With Those Who Love Him

Deuteronomy 7:1-5 ESV

 

“When the Lord your God brings you into the land that you are entering to take possession of it… You shall not intermarry with them, giving your daughters to their sons or taking their daughters for your sons, for they would turn away your sons from following me, to serve other gods. Then the anger of the Lord would be kindled against you, and he would destroy you quickly. But thus shall you deal with them: you shall break down their altars and dash in pieces their pillars and chop down their Asherim and burn their carved images with fire.”

 

The Old Covenant God had with his people Israel, of old, is different from the Covenant he now has with us, his people Israel today – the body of Christ. Yet, there are many spiritual parallels between the Old Covenant and the New Covenant, and there are some things which are repeated for us.

 

The land we are in the process of entering is not a physical place on this earth. It is the Kingdom of God, which is spiritual. It is our spiritual inheritance, not a physical one. We have been saved (past), we are being saved (present), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns, provided that we continue in him faithful to the end (Col 1:21-23; Rom 8:1-17).

 

So, when we enter into relationship with Jesus Christ, by God-persuaded faith in Christ, and we now enter into the Kingdom of God, we are not supposed to live any longer like we did before. For, we died with Christ to sin, so how can we live in sin any longer? (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).

 

We are to rid our lives of idolatry, impurity, sexual immorality, filthy talk, lying, cheating, stealing, hate, and the like. For, now we have put on Christ and his likeness, so we are to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, in the power of God’s Spirit living within us (Eph 4:17-32; Tit 2:11-14).

 

And we are not to be unequally yoked (bonded) together with unbelievers (the ungodly). We are not to partner with them in doing the kinds of things that they do which are contrary to God’s commands for us, Christ’s followers. But we are to be separate from (unlike) the world (2 Co 6:14-18).

 

Deuteronomy 7:6 ESV

 

“For you are a people holy to the Lord your God. The Lord your God has chosen you to be a people for his treasured possession, out of all the peoples who are on the face of the earth.”

 

Jesus 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 (Tit 2:14). We are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God’s own possession (1 Pet 2:9).

 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to present ourselves to God as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing (acceptable) to God which is our spiritual worship (Rom 12:1-2). God chose us in him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before him (Eph 1:4).

 

As God who called us to himself is holy, so we also are to be holy in all our conduct (1 Pet 1:15-16). We are like living stones in God’s spiritual building, his church, being built up as spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to Jesus Christ (1 Pet 2:5-9).

 

And to be holy is to live lives which are separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being made into the likeness of Christ. We are not to be like the world, to have the same thinking, attitudes, and behaviors as them, but we are to be becoming like Christ in all that we are and do.

 

Deuteronomy 7:9-11 ESV

 

“Know therefore that the Lord your God is God, the faithful God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, to a thousand generations, and repays to their face those who hate him, by destroying them. He will not be slack with one who hates him. He will repay him to his face. You shall therefore be careful to do the commandment and the statutes and the rules that I command you today.”

 

God’s love for us is conditional. His grace to us is conditional. Our salvation from sin and eternal life is conditional.

 

True, we can’t do anything to earn or to deserve our own salvation. It is only by God’s grace, through God-persuaded faith in Christ that any of us are saved from our sins (Eph 2:8-9). So, how are his love, his grace, and our salvation from sin conditional?

 

Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and self) and follow (obey) him. For, if we hold on to our old lives (of living for sin and self), we will lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives (die with him to sin), then we have eternal life with God (Lu 9:23-26; cf. Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9).

 

We are slaves to the one we obey, either of sin, which leads to death, or of obedience, which leads to righteousness. And if slaves of God and of righteousness, the fruit that we get leads to sanctification and its end is eternal life with God (Rom 6:16-23).

 

We are warned in Scripture that if we walk according to the flesh, to please the flesh, and if we make sin our practice (our habit), that we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God. For we are all going to be judged by our works.

 

Jesus said if we keep his commandments we will never see death. And he said that if we keep his word that God the Father will love us, and they (the Father and the Son) will come and make their home with us (Jn 8 and 14).

 

And John said that if we say we know God, but we are not keeping (obeying) his commandments (New Covenant), that we are liars, and the truth is not in us. For, by this we know that we have come to know Christ, if we are keeping his commandments.

 

So, if we want to be saved from our sins and have eternal life with God, we must die with Christ to sin and live to Christ and to his righteousness. We must walk (in practice, in conduct) according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh. And we must walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands.

 

[Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Co 6:9-10; Col 3:5-11; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10; Col 1:21-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Jn 15:1-11]

 

Servant of the Lord

 

An Original Work / July 26, 2012

Based off Romans 1:1-17

 

Servant of the Lord;

For the gospel you’re set apart.

Promised through the prophets of old:

Jesus, Son of God.

Through Him, and for His name alone,

We receive His grace

To call people, Him to obey;

Coming from their faith.

