May They See Your Good Deeds

[Christsfreeservant]

“As you come to him, a living stone rejected by men but in the sight of God chosen and precious, you yourselves like living stones are being built up as a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.” (1 Peter 2:4-5 ESV)​

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“But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God's people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.​

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“Beloved, I urge you as sojourners and exiles to abstain from the passions of the flesh, which wage war against your soul. Keep your conduct among the Gentiles honorable, so that when they speak against you as evildoers, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day of visitation.” (1 Peter 2:9-12 ESV)​

If our faith in Jesus Christ is genuine God-ordained, God-gifted, and God-persuaded faith in him, then this is for us. We are now God’s chosen race, a royal priesthood, his holy nation, a people for God’s own possession. We are the children of God and heirs of the promise that God gave to Abraham and to his seed. We are those who have been crucified with Christ in death to sin and raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, no longer as slaves to sin, but now as slaves to God and to his righteousness.

[Hebrews 12:1-2; Ephesians 2:8-10; John 1:12-13; John 6:44; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Romans 9:4-8; Romans 11:19-23; Galatians 3:16,26-29; Ephesians 2:11-22; Ephesians 3:6; Titus 2:14; 1 Peter 2:9-10]

We the people of God are his church, his body. And God, by his Spirit, dwells within our hearts. We are his spiritual house – not a building called “church,” and not a church denomination, and not a business incorporated under the state, and not a civic center nor a social club nor a house of entertainment. This is what many have turned “the church” into, in practice, but this is not the church, the body of Christ, his people for his own possession. We are, and we are to offer to God spiritual sacrifices acceptable to him.

And we, as his church, as his possession, are to be proclaiming the excellencies of him who called us out of darkness (sin, wickedness) into his marvelous light (Jesus Christ, truth, righteousness, the gospel, salvation). We are to be telling the people that Jesus died that we might die to sin and live to righteousness, and that we might now live for him and no longer for self. We need to tell them that to come after Christ we must deny self, die daily to sin, and follow him in obedience to his commands.

And we are to be his body parts in ministering to one another, too, utilizing the Spiritual gifts that we have been given of the Spirit in the specific roles to which God has assigned each of us individually. And we are to be speaking the truth to one another in love, and encouraging, urging, and exhorting one another in our walks of faith and in obedience to our Lord so that none of us is led astray by sin’s deceitfulness and by false teachers, but so that we all grow together to maturity in Christ as we each do our part.

[2 Co 5:15,21; Lu 9:23-26; Matt 5:13-16; Matt 28:18-20; Jn 4:31-38; Jn 13:13-17; Jn 14:12; Acts 1:8; Acts 2:14-18; Acts 26:18; Rom 10:14-15; Rom 12:1-8; Rom 15:14; 1 Co 12:1-31; 1 Co 14:1-5; Eph 4:1-16; Eph 5:17-27; Php 2:1-8; Col 3:16; Heb 3:13; Heb 10:23-25; 1 Pet 2:9,21-24]

But in order for us to lead others to genuine faith in Jesus Christ and for us to minister to one another within the body of Christ to help each other to grow to spiritual maturity in Christ, we have to be those who abstain from the passions of the flesh which wage war against our souls, and who are walking in holiness and in righteousness and in obedience to our Lord, in practice. For we cannot lead others to do what we are not doing. For we lead by example and then by words, too.

And so we must keep our conduct honorable and morally pure, upright, godly, honest, faithful, and obedient to our Lord in surrender to his will for our lives. This doesn’t mean we will be perfect, or that we will never fail in anything, but that we are to be those who are walking the walk and not just talking it, and who are setting the right example before others to follow. And so when evildoers speak against us they may see our good deeds done in the Spirit of God which God prepared in advance for us to walk in them.

[Matt 7:21-23; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-24; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-24; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:1-11; Titus 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

Fully Ready!

An Original Work / June 19, 2013
Based off Acts 20-22,26; Matthew 28:18-20; Acts 1:8

Why are you weeping and breaking my heart?
I’m fully ready to suffer for Christ.
If I must die for the sake of His name,
I am convinced it will not be in vain.
Glory to God and to His Son Jesus,
Who has redeemed us; bought with His blood.

May I speak to you? Jesus came to me;
Asked of me, “Why do you persecute me?”
He said, “Now get up and stand on your feet.
Go, and you’ll be told all I have for you.
I have appointed you as a servant,
And as a witness; you have been sent.”

“Go into the world and preach the gospel.
Open the blind eyes. They will receive sight.
Turn them from darkness to the light of Christ;
From power of the evil one to God,
So they may receive forgiveness of sins,
And a place among those who’re in heav’n.”