones, Oh, my heart’s desire
Is that you might come to Jesus.
Many appear zealous for God,
But they do not trust in Him.
They have not submitted to the One
Who saved them from their sins;
Not forsaken their sins,
Nor have they obeyed their King.
The word of the Lord is near you:
The word of faith we’re proclaiming:
That you must confess your faith
In Jesus as your Lord and King:
Believe in Him as your Lord,
And follow Him where’er He leads.
Share the gospel; be a witness,
And meet others’ needs.
Beautiful are the feet of those
Who bring the good news of Jesus:
Anyone who would come to Him
Must deny himself today;
Die to sin and self, and
Let the Spirit transform you in heart;
Put on your new self in Jesus,
Yielding to the cross.
https://vimeo.com/115643303
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