Servant of the Lord,

For the gospel you’re set apart.

Promised through the prophets of old:

Jesus, Son of God.

 

You belong to Christ;

Loved by God, and called to be saints;

Serving God with whole heart and mind;

Preaching Jesus Christ;

Always praying for others’ needs;

Helping hand to lend;

Giving courage to others’ faith,

For the praise of God.

You belong to Christ;

Loved by God, and called to be saints;

Serving God with whole heart and mind;

Preaching Jesus Christ.

 

Servant of the Lord;

Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;

For salvation, power of God

To those who have faith.

In the gospel find righteousness:

Being right with God.

Turn from sin, and trust Jesus Christ.

By faith, live in Him.

Servant of the Lord;

Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;

For salvation, power of God

To those who have faith.

 

https://vimeo.com/119511640

We Rise and Stand Upright

Psalms 20:1-3 ESV

 

“May the Lord answer you in the day of trouble!

    May the name of the God of Jacob protect you!

May he send you help from the sanctuary

    and give you support from Zion!

May he remember all your offerings

    and regard with favor your burnt sacrifices! Selah”

 

Because we are human beings and we live in flesh bodies, and we live on this earth, we are going to go through stuff. We will have troubles and difficulties and heartaches. Some of them may be relatively minor, while others may be “earth shattering.”

 

But as followers of Jesus Christ, we are not alone. We are not abandoned. We are not without help or resources. We have the Spirit of God living within us strengthening, helping, guiding, comforting, encouraging, counseling, and equipping us to endure suffering with grace.

 

If we are following him in his ways and in his truth, and if we are in daily fellowship with him, then we are talking with him daily, and he is with us, and he is listening to what is on our hearts. And he cares about what concerns us because what concerns us should come from his heart, too.

 

And he will give us what we need. He may not answer us the way we hope, or he may be silent, but he is not absent. He will give us the help that we need, either to endure, or to know what to do or what to say or how to pray. Or he may just say “wait,” “be still,” and then we just have to trust him.

 

Psalms 20:4-5 ESV

 

“May he grant you your heart's desire

    and fulfill all your plans!

May we shout for joy over your salvation,

    and in the name of our God set up our banners!

May the Lord fulfill all your petitions!”

 

When we are in fellowship with our Lord Jesus, and he is the Lord of our lives, in truth, and if we are growing in him, and if we are following him in his ways and in his truth, his desires will become our desires, and his plans will become our plans.

 

Thus, he will grant us our heart’s desire, and he will fulfill all our plans, for they are his plans and his desires which he has put in our hearts. And his desire for us is that we might be saved from slavery to sin, that we might have eternal life with God, and that we might walk in obedience to him.

 

For, Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. He shed his blood on that cross to buy us back for God that we might honor God with our lives.

 

This is the salvation from sin that we should rejoice over, that Jesus set us free from our slavery to sin so that we would now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. His grace trains us, in fact, to say “No!” to ungodliness and fleshly lusts and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15; 1 Co 6:19-20; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Rom 8:1-17]

 

Psalms 20:6-8 ESV

 

“Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed;

    he will answer him from his holy heaven

    with the saving might of his right hand.

Some trust in chariots and some in horses,

    but we trust in the name of the Lord our God.

They collapse and fall,

    but we rise and stand upright.”

 

We who are genuine followers of Jesus Christ are anointed of God with/by God’s Spirit. We are born of the Spirit of God by God’s grace, through God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ to new lives in Christ, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

 

We have the life of God (of Christ) now living within us and out from us, by his Spirit, when we walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. And the Lord is sovereign over our lives, directing us each step of the way where he wants us to go and to do what he wants us to do.

 

So, when we are going through troubles and heartaches, he is there to help us and to guide us through it all, every step of the way. We can fully depend on him. He will give us the support we need. And he will accomplish his purposes for our lives through it all, for our good.

 

But it isn’t as though he is not going to allow us to suffer. He will. Look at the lives of Job, Jesus, and the New Testament apostles. They suffered much for their walks of faith and for their stand on the word of God and for their sharing the gospel of Jesus Christ with others.

 

But God allows suffering in our lives for our good, to make us holy, to mature us, to prune us, and to teach us endurance, patience, and reliance on God and not on ourselves, and not on other human beings who are bound to fail and disappoint us, and who may even betray us.

 

Our faith should never rest in other humans, for they are flesh. Our trust should not be in flesh and blood to save us from what ails us, or to bring us hope and healing, or to fulfill our desires. For sin is what ails the people of this world and only Jesus Christ can save us from our sins and give us hope.

 

So, instead of looking to other humans for our help and support when we are going through trials and tribulations, or at any time, really, we should fix our eyes on Jesus, and we should look to God and to God alone to meet us in our time of need and to help us to do what is right.

