“Then Jesus said to His disciples, ‘If anyone wishes to come after Me, he must deny himself, and take up his cross and follow Me. For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and will then repay every man according to his deeds.’” (Matthew 16:24-27 NASB1995)
[Cf. Luke 9:23-26; Mark 8:34-38; John 12:25-26; Romans 8:17:
Philippians 3:10; Galatians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:21; 2 Timothy 2:11-12; Romans 6:6;
Matthew 10:38; 1 Corinthians 9:24-27; 2 Corinthians 4:10-11; Luke 14:27; John
15:18-20; Colossians 3:3-4]
There are many people professing faith in Jesus Christ,
convinced that their sins are all forgiven and that heaven is now guaranteed
them when they die, but they have not died with Christ to sin. They have not
been raised with Christ 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. Sin has not
been put to death in their lives, but they are continuing to live in their
sins, doing what their evil hearts desire, deliberately and habitually, for
they believe the lie.
Some of them may make a pretense of having put sin to death
in their lives, while secretly they continue in their habitual sinful
practices. Among them are many who are habitual liars, deceivers, manipulators,
fakes, malicious, morally unclean, opportunists, and untrustworthy egomaniacs
whose pride and selfishness keep them locked into their sins while outwardly
they profess to be followers of Jesus Christ. But they are not followers of the
God above, but of the gods below who convince them that God will not judge
them.
Some of them may go through the motions of religious
practice while their hearts are far from God. They regularly attend religious
gatherings, and they may even be involved in what are called Christian
ministries. Some of them are even pastors, elders, and deacons of “church”
congregations. But secretly they are still living to please the flesh, and not God,
for they are serving the gods of this world, and not the God from above who
created us and who made us to be a people who would worship him with our lives.
And the Lord may be speaking to some of them, warning them
that if they continue on their sinful course that they will die in their sins
and that they will not have eternal life with God. He may be calling out to
them to repent of their sins, to die to sin daily, and to follow him in walks
of obedience to his commands in daily practice. And they may even give a show
(performance) that they have done that. But then it comes out that they did not
do that, but they kept on in their sinful course and just covered it up with
lies.
Honestly, this is where many are who profess faith in Jesus
Christ, convinced that God is going to let them into his heaven when they die,
but while they continue to live for self, and not for God, while they live on
this earth. And this doesn’t have to include really offensive and outrageous
sinful practices. This can be people who just live to please their flesh, and
who do whatever they want to do with their lives without regard for what God
wants for their lives. For they are still the lord and master over their own
lives, not God!
So please take this passage of Scripture in Matthew 16 to
heart, for this is the will of God for our lives. If we want to come after
Christ, and to be his people by faith in the Lord Jesus, then we must deny
self, die daily to sin, and follow our Lord in walks of surrender to him as
Lord, in obedience to his commands. And this is not saying we will never sin
again (1 John 2:1-2) but that sin must no longer be what we practice,
deliberately and habitually. But now surrender to God in obedience to his
commands must be our practice.
For if we choose to hold on to our sinful lifestyles, we
will lose our lives for eternity. Heaven will not be our eternal destiny. Hell
will be where we are headed, instead. But if we die with Christ to sin and to
self, and we now submit to him as Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives, and we now
walk in his ways, doing what he commands, by his grace, and if we continue in
these walks of faith to the end, then we have the hope of eternal life with
God. For we are all going to be judged by God in the end, according to our
deeds.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John
6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1
Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32;
Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2;
1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh,
to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This
is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly
I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus,
Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh,
to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving,
forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping
the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking
the wandering sinner to find.
O
to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy
and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly
enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing
to suffer others to save.
O
to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour
out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make
me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit
me for life and Heaven above.
Oh,
to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd
Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come
in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp
Thine own image deep on my heart.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KrYhiK2nQBg
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Are You Addicted to Sin?
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