Sue J Love
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- Joined
- Mar 27, 2015
- Messages
- 3,516
The apostle Paul wrote a letter to the church of God which was at Corinth, “to those who have been sanctified in Christ Jesus, saints by calling, with all who in every place call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, their Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:2) And to be sanctified is to be made holy, and a saint is one who is holy, and to be holy is to be different from the world because we are being conformed by God to the likeness of character of Jesus Christ. And, as obedient children, we are called of God to be holy in all our conduct, and to no longer be conformed to the lusts of the sinful flesh (1 Peter 1:14-16).
And in this letter he exhorted them that they all agree and that there be no divisions among them, and that they have the same mind and the same judgment. For some of them were showing favoritism to particular preachers and teachers of the Word, quarreling among themselves as to which one was greater than the other. Today this would be kind of like saying, “I am a Baptist,” or “I am a Presbyterian,” or “I am Pentecostal,” or “I am Lutheran,” etc. We are not supposed to separate ourselves, one from the other, but we are supposed to be all one church, one body, by faith in Jesus Christ.
“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:17-21 NASB1995)
Paul’s point here is that our faith is not to rest in the wisdom of men or in who men are or in what they have accomplished. We are not to be followers of man, but of God. We are not to claim that we were baptized Lutheran or Episcopalian or Baptist, etc., but that we are followers of Jesus Christ. And water baptism, by itself, does not make anyone a Christian. And we can become Christians separate from water baptism. For what did Paul say? Christ did not send him to baptize, but to preach the gospel message. And he preached death to sin and walks of obedience to God as believing faith.
So, we need to not get all caught up in church denominations or in religious formalities or in things outward which may or may not have any impact on our walks of faith. But we are to focus on Jesus Christ and on what it means to believe in him and to be his followers and then follow Jesus with our lives, going where he sends us, and doing as he commands. For he said if we are to come after him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if sin is what we obey, and not obedience to God, it will result in death, not in eternal life with God in his kingdom.
And the word of the cross, that is taught in the Scriptures, in context, is foolishness to those who are perishing. And that is because it teaches us that, by faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, and which is not of our own doing, we must die with Christ to sin, and we must now walk with him in obedience to his commands, or we don’t know him, we are not in fellowship with him, and we don’t have eternal life in him. For faith, which comes from God, and which is persuaded of God, which is not of ourselves, will result in us dying with Christ to sin and us obeying his commands.
For to believe in Jesus means to be persuaded of God. And God persuades us as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die with Christ to sin, not just once, but in daily practice, and to walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his commands. And all throughout the New Testament Scriptures, taught IN CONTEXT, we will see this taught over again. For we are taught that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, that we do not know God, we are not of God, and we will not have eternal life with God. And we need to take this to heart.
[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
The Word of The Cross
An Original Work / April 17, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
And in this letter he exhorted them that they all agree and that there be no divisions among them, and that they have the same mind and the same judgment. For some of them were showing favoritism to particular preachers and teachers of the Word, quarreling among themselves as to which one was greater than the other. Today this would be kind of like saying, “I am a Baptist,” or “I am a Presbyterian,” or “I am Pentecostal,” or “I am Lutheran,” etc. We are not supposed to separate ourselves, one from the other, but we are supposed to be all one church, one body, by faith in Jesus Christ.
“For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not in cleverness of speech, so that the cross of Christ would not be made void. For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written,
‘I will destroy the wisdom of the wise,
And the cleverness of the clever I will set aside.’
Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was well-pleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe.” (1 Corinthians 1:17-21 NASB1995)
Paul’s point here is that our faith is not to rest in the wisdom of men or in who men are or in what they have accomplished. We are not to be followers of man, but of God. We are not to claim that we were baptized Lutheran or Episcopalian or Baptist, etc., but that we are followers of Jesus Christ. And water baptism, by itself, does not make anyone a Christian. And we can become Christians separate from water baptism. For what did Paul say? Christ did not send him to baptize, but to preach the gospel message. And he preached death to sin and walks of obedience to God as believing faith.
So, we need to not get all caught up in church denominations or in religious formalities or in things outward which may or may not have any impact on our walks of faith. But we are to focus on Jesus Christ and on what it means to believe in him and to be his followers and then follow Jesus with our lives, going where he sends us, and doing as he commands. For he said if we are to come after him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin) and follow (obey) him. For if sin is what we obey, and not obedience to God, it will result in death, not in eternal life with God in his kingdom.
And the word of the cross, that is taught in the Scriptures, in context, is foolishness to those who are perishing. And that is because it teaches us that, by faith in Jesus Christ, which comes from God, and which is not of our own doing, we must die with Christ to sin, and we must now walk with him in obedience to his commands, or we don’t know him, we are not in fellowship with him, and we don’t have eternal life in him. For faith, which comes from God, and which is persuaded of God, which is not of ourselves, will result in us dying with Christ to sin and us obeying his commands.
For to believe in Jesus means to be persuaded of God. And God persuades us as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to die with Christ to sin, not just once, but in daily practice, and to walk (in conduct, in practice) in obedience to his commands. And all throughout the New Testament Scriptures, taught IN CONTEXT, we will see this taught over again. For we are taught that if sin is what we practice, and not obedience to God, that we do not know God, we are not of God, and we will not have eternal life with God. And we need to take this to heart.
[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
The Word of The Cross
An Original Work / April 17, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
