Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 4,151
“However at that time, when you did not know God, you were slaves to those which by nature are no gods. But now that you have come to know God, or rather to be known by God, how is it that you turn back again to the weak and worthless elemental things, to which you desire to be enslaved all over again? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that perhaps I have labored over you in vain.” (Galatians 4:8-11 NASB1995)
Before we believed in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we were slaves to sin, destined for hell, without hope. We may have been “religious” people who went through all sorts of religious exercises, but our lives were not surrendered to Christ, we had not died to sin, and we were not walking in obedience to our Lord and to his New Covenant commands. And we may have been rule followers, but still our lives were our own to live as we chose and not surrendered to Christ to do his will for our lives.
For going through the motions of religious practices does not make anyone a Christian saved by God’s grace. Just because you show up at a “church” gathering once a week, you sing the songs, you listen to the sermon, and maybe you do some community service, it does not make you a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ. And just because you go through the waters of baptism, and take communion, or go through catechism, none of that secures you salvation from sin and eternal life with God apart from faith.
But what is faith? Biblical faith is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ. It is persuaded of God, and it is gifted to us by God. And it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of humans. So we don’t get to define faith. God does! And God persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need and God’s requirement that we die with Christ to sin, and that we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness.
Now Jesus becomes our Lord (Owner-Master), and he is the one directing our lives and showing us the way we must go. We no longer just go through the motions of religious practice, but our lives are now given over to Jesus Christ to be lived now for his purposes and for his glory, in the power and wisdom of God, and not in our own flesh. Now we belong to Christ to follow his lead and to be the people of God he intends for us to be. And this means death to sin and walks of obedience to his commands in holy living.
But there are people who do come to know the Lord, in truth, but then someone comes along and tells them that they have to adhere to a bunch of the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws, as add ons to their faith in Christ. And so they go after these things, thinking it will make them more religious. Or they come across those who are telling them that they don’t have to deny self, die to sin, and follow Jesus in obedience, and so they go back to living in sin in disobedience.
And so the message here is that we are not to go back to how we were living before we believed in Christ, whether it is a focus on legalism and just following a bunch of empty rules which do nothing to change our hearts, and/or it is a return to walking in deliberate and habitual sin against God, in open defiance to God and to his New Covenant commands, thinking that God will not punish us for our sins. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God.
Gospel:[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
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
Don’t Return to The Past
An Original Work / August 29, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Before we believed in Jesus Christ to be Lord and Savior of our lives, we were slaves to sin, destined for hell, without hope. We may have been “religious” people who went through all sorts of religious exercises, but our lives were not surrendered to Christ, we had not died to sin, and we were not walking in obedience to our Lord and to his New Covenant commands. And we may have been rule followers, but still our lives were our own to live as we chose and not surrendered to Christ to do his will for our lives.
For going through the motions of religious practices does not make anyone a Christian saved by God’s grace. Just because you show up at a “church” gathering once a week, you sing the songs, you listen to the sermon, and maybe you do some community service, it does not make you a Christian and a follower of Jesus Christ. And just because you go through the waters of baptism, and take communion, or go through catechism, none of that secures you salvation from sin and eternal life with God apart from faith.
But what is faith? Biblical faith is authored and perfected by Jesus Christ. It is persuaded of God, and it is gifted to us by God. And it is not of our own doing – not of the will nor of the flesh of humans. So we don’t get to define faith. God does! And God persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need and God’s requirement that we die with Christ to sin, and that we are raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness.
Now Jesus becomes our Lord (Owner-Master), and he is the one directing our lives and showing us the way we must go. We no longer just go through the motions of religious practice, but our lives are now given over to Jesus Christ to be lived now for his purposes and for his glory, in the power and wisdom of God, and not in our own flesh. Now we belong to Christ to follow his lead and to be the people of God he intends for us to be. And this means death to sin and walks of obedience to his commands in holy living.
But there are people who do come to know the Lord, in truth, but then someone comes along and tells them that they have to adhere to a bunch of the Old Covenant liturgical, ceremonial, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws, as add ons to their faith in Christ. And so they go after these things, thinking it will make them more religious. Or they come across those who are telling them that they don’t have to deny self, die to sin, and follow Jesus in obedience, and so they go back to living in sin in disobedience.
And so the message here is that we are not to go back to how we were living before we believed in Christ, whether it is a focus on legalism and just following a bunch of empty rules which do nothing to change our hearts, and/or it is a return to walking in deliberate and habitual sin against God, in open defiance to God and to his New Covenant commands, thinking that God will not punish us for our sins. For if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God.
Gospel:[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
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
Don’t Return to The Past
An Original Work / August 29, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
