GraceWalk
Saved by Grace to Walk in Grace
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Barimah Kofi Asare Kyei-Baffour
©2023-Barimah Kofi Asare Kyei-Baffour
Liberty is granted any individual with the guidance of integrity to use any
portion of this book for the purposes of teaching and the expansion of the
gospel with the sole request of source acknowledgement.
Take note that the name satan and related names are not capitalized. We
choose not to acknowledge him, even to the point of violating grammatical
rules.
Published and Printed By:
Coalition For Heaven
P.O. Box KA30498
Kotoka Airport-Accra
Ghana
www.graceinspiredcentre.com
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CONTENTS
The standard accepted over the years is to pre-inform you about the book
by revealing its contents. Indeed, it has been a helpful strategy for
researchers whose attitude to books is geared toward an accolade.
This book is a transformational book. It is meant to be read in full without
skipping a page.
Read on.
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To You:
Maame Frimpomah
Maame Amma Obour
Barimah Kofi Baah Hulan
My Precious and Blessed Lucky Stars.
You are here for signs and wonders.
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For Freedom
For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit
again to a yoke of slavery. Galatians 5:1
And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free”…
Therefore, if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. John 8:32,36
Freedom has been the cry of the African continent for centuries.
§ Freedom, we sought from tribal lords in the era of the inter-tribal
wars in Africa.
§ Freedom, we cried in the era of colonialism.
§ Freedom, we sought from political oppression.
§ Freedom, we sought from tyrants.
§ Today, we are seeking freedom from economic hardships.
It looks as though on the African continent; we seek freedom only to end
up in more bondage. With the exceptions of Mandela, all other African
Freedom fighters ended up being tyrants and dictators. From Nkrumah to
Mugabe, the freedom purported to have been given with right hand was
sadly taken away from the people with the left hand.
In the spiritual sense, there are many liberated Christians whose stories
are like the story of Africa. They have been liberated by Christ through
faith and yet have ended up in BONDAGE. They are freed from sin and all
forms of condemnation but are sadly living like those condemned. These
Christians are those I call “LIBERATED PRISONERS”.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus,
who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. For
the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law
of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was weak through
the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, on
account of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh. Romans 8:1-3
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The Misery Of Slavery
1. Slaves are unwilling servants. They serve under compulsion.
2. Slaves are not grateful for their jobs.
3. Slaves do not have a choice in how their lives are run (fatalism is on the
premise of slavery)
4. Slaves are not heirs. They do not inherit their master except on
benevolence.
5. Slaves live deprived lives.
We are not called into slavery but into SONSHIP.
But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become
children of God, to those who believe in His name: who were born, not
of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.
John 1:12-13
Benefits Of Freedom
1. Freedom reveals and enhances IDENTITY.
2. Freedom articulates the power of identity: Who you are gives meaning
to how you live.
3. Freedom authenticates the benefits of identity. There are benefits to
your citizenship.
4. Freedom reveals love and give meaning to the toils of slavery (most free
men work harder than slaves but it is meaningful because it is selfsatisfying).
5. Freedom enhances dignity (When Nana Prempeh returned)
6. Freedom guarantee citizenship rights.
7. Freedom induces loving responsibilities.
Those who willfully abuse privileges eventually suffer but they don’t lose
their identity. This book was written for you to know that not only are you
saved by grace, you are also sustained by the same grace. My appeal to
you in writing this book is for all of us to grasp in a greater way not only
that salvation from sin’s penalty is solely by God’s grace (justification before
God) but also the need to grow in our understanding and clearly teach that
salvation from sin’s power is solely by God’s grace (sanctification in time).
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SECTION ONE:
GRACE IDENTITY
Saved By Grace Alone
Child Of God
Abode Of God
The Grace Walk
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Saved By Grace Alone
"Anyone can devise a plan by which good people may go to heaven, only
God can devise a plan whereby sinners, who are His enemies, can go to
heaven." - Dr. Lewis Sperry Chafer
There are two paths to God. These are God’s chosen path to Him by
GRACE through FAITH and man’s own path through religion and works.
God’s path is the ONLY path. Man’s path is the many paths that only leads
farther away from God and to damnation.
God’s path to salvation is the GRACE PATH!
For by grace, you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Unlike religion, man’s chosen path to salvation, which involves a
meritorious system of good works which seeks to gain God’s acceptance
and hope for salvation, Christianity involves a BELIEF in a Person—Jesus
Christ. Because of His substitutionary and sacrificial death for our sins on
the cross, salvation is offered as a free gift of God’s grace to all sinners
apart from their good, religious works and rituals. But like any gift of love,
it needs to be received. Regarding this, the Bible is very clear that faith
alone in Christ alone is all one must do to be saved from God’s wrath and
punishment of sin forever.
For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that
whoever believes in Him should not perish but have everlasting life. For
God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but
that the world through Him might be saved. He who believes in Him is
not condemned; but he who does not believe is condemned already,
because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of
God. John 3:16-18
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Your eternal salvation is all by God’s grace alone through faith alone in
Christ alone. Your eternal life can never be lost because it depends solely
upon the unfailing person and promises of Jesus Christ, His finished work,
and God’s grace, which is His unmerited, undeserved favor. God’s gift of
salvation is available to the very worst of sinners and requires no
commitment to obedience, no promises to keep, no pledges to uphold,
no repentance from sins, no asking Jesus into your heart, no religious
rituals to perform, no efforts to try to keep the Law, and no good works
to obtain or maintain your free and forever salvation by God’s grace. The
Apostle Paul in his letter to Timothy affirmed that though undeserving of
salvation, Christ came to save him being the worst of sinners!
This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptance, that Christ Jesus
came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am chief.1 Timothy 1:15
Salvation from a Hell you deserve to a Heaven you don’t is simply a matter
of trusting in Christ alone and His substitutionary death and resurrection
from the dead. Salvation is free to all who believe in Christ alone because
He has already paid for all sin fully, freely, and forever upon the cross when
He died in your place to save you!
Justified By Grace Through Faith
In the natural world, when the police pursue criminals and in the process
there’s a shootout and some of the criminal get wounded. They are
rescued, sent to the hospital to be cared for, healed and afterwards are
made to stand trial for their crimes. You have not been rescued from your
sins to stand another trial. You are saved and JUSTIFIED completely of
all your sins. Through believing in Jesus, we receive “forgiveness of sins”
and we are “justified”.
Therefore, let it be known to you, brethren, that through this Man is
preached to you the forgiveness of sins; and by Him everyone who
believes is justified from all things from which you could not be justified
by the law of Moses. Acts 13:38-39
Justification is more than forgiveness; it is to be cleared of all blame and to
be free from every charge. In an earthly court, a judge cannot both forgive
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a man and justify him at the same time, for if he forgives him then the man
must be guilty and therefore he cannot be justified; on the other hand, if
he justifies him, he does not need forgiveness. God undertakes both to
forgive the sin and to justify the sinner; that is, to forgive the guilty and
condemned sinner and to place him in a new position where there is no
charge against him at all.
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ
Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the
Spirit. Romans 8:1
The Word of God makes it clear that no one is justified by his own effort
or work. No works of ours, no good resolutions or reformation can justify
us or contribute one little bit to our justification. It is as though a murderer,
feeling sorry for his crime, would do all the good deeds possible and would
imagine that by thus doing he would be justified in the eyes of the law and
saved from the executioner. All the good deeds in the world could do
nothing to justify him. Likewise, all the good deeds of a sinner can do
nothing towards his justification.
Therefore by the deeds of the law no flesh will be justified in His sight,
for by the law is the knowledge of sin. Romans 3:20
Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith
in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be
justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the
works of the law no flesh shall be justified. Galatians 2:16
But that no one is justified by the law in the sight of God is evident, for
“the just shall live by faith.” Galatians 3:11
In the New Testament, justification is presented to us in seven aspects:
1. We are justified by GOD: the AUTHOR of Justification.
To demonstrate at the present time His righteousness, that He might
be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus. Romans 3:26
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Who shall bring a charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies.
Romans 8:33
2. We are justified by GRACE; the PRINCIPLE of Justification. This means that
we are justified without any merit on our part.
That having been justified by His grace we should become heirs
according to the hope of eternal life. Titus 3:7
being justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in
Christ Jesus. Romans 3:24
The word “freely” denotes that there is nothing in us to deserve it, and no
means whereby we can earn it.
3. We are justified by BLOOD: the GROUND of Justification. A holy God must
have a righteous basis on which to justify ungodly sinners, and this is found
in the blood of the cross. Man, as a condemned sinner, can only atone for
his sin by paying the death penalty.
For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ
Jesus our Lord. Romans 6:23
As “all have sinned” (Romans 3:23), God’s law demands that all must die.
God so loves us, however, that through the death of His Son, who took
our place upon the cross, all the righteous demands of the law against the
sinner have been fully met, and all the claims of God’s holiness have been
satisfied.
4. We are justified by FAITH: the CONDITION of Justification. The one
human condition for being justified is believing on the Lord Jesus Christ.
Even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and
on all who believe. For there is no difference. Romans 3:22
Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God
through our Lord Jesus Christ. Romans 5:1
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Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith
in Jesus Christ, even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be
justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law; for by the
works of the law no flesh shall be justified. Galatians 2:16
5. We are justified by RESURRECTION: the GUARANTEE of Justification. In
Romans 4:25 we are told that the resurrection of the Lord Jesus was the
visible proof that God was satisfied with His finished work, that
justification is available for all men, and that all believers are justified.
6. We are justified for good WORKS: the RESULTS of Justification. Under
the law, it is “if you will do good, I will bless you”. Under grace, it is I
have blessed you, now do good.
For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works,
which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them.
Ephesians 2:10
It should be noted that justification though results in good works, it is not
by any means the evidence of our justification. The wolves in sheep
clothing are a bunch of ‘good workers’ but inwardly evil. In some cases,
good works can be a facade to a sinister motive.
7. We are justified for some WONDERFUL experiences. In other words,
certain wonderful things take place as the result of our justification. There
are seven of them enumerated in Romans 5:1-11. The chapter begins,
“Therefore since we have been justified (having been counted righteous)”
...what?
a. “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (verse 1).
“We were God’s enemies” (verse 10), but at Calvary our Lord
Jesus Christ reconciled us to God (Romans 5:10), and made peace
(Colossians 1:20).
b. “We have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand”
(verse 2). This means that being justified we have an entrance, or
a welcome, into the presence of God.
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c. “And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God” (verse 2). The word
“hope” does not imply uncertainty; it refers to the assurance which
we have that God will consummate His purpose in and for all
whom He justifies. It means – Colossians 3:4 and Titus 3:7!
d. “We rejoice in our sufferings” (verse 3). Four reasons are given in
verses 4 and 5. This means that when trials and testings come, we
are able to say – 2 Corinthians 4:17!
e. “God has poured out his love into our hearts” (verse 5). This is His
love in four dimensions – Ephesians 3:17-18; and with His love in
our hearts, we love each other (1 John 3:14).
f. “The Holy Spirit...whom he has given us” (verse 5). The moment God
justifies us we become indwelt by the Holy Spirit – compare John
14:16-17; Romans 8:9 and 1 Corinthians 6:19.
g. “We also rejoice in God” (verse 11). Literally, “we exult in God.”
How wonderful this is! We, who were condemned, lost sinners,
now by His grace, being justified, rejoice in Him!
Amazing Grace
Grace is truly amazing. When a sinner receives Jesus Christ as their
Saviour, they are instantaneously born again into the family of God (John
1:12-13). As a royal member of the God’s forever family they are given
“every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). God
now sees them as...
§ chosen in Christ (Ephesians 1:4)
§ unconditionally loved (Romans 8:35-39)
§ accepted in Christ (Ephesians 1:6)
§ redeemed through His blood (Ephesians 1:7)
§ forgiven all trespasses (Colossians 2:13)
§ eternally secured (John 10:28-30)
§ permanently sealed by the Holy Spirit (Ephesians 1:13, 4:30)
This is a rather brief and partial listing of the believer’s blessings in Christ.
These blessings are given to the believing sinner totally at the moment of
salvation on the basis of God’s grace. Understandably, the normal
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response of “so great salvation” is a grateful heart or attitude of gratitude.
In fact, the “love of Christ” is to become a primary motivation in living our
lives for the glory of God in service to our wonderful Savior.
Grace Is Power
Grace is the power of God. It is the power to SAVE and TRANSFORM.
§ Power to save.
§ Power to live right.
§ Power to talk right.
§ Power to walk right.
§ Power to give.
§ Power to forgive.
§ Power to do anything God calls you to do in His name.
§ Power to pray.
§ Power to overcome.
Through the power of God’s Grace The believer in Christ:
§ has constant ACCESS to God’s grace. (Romans 5:2)
§ is to GROW in grace. (2 Peter 3:18)
§ is to CONTINUE in grace. (Acts 13:43)
§ is to SERVE by grace. (1 Corinthians 15:10)
§ is to become ESTABLISHED with grace. (Hebrews 13:9)
§ is not to MISUSE the grace of God as a license to sin. (Romans 6:1)
§ is to be reminded that in every trial that God’s grace is
SUFFICIENT. (2 Corinthians 12:9)
§ is to be warned that “God resists the PROUD but gives grace to
the HUMBLE.” (James. 4:6)
§ is to abound in GIVING by grace. (2 Corinthians 8:7-9)
§ is not to FALL from the truths of grace. (Galatians 5:4)
§ is to SING with grace in his or her heart to the Lord. (Colossians
3:16)
§ is to be DISCIPLINED by God’s grace. (Titus 2:11-13)
§ can FAIL the grace of God. (Hebrews 12:15)
§ is to MINISTER to others with their SPIRITUAL GIFTS by God’s
grace. (1 Peter 4:10-11)
§ needs to respond to the riches of God’s grace by a willingness to
YIELD to the Lord and be internally TRANSFORMED in order to
do God’s will. (Romans 12:1-2)
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§
is to FORGIVE others because God forgave them in Christ by
grace. (Ephesians 4:32)
Keep in mind that the grace of God is never to be viewed or abused as a
license to sin (Romans 6:1, 15) but instead forms the basis and acts as the
means of glorifying God and serving others in love.
For you, brethren, have been called to liberty; only do not use liberty as
an opportunity for the flesh, but through love serve one another.
(Galatians 5:13)
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Child of God
You made the best choice for all eternity by trusting in Jesus. This decision
moved you from being a mere creature of God to a CHILD OF GOD. You
have become God’s own child.
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the
sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. John 1:12
You have been made alive from death. No more are you separated from
the source of life. You are not counted among the damned nor the dead.
Once dead in sin, you have been made alive.
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins.
Ephesians 2:1
You are saved from eternal damnation and separation from God. You are
saved from the wrath of God that was kindled against sinners. You are
RESCUED from the terrible anger of God, the fearsomeness of His rage.
Because you took refuge in the SON OF GOD. Your temporal earthly
life which have led to the second death of eternal damnation is exchanged
by the blood of Jesus for eternal life with God.
He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not
the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him. John 3:36
Having been saved, you have as well been restored to the image of God.
You have been rescued from the wrath of God and restored to His image.
Eternalism (God is eternal) and uprightness define the image of God. God
is eternal and righteous. The Grace of God that saved you from sin did not
just bestow God’s favour on you but the VIRTUE of God as well.
But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us
alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions—it is by
grace you have been saved… For we are God’s handiwork, created in
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Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us
to do. Ephesians 2:4-5,10
You have by grace become a NEW CREATURE. You have assumed a
NEW IDENTITY. You are no longer seen by God in your old self. He
(God) does not see the dirt and dearth of your past anymore neither is he
seeing you in the light of your present flaws as may be present in your
mortal body. He sees you washed in the blood of Jesus. He sees you clean!
Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are
passed away; behold, all things are become new. 2 Corinthians 5:17
You have been moved from being an ordinary commoner to ROYALTY.
