Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,049
“So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed him, ‘If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free.’ They answered him, ‘We are offspring of Abraham and have never been enslaved to anyone. How is it that you say, “You will become free”?’
“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.’
“They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.’ They said to him, ‘We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.’” (John 8:31-47 ESV)
Powerful message!!
So, what can we learn from this to apply to our lives today? For one, “belief” in Jesus can be very superficial if not followed through with actions to support that true faith actually exists. Many people give lip service only to the Lord, but they do not follow it through with submission to him as Lord and with the forsaking of their sins and obedience to his commands. So, even though they profess faith in Jesus, their actions speak the opposite.
But Jesus knows what is in our hearts. He knows whether or not our “faith” in him is of the flesh or of God. And so he makes it clear to us what it really means to believe in him, and we can read this all throughout the New Testament. For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin/self), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we die to sin and obey God, then we have the hope of eternal life with God.
And this was basically the message he was giving to the Jews who had professed faith in him, too, only in a little different wording. Thus, for us to be truly “in Christ” by faith in him, it means that we abide in his word, i.e. that we remain steadfast in the teachings of the Scriptures and in putting those teachings into practice in our daily lives (all that apply to Christians). Then the truth of God’s word, alive and working within us, will set us free from our slavery to sin so that we now walk in obedience to his commands.
Now there are many people who were brought up “Christian,” i.e. their parents professed faith in Jesus, and so they attended the weekly gatherings of the church (or what is falsely called “church”), and they were baptized and maybe went through catechism and they joined “the church” and became active members and participants in “church” activities and ministries, and so they presumed that they were Christians. And they may have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, too, but that was it.
So, Jesus teaches us that our ancestry and our religious practices are not what determine our faith in Jesus or our eternal life with God. For he said that everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. Paul taught the same thing as did the other NT apostles. If sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, and not surrender to his will in righteous living, then we are still slaves to sin and we don’t really know God, and so we do not have eternal life with God. For lip service only is not going to get us into heaven.
[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]
So, going through the motions of religious practice, but while not denying self, dying to sin daily, and walking in obedience to our Lord, in practice, does not assure us of salvation from sin and eternal life with God. If, in practice, we are doing the works of the devil, living in immorality and in selfish desire and practices, against the will of God, then we are of the devil and not of God (see 1 John 3:4-10). For that proves that our will is to do the will of the devil and not the will of God, and we don’t really believe the truth.
But this is where many professing Christians are today, still living in sin and for self, still doing what their flesh dictates, and not living for the Lord and for his purposes. Even if they read the Scriptures, many read and interpret them out of context and make them say what their flesh wants to hear. And if anyone is speaking the truth of the Scriptures, many of them shut them out and they refuse to listen, because they want their version of Christianity, instead. And the reason they do this is because they really are not of God.
So, please take these truths to heart and apply them to your lives.
On My Knees
By David Mullen / Michael Hunter Ochs / Nicole Mullen
There are days when I feel
The best of me is ready to begin
Then there days when I feel
I'm letting go and soaring on the wind
'Cause I've learned in laughter or in pain
How to survive
I can be in a crowd
Or by myself, in almost anywhere
When I feel there's a need
To talk with God, He is Emmanuel
When I close my eyes no darkness there
There's only light
I get on my knees, I get on my knees
There I am before the love that changes me
See I don't know how, but there's power
When I'm on my knees
Caution: This link may contain ads
“Jesus answered them, ‘Truly, truly, I say to you, everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. The slave does not remain in the house forever; the son remains forever. So if the Son sets you free, you will be free indeed. I know that you are offspring of Abraham; yet you seek to kill me because my word finds no place in you. I speak of what I have seen with my Father, and you do what you have heard from your father.’
“They answered him, ‘Abraham is our father.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works Abraham did, but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did. You are doing the works your father did.’ They said to him, ‘We were not born of sexual immorality. We have one Father—even God.’ Jesus said to them, ‘If God were your Father, you would love me, for I came from God and I am here. I came not of my own accord, but he sent me. Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me? Whoever is of God hears the words of God. The reason why you do not hear them is that you are not of God.’” (John 8:31-47 ESV)
Powerful message!!
So, what can we learn from this to apply to our lives today? For one, “belief” in Jesus can be very superficial if not followed through with actions to support that true faith actually exists. Many people give lip service only to the Lord, but they do not follow it through with submission to him as Lord and with the forsaking of their sins and obedience to his commands. So, even though they profess faith in Jesus, their actions speak the opposite.
But Jesus knows what is in our hearts. He knows whether or not our “faith” in him is of the flesh or of God. And so he makes it clear to us what it really means to believe in him, and we can read this all throughout the New Testament. For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him, he must deny self, take up his cross daily (die daily to sin/self), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we die to sin and obey God, then we have the hope of eternal life with God.
And this was basically the message he was giving to the Jews who had professed faith in him, too, only in a little different wording. Thus, for us to be truly “in Christ” by faith in him, it means that we abide in his word, i.e. that we remain steadfast in the teachings of the Scriptures and in putting those teachings into practice in our daily lives (all that apply to Christians). Then the truth of God’s word, alive and working within us, will set us free from our slavery to sin so that we now walk in obedience to his commands.
Now there are many people who were brought up “Christian,” i.e. their parents professed faith in Jesus, and so they attended the weekly gatherings of the church (or what is falsely called “church”), and they were baptized and maybe went through catechism and they joined “the church” and became active members and participants in “church” activities and ministries, and so they presumed that they were Christians. And they may have made a profession of faith in Jesus Christ, too, but that was it.
So, Jesus teaches us that our ancestry and our religious practices are not what determine our faith in Jesus or our eternal life with God. For he said that everyone who practices sin is a slave to sin. Paul taught the same thing as did the other NT apostles. If sin is what we practice, and not obedience to our Lord, and not surrender to his will in righteous living, then we are still slaves to sin and we don’t really know God, and so we do not have eternal life with God. For lip service only is not going to get us into heaven.
[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]
So, going through the motions of religious practice, but while not denying self, dying to sin daily, and walking in obedience to our Lord, in practice, does not assure us of salvation from sin and eternal life with God. If, in practice, we are doing the works of the devil, living in immorality and in selfish desire and practices, against the will of God, then we are of the devil and not of God (see 1 John 3:4-10). For that proves that our will is to do the will of the devil and not the will of God, and we don’t really believe the truth.
But this is where many professing Christians are today, still living in sin and for self, still doing what their flesh dictates, and not living for the Lord and for his purposes. Even if they read the Scriptures, many read and interpret them out of context and make them say what their flesh wants to hear. And if anyone is speaking the truth of the Scriptures, many of them shut them out and they refuse to listen, because they want their version of Christianity, instead. And the reason they do this is because they really are not of God.
So, please take these truths to heart and apply them to your lives.
On My Knees
By David Mullen / Michael Hunter Ochs / Nicole Mullen
There are days when I feel
The best of me is ready to begin
Then there days when I feel
I'm letting go and soaring on the wind
'Cause I've learned in laughter or in pain
How to survive
I can be in a crowd
Or by myself, in almost anywhere
When I feel there's a need
To talk with God, He is Emmanuel
When I close my eyes no darkness there
There's only light
I get on my knees, I get on my knees
There I am before the love that changes me
See I don't know how, but there's power
When I'm on my knees
Caution: This link may contain ads