 

Be with Me, Lord

 

By Thomas O Chisholm

 

Be with me, Lord – I cannot live without THEE,

I dare not try to take one step alone.

I cannot bear the loads of life, unaided,

I need THY strength to lean myself upon.

 

Be with me Lord, and then if dangers threaten,

If storms of trial burst above my head,

If lashing seas leap ev’rywhere about me,

They cannot harm, or make my heart afraid.

 

Be with me Lord! No other gift or blessing

THOU COULDST bestow could with this one compare –

A constant sense of THY abiding presence,

Where’er I am, to feel that THOU ART near.

 

Be with me, Lord, when loneliness o’ertakes me,

When I must weep amid the fires of pain,

And when shall come the hour of “my departure”

For “worlds unknown,” O Lord, be with me then.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4ZJrS9ppeWk

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Responding to Opposition with Grace

1 Peter 3:8-9 ESV

 

“Finally, all of you, have unity of mind, sympathy, brotherly love, a tender heart, and a humble mind. Do not repay evil for evil or reviling for reviling, but on the contrary, bless, for to this you were called, that you may obtain a blessing.”

 

There are many people today stressing unity, but most of it is not unity with Jesus Christ and with the mind of Christ, even within the gatherings of the church. Most of it is about unity with the government and with the world, as a whole, or with marketing schemes of institutional churches (businesses).

 

So, just because people talk about unity as a good thing, please know that not all unity is for our good. For, we are not to be of one mind and heart with the world or with the ungodly or with any government or with the marketing schemes of institutional religion (not the body of Christ).

 

But we are to have unity with Jesus Christ and with the word of God and with other believers who are also united in heart and mind with the Lord Jesus and with the teachings of Scripture (the whole counsel of God). So, we need to be discerning about this so we don’t unite with the wrong people.

 

Also, sympathy, tenderness of heart, a humble mind and brotherly love should also be founded in our relationships with Jesus Christ and in the word of God, and they should not be in accord with the philosophies, attitudes, and behaviors of this sinful world.

 

For example, it is not loving to encourage anyone to sin, or to sin along with them, or to give them the idea that God is okay with them sinning against him, or to lie to them to make them feel good about themselves in their sin. If we really care about them, we will show them the way of escape out from underneath temptation to sin and the way to victory over their sin.

 

Also, blessing people is not saying a bunch of stuff or doing stuff just to make them feel good about you and/or about themselves. To bless is to “speak reason which confers benefit” (biblehub.com). It is to speak to them or to do for them what is beneficial to them (in a good and godly way).

 

So, we don’t ever lie to people. We can be kind and loving and be sympathetic and tenderhearted with people without lying to them. Jesus never lied, and neither should we. Flattery is not of God. We should always be sincere. We shouldn’t ever say what we don’t mean.

 

1 Peter 3:10-12 ESV

 

For, “Whoever desires to love life

    and see good days,

let him keep his tongue from evil

    and his lips from speaking deceit;

let him turn away from evil and do good;

    let him seek peace and pursue it.

For the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous,

    and his ears are open to their prayer.

But the face of the Lord is against those who do evil.”

 

Exactly! We are not to speak what is evil, and we are not to speak lies, not even “white lies.” As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to die to our former way of living for sin and self, and we are to be renewed in our minds and hearts away from living in sin to now living to God and to his righteousness.

 

And the good we are to do is the good that God has commanded us to do, not as the world defines “good.” For not everything the world terms as “good” is good for us or for anyone else. For, the world’s idea of “good” and God’s idea of “good” are not going to be exactly the same.

 

Also, we need to guard our minds and hearts against adopting the values, thinking, philosophies and attitudes of the world. Social media can be a breeding ground for worldly thinking, philosophies, attitudes, images, and speech, so we must be so careful to test everything we hear and see.

 

And the peace we are to seek and to pursue is not worldly peace. It is not compromise with the world so that the world will like us and not be against us. It is peace (unity) with God, and it is wholeness of mind and heart in relation to God and to his will for our lives. When we are walking in obedience to his ways, we are at peace.

 

And notice with me here that when this refers to the righteous, it is referring to those who are living righteously. They are those who are united in mind and heart with God and with his word, who are not those who get even with people, but are those who bless others for their good.

 

They are those who keep their tongues from evil and from speaking lies, and they are those who turn away from evil and who do good, as God defines good, and who are living at peace with God. They love others sincerely, and their desire is to do for others what is for their benefit (their good). The Lord listens to their prayers, but his face is against those who do evil.

 

1 Peter 3:13-17 ESV

 

“Now who is there to harm you if you are zealous for what is good? But even if you should suffer for righteousness' sake, you will be blessed. Have no fear of them, nor be troubled, but in your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect, having a good conscience, so that, when you are slandered, those who revile your good behavior in Christ may be put to shame. For it is better to suffer for doing good, if that should be God's will, than for doing evil.”

