So You Will Abide Forever

[Sue J Love]

“Depart from evil and do good,
So you will abide forever.
For the Lord loves justice
And does not forsake His godly ones;
They are preserved forever,
But the descendants of the wicked will be cut off.
The righteous will inherit the land
And dwell in it forever.
The mouth of the righteous utters wisdom,
And his tongue speaks justice.
The law of his God is in his heart;
His steps do not slip.” (Psalm 37:27-31 NASB1995)

Whether you are reading in the Old Testament or in the New Testament, we are taught that faith in God, in Jesus Christ (God the Son), if it is of God, will result in us dying to sin, and in us following our Lord in surrender to his will in walks of obedience to his commands. And this is required of God of us for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God, not as a means of us trying to earn our own salvation, but as part of biblical faith which comes from God, which is gifted to us by God, and which is persuaded of God.

For we read in Hebrews 3-4 and in 1 Corinthians 10 that the majority of the Israelites, who followed Moses into the wilderness, tested and tried God. They hardened their hearts against God, they provoked God, and they went astray in their hearts. They were hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. They were those who craved evil things, who had evil unbelieving hearts that fall away from God. And they were idolaters, revelers, drunkards, immoral, and grumblers against God and against his servant Moses, who disobeyed God.

“And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who were disobedient? So we see that they were not able to enter because of unbelief.” (Hebrews 3:18-19 NASB1995)

“Therefore, since it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience, He again fixes a certain day, ‘Today,’ saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, ‘Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.’” “Therefore let us be diligent to enter that rest, so that no one will fall, through following the same example of disobedience.” (Hebrews 4:6-7,11 NASB1995)

“Now these things happened as examples for us, so that we would not crave evil things as they also craved.” “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed that he does not fall.” (1 Corinthians 10:6,11-12 NASB1995)

So, what is this teaching us? It is teaching us that whether in the Old Testament or the New Testament, the same biblical rules apply which define what genuine biblical faith in God/Christ Jesus must be like, in action, in conduct. We must die to sin and obey God, in practice, in submission to the will of God, and as empowered by God. For if we continue to make sin our practice, and not obedience to God, we will not enter into God’s eternal rest, i.e. we will not inherit eternal life with God, because of disobedience to God.

But what does it teach us about disobedience to God? It is unbelief. We cannot live in sin, in disobedience to God, in practice, and be those of genuine biblical faith. Now this is not to say that a genuine follower of Christ can never or will never fall back into sin. We have biblical examples of that. But always there is a call for repentance and for renewed faith, and there is a warning that if they remain in sin and do not repent, that they will not have eternal life with God. For biblical faith must continue until the end.

And there is a warning for us here that if we follow the example of disobedience as that of the majority of Israelites who wandered in the wilderness, we will suffer the same result as they did. They were banned from entering into God’s eternal rest because of unbelief. And we will be, too, regardless of what our lips profess, if we do not turn from our sin and if we do not follow our Lord in obedience to his commands, in practice. So, today, if you hear God’s voice, do not harden your hearts in rebellion.

So, if you are thinking that you are standing firm in your faith in Jesus Christ, and that you have forgiveness of all sins, and that heaven is what awaits you when you die, take heed. For faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, will result in us dying to sin and obeying our Lord, in practice, or it is not biblical faith which saves. “Depart from evil and do good, so you will abide forever,” is both Old Testament and New Testament teaching, and so is, “For evildoers will be cut off.” So please take this seriously!!

[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]

The Heart of Man

Based off Matt. 15:1-20; Mk. 7:1-23
An Original Work / April 4, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love

Listen to me ev’ryone and
Understand this teaching of Christ:
Why do you break the commands
Of God for the sake of tradition?
When you follow the ways of man,
And don’t obey the words of Christ,
You nullify the words of God,
And you hold to the ways of man.

What comes out of a man’s mouth is
What makes him unclean and dirty.
The things that come out of the mouth
Come from the heart, from within him.
The heart of man is so sinful;
From his nature, out comes evil:
Lying, cursing, greed and malice,
Lust and lewdness, deceit, slander.

Jesus calls us to obey him;
Turn from our sins; follow His ways.
Yet, his people honor him with their lips,
but their hearts not with Him.
Their worship of God is in vain.
Their teachings are rules taught by man.
Jesus calls us; gently leads us
To return and follow His truth.

So You Will Abide Forever
An Original Work / October 19, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love