Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,509
“Simon Peter, a bond-servant and apostle of Jesus Christ, to those who have received a faith of the same kind as ours, by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ: Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord; seeing that His divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence. For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” (2 Peter 1:1-4 NASB’95)
What was the kind of faith that Peter and the other New Testament apostles had and demonstrated? It is the faith that they all taught and lived. And what was that? That by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness – by the grace of God, in the power of God.
Therefore, we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies any longer so that we obey its lusts, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death (without Christ). But if obedience to God is what we obey, it leads to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God. So a mere verbal confession of Christ as Lord and Savior, that does not result in self-denial, death to sin, and walks of obedience to our Lord, is not God-gifted faith.
[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 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24]
So, we need to be students of the Scriptures who study them in their appropriate context and who do not rely on other humans and on Scriptures taught out of context to teach us the gospel message of salvation. For many people today are teaching a false half-truth gospel which does not require the sinner to die to his sin and to now walk in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, as a matter of life practice, by faith, in the power of God.
For how does it describe our faith here in 2 Peter 1? Our faith is by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And what is his righteousness? It is all that is deemed right in the eyes of the Lord, that meets with his divine approval and excellence. And what is that? It is death to sin and walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. It is what was taught under the Old Covenant and again under the New Covenant.
So, this faith that we profess must meet with God’s righteous standards. It does not mean we will be absolutely perfect, and that we will never sin again (see 1 John 2:1-2), but that, by the grace of God, and in his power, we are being trained to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions (lusts) and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For to this we are called of God if we are truly born of God, of his Spirit.
“For His divine power has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” So, we are not “saved” by a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ just so we can escape hell and go to heaven when we die. We are saved by God’s grace OUT OF our lives of sin so that we will now obey our Lord in walks of surrender and obedience to his will and purpose.
“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” Far too many people today are claiming the promises of God over their lives who have not escaped the corruption of the world by lust, but who are still living for the lusts of the flesh, and so they are not partakers of the divine nature.
If we read the Scriptures, in context, we will learn that the whole purpose of our faith in Jesus Christ, resulting in salvation from sin and eternal life with God, is that we will die with Christ to sin and now walk in fellowship with him in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, by his grace, in the power of God, and not in our own flesh. He has a purpose for each one of our lives, and body parts, and spiritual gifts which he wants us to use.
We are not here on this earth to do what we want to do and then just expect that God is going to let us into his heaven because we confessed faith in him. For when we die with Christ to sin, we are dying to our old lives of living in sin and for self and for self-will in order that we might now live for him and for his will and purpose for our lives. Our lives are now to be surrendered to him to obey him and to do what he wills for our lives.
But, if we should get this notion that we can just give lip service to the Lord, and now we can go our own way, doing our own thing, and that God is going to let us into his heaven, then we need to think again. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not walks of obedience to our Lord, we will die in our sins regardless of what our lips profess, and we will not inherit eternal life with God. So we need to take this to heart and believe it!
[Romans 2:6-8; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 1:21-23; Colossians 3:1-17; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:23-31; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6,15-17; 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.
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
By the Righteousness of God
An Original Work / March 12, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
What was the kind of faith that Peter and the other New Testament apostles had and demonstrated? It is the faith that they all taught and lived. And what was that? That by God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ we are crucified with Christ in death to sin, and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness – by the grace of God, in the power of God.
Therefore, we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies any longer so that we obey its lusts, for if sin is what we obey, it leads to death (without Christ). But if obedience to God is what we obey, it leads to righteousness and to sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God. So a mere verbal confession of Christ as Lord and Savior, that does not result in self-denial, death to sin, and walks of obedience to our Lord, is not God-gifted faith.
[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 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24]
So, we need to be students of the Scriptures who study them in their appropriate context and who do not rely on other humans and on Scriptures taught out of context to teach us the gospel message of salvation. For many people today are teaching a false half-truth gospel which does not require the sinner to die to his sin and to now walk in obedience to the Lord and to his commands, as a matter of life practice, by faith, in the power of God.
For how does it describe our faith here in 2 Peter 1? Our faith is by the righteousness of our God and Savior, Jesus Christ. And what is his righteousness? It is all that is deemed right in the eyes of the Lord, that meets with his divine approval and excellence. And what is that? It is death to sin and walks of obedience to his commands in holy living. It is what was taught under the Old Covenant and again under the New Covenant.
So, this faith that we profess must meet with God’s righteous standards. It does not mean we will be absolutely perfect, and that we will never sin again (see 1 John 2:1-2), but that, by the grace of God, and in his power, we are being trained to say “NO!” to ungodliness and worldly passions (lusts) and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For to this we are called of God if we are truly born of God, of his Spirit.
“For His divine power has granted us everything pertaining to life and godliness, through the true knowledge of Him who called us by His own glory and excellence.” So, we are not “saved” by a mere profession of faith in Jesus Christ just so we can escape hell and go to heaven when we die. We are saved by God’s grace OUT OF our lives of sin so that we will now obey our Lord in walks of surrender and obedience to his will and purpose.
“For by these He has granted to us His precious and magnificent promises, so that by them you may become partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world by lust.” Far too many people today are claiming the promises of God over their lives who have not escaped the corruption of the world by lust, but who are still living for the lusts of the flesh, and so they are not partakers of the divine nature.
If we read the Scriptures, in context, we will learn that the whole purpose of our faith in Jesus Christ, resulting in salvation from sin and eternal life with God, is that we will die with Christ to sin and now walk in fellowship with him in walks of obedience to his commands in holy living, by his grace, in the power of God, and not in our own flesh. He has a purpose for each one of our lives, and body parts, and spiritual gifts which he wants us to use.
We are not here on this earth to do what we want to do and then just expect that God is going to let us into his heaven because we confessed faith in him. For when we die with Christ to sin, we are dying to our old lives of living in sin and for self and for self-will in order that we might now live for him and for his will and purpose for our lives. Our lives are now to be surrendered to him to obey him and to do what he wills for our lives.
But, if we should get this notion that we can just give lip service to the Lord, and now we can go our own way, doing our own thing, and that God is going to let us into his heaven, then we need to think again. For if sin is what we practice, and not righteousness, and not walks of obedience to our Lord, we will die in our sins regardless of what our lips profess, and we will not inherit eternal life with God. So we need to take this to heart and believe it!
[Romans 2:6-8; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; 2 Corinthians 5:10,15,21; Galatians 5:16-24; Galatians 6:7-8; Ephesians 5:3-6; Colossians 1:21-23; Colossians 3:1-17; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:23-31; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6,15-17; 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.
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
By the Righteousness of God
An Original Work / March 12, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
