“Let love be genuine. Abhor what is evil; hold fast to what is good. Love one another with brotherly affection. Outdo one another in showing honor. Do not be slothful in zeal, be fervent in spirit, serve the Lord.” (Romans 12:9-11 ESV)
This love is agape love which comes from God and which prefers all that God prefers, such as holiness, righteousness, godliness, moral purity, honesty, uprightness, faithfulness, integrity, and obedience to God and to his commandments under the New Covenant. So when we love God and when we love other humans with this kind of love, we will follow our Lord in obedience in the forsaking of our sins and in walks of obedience to his commands, and we will not deliberately and habitually sin against him.
As well, the faith to believe in Jesus Christ is authored by God/Christ, it comes from God, it is persuaded of God, and it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of man. So we don’t get to decide what that faith looks like. God does! His word does! And his word teaches that if we want to come after Christ, we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. And if we do not obey him, but we walk in sin, we do not have life in him.
So, if our love for God is genuine agape love, we are going to prefer to live through Christ, choosing his choices, obeying them in his power. We will abhor and reject what is evil and we will cling to (embrace) what is good, as defined by God and not by human flesh. We will be those who are being trained of the Holy Spirit to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for our Lord’s return. So sin will not be our practice. Righteousness will be our practice.
Nonetheless, that is not what is popular and commonly being taught today. What is being taught with regard to the gospel of our salvation and what faith in Jesus looks like, and what the Christian life should look like, too, is a defective, flexible, variable, shallow, wavering and unsubstantial gospel message which does not put sin to death in the life of the sinner, and which makes no requirements for holy living and walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands. So it gives lots of “wiggle room” to continue living in sin.
And so that “grace of God” (not from God) does nothing or little to control the sinful cravings of the flesh or to help the addicted to sin to be free from their slavery to sin. For it coddles them in their sins, instead. It pampers them. For many are teaching that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ is enough to save them from their sins and to insure them heaven when they die, but regardless of how they live. So death to sin and obedience to God are not being insisted upon or they are being rejected altogether.
And what has replaced the teachings of Christ and of his NT apostles is a modern flesh-driven gospel which is accepting of all walks of life. It is accommodating to the sinner who wants to continue in his sinful practices. And it is adaptable to our modern-day culture and morals and values. It is updated to fit the culture of today, and so it focuses much on feelings and on not offending people with the truth. So they change the gospel, for they are trying to draw in large crowds of people from the world into their gatherings.
And so they entertain the world with a “Christianized” version of what the world is offering, and they present the Christian life as “happy-happy” and as having a good time and doing what feels good. And their idea of “worship of God” is based in dancing, singing, swaying to the music, waving arms back and forth, and all the emotions associated with that, especially in large crowds of people all doing that together, much like what you might see at a rock concert. There is much power of emotion in such gatherings.
Now, is it wrong to dance and to sing and to wave your arms to music? Absolutely not! As long as how you are doing it is not seductive or totally out of control (unrestrained). But if a large group of people gather together to sing and wave their arms and sway to the music of songs termed “Christian,” should we say that all of those people are worshipping God? No! Why? Because, although music may be included in worship, true worship of God is in us surrendering our lives to God to follow him in obedience to his will.
So, true worship of God, and true salvation from sin, and the true gospel of our salvation, and true faith in Jesus Christ are not based in how we feel. They are not based in emotional experiences. And this is not all about making us feel good about God. And it is not about seeing God as someone who does everything for us to make us happy and to meet all of our needs, but absent of conditions, requirements, controls, and restraints. Jesus died so we would now die to sin and walk in obedience to his commands.
Our lives are now to be surrendered to him. He is to be Lord (Owner-master) of our lives, and we are to be his possession. And our lives are no longer to be our own to be lived however we want. Now we submit to God’s will and purpose for our lives, and so we deny self, we die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to his commands, in the power of God. And we now follow God’s plan and purpose for our lives in representing the true nature of God to the people of this world in word and in action.
So, now 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, we no longer are to let sin reign in our mortal bodies, to make us obey its passions. For we are slaves of the one we obey. So if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, that leads to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with Christ our Lord. And now we are to become slaves of righteousness leading to life.
But this is not something that we can do in our own flesh. You may have figured that out by now. For the flesh is weak, and it is vulnerable to temptation, and the flesh desires what is contrary to God and to his will and purpose for our lives. So we need the power of God working in us and through us, as we cooperate fully with God’s work of grace in our lives, in order to gain victory over sin and the flesh, and in order to live holy lives in submission to God’s will for our lives. So we must yield control to God.
[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 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Php 2:5-11: Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; Tit 2:11-14; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Luke 9:23-26]
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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