Love Does Not Wrong Others

Romans 13:8-10 ESV

“Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.”

As followers of Jesus Christ, we are to be those who love all people, really, even our enemies, even those who do evil against us, but especially we are to love our fellow Christians who are also following Jesus Christ with their lives. And this word “love” (agape) means to prefer what God prefers, which is what is morally pure, upright, godly, honest, faithful, and righteous. And it means to embrace God’s will and to obey his commands via his power.

So, if we are loving other people with this kind of love, then we will not commit adultery against them, we will not murder anyone, and we will not covet what they have and then steal from them what is not ours to take, etc. For we are to love others as we want to be loved by them. Thus, we will not willfully and deliberately, and especially not habitually and premeditatedly, sin against them, for love does no willful wrong to a neighbor.

Romans 13:11-14 ESV

“Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us walk properly as in the daytime, not in orgies and drunkenness, not in sexual immorality and sensuality, not in quarreling and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires.”

Now Paul was writing to the Christians in Rome. But among them certainly were those who were not of genuine faith in Christ, which is why Paul wrote so much on what it means to be a Christian and on what God requires of his followers in order for us to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For Jesus and Paul and Peter and John did not teach the kind of gospel message which appears to be largely permeating the American church.

But among them also were those who were perhaps slacking off in their walks of faith and who were not living their faith as strongly as they once did. For he told them that the time had come for them to wake up from their spiritual sleep. But this could also apply to those whose faith was not genuine faith, who were still playing with sin and who were not committed to surrendering their lives to Jesus Christ. For they were spiritually asleep.

And the reason he was telling them this was that salvation was nearer to them than when they first believed. So, what does that mean? Well, it helps to understand what the Scriptures teach on the subject of salvation, for they do not teach that we can make a once-in-a-lifetime decision to believe in Jesus and now all our sins are forgiven and heaven is guaranteed us when we die, but regardless of how we live our lives on this earth.

For we who believe in Jesus are saved (past), we are being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns for his bride and he takes us to be with him for eternity, which is when our salvation will be complete, and not until then. But this is conditional on us dying daily to sin and denying self and following Jesus in obedience in living holy and godly lives, faithful and steadfast until the very end, in practice.

So, our salvation is not a one-time thing and it is done. Our salvation is progressive and it won’t be complete until we who are his faithful ones go to be with him for eternity when he returns. And this is why Paul said that our salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed, because the closer we move to being with the Lord, the closer we move toward having our salvation completed and our marriage to Christ consummated spiritually.

And the biblical requirements for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God are that we die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to our Lord and not in sin, and that we continue in these walks of faith in him until the day we die or until Jesus returns to take us to be with him for eternity. This is not saying we will never sin but that sin is not to be our practice, but righteousness is to be our practice.

And this is why he was telling his readers and hearers that they all, himself included, must cast off the works of darkness and to put on the armor of light. Now Paul was not confessing that he was walking in darkness or that he did not have on the armor of light, but he included himself because he, too, had to daily cast off (reject) anything related to sin, and daily he had to put on the armor of light (see 1 Corinthians 9:27).

For we all have to do this. We all have to die daily to sin and to self and follow Jesus in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). We all have to resist Satan and flee temptation and put on the armor of God to fight off Satan’s evil attacks and his evil plots against us. For Satan is going to keep trying to trip us up in any which way he can in hopes we will give up the fight (see Luke 9:23-26; James 4:7; Ephesians 6:10-20; 1 Timothy 6:12).

And we all have to walk (in conduct, in practice) in holiness and in righteousness, and not in drunkenness, and not in sexual immorality and sensuality, and not in fighting and jealousy (envy, rivalry, burning anger, rage). These things we are to put off and we are to put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and we are to make no provision (no opening, no opportunity) for the flesh, to gratify its desires. But we are to walk according to God’s will.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387

Keep Your Spiritual Fervor

Romans 12:9-13 NIV

 

“Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves. Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord. Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer. Share with the Lord’s people who are in need. Practice hospitality.”

 

The love this is speaking of is agape love which prefers what God prefers, which is what is morally pure, honest, faithful, trustworthy, godly, upright, and obedient to our Lord. So if we love others with this kind of love, we will not sin against them deliberately and especially not habitually. We will do no evil to them, but we will care about them and do for them and to them what is for their good (in the eyes of God).

