Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,859
“Be on guard for yourselves and for all the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood. I know that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock; and from among your own selves men will arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after them. Therefore be on the alert, remembering that night and day for a period of three years I did not cease to admonish each one with tears. And now I commend you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified.” (Acts 20:28-32 NASB1995)
The Church, The Body of Christ
Paul was speaking here to the elders of the church, which is why the reference to them being “overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” But this is the church, the body of believers in Jesus Christ. And all of us of faith in Christ are called of God to minister to one another, to give instruction, to warn and to caution against false teachings, and to exhort one another daily so that none of us are hardened by sin’s deceitfulness, by speaking the truth to one another, in love.
So, it is not just the elders who have the responsibility to be on guard for themselves and for all the flock (all who are of genuine faith in Christ Jesus), but we are all called of God to have watch and care over the flock (the church, the body of Christ), just not all of us in positions of authority and rule over the people. For the church is not a building we go to and sit through a weekly service, but it is us who believe in Jesus, who have died with Christ to sin, and who are walking in obedience to His ways.
And the Bible teaches that we should meet together daily for mutual spiritual encouragement and growth and maturity, in walks of faith and in obedience to our Lord, as each part does its work. For we are all ministers, and we all are given gifts of the Spirit and assignments by God within the universal body of Christ, which we must do, in the power of God, under his direction and leadership. We are not to just sit in a service once a week as spectators, but we are to gather together with other believers for mutual edification.
[Acts 2:42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]
Savage Wolves
And one of the biggest reasons today that it is so critical that we, who are members of the body of Christ, are exhorting and encouraging and edifying one another daily (doesn’t have to be face to face in person), is that charlatans, and savage “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” abound today in the gatherings of the church (or in what is falsely being called “the church”). And they are largely those who are teaching the Scriptures out of context and who are giving out a false (half-truth) altered gospel, in order to deceive.
So, we must be on the alert! How do we do this? First of all we must make certain that we are of biblical faith in Jesus Christ, that we have died with Christ to sin, and sin is no longer our practice, and that we are those who are walking in obedience to our Lord and to his New Covenant commands, in practice. And then we must be students of the Scriptures who study them in their proper context, and who are putting the word of God into daily practice, by the Spirit. Then we will be able to discern the lies and liars.
Then we must be those who are testing the spirits against the teachings of the Scriptures (taught in their appropriate context) to see who is telling the truth and who is speaking the lies. And the lies are taking over the truth by enormous numbers these days. So many are believing that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ assures them forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal destiny, but while they continue living in sin, making sin their practice, and obedience to God’s Word is not their practice.
But Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts.. Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?.. resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.” (Romans 6:12,16,22)
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; 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 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Be On Guard
An Original Work / May 28, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
The Church, The Body of Christ
Paul was speaking here to the elders of the church, which is why the reference to them being “overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood.” But this is the church, the body of believers in Jesus Christ. And all of us of faith in Christ are called of God to minister to one another, to give instruction, to warn and to caution against false teachings, and to exhort one another daily so that none of us are hardened by sin’s deceitfulness, by speaking the truth to one another, in love.
So, it is not just the elders who have the responsibility to be on guard for themselves and for all the flock (all who are of genuine faith in Christ Jesus), but we are all called of God to have watch and care over the flock (the church, the body of Christ), just not all of us in positions of authority and rule over the people. For the church is not a building we go to and sit through a weekly service, but it is us who believe in Jesus, who have died with Christ to sin, and who are walking in obedience to His ways.
And the Bible teaches that we should meet together daily for mutual spiritual encouragement and growth and maturity, in walks of faith and in obedience to our Lord, as each part does its work. For we are all ministers, and we all are given gifts of the Spirit and assignments by God within the universal body of Christ, which we must do, in the power of God, under his direction and leadership. We are not to just sit in a service once a week as spectators, but we are to gather together with other believers for mutual edification.
[Acts 2:42-47; Romans 12:1-8; 1 Corinthians 12:1-31; 1 Corinthians 14:1-5; Galatians 6:1; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:1-16; Ephesians 5:15-21; Ephesians 6:10-20; Philippians 2:1-8; Colossians 3:12-16; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:13; Hebrews 10:23-25; James 5:19-20]
Savage Wolves
And one of the biggest reasons today that it is so critical that we, who are members of the body of Christ, are exhorting and encouraging and edifying one another daily (doesn’t have to be face to face in person), is that charlatans, and savage “wolves in sheep’s clothing,” abound today in the gatherings of the church (or in what is falsely being called “the church”). And they are largely those who are teaching the Scriptures out of context and who are giving out a false (half-truth) altered gospel, in order to deceive.
So, we must be on the alert! How do we do this? First of all we must make certain that we are of biblical faith in Jesus Christ, that we have died with Christ to sin, and sin is no longer our practice, and that we are those who are walking in obedience to our Lord and to his New Covenant commands, in practice. And then we must be students of the Scriptures who study them in their proper context, and who are putting the word of God into daily practice, by the Spirit. Then we will be able to discern the lies and liars.
Then we must be those who are testing the spirits against the teachings of the Scriptures (taught in their appropriate context) to see who is telling the truth and who is speaking the lies. And the lies are taking over the truth by enormous numbers these days. So many are believing that a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ assures them forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal destiny, but while they continue living in sin, making sin their practice, and obedience to God’s Word is not their practice.
But Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).
“Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its lusts.. Do you not know that when you present yourselves to someone as slaves for obedience, you are slaves of the one whom you obey, either of sin resulting in death, or of obedience resulting in righteousness?.. resulting in sanctification, and the outcome, eternal life.” (Romans 6:12,16,22)
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; 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 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
Oh, to Be Like Thee, Blessed Redeemer
Lyrics by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1897
Music by W. J. Kirkpatrick, 1897
Oh, to be like Thee! blessèd Redeemer,
This is my constant longing and prayer;
Gladly I’ll forfeit all of earth’s treasures,
Jesus, Thy perfect likeness to wear.
Oh, to be like Thee! full of compassion,
Loving, forgiving, tender and kind,
Helping the helpless, cheering the fainting,
Seeking the wandering sinner to find.
O to be like Thee! lowly in spirit,
Holy and harmless, patient and brave;
Meekly enduring cruel reproaches,
Willing to suffer others to save.
O to be like Thee! while I am pleading,
Pour out Thy Spirit, fill with Thy love;
Make me a temple meet for Thy dwelling,
Fit me for life and Heaven above.
Oh, to be like Thee! Oh, to be like Thee,
Blessèd Redeemer, pure as Thou art;
Come in Thy sweetness, come in Thy fullness;
Stamp Thine own image deep on my heart.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Be On Guard
An Original Work / May 28, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