 

Nonetheless, if we are living righteously, and if we are loving others with sincere love, and if we are turning away from evil and we are doing what God has called us to do, the good he had planned for us to do, and if we are sharing God’s word, and if we are leading others to turn from evil and to do good, then we should expect to be opposed and even attacked.

 

Suffering for righteousness’ sake should be considered part of our walks of faith, and we should be no stranger to it, nor should we fear it or fear those who are coming against us. We should pray for the wisdom of God in knowing how to respond to those opposing us, but we should not let opposition dishearten or discourage us.

 

In our hearts and with our lips and with our actions we should always honor Christ as Lord (owner-master) of our lives. We should honor him as holy and we should be holy in all that we do and say. We must not let our opposition “get our goat,” i.e., irritate us, but we must remain at peace. And we must continue on in speaking the truth of God’s word, in love, for the salvation of human lives and for the deliverance of people from slavery to sin.

 

The Lord’s Anointed  

 

An Original Work / December 16, 2011

Based off Isaiah 61

 

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;

Anointed to preach the Good News;

Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;

Proclaim freedom for the captives.

He sent me to preach release for pris’ners

Who are walking in sin’s darkness;

Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;

And tell them about God’s judgments;

Comfort all who mourn;

Give crowns of beauty;

Oil of gladness and thanksgiving.

 

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,

A planting of our Savior, God,

For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and

They will rebuild God’s holy church.

God will renew them, and will restore them,

And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.

You will be ministers of our God, and

You will rejoice in salvation.

The Lord loves justice;

He is faithful to

Reward those who are seeking Him.

 

I delight greatly in the Lord;

My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.

He has clothed me with His salvation,

And in a robe of His righteousness.

He has given me priestly garments to wear,

As the bride of Jesus Christ.

As the garden of our Lord and Savior,

He causes us to grow in Him.

He makes righteousness,

Praise, and thanksgiving

Spring up before all the nations.

 

https://vimeo.com/114836524

We are the Temple of God

John 2:13 ESV

 

“The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.”

 

Slaves in Egypt

 

What is “The Passover”? Well, it began with the Israelites being slaves in Egypt and God sending Moses to deliver his people out of slavery in Egypt. The Pharaoh of Egypt, though, would not let the people go, even after God had sent numerous plagues to convince him to let the people go.

 

So, the Lord sent one final plague. One night, as God had said he would do, He went out at midnight in the midst of Egypt, and every firstborn in the land of Egypt was struck dead. And after that, Pharaoh let the people go.

 

But before this was to happen, God commanded the children of Israel that on the 10^th day of that month they were to take a lamb for each household, without blemish, and on the 14^th day of the month they were to all kill their lambs at twilight (See: Exodus 11-12).

 

Then they were to take some of the blood and put in on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they ate the lambs. “It is the Lord’s Passover.” For, the Lord was going to pass through the land of Egypt that night, and he did, and he struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt.

 

For the Israelites, the blood on their doorposts was to be a sign. When God saw the blood, he passed over them, and no plague befell them to destroy them when God struck the land of Egypt. And they were to remember that day every year as a memorial of what God did in passing over them.

 

Spiritual Parallels

 

For us who are believers in Jesus Christ, this symbolizes our Lamb who was sacrificed on that cross for the remission of our sins, once for all. The blood of Jesus, which was shed for us, bought us back for God so that we could be forgiven our sins and so we could now honor God with our lives.

 

But the slaves in Egypt weren’t just passed over. They were delivered from their slavery in Egypt. And when we believe in Jesus with genuine God-persuaded faith, we are delivered from our slavery, which is slavery to sin, so that we will now be slaves to God and of his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23).

 

And our Jerusalem, our holy city where the temple of God dwells is the Kingdom of God, and we are part of that kingdom. We are his body, his temple. The holy of holies is within us. The true church, the body of Christ, is the holy city where God now dwells. We are his holy nation.

 

So, for us, the celebration of our Passover is a celebration of Jesus’ blood which was shed for us on that cross so that we could be delivered from our slavery to sin, and so we could be slaves of God and of his righteousness, so that when the day of judgment comes, we will be passed over, too.

 

And the time of our Lord’s return is also at hand when he will judge everyone according to what they did (according to their works, their deeds). And if we have died (and are dying) with Christ in death to sin, and if we are living to Christ and to his righteousness, we will also be passed over.

 

Nonetheless, if we have not followed our Lord’s commands, and we have not died with him to sin, and if we are not living in obedience to his commands and to his righteousness, but if we have continued living in sinful addiction in direct disobedience to the Lord, we will not be passed over. We will die.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10]

 

John 2:14-17 ESV

 

“In the temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the money-changers sitting there. And making a whip of cords, he drove them all out of the temple, with the sheep and oxen. And he poured out the coins of the money-changers and overturned their tables. And he told those who sold the pigeons, ‘Take these things away; do not make my Father's house a house of trade.’ His disciples remembered that it was written, ‘Zeal for your house will consume me.’”

