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Christsfreeservant

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“How blessed is the man who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
Nor stand in the path of sinners,
Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
But his delight is in the law of the Lord,
And in His law he meditates day and night.
He will be like a tree firmly planted by streams of water,
Which yields its fruit in its season
And its leaf does not wither;
And in whatever he does, he prospers.
“The wicked are not so,
But they are like chaff which the wind drives away.
Therefore the wicked will not stand in the judgment,
Nor sinners in the assembly of the righteous.
For the Lord knows the way of the righteous,
But the way of the wicked will perish.” (Psalm 1:1-6 NASB1995)

This is from the Old Testament, but did you know that the New Testament teaches these same fundamental truths in the gospel of our salvation? And I don’t mean word for word of what this teaches, but the fundamental truths of the gospel. What determines one’s salvation, whether Old Testament or New Testament, is not only the grace of God, and genuine faith which comes from God, but how we live in conduct, whether we are living righteously in obedience to our Lord or we are living wickedly in disobedience to God. And New Testament – Jesus’ blood sacrifice to take away the sins of the world.

For we read in 1 Corinthians 10:1-22 and Hebrews 3:1-19 and Hebrews 4:1-13 that God was not pleased with the majority of those who wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. For they were those who craved evil and who were idolaters, revelers, immoral, grumblers, and those who put God to the test. So God put them to death, and they did not get to enter into the Promised Land nor into God’s eternal rest (his salvation from sin and eternal life with God). And these things happened as examples for us, that we should not crave evil things as they did. And they were written down for our instruction.

For God regards disobedience to his commands, in practice, the same as unbelief. And belief in Jesus Christ, if it is genuine biblical faith, must be accompanied by death to sin, not just once, but daily putting sin to death, by the Spirit, and walking in obedience to our Lord and his commands in our conduct, and as our practice. This is not to say that we will be perfect in everything or that we will never sin again (1 John 2:1-2), but that sin must no longer be our practice, and obedience to our Lord must now be our practice, by the grace of God, in the power of God, and by the Spirit.

So, we are blessed of God who do not walk in the counsel of the wicked, and who do not follow after the sinful desires of the flesh, but whose delight is in the teachings of Christ and of his New Testament apostles and of the Scriptures, as a whole. And if we delight in our Lord and in the teachings of the Scriptures, and in his commandments to us who believe in Jesus Christ, then we will be those who are walking in obedience to our Lord and to his commands in holy living, by the grace of God, and in the power of God. And we will be those who are no longer making sin our practice.

And if we are indeed following our Lord in surrender to his will, in obedience to his commands in daily living, by the grace of God, then we should also be those who are bearing much spiritual fruit in keeping with repentance and with walks of obedience to our Lord’s commands. There should be physical evidence, by how we live, that we are in genuine relationship with Jesus Christ, and he is truly Lord (Owner-Master) of our lives. For we should be working for God, our lives committed to his service, doing what he says, who are also sharing the truth of the gospel with the people of this world.

But if we are living wickedly, in direct defiance to our Lord and to his commands, and if sin is still what we practice, and not obedience to God, we will not inherit eternal life with God, regardless of what our lips profess. Like the old saying goes, “The proof is in the pudding,” i.e. the test to see whether or not our faith in Jesus Christ is of God, and is genuine, is in the results (the fruit). Are we living righteously, in obedience to our Lord, in following his leading and his will and purpose for our lives? Or are we still living in sin and for self without regard for our Lord and his commands?

[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]

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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The Way of The Righteous
An Original Work / November 19, 2025
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