They Have Forsaken the Lord

Isaiah 1:4 ESV

 

“Ah, sinful nation,

    a people laden with iniquity,

offspring of evildoers,

    children who deal corruptly!

They have forsaken the Lord,

    they have despised the Holy One of Israel,

    they are utterly estranged.”

 

A People laden with Iniquity

 

Israel (of God) today is not a physical nation, and physical Jerusalem is no longer the Holy City, for she is of Hagar, the slave woman, who is still in slavery to sin with her children. Israel (of God) today is the body of Christ, the church, comprised of all who have genuine faith in Jesus Christ.

 

[Rom. 9:6-8; Gal. 3:10, 16, 26-29; Gal. 4:22-31; Eph. 2:14-18; 1 Jn. 2:22]

 

The church (not a building, not a business, not a denomination) is a living organism. We are God’s building. We are living stones in that building, and Christ is our cornerstone. We have died with Christ to sin, we have been resurrected with Christ to new lives in him, and we should be living for him.

 

Many people call themselves Christians. Many people get together weekly with other people at or in something called “church.” But the majority of them are not genuinely believing in and following Jesus Christ, for the majority of them are still living in sin, at least here in America.

 

How do I know that? Listen to what they say. Listen to what they say about the gospel or if they ever even mention the gospel. Look at what they post on social media or on their blogs or on Christian discussion sites. Watch their church services and listen to their preachers. Very telling!

 

Pay attention to what authors they read or what preachers they follow or what songs they listen to, or what they talk about the most, or what movies they watch. Now, I am not saying that one can’t be genuinely saved and still watch movies, or that one must have reached full maturity to be saved.

 

But what I am saying is what the Scriptures say, and that is if we walk (in practice) in deliberate sin and if we are not walking in obedience to our Lord, that we don’t know God, we are not in fellowship with him, and we are liars if we say we know him and if we say that we are in fellowship with him.

 

Now, I am also not saying that a genuine believer in Jesus Christ will never sin or that he/she won’t fall back into sin for any specific period of time. For, the Scriptures do warn against this and they do indicate this is possible, and that is why we have so many instructions in how to avoid this.

 

But they do warn that if this is our present condition, and if we do not repent, and if we do not return to our Lord, but if we continue on a course of deliberate sinful addiction (practices) that it will end in death, not in life eternal with God. So, we need to take these biblical warnings to heart.

 

[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; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Co 6:9-10; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; Heb 10:26-31]

 

Isaiah 1:5-6 ESV

 

“Why will you still be struck down?

    Why will you continue to rebel?

The whole head is sick,

    and the whole heart faint.

From the sole of the foot even to the head,

    there is no soundness in it,

but bruises and sores

    and raw wounds;

they are not pressed out or bound up

    or softened with oil.”

 

Why Continue to Rebel?

 

Not everyone is presently suffering the consequences of their sins. The wicked often seem to be at ease while the righteous often seem to be suffering much at the hands of the wicked. But everyone will be judged by what they do some day, if not now (Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10).

 

But there are those who are suffering the consequences of their sins and their wrong choices. Some of that is physical suffering, and some is emotional suffering. And God is allowing it to get their attention, I believe, to draw them back to or to the Lord for the first time ever.

 

Some people are very stubborn, though. They are very hard-headed, and it takes a lot of suffering before they finally surrender. Some people hold on to their flesh and will not let go, no matter how much they suffer. And many of them stubbornly refuse to yield to God even to the death.

 

Many of them are addicted to sin, and so they habitually lie to cover up their sins, and they will refuse to tell the truth, even if it means them dying or losing everything they have. For sin can have a strong grip on people’s lives. And this is why so many people are flocking to the cheap grace gospel.

 

For the cheap grace gospel is telling them that they can “believe” in Jesus Christ and still continue living in their sin, only now without guilt and without remorse, and that heaven is guaranteed them as their eternal destiny.

 

The cheap grace gospel may be as simple as saying one can pray a prayer to receive Christ and then heaven is guaranteed them no matter how they live from that point forward, or it can be as some are teaching that belief in Jesus Christ does not require repentance, obedience or submission to Christ.

 

The latter are not just saying these things are not required, though, but they are outright saying it is wrong to repent of sins, to obey Christ, and to submit to Jesus as Lord of their lives. For, they call this works-based salvation. And they attack those who are teaching it.

