Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,624
“If your hand or your foot causes you to stumble, cut it off and throw it from you; it is better for you to enter life crippled or lame, than to have two hands or two feet and be cast into the eternal fire. If your eye causes you to stumble, pluck it out and throw it from you. It is better for you to enter life with one eye, than to have two eyes and be cast into the fiery hell.” (Matthew 18:8-9 NASB1995)
It is not enough to just profess faith in Jesus Christ with our lips, but we must be those who are walking by faith in the Lord Jesus, a faith which comes from God, is authored by God, is persuaded of God, and is gifted to us by God, and which is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of humankind. And so this faith is going to agree with God and with the Scriptures, as taught in the appropriate context, and with God’s expressed will and purpose for our lives, which is that we die to sin and live for God.
For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
Sadly, not many are teaching the gospel message that Jesus taught, and that his New Testament apostles taught (in context). But many have altered and diluted the gospel message by teaching it out of context and then by twisting it to make it say what it does not say if taught in the appropriate context. And so they are giving the people the idea that they can believe in Jesus, and have heaven secured them, but regardless of how they live. And that is not the biblical gospel, but a revised version of the flesh of man.
So, you can’t just “pray the prayer” to receive Christ, or make a public acknowledgment of him as your Lord and Savior, or just merely accept his grace and forgiveness of your sins, and then go on living in sin, nothing changed. For the faith to believe in Jesus comes from God, it is authored of God, is persuaded of God, and is gifted to us by God. And God persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die to sin and to now walk in obedience to his commands in holy living.
The Scriptures make it quite clear that if sin continues to be our practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to God, that we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with God, we do not have salvation from sin, and we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips have professed. And this is not a claim to sinless perfection, either. We might still sin sometimes (1 John 2:1-2), and be in need of the grace of God, but sin must no longer be our habit, how we live in lifestyle deliberately, in practice.
And so that is the basis for what Jesus said to his disciples. So serious it is if we continue in sin, and not in walks of surrender to God in obedience to his commands, that it would be better to cut off a foot or a hand or to gouge out an eye if that would keep us from deliberate and habitual sin against God. But I take this more metaphorically rather than literally, for sin is a heart matter, and we could physically cut off a physical part of our bodies and still continue in deliberate and habitual sin if we do not have a heart cleansing.
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” (See Luke 6:45; Matthew 15:17-20)
So, metaphorically speaking, I believe the message in Matthew 18:8-9 has to do with ridding our lives of those things which cause us to stumble, and which lead us into sin, which could be unrepentant and prideful and lustful hearts that have not been cleansed of the Spirit of God, because the sinner is unwilling to cut those things out of his heart so that he can walk in purity of devotion to the Lord in walks of surrender to the will of God in obedience to his commands, because he wants to remain in control of his own life.
And so they may just go on sinning without conscience and without genuine repentance just out of the stubbornness of their own hearts. Or they may be those who say, “I did it my way,” rather than God’s way, because they want to be the ones in control. They will not “let go and let God” because that would be giving up the control of their own lives, or that would mean having to confess a wrong they are not willing to confess or to let go of, or it might mean humbling themselves in surrender to God, and they are not willing.
Or they may try to do it in their own efforts, out of pride, and so they may go through programs and books which tell them what they should do to get rid of their addictions to sin, and they may follow those plans, for a while. But if they maintain the same hearts with the same bitterness, hatred, resentments, unforgiveness, lust, and pride, then the same junk is going to keep surfacing out of what is stored up in their hearts, with the same results, which has to do with addiction to sin, and most often sexual sin.
So this is why Jesus said that if we are going to come after him that we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow him in obedience to his commands. We have to let him cleanse us from our sins, but this requires our cooperation. For fellowship with God is partnership and cooperativeness with God in his work of grace in our lives in putting sin to death in our lives so that we will now live for him in walks of surrender to him in obedience to his commands, empowered by God.
And God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)
So, if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of surrender to the Lord in obedience to his commands in righteous living, his word teaches us that we will die in our sins, and we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. And this is basically the message to us in Matthew 18:8-9, that if we do not put sin to death in our lives, by the Spirit, then heaven is not our eternal destiny. Instead, we will be cast into the fires of hell for eternity. So please take this to heart.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
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
Cut It Off!
