Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,586
“And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, engaged in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach— if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.” (Colossians 1:21-23 NASB1995)
When we believe in Jesus Christ, if our faith in him is genuine biblical faith which comes from God, and is gifted to us by God, and is not of our own doing, but which is persuaded of God, we die to our old lives of living in sin, by the Spirit, and we are now empowered of God to live holy lives, pleasing to him, in moral purity, uprightness, honesty, faithfulness, and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. For we were once engaged in evil deeds, but now we are to live holy lives for the praise and glory of God.
Now we are to walk (in conduct, in practice) in a manner worthy of (fitting to, suitable to, appropriate to) the Lord, to please him in all respects. For he rescued us from the domain of darkness (sin, evil) and transferred us to the kingdom of God. For in Jesus’ death on that cross he bought us back for God (he redeemed us) out of our lives of slavery (addiction) to sin so that we will now serve him with our lives, in his power and strength. For to be reconciled to God means we change. We die to sin and we now obey our Lord.
So, although sin was once what we practiced, by the grace of God and via God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him, we are set free from our addiction to sin so that we can now live holy lives, pleasing to God. So sin must no longer have control over our lives, to make us obey its desires, for Jesus gave his life up for us to free us from our slavery to sin so we will now live for him in following him and his ways, in doing the will of God. For to this purpose he called us, and he saved us, if we remain faithful to him.
But not many people today are teaching this. Far too many are teaching a cheapened form of the gospel, which is not the gospel, which is convincing people that all they have to do is make a profession of faith in Christ, once in their lives, and now all their sins are forgiven, and heaven is guaranteed them when they die, but regardless of how they live. But by faith in Jesus we must be crucified with him in death to sin, and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as those who serve God with our lives, in walks of obedience to his commands.
And what that tells us is that our faith and our salvation are not a once in our lifetime thing which secures heaven for us when we die, but they are ongoing and continuous, and we must continue in them until the end or we do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And this is not works salvation. This is the salvation which God provided that we should walk in it, and continue in it, by his grace, in his power, which means continuing to die to sin and obey God throughout our lives of faith.
And truly not many people today are teaching that. Even if they stress holiness and moral living, most often they do not insist upon it as critical to genuine faith which saves. And so many people have the false notion that if they “prayed the prayer” to receive Christ that now they are good to go to heaven when they die, whether or not they ever die to sin and live for God. For it seems most people don’t teach our faith and salvation as progressive and continuous but as a once-in-a-lifetime experience that “seals the deal.”
But that is not biblical faith. And it is not biblical salvation, not as Jesus taught it, and not as his New Testament apostles taught it. We have to stay the course. It doesn’t mean we will be perfect, or that we will never sin again, but that sin must no longer be our practice, but obedience to our Lord is to be our practice. For in the end we are all going to be judged by God according to our works (our deeds). If we died to sin and obeyed God, in practice, we have eternal life. But if we continue in sin and we don’t obey God, in practice, we will not inherit eternal life, even if we professed faith.
And the really sad reality of all of this is it seems the majority of those calling themselves “Christians” here in America have bought into the “cheap grace gospel,” which is not God’s grace, but man’s attempts at cheapening what God provided so that it is not grace at all, but the attempts of human flesh to still cling to their sinful practices yet while still claiming heaven when they die. But their lives are empty, void of the Spirit of God, and if they continue on that course, they will die in their sins for not dying to sin.
So just because someone gives lip service to the Lord, it doesn’t mean at all that he really knows God or that he really has salvation from sin. For the faith to believe in Jesus comes from God and it is persuaded of God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die to sin and now follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. We don’t do works to get saved, but our salvation, if genuine, results in the works of God being displayed in our lives as evidence of our faith in Jesus.
For not everyone who claims Jesus as Lord really serves him as Lord of their lives. And Jesus said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God the Father. For the Scriptures teach that faith = obedience, and disobedience = unbelief. And Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and walk in obedience to his commands, or we do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God in heaven.
