Friday, December 18, 2020
Obeying God!
God said anyone who loves me will live a lifestyle of obedience. Those who do not live a lifestyle of obedience were never saved.
Matthew 7:21-23 "Matthew 7:21-23
I Never Knew You
21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’"
1 John 3:4-9
"Everyone who makes a practice of sinning also practices lawlessness; sin is lawlessness. You know that he appeared to take away sins, and in him there is no sin. No one who abides in him keeps on sinning; no one who keeps on sinning has either seen him or known him. Little children, let no one deceive you. Whoever practices righteousness is righteous, as he is righteous. Whoever makes a practice of sinning is of the devil, for the devil has been sinning from the beginning. The reason the Son of God appeared was to destroy the works of the devil. ..."
Born again believers do sin but they do not remain in those sins. God wrote 1 John 1:9 to believers.
1 John 1:9
"9 If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous, so that He will forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
1 John 3:9 "…8 The one who practices sin is of the devil because the devil has been sinning from the very start. This is why the Son of God was revealed, to destroy the works of the devil. 9Anyone born of God refuses to practice sin because God’s seed abides in him; he cannot go on sinning, because he has been born of God. 10By this the children of God are distinguished from the children of the devil: Anyone who does not practice righteousness is not of God, nor is anyone who does not love his brother.…"
1 John 2:1-2 "1 My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate before the Father— Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 2 He Himself is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world."
The born-again believer is being sanctified by Christ continually Who lives in them. He chastises us when we sin, disciplines so we will return to obedience.
Hebrews 12:5-7 "…5 And you have forgotten the exhortation that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not take lightly the discipline of the Lord, and do not lose heart when He rebukes you. 6 For the Lord disciplines the one He loves, and He chastises every son He receives.” 7 Endure suffering as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?…"
When we become a child of God He treats us like forever children. When we mess up the Holy Spirit is there to correct us. Sometimes those consequences are lifelong. God never throws away His family, He works in them to grow in holiness. Those who are born again and will not listen to the Holy Spirit will cause the Spirit to go silent so that the stubborn heart will experience the consequences of chastisement.
1 Thessalonians 5:19 "…18Give thanks in every circumstance, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 19 Do not extinguish the Spirit. 20Do not treat prophecies with contempt,…"
Ephesians 4:30
"And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, in whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."
The Holy Spirit never leaves us but we can grieve Him. And, we can cause Him to go silent without His help because we will not seek Him.
Working Because You are Saved or Working to become Saved?
Many people who are Christians say they believe we are saved by grace without works but live as though they are still working their way to heaven, proud of how much they do for the Lord. If we are still doing works to impress people and gain accolades from them, then we are still walking fleshly. Those who are led by the Holy Spirit do not need praise from men for what they do.
John 12:42-43 "42 Nevertheless, many of the leaders believed in Him; but because of the Pharisees, they did not confess Him, for fear that they would be put out of the synagogue. 43 For they loved praise from men more than praise from God."
Those who labor until the end are those who are born again and will never be lost. Those who do not make it to the end are those who were pretenders, they never knew the Lord and the Lord never saved them. They attempted to come to Christ in their own effort through their own works. Those who are born again were changed into a new creation by Christ, they can never change themselves back to the old because it was a work of God. When we have trusted in Christ and what He did for us He then comes to live in us and changes us, its all His work in us. We do good works because He moves in us to do them. We do not do good works to earn heaven.
Ephesians 2:8-9
"8 For by grace you have been saved through faith; and this is not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast."
1 Corinthians 6:11
"11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God."
2 Corinthians 5:17
"17 Therefore if anyone is in Christ, this person is a new creation; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come."
Ephesians 2:8-21 " 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God,
9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
11 Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands—
12 remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world.
13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
14 For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility
15 by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace,
16 and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility.
17 And he came and preached peace to you who were far off and peace to those who were near.
18 For through him we both have access in one Spirit to the Father.
19 So then you are no longer strangers and aliens,[d] but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God,
20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone,
21 in whom the whole structure, being joined together, grows into a holy temple in the Lord.
22 In him you also are being built together into a dwelling place for God by the Spirit."
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