 

Today we are the temple of God. Collectively we are called the church, the body of Christ, in whom God dwells by his Spirit. We are his holy people, his holy nation, if we have died with him to sin and if we are living to him and to his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 2 Jn 2:3-6).

 

But this is not to say that God’s people cannot wander off from him for a time or fall short of full obedience to him in some respects, and need correction and divine discipline, and need to repent and to be revived and to have renewed obedience to Him. For, that is what Revelation 2-3 is mostly all about.

 

For this is where a lot of the church is right now, although not everything called “church” is the body of Christ, and not everyone professing faith in Jesus Christ is truly a follower of Christ and is part of his body.

 

But many Christians have fallen into error and into man-made religion, and they are not following the Lord in full obedience and in surrender to him, because they have bought into the lies of a false gospel and a false church which is a marketplace, marketed to the world like any other business.

 

And this is not God’s will and design for our lives. Our hearts, his temple, is to be a place of worship of God and of prayer and of obedience to his will for our lives. But so many who profess faith in Jesus Christ have joined themselves to the world and have turned their gatherings, instead, into businesses to entertain and to draw in the people of the world.

 

Thus, our Lord is speaking to his church today, and he is reminding us of our calling and of what his church is to be about. And he is calling many to repent and to return to him in full devotion, and to have zeal for the house of the Lord, his body (the people of God), that we would be his holy people, living lives which are separate from the world and unto God in full surrender.

 

Oh, How I Love Jesus  

 

By Frederick Whitfield, 1855

 

There is a Name I love to hear,

I love to sing its worth;

It sounds like music in my ear,

The sweetest Name on earth.

 

Oh, how I love Jesus,

Oh, how I love Jesus,

Oh, how I love Jesus,

Because He first loved me!

 

It tells me of a Savior’s love,

Who died to set me free;

It tells me of His precious blood,

The sinner’s perfect plea.

 

It tells me what my Father hath

In store for every day,

And though I tread a darksome path,

Yields sunshine all the way.

 

It tells of One whose loving heart

Can feel my deepest woe;

Who in each sorrow bears a part

That none can bear below.

 

It bids my trembling heart rejoice;

It dries each rising tear;

It tells me, in a “still small voice,”

To trust and never fear.

 

Jesus, the Name I love so well,

The Name I love to hear:

No saint on earth its worth can tell,

No heart conceive how dear.

 

This Name shall shed its fragrance still

Along this thorny road,

Shall sweetly smooth the rugged hill

That leads me up to God.

 

And there with all the blood-bought throng,

From sin and sorrow free,

I’ll sing the new eternal song

Of Jesus’ love for me.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F-Bc-GBHAvg

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Do Not Be Ashamed

2 Timothy 1:8-12 ESV

 

“Therefore do not be ashamed of the testimony about our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but share in suffering for the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which he gave us in Christ Jesus before the ages began, and which now has been manifested through the appearing of our Savior Christ Jesus, who abolished death and brought life and immortality to light through the gospel, for which I was appointed a preacher and apostle and teacher, which is why I suffer as I do.”

 

We can’t save ourselves. There is nothing we can do in our own flesh to earn or to deserve our own salvation. We can never be good enough to gain God’s divine approval or to be considered righteous in his sight. Our good works will never outweigh our bad.

 

We also can’t be saved from our sins and have eternal life with God by making up our own gospel or by following a false gospel being taught by others. We can’t shorten (alter) the gospel to make it more acceptable to human flesh and for it to be more appealing to this sinful world.

 

We are saved by God’s grace, through faith, and not of our own doing. It is the gift of God, not a result of works lest any of us should boast that we earned our own salvation. But… we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them (in practice). [Eph 2:8-10]

 

So, we can’t work our way into heaven of our own doing, by our own decisions, by our own works. It is only because of what Jesus did for us on that cross, and via his resurrection, that any of us have any hope at all of salvation from sin and of eternal life with God.

 

But what are we saved from? And what are we saved to? And what does God require of us? For God has works he has prepared for us to do, but they are the works of God, not of our flesh, and which are initiated by God, not by ourselves, and which are done in his power and strength, and not in our own strength.

 

Well, Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we might no longer live for ourselves but for him who gave his life up for us. And He gave up his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God so we would now honor God with our lives (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21; 1 Co 6:19-20).

 

Jesus died that horrible death on that cross to free us from our slavery to sin and so that we would now become slaves of God and of his righteousness. He died that we might be crucified with him in death to sin, and that we might be resurrected with him to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24).

 

And Jesus died and rose from the dead, not only so that we would die with him to sin but also that we might now walk (in conduct, in practice) according to (in agreement with) the Spirit of God and no longer according to our flesh (Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Tit 2:11-14; Lu 9:23-26).