You have been set apart, separated from the crown and given a position
of honour.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s
special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called
you out of darkness into his wonderful light. 1 Peter 2:9
Royalty is a position of nobles. Nobility defines royalty so you are saved
from sin to pursue nobility. You are called to a new pursuit of becoming a
custodian of morality and nobility to the fallen world. This can be achieved
by holding on to your identity and solely relying on your SAVIOUR at all
times. Let your mind be stayed on Christ and so shall your life be driven
by Him. He will sustain you on the path of royal nobility.
Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are
honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure,
whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if
there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
Philippians 4:8
Therefore, get rid of all moral filth and the evil that is so prevalent and
humbly accept the word planted in you, which can save you. James 1:21
You have become a priest unto our God. You are called into sacred duties
for our God. You are completely set apart to minister to God and be used
by God to minister unto others.
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As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen
by God and precious to him— you also, like living stones, are being built
into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices
acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-5
As a priest you are an instructor of divine things.
And thou shalt come unto the priests the Levites, and unto the judge
that shall be in those days, and enquire; and they shall shew thee the
sentence of judgment. Deuteronomy 17:9
It is for priest to live sanctified lives. In Christ, we are sanctified and we are
enabled to walk as such by the power of the Holy Spirit who dwells or
reside in us.
And let the priests also, which come near to the Lord, sanctify
themselves, lest the Lord break forth upon them. Exodus 19:22
You have been made a covenanted intercessor as a priest of our God.
But if they be prophets, and if the word of the Lord be with them, let
them now make intercession to the Lord of hosts, that the vessels which
are left in the house of the Lord, and in the house of the king of Judah,
and at Jerusalem, go not to Babylon. Jeremiah 27:18
You have become a soldier for Christ.
Thou therefore endure hardness, as a good soldier of Jesus Christ. No man
that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life; that he may
please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier. 2 Timothy 2:3-4
Soldiers in the natural sense have a totally different lifestyle and schedule.
They are separated in thought, acts and attitude from the civilians.
1. Soldiers are disciplined.
Like a city whose walls are broken through is a person who lacks selfcontrol. Proverbs 25:28
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They have been drilled into total submission; their lives are in the voice of
their commanders. The believer’s life must be fused to the voice of Christ.
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. John
10:27
2. They are constantly on the alert ready for combat. The believer must
be willing and ready to do the will of Christ. You must be on the alert
because we are living in the end time.
The end of all things is near. Therefore, be alert and of sober mind so
that you may pray. 1 Peter 4:7
Be on guard! Be alert! You do not know when that time will come. Mark
13:33
3. In the battlefield, they stand and fight for each other. They don’t give up
on themselves when one falls or get wounded. We are called to stand and
fight together as men in battle, not giving up on ourselves and bearing each
other up!
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance
against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. Colossians 3:13
For all the law is fulfilled in one word, even in this; Thou shalt love thy
neighbour as thyself. But if ye bite and devour one another, take heed
that ye be not consumed one of another. Galatians 5:14-15
4. Soldiers are determined to stand till the end, that’s the only time they
are regarded as heroes. Jesus warned his disciples about trials, tribulations
and troubles in this present world. He promised those who will stand till
the end the gift of eternal life with Him.
And ye shall be hated of all men for my name's sake: but he that endureth
to the end shall be saved. Matthew 10:22
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And because iniquity shall abound, the love of many shall wax cold. But
he that shall endure unto the end, the same shall be saved. Matthew
24:12-13
5. Soldiers understand that they are the weapons themselves. God says of
us that we are His weapons.
Thou art my battle axe and weapons of war: for with thee will I break
in pieces the nations, and with thee will I destroy kingdoms; And with
thee will I break in pieces the horse and his rider; and with thee will I
break in pieces the chariot and his rider; With thee also will I break in
pieces man and woman; and with thee will I break in pieces old and
young; and with thee will I break in pieces the young man and the maid;
I will also break in pieces with thee the shepherd and his flock; and with
thee will I break in pieces the husbandman and his yoke of oxen; and
with thee will I break in pieces captains and rulers. Jeremiah 51:20-23
During the second world war, Joseph Stalin of Russia sought to defend his
pride in the city named after him, Stalingrad, now known as Volgograd.
Though his army had run out of weapons, he used his soldiers without
weapons to hold on to the city until he was able to mobilize an army and
weapons enough to defeat the Germans. The child of God must know that
He is the weapon of God. He is a tool in the hand of the Mighty Warrior,
and with him, God will accomplish greater things.
We will be used to bring down cultures and traditions. We are tools to
bring destruction to evil philosophies and establish God’s rule in a domain.
You have as well become a watchman for our God.
“So you, son of man: I have made you a watchman for the house of
Israel; therefore you shall hear a word from My mouth and warn them
for Me. When I say to the wicked, ‘O wicked man, you shall surely die!’
and you do not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked
man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood I will require at your hand.
Nevertheless, if you warn the wicked to turn from his way, and he does
not turn from his way, he shall die in his iniquity; but you have delivered
your soul. Ezekiel 33:7
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The primary job of the watchman is to watch, warn and prepare the
people he watches over for safety. The watchman sees from the
watchtower what ordinary people do not see and he blows the trumpet
for people to be prepared.
The Military Watchman
1. He is chosen by the people for a watchman of their land, Ezekiel
33:1-2
2. He who heeds not the warning shall have his blood upon his own
head, Ezekiel 33:3-5.
3. The blood of the one who is not warned shall be upon the
watchman’s head, Ezekiel 33:6
The Spiritual Watchman
1. He is chosen by God to warn Israel of his iniquity, at the mouth of
the Lord, Ezekiel 33:7.
2. The blood of the one who is not warned shall be on the
watchman’s head, Ezekiel 33:8.
3. The blood of the one not heeding the warning shall be upon his
own head, Ezekiel 33:9.
4. The equality of God’s judgment is reiterated, Ezekiel 33:10-19.
5. The protection of the faithful and destruction of the careless
watchman are seen by Ezekiel, Ezekiel 9:1-7; Isaiah 62:1-7.
6. All parents are watchmen of their children, Proverbs 22:6; 29:15.
It is for us to know the signs of the time. Prepare our own hearts and
proclaim the coming of the LORD to the sleeping world.
Remember, we are new creatures. By grace we have become God’s own
children and ushered into a new era to pursue new lives. To walk in grace
is to gracefully yield to your new identity to produces the newness of life
that can only be in Christ.
Therefore, we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that
just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even
so we also should walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4
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The Abode Of God
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He
may abide with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world
cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you
know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave
you orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16-18
The beauty of your new life in Christ is that you have become the abode
of God. In other words, God the Holy Spirit lives in you.
That good thing which was committed to you, keep by the Holy Spirit
who dwells in us. 2 Timothy 1:14
It may be helpful to compare the following relationships which God is
pleased to sustain towards His children:
§ He is ABOVE us – Deuteronomy 4:39; Ephesians 1:20-21.
§ He is BENEATH us – Deuteronomy 33:27.
§ He is BEFORE us – Exodus 13:21-22; John 10:4.
§ He is BEHIND us – Exodus 14:19.
§ He is AROUND us – Psalm 34:7; 125:2.
§ He is WITH us – Isaiah 41:10; Hebrews 13:5-6.
§ He is WITHIN us – Galatians 2:20; Colossians 1:27.
Of all the associations short of Glory itself, the last (above) is the greatest
– that the Lord Himself should come and live within the human personality.
In Ezekiel 36:27, we find the fact of His indwelling anticipated, but it was
our Lord Himself who spoke fully about this – in John 14:16-18 and 26;
15:26; 16:7-11 and 13-14. Notice the following important truths in John
14:16-18:
1. The Holy Spirit is a Person
Notice the four persons referred to in John 14:16: “I”... “He”... “You”...
“He”. Read chapters 14, 15 and 16 and note all the pronouns used in
reference to the Holy Spirit. Also notice, in the five references given above,
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the actions which are ascribed to Him which could only be ascribed to a
person.
2. The Holy Spirit is a Divine Person
In John 14:16, the three Persons of the Godhead are mentioned – “I” ...
“Father”... “Comforter”. He is God, one with the Father and the Son.
3. The Holy Spirit Indwells Every Believer
Note the last two words in John 14:17. He indwells every Christian; there
is no such thing as a believer who is not indwelt by the Holy Spirit – look
up John 7:37-39; Acts 2:38-39; Romans 5:5 and 8:9; 1 Corinthians 6:19;
Galatians 3:2 and 4:6.
4. The Holy Spirit Abides in Every Believer
That is, He has come in to stay – see John 14:16. In Old Testament times
He came – and went – look up Judges 6:34 and 16:20; 1 Samuel 10:6 and
16:14 – and compare Psalm 51:11; but now He comes in to abide with us
forever.
5. The Holy Spirit indwells to Supply Christ’s Presence
As to His bodily presence, the Lord Jesus is in Heaven (Hebrews 9:24); but
by the indwelling of the Holy Spirit He is also within every believer (John
14:17-18). This is “the mystery” – see Colossians 1:27, and compare John
14:23. In John chapters 14,15 and 16 we learn from the lips of our Lord
Himself of the seven-fold ministry which the Holy Spirit exercises in the
life of every believer. In other words, He indwells us to supply a sevenfold need in our lives.
1. “He will teach you all things...” (14:26). He is the Divine Tutor
within us, and He is there to teach us all He wants us to know and
all we need to know concerning spiritual things. Please read 1
Corinthians 2: 9-14. The youngest and humblest believer has the
Heavenly Instructor within. What a rebuke this is to our ignorance
of spiritual things! – look up 1 John 2:27.
2. “He will remind you of everything I have said...” (14:26). This had a
special reference to the Apostles who were to write the books of
the New Testament; for this important task, the Holy Spirit was to
be their sufficiency. They were not to rely upon their memory but
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upon Him. On John 14:26 rests the credibility and ultimate Divine
Authority of the New Testament writings (2 Timothy 3:16). But
what of ourselves? Well, He brings the word of comfort, of
guidance, of wisdom or of rebuke to us, according to our need –
compare Matthew 10:18-19.
3. “He will testify about Me...” (15:26 – and verse 27!) The Holy Spirit
is the power within us for effective testimony – look up Acts 1:8,
and notice that He always testifies to the Lord Jesus, and not to
ourselves, our work, our church or our denomination; “unto me...”
He is within us to convict us and to show us when we turn aside
from His way.
4. “He will convict the world...” (16:7-11). He alone can convince
unbelievers of their need of the Saviour, and He does it through us
(“to you” – Lit. – verse 8). We cannot convince them of their need
and of His love for them, but the Holy Spirit can. And, He is within
us to convict us and to show us when we turn aside from His way.
5. “He will guide you into all truth...” (16:13) The Lord guided Israel –
look up Exodus 13:21; but we have the Guide within, to go with us
all the journey through – compare Romans 8:14. He indwells to
guide us in the paths of truth.
6. “He will tell you what is yet to come...” (16:13). This reference is to
the prophetic gift which the disciples would need in order to write
the New Testament. You and I have Him that we may interpret
and understand those prophecies. Not only do we have the ability
to interpret the written prophecies by the Apostles of old, but the
Holy Spirit also gives prophetic gifts for the edification and the
comfort of the church.
But he who prophesies speaks edification and exhortation and comfort to
men. 1 Corinthians 14:3
7. “He will bring glory to Me...” (16:14). He is within us to make the
Lord Jesus real and precious to us, and through us to others.
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In conclusion: Because the Holy Spirit is dwelling within to exercise this
seven-fold ministry, we must:
§
§
§
RECOGNISE His Presence within us(1Corinthians 6:19)
RESPOND to His Presence within us (Ephesians 5:18)
(RELY upon His Presence within us (2 Corinthians 3:5-6).
You are called out of the crowd to be led by the Holy Spirit because you
have become a child of God.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God.
Romans 8:14
Be Spirit led.
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The Grace Walk
Ignorance and unbelief are not bliss but are a serious blunder when it
comes to the Christian life. The reasons for this are obvious. You cannot
believe something you do not know. Furthermore, to know God’s truth
and to not respond by faith allows for no practical appropriation in one’s
life. Thus, the knowledge of God’s Word and faith in God’s promises are
absolutely essential and delightful companions in every Christian’s life.
Unlike religion which involves a meritorious system of good works which
seeks to gain God’s acceptance, true biblical Christianity involves a unique
relationship with a Person—Jesus Christ. Because of His substitutionary
and sacrificial death for our sins on the cross, salvation is offered as a free
gift of God’s grace to all sinners apart from their good, religious works and
rituals. But like any gift of love, it needs to be received. Regarding this, the
Bible is very clear that faith alone in Christ alone is all one must do to be
saved from God’s wrath and punishment of sin forever.
“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of
yourselves; it is the gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast.”
Ephesians 2:8-9
“Therefore, we conclude that a man is justified by faith apart from the
deeds of the law.” Romans 3:28
“So they said, ‘Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and you will be saved...’”
Acts 16:31
When a sinner receives Jesus Christ as their Saviour, they are instantaneously
born again into the family of God (John 1:12-13). As a royal member of the
God’s forever family they are given “every spiritual blessing in heavenly
places in Christ” (Ephesians 1:3). These blessings are given to the believing
sinner totally at the moment of salvation on the basis of God’s grace.
Understandably, the normal response of “so great salvation” is a grateful
heart or attitude of gratitude. In fact, the “love of Christ” is to become a
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primary motivation in living our lives for the glory of God in service to our
wonderful Savior.
Having been saved by God’s grace, many a new believer begins their
Christian life without any real clue as to “how” it is to be lived. Apart from
an accurate and balanced learning of the Scriptures, two extremes are
usually developed or embraced. Either the believer’s walk becomes
mechanical, or they embrace the mystical.
Regarding the former, the mechanical Christian life involves rigid
obedience to certain rules and heartless compliance to “what is right.” It
may involve much “busyness” for the Lord, but it is usually spiritually
barren of genuine fruitfulness. The believer some- times may think he is
spiritual by his works, entirely missing the grace of God. This mechanical
approach leads to self-righteousness or despair, depending on how one
thinks they are doing. It reeks of legalism.
On the other hand, some believers have embraced a mystical kind of
Christian life. To them, the walk of the believer is “mysterious” or “deep.”
They sometimes search for “new blessings”, failing to see that they’ve
already been “graced-out” in Christ. Others fear a demon around every
corner or are seeking a certain spiritual gift to prove their spirituality. New
“revelations” are frequently sought. Though the inerrancy of the
Scriptures is embraced, the sufficiency of the Scriptures is denied in a
practical way. Some have gone so far as to abuse the grace of God as if it
was a license to sin. This is a ditch to be avoided at all costs.
Living The Grace Life
“How is the Christian life to be lived?” As simple and surprising as it may
seem, the believer is to live from day to day in the very same manner they
were saved –” by grace through faith” in Jesus Christ.
“But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to
God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him.” Hebrews 11:6
As you therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him.
Colossians 2:6
For we walk by faith, not by sight.” 2 Corinthians 5:7
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I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is
written, ‘The just shall live by faith. Romans 1:17
Some trust in chariots, and some in horses; But we will remember the
name of the LORD our God. Psalm 20:7
Thus says the LORD: ‘Cursed is the man who trusts in man And makes
flesh his strength, Whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be
like a shrub in the desert, And shall not see when good comes, But shall
inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, In a salt land which is not
inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, And whose hope
is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, Which
spreads out its roots by the river, And will not fear when heat comes;
But its leaf will be green, And will not be anxious in the year of drought,
Nor will cease from yielding fruit. Jeremiah 17:5-8
The biblically-based Christian life is neither mechanical nor mystical. It is
relational. It is to involve an intimate, personal, vertical fellowship and love
with God and Jesus Christ every day.
But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness,
so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ. 2
Corinthians 11:3
For we are the circumcision, who worship God in the Spirit, rejoice in
Christ Jesus, and have no confidence in the flesh. Philippians 3:3
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say, rejoice!” Philippians 4:4
God in His matchless grace has provided His Word and Holy Spirit to
enable us to live wisely by faith in His strength. He has further provided
His “exceeding great and precious promises” (2 Peter 1:4) and the
fellowship of other believers (Acts 2:42) to encourage us on our way. But
all of this is only enjoyed and appropriated when we respond to the Lord
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by faith. And since “faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of
God,” we must consistently read and study the Scriptures.