 

Repent and Return

 

If this is where you are, living in deliberate rebellion against the Lord, against the instructions given us in the Scriptures, in deliberate sinful practices, fulfilling the sinful desires of your flesh, I pray you will take this seriously, and that you will turn from your sins to follow Jesus Christ with your lives.

 

For, God’s word will not return empty. He will do everything he said he would do. And he will judge us all by our works, by what we did with him and with his teachings and with his grace and his salvation and his gospel message, whether we obeyed him or we continued living in our sin.

 

In the Hour of Trial

 

Lyrics by James Montgomery (1771-1854)

Music by Spencer Lane (1843-1903)

 

In the hour of trial, Jesus, pray for me,

Lest by base denial, I depart from Thee;

When Thou seest me waver, with a look recall,

Nor for fear or favor suffer me to fall.

 

With its witching pleasures, would this vain world charm

Or its sordid treasures spread to work me harm,

Bring to my remembrance sad Gethsemane

Or, in darker semblance, cross-crowned Calvary.

 

If with sore affliction, Thou in love chastise,

Pour Thy benediction on the sacrifice.

Then upon Thine altar, freely offered up,

Though the flesh may falter, faith shall drink the cup.

 

When in dust and ashes, to the grave I sink,

While heaven’s glory flashes o’er the shelving brink,

On Thy truth relying, through that mortal strife,

Lord, receive me, dying, to eternal life.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-mEtvA434U

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If This, Then That

Colossians 3:1-4 ESV

 

“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.”

 

“If you have been raised with Christ” doesn’t assume everyone reading this or everyone professing faith in Jesus Christ has, in fact, died with Christ to sin, has been raised to newness of life in Christ and is, in fact, walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh.

 

“If” brings that into question. Have you died with Christ to sin? Are you, by the Spirit, putting to death the deeds of the flesh? And are you, by God’s grace, through faith, living for Jesus Christ and for his righteousness in the power and working of God’s Spirit living within you?

 

For, we can’t be raised with Christ to newness of life in him without first dying with him to sin. There can be no resurrection from the dead if there has not first been death. We can’t have new lives in Christ Jesus if we are still living in the old ones (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24).

 

Therefore, if we have not been raised with Christ to newness of life in Christ, then we do not have Christ, and therefore we don’t have the Spirit living within us empowering us to live holy lives, pleasing to God. We can’t set our minds on things above for our minds are still set on what is of this world.

 

Nonetheless, if we have died with Christ to sin, and if we have been raised with Christ to newness of life in him, then we are to live for Christ, to follow him in his ways and in his truth. So, we are to set (fix) our minds on what is from above (from God), not on what is of this earth.

 

And the only way we are able to do that is in the power of God’s Spirit living within us and as we yield control of our lives over to the Lord, and as we feed our minds with the things of God and not with the garbage of this world. For, as the saying goes, “Garbage in, garbage out.”

 

Thus, we can’t be feeding our minds daily with what is worthless in God’s sight, and with what is immoral, improper, on the edge, tasteless, lewd, vulgar, crude, and a waste of time and then expect our minds to be set on what is from above and not on what is of this earth.

 

Colossians 3:5-10 ESV

 

“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.”

 

When we believe in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we die with him to sin, we are raised with him to newness of life in him, and we are empowered of God’s Spirit to now live holy lives, pleasing to God. For, this is the reason for which Jesus gave his life up for us (Rom 6:1-23; 1 Pet 2:24).

 

But it doesn’t end there. We don’t then go on living life as we did before. Daily we must die with Christ to sin and to self and follow him in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). We must now walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh.

 

For, if we continue living in sin, making sin our practice, we won’t inherit eternal life with God, but we will die in our sins (Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8).

 

So, the purpose of this whole instruction here is to let the people who are professing faith in Jesus Christ know what it means to be in Christ and to have been raised with Christ to newness of life in him, and to let them know that it means we die to those old sinful practices because they will result in the wrath of God coming, not in the hope of eternal life with God.

 

For, in these sinful practices we once walked if we truly have died (and are dying) with Christ to sin and we are living to Christ and to his righteousness. But by the mere fact that there are so many such instructions given to the churches in the New Testament, it shows that it is possible to fall back.