 

For, Jesus saved us and called us to a holy calling, to live lives which are separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of Christ. We aren’t saved so we can continue living in sin guilt-free. For, if that were the case, we would not be being persecuted for the sake of the gospel.

 

2 Timothy 1:12-14 ESV

 

“But I am not ashamed, for I know whom I have believed, and I am convinced that he is able to guard until that day what has been entrusted to me. Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. By the Holy Spirit who dwells within us, guard the good deposit entrusted to you.”

 

If we are sharing the gospel as Jesus taught it and as his New Testament apostles taught it, we will be persecuted. We will be hated, rejected, ostracized, called names, falsely accused, attacked fiercely, kicked out of church fellowships and/or off of websites and/or beaten and put to death.

 

But if we genuinely believe what we say we do, then we must know how critical it is that we get out the truth in spite of all opposing forces coming against us, and despite how we might be treated in return. For we understand that it is the truth that sets people free, and it is lies which send people to hell on a false promise of heaven.

 

So, even though we will be faced with much opposition, we will continue to share the truth which we have become convinced of. We will not be ashamed of our Lord or of his gospel even if other people try to shame us. We will remain strong in our faith and determined to keep pressing on.

 

So, we will hold on to the truth of the gospel, and we will not compromise with the world, and we will continue to teach what is in accord with sound doctrine, and we will not deny our faith or our Lord, by God’s grace.

 

Servant of the Lord

 

An Original Work / July 26, 2012

Based off Romans 1:1-17

 

Servant of the Lord;

For the gospel you’re set apart.

Promised through the prophets of old:

Jesus, Son of God.

Through Him, and for His name alone,

We receive His grace

To call people, Him to obey;

Coming from their faith.

Servant of the Lord,

For the gospel you’re set apart.

Promised through the prophets of old:

Jesus, Son of God.

 

You belong to Christ;

Loved by God, and called to be saints;

Serving God with whole heart and mind;

Preaching Jesus Christ;

Always praying for others’ needs;

Helping hand to lend;

Giving courage to others’ faith,

For the praise of God.

You belong to Christ;

Loved by God, and called to be saints;

Serving God with whole heart and mind;

Preaching Jesus Christ.

 

Servant of the Lord;

Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;

For salvation, power of God

To those who have faith.

In the gospel find righteousness:

Being right with God.

Turn from sin, and trust Jesus Christ.

By faith, live in Him.

Servant of the Lord;

Of the gospel, I’m not ashamed;

For salvation, power of God

To those who have faith.

 

https://vimeo.com/119511640

Is Obedience to God Necessary?

I saw this quote on Facebook today:

 

“Our obedience to God is not going to get us to heaven. It’s the fruit we live out because we are headed to heaven. Paul calls it ‘spiritual worship’ in Romans 12:1. It’s the service we know we should do, but we sometimes need a reminder to do. We don’t work for our salvation, but rather from it.”

 

Using Memes to Communicate Messages

 

I Googled the name of the stated author of the quote and the first line of the quote, and I could not find a match, so I can’t verify that the person who was quoted said this, but that is not relevant. It doesn’t matter who said it. Anyone could have said it, and many are saying it in many different ways.

 

I just got back on Facebook after being off of it for about seven years, and I discovered that most of what is on there, from what I can tell so far, are memes. And a meme is “a unit of cultural information, as a concept, belief, or practice, that spreads from person to person in a way analogous to the transmission of genes” (Source: Collinsdictionary.com).

 

In other words, they are not usually the posters’ original thoughts being expressed, but they are usually catchy quotes or humorous pictures or jokes being passed from person to person to person. But what is often taking place is that the posters are adopting these quotes as their own thinking.

 

And for followers of Jesus Christ that is dangerous. For, many people are making bold statements about God and the Scriptures. But what many are teaching is not true, or it is partially true, and if intentional, it is a lie. Or else they may twist the Scriptures, which also makes what is said a lie.

 

Let’s Break it All Down

 

So, let’s look at what was said in this quote, and let’s compare it to what Scripture teaches, and we will see if it adds up or not.

 

“Our obedience to God is not going to get us to heaven.”

 

Jesus said that if anyone keeps (obeys) his word, he will never see death. He also said that if anyone loves him, he will keep (obey) his word and the Father will love him, and they will come to him and make their home with him. He also said that if we keep (obey) his commandments that we abide in his love, and if anyone does not abide in him, he is thrown into the fire.

 

And Paul said that we are slaves of the one we obey – whether we are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness and sanctification, which then results in eternal life with God. And the writer of Hebrews said that Jesus became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him.

 

And John wrote that we know that we have come to know Jesus/God if we keep (obey) his commandments. If we say that we know him, but we do not make it our practice to keep (obey) his commandments, then we are liars, and the truth is not in us. And he said that if we claim to have fellowship with God but we walk (in conduct, in practice) in the darkness (sin), we are liars who do not practice the truth.