[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
If You Continue in The Faith
An Original Work / April 25, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
When we believe in Jesus Christ, if our faith in him is genuine biblical faith which comes from God, and is gifted to us by God, and is not of our own doing, but which is persuaded of God, we die to our old lives of living in sin, by the Spirit, and we are now empowered of God to live holy lives, pleasing to him, in moral purity, uprightness, honesty, faithfulness, and in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. For we were once engaged in evil deeds, but now we are to live holy lives for the praise and glory of God.
Now we are to walk (in conduct, in practice) in a manner worthy of (fitting to, suitable to, appropriate to) the Lord, to please him in all respects. For he rescued us from the domain of darkness (sin, evil) and transferred us to the kingdom of God. For in Jesus’ death on that cross he bought us back for God (he redeemed us) out of our lives of slavery (addiction) to sin so that we will now serve him with our lives, in his power and strength. For to be reconciled to God means we change. We die to sin and we now obey our Lord.
So, although sin was once what we practiced, by the grace of God and via God-gifted and God-persuaded faith in him, we are set free from our addiction to sin so that we can now live holy lives, pleasing to God. So sin must no longer have control over our lives, to make us obey its desires, for Jesus gave his life up for us to free us from our slavery to sin so we will now live for him in following him and his ways, in doing the will of God. For to this purpose he called us, and he saved us, if we remain faithful to him.
But not many people today are teaching this. Far too many are teaching a cheapened form of the gospel, which is not the gospel, which is convincing people that all they have to do is make a profession of faith in Christ, once in their lives, and now all their sins are forgiven, and heaven is guaranteed them when they die, but regardless of how they live. But by faith in Jesus we must be crucified with him in death to sin, and raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as those who serve God with our lives, in walks of obedience to his commands.
And what that tells us is that our faith and our salvation are not a once in our lifetime thing which secures heaven for us when we die, but they are ongoing and continuous, and we must continue in them until the end or we do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. And this is not works salvation. This is the salvation which God provided that we should walk in it, and continue in it, by his grace, in his power, which means continuing to die to sin and obey God throughout our lives of faith.
And truly not many people today are teaching that. Even if they stress holiness and moral living, most often they do not insist upon it as critical to genuine faith which saves. And so many people have the false notion that if they “prayed the prayer” to receive Christ that now they are good to go to heaven when they die, whether or not they ever die to sin and live for God. For it seems most people don’t teach our faith and salvation as progressive and continuous but as a once-in-a-lifetime experience that “seals the deal.”
But that is not biblical faith. And it is not biblical salvation, not as Jesus taught it, and not as his New Testament apostles taught it. We have to stay the course. It doesn’t mean we will be perfect, or that we will never sin again, but that sin must no longer be our practice, but obedience to our Lord is to be our practice. For in the end we are all going to be judged by God according to our works (our deeds). If we died to sin and obeyed God, in practice, we have eternal life. But if we continue in sin and we don’t obey God, in practice, we will not inherit eternal life, even if we professed faith.
And the really sad reality of all of this is it seems the majority of those calling themselves “Christians” here in America have bought into the “cheap grace gospel,” which is not God’s grace, but man’s attempts at cheapening what God provided so that it is not grace at all, but the attempts of human flesh to still cling to their sinful practices yet while still claiming heaven when they die. But their lives are empty, void of the Spirit of God, and if they continue on that course, they will die in their sins for not dying to sin.
So just because someone gives lip service to the Lord, it doesn’t mean at all that he really knows God or that he really has salvation from sin. For the faith to believe in Jesus comes from God and it is persuaded of God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die to sin and now follow our Lord in walks of obedience to his commands. We don’t do works to get saved, but our salvation, if genuine, results in the works of God being displayed in our lives as evidence of our faith in Jesus.
For not everyone who claims Jesus as Lord really serves him as Lord of their lives. And Jesus said that not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God the Father. For the Scriptures teach that faith = obedience, and disobedience = unbelief. And Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and walk in obedience to his commands, or we do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God in heaven.
[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
If You Continue in The Faith
An Original Work / April 25, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