 

So, this serves as a caution and as a warning. We must keep putting these sins to death. We must keep resisting the devil and fleeing temptation and walking in obedience to our Lord and to his instructions to us. For, eternal life with God is not promised on the basis of past faith, but on present faith which is dying with Christ to sin and living to Christ according to his will.

 

We are not saved from our sins just so we can escape hell. We are delivered from our slavery to sin so we can become slaves of righteousness (Rom 6).

 

In the Hour of Trial

 

Lyrics by James Montgomery (1771-1854)

Music by Spencer Lane (1843-1903)

 

In the hour of trial, Jesus, pray for me,

Lest by base denial, I depart from Thee;

When Thou seest me waver, with a look recall,

Nor for fear or favor suffer me to fall.

 

With its witching pleasures, would this vain world charm

Or its sordid treasures spread to work me harm,

Bring to my remembrance sad Gethsemane

Or, in darker semblance, cross-crowned Calvary.

 

If with sore affliction, Thou in love chastise,

Pour Thy benediction on the sacrifice.

Then upon Thine altar, freely offered up,

Though the flesh may falter, faith shall drink the cup.

 

When in dust and ashes, to the grave I sink,

While heaven’s glory flashes o’er the shelving brink,

On Thy truth relying, through that mortal strife,

Lord, receive me, dying, to eternal life.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-mEtvA434U

Caution: this link may contain ads

But Many Who Heard Believed

Acts 4:1-4 ESV

 

“And as they were speaking to the people, the priests and the captain of the temple and the Sadducees came upon them, greatly annoyed because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection from the dead. And they arrested them and put them in custody until the next day, for it was already evening. But many of those who had heard the word believed, and the number of the men came to about five thousand.”

 

Repent, and Turn Back to God

 

Peter and John had just been instrumental of God in the healing of a man who had been lame from birth. This drew a crowd, and so Peter addressed the people and he told them about Jesus, and who he was, and of what they had done to him, that they had killed the author of life, and that it was in his name that this man was healed (see Acts 3).

 

And then he called the people to repent of their sins and to turn back to God, that their sins might be blotted out (Acts 3:19). He told them, “God, having raised up his servant, sent him to you first, to bless you by turning every one of you from your wickedness” (Acts 3:26).

 

But the religious rulers and leaders in the temple of God didn’t like what they were saying. And I don’t believe they were unhappy with them just because they were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead, for Peter had just accused the people of Israel of killing the author of life, God incarnate, whom God had raised from the dead.

 

And he had just told the people that they must repent and turn back to God, and that Jesus was sent to them to bless them by turning them from their wickedness, and that they must listen to Jesus, and that everyone who doesn’t listen to Jesus by doing what he says will be destroyed. And when Jesus had said these kinds of things to them, they hated him for it.

 

Church Leaders Today Annoyed

 

If we are sharing (or teaching) the truth of the word of God with people (the whole counsel of God), the gospel of Jesus Christ, especially with others who claim to also believe in Jesus Christ, we may also face rebuke from leaders within the church who may resist hearing the truth.

For, many pastors and elders within gatherings of the church (or what is falsely called church) are teaching a false (half-truth diluted) gospel which tickles itching ears and which appeases people in their sins rather than calls them to repent of their sins and to turn their lives over to Jesus Christ.

 

Thus, many who are still holding to the truth of the gospel are being rebuked for their stand on the truth of God’s word, and they are being rebuked by church leaders and by church people, too, who are teaching or who have bought into the cheap grace gospel message.

 

They don’t want to hear that we must repent of our sins and turn to our Lord in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). They don’t want to hear that we must submit to Christ as Lord and surrender our lives to him to following him in his ways and in his truth.

 

And they definitely don’t want to hear that if we don’t repent, and if we don’t make obedience our practice, but if we continue living in sin, making it our practice, that we will die in our sins and that we will not inherit eternal life with God. For, they are teaching a gospel which gives its adherents free license to continue living in sin, only now without guilt or remorse.

 

So, we may be asked to cease speaking the truth in Jesus’ name. And we may even be kicked out of or invited to leave certain church fellowships and to go someplace else where we will be a “better fit.” Some may even tell us that they were warned about people like us with “strong convictions.”

 

For, the old time gospel that Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles taught is being pushed out and it is being supplanted by a cheap grace gospel which, in many cases, is teaching people they don’t have to repent or obey the Lord or submit to him as Lord.