Even the casual reader of the Bible should be struck with the incredible
importance of understanding and grasping the truth of God’s written
revelation. Since “all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is
profitable” (2 Timothy 3:16), it shouldn’t surprise us to see numerous
admonitions in the Bible emphasizing the need and value of learning the
Word of God.
“As newborn babes, desire the pure milk of the word, that you may grow
thereby.” (1 Peter 2:2)
“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who does not
need to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.” (2 Timothy 2:15)
“But He answered and said, ‘It is written, “Man shall not live by bread
alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”’”
(Matthew 4:4)
“This Book of the Law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall
meditate in it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all
that is written in it. For then you will make your way prosperous, and then
you will have good success.” (Joshua 1:8)
“For the commandment is a lamp, And the law a light; Reproofs of
instruction are the way of life.” (Proverbs 6:23)
“Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, ‘If you abide in My word,
you are My disciples indeed. And you shall know the truth, and the truth
shall make you free.’” (John 8:31-32)
“It is good for me that I have been afflicted, That I may learn Your
statutes.” (Psalm 119:71)
“I have not departed from the commandment of His lips; I have
treasured the words of His mouth More than my necessary food.” (Job
23:12)
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“Do not be carried about with various and strange doctrines. For it is
good that the heart be established by grace, not with foods which have
not profited those who have been occupied with them.” (Hebrews
13:9)
“These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily
to find out whether these things were so.” (Acts 17:11)
“Your words were found, and I ate them, And Your word was to me
the joy and rejoicing of my heart; For I am called by Your name, O LORD
God of hosts.” (Jeremiah 15:16)
“Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom, teaching and
admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs,
singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. “ (Colossians 3:16)
With all of these instructions and encouragements to learn the Word of
God, isn’t it time that we take seriously the daily reading, believing, and
applying of the Scriptures?
Walking By Faith
When the believer humbly opens the Word of God daily to seek the Lord
and His will, the Spirit of truth is free to impress upon them the person
and promises of God. Walking by faith results in accepting God’s
perspectives, embracing God’s priorities, acknowledging God’s principles,
obeying God’s precepts, and claiming God’s promises. The remainder of
this booklet will primarily address the last–claiming God’s promises.
Isn’t it wonderful to know that amidst so much deception and
discouragement in our world that God has given us His promises to
support our hearts and provide us with the encouragement we need to
face life’s challenges? I am told that there are some 7,000 promises in the
Bible given to us as believers in Christ. I am sure that many of them are
not unique in themselves, but simply run parallel or reinforce the same
truth or promise in different words. Understandably, the writer of the
book of Hebrews warns his first century Jewish Christian readership about
the danger of failing to enter into the “faith-rest” life.
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“Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest, let us fear lest
any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was
preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did
not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.”
(Hebrews 4:1-2)
The “them” of verse 2 is referring to the Exodus generation of Jews who
came out of Egypt and wandered in the wilderness for forty years. Though
they had the possibility of “rest,” they failed to enter in because “the word
preached did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in them that
heard it.”
A simple principle emerges from their example that we need to note.
Knowing God’s Promises + Believing God’s Promises
= Enjoying God’s Rest
Sad to say, too many believers today fail in their Christian lives because of
the same reasons. However, this need not be true of you!
“There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has
entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from
His. Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall
according to the same example of disobedience. For the word of God
is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing
even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a
discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart.” (Hebrews 4:9-12)
To encourage you to walk by faith in fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ
and to “faith-rest” amidst the challenges of life’s decisions and trials, the
following pages are devoted to stating numerous promises of God. This
listing is far from being complete. In fact, I would encourage you to search
the Scriptures further to add to this list. But as you do, let me please put
up a red flag of warning that you need to remember.
Faith is not a sophisticated synonym for superstition or presumption. Faith
has to do with believing God’s clear promises as revealed in His Word,
regardless of our feelings. I hasten to write this because various individuals
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have become disappointed with God because they have misinterpreted or
misapplied Scriptural promises, or have expected God to fulfill His Word
immediately. This has especially been true of people in the “name it and
claim it / health and wealth” crowd that have misapplied God’s promises
of “physical” blessing to Israel in the Old Testament to grace-age believers
in the church who have been promised “spiritual” blessings and simply
“food and clothing” physically (1 Timothy 6:6-10). Rightly dividing the
Word of Truth here will save you some unrealistic expectations and
consequent disappointment with God due to misguided faith.
The psalmist reminds us of the value of memorizing Scripture when he
wrote.
“Your word I have hidden in my heart, That I might not sin against You.”
(Psalm 119:11)
I trust that you will take to heart this biblical encouragement and do
likewise. Start to put to memory these precious promises of God’s truth.
And then, believe them! You’ll be glad that you did!
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SECTION TWO:
GRACE STEPS
Follow Me
Regenerate’s Mindset
Church Mindset
Personal Mindset
Family Mindset
World Mindset
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Follow Me
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I
give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand. John 10:27- 28
Greece said, “Be wise, know yourself!”
Rome said, “Be strong, discipline yourself!”
Religion says, “Be good, conform yourself!”
Epicureanism says, “Be sensuous, enjoy yourself!”
Education says, “Be resourceful, expand yourself!”
Asceticism says, “Be lowly, suppress yourself!”
Psychology says, “Be confident, assert yourself!”
Materialism says, “Be satisfied, please yourself!”
Pride says, “Be superior, promote yourself!”
Humanism says, “Be capable, believe in yourself!”
Legalism says, “Be pious, limit yourself!”
Philanthropy says, “Be generous, release yourself!”
In contrast Jesus says, “Follow me!”
Your salvation is an invitation to a lifetime of FOLLOWING JESUS. Making
the choice to follow Jesus makes you a DISCIPLE of Jesus. A disciple is a
learner. A disciple is defined as a learner, a pupil, one who comes to be
taught. You are called to a lifetime of learning the ways of Jesus Christ.
As A Disciple...
1. As a disciple or a learner you must be DEVELOPED in the ways of the
LORD Jesus.
Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you:
and, lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world. Amen.
Matthew 28:20
In order to be properly developed as a disciple, humility is required. The
rule is:
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Conformity
Maturity
Reproductivity
Conform to the teachings of Christ.
Mature in them.
Reproduce.
2. You must be able to DEFINE your faith and all that you are taught in
Christ.
But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I
have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.” Matthew 9:13
3. You must be able to DEMONSTRATE what you believe. Knowledge
affects characters. It either enhances it or destroy it, what is internalized
must be witnessed externally.
Ye are the light of the world. A city set on a hill cannot be hid. Neither
do men light a lamp, and put it under the bushel, but on the stand; and
it shineth unto all that are in the house. Even so let your light shine
before men; that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father
who is in heaven. Matthew 5:14-16
4. You must be able to DECLARE your faith. First make a firm and abiding
promise to serve God all the days of your life...
And if it seem evil unto you to serve the Lord, choose you this day whom ye
will serve; whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other
side of the flood, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land ye dwell: but as
for me and my house, we will serve the Lord. Joshua 24:15
...then declare your faith unto others.
Go ye therefore, and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them
into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Matthew 28:19
5. You must be able to DEFEND the faith. First, defend it against
erroneous doctrines...Don’t be quick to point out grammatical errors
which does not lead to salvation, be quick to point out doctrinal errors.
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Jesus replied, “You are in error because you do not know the Scriptures
or the power of God. Matthew 22:29
...don’t be a novice in your faith. Be an expert in God’s word and a person
of integrity.
Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not
to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth. 2 Timothy 2:15
6. You must be a worthy DELEGATE representing the LORD here on
earth...
Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech
you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. 2
Corinthians 5:20
NOTE: The home of the disciple of Christ is an embassy of God’s kingdom.
The disciple is the only picture of Christ some people will ever see. It is an
embassy for all citizens of heaven, a place of refuge and glorification of our
LORD. Home Churches are ideal, the proper form of discipleship during
the first century.
And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread
from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of
heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord
added to the church daily such as should be saved. Acts 2:46-47
The Disciple’s Mark...
1. TOTAL SUBMISSION: Total does not mean perfect but by
submitting to Jesus with every part of us. Every area of our lives must be
submitted to Him. Just like Rabbis were followed more than fathers, we
ought to follow Jesus more than our fathers.
It is enough for the disciple to become like his teacher, and the slave like his
master. If they have called the head of the house ‘Beelzebul,’ how much
more will they defame the members of his household! Matthew 10:25 I
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2. TOTAL MASTERY: This means memorizing every word that the
master spoke. Remaining in Jesus word makes us true disciples. We must
be directed by the word in thoughts and actions.
If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you
want, and it will be done for you. John 15:7
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, will teach you everything, and will cause you to remember
everything I said to you. John 14:26
3. TOTAL UNDERSTANDING: Scripture must be interpreted from the
eyes of Jesus. (Matthew 5-7)
4. TOTAL IMITATION: It must be our desires to be just as Jesus. A
disciple is not greater than his teacher, but everyone when fully trained
will be like his teacher (Luke 6:40).
Command those who are rich in this world’s goods not to be haughty
or to set their hope on riches, which are uncertain, but on God who
richly provides us with all things for our enjoyment. Tell them to do
good, to be rich in good deeds, to be generous givers, sharing with
others. In this way they will save up a treasure for themselves as a firm
foundation for the future and so lay hold of what is truly life. 1Timothy
6:17-19
5. TOTAL DUPLICATION: We must be willing to disciple others with
our lives and message. Not showmanship, not men pleasing. To be a friend
of God, you need to make a lot of enemies.
You are my friends if you do what I command you. John 15:14
I no longer call you slaves, because the slave does not understand what
his master is doing. But I have called you friends, because I have revealed
to you everything I heard from my Father. John 15:15
FOUR STEPS TO DISCIPLESHIP (John 4)
The Call
“Come”
The Commitment
“Follow Me”
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The Cause
The Cost
“Make Disciples”
“Carry your Cross”
Following Jesus
1. Following Jesus is an invitation to a life of intimate obedience:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I
give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any
man pluck them out of my hand. John 10:27- 28
2. Following Jesus is also a life of sacrificial service.
I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your
reasonable service. Romans 12:1
And he who does not take his cross and follow after Me is not worthy of
Me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake
will find it. Matthew 10:38-39
3. Following Jesus is a life of absolute surrender.
Surrendering is all about recognizing that we are clay in the hands of the
master potter. Ours is to stay in His hands, even when squeezed. We must
remember that the squeezing process is always the remolding process.
But now, O LORD, thou art our father; we are the clay, and thou our
potter; and we all are the work of thy hand. Isaiah 64:8
Give up control and allow God to live His life through you.
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The Regenerate’s Mindset
The saved are ‘called out’ by the mercies of God to be minded in ways
contrary to their cultural, traditional and general worldview. Our mindset
should be unique and must reflect our identity as a people called out and
set apart for royalty.
But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people
to be his very own and to proclaim the wonderful deeds of the one who
called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not
a people, but now you are the people of God. Once you had not
received mercy, but now you have received mercy.1 Peter 2:9-10
Royalty is a position of loyalty and responsibilities. It is important for the
called out royal to adopt a totally different mindset from the darkness in
which he once lived. The royal must begin and live the journey of royalty
in thought and in deeds. Once called into the marvelous light, our
responsibility is not to get used to the darkness but to shine as lights!
“You are the light of the world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be
hidden…Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your
good works and glorify your Father in heaven. Matthew 5:14,16
It is therefore important for us to know the requirements of this unique
calling. It is the responsibility of the saved to know about all the
requirements of God so that we may live solely to please our Father in
Heaven all the days of our lives. We must live everyday of our lives weaning
ourselves from ignorance of the LORD’s requirements, so that it won’t be
said of us as the people of old.
Even the stork in the sky knows her appointed seasons, and the dove,
the swift and the thrush observe the time of their migration. But my
people do not know the requirements of the Lord. Jeremiah 8:7
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Your salvation is an opportunity to enjoy royalty but it is equally a duty to
become a priest unto the LORD. I believe that God is raising a Bible
believing and more importantly Bible practicing generation of which I
believe you, the one holding and reading this book is one
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Church Mindset
The loyalty of every child is first to his family. As a child of God, you are
born into the family of Christ and your first responsibility and loyalty is to
the Church.
Many people today understand the church as a building. This is not a
biblical understanding of the church. The word “church” comes from the
Greek word ekklesia which is defined as “an assembly” or “called-out
ones.” The root meaning of “church” is not that of a building, but of
people. It is ironic that when you ask people what church they attend; they
usually identify a building. Romans 16:5 says “… greet the church that is in
their house.” Paul refers to the church in their house—not a church
building, but a body of believers.
The church is the body of Christ; of which He is the head.
And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head
over everything for the church, which is his body, the fullness of him
who fills everything in every way. Ephesians 1:22-23
The body of Christ is made up of all believers in Jesus Christ from the day
of Pentecost (Acts chapter 2) until Christ’s return. The body of Christ is
comprised of two aspects:
The universal church consists of all those who have a personal relationship
with Jesus Christ.
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews
or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink”
1 Corinthians 12:13
This verse says that anyone who believes is part of the body of Christ and
has received the Spirit of Christ as evidence. The universal church of God
is all those who have received salvation through faith in Jesus Christ.
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The local church is described in Galatians 1:1-2:
“Paul, an apostle … and all the brothers with me, to the churches in
Galatia.”
Here we see that in the province of Galatia there were many churches—
what we call local churches. A Baptist church, Lutheran church, Catholic
church, etc., is not the church, as in the universal church—but rather is a
local church, a local body of believers. The universal church is comprised
of those who belong to Christ and who have trusted Him for salvation.
These members of the universal church should seek fellowship and
edification in a local church.
So, what should be the mindset of the believer concerning the Church?
1. ATTENDANCE
If God is given space in your heart, He must be given time in your life too.
He commanded us in His word to…
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Exodus 20:8
Sabbath means rest and cessation from labour. Note that “Remember”
precedes this command to denote that this day of rest was initiated in
creation. To us in the New Covenant, we observe ‘The Lord’s Day!
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice,
as of a trumpet. Revelation 1:10
This day is to be kept holy to the LORD which means it should be
separated solely for God and His purpose. This day of divine rest began in
creation and continues in the lives of the regenerate.
The Bible tells us we need to attend church so we can worship God with
other believers and be taught His Word for our spiritual growth. The early
church “devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship,
to the breaking of bread and to prayer”
Then those who gladly received his word were baptized; and that day
about three thousand souls were added to them. And they continued
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steadfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of
bread, and in prayers. Acts 2:41-42
Church attendance is not just a “good suggestion”; it is God’s will for
believers.
Not giving up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but
encouraging one another—and all the more as you see the Day
approaching. Hebrews 10:25
Even in the early church, some were falling into the bad habit of not
meeting with other believers. The author of Hebrews says that’s not the
way to go. We need the encouragement that church attendance affords.
And the approach of the end times should prompt us to be even more
devoted to going to church.
Church is the place where believers can love one another (1 John 4:12),
encourage one another (Hebrews 3:13), “spur” one another to love and
good works (Hebrews 10:24), serve one another (Galatians 5:13), instruct
one another (Romans 15:14), honor one another (Romans 12:10), and be
kind and compassionate to one another (Ephesians 4:32).
You must have a divine attitude towards God’s time. Our whole life
belongs to God but the Sabbath in particular God claim as a day that must
be separated totally and solely for Him. It is a day that…
You do not turn away from but seek to do only the pleasure of God…
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on
my holy day;
It should not be a day for your personal delight. It is not a day of leisure
and personal rest.
