Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,514
“Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God. For the time already past is sufficient for you to have carried out the desire of the Gentiles, having pursued a course of sensuality, lusts, drunkenness, carousing, drinking parties and abominable idolatries. In all this, they are surprised that you do not run with them into the same excesses of dissipation, and they malign you; but they will give account to Him who is ready to judge the living and the dead.” (1 Peter 4:1-5 NASB’95)
When Jesus Christ died on that cross, and he suffered in the flesh, it was to put our sins to death with him so that we, by faith in him, will now die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to the Lord. By faith in him, our old self was crucified with him so that we will no longer be slaves to sin. Thus, we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, its end is eternal life with Christ.
[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15,21; Romans 6:1-23; Titus 2:11-14]
So, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not just an invitation to “invite Jesus Christ into your heart,” and now you are saved and heaven is your eternal destiny. Our salvation is not something that takes place once in our lives, done deal, and now heaven is secured us regardless of how we live. For, first of all, Jesus died to deliver us from our slavery to sin, not just to forgive us our sins. And he lives to empower us to walk in obedience to his commands, not to give us permission to keep living in sin while claiming him as our Lord.
Both our salvation and our faith are something that have a beginning, but must continue until the very end if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For we are saved (past), by faith in Jesus, and we are being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns and he takes his faithful ones to be with him for eternity, but only if we continue in Christ in dying to sin and walking in obedience to our Lord, and living for him in surrender of our wills to the will of God the Father.
So, the goal of our salvation should not be just so we get to go to heaven when we die, and so we escape hell. The goal of our salvation is that we live, in practice, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as servants of the Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands. And it is that we now live to do the will of God, and to serve him with our lives, and to minister his love and grace to others, so that they can come to know him, too. For we are now to deny self who commit our lives to doing the will of God for our lives.
Therefore, such things as sensuality, sexual immorality, lusts, carousing, drunkenness, lying, cheating, stealing, committing adultery, and idolatry should not be what we do, in practice, by habit. We should no longer be living to please the flesh, but to please God. We should no longer be living in deliberate and habitual sin, but in walks of obedience in moral living. For God’s grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await Jesus’ return (see Titus 2:11-14).
But, when we die to sin, and our lives are now committed to following Jesus and his commands, and to doing the will of God for our lives, and when we change from who we were to someone else who now serves the Lord with all seriousness of purpose, we should not be surprised if we begin getting rejected. We should not be surprised if friends and family and other “Christians” malign us or think we have lost our minds because we are no longer doing the things that the people of the world do, in practice.
And it should not surprise us if they begin withdrawing from us and if they invite us out of their “churches,” because they were warned about people like us, i.e. “people with strong convictions.” Or they may boot us out because we are honest, we don’t tell lies, we don’t manipulate to get what we want, and we don’t play mind games to try to get others to do what we want them to do. And they may cast us aside because of our commitment to the truth of the gospel when they are diluting it to appease human flesh.
But we need to be those who stand on the truth of God’s word, who are people of integrity, for whom obedience to God is our practice, and for whom living in sin is no longer our practice. That does not make us perfect people, but lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for deliberate and habitual sin. As followers of Christ we are to walk in purity of devotion to our Lord in dying daily to sin and walking in obedience to his commands, by the Spirit, in the power of God, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[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 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
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
For the Will of God
An Original Work / March 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
When Jesus Christ died on that cross, and he suffered in the flesh, it was to put our sins to death with him so that we, by faith in him, will now die to sin and live to God and to his righteousness in walks of obedience to the Lord. By faith in him, our old self was crucified with him so that we will no longer be slaves to sin. Thus, we are not to let sin reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires, for if sin is what we obey, it will lead to death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, its end is eternal life with Christ.
[1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15,21; Romans 6:1-23; Titus 2:11-14]
So, the gospel of Jesus Christ is not just an invitation to “invite Jesus Christ into your heart,” and now you are saved and heaven is your eternal destiny. Our salvation is not something that takes place once in our lives, done deal, and now heaven is secured us regardless of how we live. For, first of all, Jesus died to deliver us from our slavery to sin, not just to forgive us our sins. And he lives to empower us to walk in obedience to his commands, not to give us permission to keep living in sin while claiming him as our Lord.
Both our salvation and our faith are something that have a beginning, but must continue until the very end if we want to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. For we are saved (past), by faith in Jesus, and we are being saved (present active), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns and he takes his faithful ones to be with him for eternity, but only if we continue in Christ in dying to sin and walking in obedience to our Lord, and living for him in surrender of our wills to the will of God the Father.
So, the goal of our salvation should not be just so we get to go to heaven when we die, and so we escape hell. The goal of our salvation is that we live, in practice, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as servants of the Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands. And it is that we now live to do the will of God, and to serve him with our lives, and to minister his love and grace to others, so that they can come to know him, too. For we are now to deny self who commit our lives to doing the will of God for our lives.
Therefore, such things as sensuality, sexual immorality, lusts, carousing, drunkenness, lying, cheating, stealing, committing adultery, and idolatry should not be what we do, in practice, by habit. We should no longer be living to please the flesh, but to please God. We should no longer be living in deliberate and habitual sin, but in walks of obedience in moral living. For God’s grace trains us to renounce ungodliness and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await Jesus’ return (see Titus 2:11-14).
But, when we die to sin, and our lives are now committed to following Jesus and his commands, and to doing the will of God for our lives, and when we change from who we were to someone else who now serves the Lord with all seriousness of purpose, we should not be surprised if we begin getting rejected. We should not be surprised if friends and family and other “Christians” malign us or think we have lost our minds because we are no longer doing the things that the people of the world do, in practice.
And it should not surprise us if they begin withdrawing from us and if they invite us out of their “churches,” because they were warned about people like us, i.e. “people with strong convictions.” Or they may boot us out because we are honest, we don’t tell lies, we don’t manipulate to get what we want, and we don’t play mind games to try to get others to do what we want them to do. And they may cast us aside because of our commitment to the truth of the gospel when they are diluting it to appease human flesh.
But we need to be those who stand on the truth of God’s word, who are people of integrity, for whom obedience to God is our practice, and for whom living in sin is no longer our practice. That does not make us perfect people, but lack of perfection is never to be used as an excuse for deliberate and habitual sin. As followers of Christ we are to walk in purity of devotion to our Lord in dying daily to sin and walking in obedience to his commands, by the Spirit, in the power of God, by God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, our Lord.
[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 2:6-8; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-21; 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 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
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
For the Will of God
An Original Work / March 10, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
