- araratchurch
- May 23, 2023
- 2 min read
In preparation for our discussion over the next five days, please carefully read and meditate on the following scriptures:
““And now I am bound by the Spirit to go to Jerusalem. I don’t know what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit tells me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead. But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God. I know that false teachers, like vicious wolves, will come in among you after I leave, not sparing the flock. Even some men from your own group will rise up and distort the truth in order to draw a following. Watch out! Remember the three years I was with you—my constant watch and care over you night and day, and my many tears for you.”
Acts 20:22-24, 29-31 NLT
“My son, pay attention to my wisdom; listen carefully to my wise counsel. Then you will show discernment, and your lips will express what you’ve learned. For the lips of an immoral woman are as sweet as honey, and her mouth is smoother than oil. But in the end she is as bitter as poison, as dangerous as a double-edged sword. Her feet go down to death; her steps lead straight to the grave. For she cares nothing about the path to life. She staggers down a crooked trail and doesn’t realize it. So now, my sons, listen to me. Never stray from what I am about to say: Stay away from her! Don’t go near the door of her house!”
Proverbs 5:1-8 NLT
“And many will turn away from me and betray and hate each other. And many false prophets will appear and will deceive many people. Sin will be rampant everywhere, and the love of many will grow cold. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.”
Matthew 24:10-13 NLT
Yes, there are many things that can be used by the enemy to entice us away from our obedience to Christ. But, we must never let that happen! We will begin looking into this tomorrow.
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- May 21, 2023
- 3 min read
“The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you. Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”
Romans 8:11-14 NLT
Sadly, the wonderful message of the mediating power of Jesus Christ has been twisted by some as providing a “get out of jail free card” for professing Christians who continue in a life of sin.
“My dear children, I am writing this to you so that you will not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate who pleads our case before the Father. He is Jesus Christ, the one who is truly righteous. He himself is the sacrifice that atones for our sins—and not only our sins but the sins of all the world. And we can be sure that we know him if we obey his commandments. If someone claims, “I know God,” but doesn’t obey God’s commandments, that person is a liar and is not living in the truth. But those who obey God’s word truly show how completely they love him. That is how we know we are living in him. Those who say they live in God should live their lives as Jesus did.”
1 John 2:1-6 NLT
It is wonderful to know that the Lord has done for us what we could not do for ourselves, becoming our Way back to be connected to the dynamo of God.
Also, it is imperative we know that along with this opportunity, along with the access brought through our redemption, we have the responsibility to come under the yoke of Jesus Christ: the Holy Spirit of God, and follow Him.
“Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls.”
Matthew 11:29 NLT
The ongoing redemption from our Intercessor comes as we walk along with Him by way of the Holy Spirit.
“This is the message we heard from Jesus and now declare to you: God is light, and there is no darkness in him at all. So we are lying if we say we have fellowship with God but go on living in spiritual darkness; we are not practicing the truth. But if we are living in the light, as God is in the light, then we have fellowship with each other, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, cleanses us from all sin.”
1 John 1:5-7 NLT
In our opening scripture we see reiterated the truth we discussed yesterday: We are free from the power of sin, we no longer have to follow the desires of the sin nature.
But, we also see that we must—through the power of the Holy Spirit—kill the desires of the flesh. The Lord will not do this FOR us. Rather, He gave us His spirit through which WE must put the “old man” to death.
Indeed we are told that it is through being led by the Spirit of God that we become God’s children.
I thank God for our wonderful Intercessor and the fact that He has made access to His Spirit available. After all, it is only through His Spirit that we can attain that for which He died to provide for us!
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!
- araratchurch
- May 21, 2023
- 3 min read
“Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace. Well then, since God’s grace has set us free from the law, does that mean we can go on sinning? Of course not! Don’t you realize that you become the slave of whatever you choose to obey? You can be a slave to sin, which leads to death, or you can choose to obey God, which leads to righteous living. Thank God! Once you were slaves of sin, but now you wholeheartedly obey this teaching we have given you. Now you are free from your slavery to sin, and you have become slaves to righteous living.”
Romans 6:14-18 NLT
The sin nature makes it impossible to say no to sin and yes to righteous living. The requirements of the Law served best to point out our complete failure in terms of being able to do all those things that lead to righteousness.
Additionally, even if we had been able to meet the requirements of the Law, doing so, would not have changed the inner person; the Law would never have been written on the heart of man. Carrying out the Law in our behavior would not have broken the inner draw to do what is not right.
“I have discovered this principle of life—that when I want to do what is right, I inevitably do what is wrong. I love God’s law with all my heart. But there is another power within me that is at war with my mind. This power makes me a slave to the sin that is still within me. Oh, what a miserable person I am! Who will free me from this life that is dominated by sin and death?”
Romans 7:21-24 NLT
Here Paul poignantly describes the miserable state of the person who cannot rule over the sin nature. In such a predicament, the desire to do what is right is continually trumped by the urge to do what is not right: the dictates of the flesh.
We needed a savior to do what we could not do for ourselves.
“The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins. He did this so that the just requirement of the law would be fully satisfied for us, who no longer follow our sinful nature but instead follow the Spirit.”
Romans 8:3-4 NLT
God through Jesus Christ, brought a way to escape the irresistible pull of the sin nature.
Jesus became the perfect sacrifice for our sin. He died our death so that we can live His life.
Being declared in right standing before God gives the opportunity for us to reject sin and obey righteousness.
In our opening scripture we find Paul instructing that we no longer have to obey the sin nature. The dominion sin had exerted over us was broken through Jesus’ perfect life and His sacrifice.
I leave you with some of the lyrics of an old gospel hymn:
Praise God I’m free; I’ve been set free by the grace of God.
I’m free; no more the paths of sin I’ll trod.
I’m free; the blood has cleansed every sinful stain.
I’m free; I’m free again
Peace to you.
Jesus is coming! Get ready for Him!