By: John Mitchell
In our carnal mind, we believe it is best to live our life by what our feelings and emotions, tell us to do. Then, soon after we follow our feelings and emotions, unexpected problems and difficulties happen. Then we say, “Truly, I emotionally felt like this was the right path for me. I just couldn’t agree with some of the ways that God’s word in the Bible say I should live my life. There is no way, or plan for us, better thank God’s way, and plan for us!!! “There is no wisdom or understanding or counsel against the Lord.” (Proverbs 21:30) “With whom did He take counsel, and who instructed Him, and taught Him in the path of justice? “Who taught Him knowledge and showed Him understanding? (Isaiah 40:14) “For the wisdom of the world is foolishness with God. For it is written, “He catches the wise in their own craftiness.” And again, “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise, that they are futile.” (1 Corinthians 3:19,20) When we are not a Christian, we follow our feelings, and the ways of the world. When we are baptized for the remission of our sins, and become a Christian, our “Old Man” who was a slave to sin, and to the ways of the world, is buried in the waters of baptism, with all the sins of our past. Acts 2:38 tells us about baptism “Then Peter said to them, “Repent and let everyone of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of your sins;” We then have a new start, following God’s plan for our lives. We are a new man, with a spiritual mind, a new creation in Christ Jesus. Because our sins have been washed away in the waters of baptism, we are now a sinless and righteous new man. We are now saved. Now we can turn from our carnal sinful ways of the world, to the spiritually righteous ways of God. It is up to us, for each of us to work out our own salvation. “…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.” (Philippians 2:12b) The word of God tells us, “That you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man, which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness.” (Ephesians 4:22-24) That is so amazing to me, that after we are baptized, we are righteous and holy in the eyes of God!!! After baptism, it is our duty, as a condition of our salvation, to stay righteous and holy. Only Jesus is perfect, so only Jesus can live a perfect sinless life, which He did, for us. So, we, being imperfect, will fall into sin. When we do fall into sin, we need to ask God to forgive us from our sin. (1 John 1:8-10, through 2:1-6) helps us to understand this. “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. If we say we have not sinned, we make Him a liar, and His word is not in us. 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. And He Himself, is the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only but also for the whole world. Now by this we know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments. He who says, I know Him, and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps His word, truly the love of God is perfected in him. By this we know that we are in Him. He who says he abides in Him ought himself also to walk just as He walked.” Jesus walked a sinless life to the end of His life here on earth. We Christians are commanded to walk a righteous life to the end of our life here on earth. We know that our earthly life will not be without sin, but we are not walking in a life of continually being in sin. We don’t live in sin. When we do unfortunately fall into sin, we go to God and repent, and ask, in Jesus’ name, for forgiveness from our sin. (Romans 8:1) “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.” To be able to receive our promised salvation we must love God, and keep His commandments to the end of our life on earth. The more we read God’s holy inspired words of scripture in the Bible, the more we will know and love God. It is because of our love for God, that we, in love, obey God and do all that God requires of us, in order to be with Him in heaven in happiness forever.
“He who endures to the end shall be saved.” Is in, (Matthew 10:22, and 24:13, and in Mark 13:13) Also (Colossians 1:21-23) tells us that we are not, “Once saved, always saved”. “And you, who were once alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight, if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which, I, Paul became a minister.” There is no example anywhere in the Bible of anyone ever just merely saying, a sinner’s prayer, and then claiming that they are guaranteed salvation, regardless of how they live the rest of their life. (Romans 10:9) is used, out of context, as a sinner’s prayer. “That if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.” And it continues with verse 10, “For with the heart one believes unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation.” We have to believe unto, until we are living righteously, and confess, and preach the gospel unto our death, as part of the conditions of us being blessed, with the reward of salvation. We need to obey God’s commandment to us, to preach the gospel to the people who are lost, like we were lost before we became a Christian. This is in (Mark 16:15-16). “And He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned.” I will close with, (James 1:12) that tells us, “Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.”