Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,642
“But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumph in Christ, and manifests through us the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Him in every place. For we are a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing; to the one an aroma from death to death, to the other an aroma from life to life. And who is adequate for these things? For we are not like many, peddling the word of God, but as from sincerity, but as from God, we speak in Christ in the sight of God.” (2 Corinthians 2:14-17 NASB’95)
When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Therefore we are not to let sin reign any longer in our mortal bodies so that we obey its lusts, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it leads to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God.
So, our salvation from sin is not a one-time profession of faith in Jesus Christ which secures us forgiveness of all sins and eternal life with God in heaven. Our salvation, which comes from God, delivers us out of our slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin so that we will now serve our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, in practice. By faith in Jesus Christ we must now no longer make sin our practice, but now walks of obedience to our Lord should be our practice, in his power. This is progressive salvation.
We are “being saved” by God’s grace as we walk the walk and we obey our Lord and we turn from our sins – all by God’s grace, through God-gifted faith in Jesus, and empowered by God, as led by the Spirit, and not of our own doing. So this has nothing to do with us trying to earn our salvation. This is us walking in the salvation that Jesus already provided for us, by his grace. But we must continue in those walks of faith and obedience until the very end, for if we return to living in sin and in disobedience, we will not see God.
Therefore, those who are “being saved” are not all who make verbal professions of faith in Jesus Christ. They are all who have died with Christ to sin and who, by his grace, are now walking in obedience to his commands in holy living. But this doesn’t make us perfect. This doesn’t mean that we will never sin again or that we will never fail to be who God wants us to be. But God sets the standard for what constitutes one who is of genuine faith in him, and he is one who is putting sin to death and who is obeying the Lord.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:44; Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-24; Rom 11:17-24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 3:6,14-15; 1 Pet 1:5,9; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
And this is the gospel message that Jesus taught, and that his New Testament apostles taught. And, again, by faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, and not from ourselves, “being saved” requires that we are dying with Christ to sin and that we are walking in obedience to his commands, in practice. For faith = obedience to God, and salvation = deliverance from our addiction to sin so that we can now obey our Lord. And this must be progressive in our lives. This is the life we should be living as Christians.
So, when Paul stated that he and the other apostles were “a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,” the “being saved” are those living in submission to the will of God and “the perishing” are all who are not living in submission to the Lord but who are still walking in sin, still living to please their flesh, still ignoring the Lord and his commandments as a matter of life course. And, again, I am not speaking here of absolute perfection, but of God’s requirements of us.
So, those who are still living to please the flesh, still charting their own course, still doing what they want to do, whose lives are not surrendered to the will of God, they are not going to listen to the truth. And if we are sharing the gospel that Jesus taught, we will not be well liked and received by them. They may just ignore us, or they may hate us and strongly oppose us. But those who are believing and living the truth of the gospel should receive us with open arms and they should encourage us in our ministry.
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
A Fragrance of Christ
An Original Work / March 8, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
When we believe in Jesus Christ with God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to God and to his righteousness. Therefore we are not to let sin reign any longer in our mortal bodies so that we obey its lusts, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it leads to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God.
So, our salvation from sin is not a one-time profession of faith in Jesus Christ which secures us forgiveness of all sins and eternal life with God in heaven. Our salvation, which comes from God, delivers us out of our slavery (bondage, addiction) to sin so that we will now serve our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, in practice. By faith in Jesus Christ we must now no longer make sin our practice, but now walks of obedience to our Lord should be our practice, in his power. This is progressive salvation.
We are “being saved” by God’s grace as we walk the walk and we obey our Lord and we turn from our sins – all by God’s grace, through God-gifted faith in Jesus, and empowered by God, as led by the Spirit, and not of our own doing. So this has nothing to do with us trying to earn our salvation. This is us walking in the salvation that Jesus already provided for us, by his grace. But we must continue in those walks of faith and obedience until the very end, for if we return to living in sin and in disobedience, we will not see God.
Therefore, those who are “being saved” are not all who make verbal professions of faith in Jesus Christ. They are all who have died with Christ to sin and who, by his grace, are now walking in obedience to his commands in holy living. But this doesn’t make us perfect. This doesn’t mean that we will never sin again or that we will never fail to be who God wants us to be. But God sets the standard for what constitutes one who is of genuine faith in him, and he is one who is putting sin to death and who is obeying the Lord.
[Matt 7:13-14,21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:44; Jn 8:31-32; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-24; Rom 11:17-24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 3:6,14-15; 1 Pet 1:5,9; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10]
And this is the gospel message that Jesus taught, and that his New Testament apostles taught. And, again, by faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, and not from ourselves, “being saved” requires that we are dying with Christ to sin and that we are walking in obedience to his commands, in practice. For faith = obedience to God, and salvation = deliverance from our addiction to sin so that we can now obey our Lord. And this must be progressive in our lives. This is the life we should be living as Christians.
So, when Paul stated that he and the other apostles were “a fragrance of Christ to God among those who are being saved and among those who are perishing,” the “being saved” are those living in submission to the will of God and “the perishing” are all who are not living in submission to the Lord but who are still walking in sin, still living to please their flesh, still ignoring the Lord and his commandments as a matter of life course. And, again, I am not speaking here of absolute perfection, but of God’s requirements of us.
So, those who are still living to please the flesh, still charting their own course, still doing what they want to do, whose lives are not surrendered to the will of God, they are not going to listen to the truth. And if we are sharing the gospel that Jesus taught, we will not be well liked and received by them. They may just ignore us, or they may hate us and strongly oppose us. But those who are believing and living the truth of the gospel should receive us with open arms and they should encourage us in our ministry.
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
Caution: This link may contain ads
A Fragrance of Christ
An Original Work / March 8, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