 

Now going back to Paul, he wrote that if we make sin our practice, i.e., if we walk according to the flesh and not according to the Spirit, that we will not inherit eternal life with God, but that we will die in our sins. But if by the Spirit we are putting to death the deeds of the body (flesh), and if we are walking according to the Spirit, then we will live.

 

So, we are not to be deceived, for we will all reap what we sow (sow to the Spirit, reap eternal life; sow to the flesh, reap destruction, decay, death). For, we will be judged of God by our works. For those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath.

 

[Jn 8:51; Jn 14:23-24; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 6:1-23; 1 Pet 1:2; Heb 5:9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Rom 8:1-17; Heb 3:6, 14-15]

 

“It’s the fruit we live out because we are headed to heaven.”

 

So, the person who said this is basically saying that our obedience to God has no impact on whether or not we go to heaven, but that our obedience is merely the fruit we live out because we are headed to heaven (guaranteed). So, whether we obey or we don’t obey, we are still headed to heaven.

 

So, that has already been debunked by the Scriptures referenced above. But let us look at the subject of our “fruit.” Jesus said this in John 15:1-6:

 

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit…

 

“I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. If anyone does not abide in me he is thrown away like a branch and withers; and the branches are gathered, thrown into the fire, and burned.”

 

And then there is this part about our “spiritual worship”:

 

“Paul calls it ‘spiritual worship’ in Romans 12:1. It’s the service we know we should do, but we sometimes need a reminder to do.”

 

So, what is our “spiritual worship”? It is to present our bodies (our lives) to God as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God. It is to give our lives to God as he requires, on his terms, living lives which are separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being made into Christ’s likeness.

 

And it is to do so in a manner as God prescribes and which is pleasing (acceptable) to him. And what is pleasing or displeasing to him?

 

“For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law; indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom 8:6-8).

 

So, if our minds are set on the flesh, and if we are making sin our practice, and if we are not obeying the Lord’s commandments, it ends in death, not in life eternal with God. So, this isn’t optional. This spiritual worship, therefore, is not just the service we know we should do and need to be reminded to do. It is required of God. If we do not obey him, we will not see life everlasting.

 

“We don’t work for our salvation, but rather from it.”

 

Now, I agree with this one, provided it is properly understood in biblical context. We do nothing in our flesh to earn or to deserve our own salvation. We cannot save ourselves, and that includes we cannot make up our own gospel to suit our own lifestyles, either, and then expect heaven guaranteed.

 

But works are not absent from our salvation, but they are the works of God which he gives and which he empowers us to do by his Spirit. And if we do not do them, and we go our own way, instead, heaven is not guaranteed us as our eternal destiny, for we will die in our sins. But if we walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, then we have eternal life with God.

 

[Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 15:58; 2 Co 9:8; Eph 2:10; Phil 2:12-13; Col 1:9-14; 2 Tim 2:21; Tit 2:11-14; Tit 3:8; Jas 2:17; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 8:1-17; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 10:27-30; Jn 6:35-58; 2 Co 5:15; Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-32]

 

Only Hope

 

By Jonathan Foreman

 

I give you my destiny

I'm giving you all of me

I want your symphony

Singing in all that I am

At the top of my lungs

I'm giving it my all

 

So, I lay my head back down

And I lift my hands and pray

To be only yours I pray

To be only yours I pray

To be only yours

I know now you're my only hope

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gnS7ZEbEqU

Caution: This link may contain ads

Disclaimer: This is not an endorsement of the singers nor of all their music

For Your Comfort and Salvation

2 Corinthians 1:3-5 ESV

 

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as we share abundantly in Christ's sufferings, so through Christ we share abundantly in comfort too.”

 

As followers of Jesus Christ, we will share in the fellowship of his sufferings if we are becoming like him. For, if we have been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and if we have been raised with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness, we will suffer.

 

For, Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self and take up his cross daily (daily die to sin and to the flesh) and follow our Lord (in obedience to his commands). For, if we hold on to our old lives (of living for sin and self) we will lose them for eternity. But if we lose our lives (die daily to sin/self) for Jesus’ sake, we will have eternal life (Lu 9:23-26).

 

And because we have died with Christ to sin and we are now living to Christ and to his righteousness, and we are standing on the truth of the gospel of Jesus Christ, we will be hated, rejected, ridiculed, slandered, cast aside and/or just plain ignored because we take God seriously.

 

Some Christians will be cast aside by their family members, or they will lose their jobs, or even “the church” will reject and persecute them for their seriousness of faith in Jesus Christ. Some will be beaten and even put to death for their stand for the Lord and for his gospel truth, too.

