Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,509
“So I turned and came down from the mountain while the mountain was burning with fire, and the two tablets of the covenant were in my two hands. And I saw that you had indeed sinned against the Lord your God. You had made for yourselves a molten calf; you had turned aside quickly from the way which the Lord had commanded you. I took hold of the two tablets and threw them from my hands and smashed them before your eyes. I fell down before the Lord, as at the first, forty days and nights; I neither ate bread nor drank water, because of all your sin which you had committed in doing what was evil in the sight of the Lord to provoke Him to anger. For I was afraid of the anger and hot displeasure with which the Lord was wrathful against you in order to destroy you, but the Lord listened to me that time also. The Lord was angry enough with Aaron to destroy him; so I also prayed for Aaron at the same time.” (Deuteronomy 9:15-20 NASB’95)
Where are those today who grieve this deeply over the sins being committed by those who claim to be the people of God? It seems they are few in number, at least here in America where I live. I hear very few passionate sermons calling for repentance which results in death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands in holy living, as Jesus taught. And I have listened to a smattering of them across the USA over the years.
The majority of what I have heard, or have heard about, and that I have read in devotionals and memes and posts on the internet, over the years, appear to be pointing to a very relaxed gospel message which paints God as a doting grandfather in the sky or as a genie in a bottle there to grant our every request, who looks away when we sin, and who does not judge us for our sin if we have made that verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
And most seem to be teaching an altered and diluted gospel which makes no requirements for the sinner to turn from (die to) his sin and to follow our Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands. They seem to focus their attention on a false grace which gives permission to “believers” to continue living in their sins without feeling guilty and without any pressure at all to obey the Lord and his commands. Thus, they see grace as a “free pass.”
For the focus today is largely about what makes people feel good, not on what is for their good. It is largely about not offending the people of the world and human flesh with the truth of the gospel, for they want to grow their numbers in their gatherings. So they dilute the character of God and of his church and of his gospel to make them more acceptable to human flesh in order to attract the people of the world to their worldly gatherings.
But we need to be people of God who have ourselves died with Christ to sin, who are no longer living in slavery to sin, and who are walking (in conduct) in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in daily practice, by God’s grace, through God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, by the Spirit, and in the power of God and not in our own flesh. And then we need to be getting out the truth of the gospel of Christ to the people of the world for their salvation.
But the gospel message that we are sharing must be the truth. It must be what Jesus taught, and what his New Testament apostles taught (in the appropriate context). And they taught that the faith which saves comes from God, it is persuaded of God, it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing – not of the flesh of humans. So we do not get to define what faith is. God does. We don’t get to define what salvation looks like. God does!
So we need to study the Scriptures for ourselves (in context), in a reputable Bible translation, where possible, and we need to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to teach us what they say. And context is critical to correct biblical interpretation. For so many of the lies being taught as truth today are taken from Scriptures taught out of context and made to say what they do not say if taught in the appropriate context. Examples of such:
[John 10:28-30 minus verse 27; Ephesians 2:8-9 minus verse 10; Romans 10:9-10 minus the context of the whole of the book of Romans]
And so we have many people believing that all they need to do is just give a verbal confession of Jesus as Lord, and to believe in his bodily resurrection, and now they are saved, done deal, and heaven is guaranteed them, regardless of how they live. And they believe no works are required of them so they don’t have to repent of their sins, and they don’t have to obey God, but that God will still give them eternal life, and they will not perish.
But that is a lie based on a half-truth taught from Scriptures taught out of their appropriate context. For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our sins, and we do not walk (in conduct) in obedience to our Lord, in practice, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if obedience to God is our practice, we have the hope of eternal life with God.
We who are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in truth and righteousness, and in walks of obedience to our Lord, we need to be praying for all who profess faith in Jesus who are still living in sin, still worshiping the idols of this world, and for whom obedience to God is not their practice, that they will turn from their sins and that they will now obey God, in practice, so that they will have eternal life with God, in truth.
[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]
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
So I Prayed for Them
An Original Work / March 11, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Where are those today who grieve this deeply over the sins being committed by those who claim to be the people of God? It seems they are few in number, at least here in America where I live. I hear very few passionate sermons calling for repentance which results in death to sin and walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands in holy living, as Jesus taught. And I have listened to a smattering of them across the USA over the years.
The majority of what I have heard, or have heard about, and that I have read in devotionals and memes and posts on the internet, over the years, appear to be pointing to a very relaxed gospel message which paints God as a doting grandfather in the sky or as a genie in a bottle there to grant our every request, who looks away when we sin, and who does not judge us for our sin if we have made that verbal profession of faith in Jesus Christ.
And most seem to be teaching an altered and diluted gospel which makes no requirements for the sinner to turn from (die to) his sin and to follow our Lord Jesus in walks of obedience to his commands. They seem to focus their attention on a false grace which gives permission to “believers” to continue living in their sins without feeling guilty and without any pressure at all to obey the Lord and his commands. Thus, they see grace as a “free pass.”
For the focus today is largely about what makes people feel good, not on what is for their good. It is largely about not offending the people of the world and human flesh with the truth of the gospel, for they want to grow their numbers in their gatherings. So they dilute the character of God and of his church and of his gospel to make them more acceptable to human flesh in order to attract the people of the world to their worldly gatherings.
But we need to be people of God who have ourselves died with Christ to sin, who are no longer living in slavery to sin, and who are walking (in conduct) in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in daily practice, by God’s grace, through God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ, by the Spirit, and in the power of God and not in our own flesh. And then we need to be getting out the truth of the gospel of Christ to the people of the world for their salvation.
But the gospel message that we are sharing must be the truth. It must be what Jesus taught, and what his New Testament apostles taught (in the appropriate context). And they taught that the faith which saves comes from God, it is persuaded of God, it is gifted to us by God, and it is not of our own doing – not of the flesh of humans. So we do not get to define what faith is. God does. We don’t get to define what salvation looks like. God does!
So we need to study the Scriptures for ourselves (in context), in a reputable Bible translation, where possible, and we need to pray for the guidance of the Holy Spirit to teach us what they say. And context is critical to correct biblical interpretation. For so many of the lies being taught as truth today are taken from Scriptures taught out of context and made to say what they do not say if taught in the appropriate context. Examples of such:
[John 10:28-30 minus verse 27; Ephesians 2:8-9 minus verse 10; Romans 10:9-10 minus the context of the whole of the book of Romans]
And so we have many people believing that all they need to do is just give a verbal confession of Jesus as Lord, and to believe in his bodily resurrection, and now they are saved, done deal, and heaven is guaranteed them, regardless of how they live. And they believe no works are required of them so they don’t have to repent of their sins, and they don’t have to obey God, but that God will still give them eternal life, and they will not perish.
But that is a lie based on a half-truth taught from Scriptures taught out of their appropriate context. For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to our sins, and we do not walk (in conduct) in obedience to our Lord, in practice, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if obedience to God is our practice, we have the hope of eternal life with God.
We who are following Jesus Christ with our lives, in truth and righteousness, and in walks of obedience to our Lord, we need to be praying for all who profess faith in Jesus who are still living in sin, still worshiping the idols of this world, and for whom obedience to God is not their practice, that they will turn from their sins and that they will now obey God, in practice, so that they will have eternal life with God, in truth.
[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]
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
So I Prayed for Them
An Original Work / March 11, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
