Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,516
“Do this, knowing the time, that it is already the hour for you to awaken from sleep; for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed. The night is almost gone, and the day is near. Therefore let us lay aside the deeds of darkness and put on the armor of light. Let us behave properly as in the day, not in carousing and drunkenness, not in sexual promiscuity and sensuality, not in strife and jealousy. But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.” (Romans 13:11-14 NASB1995)
We who believe in Jesus Christ with God-honoring and God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in the Lord Jesus, we still live in flesh bodies. So that is why Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught that we must die with Christ to sin daily, i.e. in practice, and that sin must no longer be our practice, and that righteousness and holy living and walks of obedience to our Lord must be our practice. And it is why the Scriptures teach progressive salvation and sanctification, that we are saved (past), that we are being saved (present), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns for his faithful ones.
[Luke 9:23-26; Romans 8:1-24; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5,9]
So, that is the meaning behind Paul’s statement here when he said, “for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.” For our salvation will not be complete until Jesus Christ returns for his faithful ones who practiced godliness, righteousness, holy living, and walks of surrender and obedience to our Lord, in the power of God, and for whom sin was no longer their practice. For when he takes us to be with him for eternity is when our spiritual marriage to Christ will be consummated and our salvation complete. Until then we keep walking by the Spirit and not by the flesh and its desires.
Now, since we still live in flesh bodies, and we still are tempted to sin, and we still have the propensity to sin against God, and since we still live in a fallen and fleshly world full of people, many of whom do not believe in Jesus Christ, and so we are subject to many other influences, it is possible for us, at some point, to get off track, and to get caught up in the world, and to become spiritually lazy. In nations where Christians are being severely persecuted, this is less likely to be the case. But here in America, where Christianity has largely been compromised, it is very possible to happen.
And so this is a wakeup call! If we have gotten spiritually lazy, and if we have wandered off the path that our Lord has given us to walk on, even in the slightest ways, we need to wake up spiritually and get back to walking with our Lord in daily surrender to his will and purpose for our lives. And we are to be those who are loving God and one another, who are putting sin to death daily, by the Spirit, and who are walking in the ways of the Lord in holy living, and according to God’s will and purpose for our lives. For he did not save us from our sins so that we would continue to live by the flesh.
So, if sin is still what you practice, and if you are living in adultery to your spouse via addiction to any sexual sins, of which there are many varieties, or if stealing, cheating, lying, deceiving, hating, backbiting, drunkenness, carousing, sexual promiscuity, and any other sins are what you practice (deliberately and habitually), these all must be put to death, and they must no longer be your practice. You must wake up from your spiritual slumber and turn to or return to walking with the Lord Jesus in surrender and in obedience to his commands, in holy living, and no longer in sin, by his grace.
So, we are to put off (lay aside) the deeds of darkness (sin, wickedness, disobedience), and we are to put on the armor of light (Jesus Christ, truth, righteousness, holy living, and the gospel of our salvation). And what this means is this denial of self, dying daily to sin, by the Spirit, and walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in daily practice, in the power of God, which is what Jesus taught, and which his New Testament apostles taught as the gospel message. For by faith in Jesus we die with Christ to sin so that we might live to God and to his righteousness, in his power.
But let me add this on. What I have just shared with you is what the Scriptures teach, in context, with regard to our salvation and eternal life with God. Yes, we are not saved by our own fleshly “good works” of our own doing. But we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God planned for us in advance that we should walk in them. And in the end, we are all going to be judged according to our works. And if sin is what we practiced, and not godliness, and not walks of obedience to our Lord, we will die in our sins unless at the last minute we genuinely repent.
[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 5:16-24; 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 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
It’s Time to Wake Up
An Original Work / April 18, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
We who believe in Jesus Christ with God-honoring and God-persuaded and God-gifted faith in the Lord Jesus, we still live in flesh bodies. So that is why Jesus and his New Testament apostles taught that we must die with Christ to sin daily, i.e. in practice, and that sin must no longer be our practice, and that righteousness and holy living and walks of obedience to our Lord must be our practice. And it is why the Scriptures teach progressive salvation and sanctification, that we are saved (past), that we are being saved (present), and we will be saved (future) when Jesus returns for his faithful ones.
[Luke 9:23-26; Romans 8:1-24; Romans 13:11; 1 Corinthians 1:18; 1 Corinthians 15:1-2; 2 Timothy 1:8-9; Hebrews 9:28; 1 Peter 1:5,9]
So, that is the meaning behind Paul’s statement here when he said, “for now salvation is nearer to us than when we believed.” For our salvation will not be complete until Jesus Christ returns for his faithful ones who practiced godliness, righteousness, holy living, and walks of surrender and obedience to our Lord, in the power of God, and for whom sin was no longer their practice. For when he takes us to be with him for eternity is when our spiritual marriage to Christ will be consummated and our salvation complete. Until then we keep walking by the Spirit and not by the flesh and its desires.
Now, since we still live in flesh bodies, and we still are tempted to sin, and we still have the propensity to sin against God, and since we still live in a fallen and fleshly world full of people, many of whom do not believe in Jesus Christ, and so we are subject to many other influences, it is possible for us, at some point, to get off track, and to get caught up in the world, and to become spiritually lazy. In nations where Christians are being severely persecuted, this is less likely to be the case. But here in America, where Christianity has largely been compromised, it is very possible to happen.
And so this is a wakeup call! If we have gotten spiritually lazy, and if we have wandered off the path that our Lord has given us to walk on, even in the slightest ways, we need to wake up spiritually and get back to walking with our Lord in daily surrender to his will and purpose for our lives. And we are to be those who are loving God and one another, who are putting sin to death daily, by the Spirit, and who are walking in the ways of the Lord in holy living, and according to God’s will and purpose for our lives. For he did not save us from our sins so that we would continue to live by the flesh.
So, if sin is still what you practice, and if you are living in adultery to your spouse via addiction to any sexual sins, of which there are many varieties, or if stealing, cheating, lying, deceiving, hating, backbiting, drunkenness, carousing, sexual promiscuity, and any other sins are what you practice (deliberately and habitually), these all must be put to death, and they must no longer be your practice. You must wake up from your spiritual slumber and turn to or return to walking with the Lord Jesus in surrender and in obedience to his commands, in holy living, and no longer in sin, by his grace.
So, we are to put off (lay aside) the deeds of darkness (sin, wickedness, disobedience), and we are to put on the armor of light (Jesus Christ, truth, righteousness, holy living, and the gospel of our salvation). And what this means is this denial of self, dying daily to sin, by the Spirit, and walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in daily practice, in the power of God, which is what Jesus taught, and which his New Testament apostles taught as the gospel message. For by faith in Jesus we die with Christ to sin so that we might live to God and to his righteousness, in his power.
But let me add this on. What I have just shared with you is what the Scriptures teach, in context, with regard to our salvation and eternal life with God. Yes, we are not saved by our own fleshly “good works” of our own doing. But we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works which God planned for us in advance that we should walk in them. And in the end, we are all going to be judged according to our works. And if sin is what we practiced, and not godliness, and not walks of obedience to our Lord, we will die in our sins unless at the last minute we genuinely repent.
[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 5:16-24; 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 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
It’s Time to Wake Up
An Original Work / April 18, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