 

Thus, those of us who are still teaching (sharing) the gospel of Christ (the original) are also being pushed out and/or told to stop speaking the truth.

 

“For they are a rebellious people,

    lying children,

children unwilling to hear

    the instruction of the Lord;

who say to the seers, ‘Do not see,’

    and to the prophets, ‘Do not prophesy to us what is right;

speak to us smooth things,

    prophesy illusions,

leave the way, turn aside from the path,

    let us hear no more about the Holy One of Israel.’” Is 30:9-11

 

God Has a Plan

 

Despite all of this, God has a plan. For, what he opens no man can shut, and what he shuts no man can open. Although it may appear sometimes that is not the case, God is still in control. He is completely sovereign over all that he has made. Nothing can happen if he does not allow it.

 

Let me just share a personal example here. When I was (and I am) really serious about my walk of faith in the Lord, and when I sincerely shared what the Lord was teaching me from his word and the truth of the gospel of our salvation, under church authority, I often faced rejection.

 

And as the church began to become more worldly and market-driven, and as they began to teach the cheap grace gospel, the more that rejection increased. And I was invited to leave or I was pushed out of several church fellowships in hopes that I would leave, not because of sin in my life, but because of my stand on the truth of God’s word.

 

But it was through that rejection that the Lord opened another door for me. Then he called me to write down what he teaches me from his word and to put it out on the internet, and I’ve been doing that daily (or nearly daily) for the past 15 years.

 

And many are hearing the truth of the gospel who might not have otherwise heard the truth because so many out there are preaching lies. So, what Satan meant for evil in my life, to try to destroy me, God used and is using for good, for the spread of the truth of the gospel so many may hear.

 

So, if you are out there sharing the truth, and if you are being rejected and pushed away, and perhaps even hated, don’t let that dishearten you. Don’t give up and don’t retreat. God is working all things for good. Just keep on speaking the truth in Jesus’ name. God’s word will not return empty.

 

And if you are one who is still living under bondage to sin convinced that God doesn’t require you to repent, obey, and submit to him, but that heaven is still your destiny, please read the Scriptures in context one verse after another, and God will reveal to you the truth if you listen.

 

For, the Scriptures are quite clear. 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. If we continue living in sin, we will die in our sins. But if we walk according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh, we will have eternal life with God.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10]

 

In the Hour of Trial

 

Lyrics by James Montgomery (1771-1854)

Music by Spencer Lane (1843-1903)

 

In the hour of trial, Jesus, pray for me,

Lest by base denial, I depart from Thee;

When Thou seest me waver, with a look recall,

Nor for fear or favor suffer me to fall.

 

With its witching pleasures, would this vain world charm

Or its sordid treasures spread to work me harm,

Bring to my remembrance sad Gethsemane

Or, in darker semblance, cross-crowned Calvary.

 

If with sore affliction, Thou in love chastise,

Pour Thy benediction on the sacrifice.

Then upon Thine altar, freely offered up,

Though the flesh may falter, faith shall drink the cup.

 

When in dust and ashes, to the grave I sink,

While heaven’s glory flashes o’er the shelving brink,

On Thy truth relying, through that mortal strife,

Lord, receive me, dying, to eternal life.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x-mEtvA434U

Caution: this link may contain ads

Carrying out Plans Not of God

Isaiah 30:1-2 ESV

 

“Ah, stubborn children,” declares the Lord,

“who carry out a plan, but not mine,

and who make an alliance, but not of my Spirit,

    that they may add sin to sin;

who set out to go down to Egypt,

    without asking for my direction,

to take refuge in the protection of Pharaoh

    and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!”

 

What plans are Christians (or professing Christians) today stubbornly carrying out which are not God’s and/or which are against God’s plans? And what alliances (partnerships) are Christians (individually) and the church making today that are not by God’s Spirit and/or are against God’s Spirit?

 

In particular, what plans are they carrying out and which alliances are they making so that they “may add sin to sin”?

 

Turning the Church into a Business

 

Well, the church overall, at least here in America, partnered with the US government by incorporating under the state as a not-for-profit organization (business). So, they invited the government into the church.

 

Then, they began teaching government worship, via the pledge (vow) of allegiance (fidelity) to our government, via the singing of patriotic (worshipful) songs, and via the honoring of our military as our heroes who they say are the ones protecting our freedoms and who are keeping us safe.