… and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and
shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own
pleasure,
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Don’t even speak your own words. It is not a day for recreation and
jesting…
…nor speaking thine own words:
Just choose to enjoy a closely knit fellowship with God. It is not a day of
idleness…
…Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to
ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage
of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it. Isaiah
58:13-14
We must set it aside for public devotion. It was the custom of Jesus Christ
whiles on earth…
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his
custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood
up for to read. Luke 4:16
It must be set aside also for private devotion…
And it came to pass, as he was alone praying, his disciples were with him:
and he asked them, saying, Whom say the people that I am? Luke 9:18
If you cannot spend just a day for God on earth, how will you cope
spending eternity with Him? Remember the Sabbath and keep it Holy.
2. PARTICIPATION
It is not enough to just attend Church services and just warm the pews.
There is the divine need to actively participate in the service. You
participate like the Bereans who…
…were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they
received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily
to find out whether these things were so. Acts 17:11
They had a fantastic attitude towards their spiritual life. They RECEIVED
the word with eagerness and SEARCHED the scriptures DAILY. This is
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how a child of God participate actively in the things of God. The regenerate
will receive and respect the delivery of the word as if it was God talking to
him personally.
For this reason we also thank God without ceasing, because when you
received the word of God which you heard from us, you welcomed it
not as the word of men, but as it is in truth, the word of God, which also
effectively works in you who believe. 1 Thessalonians 2:13
The regenerate will devote time to read the scriptures. God births a thirst
for the holy scriptures in the life of the saved that there is an insatiable
desire to know more and exactly what the verses quoted and read really
mean.
The word is to be searched. The saved will seek and inquire as a hunting
dog looks for prey, as a miner looks for gold, and as a lioness looks for a
cub. The child of God is never bored or burdened to search the scriptures
and uncover precious truths that he treasures more than worldly wealth.
The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of
pieces of silver and gold. Psalms 119:72
Meditate on God’s word. Meditation is holding the word of God in your
heart and mind until it has affected every aspect of your life.
Oh, how I love your law! I meditate on it all day long. Psalms 119:97
The regenerate is not content just to receive, read, search and meditate
on God’s word, he strives to apply all he had learned in his daily life.
Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in
me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.
Philippians 4:9
When a person trusts Jesus Christ for salvation, he or she is made a
member of the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:27). For a church body to
function properly, all of its “body parts” need to be present and working
(1 Corinthians 12:14–20). It’s not enough to just attend a church; we
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should be involved in some type of ministry to others, using the spiritual
gifts God has given us (Ephesians 4:11–13).
3. CONTRIBUTION
For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond
their ability. Entirely on their own, 2 Corinthians 8:3
God offers us salvation, our worship of Him is our response to Him. He
gives to us, and we give back to Him. And whenever you give back or offer
anything to God, that’s called worship.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to
offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is
your true and proper worship. Romans 12:1
Now, the question is when it says, “offer” What am I supposed to offer? I
mean, what do you give a God who has everything? He made the world.
He made you. He made the universe. What do you give Him? You give
Him your love. And He’s very specific about how to give it.
Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and
with all your mind and with all your strength.’ Mark 12:30
In this verse, we notice that God wants us to love Him three ways:
FIRST, GOD WANTS YOU TO LOVE HIM THOUGHTFULLY. It says,
“love Him with your mind.” In other words, He wants you to think
through, not just do it without thinking. He wants you to worship Him
thoughtfully.
SECOND, GOD WANTS YOU TO LOVE HIM PASSIONATELY. He says,
“with all your heart and all your soul.” I want you to love Me passionately,
because I passionately love you.
AND THIRD, HE SAYS, I WANT YOU TO LOVE ME PRACTICALLY.
“Love Me with all your strength”, with your abilities.
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You see, the truth is that even though God created the entire world and
everything in it, there are three things God does not have unless you give
them to Him.
He doesn’t have your ATTENTION unless you give it to Him. That’s loving
God with your mind. You have a choice to give God your time.
He doesn’t have your AFFECTION, unless you give it to Him. That’s loving
God with your heart and your soul. You have a choice in who you give
your love to.
And God doesn’t have your ABILITY, unless you give it to Him. That’s
loving God with your strength. You demonstrate love by giving. Your
abilities also produce resources which are needed in the service of God.
And whenever we take what God has given us -- of course, all those things
He gave you first: our attention, affections, and our strengths and abilities
and you give them back to God that is the heart of worship.
4. EXPANSION OF THE KINGDOM
When the regenerate conforms to the teachings of Christ, maturity
becomes the reward which leads to reproduction. We are described as
Christ’s Ambassadors on earth which means that we are representatives
of our Kingdom and our responsibility is to establish diplomatic missions
to protect, provide and project our values.
We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his
appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to
God. 2 Corinthians 5:20
It should be part of the saved to think of flooding our areas of abode with
the true gospel. We must seek to fill the minds of the people God leads us
to with His word and influence cultures and traditions with our divine
beliefs and actively influencing lives with our behavior. In this we fulfil our
mission, living for His name and renown!
Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name
and renown are the desire of our hearts. Isaiah 26:8
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FOUR HOLY HABITS FOR THE REGENERATE
1. DO NOT GIVE GOD SPARE TIME
When I remember thee upon my bed, and meditate on thee in the night
watches. Psalms 63:6
Begin with God in the morning and end with Him in the night. Talk to Him
first thing in the morning before talking to anyone else. Keep Him in your
mind all day.
2. DO NOT KEEP GOD WAITING IN LINE FOR YOUR TIME
And the inhabitants of one city shall go to another, saying, Let us go
speedily to pray before the LORD, and to seek the LORD of hosts: I will
go also. Zechariah 8:21
Respond to the call for prayer and devotion promptly. Do not let worldly
entertainment and engagements cause you to keep the things of God
waiting. Attend to your spiritual duties with joy and eagerness (Like
Samuel …1Samuel 3:5)
3. LOVE GOD MORE THAN YOUR FAMILY
If any man come to me, and hate not his father, and mother, and wife,
and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he
cannot be my disciple. Luke 14:26
You will not compromise the laws, demands and commands of God to suit
your defiant children and partners.
4. COMMIT SCRIPTURES TO MEMORY
And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
Deuteronomy 6:6
You only keep precious and valuable things in your hearts and minds. God’s
word in your hearts and minds controls, directs and guides you. It guides
your speech, thinking and behavior.
The law of his God is in his heart; none of his steps shall slide. Psalms 37:3
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Personal Mindset
There can be no spiritual growth without deliberate personal effort. You
are personally involved in growing you in this spiritual journey. My advice
to you is to do everything in your power to resist spiritual laziness which
is often disguised as tiredness or ‘busy-ness’ and discipline yourself to be
come all that God has designed you to be. God calls on you to renew your
mind. In other words, the regenerate is admonished to adopt a personal
mindset that is consistent with Scripture. It is for us to deprogram our
worldly mindset and reprogram it to conform to our divine calling. In so
doing, we will discover God’s will for our lives and fulfill it.
Do not conform to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the
renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what
God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. Romans 12:2
1. DEVOTION
Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. Colossians
4:2
Note what the scripture says; we are called to devote our entire lives to
prayer, to vigilance or watchfulness and be thankful. Prayer is the
communication between the child of God and his heavenly Father. We are
admonished Biblically to:
Pray Everywhere…
Therefore, I want the men everywhere to pray, lifting up holy hands
without anger or disputing. 1 Timothy 2:8
Pray for Everyone…
I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and
thanksgiving be made for all people—for kings and all those in authority,
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that we may live peaceful and quiet lives in all godliness and holiness. 1
Timothy 2:1-2
Pray in Everything…
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians
4:6
Pray Every Morning…
Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the
house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed. Mark 1:35
Pray in the Evening…
After leaving them, he went up on a mountainside to pray. Later that
night, the boat was in the middle of the lake, and he was alone on land.
Mark 6:46-47
Pray about your Earthly Concerns…
“Two things I ask of you, Lord; do not refuse me before I die: Keep
falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but
give me only my daily bread. Otherwise, I may have too much and
disown you and say, ‘Who is the Lord?’ Or I may become poor and steal,
and so dishonor the name of my God. Proverbs 30:8-9
Pray on Eternal Concerns…
“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come,
your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Matthew 6:10
A guard who falls asleep on duty is negligent of his duty and makes himself
vulnerable to the enemy. As Christians, we cannot afford to slumber. Too
much is at risk. If we fall asleep spiritually, we will decline in our faith, we
will fail to carry out our mission, and we will become Satan’s prey. As the
Lord’s servants, if we do not watch, we will be caught by surprise when
the Lord comes.
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“Look, I come like a thief! Blessed is the one who stays awake and
remains clothed, so as not to go naked and be shamefully exposed.”
Revelation 16:15
Since watchfulness is so critical in maintaining our faith and Christian duty,
the Lord Jesus emphatically warns his followers, “what I say to you, I say
to all: Watch!” (Mark 13:37)
Being watchful means being spiritually awake and focused on your
priorities. you are always examining your own faith. It means that you
constantly examine yourself to see where your faith stands. Selfexamination often occurs in prayer, so prayer and watchfulness go hand in
hand.
The Bible warns, “Let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (1
Corinthians 10:12). As a maturing disciple, you must learn how to be
spiritually vigilant. Being overly confident in your spiritual walk with God
can mean certain spiritual failure in your faith.
An important Biblical principle for being watchful is to test and examine all
things carefully, holding fast to what is good (1Thess 5:21). Whether you
are examining your actions or motives, you must carefully weigh whether
your actions and motives are godly and righteous. Being watchful means
you must have the right actions and motives. Remember that God
examines your inner heart and motivation, not your outward religiosity or
actions (Jeremiah 12:3).
Being watchful means being wary of your fleshly weaknesses and Satan’s
attacks.
Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a
roaring lion looking for someone to devour. 1 Peter 5:8
To be watchful, you must first understand that you have weaknesses. In
times when you feel spiritually weak, you must be extra careful and
watchful over your faith because God’s judgment can be just around the
corner. Moreover, as Christians, we must be alert and ready for Jesus’
Second Coming.
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Finally, let us devote our lives to thankfulness. The Bible is filled with
commands to give thanks to God (Psalm 106:1; 107:1; 118:1; 1 Chronicles
16:34; 1 Thessalonians 5:18). Most verses go on to list reasons why we
should thank Him, such as “His love endures forever” (Psalm 136:3), “He
is good” (Psalm 118:29), and “His mercy is everlasting” (Psalm 100:5).
Thanksgiving and praise always go together. We cannot adequately praise
and worship God without also being thankful.
Feeling and expressing appreciation is good for us. Like any wise father,
God wants us to learn to be thankful for all the gifts He has given us (James
1:17). It is in our best interest to be reminded that everything we have is
a gift from Him. Without gratefulness, we become arrogant and selfcentered. We begin to believe that we have achieved everything on our
own. Thankfulness keeps our hearts in right relationship to the Giver of all
good gifts.
Giving thanks also reminds us of how much we do have. Human beings are
prone to covetousness. We tend to focus on what we don’t have. By giving
thanks continually we are reminded of how much we do have. When we
focus on blessings rather than wants, we are happier. When we start
thanking God for the things we usually take for granted, our perspective
changes. We realize that we could not even exist without the merciful
blessings of God.
First Thessalonians 5:18 says, “In everything give thanks; for this is God’s
will for you in Christ Jesus.” We are to be thankful not only for the things
we like, but for the circumstances we don’t like. When we purpose to
thank God for everything that He allows to come into our lives, we keep
bitterness at bay. We cannot be both thankful and bitter at the same time.
We do not thank Him for evil, but that He is sustaining us through it (James
1:12). We don’t thank Him for harm He did not cause, but we thank Him
when He gives us the strength to endure it (2 Corinthians 12:9). We thank
Him for His promise that “all things will work together for the good, to
those who love God and are called according to His purpose” (Romans
8:28).
We can have thankful hearts toward God even when we do not feel
thankful for the circumstance. We can grieve and still be thankful. We can
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hurt and still be thankful. We can be angry at sin and still be thankful toward
God. That is what the Bible calls a “sacrifice of praise” (Hebrews 13:15).
Giving thanks to God keeps our hearts in right relationship with Him and
saves us from a host of harmful emotions and attitudes that will rob us of
the peace God wants us to experience (Philippians 4:6–7).
2. DENIAL
For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It
teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live
self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait
for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and
Savior, Jesus Christ. Titus 2:11-13
The unique grace that brings salvation also teaches us to deny ungodliness.
We should strive to turn our backs at sin and look forward to pursuing
purity all the days of our lives. Note that your beliefs must affect your
behavior. Do not yield to the enticements of the world you have been
snatched from. Leave all behind…
In the same way, those of you who do not give up everything you have
cannot be my disciples. Luke 14:33
Totally abstain from evil desires and pursuits…
Dear friends, I urge you, as foreigners and exiles, to abstain from sinful
desires, which wage war against your soul. 1 Peter 2:11
Crucify the flesh…
Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its
passions and desires. Galatians 5:24
Mortify your earthly nature so you can put on the divine nature…
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual
immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry.
Colossians 3:5
Put off your old self…
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You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your
old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires. Ephesians 4:22
Put on the new self of righteousness…
And to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness
and holiness. Ephesians 4:24
Now boldly take up your cross and follow Christ…
Whoever does not take up their cross and follow me is not worthy of
me. Matthew 10:38
3. DETERMINATION
Not that I have already obtained all this, or have already arrived at my goal,
but I press on to take hold of that for which Christ Jesus took hold of me.
Brothers and sisters, I do not consider myself yet to have taken hold of it.
But one thing I do: Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is
ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called
me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:12-14
Through trial and tribulations, through thick and thin, in good and bad days,
just fix your heart on serving God till the very end. Declare your
unwavering commitment and seek God for courage to follow through like
the Psalmist fixed his heart to praise his God.
My heart is fixed, O God; I will sing, yea, I will sing praises, even with
my glory. Psalms 108:1
4. DIRECTION
So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what
is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:18
You must be a Christian with the right perspective. Have the right focus
and engage in the battle to the end. Our focus is not on earthly things. The
sole direction of the regenerate is to spend eternity with God.
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4 TRAITS TO ERADICATE
SHIRKERS
One who deliberately forsakes and abandons spiritual duties at home,
church and to God.
Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his
commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring
every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good,
or whether it be evil. Ecclesiastes 12:13-14
AVOIDER
One who casually avoids spiritual gatherings and teachings
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his
custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood
up for to read. Luke 4:16
OBSERVER
One who is always hearing but never arriving to a place of practice.
Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and
seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you. Philippians 4:9
ROBBER
One who deliberately robs God in tithes and offerings.
Ye are cursed with a curse: for ye have robbed me, even this whole
nation. Malachi 3:9
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Family Mindset
The Bible contains divine roles, rules and guidelines for Godly families. In
Christ, the regenerate must possess a unique mindset concerning family
and this will guide them and bring about family bonding and happiness.
1. HUSBANDS LOVE YOUR OWN WIVES
Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave
himself up for her. Ephesians 5:25
Many Christian husbands think that their main responsibility is to provide
an increasingly comfortable lifestyle for their wives and children. In fact,
they would say that the long hours that they work are an expression of
their love for their families. The truth is, many men find it easier to give
their wives and children things than to spend time with them and share
their hearts with them in deep, loving relationships.
The Bible bluntly states that if a man does not provide financially for his
family, he has denied the faith and is worse than an unbeliever (1 Tim. 5:8).
Those are strong words, and we should not disregard them! But, Paul is
saying that we must provide our families with basic needs, not with all of
the stuff that the world says we need to be happy. Rather, your main
responsibility toward your wife is, “Love her!” It’s not easy, but it is your
priority.
Love her intimately and passionately…
May your fountain be blessed, and may you rejoice in the wife of your
youth. A loving doe, a graceful deer— may her breasts satisfy you
always, may you ever be intoxicated with her love. Proverbs 5:18-19
Love her thoughtfully and respectfully…
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Husbands, love your wives and do not be harsh with them. Colossians
3:19
Love her unconditionally and understandably…
Husbands, in the same way be considerate as you live with your wives, and
treat them with respect as the weaker partner and as heirs with you of the
gracious gift of life, so that nothing will hinder your prayers. 1 Peter 3:7
Love her sacrificially...
