Sue J Love
Loyal
- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,429
“Therefore, knowing the fear of the Lord, we persuade men, but we are made manifest to God; and I hope that we are made manifest also in your consciences. We are not again commending ourselves to you but are giving you an occasion to be proud of us, so that you will have an answer for those who take pride in appearance and not in heart. For if we are beside ourselves, it is for God; if we are of sound mind, it is for you. For the love of Christ controls us, having concluded this, that one died for all, therefore all died; and He died for all, so that they who live might no longer live for themselves, but for Him who died and rose again on their behalf.” (2 Corinthians 5:11-15 NASB’95)
What does it mean to fear the Lord? It means to give him awe, respect, honor, value, reverence, esteem, worship, and obedience. Our lives are surrendered to him to doing his will, to walking in his ways and in his truth and righteousness. We are committed to him and to his service, to being who he wants us to be, to going where he sends us, and to doing what he has called us to do and to say. We are no longer walking (in conduct, in practice) in sin, but now we are obeying him, in practice, in his power.
And what should all of us be persuading (encouraging, motivating) others to do and to believe and to put into practice? We should be sharing the truth of the gospel of Christ with them in the hope that they will turn from their sins and now follow Jesus Christ in walks of obedience to his commands. For Jesus died on that cross to put our sins to death with him so that we will die with him to sin and now walk with him in surrender to his will, in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living, by the grace and power of God.
And faith in Jesus Christ is not just giving him lip service. We cannot just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now be assured heaven as our eternal destiny, as many would have you believe. We must die with him to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands, for this is what faith looks like which is of God, and which is not of our own doing. For faith is divine persuasion of God as to his righteousness and holiness, of our sinfulness, and of our need to die to sin and now obey his commands, in practice.
But many people are going to tell you that is “works salvation,” but that is not true. “Works salvation” is when we, of our own flesh, try to be good enough to earn or to deserve our own salvation. Not possible! But what is described in the paragraphs above is the salvation which God alone provides, and for which he gives us the faith to believe, and which he then empowers us to live by his grace in our daily walks of faith. This is us, in his power, living out the faith in Jesus which we claim to possess, by his grace.
And, yes, if we are teaching the truth of the gospel of our salvation, as Jesus taught it, and as his New Testament apostles taught it, in the correct context, we may be charged with being crazy, out of our minds, legalistic, judgmental, and prejudicial, by those who oppose us and who oppose the gospel message that Jesus and his apostles taught, in their fulness. And our opponents may try to convince others not to listen to us while they feed their minds with lies and with half-truth, diluted, and altered gospels.
But regardless of what others think of us or say about us, or how they might treat us, we must stay the course. We must continue to speak the truth of the Scriptures, in their fulness, and not teach these altered half-truth gospels which allow the sinners to remain trapped in their sins, and which make no requirements of them that they must obey God and his commandments. For Christ’s love compels us to tell people the truth. For if sin is their practice, and not obedience, they will not inherit eternal life.
For God’s purpose in sending Jesus Christ to die on that cross for our sins was not to give us a free ride to heaven based on a false gospel message. Jesus died so that we would die with him to sin. And he was resurrected from the dead, in victory over sin, so that we can now live in victory over sin and walk in obedience to his commands. For he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again. So, die to sin, and now live for Jesus, to do his will!
[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]
How Long Till the Morning
Scripture: I Thessalonians 4:17
By C. E. Couchman
Consider the mornings of this mortal land,
Each a new beginning from the Maker’s hand.
While the storms may gather ‘gainst the evening sky,
The day breaks cloudless in the morning.
Rise up to the battle, for the skies dawn clear.
Let us gather courage while the foe draws near.
Though the night falls weary, saints of God, march on!
And He’ll raise our banner in the morning.
When the trumpet sounds to signal Heaven’s day,
Resurrection Morning when the dead shall wake,
What a glorious gath’ring when the Lord descends
And we rise to meet him in the morning.