 

If our love for them is sincere, it will be without hypocrisy, it will be honest, and it will not be fake. It will also not be motivated by hidden agendas nor come from selfish motives. And this kind of love seems to be rare these days. So many people are faking and being hypocritical in mouthing empty words of love to God and to their fellow humans, but it is being motivated by what is selfish and by hidden agendas, and so it is not love at all.

 

And then we are to hate what is evil, and what is evil is all that is ungodly, dishonest, untrustworthy, wicked, deceitful and immoral, etc. And to hate all of that is to abhor and to detest and to be repulsed by it. We should want no part in all that is evil. So, we should not be purposely taking in what is against God and against his morals via TV, movies, videos, and music, etc. And if we are taking in what is evil, we need to cut it out of our lives.

 

Then we are to cling to what is good. We are to be glued together with what is good, and we are not to be separated from it. We are to be bonded to and inseparably joined to what is good. And what is good is what is of God and it is not the opposite of what is of God. It is not what is immoral or deceitful or dishonest or untrustworthy. But it is what is kind, generous, loving, honest, morally pure, and faithful, etc.

 

As believers in Jesus Christ we are to be devoted to one another in love, but this is speaking of those of genuine faith who are following Jesus Christ in obedience to his ways. We are to have a kind of family love, one for the other, showing regard for one another, valuing each other, appreciating each other, encouraging one another in the Lord, and showing genuine care and concern for one another and for one another’s needs.

 

And above all we are to love God and be devoted to him and to be diligent in service to him, not being lazy, not dragging our feet, not being reluctant nor unwilling to obey the Lord when he leads us in any particular direction which he wants us to go. We should not be resisting the Lord in any way, but we should be enthusiastic and happy about serving him. And we should serve him by obeying him and by living godly lives and by sharing the gospel.

 

Then, when we are serving the Lord as we ought, we are going to be faced with persecutions, rejection, and afflictions, with people hating us and trying to take advantage of us, and who will do evil to us. But we are to remain firm and steadfast in our faith and endure unjust suffering for the glory of God and for the work of the ministry and for the furtherance of the gospel of our salvation and for the salvation of human lives.

 

We should be people of God who have open communication going between us and God throughout the day or night regardless of what else is going on in our lives. And this is called prayer, and it should be two-way communication to where we don’t do all the talking but we do a lot of listening and then obeying, too. And then we are to share with other Christians who are in genuine need and be hospitable to people, too.

 

And all this we do because we love God, and we want to serve him with our lives, and because we love other people, and we want to show the love of Christ to them, and because we care about them. And we share the gospel because we believe the message of the gospel and we want to see them set free from their slavery to sin, and walking in holiness and in righteousness, and loving God and experiencing God’s love and grace in their lives, too.

 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7PAdEO7Vfk8

Caution: This link may contain ads

 

No Less 

 

An Original Work / March 19, 2012

 

I can do no less than praise You,

Lord, for all You’ve done for me.

You died for my sins to save me,

So I would be set free.

I adore You! Lord, I praise You!

Jesus, Savior, King of kings!

You provided my redemption.

Your grace has pardoned me.

 

I can do no less than serve You.

Lord, Your witness I would be,

Telling others of Your love,

And why You died on that tree.

Tell of how You gave of Your life,

So from sin we’d be set free,

So we could worship You forever,

And live eternally.

 

I can do no less than love You,

Lord, for You have first loved me.

You gave of Your life so willing,

Because You cared for me.

Turn from my sin! Obey freely!

Live for You each passing day.

Read Your word, and follow Your lead,

Lord, as I humbly pray.

 

https://vimeo.com/125493623

The Pure in Heart

Jeremiah 17:9-10 ESV

“The heart is deceitful above all things,

    and desperately sick;

    who can understand it?

‘I the Lord search the heart

    and test the mind,

to give every man according to his ways,

    according to the fruit of his deeds.’”

I sometimes hear other people and some pastors quote verse nine here and apply it to all people, including to Christians, and that always bothers me. Why? Because, as Christians we should have hearts which are now surrendered to God. Our hearts shouldn’t be deceitful and desperately sick (wicked). Now I would agree that our fleshly hearts are like this before we have changed hearts, and prior to the Spirit living within us, but shouldn’t we have changed hearts, renewed of the Spirit of God?

