2020-08-07
Good Morning Dear Ones,
The definition of sin is going against God’s will. Paul was brave enough in RO 6 to speak of this as “being set free from sin and becoming slaves to righteousness.” The word “slave” is incendiary in today’s world, and for justifiable reasons. However, in this context it’s the most descriptive and best word, because we who believe in Jesus Christ choose to be “slaves to righteousness” [RO 6: 18] and the Holy Spirit makes that possible. This does not mean smug and wholly self-content, because that is not making the Lord Jesus our Paradigm. This kind of slavery sets us free from the negative consequences that come to people who reject the Holy Spirit’s influence on us. We gain eternal life when we become “slaves to righteousness” and live right with God. Read these words to see into God’s motives. IS 48: 17-19, “The holy God of Israel, the Lord Who saves you says, ‘I am the Lord your God, the One Who wants to teach you for your own good and direct you in the way you should go. If only you had listened to My commands! Then blessings would have flowed for you, like a stream that never goes dry. Victory would have come to you like waves that roll on to the shore. Your descendants would be as numerous as grains of sand, and I would have made sure they were never destroyed.’” JER 29: 11-13 also gives us a peek at God’s motives. “I alone know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you -not bring disaster, plans for the future for which you hope. Then, you will call to Me, you will come and pray to Me, and I will answer you. You will seek Me, and you will find Me, because you will seek Me with all your heart.” One last example comes in REV 22: 12 when Jesus tells us “He will come soon with His rewards, rewards that will be given to each of us according to what we have done.”
There is a difference between what the Law gave mankind, using Moses as a liaison between God and man and what Christ gave us directly with no need for a liaison [GA 2: 20]. The Law teaches us what is right with God and what isn’t, but we derive eternal salvation, forgiveness, and justification from belief in Christ and His Atonement on the cross. With faith in Christ, it is no longer we who live, but Christ within us who lives. The Judaizers tried to get believers in Christ to return to the legalism of traditional Judaism aroused a controversy that needed settling. When Paul was teaching about Christ, they and the Antinomians (who believed in grace without license) were parts of the crowds that heard him. While they made it difficult for Paul, the Holy Spirit helped him to overcome this difficulty. In addition, previously there had been a controversy with Peter about who should do the teaching. That issue was finally settled when Peter, James, and John agreed to remain in Jerusalem and focus their ministry on the Jews, while Paul and Barnabas would be teaching the Gentiles. Where there is confusion, God makes His will known by the Holy Spirit, and He clarifies and conveys God’s will. This discussion ended with all of them wishing all the others well. To be sure, Paul was asked where he got the teaching he was speaking. His answer is found in GA 2: 16-17. Paul then would tell the story of his remarkable conversion on the road to Damascus. Then, he went for three years to the desert of Arabia, where Christ Himself gave him the Gospel he would convey. “God knows that I am not lying,” Paul exclaims in GA 2: 29. Paul, who was certainly not charismatic, good-looking, or the world’s best speaker, had a message so powerful that most who heard it began to believe in Christ anyway. RO 6: 6-9, “And we know that our old being was being put to death with Christ on His cross, in order that the power of the sinful self may be destroyed, so that we should no longer be slaves to sin. By His blood we are put right with God, how much more will we be saved by Him from God’s anger!” These were some downright important statements that demanded inner examination and thought then as now. Those that believe in Christ find themselves dead to sin and alive in Christ and in fellowship with God [RO 6: 10-11]. Yes, there is a huge difference between being righteous and being self-righteous.
PRAYER: O Lord, we are humbled by You and the powerful teaching You have for us. Those of us who have believed in and proclaimed Jesus Christ are awed by the Spirit’s power to breathe life in us without the desire to sin, even though we still are sinners. We have the capacity to sin, but not the desire to sin. We come before You in earnest reverence to listen to whatever the Holy Spirit teaches us and to accept the advice He gives us, when we reach a crossroads. We gain the strength needed from the Holy Spirit when criticized for our beliefs and sometimes disrespected by what our detractors say. It is You, Who gives us this strength, and we offer You thanks and praise for it. We acknowledge Your supernatural power to bring good into a fallen world. You have promised never to abandon us and that nothing can cause You not to love us. We live and gain inner peace, knowing You are here for us whenever we turn to You in prayer. We notice how Your teaching helps us avoid as much trouble as possible. We are human and imperfect, yet You remain a constant presence in our lives. Please bring the healing power of the Holy Spirit to those ill and dying from Covid 19. We ask You to continue that blessing and to bring other blessings into our lives, in the holy/mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen.
NEXT WEEK: I’m commanded by the Holy Spirit to discuss ten characteristics of the crucified life, i.e. a life of being slaves to righteousness. Allowing Christ to live within us often means having to make hard decisions. We are facing exceptionally hard times, perhaps the hardest in my 76- year life on earth, right now. There is a pandemic of Covid 19 virus attacks with many deaths, as well as civil unrest due to police brutality that has led to the unjustified deaths of several innocent black men. Is this the beginning of the judgments of Revelation, or just a preview of it? I can’t answer! I find myself remaining self-quarantined in my home for going on the third month with no end in sight. Like most people in the world of any race, language, or creed in sympathy with those who filled the streets of cities all over the world marching, I am angry about these deaths that came to light and also want to effect change of these terrible situations. But, the demonstrators took to the streets without face-masks and in huge crowds marching. Foolish young people crowded the beaches, as they were impatient with having to stay home. Now, several weeks later, the death rate in our country is climbing wickedly quickly. These deaths are not from the useless violence that accompanied these marches in some of the venues, but instead, from Covid 19 that people contracted, who refused to stay home or wear face masks. Is this God speaking or His will? Of course not! God hasn’t left us or stopped talking to us. But there are times when He does allow the devil to have his way when it is inevitable-to teach us what is right and what is wrong. The Holy Spirit tells me that I can do no good, if I die of the virus. To me, that makes sense, so instead, I pray that my decision to stay home was the right one with God. And, I write my opinion to my readers in the hope that it will do some good and get people thinking. Praise to God for giving us the ability to make right choices and take courageously wise actions!
Grace Be With You Always,
Lynn
JS 24: 15
© Lynn Johnson 2020. All Rights Reserved.
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