In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own
bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. After all, no one ever hated
their own body, but they feed and care for their body, just as Christ
does the church. Ephesians 5:28-29
Loving your wife is possible because it is commanded. Be a model of verbal
purity to your wife and children and devote time to her.
2. WIVES SUBMIT TO YOUR OWN HUSBANDS
Wives, in the same way submit yourselves to your own husbands so that,
if any of them do not believe the word, they may be won over without
words by the behavior of their wives, when they see the purity and
reverence of your lives. Your beauty should not come from outward
adornment, such as elaborate hairstyles and the wearing of gold jewelry
or fine clothes. Rather, it should be that of your inner self, the unfading
beauty of a gentle and quiet spirit, which is of great worth in God’s sight.
For this is the way the holy women of the past who put their hope in
God used to adorn themselves. They submitted themselves to their own
husbands, like Sarah, who obeyed Abraham and called him her lord. You
are her daughters if you do what is right and do not give way to fear.
1Peter 3:1-6
To curb the overwhelming abuse of submissiveness, let me first of all talk
about what submission is not. I am doing so because this has become a
manipulative word for many men who seek to dominate and destroy their
partners.
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Submission is not agreeing on everything. It’s possible to be submissive and
refuse to think what your husband says you should think, particularly on
issues bothering on your eternal salvation. Submission does not mean you
must agree with the opinions of your husbands, even on things as
fundamental and serious as the Christian faith. God has made you with a
mind. You have to think. You are a person, not a body and not a machine.
You’re a thinking being who is able to process whether the gospel is true.
And if it’s true, you believe it. If he says, “You can’t believe that,” you
humbly and submissively do not submit to that.
Submission does not mean leaving your brain at the altar. All throughout the
marriage, a husband is reckoning with an independent mental center that
has thoughts that are worth listening to. It’s the working out of a one-flesh
union. Leadership does not mean you do not listen. Leadership doesn’t
even mean always getting the last word. Good leadership often says, “You
were right; I was wrong.”
Submission does not mean you do not try to influence your husband.
Submission does not mean avoiding the effort to influence or change the
husband. The whole point of the text is, “Win him.”
Submission is not putting the will of the husband before the will of Christ.
Christ is her Lord now, and for the Lord’s sake, she will submit to the
husband, but he is not her Lord. Therefore, wherever she must choose
between the two, she chooses Jesus.
Submission does not mean getting all of her spiritual strength through her
husband. Her hope is in God. She’s probably going to church on Sunday
morning before he gets up, getting her strength elsewhere, getting her
worldview elsewhere.
Submission does not mean living or acting in fear. This God-fearing wife is
fearless.
I believe that men are called to a unique kind of leadership in marriage. I
believe that women are called to a unique kind of submission in marriage.
And I think it’s a beautiful thing — the way those two roles complement
and serve one another.
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Therefore, in light of everything I have said submission is not, I would
define submission in marriage like this: Submission is the defined calling of
a wife to honor and affirm her husband’s leadership, and so help to carry
it through according to her gifts. (Read Proverbs 31:10-30)
Submission is serving your husband in the fear of the LORD.
Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting; but a woman who fears the
Lord is to be praised. Proverbs 31:30
3. CHILDREN OBEY YOUR PARENTS
Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right. “Honor your
father and mother”—which is the first commandment with a promise—
“so that it may go well with you and that you may enjoy long life on the
earth.” Ephesians 6:1-3
Honor has more to do with one’s attitude of respect toward one’s parents,
and it’s understood that the obedience is to be done with an attitude of
honor toward one’s parents. Grudging obedience does not conform to the
command. It may be challenging for children to learn to obey and honor
their parents—for some children, it’s harder than others! But there is a
very good reason for this command. Proverbs teaches that those who
listen to their parents gain wisdom:
“A wise son heeds his father’s instruction, but a mocker does not
respond to rebukes” Proverbs 13:1.
God’s design is for children to learn to honor and obey their parents as
they grow up so that they can live wisely. As they learn respect at home,
they will respect others appropriately when they leave the home. Even
young Jesus, though he was the Son of God, obeyed His earthly parents
and as a result grew in wisdom (Luke 2:51—52). The Bible says that
children who are not disciplined or who fail to obey to their parents are
much worse off in life (see Proverbs 22:15; 19:18; and 29:15).
4. PARENTS TEACH PENETRATIVELY
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We will not hide them from their descendants; we will tell the next
generation the praiseworthy deeds of the Lord, his power, and the
wonders he has done. He decreed statutes for Jacob and established the
law in Israel, which he commanded our ancestors to teach their children,
so the next generation would know them, even the children yet to be
born, and they in turn would tell their children. Psalm 78:4-6
As children have a responsibility to obey their parents, parents have a
responsibility to instruct their children in the ways of God.
“Fathers, do not exasperate your children; instead, bring them up in the
training and instruction of the Lord” Ephesians 6:4.
Parents have a unique responsibility to inform their children about God
and His ways. We are to influence their lives with our own lives and words
and inspire them grounding them well in sound doctrine.
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World Mindset
We live in the world, but we are not of the world.
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the
world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—
the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes
not from the Father but from the world. The world and its desires pass
away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. 1 John 2:15-17
So, live through this world with…
1. THE WORD OF GOD
It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that
I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life. John 6:63
The life of the regenerate must be live completely on God’s word. First,
the Word of God is infallible. There is no error in God's Word. The law of
the Lord is perfect concerning our soul. The testimony of the Lord is not
only infallible it is inerrant.
“Every word of God is flawless; he is a shield to those who take refuge
in him. Do not add to his words, or he will rebuke you and prove you a
liar. Proverbs 30:5-6
It is important for you the child of God to be totally addicted to God’s
word which is the sole food for your spirit. Let your life be lived as Jesus
who answered all challenges with what is written.
2. THE WAYS OF GOD
For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,
saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my
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ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Isaiah
55:8-9
We have a lifetime responsibility to give our hearts to unceasingly
searching out His ways and living it. Our ways of reasoning and living is not
his mode of operation. Even though His ways are higher than ours, they
are discoverable in His word. The Psalmist says of his ways…
As for God, His way is perfect: the word of the LORD is tried: he is a
buckler to all those that trust in him. Psalms 18:30
In meekness, God himself will direct your path to His ways.
The meek will he guide in judgment: and the meek will he teach his way.
Psalms 25:9
There are both earthly and heavenly rewards for those who seek and walk
in His ways.
Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit
the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt see it. Psalms 37:34
Remember this always; that the ways of man are always destructive to his
own soul. When we choose to please ourselves and choose our own path,
we bring total ruins to ourselves and fellow humans because we become
rebels to God. Solomon said…
Every way of a man is right in his own eyes: but the LORD pondereth
the hearts. Proverbs 21:2
You are fallible but God is infallible and that is why you must choose to
entrust your entire life to Him.
Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own
understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy
paths. Proverbs 3:5-6
Seek and yield to the unchanging path…
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Thus saith the LORD, Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old
paths, where is the good way, and walk therein, and ye shall find rest for
your souls…. Jeremiah 6:16
3. THE WISDOM OF GOD
The wisdom of man is always skewed towards destruction. For example,
duplicity and scam is taunted by the unregenerate minds as smartness but
to God it is stupidity. We are admonished not to walk in our own wisdom
but in the wisdom of God.
But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle,
and easy to be intreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality,
and without hypocrisy. James 3:17
Wisdom is the ability to accurately interpret and meticulously apply
knowledge. Knowledge is acquired but wisdom is a gift from God. He is
the only source of wisdom…
For the LORD gives wisdom; From His mouth [come] knowledge and
understanding. Proverbs 2:6
Daniel answered and said, “Let the name of God be blessed forever and
ever, for wisdom and power belong to Him” Daniel 2:20
A deep and an abiding reverence for God yields wisdom…
The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: a good understanding
have all they that do his commandments: his praise endureth forever.
Psalms 111:10
For the LORD giveth wisdom: out of his mouth cometh knowledge and
understanding. Proverbs 2:6
James admonishes us to ask God for wisdom…
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that giveth to all men
liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him. James 1:5
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Godly wisdom is pure, untainted and leads towards the pursuit of God. In
short, wisdom is to recognize and depart from evil!
Who is wise and understanding among you? Let them show it by their
good life, by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom. James
3:13
4. THE WORSHIP OF GOD
“This man,” they charged, “is persuading the people to worship God in
ways contrary to the law.” Acts 18:13
You and I are created to worship God. he apostle Paul described true
worship perfectly in Romans 12:1-2: “I urge you therefore, brethren, by
the mercies of God to present your bodies a living and holy sacrifice,
acceptable to God which is your spiritual service of worship. And do not
be conformed to this world but be transformed by the renewing of your
mind that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and
acceptable, or well pleasing and perfect.”
This passage contains all the elements of true worship. First, there is the
motivation to worship: “the mercies of God.” God’s mercies are
everything He has given us that we don’t deserve: eternal love, eternal
grace, the Holy Spirit, everlasting peace, eternal joy, saving faith, comfort,
strength, wisdom, hope, patience, kindness, honor, glory, righteousness,
security, eternal life, forgiveness, reconciliation, justification, sanctification,
freedom, intercession and much more. The knowledge and understanding
of these incredible gifts motivate us to pour forth praise and thanksgiving—
in other words, worship!
Also in the passage is a description of the manner of our worship: “present
your bodies a living and holy sacrifice.” Presenting our bodies means giving
to God all of ourselves. The reference to our bodies here means all our
human faculties, all of our humanness—our hearts, minds, hands,
thoughts, attitudes—are to be presented to God. In other words, we are
to give up control of these things and turn them over to Him, just as a
literal sacrifice was given totally to God on the altar. But how? Again, the
passage is clear: “by the renewing of your mind.” We renew our minds
daily by cleansing them of the world’s “wisdom” and replacing it with true
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wisdom that comes from God. We worship Him with our renewed and
cleansed minds, not with our emotions. Emotions are wonderful things,
but unless they are shaped by a mind saturated in Truth, they can be
destructive, out-of-control forces. Where the mind goes, the will follows,
and so do the emotions. First Corinthians 2:16 tells us we have “the mind
of Christ,” not the emotions of Christ.
WAYS TO LIVE IN THIS WORLD
Do not live for your families.
Do not mourn over earthly losses. It was ordained by God. We learn to
enjoy everything He gives us without attachment.
Do not be happy with earthly achievements and awards. They are
temporal and you are only a steward.
Do not let your possessions possess you.
Do not be engrossed with this passing world.
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MINDSET OF THE REGENERATE
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MINDSET OF THE REGENERATE
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MINDSET OF THE REGENERATE
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MINDSET OF THE REGENERATE
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SECTION THREE:
GRACE WAVE
I’m Struggling With Sin
The Guarantee Of God’s Keeping Power
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I’m Struggling With Sin!
Adapted from “I’M SAVED BUT STRUGGLING WITH SIN” by Denis M. Rokser
As you read this, and you are already a believer in Jesus Christ as your
Savior then you have come to know and believe that your eternal salvation
is all by God’s grace alone through faith alone in Christ alone.
Your eternal life can never be lost because it depends solely upon the
unfailing person and promises of Jesus Christ, His finished work, and God’s
grace, which is His unmerited, undeserved favor. God’s gift of salvation is
available to the very worst of sinners (1 Tim. 1:15) and requires no
commitment to obedience, no promises to keep, no pledges to uphold,
no repentance from sins, no asking Jesus into your heart, no religious
rituals to perform, no efforts to try to keep the Law, and no good works
to obtain or maintain your free and forever salvation by God’s grace.
Salvation from a Hell you deserve to a Heaven you don’t is simply a matter
of trusting in Christ alone and His substitutionary death and resurrection
from the dead.
Salvation is free to all who believe in Christ alone because He has already
paid for all sin fully, freely, and forever upon the cross when He died in
your place to save you! What a blessed assurance to realize that all of your
sins are paid for and you can know with absolute certainty that you have
eternal life as a free gift from God simply by faith in His Son as your Savior
(1 John 5:9-13)!
But perhaps you are reading this and you have lost some of the joy of your
salvation as you’ve faced the reality that though your sin is fully paid for by
Christ, you still struggle practically with sin in your Christian life from day
to day. Or perhaps you find yourself grateful to God for being saved
forever from sin’s penalty (Hell), but you are still in grief or confusion over
sin’s power in your life. Then again it could be that you have wanted to
walk in fellowship with the Lord and are seeking to keep your sins
confessed but you are tired of using 1 John 1:9 because your attempts to
resist sin have been unsuccessful time and time again. If you are like most
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believers, you have wondered at times, is practical victory over sin really
available? Thankfully, just as the Word of God guarantees all believers
eternal life, it also promises us that an abundant life of practical victory
over sin’s power is also available to us each day of our Christian lives. Our
Lord clearly stated…
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I
have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more
abundantly. John 10:10
Dear believer, though you may feel like throwing in the towel of defeat or
waiving the white flag of surrender and just giving in to sin in your life, God
wants to assure you that His power, plan, and provisions by grace for the
Christian life really are sufficient! You may feel like you’ve lost the battle,
but keep in mind that the Christian life is actually a war made up of a series
of battles, and Christ has already won the entire war for us at Calvary! As
the Risen Savior He is the victor over sin’s penalty, power, and presence,
and now He views you as a victor in Him and calls you to walk with Him
through the daily battles you face, the same way you were eternally
saved—by grace through faith in Him as your all in all. That is why the
Word of God exclaims…
But thanks be to God who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus
Christ. (1 Cor. 15:57)
In all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved
us. (Rom. 8:37)
My little children, these things I write to you, so that you may not sin.
And if anyone sins, we have an Advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ
the righteous. (1 John 2:1)
God knows all about sin in the human race and in your life, and He has
provided the perfect plan of deliverance to deal with it through His Son,
Jesus Christ. Don’t forget that God is for you, dear believer, not against
you (Rom. 8:31); and He has provided in Christ all that is necessary for you
to have practical victory in your daily battles with sin. And no passage in
the Word of God explains this truth more clearly than the book of Romans,
chapters 6-8, which is the focus of this chapter.
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Below are 14 biblical truths worth reviewing that all believers should know
as they begin the Christian life.
YOUR NEW IDENTITY—“IN CHRIST”!
As a believer in Christ and a new creation in Him (2 Cor. 5:17), you are
no longer viewed by God as being lost and dead in sin in Adam’s family but
now you are spiritually alive and position- ally “in Christ” (Rom. 5:12-21; 1
Cor. 15:22; Eph. 2:1-3, 12-13).
YOUR NEW SPIRITUAL BLESSINGS IN CHRIST!
Being “in Christ” means that God has also given you all spiritual blessings
by virtue of being in His Beloved Son and you are complete in Him (Eph.
1:3; Col. 2:10).
YOUR NEW OPERATING PRINCIPLE TO GRASP—GOD’S GRACE!
Now that you have been eternally saved by God’s grace (Eph. 2:8-9), God
also wants you to mature by His grace from day to day—to live, grow,
serve, become established and strengthened by His grace, since He is the
God of all grace (Rom. 5:2; 1 Cor. 15:10; 2 Cor. 12:9; Heb. 13:9; 1 Peter
5:10; 2 Peter 3:18).
YOUR NEW SECURITY—SAVED AND SECURE FOREVER!
God wants every one of His children to know that they are unconditionally
loved and eternally secure in their family relationship with Him, with no
possibility or fear of ever losing their salvation (John 1:12; 3:16, 36; 5:24;
6:35-40; 10:28-30; Rom. 8:28-39).
YOUR NEW PRIMARY MOTIVATION—THE LOVE OF CHRIST!
The love that Jesus Christ has for every believer in Him as demonstrated
through His sacrificial death for you should now be the greatest motivator
to live a life that is pleasing to Him (2 Cor. 5:14-15; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 1:21; 1
John 4:19).
YOUR NEW PERSPECTIVE OF PEOPLE—IN ADAM OR IN CHRIST!
