Hi Everyone
Here’s the final part of “Who I am in Jesus Christ - I am Loved and Completely Accepted in Christ”. This is Part 3 of “Set Free by His Love”.
Do share this as you are blessed.
Chris
Set Free by Love to Love
Possibly the biggest effect of sin on Man is the false thought that each man must live only for himself, that it is every man for himself. This is part of the curse and it completely disables this world.
No Spirit of God = Total Depravity
The thought that you have to look out for #1 is completely out of line with scriptures. Any such lines of thought are against the Word and are the spirit of Antichrist! Without the Spirit in us, only the Law of Sin and Death operates. Things only grow darker and darker the further we move from the Lord.
Without God, we cannot love like God does, His unconditional agape love, and we can only sin. We think we can but scriptures tell us that no one is good in himself (Isa 53:6). Outside of Jesus, we live in the futility of our minds. We are trapped and bound only to live a fallen life.
Ephesians 4:17 This I say, therefore, and testify in the Lord, that you should no longer walk as the rest of the Gentiles walk, in the futility of their mind, 18 having their understanding darkened, being alienated from the life of God, because of the ignorance that is in them, because of the blindness of their heart; 19 who, being past feeling, have given themselves over to lewdness, to work all uncleanness with greediness. (NKJV)
The depravity of sin has to be realized. Life on earth outside of Christ is absolutely futile and hopeless, here and in the hereafter.
The good news today is that we no longer have to live in the futility of my mind.
Loved, We Love
1 John 4:19 We love Him because He first loved us. 20 If someone says, “I love God,” and hates his brother, he is a liar; for he who does not love his brother whom he has seen, how can he love God whom he has not seen? 21 And this commandment we have from Him: that he who loves God must love his brother also. (NKJV)
Loving God is manifested in loving our brethren. One who truly loves does not crave love for himself. True love craves love between those he loves.
John 3:16 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. (NKJV)
Love always gives. Without God giving us His love, we would end up depending on each other for love first, all like mirrors trying to reflect light without a source and finding only darkness. That’s why this world is a mess. We are all wanting to be loved, waiting to be loved but not knowing how to give it. We can only love as we have been loved. This is the same in the church.
Freedom from #1
The world says “Look Out for #1”. Those who believe this will forever be ensnared by it. We were never created to live for ourselves. He set us free from ourselves. He set us free from the need to derive pleasure in life for ourselves, to defend our own ego, our own esteem, to assert our own rights. The fact is the sin nature in us has been taken away and it dead!
Romans 6:11 Likewise you also, reckon yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord. (NKJV)
John 8:31 Then Jesus said to those Jews who believed Him, “If you abide in My word, you are My disciples indeed. 32 And you shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” 33 They answered Him, “We are Abraham’s descendants, and have never been in bondage to anyone. How can You say, ‘You will be made free’?” 34 Jesus answered them, “Most assuredly, I say to you, whoever commits sin is a slave of sin. 35 And a slave does not abide in the house forever, but a son abides forever. 36 Therefore if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed. (NKJV)
We are set free as our minds are renewed by truth, for we were slaves of sin, but we need to be renewed, part by part.
I Can Actually Die to Myself!
Your sin nature is already dead. If we trust what the Word says, we don't have to give thought any longer about what the other guy is thinking of us, whether we look good enough or whether someone will criticize me. We won't live life driven by fear of something that will happen to us.
We are dead to self, alive in Christ.
Galatians 2:20 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. (NKJV)
We need to know that and learn to walk in it. Then we can be free to love others with no thought for ourselves, true agape love!
Dying to Live
We could not do this before. Without the finished work of Christ, we were doomed to live only for ourselves, and according to what our Lord said, we would never truly live.
Matthew 16:24 Then Jesus said to His disciples, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me. 25 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. 26 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? 27 For the Son of Man will come in the glory of His Father with His angels, and then He will reward each according to his works. (NKJV)
There is reward for the fruit that we bear when we die to ourselves, lose our lives to live for Him.
Matthew 10:39 He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for My sake will find it. (NKJV)
Mark 8:35 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it. 36 For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, and loses his own soul? 37 Or what will a man give in exchange for his soul? (NKJV)
Luke 9:23 Then He said to them all, “If anyone desires to come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross daily, and follow Me. 24 For whoever desires to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it. 25 For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world, and is himself destroyed or lost? (NKJV)
Luke 17:33 Whoever seeks to save his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life will preserve it. (NKJV)
John 12:25 He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. (NKJV)
Truly we can enjoy the love, joy, peace, can be longsuffering, good and kind, have faithfulness, gentleness and self control.
Romans 13:8 Owe no one anything except to love one another, for he who loves another has fulfilled the law. (NKJV)
It Starts Here Again
Who He has made us to be by His work on the Cross, the love He has for us.
2 Corinthians 3:17 Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. 18 But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord. (NKJV)
When we know who we are in Him and how much He loves us.
John 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. 35 By this all will know that you are My disciples, if you have love for one another.” (NKJV)
Ephesians 3:19 to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. (NKJV)
We need to know that and learn to walk in it. Then we can be free to love others with no thought for ourselves, true agape love! When we start to do this as a church, it is called a “REVIVAL”.
The Take Away
- Without the Spirit of God in us, we are a depraved bunch, slaves to sin
- Jesus has set us free from sin; we no longer have to live in the futility of our minds
- We no longer need to live for ourselves – we are truly free
- We die to ourselves by knowing and accepting His truths
- As we die to ourselves, we truly live, living out the hope He has called us to, His glorious plans for us
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