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Philippians 2:14-16 ESV
You know, life can be really hard at times, and perhaps for some people it is hard all the time, while others may have it a little more easy, as a general rule, at least from all outward appearances. But no matter what we are going through, whether in good times or in bad, if we are followers of Jesus Christ, then we should take refuge in him, and we should not be those who grumble and fight and complain. Nothing good ever comes out of that anyway. But we are to be people of peace who trust God with our lives.
Now, when we are in Christ by genuine God-given faith, and we have thus been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, and so we are walking in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin (Romans 6:1-23), our Lord cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). But that does not make us sinless (1 John 2:1-2). For we still have the propensity to sin. And this is why we have so many instructions about putting off sin and putting on righteousness, holiness, and godliness, all throughout the New Testament.
So, if we want to be blameless (not guilty of sinning) and innocent (of deliberate sin), then we need to lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, so that we can run with endurance the race God set before us to run, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). And we are to put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life, and we are to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:17-24).
And while it is true that no human being is absolutely perfect (sinless), that is never to be used as an excuse for continued and deliberate and habitual sin. For our Lord does “draw a line in the sand,” and he makes a definite distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous. And it is not just that one believes in Jesus and the other does not, but it is that one is living righteously, in obedience to the Lord, and not in sin, and the other is not living righteously, is not walking in obedience to the Lord, and is still walking in sin, making sin his or her practice.
[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; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
So, we need to people of God who are living righteously, who are walking in obedience to our Lord, and who are not living in sin, making sin our practice. Then we can shine as lights (beacons) of truth and righteousness for Jesus Christ in this present crooked and twisted generation, many of whom are making professions of faith in Jesus Christ but who are convinced they do not have to submit to Christ as Lord, and they do not have to repent of (forsake) their sins, and they do not have to obey our Lord.
And the way that we do this is first of all by walking the walk and not just talking it. We must be people of integrity who are truth tellers, who are trustworthy, who are living morally pure lives, and who are walking in obedience to our Lord and not in sin. Our lives must be surrendered to Jesus Christ, and we must be following him in his ways, and no longer should we be conformed to the ways of this sinful world. For if our lights are just barely flickering, how can we shine our lights brightly to others?
Then, secondly, we need to be children of God who are proclaiming the excellencies of God who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. And we need to be sharing the truth of the gospel (the whole counsel of God) and not this diluted and altered gospel which is permeating the church in America today, and which is giving its adherents carte blanche to continue in deliberate and habitual sin while promising them heaven when they die. We need to be teaching what Jesus taught, that we must deny self, die daily to sin and to self, and follow Jesus in obedience (Luke 9:23-26).
[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]
I Take Refuge
An Original Work / September 1, 2018
Based off Psalm 71
O, Lord, I take refuge in You,
For You are my God.
Turn Your ear now to me.
Be my Rock and Fortress
To which I do go.
Deliver me, God. You’re my hope.
My lips now give praise to You, God.
I always have hope,
Since You saved me from sin.
My enemies speak evil
‘gainst me, O God.
Oh, help me, O Lord, rescue me.
The path of my life has been hard.
For, I have had troubles
Too many to bear.
But, You will increase honor,
Restore again.
Your faithfulness, Lord, comforts me.
“Do all things without grumbling or disputing, that you may be blameless and innocent, children of God without blemish in the midst of a crooked and twisted generation, among whom you shine as lights in the world, holding fast to the word of life, so that in the day of Christ I may be proud that I did not run in vain or labor in vain.”
You know, life can be really hard at times, and perhaps for some people it is hard all the time, while others may have it a little more easy, as a general rule, at least from all outward appearances. But no matter what we are going through, whether in good times or in bad, if we are followers of Jesus Christ, then we should take refuge in him, and we should not be those who grumble and fight and complain. Nothing good ever comes out of that anyway. But we are to be people of peace who trust God with our lives.
Now, when we are in Christ by genuine God-given faith, and we have thus been crucified with Christ in death to sin, and we have been raised with Christ to walk in newness of life in him, and so we are walking in holiness and in righteousness, in obedience to our Lord, and not in sin (Romans 6:1-23), our Lord cleanses us from all sin (1 John 1:7). But that does not make us sinless (1 John 2:1-2). For we still have the propensity to sin. And this is why we have so many instructions about putting off sin and putting on righteousness, holiness, and godliness, all throughout the New Testament.
So, if we want to be blameless (not guilty of sinning) and innocent (of deliberate sin), then we need to lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, so that we can run with endurance the race God set before us to run, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:1-2). And we are to put off our old self, which belongs to our former manner of life, and we are to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness (Ephesians 4:17-24).
And while it is true that no human being is absolutely perfect (sinless), that is never to be used as an excuse for continued and deliberate and habitual sin. For our Lord does “draw a line in the sand,” and he makes a definite distinction between the righteous and the unrighteous. And it is not just that one believes in Jesus and the other does not, but it is that one is living righteously, in obedience to the Lord, and not in sin, and the other is not living righteously, is not walking in obedience to the Lord, and is still walking in sin, making sin his or her practice.
[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; 2 Co 5:10; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:23-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
So, we need to people of God who are living righteously, who are walking in obedience to our Lord, and who are not living in sin, making sin our practice. Then we can shine as lights (beacons) of truth and righteousness for Jesus Christ in this present crooked and twisted generation, many of whom are making professions of faith in Jesus Christ but who are convinced they do not have to submit to Christ as Lord, and they do not have to repent of (forsake) their sins, and they do not have to obey our Lord.
And the way that we do this is first of all by walking the walk and not just talking it. We must be people of integrity who are truth tellers, who are trustworthy, who are living morally pure lives, and who are walking in obedience to our Lord and not in sin. Our lives must be surrendered to Jesus Christ, and we must be following him in his ways, and no longer should we be conformed to the ways of this sinful world. For if our lights are just barely flickering, how can we shine our lights brightly to others?
Then, secondly, we need to be children of God who are proclaiming the excellencies of God who called us out of darkness into his wonderful light. And we need to be sharing the truth of the gospel (the whole counsel of God) and not this diluted and altered gospel which is permeating the church in America today, and which is giving its adherents carte blanche to continue in deliberate and habitual sin while promising them heaven when they die. We need to be teaching what Jesus taught, that we must deny self, die daily to sin and to self, and follow Jesus in obedience (Luke 9:23-26).
[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]
I Take Refuge
An Original Work / September 1, 2018
Based off Psalm 71
O, Lord, I take refuge in You,
For You are my God.
Turn Your ear now to me.
Be my Rock and Fortress
To which I do go.
Deliver me, God. You’re my hope.
My lips now give praise to You, God.
I always have hope,
Since You saved me from sin.
My enemies speak evil
‘gainst me, O God.
Oh, help me, O Lord, rescue me.
The path of my life has been hard.
For, I have had troubles
Too many to bear.
But, You will increase honor,
Restore again.
Your faithfulness, Lord, comforts me.