An Original Work / May 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
It is not enough to just profess faith in Jesus Christ with our lips, but we must be those who are walking by faith in the Lord Jesus, a faith which comes from God, is authored by God, is persuaded of God, and is gifted to us by God, and which is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of humankind. And so this faith is going to agree with God and with the Scriptures, as taught in the appropriate context, and with God’s expressed will and purpose for our lives, which is that we die to sin and live for God.
For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
Sadly, not many are teaching the gospel message that Jesus taught, and that his New Testament apostles taught (in context). But many have altered and diluted the gospel message by teaching it out of context and then by twisting it to make it say what it does not say if taught in the appropriate context. And so they are giving the people the idea that they can believe in Jesus, and have heaven secured them, but regardless of how they live. And that is not the biblical gospel, but a revised version of the flesh of man.
So, you can’t just “pray the prayer” to receive Christ, or make a public acknowledgment of him as your Lord and Savior, or just merely accept his grace and forgiveness of your sins, and then go on living in sin, nothing changed. For the faith to believe in Jesus comes from God, it is authored of God, is persuaded of God, and is gifted to us by God. And God persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die to sin and to now walk in obedience to his commands in holy living.
The Scriptures make it quite clear that if sin continues to be our practice, and not righteousness, and not obedience to God, that we do not know God, we are not in fellowship with God, we do not have salvation from sin, and we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips have professed. And this is not a claim to sinless perfection, either. We might still sin sometimes (1 John 2:1-2), and be in need of the grace of God, but sin must no longer be our habit, how we live in lifestyle deliberately, in practice.
And so that is the basis for what Jesus said to his disciples. So serious it is if we continue in sin, and not in walks of surrender to God in obedience to his commands, that it would be better to cut off a foot or a hand or to gouge out an eye if that would keep us from deliberate and habitual sin against God. But I take this more metaphorically rather than literally, for sin is a heart matter, and we could physically cut off a physical part of our bodies and still continue in deliberate and habitual sin if we do not have a heart cleansing.
“The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.” “For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false witness, slander. These are what defile a person.” (See Luke 6:45; Matthew 15:17-20)
So, metaphorically speaking, I believe the message in Matthew 18:8-9 has to do with ridding our lives of those things which cause us to stumble, and which lead us into sin, which could be unrepentant and prideful and lustful hearts that have not been cleansed of the Spirit of God, because the sinner is unwilling to cut those things out of his heart so that he can walk in purity of devotion to the Lord in walks of surrender to the will of God in obedience to his commands, because he wants to remain in control of his own life.
And so they may just go on sinning without conscience and without genuine repentance just out of the stubbornness of their own hearts. Or they may be those who say, “I did it my way,” rather than God’s way, because they want to be the ones in control. They will not “let go and let God” because that would be giving up the control of their own lives, or that would mean having to confess a wrong they are not willing to confess or to let go of, or it might mean humbling themselves in surrender to God, and they are not willing.
Or they may try to do it in their own efforts, out of pride, and so they may go through programs and books which tell them what they should do to get rid of their addictions to sin, and they may follow those plans, for a while. But if they maintain the same hearts with the same bitterness, hatred, resentments, unforgiveness, lust, and pride, then the same junk is going to keep surfacing out of what is stored up in their hearts, with the same results, which has to do with addiction to sin, and most often sexual sin.
So this is why Jesus said that if we are going to come after him that we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow him in obedience to his commands. We have to let him cleanse us from our sins, but this requires our cooperation. For fellowship with God is partnership and cooperativeness with God in his work of grace in our lives in putting sin to death in our lives so that we will now live for him in walks of surrender to him in obedience to his commands, empowered by God.
And God’s grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)
So, if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of surrender to the Lord in obedience to his commands in righteous living, his word teaches us that we will die in our sins, and we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. And this is basically the message to us in Matthew 18:8-9, that if we do not put sin to death in our lives, by the Spirit, then heaven is not our eternal destiny. Instead, we will be cast into the fires of hell for eternity. So please take this to heart.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
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
Cut It Off!
An Original Work / May 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
