Reaping What We Sow

[Christsfreeservant]

This is me, Sue Love, sharing with you what God has shown me from his word during my quiet time of devotion with him. I am sharing this with you for your encouragement.

Galatians 6:7-8 ESV

“Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”​

This is a warning to Christians and to those professing faith in Jesus Christ but who may not be of genuine faith. There are many such warnings all throughout the New Testament. We must guard our hearts against being deceived. For if we practice (deliberately and habitually) such sins as these – sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, drunkenness, and orgies, etc. – we will not inherit the kingdom of God (see Galatians 5:16-21).

But many preachers today are telling you that once you “believe” in Jesus Christ that your sins no longer matter to God, that he can’t even see when you sin against him, and that he will not judge you for any of your sins. And they teach that repentance, obedience, and submission to Christ as Lord are no longer required of God, and that if someone says they are, that they are teaching “works-based salvation” or legalism.

And so we need such warnings as this to bring us back to reality and to get us to focus on what the Scriptures actually teach so that we are not building our faith and practice on the teachings of humans but rather on the Word of God. For all throughout the New Testament Scriptures which teach the New Covenant teachings, we are taught that how we live in this life and what we practice will determine where we spend eternity.

For faith in Jesus Christ is not just words we say or a one-time decision we made in our lives to believe in Jesus Christ. First of all, faith comes from God, not from ourselves. It is gifted to us by God. Jesus is the author and the perfecter of our faith, and we can’t even come to faith in Jesus Christ unless God the Father first draws us to Christ, i.e. unless he persuades us as to his holiness and righteousness, of our sinfulness, and of our need to repent of our sins, to follow him in obedience, and to walk in the fear of God.

So, since our faith comes from God, it will be aligned with God’s will and purpose for our lives and with his divine character and with his holiness and righteousness. And this is why the Scriptures teach a faith that is repentant, obedient, and submissive to Christ as Lord. And this is why the Scriptures teach that if we continue in deliberate and habitual sin and not in obedience to our Lord that we will not inherit eternal life with God.

[Eph 2:8-10; Heb 12:1-2; Jn 6:44; 2 Pet 1:1; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 14:15-24; Jn 8:51; Jn 15:10; Matt 7:21-23; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10,24; 1 Jn 5:2-3; 2 Jn 1:6; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-17; Eph 4:17-24; Heb 5:9; 1 Pet 1:1-2; Jas 1:21-25; 1 Co 10:1-22; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Php 2:12-13]

So, let’s look at some of these passages of Scripture which let us Christians (and professing Christians) know that what we practice on this earth, in the way of behavior, does matter for eternity.

For faith in Jesus Christ is obedience and it is repentance and it is submission to Christ as Lord. For Jesus died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He gave his life up for us on that cross and he put our sins to death with him so that by faith in him we would no longer be enslaved to sin but to God and to his righteousness. And he died that we would no longer live for ourselves but for him who died and who was raised (1 Pet 2:24; Rom 6:1-23; 2 Co 5:15,21; 1 Co 6:19-20).

For Jesus said that if anyone would come after him he must deny self and take up his cross daily (daily die to sin) and follow (obey) him. For, he said if we hold on to our lives (of living in sin and for self) that we will lose them for eternity, but if we lose our lives for his sake (die with him to sin) then we will have the hope of eternal life with God. But this is not a one-time thing that takes place in our lives. We do this daily in the power of God’s Spirit. (Luke 9:23-26)

Jesus also said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness’" (Matt 7:21-23 ESV).​

And then we read in Romans 2:6-8 that God will render to each one according to his works, and for those who are self-seeking and who do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. And we read in 1 Corinthians 6:9-10 that we are not to be deceived for neither the sexually immoral, nor idolaters, nor practicing homosexuals, nor thieves, nor drunkards, etc. will inherit the kingdom of God.

And in 2 Corinthians 5:10 we read that we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ so that each one of us may receive what is due for what we have done in the body, whether good or evil. And in Ephesians 5:3-6 we read another list of sins with the same message which says that those who practice such things as this have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience.”

And we read in Romans 6:16-23 that if we are slaves of sin, and sin is what we obey, that it leads to death, but if we are slaves to obedience, that leads to righteousness and to sanctification and to eternal life with God. Amen! And we read in Romans 8 that we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if we live according to the flesh we will die, but if by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the flesh, we will live.

And then in 1 John 1-3 we read that if we say we are in fellowship with God but we walk (in conduct, in practice) in sin that we lie and we do not practice the truth. But if we walk in the light as God/Jesus is in the light, the blood of Jesus cleanses us from all sin. And if we say that we know Jesus but we do not keep his commandments, we are liars and the truth is not in us. And we read that whoever practices righteousness is righteous and that no one born of God makes sin his practice. Whoever practices sinning is of the devil.

So, then we go back to Galatians 6:7-8 where we read that we are not to be deceived for God is not mocked. For whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption (destruction, decay, death), but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. So, please take this to heart.

For Our Nation

An Original Work / September 11, 2012

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.