 

They also turned the church into a marketplace, and across denominations they pretty much all began following the same business model for how to grow their “churches” (businesses). Thus, pastors began going through business training and they began using marketing books like a Bible.

 

Since their target audience was the people of the world, often the younger generations, and often those without much biblical knowledge, they began changing (altering) the gatherings of the church to make them appealing and attractive to the world so that the world would feel at home in the gatherings of “the church.”

 

So, pastors often turned into clowns, actors, and entertainers in order to attract the people of the world to “the church.” And worship services were more often turned into stage productions to draw in large crowds of people from the world, thus they tried to look and to sound like the world.

 

Therefore, since their goal now was to draw in large crowds of people from the world, using worldly means and methods, they also altered (diluted) the gospel of Jesus Christ to make it more appealing and acceptable to the people of the world and to human flesh.

 

The Gospel of Jesus Christ

 

The gospel of our salvation, as taught by Jesus Christ and by his New Testament apostles, teaches a faith in Jesus Christ which submits to the Lordship of Christ over our lives, which surrenders our lives to Christ, which dies with him to sin, and which is resurrected with Christ to newness of life in Christ, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

 

The true gospel teaches that faith in Jesus means we are crucified with Christ in death to sin that we might live to Christ and to his righteousness. It teaches that, through faith in Jesus Christ, we are delivered from our slavery to sin that we might now be slaves of God and of his righteousness.

 

It teaches that we must forsake our former lives of living for sin and self and that we must now walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands (New Covenant).

 

And it teaches that we must now walk (in conduct, in practice) according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh. For, we died with Christ to sin, so how can we live in it any longer?

 

As well, it teaches that if we continue walking (living) in sin (in practice) and if we are not making obedience to our Lord our practice, but if we say we know God, or that we are in fellowship with him, that we are liars who do not live by the truth.

 

And it teaches that those who deliberately make sin their practice (habit), and who are not walking in obedience to the Lord, that they will die in their sins. They will not inherit eternal life with God, even if they have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-32; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Rom 12:1-2; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10]

 

Adulterating the Gospel of Christ

 

Nonetheless, such teachings as mentioned above, which come from the Scriptures, in context, are not appealing or acceptable to human flesh or to the people of the world, for the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, and the message of the cross is an offense to them.

 

So, the flesh-driven and market-driven church of today, following after their business models, changed the gospel. They removed the offensive parts so that what they teach is a half-truth (lie) gospel, and not the whole counsel of God as Jesus, Paul, and the other apostles taught.

 

Most of them teach that Jesus died to forgive us our sins, and that he was resurrected from the dead, and that he is going to come back one day to take his own to be with him for eternity. But not many of them are teaching that we must die with Christ to sin, be delivered from our slavery to sin, and now live as slaves of God and of his righteousness.

 

Instead, they are teaching that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ forgives all their sins and it guarantees them heaven as their eternal destiny regardless of how they live their lives while they are still on this earth.

 

Many are now going so far as to teach that we are NOT to submit to Christ as Lord, that we are NOT to obey him and his commands (New Covenant), and that we are NOT to repent of our sins. For, they claim that all of that is works-based salvation (or Lordship salvation).

 

And so, there are many people professing faith in Jesus Christ who are living no different from those who make no profession of faith in Christ, so that it is barely distinguishable between those who claim to be Christians and those who don’t. And the church, overall, has become very worldly.

 

Isaiah 30:3-5 ESV

 

Therefore shall the protection of Pharaoh turn to your shame,

    and the shelter in the shadow of Egypt to your humiliation.

For though his officials are at Zoan

    and his envoys reach Hanes,

everyone comes to shame

    through a people that cannot profit them,

that brings neither help nor profit,

    but shame and disgrace.”

 

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

For Those Who Love God

Romans 8:26-27 ESV

 

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”

 

Are you ever at a loss for the right words? Have you ever faced a situation where you didn’t know what to pray? You know something is wrong, but you don’t have all the details, so you aren’t sure what to ask God for. And sometimes all you can do is just say “Help!”

 

For, God knows our needs. He knows what is going on even when we don’t. He sees the end from the beginning. He is working behind the scenes in ways we do not comprehend, working out his will and purposes in people’s lives. So, when we don’t understand, we trust God.

