“But we should always give thanks to God for you, brethren beloved by the Lord, because God has chosen you from the beginning for salvation through sanctification by the Spirit and faith in the truth. It was for this He called you through our gospel, that you may gain the glory of our Lord Jesus Christ. So then, brethren, stand firm and hold to the traditions which you were taught, whether by word of mouth or by letter from us.” (2 Thessalonians 2:13-15 NASB1995)
Just prior to this, Paul spoke to the Christian church regarding the events that must take place on the earth prior to the return of Christ. For, he said, the day of the Lord’s return must be preceded by an apostasy and the man of lawlessness being revealed, who is the son of destruction, who displays himself as being God. This lawless one’s coming is in accord with the activity of Satan, with all power and signs and false wonders, and with all the deception of wickedness for those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth so as to be saved. But they believed the lie, instead.
And apostasy is turning away from God. And it is a defection, a falling away, forsaking, desertion, and departing from the truth of God’s word; departing from the gospel of Christ and from Christian morals in order to follow after lies. And that definitely describes the times we live in now. Especially this is true where I live in the USA where the majority of the population proclaims Christianity as their religion of choice, and who say they believe in Jesus Christ. And yet it appears that the majority have turned away from Christ and his gospel in order to follow after the lies of humans, instead.
The most widely accepted “gospel” message today is not the one taught by Jesus Christ and by his New Testament apostles, if read and understood in the correct biblical context. The majority appear to be teaching and receiving a diluted and altered “gospel” message which makes no requirements of the sinner to die to sin and to obey God and his commandments, but only to make a profession of faith in Christ. And then the one who gives lip service only to the Lord is being guaranteed forgiveness of all sins and heaven as their eternal destiny, but regardless of how they live. Just not biblical!
So, what is the biblical gospel message? It is that Jesus Christ, the Only Begotten Son of God, who is God, came to earth, took on human form, preached repentance for forgiveness of sins, holy living, and walks of obedience to God and to his commands for salvation from sin and for eternal life with God. Then he died on a cross, and he took our sins upon himself, and he put our sins to death with him so that, by faith in him, we will now die to sin and walk in obedience to his commands in holy living. But if we continue in sin, and not obedience, we do not have eternal life with God.
For sanctification has to do with purity, holiness, godliness and obedience to our Lord and to his commandments. And faith in Jesus Christ is persuasion of God as to his holiness and righteousness, and of our sinfulness, and of our need to be delivered from our slavery to sin so that we can live holy and godly lives, pleasing to our Lord, in the power of God, by the grace of God. For we are not saved only from the punishment of sin, but from our addiction to sin so we can serve God with our lives. And we are to be those who stand firm in our faith, and who do not waver. All glory to God!
[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; 1 Corinthians 10:1-22; Galatians 5:16-24; Ephesians 2:8-10; Ephesians 4:17-32; Ephesians 5:3-6; Titus 2:11-14; Hebrews 3:1-19; Hebrews 12:1-2; 1 Peter 2:24; 1 John 1:1-10; 1 John 2:3-6; 1 John 3:4-10; Revelation 2:1-29; Revelation 3:1-22]
As the Deer
By Martin J. Nystrom
Based off Psalm 42:1
As the deer panteth for the water
So my soul longeth after You
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
You alone are my strength, my shield
To You alone may my spirit yield
You alone are my heart's desire
And I long to worship You
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Beloved By The Lord
An Original Work / August 8, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
