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Isaiah 55:6-9 ESV
There seem to be many people seeking Jesus Christ these days, from all outward appearances, anyway. For we are hearing much of late of revivals and of evangelistic crusades, and of the popularity of “Christian” films, movies, cartoons, and drama series. And so the name and the character of Jesus Christ being presented in these dramatizations, and via many preachers’ sermons, and via many social media memes, and perhaps in other media, are gaining much popularity today among the people.
But is it the Jesus of the Bible they are seeking? Or is it the Jesus that has gained much popularity today among the masses? For they are not one and the same, certainly not in all respects, and certainly not in the most critical of respects and details. So, how do you know the difference? The only way to know the difference is via studying the Scriptures, particularly those in the New Testament, for we are under the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant God had with his people. For in the Scriptures we find truth.
But it appears that not many who say they are seeking Jesus or that they believe in Jesus are seeking or are believing in the Jesus of the Scriptures. Many are believing and seeking after a false persona of Jesus Christ, and thus they are accepting a false gospel of salvation, too. So, when they cross over that threshold between being in the darkness to coming into the light, they quickly jump over the light and return to living in the darkness, under a false gospel message. So they don’t really come into the light, for they just make a quick appearance of doing so only to return to the darkness.
For the message that many of them are hearing and are believing, which is the message that is permeating the church in America, is that they can profess faith in Jesus Christ once in their lives, have all their sins forgiven, be on their way to heaven, have the promise that nothing can take that away from them, but regardless of how they live. And even if repentance is being taught, often it is taught as just a confession of the fact that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, and once you “believe,” you are then “good to go.”
So, if we are going to seek the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to make certain that we are seeking after the Jesus taught in the New Testament, and not the Jesus presented in many of these other outside sources mentioned here. For we have many charlatans and many wolves in sheep’s clothing these days who are distorting and twisting and altering the character of God (of Christ), and of the gospel of Christ, and of the biblical church, the body of Christ, i.e. those who are of genuine God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ.
For we have so many professers of faith in Jesus Christ today, at least in America, we do, who have made surface-level professions of faith in Jesus Christ only to go right back to living in sin, in all sorts of wickedness and immorality, in lying, cheating, stealing, and being unfaithful, and just doing what they want to do without regard for what God wants them to do with their lives. And it is largely because so many of them are believing an altered gospel which gives them permission to keep on in their sin.
So, what is the gospel message that we are to believe? Well, it begins with seeking the Lord, but then it involves us dying with Christ to sin and then living to him and to his righteousness, in his power, strength, and wisdom. That is what takes place when we receive God’s gift of God-persuaded faith, and of his grace to us in dying for us so that we will die with him to sin and live to his righteousness. For Jesus died to free us from our slavery to sin so we will now be slaves of him and of his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23).
So, coming to faith in Jesus Christ involves us forsaking our sins, which is the way of wickedness, and us now turning to the Lord Jesus, surrendering our lives to him, dying with him to sin, not just once, but daily, and now walking in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. For that is what it means to turn to him or to return to him. It means to leave our wicked ways behind us and to now walk in his ways and in his truth and righteousness, and no longer in sin (Luke 9:23-26).
And when we turn to the Lord in genuine repentance with genuine God-provided faith in Jesus Christ, we will die with him to sin, and we will be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but to God. And so we will not let sin reign in our mortal bodies any longer to where we continue to obey its sinful passions, but we will now obey obedience to our Lord and holy living and faithfulness and moral purity and uprightness and faithfulness and honesty, not perfectly, but in practice.
For God does not have compassion on us if all we do is give lip service to him, especially if we have this idea that we can now keep sinning but go to heaven when we die, which is what a lot of people are embracing. And I know this passage is in the Old Testament, but the same thing is taught in the New Testament. So this is not Old Covenant teaching. It is New Covenant teaching. For if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of obedience to our Lord, the NT teaches us that we don’t know God and we do not have eternal life with God, regardless of our professions.
So, we need to be people who are looking into what the Scriptures teach, in context, and who are not relying on other humans to tell us what it says. Now we should listen to others and read what they say who are, at least, seemingly teaching the truth. But we should always test whatever we hear or read against the Scriptures themselves, but in context. For the ways of man are opposite of the ways of God. And so humans don’t always teach the ways of God. So that is why we need to study the Scriptures, in context.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Seek the Lord
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Based off Isaiah 55
“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”
Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.
“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”
“Seek the Lord while he may be found;
call upon him while he is near;
let the wicked forsake his way,
and the unrighteous man his thoughts;
let him return to the Lord, that he may have compassion on him,
and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.
For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
neither are your ways my ways, declares the Lord.
For as the heavens are higher than the earth,
so are my ways higher than your ways
and my thoughts than your thoughts.”
There seem to be many people seeking Jesus Christ these days, from all outward appearances, anyway. For we are hearing much of late of revivals and of evangelistic crusades, and of the popularity of “Christian” films, movies, cartoons, and drama series. And so the name and the character of Jesus Christ being presented in these dramatizations, and via many preachers’ sermons, and via many social media memes, and perhaps in other media, are gaining much popularity today among the people.