 

What is encouraging here is that, for those of us who are believing in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior of our lives, we are indwelt with the Holy Spirit who intercedes for us in prayer. And he knows what to pray, for he is God. And he will always pray according to the will of God, too.

 

Romans 8:28 ESV

 

“And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.”

 

Who are those who are loving God? They are those who are walking in obedience to his commands. They are not perfect people, but they are living to please the Lord in all that they do. They are listening to him and to his word, and they are putting his word into practice in their lives (1 Jn 5:3).

 

They are not walking in sin. They are not deliberately and/or premeditatedly doing what is evil in God’s sight. It doesn’t mean that they never sin, but sin is not what they practice. They don’t plot evil and then carry it out. Their lives are committed to following the Lord where he leads.

 

They are called according to God’s purpose, not according to the will of man. So, they have died with Christ to sin, and they have been raised with Christ to newness of life in him, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. And they are walking according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; Eph 4:17-32).

 

God is working all things together for our good, for what is best for us, for what will benefit us spiritually, and for what will grow us in our walks of faith in him. He is pruning and purifying us and making us holy. He is conforming us to his likeness, and he is teaching us to walk in his ways and in his truth.

 

Romans 8:29-30 ESV

 

“For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.”

 

We, as humans, live in flesh bodies. Our flesh is at war with the Spirit, and the Spirit is at war with our flesh. That is why Jesus said that if we would come after him we must deny self and take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him (Lu 9:23-26; cf. Rom 8:1-17).

 

We, as followers of Jesus Christ, are a work in process. Now, that is never to be used as an excuse for willful, deliberate, premeditated, and habitual sinning against God. We should daily be dying to sin and self and walking in obedience to his commands. But it is one day at a time.

 

But the goal or the purpose for our salvation from sin is that we are to be conformed to the image (likeness) of Christ Jesus, our Lord. We are to become like him in attitude, thought, word and deed. We are to be holy as he is holy, and his heart should be our heart (Eph 4:17-24).

 

But this is not something we do in our flesh, of our own accord. We can’t! We must die with Christ to sin so that we can live to Christ and to his righteousness in the power, working, and strength of God’s Spirit now living within us. And we must yield control of our lives over to God.

 

God is working all things together for our good, in the bad times, and in the good, when things don’t make sense, and when they make perfect sense. He has a plan and a purpose for everything that he allows to come into our lives, so we have to trust him to work it all out according to his plan.

 

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

A Faith of Equal Standing

2 Peter 1:1-2 ESV

 

“Simeon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,

 

To those who have obtained a faith of equal standing with ours by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ:

 

May grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.”

 

There are many people who profess to have faith in Jesus Christ, but not all of them have genuine faith in Jesus Christ, especially not in our day and time when the cheap grace gospel has supplanted the true gospel of our salvation in the hearts and minds of many people.

 

So, to have a faith in Jesus Christ of equal standing or equal in honor as the faith of the New Testament apostles is to have God-persuaded faith which submits to Christ as Lord, which dies with Christ to sin, and which lives to him and to his righteousness. It is a faith which walks according to the Spirit and not according to the flesh (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-32).

 

This faith is by the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ. It is by the judicial approval of God, a faith which comes from God and is approved of God and is in right standing with God. It is what is deemed right by God; therefore, it submits to God and obeys him and his word (1 Jn 2:3-6).

 

2 Peter 1:3-4 ESV

 

"His divine power has granted to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of him who called us to his own glory and excellence, by which he has granted to us his precious and very great promises, so that through them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire.”

 

So, those having this faith which dies with Christ to sin and which lives to Christ and to his righteousness have been granted, by God’s divine power, all things that pertain to life and godliness. And godliness shows reverence for God and for what God deems as sacred.

 

And we have been called of God to (or by) his own glory and excellence. But whether “to” or “by” it is still that we are called of God according to his own glory (honor, praise, good opinion) and excellence (uprightness, moral goodness) and for his glory and praise.

 

For, Jesus Christ did not die on that cross just to forgive us our sins so that we could escape hell and so that we can go to heaven when we die. He died 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 (1 Pet 2:24; 2 Co 5:15, 21; 1 Co 6:19-20; Eph 4:17-24).

 

God’s promises are conditional. We need to read them all in their context and not remove them from their context and misapply them. If they were in the Old Testament, we need to see if they are repeated for us in the New Testament, and then we need to see the conditions for those promises.

