“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him DENY HIMSELF and TAKE UP HIS CROSS DAILY and FOLLOW me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but WHOEVER LOSES HIS LIFE for my sake WILL SAVE IT. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.’” (Luke 9:23-26 ESV)
“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but THE ONE WHO DOES THE WILL OF MY FATHER who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” (Matthew 7:21-23 ESV)
The Apostle Paul and the other New Testament apostles taught the same gospel message as what Jesus taught, if understood correctly in the full context of what they wrote. And with regard to the grace of God:
“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)
“For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is NOT YOUR OWN DOING; it is THE GIFT OF GOD, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are HIS WORKMANSIP, created in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand, that we should WALK IN THEM.” (Ephesians 2:8-10 ESV)
These verses alone, and many more like them, dispel the “gospel” message that is so popularized in the American church today. Just from these verses alone we can see that self-denial, dying daily to sin, and following Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands is NOT “works salvation.” For not one of us can do this of our own accord, of our own flesh, but only by the grace of God and in his power and strength at work within us, as we cooperate fully with him in his work of grace in our lives, via submission to Christ as LORD.
And since Jesus Christ gave himself for us to redeem us (to buy us back for God) out of all lawlessness (disobedience to God), and out of our slavery (addiction) to sin, and to purify for himself a people for his own possession (he now owns us) who are zealous for GOOD WORKS, then if we are teaching death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord and to his commands, we are not teaching “works salvation” but the salvation that is from God and is according to his plan and purpose for our lives.
And just because our salvation is not of our own doing, not of our own fleshly works – not of the will nor of the flesh of man – and so we don’t get to determine what that salvation looks like, either, it does not equal that no works are required of us by God. For in the same passage that tells us that our salvation is a gift of God, and not of our own works, it tells us that we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for GOOD WORKS which God prepared in advance that we should WALK IN THEM (in daily practice).
And the grace of God is not just forgiveness of sins and a free ride to heaven. For God’s grace is what sent Jesus Christ to that cross to put our sins to death with him so that, by God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in the Lord Jesus we are able to deny self, die daily to sin, and walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands. So, God’s grace to us is not a free license to continue living in sin. For if sin is what we practice (obey), it will lead to death, not life eternal. But if we obey obedience to God, its end is eternal life with God.
So, God’s grace to us is not just to forgive and to console us in our sins. In fact, if we are those who are living in deliberate and habitual sin against the Lord, there is no forgiveness for that sin, according to the Scriptures. Instead, we are warned that if we continue on that path, and if we do not turn from our sins and now follow Jesus in obedience to his commands, in surrender to his will and purpose for our lives, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what profession of faith we made in Jesus Christ.
God’s grace, therefore, is training us to say “NO!” to the sinful passions of the flesh and “YES!” to God and to his holiness and righteousness in godly living. And this is not something we just do verbally. This means that we refuse to continue in deliberate and habitual sin and daily we deny self and die to sin and follow Jesus in obedience to his commands, by the Spirit, by God’s grace. And now we live holy lives unto God, to please our Lord, and to walk in his ways and to do what he says he has for us to do as his followers.
[John 8:31-32; John 10:27-30; John 14:15,21,23-24; John 15:1-11; Luke 9:23-26; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14,24; Romans 11:17-24; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:2; Galatians 5:16-21; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 1:21-23; 2 Timothy 2:10-13; Titus 2:11-14; 2 Peter 1:5-11; Hebrews 3:6-15; Hebrews 5:9; 1 Peter 1:3-9; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6,15,24-25; 1 John 3:4-10,24; 1 John 4:19-20]
Just a Closer Walk with Thee
Hymn lyrics by Anonymous/Unknown
Music by American Melody
“For indeed He was crucified because of weakness, yet He lives because of the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, yet we will live with Him because of the power of God directed toward you” (2 Co. 13:4 NASB).
I am weak, but Thou art strong;
Jesus, keep me from all wrong;
I’ll be satisfied as long
As I walk, let me walk close to Thee.
Through this world of toil and snares,
If I falter, Lord, who cares?
Who with me my burden shares?
None but Thee, dear Lord, none but Thee.
When my feeble life is o’er,
Time for me will be no more;
Guide me gently, safely o’er
To Thy kingdom shore, to Thy shore.
Just a closer walk with Thee,
Grant it, Jesus, is my plea,
Daily walking close to Thee,
Let it be, dear Lord, let it be.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y6Ks49apflE
Caution: This link may contain ads
No comments:
Post a Comment