In View of Your Participation in The Gospel

Paul wrote this letter (including Timothy) to “the saints in Christ Jesus who are in Philippi.” And a saint is a holy one of God. And to be holy means to be different (unlike) the world because we are being conformed to the likeness of nature and character of Jesus Christ, the Lord, by God, as we cooperate and participate fully with God in his work of grace and transformation in our minds, hearts, attitudes, and behaviors. And this begins when, by faith in Jesus Christ, we die with Christ to sin and we now obey his commands.

For this is what it means for us to participate (fellowship, share in, in partnership with, in a contributary role) in the gospel, not that we add to or that we take away from it, but that we live it in practice, first and foremost, and then that we are sharing the truth of the gospel of Christ with the people of the world. But it has to be the gospel message taught by Jesus and by his New Testament apostles in its correct biblical context. It cannot be the altered and diluted “gospel” so many are sharing in today’s world.

For Jesus Christ taught that to come to him we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him. For if we hold on to living in sin and for self, we will lose our lives for eternity. But if we deny self, die daily to sin, by the Spirit, and we walk in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in his power, then we have eternal life with God. For not everyone who calls him “Lord” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one DOING (obeying) the will of God (see Luke 9:23-26; Matthew 7:21-23).

For by God-gifted faith in Jesus Christ, which is not of our own doing, we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but as slaves to righteousness in walks of obedience to God’s commands. We are no longer to permit sin to reign in our mortal bodies to make us obey its desires. For if sin is what we obey, it results in death. But if obedience to God is what we obey, it results in sanctification, and its end is eternal life with God (see Romans 6:1-23).

Now our salvation from sin and the hope of eternal life with God are not anything that can be self-produced. We can do nothing in our flesh to earn or to deserve our own salvation. Only by the grace of God, and because of Jesus’ sacrifice on that cross, and because of his bodily resurrection, can any of us be saved from our sins and have eternal life with God. Even the faith to believe in Jesus is gifted to us by God and is not of our own doing. But faith is not lip service only, but it is dying to sin and it is obeying God, in practice.

For, even though the faith to believe in Jesus is not of our own doing, but it is from God, and it is gifted to us by God, still it means to be persuaded of God as to his righteousness and holiness, and of our sinfulness, and of the necessity that we deny self, die to sin, and follow our Lord in obedience to his commands. And it requires that we are crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer to live as slaves to sin but now as servants of Christ and of his righteousness.

So, yes, God – Father, Son Jesus Christ, and Holy Spirit – is the one who began the good work in the lives of his saints (his holy ones), and he is the one working within our lives who will perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus, but not without our cooperation with God in his work of grace in our lives. Our lives must be surrendered to the Lord to do his will, and we must be subject to our Lord’s rulership over our lives, and we must be following him in obedience to his commands, following him wherever he leads us.

The grace of God, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we wait for Jesus’ return. For Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.” “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (See Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:8-10)

And we learn in 1 John 1-3 that if we claim that we have fellowship with God, but yet we walk in darkness (sin), we are liars. If we claim that we know God, but we do not obey his commandments, in practice, we are liars. For it is not the one who claims he is “in Christ” who is “in Christ,” but it is the one who has denied self, died with Christ to sin, and who is now walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands, in practice, and no longer in sin. We have the hope and the promise of eternal life with God in heaven.

[Matthew 7:13-14,21-23; Luke 9:23-26; John 10:27-30; Acts 26:18; Romans 1:18-32; Romans 2:5-10; Romans 3:23; 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 4:1-13; Hebrews 10:19-39; 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]

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love
Recording Via Gerry Peters, music producer and arranger

Bombs are bursting. Night is falling.
Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.
Trust Him with your life today.
Make Him your Lord and your Savior.
Turn from your sin. Follow Jesus.
He will forgive you of your sin;
Cleanse your heart, made new within.

Men betraying: Our trust fraying.
On our knees to God we’re praying,
Seeking God to give us answers
That are only found in Him.
God is sovereign over all things.
Nothing from His mind escaping.
He has all things under His command,
And will work all for good.

Jesus Christ is gently calling
You to follow Him in all ways.

Men deceiving: We’re believing
In our Lord, and interceding
For our nation and its people
To obey their God today.
He is our hope for our future.
For our wounds He offers suture.
He is all we need for this life.
Trust Him with your life today.


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In View of Your Participation in The Gospel
An Original Work / September 30, 2025
Christ’s Free Servant, Sue J Love