Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him. Psalm 128:1
Dear Lord Jesus,
We know that faith obeys because faith believes God is wise; that God is kind; that God is all-knowing; that God is loving; that God’s plan is undoubtedly better than ours. Faith also believes that God is utterly terrifying to stand before if having rebelled against Him – if having chosen to serve self in this life, over Christ. Lord, may you give us the grace through our faith to live upright, balanced lives in line with the Truth. May we abide in Your Word through our faith, and so prove to be Your true disciples. Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Be not wise in your own eyes, fear the LORD, and turn away from evil (Proverbs 3:5-7).
True Saving Faith Creates Obedience of the Heart
Faith and repentance are two sides of the same coin. What Adam and Eve did in the garden was the opposite of repentance. They changed their mind about God, turned away from Him, turned to themselves, and chose their own path because they didn’t trust His Word. They disobeyed God. They thought they knew better than God.
The very first act of disobedience this world ever knew, stemmed from doubting God’s Word by judging God’s righteousness and authority; by doubting the goodness and kindness of God and His will for their lives. Did God really say, `You must not eat from any tree in the garden? (Genesis 3:1). We must believe God means exactly what He says through His Word. The God of the Bible is not a hidden God of mystery, and the knowledge of God is not a mystical experience, an inner knowing, or a vision of the divine. The real God of the universe makes Himself clearly known in Scripture to those who desire to know Him, and His commandments are loud and clear to those who desire to obey Him. Blessed are those who truly hear Him. Cursed are those who walk in darkness; in their own pride and ignorance through their lack of knowledge and desire to know the one true God. They are darkened in their understanding, alienated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to their hardness of heart (Ephesians 4:18).
God's Word Never Changes
The interpretation of the Bible does not progress along with this ever-changing culture but remains fixed in truth and infallibility from the beginning of time. As this becomes even more prevalent in this generation, good is considered evil, and evil is considered moral and righteous. Woe to those who call evil good and good evil, who put darkness for light and light for darkness, who put bitter for sweet and sweet for bitter (Isaiah 5:20). People’s glory is now in their shame where they’re even praised and celebrated for their sinful deeds, pride and self-righteousness, and grave offenses to God through godless media.
And those who stand strong on convictions are now considered narrow-minded, uncompassionate, and even hateful. Yet, the Word of God is all about convictions; it’s about right and wrong. It’s about the Truth. It is the Truth. We must hold fast to what never changes, and that’s God and His Word. True saving faith takes hold of what God says, it obeys Him, and it perseveres until the very end. The true Christian life is a battle. Our faith is proven true through our obedience to His Word as we fight against the flesh daily. Taking up our crosses and denying self for the fleeting time we have here on earth - is sure worth the gift of eternal life. (Check out “Pilgrim’s Progress” by John Bunyan)
The Bible is not for us to cherry pick what we’d like to obey. The Word of God is not open to interpretation based on our own ignorance, personal preferences, standards, relative truths, or the current culture we live in. The Bible is not “What does this passage mean to me in 2021?” The Bible is “What does this passage mean so that I may lovingly obey God in His Word and so prove to be His disciple? (Because I believe in Him)!” “The Word of God is not a puzzle. It does not speak in riddles. It is not cryptic or mysterious. It is plain and obvious to those who have spiritual ears to hear.” - John MacArthur
True Disciples Abide in His Word
True saving faith is obedience to God’s command to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ as the Son of God, and our faith is proven when we truly submit to Him as Lord. Although we will often stumble, we will continue to war against our flesh and grow in holiness over time (through sanctification) because faith obeys through the power of the Holy Spirit that has been poured into our hearts. Obedience means we hunger and thirst for righteousness because the Spirit is in us, leading us to desire that. Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled (Matthew 5:5). Obedience means we desire that which is holy through our conviction of the Truth. We know the only thing that can save us from being slaves to sin is becoming slaves of righteousness – and this is done by taking hold of the Truth of Jesus Christ.
Jesus said, If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you shall know the truth, and the truth shall set you free (John 8:31-32). If you abide in His word that means you live in His Word through the power of the Holy Spirit that is at work within you. You stay in His Word, even though you may fall at times. You don’t just read it, hear it, and obey it willy-nilly according to your own wisdom. Instead, you trust God's divine wisdom and believe exactly what He says in His Word. You live it because You love it because your faith is so very true; it’s saving faith. Many think they can live willy-nilly and be saved by their own definitions of faith. They are only toying with their own eternal souls without knowing it. I warn you out of love and truth - Heaven will not be waiting for those who choose to take the broad, easy, and comfortable road in this life; due to their own pride, ignorance, self-deceit, or believing the lie of Satan that there’s an overflow of grace which allows for ongoing, unrepentant sin. Jesus said, "but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish" (Luke 13:3). You are either a slave to sin or a slave to Christ. You must choose. No one can serve two masters, for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other (Matthew 6:24).
The Word of God should be what permeates your life, and I pray that light may shine brightly wherever you go for all to see. If you abide in His word, you are truly His disciple, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free…
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. 2 Corinthians 13:14
Love, Jenna
“It has been supposed by many ill-instructed people that the doctrine of justification by faith is opposed to the teaching of good works, or obedience. There is no truth in the supposition. We preach the obedience of faith. Faith is the fountain, the foundation, and the fosterer of obedience. Men obey not God till’ they believe him. We preach faith in order that men may be brought to obedience. To disbelieve is to disobey. We do not give a secondary place to obedience, as some suppose. We look upon the obedience of the heart to the will of God as salvation. Obedience is the grand object of the work of grace in the hearts of those who are chosen and called.” - Charles H Spurgeon – Sermon No. 2195 August 21, 1890
Blessed are all who fear the Lord, who walk in obedience to him. Psalm 128:1
For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. Ephesians 2:8-10
What good is it, my brothers, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can that faith save him? James 2:14
Faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead. But someone will say, "You have faith, and I have works." Show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. James 2:17-18
Whoever ignores instruction despises himself, but he who listens to reproof gains intelligence. Proverbs 15:32
For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, Hebrews 10:26
What shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin that grace may abound? By no means! How can we who died to sin still live in it? Romans 6:1-2
Do we then make void the law through faith? Certainly not! On the contrary, we establish the law. Romans 3:31
No one born of God makes a practice of sinning, for God’s seed abides in him; and he cannot keep on sinning, because he has been born of God. 1 John 3:9
Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves. Do what is says. James 1:22
My little children, I am writing these things to you so that you may not sin. But if anyone does sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous. 1 John 2:1
If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:9
The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. Lamentations 3:22-23
You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13
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