But is it the Jesus of the Bible they are seeking? Or is it the Jesus that has gained much popularity today among the masses? For they are not one and the same, certainly not in all respects, and certainly not in the most critical of respects and details. So, how do you know the difference? The only way to know the difference is via studying the Scriptures, particularly those in the New Testament, for we are under the New Covenant, not the Old Covenant God had with his people. For in the Scriptures we find truth.
But it appears that not many who say they are seeking Jesus or that they believe in Jesus are seeking or are believing in the Jesus of the Scriptures. Many are believing and seeking after a false persona of Jesus Christ, and thus they are accepting a false gospel of salvation, too. So, when they cross over that threshold between being in the darkness to coming into the light, they quickly jump over the light and return to living in the darkness, under a false gospel message. So they don’t really come into the light, for they just make a quick appearance of doing so only to return to the darkness.
For the message that many of them are hearing and are believing, which is the message that is permeating the church in America, is that they can profess faith in Jesus Christ once in their lives, have all their sins forgiven, be on their way to heaven, have the promise that nothing can take that away from them, but regardless of how they live. And even if repentance is being taught, often it is taught as just a confession of the fact that you are a sinner in need of a Savior, and once you “believe,” you are then “good to go.”
So, if we are going to seek the Lord Jesus Christ, we need to make certain that we are seeking after the Jesus taught in the New Testament, and not the Jesus presented in many of these other outside sources mentioned here. For we have many charlatans and many wolves in sheep’s clothing these days who are distorting and twisting and altering the character of God (of Christ), and of the gospel of Christ, and of the biblical church, the body of Christ, i.e. those who are of genuine God-persuaded faith in Jesus Christ.
For we have so many professers of faith in Jesus Christ today, at least in America, we do, who have made surface-level professions of faith in Jesus Christ only to go right back to living in sin, in all sorts of wickedness and immorality, in lying, cheating, stealing, and being unfaithful, and just doing what they want to do without regard for what God wants them to do with their lives. And it is largely because so many of them are believing an altered gospel which gives them permission to keep on in their sin.
So, what is the gospel message that we are to believe? Well, it begins with seeking the Lord, but then it involves us dying with Christ to sin and then living to him and to his righteousness, in his power, strength, and wisdom. That is what takes place when we receive God’s gift of God-persuaded faith, and of his grace to us in dying for us so that we will die with him to sin and live to his righteousness. For Jesus died to free us from our slavery to sin so we will now be slaves of him and of his righteousness (Romans 6:1-23).
So, coming to faith in Jesus Christ involves us forsaking our sins, which is the way of wickedness, and us now turning to the Lord Jesus, surrendering our lives to him, dying with him to sin, not just once, but daily, and now walking in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to our Lord and to his commands. For that is what it means to turn to him or to return to him. It means to leave our wicked ways behind us and to now walk in his ways and in his truth and righteousness, and no longer in sin (Luke 9:23-26).
And when we turn to the Lord in genuine repentance with genuine God-provided faith in Jesus Christ, we will die with him to sin, and we will be raised with him to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin but to God. And so we will not let sin reign in our mortal bodies any longer to where we continue to obey its sinful passions, but we will now obey obedience to our Lord and holy living and faithfulness and moral purity and uprightness and faithfulness and honesty, not perfectly, but in practice.
For God does not have compassion on us if all we do is give lip service to him, especially if we have this idea that we can now keep sinning but go to heaven when we die, which is what a lot of people are embracing. And I know this passage is in the Old Testament, but the same thing is taught in the New Testament. So this is not Old Covenant teaching. It is New Covenant teaching. For if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin, and not in walks of obedience to our Lord, the NT teaches us that we don’t know God and we do not have eternal life with God, regardless of our professions.
So, we need to be people who are looking into what the Scriptures teach, in context, and who are not relying on other humans to tell us what it says. Now we should listen to others and read what they say who are, at least, seemingly teaching the truth. But we should always test whatever we hear or read against the Scriptures themselves, but in context. For the ways of man are opposite of the ways of God. And so humans don’t always teach the ways of God. So that is why we need to study the Scriptures, in context.
[Matt 7:21-23; Matt 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Tim 1:8-9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:5; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-2; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
Seek the Lord
An Original Work / July 20, 2012
Based off Isaiah 55
“Come to Me all you who thirst; come to waters.
Listen to Me, and eat what’s good today,
And your soul will delight in richest of fare.
Give ear to Me, and you will live.
I have made an eternal covenant with you.
Wash in the blood of the Lamb.”
Seek the Lord while He may be found; call on Him.
Let the wicked forsake his way, in truth.
Let him turn to the Lord, and he will receive mercy.
Freely, God pardons him.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,
Nor are your ways My ways,”
declares the Lord, our God.
“My word that goes out of My mouth is truthful.
It will not return to Me unfulfilled.
My word will accomplish all that I desire,
And achieve the goal I intend.
You will go in joy and be led forth in peace.
The mountains will burst into song… before you,
And all of the trees clap their hands.”