For, we read in Matthew 5:8, “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God.” And we read in Matthew 6:20-21 that we are to lay up for ourselves treasures in heaven.. for where our treasure is, there our heart will be also. And in Matthew 12:34-35 we read, “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good person out of his good treasure brings forth good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure brings forth evil.”

And in Matthew 22:37 we read, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind.” But how can we do that if we all have deceitful and wicked hearts? And in Luke 8:15 we read, “As for that in the good soil, they are those who, hearing the word, hold it fast in an honest and good heart, and bear fruit with patience.” So, some people have honest and good hearts.

And in John 7:38 we read, “Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’” And in Acts 2:46 we read about “glad and generous hearts.” And in Acts 4:32 we read, “Now the full number of those who believed were of one heart and soul,” and that was a heart surrendered to God. And in Acts 13:22 we read, “I have found in David the son of Jesse a man after my heart, who will do all my will.”

And in Acts 15:9 we read, “having cleansed their hearts by faith.” And in Romans 5:5 we read, “because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” So, we can, by faith in Jesus, have cleansed and pure hearts. And in Romans 6:17 we read, “have become obedient from the heart to the standard of teaching to which you were committed.” So, we can have obedient hearts to God.

And in Romans 10:1 we read, “My heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved.” And 2 Corinthians 4:6 says, “For God, who said, ‘Let light shine out of darkness,’ has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.” In Galatians 4:6 we read, “And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, ‘Abba! Father!’”

And Ephesians 3:17 says, “so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love.” And Ephesians 6:6 says, “not by the way of eye-service, as people-pleasers, but as bondservants of Christ, doing the will of God from the heart.” And in Colossians 3:15, “compassionate hearts.” We read in 2 Thessalonians 3:5, “May the Lord direct your hearts to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ.”

And in 1 Timothy 1:5, “The aim of our charge is love that issues from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith.” And in 2 Timothy 2:22 we read, “So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.” So, if we believe in Jesus Christ with God-given faith in him, we can have pure hearts, good and honest hearts, and we can love God with our whole heart. 

We can have glad and generous hearts, and hearts which are surrendered to Jesus Christ, and we can be people after God’s own heart, and have cleansed hearts, and hearts filled with the love of God. And we can have obedient hearts and hearts which desire good for others. We can have hearts filled with the light of truth, and Spirit-filled hearts, hearts that are committed to doing the will of God, compassionate hearts, and hearts which are directed to the love of God and to the steadfastness of Christ. 

So, yes, in our sin nature, we have deceitful and wicked hearts. But once we have been transformed in heart and mind of the Spirit of God, and our hearts have been cleansed and made new by God-given faith in Jesus Christ, and God is living within our hearts, by faith in him, our hearts shouldn’t be deceitful and desperately wicked. Now they should be pure, honest, good, moral, upright, godly, generous, and hearts filled with the love of God.

But this doesn’t mean that everyone who professes faith in Jesus Christ has a pure, honest, upright, and godly heart committed to obedience to our Lord Jesus Christ. This comes through us daily dying to sin and to self and us daily surrendering our hearts to the Lord and walking in his ways and in his truth. But it is the Lord who tests our hearts, and he will give to each one of us according to our ways (see Romans 2:6-8; Galatians 6:7-8).

So, just know that not all of us have deceitful and desperately wicked hearts, not if our hearts have been cleansed and renewed of the Holy Spirit. But we still live in flesh bodies, and so we still have the ability to return to wicked and deceitful hearts if we cease to surrender our hearts to the Lord, and if we stop obeying the Lord, in practice, and if we go back to living in sin and for self. So, we need to guard our hearts so we keep having pure hearts.

My Sheep  

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full… 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

https://vimeo.com/114938263

Our Spiritual Worship of God

Romans 12:1-2 ESV

“I appeal to you therefore, brothers, by the mercies of God, to present your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to God, which is your spiritual worship. Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.”

Paul gave a call, an exhortation, a holy urging here to the Christians to present (offer, give, hand over) their bodies to God as living sacrifices (offerings) to him. But this was not to be done on human terms and according to self-will, but on God’s terms, according to his will for our lives. And this was to be a sacrifice which was acceptable to God on his terms.