 

But when we suffer for righteousness’ sake, biblically speaking, our Lord will comfort us for our sake, as well as for the sake of others who are suffering, who we will then, in turn, be able to comfort with the comfort we received from the Lord in our suffering. This is His plan.

 

2 Corinthians 1:6-7 ESV

 

If we are afflicted, it is for your comfort and salvation; and if we are comforted, it is for your comfort, which you experience when you patiently endure the same sufferings that we suffer. Our hope for you is unshaken, for we know that as you share in our sufferings, you will also share in our comfort.

 

But we aren’t afflicted for righteousness’ sake just so we can comfort others with the comfort we received from the Lord in our affliction. When we are afflicted, it draws us closer to the Lord, we draw more on his strength, and we follow him closer in doing what he has called us to do.

 

And when we follow the Lord more seriously, and we live lives which are truly separate (unlike, different) from the world, and we are thus bold in our witness for him and in sharing the gospel against great opposition, it also means the salvation of human lives.

 

If I had not gone through all the suffering the Lord has taken me through in my life, I don’t know that I would have had the courage and the determination to speak the truth of the gospel daily on the internet, and face to face, knowing full well that I will be opposed and even attacked.

 

But because of all that I suffered, mainly face to face, the Lord sent me to the internet to share the truths of his word. And although I don’t have direct knowledge of all the ways in which the Lord is using me, I do know that he is using me in people’s lives to draw them close (or closer) to Jesus.

 

So, the Lord takes what appears like something bad (suffering) and he turns it around for good in our own lives, to grow us spiritually to maturity in Christ, and so that he may use us for his glory to impact other people’s lives with the love of God and with his saving grace.

 

2 Corinthians 1:8-11 ESV

 

“For we do not want you to be unaware, brothers, of the affliction we experienced in Asia. For we were so utterly burdened beyond our strength that we despaired of life itself. Indeed, we felt that we had received the sentence of death. But that was to make us rely not on ourselves but on God who raises the dead. He delivered us from such a deadly peril, and he will deliver us. On him we have set our hope that he will deliver us again. You also must help us by prayer, so that many will give thanks on our behalf for the blessing granted us through the prayers of many.”

 

Some afflictions that we experience may be minor by comparison to what other Christians are suffering around the world. But some of it can be quite severe, even without it being physical suffering. For, there are many ways in which others can persecute us which can be very hard to endure.

 

Some afflictions and persecutions can be so severe that we may even despair of life itself, for we may feel the sentence of death over our lives by the way that others treat us. And I’m not talking about paranoia, i.e., imagining what isn’t there or imagining a severity that doesn’t exist, although I am certain there are people who imagine what doesn't exist.

 

But Christian persecution is real, and although it isn’t predominant yet in the USA, it is moving in that direction, and it definitely exists, and you will know it exists if you are serious about walking with the Lord in obedience to his will for your life, and if you are sharing Jesus’ words.

 

But the Lord allows us to suffer unjustly. Look at the life of Job. Look at Jesus’ life on the earth. And look at the lives of the prophets and the apostles, many of whom were martyred for their walks of faith and their testimonies for Jesus Christ and for the word of God.

 

And the reasons the Lord allows even unjust suffering in our lives is for many reasons all having to do with our spiritual maturity and our walks of faith and our obedience to his will for our lives. For, suffering teaches us to rely on the Lord and not on ourselves, if we respond correctly to it.

 

The Lord doesn’t always remove us from the suffering, though, at least not immediately. He knows what we need to learn through it, and he knows what needs to be done in our hearts and lives to make us into the people of God he wants us to be. But he will see us through everything he takes us through. We just have to trust him, rest in him, and follow him.

 

The Lord’s Anointed  

 

An Original Work / December 16, 2011

Based off Isaiah 61

 

The Spirit of the Sov’reign Lord on me;

Anointed to preach the Good News;

Sent me to bind up the brokenhearted;

Proclaim freedom for the captives.

He sent me to preach release for pris’ners

Who are walking in sin’s darkness;

Proclaim God’s grace to all men who’ll listen;

And tell them about God’s judgments;

Comfort all who mourn;

Give crowns of beauty;

Oil of gladness and thanksgiving.

 

They will be called oaks of God’s righteousness,

A planting of our Savior, God,

For the display of our Lord’s splendor, and

They will rebuild God’s holy church.

God will renew them, and will restore them,

And you’ll be called priests of the Lord.

You will be ministers of our God, and

You will rejoice in salvation.

The Lord loves justice;

He is faithful to

Reward those who are seeking Him.

 

I delight greatly in the Lord;

My soul rejoices in my Savior, God.

He has clothed me with His salvation,

And in a robe of His righteousness.

He has given me priestly garments to wear,

As the bride of Jesus Christ.

As the garden of our Lord and Savior,

He causes us to grow in Him.

He makes righteousness,

Praise, and thanksgiving

Spring up before all the nations.

 

https://vimeo.com/114836524