How long, my Lord? Till we see the morning?
How long, O, my Lord, till we see your face?
O my Lord, guide us through our troubles
Till we rise above them in the morning.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Live Not for Ourselves, But for Jesus
An Original Work / March 29, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
What does it mean to fear the Lord? It means to give him awe, respect, honor, value, reverence, esteem, worship, and obedience. Our lives are surrendered to him to doing his will, to walking in his ways and in his truth and righteousness. We are committed to him and to his service, to being who he wants us to be, to going where he sends us, and to doing what he has called us to do and to say. We are no longer walking (in conduct, in practice) in sin, but now we are obeying him, in practice, in his power.
And what should all of us be persuading (encouraging, motivating) others to do and to believe and to put into practice? We should be sharing the truth of the gospel of Christ with them in the hope that they will turn from their sins and now follow Jesus Christ in walks of obedience to his commands. For Jesus died on that cross to put our sins to death with him so that we will die with him to sin and now walk with him in surrender to his will, in walks of obedience to his commands, in holy living, by the grace and power of God.
And faith in Jesus Christ is not just giving him lip service. We cannot just make a profession of faith in Jesus Christ and now be assured heaven as our eternal destiny, as many would have you believe. We must die with him to sin and now walk in obedience to his commands, for this is what faith looks like which is of God, and which is not of our own doing. For faith is divine persuasion of God as to his righteousness and holiness, of our sinfulness, and of our need to die to sin and now obey his commands, in practice.
But many people are going to tell you that is “works salvation,” but that is not true. “Works salvation” is when we, of our own flesh, try to be good enough to earn or to deserve our own salvation. Not possible! But what is described in the paragraphs above is the salvation which God alone provides, and for which he gives us the faith to believe, and which he then empowers us to live by his grace in our daily walks of faith. This is us, in his power, living out the faith in Jesus which we claim to possess, by his grace.
And, yes, if we are teaching the truth of the gospel of our salvation, as Jesus taught it, and as his New Testament apostles taught it, in the correct context, we may be charged with being crazy, out of our minds, legalistic, judgmental, and prejudicial, by those who oppose us and who oppose the gospel message that Jesus and his apostles taught, in their fulness. And our opponents may try to convince others not to listen to us while they feed their minds with lies and with half-truth, diluted, and altered gospels.
But regardless of what others think of us or say about us, or how they might treat us, we must stay the course. We must continue to speak the truth of the Scriptures, in their fulness, and not teach these altered half-truth gospels which allow the sinners to remain trapped in their sins, and which make no requirements of them that they must obey God and his commandments. For Christ’s love compels us to tell people the truth. For if sin is their practice, and not obedience, they will not inherit eternal life.
For God’s purpose in sending Jesus Christ to die on that cross for our sins was not to give us a free ride to heaven based on a false gospel message. Jesus died so that we would die with him to sin. And he was resurrected from the dead, in victory over sin, so that we can now live in victory over sin and walk in obedience to his commands. For he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves, but for him who died for them and was raised again. So, die to sin, and now live for Jesus, to do his will!
[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]
How Long Till the Morning
Scripture: I Thessalonians 4:17
By C. E. Couchman
Consider the mornings of this mortal land,
Each a new beginning from the Maker’s hand.
While the storms may gather ‘gainst the evening sky,
The day breaks cloudless in the morning.
Rise up to the battle, for the skies dawn clear.
Let us gather courage while the foe draws near.
Though the night falls weary, saints of God, march on!
And He’ll raise our banner in the morning.
When the trumpet sounds to signal Heaven’s day,
Resurrection Morning when the dead shall wake,
What a glorious gath’ring when the Lord descends
And we rise to meet him in the morning.
How long, my Lord? Till we see the morning?
How long, O, my Lord, till we see your face?
O my Lord, guide us through our troubles
Till we rise above them in the morning.
Caution: This link may contain ads
Live Not for Ourselves, But for Jesus
An Original Work / March 29, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