So, why did he give them this exhortation? It is all because of what Jesus Christ did for us when he died on that cross for our sins. For in his death, he who knew no sin became sin for us that we might become the righteousness of God, but not in status, but in practice. For by God-given faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness (see Romans 6:1-23).

For Jesus died on that cross that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness (1 Peter 2:24). And he died that we might now live for him and no longer for ourselves (2 Corinthians 5:15,21). And he shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God out of our sin (to redeem us) so that we would now honor God with our bodies (1 Corinthians 6:19-20). And Jesus said if we want to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him (Luke 9:23-26).

Therefore, we are being exhorted here to surrender our lives to Jesus Christ, to give them over to him so that we are now his possession and he is our Lord (Owner-Master). And now we are to submit to Christ as Lord, leave our lives of sin behind us, walk in holiness and in righteousness, in the power of God, and obey our Lord and his commands (New Covenant).

Now we are to live holy lives, pleasing to God. And to be holy means to be separate (unlike, different) from the world because we are being conformed by God to the likeness of Jesus Christ, if our lives are surrendered to him to do his will. And we are now to walk in moral purity, in righteousness, in godly living, in honesty, in integrity, and in faithfulness, and no longer in sin. Because our lives now belong to God, we are now to serve the Lord with our lives in doing whatever it is he has called us to do as his holy people.

Now, when our lives no longer are our own to be lived however we want, but our lives are now surrendered to the Lord, to do his will, this is acceptable to God, and this is our spiritual worship of God. For “worship” is not just singing praise and worship songs in what is called a “worship service.” True worship of God is surrender to him as Lord, walking in obedience to his commands, forsaking our sins, and living holy lives, pleasing to him. For we can sing songs of worship and never truly worship God with our lives.

Now, as part of our surrender of our lives to the Lord and of our spiritual worship of him, our lives are no longer to be conformed to the ways of this sinful world. We are not to live like we did before we believed in Jesus. We are not to be engaged in all that is worldly and fleshly, and our lives are not to be surrendered to the lusts of the flesh, of the eyes, and the pride of life.

For Jesus Christ died on that cross to transform us and to change us, and to turn us away from sin to the truth of his righteousness, and away from the power of Satan to now live under the control of the Spirit of God. So we are to be those who are dying daily to sin and to self and who are walking in obedience to our Lord. And our lives are to be committed to Christ to do his will and no longer committed to the ways of this sinful world. Jesus should be our desire and what we long for, not the pleasures of this world.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387

A Crooked and Twisted Generation

Philippians 2:14-16 ESV

“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”

We, as followers of Jesus Christ are not to be people who go around grumbling and complaining about everything and everybody. We are not to be people who go around trying to pick fights with people just for the pleasure of being argumentative. But there are people like this. And I am not claiming absolute perfection in this area, for I can’t claim that I am perfect in my speech at all times and in all ways, even though I am walking with the Lord in faithful obedience to him day by day.

But let me say this here. Sharing the truth of the gospel and confronting the lies of Satan and exposing the fruitless deeds of darkness are being regarded these days as “negative,” and we are being told that we are not to be negative but that we are to be positive and upbeat people at all times. But if you might recall, the people of old said the same things to the prophets of old, telling them to stop confronting them with the Holy One of Israel, but to tell them sweet things, and things to make them feel good.

So this Scripture is not teaching us that we have to go around being upbeat all the time, always telling people only what makes them feel good. For it that were true, we would have to throw out most of the Scriptures. For all throughout both the Old and the New Testaments we are taught to put off lies, sexual immorality, adultery, stealing and cheating, etc., and we are to put on moral purity and faithfulness and honesty, etc. And we are to speak the truth in love, and we are to expose the fruitless deeds of darkness.

And we are to live morally pure and upright and godly and holy lives, in the power of God, and in obedience to our Lord, so that we can shine as lights of the truth of the gospel in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, which has now infiltrated much of the gatherings of the church, or of what is falsely being called church here in America. For so much of the church has altered their gatherings and the gospel message in order to attract the people of the world to their gatherings, and that is all backwards.