As believers, if we allow the Word of God to impact our thinking and
perspectives in life, the Lord will transform how we view Him and
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ourselves, and we will begin to see others as either “in Adam” or “in
Christ,” with a burden to see the lost won to Christ (2 Cor. 5:16-17).
YOUR NEW MINISTRY AND PRIVILEGE—AN AMBAS- SADOR FOR
JESUS CHRIST!
As a new creation in Christ, all believers have been left here on Earth by
the Lord as His ambassadors and have been given the ministry and privilege
of sharing the Gospel, God’s message of reconciliation, with all who are
lost and still in Adam (John 14:1-3; 2 Cor. 5:18-21; Phil. 3:20-21; 1 Tim.
2:4-6).
YOUR NEW MEANS OF COMMUNICATION WITH GOD— THE
WORD OF GOD & BELIEVING PRAYER!
As a child of God now in the family of God forever, believers can relate to
God and communicate with Him moment by moment throughout each
day by means of His Word and prayer (Phil. 4:6-7; Jam. 1:5-6; 1 Peter 2:2;
1 John 5:14-15).
YOUR NEW UNDERSTANDING OF GOD’S PLAN FOR YOU —THE
THREE TENSES OF SALVATION!
God has already saved in the past every believer in Christ from the penalty
of sin (Hell) at justification (Luke 7:50; Eph. 2:8-9; Titus 3:5), and now in
the present He wants to save you from sin’s power in your life in the
process of practical sanctification (Phil. 2:12-13; 1 Tim. 4:16; Jam. 1:21) as
you anticipate with certainty that He will also save you one day in the
future from sin’s very presence at glorification (Rom. 5:9-10; 8:30; 13:11).
YOUR NEW OPPORTUNITY—TO GROW SPIRITUALLY!
While the Christian life begins with a new birth at the point of salvation
from sin’s penalty, God desires all believers to grow in grace and spiritually
mature into Christlikeness (2 Cor. 3:18; 1 Peter 1:23–2:3), which involves
time, truth, teachers, trials, and trust (Heb. 4:1-2, 9-11; 5:12-14; 11:6; Jam.
1:2-4).
YOUR NEW KEY TO FRUITFULNESS—ABIDING IN CHRIST!
The Lord desires to produce spiritual fruit in the lives of all believers, which
is accomplished by means of the Holy Spirit rather than legalistic selfeffort. As believers abide in yielded dependence upon Christ, our spiritual
Vine, He produces His fruit in and through us and we simply bear it (John
15:1-8; Gal. 5:22-23).
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YOUR NEW ACCOUNTABILITY—THE JUDGMENT SEAT OF CHRIST!
Though believers are neither saved nor spiritual by means of our good
deeds, God desires and plans good works as part of every believer’s life
(Eph. 2:8-10; Titus 3:5-8). There is a day coming when each believer will
stand before Christ and give an account to Him of how we lived our lives
as a new creation in Christ after we were saved (1 Cor. 3:10-15, 9:24-27;
2 Cor. 5:9-10).
YOUR NEW PROVISION FOR WHEN YOU FAIL—CONFESSION OF
SIN!
When believers sin and fail to walk by faith and do His will, and we all do,
God has provided forgiveness and the means of restoration to fellowship
with Him via confession of our sins based on the blood of Christ (1 John
1:3-9).
YOUR NEW WONDERFUL FUTURE IN CHRIST— BLESSED HOPE!
Every believer in Christ can look forward to the day that Christ will come
to receive us to Himself at the Rapture of the Church prior to the
Tribulation, to transform our sinful bodies like His glorious, sinless,
immortal body, so that we may be with Him forever in glory (1 Cor. 15:5152; Phil. 1:21-23; 1 Thess. 4:13-18; Titus 2:11-13).
As you can see from this survey of what God has graciously provided for
all believers, your struggle with sin did not take God by surprise. He has
provided for you in His grace all that is necessary to have spiritual victory
over sin. But how is this possible? The New Testament book of Romans
contains three chapters that are one of the most important sections in the
entire Word of God for you as a believer to understand how to live the
Christian life as God designed it. Romans 6-8 will be something you will
need to read over and over again in order to glean and grasp the vital and
valuable truth of Chris- tian living by God’s grace-design and provision. In
this section you will learn how to respond by faith to:
§ the truth of your identification with Christ in His death, burial, and
resurrection (6:1-5)
§ the truth of your freedom from the sin nature’s ruling authority in
your life (6:6-7)
§ the truth that you are alive to God in Christ your Lord (6:8-11)
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§
§
§
§
§
§
the truth that you no longer need to let the sin nature rule as a king
in your life (6:12)
the importance of your daily decisions to present yourself to the
Lord to do His will (6:13)
the truth that “you are not under law but under grace” for your
progressive sanctification or spiritual growth in time, and not
merely for your justification before God (6:14ff)
the truth that the Christian life is not lived by law, performance,
sheer willpower or your own self effort to conquer the flesh and
produce practical righteousness (7:14-25)
the truth that you are not condemned to live a life of practical
defeat or bondage to your sin nature because of your position in
Christ and His liberating work on the cross (8:1-3)
the truth of the liberating and enabling power of the Holy Spirit in
keeping with a walk of faith in Christ as your Life (8:4ff)
Dear reader, positional and practical victory in Christ is avail- able over sin
in your life. Don’t believe the lies of the flesh, the world, the devil, or false
teaching that may tell you otherwise. In fact, while God does not want you
to fail in your Christian life, He will even utilize your failures to show you
that “you can’t do it” when it comes to living a victorious Christian life and
how He must do it for you, in you, and through you. But since the Christian
life is lived by faith (2 Cor. 5:7), and “faith comes by hearing, and hearing
by the Word of God” (Rom. 10:17), read on!
Your New Freedom In Christ—You Have Died To The Sin Nature!
The teaching of grace is not only foreign to our natural thinking but it was
rejected and hated by the Pharisees of Jesus’ day and many in our day who
also want to earn God’s salvation, which is contrary to grace. The Holy
Spirit through the apostle Paul anticipates the first objection to the Gospel
of grace, namely, that it is a license to sin or leads to fleshly indulgence.
Thus, he writes,
What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound?
(Rom. 6:1)
While there are those who abuse the grace of God, which is folly, this
verse anticipates an objection by grace-haters who fail to understand the
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truth of the believer’s freedom and position in Christ. Paul’s response to
this logical question is an emotional answer and a theological reason:
Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? (Rom.
6:2)
Does God want you to abuse His grace and live a life of ongoing bondage
under the practical control of your sin nature? Never! Certainly not! Perish
the thought!
For brethren, you were called to liberty; only use not your liberty as an
occasion to the flesh but by love serves one another. (Gal. 5:13)
Your freedom in Christ is not merely designed to assure you of Heaven by
God’s grace but to encourage you to enjoy spiritual progress and service
for the Savior! And though God saves you just as you are, He doesn’t want
to leave you just as you are—serving your sin nature. This recognizes that
believers still sin (1 John 1:9) and still retain a sin nature (1 John 1:8) and
can even live in ongoing carnality (1 Cor.3:1-4) in which God will divinely
discipline them in love (Heb. 12:5-11).
In fact, some believers still live just like unbelievers (1 Cor. 3:3) and may
return to pursuing the vomit of the world (2 Peter 2:18- 22). Others still
experience and succumb to pressure to run with the herd in licentious
living and are slandered when they don’t (1 Peter 4:1-5). Yet this is not
God’s design for His children, nor is it necessary to do so. So why should
the redeemed sinner not continue to live in sin? While many reasons could
be offered, the specific answer of this verse is because the believer has
“died to sin.” But what does this mean?
Understanding the Meaning of “Sin” in this Passage
The word “sin” throughout chapters 6-8 is a noun, not a verb (except in
6:15), and it refers to the “sin” nature that you received from your first
birth in Adam. Our sin nature is our naturally-born disposition to sin. We
naturally rebel against God. You were born a slave to the sin nature. This
is why you still sense a pull toward sin in your life. This is why believers still
struggle with such sins as pride, covetousness, sexual lusts, sinful
addictions, religious external performance, lying, drunkenness,
pornography, self-dependence, and other things. Consider the case of
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Mike, who came to faith in Christ with a background of being a rebel and
a self-made man. Now as a believer, he still is prone daily to slip into
thinking “I can handle it” and to rely on himself instead of the Lord in his
daily walk. Why is this? It is because he has a sin nature that naturally
gravitates in that direction, as well as sinful thought patterns which he has
nurtured for years. Can you relate? So keep in mind that Romans 6 isn’t so
much about victory over your sins in the Christian life as it is about how to
have victory over the root cause of your sin problems—the sin nature.
The good news of Romans 6 is that because of the cross- work of Christ,
we have been judicially freed in God’s eyes from the sin nature’s position
of dominion and authority in our lives. Thus our new position in Christ
(“we who died to sin”) is now to affect our daily condition (“live any longer
in it”). Let me illustrate.
Distinguishing Your Position and Condition
If you live in Ghana, you then are to drive on the right side of the road.
Your position (living in Ghana) is now to affect your condition (driving on
the right side). However, if you were to move to South Africa (new
position), then as a result you would drive on the left side of the road (new
condition). The point is this: your position is to affect your condition.
However, the reverse is not true. For if you were to drive in Ghana on the
left side of the road, you would still be located in Ghana, though you would
probably experience some tragic results in your condition because of this
decision.
Do you see the parallel? Your new position in Christ (“died to sin”) is
designed to affect your condition (“live any longer in it”). However, if you
make sinful choices as a believer, your position will remain the same—you
will still be eternally saved by God’s grace in Christ—though you will reap
what you have sown in terms of the damaging, practical consequences of
sin.
However, let me emphasize again that this does not mean that we no
longer have a sin nature (though we also have now a new nature that
naturally desires the things of God. See Rom. 7:15-18).
Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey
it in its lusts. (Rom. 6:12)
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Why would Paul give this command if we had no sin nature? The sin nature
prior to salvation has ruled as a king in our lives. What has changed now in
Christ is not the sin nature but our relationship to it. Before salvation, we
had no choice but to obey sin as our master. We obeyed its selfish and
sinful dictates. But now as believers, we are identified forever with Jesus
Christ—even though our sin natures still seek to rule our lives as a king.
What Changed When You Were Placed in Christ?
When you were saved, did your sin nature change? Does your sin nature
get better as a result of spiritual growth? No, your sin nature is still as
incapable of righteousness and capable of sin as it was before salvation.
This also explains why you still sin daily, and why believers may live in prolonged carnality (1 Cor. 3:1-4) or even commit some terrible sins when
they live out of fellowship with the Lord. (Con- sider the adultery and
murder that King David committed in the Old Testament while he was a
believer who was out of fellowship with the Lord.)
Dear believer, keep in mind that the grace of God and your freedom in
Christ have never been designed to be a license to sin. As a believer in
Christ, you have been saved FROM sin, not TO sin. This principle can be
illustrated by your possession of insurance. Do you have car insurance? If
so, do you now drive off bridges? Do you have life insurance? If so, do you
do things that put your life in danger? Why not? It is because the purpose
of insurance is not to abuse it but to utilize it only when you need it. The
same is true with your eternal salvation. You are covered by the blood of
Christ when and if you fall into sin, but you shouldn’t use your freedom in
Christ as a license to sin, because you have “died to sin.” In other words,
you have been eternally separated from the sin nature’s ongoing authority
to rule in your body. Thus, you should not “live any longer in it”—under
its practical control.
But this raises the question, “How or when did you die to the sin nature?”
The doctrinal answer is found in the following verses:
Or do you not know that as many of us as were baptized into Christ Jesus
were baptized into His death? Therefore, we were buried with Him through
baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory
of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life. For if we have
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been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be
in the like- ness of His resurrection. (Rom. 6:3-5)
Is the “Baptizing” of Romans 6 Dry or Wet?
When you became a new creation “in Christ,” God the Holy Spirit
“baptized” or identified you with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and
resurrection. The word “baptized” in this passage has nothing to do with
a ritual but with a reality; it is a dry baptism, not a wet ritual. (Consider the
chart on the following page.)
Today, water baptism for believers is a privilege designed to be a means
of public testimony of the believer’s faith in Christ which acts as a picture
of his identification with Jesus Christ in His death, burial, and resurrection.
Yet water baptism cannot save the sinner, nor sanctify the saint (Rom. 4:112; 1 Cor. 1:17; Gal. 3:1-5; Eph. 2:8-9). What you have just read in Romans
6:3-5 is referring to a spiritual baptism, being “baptized into Christ Jesus”
not into water, though it is pictured and proclaimed through water
baptism. The baptism by the Holy Spirit described in Romans 6 is true of
all believers in Christ (1 Cor. 12:13) which occurs at the moment of
salvation (Gal. 3:26-28) in which the Holy Spirit places you into union with,
or identification with, Jesus Christ.
Because of your identification with Jesus Christ, God sees the death that
Christ died as also being your death with Him; the burial that Christ
experienced, God now sees as your burial; and the resurrection that Christ
experienced, He sees as your resurrection with Christ. You are no longer
in Adam; you are in Christ. You are now a new creation in Christ, cocrucified, co-buried, and co-risen with Christ. This explains how, and even
when, you “died to sin.” It was through your spiritual union with Christ.
And what is the practical purpose of all this? Romans 6:4b says it is “that
we also should walk in newness of life.”
What Are the Spiritual Ramifications of Your Co-crucifixion, Co-burial, and
Co-resurrection with or in Christ?
Our passage continues:
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Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of
sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
(Rom. 6:6)
God wants you to personally “know” (6:3, 6, 9) these very important
truths. He wants you to know that your “old man was crucified with Him”
so that your history in Adam has ceased. You are no longer viewed by God
as an “old man” since you were crucified with Christ and are now a “new
creation” in Him (6:2, 3, 4, 5, 7, 8, 11; Gal. 2:20). Was our sin nature part
of our old man? Yes, but our sin nature still remains and still wants to run
and rule our lives. So, what does becoming a new creation in Christ mean
if the sin nature no longer has a right or the authority to dominate your life
any longer?
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of
sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
(Rom. 6:6)
The phrase, “that the body of sin might be done away with,” means that
the sin nature’s previous rule over your physical body as its master has
been legally broken; it has been stripped of its authority as your master. It
does not refer to annihilation or the eradication of the sin nature but of it
being stripped of its past legal domination or ruling power in your body.
Who dominated your body as an old man in Adam before you were saved?
It was the sin nature! The sin nature may have dominated your body by
producing what was considered “good” by human standards. You may
have been a moral person doing “good” works; but God declares that all
the good works we produce under the control of the sin nature are
considered “filthy rags” (Isa. 64:6) in His sight. On the other hand, you may
have been an immoral person with a life characterized by overt sins. In
both cases, you were in total bondage to your sin nature. What this verse
is saying is that by virtue of your crucifixion with Christ, the sin nature’s
right to rule in your life as a master has been broken.
Knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of
sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin.
(Rom. 6:6)
Yes, dear believer, you are no longer enslaved to the sin nature. Why?
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For he who has died has been freed from sin. (Rom. 6:7)
Since you died with Christ, you then “died to sin,” making you legally freed
from the sin nature as your ruling master. This is not a feeling to experience
but a fact to be believed. This occurred the moment you became a new
creation in Christ as God accomplished this through the cross of Jesus
Christ; and you have this freedom from that first day until the present.
This is indicated by the perfect tense of the phrase, “has been freed,”
which means you were freed in the past with the results continuing up to
the present, i.e., you remain freed! Whether you are a new believer or
have been saved for many years, whether you are a spiritual believer or
carnal, your position in Christ and identification with His death and
resurrection remains the same—you have been freed from the sin nature’s
right to rule your life.
Unfortunately, there are many believers who do not know they are free
and are still living like slaves, either trying to get rid of their sin nature or
trying harder to live the Christian life in their own strength only to fail over
and over again (Rom. 7:14-24).
Key Word #1: KNOW
If believers do not know of their position in Christ and freedom from the
sin nature’s ruling authority in their lives, it is fairly certain they will
continue to live practically as slaves to it. This is why the key word in
Romans 6:1-10 is the word “know.”