 

For, what’s the purpose of God’s promises to us? It is that through them we might become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of sinful desire. Amen! This is the message of the gospel of our salvation.

 

When we believe in Jesus, we die with Christ to sin and we are raised with Christ to newness of life in him, “created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.” We are freed from our slavery to sin so that we now become slaves of God and of his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-32).

 

2 Peter 1:5-9 ESV

 

“For this very reason, make every effort to supplement your faith with virtue, and virtue with knowledge, and knowledge with self-control, and self-control with steadfastness, and steadfastness with godliness, and godliness with brotherly affection, and brotherly affection with love. For if these qualities are yours and are increasing, they keep you from being ineffective or unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. For whoever lacks these qualities is so nearsighted that he is blind, having forgotten that he was cleansed from his former sins.”

 

This is not adding on to our faith works of the flesh. These are by-products of genuine faith in Jesus Christ. This is faith being lived out in our daily lives. We must exercise these qualities. We must put them into practice, by the Spirit, but they are not of our own doing.

 

For, again, we are not saved from our sins just so we can one day go to heaven when we die. We are saved from slavery to sin so that we can now be slaves of God and of his righteousness. Our lives are to change to be more like God in his character and in his holiness.

 

Therefore, if we put these qualities into practice in our lives they will keep us from being ineffective and unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. And that is because daily we are putting on Christ and his righteousness instead of putting on the things of this sinful world.

 

But if we lack these godly qualities, we are so nearsighted that we are blind, for we have forgotten that Jesus died to free us from our slavery to sin, not just to forgive us our sins. We have forgotten that through faith in Jesus we died with Christ to sin that we might live to Christ and to his righteousness.

 

2 Peter 1:10-11 ESV

 

“Therefore, brothers, be all the more diligent to confirm your calling and election, for if you practice these qualities you will never fall. For in this way there will be richly provided for you an entrance into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.”

 

So, what’s this saying? It is not saying that it is okay for us to continue living in sin and that it is okay if we don’t live for the Lord and for his righteousness. It is definitely not saying that God is okay with us ignoring his commands, going our own way, and us doing our own thing.

 

We need to remind ourselves regularly of what our salvation is all about, and of what God saved us from, and of what God saved us to. And we need to live accordingly to that. And we need to not get caught up in the cheap grace gospel which gives us permission to keep on in our sins.

 

If we put the life God has granted to us into practice in our daily lives, by his Spirit, it will prevent us from falling into sin. If we do not put righteousness and godliness into practice in our daily lives, then we are opening ourselves wide to falling back into sinful lifestyles.

 

So, what’s the issue? It is that if we make sin our practice, no matter what we profess with our lips, we will not inherit eternal life with God. But if by the Spirit we are putting into practice what is of God and what is of his righteousness, then we have the hope of eternal life with God.

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; Tit 2:11-14; Gal 5:16-21; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Co 6:9-10; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8; 2 Co 5:10]

 

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

When God Shuts up the Heavens

2 Chronicles 7:13-15 ESV

 

“When I shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or command the locust to devour the land, or send pestilence among my people, if my people who are called by my name humble themselves, and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and heal their land. Now my eyes will be open and my ears attentive to the prayer that is made in this place.”

 

Why Would God Do This?

 

Would there be a purpose today for God to do such as this? To shut up the heavens so that there is no rain, or to command the locust to devour the land, or to send pestilence among us? Or to allow us to go through any other type of difficulty or suffering? What purpose would this serve?

 

• To produce in us endurance, godly character, and hope (Rom. 5:3-5)
• To produce in us steadfastness, that we may be mature (Jas. 1:2-4)
• To test the genuineness of our faith (1 Pet. 1:6-7)
• That our faith may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ (1 Pet. 1:6-7)
• To give opportunity for us to bear witness for Jesus Christ (Lu. 21:13)
• That we might comfort others in their trials with the same comfort we received from God in our difficulties (2 Co. 1:3-11)
• To make us rely not on ourselves but on God (2 Co. 1:3-11)
• For producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison (2 Co. 4:17)
• Because God disciplines those he loves for our good (Heb. 12:3-12)
• That we may share God’s holiness (Heb. 12:3-12)
• That it might yield in our lives the peaceful fruit of righteousness for those who have been trained by it (Heb. 12:3-12)
• To lead us to repentance when we have strayed from the truth and we have gone our own way, instead (Rev. 3:19)

 

How is Your Church Doing?