For the purpose of the gatherings of the church is to gather together those of genuine God-given faith in Jesus Christ for their mutual encouragement and edification and spiritual growth and maturity so that they can then go out into the world and to share the truth of the gospel with the ungodly, which includes with those making false professions of faith in Christ. For so many professers of faith in Jesus Christ are not living the faith they profess, for so many of them are buying into the lies of the enemy.

So, what is the truth of the gospel that we should be sharing with the ungodly of this world? It is what Jesus said:

“And he said to all, ‘If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself? For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words, of him will the Son of Man be ashamed when he comes in his glory and the glory of the Father and of the holy angels.’” Luke 9:23-26 ESV

And this: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’” Matthew 7:21-23 ESV

Video Talk

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WN8cdkrSnTw

Caution: This link may contain ads

My Sheep  

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full… 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

https://vimeo.com/114938263 

Trusting in a False Hope

Romans 10:1-3 ESV

“Brothers, my heart's desire and prayer to God for them is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For, being ignorant of the righteousness of God, and seeking to establish their own, they did not submit to God's righteousness.”

In context, Paul was speaking of the Jews who did not trust in Jesus Christ to be their Messiah and Lord, but who were still relying on adherence to the Mosaic law to gain them entry into heaven. But it wasn’t as though they had not heard the truth, for Jesus had spoken the truth to them over a span of about three years. But they, as a people, although not every single individual, rejected Jesus Christ as their Messiah and they put him to death on a cross hoping to put an end to him and to his messages.

So, it is my belief that their ignorance was willful ignorance, which I think we would find to be true if we read some of the conversations which Jesus had with the Jews. And then in verse 21 it says that God said, “All day long I have held out my hands to a disobedient and contrary people.” So, it wasn’t that they didn’t hear the truth, for Jesus explained it to them over and over again. But it was that they were stubborn and unwilling to accept the truth that they had been given, and they continued to go their own way.

And that is what it is like for many people today here in America who are claiming faith in Jesus Christ, but not in truth. And it isn’t that they don’t know the truth or that they have not heard the truth, though many are not hearing the truth taught today, but that many of them are rejecting the truth when they do hear it, and they are willfully choosing to establish their own righteousness apart from God. So they make up their own version of the gospel which fits with the way they want to live their lives.

And some of these people may be very religious people who follow their particular religion or church denomination, and they appear to be doing the right things, at least on a surface level. And then there are those who just fake their Christianity in order to be more acceptable to other people, and sometimes as a coverup for secretive sinful practices. So they put on a performance of righteousness to look good in front of others while, like the Pharisees, their hearts are full of wickedness.

So, what we have today are a whole lot of people professing faith in Jesus Christ who are not submitting to God’s righteousness, but they are seeking to establish their own by creating their own version of the gospel of Christ. So, they cut the message of the gospel in half, and they take Scriptures out of their context, and they twist them to say what they do not say in context, but in order to give themselves permission to continue living in sin, only now without guilt and without remorse.

And so they have reduced the message of the gospel to some verbal profession of faith in Christ or to some emotional one time decision they make in their lives or to some intellectual assent to who Jesus was and is and to what he did for us in dying on that cross for our sins. And so they promise themselves forgiveness of all sin and heaven as their eternal destiny, but not conditional at all on how they live while they are still living their lives on the earth.

And so they ignore what Jesus said when he said that if we are going to come after him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin and to self) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our old lives of living in sin and for self, we will lose them for eternity. But if for Jesus’ sake we lose our lives, i.e. we die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness, then we have eternal life in him. For Jesus also said that not everyone who says, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one doing the will of God the Father (Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

So, we can’t just make a profession of faith in Christ and then go on living in sin and expect that all our sins are forgiven and heaven is our eternal destiny. And we can’t build our doctrine of salvation out of Scriptures removed from their context and made to say what they do not say while ignoring the bulk of Scriptures on the subject of what constitutes genuine faith and salvation and eternal life with God. For the truth of the gospel teaches that if we walk in sin we will die in our sins, not have eternal life.

So my heart’s desire and prayer to God is for all people to be saved, although I know not all will believe, but also that all who now make a profession of faith in Christ, but not according to the truth of the gospel taught by Jesus and by his NT apostles, that they would turn from their sins and deny self and follow Jesus in obedience and in walks of holiness and righteousness in the power of God. For so many who are continuing to live in sin are counting on going to heaven, but that is a false hope.