Your New Daily Perspective—Dead To Sin And Alive To God In
Christ Jesus My Lord!
So what does your identification and freedom in Christ mean practically to
you in living your life from day to day?
Likewise, you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive
to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:11)
Key Word #2: RECKON
The first response and command in the book of Romans related to your
Christian life is not to DO anything for Jesus Christ. Instead, God asks that
you simply believe something He has already done and accomplished for
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you in Christ. The word “reckon” refers to the need for exercising a logical
daily faith in the wonderful truths that He has just taught you in Romans
6:1-10. The word “reckon” is an accounting term, which is an appeal to a
logical faith; an appeal to believe something; to write it down in a ledger
as true. That ledger is to be your mind.
This is the logic that you must “know”: If Christ died to the sin nature and
is alive unto God—and I am in Christ, so that I died to the sin nature, and
I am alive unto God—this is something I am to believe. I am to write it
down as so; I am to count on it as fact.
You may say, “Well, I did that once!” No. The word “reckon” is in the
present tense. It carries the idea that some- thing is to be continually done.
It is to be an ongoing mindset; this is how we are to think repeatedly. We
are now to approach life from this perspective. The word “reckon” in the
present tense carries the idea that you are to embrace these truths as a
daily perspective BECAUSE THEY ARE TRUE! Reckoning your- self to be
dead to sin and alive to God does not make these things true for God states
that these are the facts whether you believe them or not. But believing
them will deeply affect how you think and live from day to day. Thus,
reckoning on the fact of your co-crucifixion with Christ to sin and your coresurrection with Him is to be an ongoing mindset; it is how you are to
think repeatedly.
You are now to approach life each day from this perspective. You have
been saved; you are now in Christ; you are united to Him; you have died
with Him; you have been buried with Him; you have been raised with Him.
You have died to the sin nature, and it no longer has any right to rule your
life; you have been raised with Jesus Christ and are now alive forever to
God.
Your destiny was changed in a split second; however, changing your
character is going to take the rest of your life. God will be working in you
the rest of your life to make you more and more like Jesus Christ.
The Daily Battle Is Not Over; but Victory Is Available in Christ
Yes, you are now in Christ, and He is your new Lord. You believed in the
Lord Jesus Christ when you were saved and now He has every right each
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day to rule in and direct your life into the perfect will of God. Although the
sin nature has been deposed, it still wants to keep your life in practical
bondage to legalistic self-righteousness, carnal indulgence, or mystical
pseudo-spirituality. But you now have a basis on which to say, “No,” to
your flesh.
Therefore, do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey
it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of
unrighteousness to sin. (Rom. 6:12-13a)
Now some will say, especially those who believe in Lordship Salvation,
“You are saved by grace, but if you live in continual sin, it is proof that you
were never saved.” This false doc- trine raises all kinds of problems:
§ How much sin must someone commit in order to conclude that he
was never originally saved? (1 Tim. 1:15-16)
§ What about carnal Christians? (1 Cor. 3:1-4)
§ Why does God divinely discipline? (Heb. 11:5-11)
§ What about the sin unto death, namely, maximum divine discipline
when God takes believers home, prematurely, because of their sins?
(1 Cor. 11:30-32)
§ Why are there exhortations for believers to live holy lives if it is
guaranteed and automatic for all believers to do so? (1 Peter 1:13-18)
These questions highlight the serious biblical problems with the teaching
of Lordship Salvation. Can there really be such a thing as a “carnal
believer”? Yes! That is the whole implication of Romans 6:12. Sin can reign
in your body, but you don’t need to let it any longer! Do you still possess
a sin nature? Yes. How could sin reign in your body if you don’t have a sin
nature to reign? The invisible sin nature wants a visible body to work
through. It gives you impulses and temptations, saying to you, in essence,
“Why don’t you lie in this situation?” or “Why don’t you steal that?” or “It’s
fine if you covet that,” or “Why don’t you get proud about that and take
the credit?” It wants your brain, or your hands, or your feet to go along
with the temptations it offers you each day. The sin nature wants to utilize
your body to fulfill those objectives. So what keeps the sin nature off the
throne of your life practically? Promises to obey? No! Resolutions to do
better? No! Small group accountability friends? No! What does this passage
say? It is reckoning yourself daily to have died to the sin nature and to be
alive to God in Christ Jesus your Lord and then choosing to “present
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yourselves to God as being alive from the dead, and your members as
instruments of righteousness to God.”
Your New Choice—To Present Yourself Daily To God!
Key Word #3: PRESENT
There is a progression in Romans 6:11-13 that is very import- ant, namely,
that if you don’t “know” the truths of your identification with Christ and
freedom from the sin nature, and if you don’t “reckon” yourself dead to
sin and alive unto God in Christ Jesus your Lord, then why would you
“present” your members as instruments of righteousness to God?
Therefore, presenting or yielding yourself to the Lord is a logical out- come
of the fact that you have died to the sin nature. Being “alive from the dead”
reminds you that you are alive unto God in Christ Jesus our Lord, having
been raised with Christ. That is why the most logical thing for you to do in
light of your position in Christ is to daily reckon these facts to be true and
present or yield yourself to the Lord—to say in effect: “Lord, you have
every right to rule in my life. You have the right to run my life. You have
the right to dictate policy in my life. Lord, I want to live the way You want
me to live. I want to live on Your terms—not on my terms. I present myself
to You for that purpose.” And unlike that tyrannical military sergeant,
God’s will for you is always “good, perfect, and acceptable”; it cannot be
improved upon (Rom. 12:2)!
Key Word #4: OBEY
For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but
under grace. What then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but
under grace? Certainly not! Do you not know that to whom you present
yourselves slaves to obey, you are that one’s slaves whom you obey,
whether of sin leading to death, or of obedience leading to
righteousness? But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin,
yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doc trine to which you were
delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of
righteousness. I speak in human terms because of the weakness of your
flesh. For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness,
and of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your
members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. For when you were
slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. What fruit did
you have then in the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end
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of those things is death. 22 But now having been set free from sin, and
having become slaves of God, you have your fruit to holiness, and the
end, everlasting life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is
eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Rom. 6:14-23)
God wants you to know that you are not under the authority of the Law
for your sanctification but under the liberating authority of grace because
of your identity in Jesus Christ your Lord (6:14)! But this is not designed to
encourage even one act of sin now that you are free from the Law (6:15).
Yet it interesting to observe that “obey” is the fourth key word in this
passage, not the first. Legalism is prone to put obedience first, in order to
be spiritual, instead of viewing it as the result of walking by faith in yielded
dependence upon the Lord in light of your identification in Him.
For just as you presented your members as slaves of uncleanness, and
of lawlessness leading to more lawlessness, so now present your
members as slaves of righteousness for holiness. (Romans 6:19)
Keep in mind that the Christian life is a moment-by-moment walk of faith,
and the last moment’s victory by grace does not guarantee the next
moment’s triumph, or vice versa. At any given moment you can still yield
to the sin nature or yield to the Lord. So, is victory really available over the
sin nature and thus from the sins that originate and stem from it? Romans
6 answers with a resounding “YES” because of Jesus Christ and your
identification in Him. But does this mean that all of your problems will now
be resolved and godly living and fruitfulness for Christ will occur
automatically? Read on dear believer!
Your New Struggle—The Sin Nature Versus The New Nature!
Many believers in Christ begin their Christian lives with great joy and
gratitude that their sins are forgiven them because of the blood of Christ.
They now have great resolve in desiring to do God’s will. Their
expectations to serve the Lord are high, but their understanding of the
Word of God (such as Romans 6) and their sense of their own total
inadequacy is low. Because they want now to do God’s will they think that
they can and will (with God’s help).
At first everything is new and novel. But as time goes on they begin to
realize that some- thing is terribly wrong inside. As they start to grasp the
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will of God as set forth in His Word, they begin to realize how far short
they fall. So they try harder to perform and produce the Christian life, only
to fail more. If they are undiscerning, they may get persuaded to go down
the Hansel and Gretel trail of mysticism, trying to speak in tongues,
becoming slain in the Spirit, and so forth. Or perhaps they think becoming
busy in the church will be the answer, only to find that their busyness has
led to barrenness. And then there are some who just hang it up saying in
effect, “I can’t live this Christian life.” Their dis- appointment leads to
discouragement, and in some cases, to depression.
In other cases, they may turn again to the world to find happiness out of
the details of life only to come up empty on the dead-end streets of life.
What they don’t realize is that they are trying to live the Christian life in
their own wisdom or strength. What they don’t realize is that they have
been trying to live by law and not by grace in their daily walk or service to
the Lord (Rom. 6:14-7:13). They have been trying to pro- duce the
Christian life instead of learning to abide in Christ as their Life, by faith, so
that He could produce His fruit through them. Jesus Christ said, “Without
Me, you can do nothing” (John 15:5). You must come to realize every day
that you are totally inadequate in yourself to live the victorious Christian
life, just like you were totally inadequate to save yourself from sin’s penalty
so that you needed to trust in Christ to save you. This means that you must
yield to, and depend on, the Lord to produce spiritual fruit for you, in you,
and through you.
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from
ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. (2 Cor. 3:5)
Thus, every failure in your Christian life is allowed by God to show you that
either you did not believe God’s Word, or you yielded to your own will instead
of God’s, or you tried to crank out the Christian life by your own flesh or sheer
will- power. This was the stark reality that Paul came to experience after
he was saved, as expressed in Romans 7.
For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I
do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. If, then, I do what I will not
to do, I agree with the law that it is good. But now, it is no longer I who
do it, but sin that dwells in me. For I know that in me (that is, in my
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flesh) nothing good dwells; for to will is present with me, but how to
perform what is good I do not find. (Rom. 7:15-18)
Notice that the word “I” dominates these verses. It is found 24 times in
the last half of Romans 7 while the word “Spirit” is completely absent. This
is Paul as a new creation in Christ with a new nature attempting to live the
Christian life but failing miserably. While the new nature gives you godly
desires to do God’s will, it does not give you the power to glorify Jesus
Christ. What was Paul’s problem in Romans 7? He was try- ing to do God’s
will in his own strength (“I”) and was being defeated by the “sin [nature]
that dwells in me.” He was living by law and self-dependence. Yet he was
coming to know an essential truth through his failures—”that in me (that
is in my flesh) nothing good dwells.” Consider the following truths to be
learned from the latter half of Romans 7:
§
Can the inner conflict you experience as a believer be baffling
at times? (7:15a) YES!!!
For what I am doing, I do not understand. (Rom. 7:15)
You might be baffled, saying in effect, “I finally want to live for Jesus Christ.
So why am I defeated?”
§
Can the Christian life be lived by your sheer will- power and
strength? (7:15b) NO!!!
For what I am doing, I do not understand. For what I will to do, that I
do not practice; but what I hate, that I do. (Rom. 7:15)
The apostle Paul had great willpower prior to and after his salvation. Yet
he transparently admits here that he is failing miserably as his willpower
was not enough for spiritual victory.
§
Can you actually end up doing the opposite of what you desire
in your Christian walk? (7:15c-16) YES!!!
If, then, I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good.
(Rom. 7:16)
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This can be very discouraging and unfortunately some believers give up on
the Christian life right here. But praise the Lord that He does not give up
on us (Phil. 1:6; 2:13)!
§ What is the real source of your spiritual defeat? (7:17) THE
SIN NATURE!
But now, it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me. (Rom.
7:17)
The word “sin” has an article before it in the Greek referring to “the sin”
nature. Your problem is not ancestral residential demons like some false
spiritual warfare “experts” may tell you. Rather, your problem is a failure
to appropriate the victory that is available over the sin nature by faith.
§
Who is your greatest problem? (7:18a) YOU!!!
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells. (Rom.
7:18)
No, your greatest problem is not your spouse, nor your upbringing, nor
the environment, nor even the government. And though all of these may
and can affect us, your greatest problem is you and your failure to depend
upon the Lord to have victory and bear fruit for Jesus Christ. So stop
blaming others for your carnality and sinful decisions and start pinning the
tail on the right donkey. Paul is being very honest about himself here,
admitting that the enemy is within. This is why it’s so harmful to depend
on ourselves. We can’t rightly blame others for our carnality. We may have
been wronged or offended, but God holds us personally responsible for
our own decisions and attitudes.
Carnality may:
§ be impulsive or decisive.
§ be overt or covert.
§ be the result of weakness or willfulness.
§ have limited or great consequences.
§ happen with great zeal for the Lord in your own strength.
§ show itself in your mental attitudes, perspectives, or relationships.
But the root cause of all these issues is the sin nature.
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§
Does God change your flesh at salvation? (7:18b) NO!
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells. (Rom.
7:18)
Though God does not change your flesh and sin nature at salvation, we
learned in Romans 6 that He does change your relationship to it. Now it is
one thing to know that evil resides in your sin nature; it is another to
understand that no good dwells in you. Thus, it is utter folly for you to rely
on yourself to live the Christian life through your own willpower and
strength. Yet Paul was confused as he stated that the “will is present with
me” to do God’s will, because he possessed a new nature; but he was still
mystified, stating, “but how to perform what is good I do not find.” Notice,
it was still him who was trying to “perform what is good.” While we can
fall into the same thinking as Paul in Romans 7 at any time in our Christian
lives, God does want to get us out of the seventh of Romans and into the
eighth chapter where we can have spiritual victory over sin as we walk by
faith in Christ according to God’s Spirit.
§
Why do believers live in spiritual defeat? (7:18c-20)
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh) nothing good dwells; for to
will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find.
For the good that I will to do, I do not do; but the evil I will not to do,
that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do
it, but sin that dwells in me. (Rom. 7:18-20)
Sometimes spiritual defeat is due to ignorance (as they don’t know the
truths of Romans 6-8); it may be due to false teaching such as legalism or
mysticism (Col. 2:16-23); it may be due to willfulness (they just choose to
sin though knowing the truth); or it may be due to self-dependence as Paul
was guilty of here in Romans 7.
§
What will the believer experience when he seeks to live the
Christian life by law and seeks victory and fruit through his own
strength? (7:21-25) FAILURE AND FRUSTRATION!
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I find then a law, that evil is present with me, the one who wills to do
good. For I delight in the law of God according to the inward man. But
I see another law in my members, warring against the law of my mind,
and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin which is in my members.
O wretched man that I am! Who will deliver me from this body of death?
(Rom. 7:21-25)
Before Paul can move on from Romans 7 to Romans 8 in his experience,
he must come to the end of himself and his own efforts to perform the
will of God. Thus, he cries out in despair, O wretched man that I am! Who
will deliver me from this body of death? (Rom. 7:24)
Paul is now looking for deliverance from the sin nature apart from his own
strength and sheer will power.
§
While knowing the truth of Romans 6, and desiring to serve
Jesus Christ, how did Paul end up in Romans 7?
He defaulted into self-dependence instead of dependence upon the Lord!
In doing so, he focused on himself instead of Christ as His life and began
living by law instead of by grace.
God wants you to recognize and remember that the Chris- tian life is a
supernatural way of life, not lived by self-effort but through faith in Jesus
Christ by the power of the Holy Spirit. You must come to realize that the
Christian life is to be lived in active dependence upon the Lord resulting in
passive production on your part!
Paul, as a believer in Christ, finds himself confessing that he is wretched
and in need of deliverance apart from his own wisdom and will. What a
grand condition of heart to reach in our lives when we finally start hating
our chains instead of hugging them; when we finally quit trying to do great
things for God and start learning to faith-rest in Him to do His will through
us in the power of the Holy Spirit; when we finally start seeking to do
God’s will, God’s way, instead of trying to help Him out. Believer, God
does not need your wisdom or help. Jesus Christ is fully sufficient to live
the Christian life through you if you reckon yourself dead to sin and alive
to God in Him and present yourself to the Lord to be enabled by the Holy
Spirit to do it. Thus, Paul moves from self-occupation and self-effort, living
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by law (“I”), to crying out for divine deliverance. And his S.O.S. results in
him focusing again upon the Lord:
I thank God—through Jesus Christ our Lord! So then, with the mind I
myself serve the law of God, but with the flesh the law of sin. (Rom.