 

As recorded for us in Revelation 2-3, in particular, the Lord sent out letters to the seven churches of Asia, which represent the church throughout the ages, or which represent the church in specific locations at various times or at all times in many different locations.

 

Five out of the seven the Lord had words of correction and rebuke, and he called them to repent of their sins or to face some type of divine judgment. But if they did repent, and they overcame their sins, and their faith was renewed in the Lord, then they were given promises of eternal rewards.

 

So, how is the church where you live doing? And I am not talking about an institutional church of any particular denomination. I am speaking of the body of Christ, as a whole, in your nation or state or province or city or area where you live. How is the church, overall, doing spiritually?

 

Would you say that the church in your area of the world is healthy spiritually? Or would you say that one or all of these five letters in Revelation 2-3 calling for repentance would fit where the church is today in your part of the world? Or would it fit with the two churches not reprimanded?

 

The Church in America

 

I live in the USA, so the church here is what I know. Now, I obviously don’t know every Christian in America or every church gathering, but over the past 22 years the Lord has been making me keenly aware of what is going on in the church, overall, in my nation.

 

And the picture, at large, is not good, although there are believers in Jesus in this nation who are serious about their walks of faith in Jesus Christ, and who are serious about living holy and pure lives dedicated to following Jesus Christ in obedience. But we are not the norm.

 

So, what is the big issue in America? It is largely that the church, overall, partnered with the US government and incorporated under the state, thus turning the church into a business (a marketplace) to be marketed to the world just like any other business.

 

So, the gatherings of the church were altered to make them more attractive and inviting to the people of the world so that the world would feel comfortable and acceptable within the gatherings of the church, which is supposed to be the fellowship of the saints of God.

 

Thus, many pastors then turned into entertainers, actors, and clowns in order to keep the people laughing and coming back for more of the same. And many worship services were turned into stage productions to draw in large crowds of people from the world.

 

So, the message of the gospel was thus diluted, too, to make it more acceptable, appealing, and non-offensive, but not just to the world, but to the worldly church, too, who craved this diluted gospel because it tickled their itching ears, and it allowed them to continue living in their sins, only now guilt-free. Thus, the church has been on a massive moral decline.

 

For, what is being taught is that we can believe in Jesus but that we can continue living in sin and that we will still have heaven guaranteed us as our eternal destiny. Or they are teaching that we are not to repent of our sins, and we are not to obey Jesus as Lord, for they call it works-based salvation.

 

If My People

 

So, the Lord does judge, and he does discipline, and he does allow us, as the church, or as individuals, to go through trials and tribulations, sometimes in order to get our attention, and to humble us, so that we will look up, and so that we will turn from our sins, and so we will now follow Jesus in obedience.

 

For, much of what is being taught today as “the gospel” is not the gospel of Jesus Christ. It is a half-truth (lie) created in the minds of human beings which teaches that Jesus died on the cross to save us from our sins, but which does not teach that he died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (Rom 6:1-23; Eph 4:17-24; 1 Pet 2:24).

 

They want the resurrection without first the death. They like the idea of their sins being forgiven so that they can go to heaven when they die, no matter how they live their lives on this earth, and they call that “grace.”

 

But they leave out the teaching that says we must be crucified with Christ in death to sin, and that we must walk according to the Spirit and no longer according to the flesh, and that we must walk in obedience to our Lord’s commands. For, if we continue living in sin, we will die in our sins. We won’t have eternal life with God (Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Lu 9:23-26).

 

So, the Lord is exposing the lies for what they are, and he is sending out his servants to proclaim the truth. And I believe he is disciplining his church and that there is more to come, for the Lord wants his people to humble themselves, to pray, to seek his face, and to turn from their wicked ways.

 

This isn’t just Old Covenant teaching. This is New Covenant teaching, too. Genuine faith in Jesus Christ results in us dying with Christ to sin and living to Christ and to his righteousness. It results in us walking in obedience to Christ and making him Lord of our lives, too.

 

For, if we continue living in sin, making it our practice, walking according to the flesh, and not according to the Spirit, we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God. So, please know the truth, and believe the truth, for your eternity depends on it.

 

[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; Eph 5:3-6; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 2:6-8]

 

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