[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15] 

My Sheep  

An Original Work / June 24, 2012  

Based off John 10:1-18 NIV

My sheep hear me. They know me.

They listen to my voice and obey.

I call them and lead them.

They know my voice, so they follow me.

They will never follow strangers.

They will run away from them.

The voice of a stranger they know not;

They do not follow him.

So, I tell you the truth that

I am the gate, so you enter in.

Whoever does enter

Will find forgiveness and will be saved.

Nonetheless whoever enters

Not by the gate; other way,

He is the thief and a robber.

Listen not, the sheep to him.

Oh, I am the Good Shepherd,

Who laid his own life down for the sheep.

I know them. They know me.

They will live with me eternally.

The thief only comes to steal and

Kill and to destroy the church.

I have come to give you life that

You may have it to the full… 

They know my voice, so they follow me.

https://vimeo.com/114938263

Who Shall Separate Us?

Romans 8:35-39 ESV

“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? As it is written,

‘For your sake we are being killed all the day long;

    we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.’

“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Recap: Who are the “us” in this context? We are those who are in Christ by genuine God-given and God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ. We are those who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and who have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness. And we are those who are no longer walking (in conduct, in practice) according to the flesh, but we are now walking according to the Spirit, by the Spirit.

We are also those who are suffering with Christ in denial of self, in dying daily to sin, and in living to God and to his righteousness, all in his power and strength. And since we are followers of Christ who are committed to doing his will, we are also those who are suffering persecution and rejection for the sake of the name of Jesus, and for righteousness’ sake, and for the sake of the gospel of our salvation, especially if we are those who are sharing the truth of the gospel in opposition to Satan’s lies (Romans 6-8).

So, this is who it is speaking of when it says, “Who shall separate us from the love of Christ?” The “us” is all of us who are walking in righteousness and holiness in obedience to our Lord and not in sin. For if sin is what we practice, and if righteousness and obedience to our Lord are not what we practice, then we don’t know God, we are not born of God, we don’t have the life of the Spirit living within us, and we don’t have eternal life with God. So, we are, thus, already separated from the love of God/Christ.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

So, if we want to be assured that we are in Christ, and that we are not living separate from Christ, we should read these Scriptures referenced above, take them to heart, and make certain that we are living according to the Word of God and not according to the flesh. And then, with confidence, we can claim these promises of God intended for those who are walking by the Spirit and not by the flesh, and not in sin. And this is not claiming sinless perfection, but it is saying that godliness and obedience are our practice.

And if that is true, we can say with confidence that nothing shall separate us from the love of Christ – not tribulation, or distress, or persecution, etc. The only thing that can separate us from God’s love is if we turn from God and we choose to go the way of sin rather than the way of holiness, in practice. For then we would not be those who love God. We would not be those who are being conformed to the likeness of Jesus Christ. So, this promise would not be for us. And that is made quite clear in the Scriptures noted above. 

For we who are being persecuted for righteousness’ sake are those who are following the Lord in obedience in walks of holiness, and not in sin. And that is why we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered, for the enemy of our souls is hot on our trail and he is out to take us down. But, through faith in Jesus Christ we can stand strong against his attacks and his attempts to take us down, and we can be conquerors through our Lord who loves us and who gave himself up for us to free us from our slavery to sin.

Songs in the Night  

An Original Work / December 18, 2013

“About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.” Acts 16:25 NIV ‘84

Lord, I praise You forevermore.

You, my Savior, I now adore.

Hope in heaven awaiting me,

Because You died at Calvary.

I have been forgiven,

And I’m bound for heaven.

Jesus set me free from

All my sin, I say.

I will praise Him always!

Lord, I love You for all You’ve done:

Overcame death, my vict’ry won!

Jesus saved me, and now I’m free!

I rejoice in His love for me.

I will walk in vict’ry!

My sin is but hist’ry!

I am free to please Him

With my life today.

I will love Him always!

Lord, I thank You for giving me

A new life bought at Calvary.

Loving Jesus, I meet with Him.

Tender mercies now flow within.

Lord, I am so thankful;

Through my Lord, I’m able

To sit at His table;

Fellowship with Him.

I will thank Him always!

https://vimeo.com/379484387