7:25)
Dear struggling believer, regardless of your past failures, God has brought
you to this point by His grace for such a time of practical victory as this!
Don’t believe what some popular radio Bible teachers tell you, namely that
Romans 7 is the nor- mal Christian life. It may unfortunately be the average
Chris- tian’s life but it was never designed to be the normal Christian life.
Instead, Romans 8 is to be the normal Christian life. So read on!
Your New Power Source To Live The Christian Life
—The Holy Spirit!
There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ
Jesus. (Rom. 8:1)
Paul did not have to wait until he went to Heaven to enjoy victory over
the sin nature; it was available “now.” The word, “condemned,” does not
refer to being condemned to Hell as if this was an eternal security verse
(though you will never be condemned once you have been saved,
according to John 5:24). The nuance of “condemned” in this context refers
to not being condemned to a life of slavery to the flesh, which is the
essential truth of Romans 6. As Paul focused once again on Jesus Christ,
his thinking was flooded with the wonderful truth that he died to the sin
nature and was now alive to God in Christ his Lord. But this time, there
was a needed addition—a sense of his own inadequacy and his vital need
for the power of the Holy Spirit! Why was Paul not condemned to live a
life of either legalistic or licentious servitude to his flesh?
For the law [principle] of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free
from the law of sin and death. For what the law could not do in that it was
weak through the flesh, God did by sending His own Son in the likeness of
sinful flesh, on ac- count of sin: He condemned sin in the flesh, that the
righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk
according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Rom. 8:2-4)
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Yes, dear believer, God condemned the sin nature’s right to rule in your
body. But God did not do this so that you could now successfully live the
Christian life by your own strength or sheer willpower and selfdependence but through the liberating power of the Holy Spirit. This is
critical to understand and to believe daily. To live a life of love towards
God and others (“the righteous requirement of the Law”) is not fulfilled
“by” us but “in” us when we walk according to the Spirit—a walk of faith
in Christ by His grace through the power of the Holy Spirit.
You were indwelt (Rom. 8:9), sealed (Eph. 1:13), baptized (1 Cor. 12:13),
regenerated (John 3:3-7), and gifted (Rom. 12:4- 7) by the Holy Spirit the
very moment you were born again and blessed with all spiritual blessings
in Christ. The Holy Spirit now wants to minister to you each day by:
§ teaching you the Word of God (1 Cor. 2:12-13)
§ enabling you to have victory over the flesh (Gal. 5:16)
§ giving you power to live the Christian life (Eph. 5:18-20)
§ producing spiritual fruit in your life (Gal. 5:22-23)
I say then: Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh.
(Gal. 5:16)
The Holy Spirit’s desire is to now teach you God’s Word and occupy your
thinking with Jesus Christ and His Word so that you can “abide” in faith
and fellowship with Him, for Jesus said to his believing disciples that
“without Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). Thus, the apostle Paul says
that you now have the potential for either a wonderful or a miserable life,
depending on how you are responding:
For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things
of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit, [set their minds
on] the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be
spiritually minded is life and peace. (Rom. 8:5-6)
What are some of the “things” of the flesh that you can, but should not,
set your mind on?
§ a focus on SELF
§ occupation with human viewpoint
§ living for the temporary
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§
§
§
desiring the world’s purposes and pursuits
operating out of pride and self-dependence
living as if you are still “in Adam”
What are some the “things” of the Spirit?
§ a focus on Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:21)
§ occupation with divine viewpoint (Rom. 12:2)
§ living in light of eternity (2 Cor. 4:16-18)
§ desiring the Lord’s purposes and pursuits (Rom. 12:2)
§ operating out of humility and Christ-dependence (grace thinking –
Rom. 12:3)
§ living in view of your identity in Christ (Romans 6 & 8; Col. 3:1-4)
As a believer, you can choose to walk according to the norms and
standards of the flesh and set your mind on the pursuits, pleasures, and
perspectives of this ungodly world system and live a death-like existence
out of fellowship with your Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ. Or,
in contrast, you can choose to live according to the Holy Spirit and set your
mind on the purposes, principles, and promises of the Word of God and
enjoy life and peace daily. Which will it be?
The Christian Life Is a Walk of Faith in Christ as Your Life through
the Empowerment of the Holy Spirit
What does the word “walk” remind us of and what is the only thing
consistent with God’s grace? It is a step-by-step walk of faith in Jesus Christ
and the provisions and promises of His Word.
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ
lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the
Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. (Gal. 2:20)
As you have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in Him,
rooted and built up in Him and established in the faith, as you have been
taught, abounding in it with thanksgiving. (Col. 2:6-7)
Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless
it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the
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vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears
much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing.” (John 15:4-5)
Thus says the LORD: Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes
flesh his strength, whose heart departs from the LORD. For he shall be
like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see when good comes, but shall
inhabit the parched places in the wilderness, in a salt land which is not
inhabited. Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, and whose hope
is the LORD. For he shall be like a tree planted by the waters, which
spreads out its roots by the river, and will not fear when heat comes;
but its leaf will be green, and will not be anxious in the year of drought,
nor will cease from yielding fruit. The heart is deceitful above all things,
and desperately wicked; who can know it? (Jer. 17:5-9)
For we walk by faith, not by sight. (2 Cor. 5:7)
But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to
God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who
diligently seek Him. (Heb. 11:6)
Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think of anything as being from
ourselves, but our sufficiency is from God. (2 Cor. 3:5)
Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing,
that you may abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. (Rom.
15:13)
Dear believer, is there victory available over sin and the pow- er necessary
to be fruitful for Jesus Christ? Yes, but only by God’s grace!
Your New Appeal By God—Stop Being Conformed To This World
But Be Transformed To Do His Will!
When we trusted in Christ as Savior, we were not only co-crucified, coburied, and co-resurrected spiritually in Christ, but God “made us sit
together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Eph. 2:6). You are now a
member of the Universal Church or Body of Christ made up of all believers
in Christ from the Day of Pentecost till the Rapture of the Church. Jesus
Christ ascended into Heaven for a specific purpose and gave you a specific
promise:
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In My Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have
told you. I go to pre- pare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place
for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am,
there you may be also. (John 14:2-3)
Where did Jesus Christ go? He died for your sins, rose again, and ascended
into Heaven (Acts 1:11). He presently has gone to the Father’s house to
prepare a place for you in Heaven. You are now a member of His Heavenly
bride—the Church— and one day Jesus Christ will come again. God now
wants to develop in you a heavenly mindset so that you can live an earthly
existence of spiritual significance for His honor and glory. Thus, the Word
of God reminds you that:
§ You have a Heavenly destiny and home which you should look
forward to (John 14:1-3)
§ You have been blessed with all spiritual blessings in the heavenly
places in Christ (Eph. 1:3)
§ You have a heavenly inheritance that can never be lost or forfeited
(1 Peter 1:3-5) which should cause you to view yourself as a
stranger and pilgrim on earth (1 Peter 2:11)
§ You have a heavenly citizenship which should cause you to eagerly
wait for the Savior to return (Phil. 3:20-21)
§ You have a heavenly calling in Christ that you should now walk
consistent with (Eph. 2:6; 4:1)
Thus, it should not surprise you to read,
If then you were raised with Christ, seek those things which are above,
where Christ is, sitting at the right hand of God. Set your mind on things
above, not on things on the earth. For you died, and your life is hidden
with Christ in God. When Christ who is our life appears, then you also
will appear with Him in glory. (Col. 3:1-4)
Because you are now in union with the Heavenly Christ, God now wants
to develop in you a divine viewpoint and heavenly perspective of life. This
is in stark contrast to the huge doses of human viewpoint and earthly
perspective that have dominated your thinking over the years prior to your
salvation. But notice how God appeals to you on the basis of His grace or
mercies to accomplish this:
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I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you
present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is
your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be
transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is
that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. (Rom. 12:1-2)
The appeal to a transformed life is set forth earlier in Romans in light of
the mercies of God and the grace of God:
§ in justifying you and saving you from the penalty of sin (Rom. 3:2131)
§ in giving you peace with God (Rom. 5:1)
§ in providing you access into God’s grace (Rom. 5:2)
§ in granting you assurance of the glory of God (Rom. 5:2)
§ in having divine purpose to your trials (Rom. 5:3-4)
§ in placing the love of God into your heart (Rom. 5:5)
§ in giving you the Holy Spirit (Rom. 5:5)
§ in Christ having died for you (Rom. 5:6, 8)
§ in promising you salvation from God’s future wrath (Rom. 5:9)
§ in reconciling you to God through Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:10)
§ in guaranteeing your future salvation through Christ’s everlasting
life (Rom. 5:11)
§ in translating you from being “in Adam” to being “in Christ” (Rom.
5:15-16)
§ in receiving an abundance of God’s grace (Rom. 5:17)
§ in receiving the gift of righteousness (Rom. 5:17)
§ in being now dead to sin and alive to God in Christ
your Lord (Rom. 6:1-11)
§
§
§
§
§
in being under grace instead of law (Rom. 6:14)
in not being condemned to a life of slavery to your sin nature
(Rom. 8:1)
in possessing the Holy Spirit to enable and lead you (Rom. 8:2-16)
in promising you that “all things work together for good” (Rom.
8:28)
in guaranteeing your future glorification as if it was already
accomplished (Rom. 8:30)
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§
in guaranteeing that no one and nothing will ever separate you
from God’s love (Rom. 8:35-39)
God now appeals to you again (like He did in Romans 6:13) to “present
your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your
reasonable service” (Rom. 12:1). The word “reasonable” comes from the
Greek word for “logical.” When you add up the divine facts, it is reasonable
and logical for you now to present yourself to the Lord daily to do His will
and not your own any longer. And with an attitude that is yielded to Him
and dependent upon Him moment by moment, God is willing to bring you
through the process of transforming your thinking over time from human
viewpoint and the stan- dards of the world to divine viewpoint and God’s
standards in order to do God’s will. Keep in mind that just like trusting in
Jesus Christ as your Savior was the best decision you have ever made with
eternal benefits, now letting God transform your thinking through His
Word and responding by faith will allow you to do God’s good, acceptable,
and perfect will. It doesn’t get better than that!
This is how you can enjoy the spiritual transformation that is available to
you through your identification with Christ and the Holy Spirit’s power in
your Christian life. Are you willing to let the Lord do just that? It is your
reasonable response and service!
But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the
Lord, are being trans- formed into the same image from glory to glory,
just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (2 Cor. 3:18)
Finally, let me encourage you to read Romans 6-8 over and over to let its
truths sink in, and even reread this booklet if nec- essary, since these truths
do not come naturally to our think- ing and the Holy Spirit must illuminate
our understanding to grasp and appropriate this vital truth in our lives.
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The Guarantee Of God’s
Keeping Power
(Scripture Portion: 1 Peter 1: 1-12)
There is surely no more comforting truth in the whole Bible than that God
guarantees to keep His children from the present moment of time until
they arrive safely in Heaven. How comforting this is to the new convert –
look up Jude 24; to those in middle life – look up 2 Timothy 1:12; and to
those nearing the journey’s end – look up 2 Timothy 4:18! There was one
special petition that our Lord Jesus offered in His great intercessory prayer
– look up John 17:15. Peter gives the same emphasis to this glorious truth
in 1 Peter 1:5. It is important, of course, to study the setting and context
of the words, and to see what verses 2 to 4 say in introducing verse 5.
They tell us that as believers we are chosen, sanctified, cleansed, born
again and bound for Heaven! The Lord is not only keeping Heaven for us,
but He is keeping us for Heaven; so His keeping power operates on both
sides of the veil. If we belong to the Lord, Heaven is certain -–look up
John 10:28; Philippians 1:6; Hebrews 13:5-6, and compare Colossians 3:3;
but what about all the intervening days, months and perhaps years before
we actually get to Heaven? How can we be kept by the power of God day
by day? Notice the following three truths:
THE POWER BY WHICH GOD KEEPS US IS DESCRIBED AS
‘GOD’S POWER’.
The Greek here is very significant, for it literally reads, ‘kept in the power
of God’. It is a military metaphor, and the thought is of a garrison guarded
by soldiers – look up and compare 2 Corinthians 11:32. See, then, what a
tremendous power is available to keep us all along our earthly pathway. It
is nothing less than ‘the power of God’. Think of His power in creation, in
history, in providence, in redemption and in His final intention. Surely the
same God of power can keep you? His power is absolutely sufficient, and
He guarantees to make it available to you and operative in your life until
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the end of your earthly pilgrimage, when you will no longer need to be
through faith ‘shielded by God’s power’, for then, faith will be lost in sight.
THE EXTENT TO WHICH GOD KEEPS US COVERS EVERY
CIRCUMSTANCE OF OUR EARTHLY LIFE.
How, in fact, do we need to be kept by the power of God? Here are some
suggestions:
1. We need to be kept from the power of the flesh within. We need to
be kept from indwelling sin, for we still possess the old Adamic
nature and this nature is unchanged, powerful and very assertive –
look up Romans 8:2.
2. We need to be kept from the power of the world without. We are in
danger of being allured by its attractions and its evils – look up 1
John 2:15-17.
3. We need to be kept from the power of the Devil around us. He is a
powerful foe and always seeking our downfall. Sometimes he
comes as an angel – look up 2 Corinthians 11:14; and sometimes
as a roaring lion – look up 1 Peter 5:8.
4. Our mind needs to be kept in peace. Our mind needs fortifying and
freeing from doubt, despair, depression, discouragement…look up
Isaiah 26:3.
5. Our heart needs to be kept. It needs to be kept free from fear –
look up Isaiah 41:10; from worry – look up Philippians 4:7; and
from anxiety – look up Psalm 37:1.
6. Our will needs keeping. It is powerless to do the thing that pleases
God unless the Lord takes control of it – look up Philippians 2:13.
7. Our whole spirit, soul and body needs to experience the keeping
power of God. Our personality needs to be kept – look up 1
Thessalonians 5:23.
These are the ways in which we need keeping and in which God offers to
keep us. But how can we experience His keeping power? Suppose we are
tempted to lie, to think unclean thoughts or succumb to doubt or despair
– how can we experience and enjoy the keeping power of God at such
times?
THE CHANNEL THROUGH WHICH GOD KEEPS US IS THAT
OF OUR FAITH IN HIM.
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As Peter says, we ‘who through faith are shielded by God’s power…’ We
are ‘guarded by the power of God operating through our faith.’ In every
experience of life God offers us His keeping power; faith receives this, and
as we receive, so we are kept. All we have to do is to trust Him, to receive
what He offers and to lean on Him, for the Lord says, ‘Trust in Me, and I’ll
keep you. As you trust I’ll support and sustain you. When tempted to sin,
to fear or to despair, just look to Me and trust in Me, and you will be
“shielded by God’s power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to
be revealed in the last time”!’
Now, here is one final question: How does the Lord keep us when we
put our trust in Him? He keeps us in two ways:
1. By the indwelling presence of the Holy Spirit within. Every Christian
is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who is not only with the Christian, but
is actually inside the Christian. He is there to keep the Christian in
every situation of temptation, testing and trial, and to give
deliverance from everything that is contrary to the will of God –
look up the following references: John 14:16-17; Romans 5:18; 1
Corinthians 6:19. But the Lord also keeps us:
2. By the angels without. This is a wonderful truth that many
Christians do not appreciate, namely, that God’s ministering spirits
have been entrusted with the responsibility of watching over God’s
children – look up and compare Psalm 91:11-12; Hebrews 1:13-14.
Thus, the Lord says, ‘I want to keep you. I guarantee to keep you. It is
My purpose to keep you, and your part is simply to put your trust in Me.
As you do this you will be “shielded by God’s power until the coming of
the salvation that is to be revealed in the last time.”’ Now read Psalm 121,
and conclude this study by lifting up your heart in praise and thanksgiving
to God in the words of Jude 24 and 25.
Kept by the power of God,
Kept by the power of God,
Day by day, come what may
Kept by the power of God!
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