Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,044
“Do not love the world or the things in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For all that is in the world—the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and pride of life—is not from the Father but is from the world. And the world is passing away along with its desires, but whoever does the will of God abides forever.” (1 John 2:15-17 ESV)
We who profess faith in Jesus Christ, who have died with him to sin, and who are now to be living for him in obedience to his commands, should not be those who prefer the world over God and his word. If Jesus Christ is truly our Savior and Lord, then we should prefer him and his commands, written down for us in the New Testament, above all else that this world has to offer us. He should be number one in our lives, and all else should follow suit.
So, in reality, there should be no such thing as a “worldly Christian,” for those two words are opposite of each other, i.e. together they form an “oxymoron,” i.e. “a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction” (Google), i.e. in combination with each other. Thus “worldly” and “Christian” are opposing terms, but they can be used together to describe someone who professes to be a Christian, but not in practice.
For as followers of Jesus Christ, although we will live in this world, and although we are to love the people of the world with the love of God, we are not to be of the world. We are not to be those who take pleasure in what is of the flesh and which is opposed to God and to the teachings of his word. We should not be those who blend in with the world so that the world will like us and not reject us, and not think us to be a strange lot.
So much of what is called “church” today are just businesses of human origin which are being targeted to the people of the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And so they become more like the world so that the world will not be offended by them, and so that the people of the world will want to attend their gatherings and will want to keep coming back. But such compromises as this are not winning people to real faith in Jesus.
For, in order to attract the world to their gatherings, most of these market-driven “churches” (businesses), it seems, have altered the gospel message to make it less offensive and more acceptable to human flesh and to the people of the world. And, thus, they have also altered the character of God/Christ, and of his word, and of his church (his body of believers in Christ) to make them all more palatable (acceptable) to human flesh.
But, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are not to be those who go after the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life. We are not to be those who make it our practice to walk in sin and not in godliness and righteousness and obedience to our Lord. We are not to be those who are living in slavery (addiction) to sexual immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, and the like. But we are to live upright and self-controlled lives.
For, if the world and its pleasures, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are what we prefer over submission and obedience to our Lord, the love of God the Father is not in us. For all that is of this sinful world and its sinful pleasures is not from God the Father but from the world which is opposed to God and to his righteousness. So it is not those who give lip service only to God with whom God abides, but with those who are doing the will of God.
So if we want to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God, we must believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded and God-gifted faith, which is not of our own doing, not of our own making, but of God. And this faith, thus, results in us dying with Christ to sin and us now walking in obedience to his commands, by the Spirit, in the power of God. And we should no longer be conformed to the world, but to God and to his Word.
[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; Romans 12:1-2; 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; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
We who profess faith in Jesus Christ, who have died with him to sin, and who are now to be living for him in obedience to his commands, should not be those who prefer the world over God and his word. If Jesus Christ is truly our Savior and Lord, then we should prefer him and his commands, written down for us in the New Testament, above all else that this world has to offer us. He should be number one in our lives, and all else should follow suit.
So, in reality, there should be no such thing as a “worldly Christian,” for those two words are opposite of each other, i.e. together they form an “oxymoron,” i.e. “a figure of speech in which apparently contradictory terms appear in conjunction” (Google), i.e. in combination with each other. Thus “worldly” and “Christian” are opposing terms, but they can be used together to describe someone who professes to be a Christian, but not in practice.
For as followers of Jesus Christ, although we will live in this world, and although we are to love the people of the world with the love of God, we are not to be of the world. We are not to be those who take pleasure in what is of the flesh and which is opposed to God and to the teachings of his word. We should not be those who blend in with the world so that the world will like us and not reject us, and not think us to be a strange lot.
So much of what is called “church” today are just businesses of human origin which are being targeted to the people of the world in order to attract the world to their gatherings. And so they become more like the world so that the world will not be offended by them, and so that the people of the world will want to attend their gatherings and will want to keep coming back. But such compromises as this are not winning people to real faith in Jesus.
For, in order to attract the world to their gatherings, most of these market-driven “churches” (businesses), it seems, have altered the gospel message to make it less offensive and more acceptable to human flesh and to the people of the world. And, thus, they have also altered the character of God/Christ, and of his word, and of his church (his body of believers in Christ) to make them all more palatable (acceptable) to human flesh.
But, as followers of Jesus Christ, we are not to be those who go after the desires of the flesh and the desires of the eyes and the pride of life. We are not to be those who make it our practice to walk in sin and not in godliness and righteousness and obedience to our Lord. We are not to be those who are living in slavery (addiction) to sexual immorality, lying, cheating, stealing, and the like. But we are to live upright and self-controlled lives.
For, if the world and its pleasures, and the lust of the eyes and the pride of life are what we prefer over submission and obedience to our Lord, the love of God the Father is not in us. For all that is of this sinful world and its sinful pleasures is not from God the Father but from the world which is opposed to God and to his righteousness. So it is not those who give lip service only to God with whom God abides, but with those who are doing the will of God.
So if we want to be saved from our sins and to have eternal life with God, we must believe in Jesus Christ with God-persuaded and God-gifted faith, which is not of our own doing, not of our own making, but of God. And this faith, thus, results in us dying with Christ to sin and us now walking in obedience to his commands, by the Spirit, in the power of God. And we should no longer be conformed to the world, but to God and to his Word.
[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; Romans 12:1-2; 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; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:5-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10]
For Our Nation
An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.
Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.
