Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 4,389
“Such confidence we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are adequate in ourselves to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God, who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life.” (2 Corinthians 3:4-6 NASB1995)
Under the Old Covenant God had with his people Israel (Jews only), not only were they required to obey God’s moral laws, and to forsake their lives of sin, and to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands, just as we are under the New Covenant, but they were required by law to obey a whole set of liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws which are no longer required by God under the New Covenant.
But it was entirely possible for a Jew to keep all the liturgical and ceremonial laws and still not be in a right relationship with God. For ceremonial laws, such as those, did nothing to change the human heart. It is kind of like anyone today professing to be a Christian and to be fully committed to attending weekly church services, and to go through all the religious rituals engaged in those services, but for them to still be living apart from God.
For we are not saved from our sins and made right with God by outward performance. That can be like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day who were good at following religious rituals while their hearts were filled with all sorts of evil, and they were engaged in wicked deeds. Or it can be like people who join “the church” or who make a verbal profession of faith and who get baptized in water. None of those, in themselves, brings about salvation from sin.
Now a lot of people are misinterpreting passages such as this, and they are presuming upon God that God no longer requires anything of them other than to make a verbal profession of him as Lord and to confess belief in his death and resurrection. But that ignores the bulk of the teachings in the New Testament which teach us that we must die with Christ to sin, and be reborn of the Spirit of God to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as obedient servants of our Lord committed to doing his perfect will.
But notice with me where lies the emphasis here, for it is not on our own religious performance of our own flesh, but it is on the will and power of God in providing to us the way of salvation from sin and eternal life with God. Even our faith in Jesus Christ is not of our own doing, lest we should boast that we somehow did something in our own flesh to earn our salvation. But our faith comes from God and it is persuaded of God that we must die to sin and obey our Lord in practice, in submission to our Lord, in his power.
We obey our Lord and his New Covenant commands, not out of religious performance and ritualistic deeds of the flesh, but from hearts and minds which have been transformed of the Spirit of God away from us living in sin to us now walking in obedience to our Lord in holy living, empowered by the Spirit of God now living within us who are of genuine belief in Jesus Christ. We serve the Lord with our lives, and we forsake our sins, and we obey his commands because we now love him, and via the power of God within us.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; 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
Not Adequate Within Ourselves
An Original Work / November 4, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Under the Old Covenant God had with his people Israel (Jews only), not only were they required to obey God’s moral laws, and to forsake their lives of sin, and to follow our Lord in obedience to his commands, just as we are under the New Covenant, but they were required by law to obey a whole set of liturgical, ceremonial, sacrificial, purification, circumcision, dietary, and Sabbath laws which are no longer required by God under the New Covenant.
But it was entirely possible for a Jew to keep all the liturgical and ceremonial laws and still not be in a right relationship with God. For ceremonial laws, such as those, did nothing to change the human heart. It is kind of like anyone today professing to be a Christian and to be fully committed to attending weekly church services, and to go through all the religious rituals engaged in those services, but for them to still be living apart from God.
For we are not saved from our sins and made right with God by outward performance. That can be like the Pharisees of Jesus’ day who were good at following religious rituals while their hearts were filled with all sorts of evil, and they were engaged in wicked deeds. Or it can be like people who join “the church” or who make a verbal profession of faith and who get baptized in water. None of those, in themselves, brings about salvation from sin.
Now a lot of people are misinterpreting passages such as this, and they are presuming upon God that God no longer requires anything of them other than to make a verbal profession of him as Lord and to confess belief in his death and resurrection. But that ignores the bulk of the teachings in the New Testament which teach us that we must die with Christ to sin, and be reborn of the Spirit of God to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but as obedient servants of our Lord committed to doing his perfect will.
But notice with me where lies the emphasis here, for it is not on our own religious performance of our own flesh, but it is on the will and power of God in providing to us the way of salvation from sin and eternal life with God. Even our faith in Jesus Christ is not of our own doing, lest we should boast that we somehow did something in our own flesh to earn our salvation. But our faith comes from God and it is persuaded of God that we must die to sin and obey our Lord in practice, in submission to our Lord, in his power.
We obey our Lord and his New Covenant commands, not out of religious performance and ritualistic deeds of the flesh, but from hearts and minds which have been transformed of the Spirit of God away from us living in sin to us now walking in obedience to our Lord in holy living, empowered by the Spirit of God now living within us who are of genuine belief in Jesus Christ. We serve the Lord with our lives, and we forsake our sins, and we obey his commands because we now love him, and via the power of God within us.
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 10:19-39; 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
Not Adequate Within Ourselves
An Original Work / November 4, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
