LEARNING MORE OF GOD’S “SO GREAT SALVATION” (3)

I do pray these blogs on “Understanding more of God’s so great Salvation” are being a blessing and encouragement to you. The Holy Trinity awesomely covered every base regarding our Redemption when in eternity past they planned our Salvation. A colleague and friend of over 50 years said he has heard very little preaching over the years on this wonderful message, and so many of God’s people DO NOT KNOW WHAT IS WRITTEN IN THE WILL (WORD OF GOD) SO CANNOT (OR DO NOT KNOW HOW T0 CLAIM WHAT IS THEIR RIGHTFUL INHERITANCE, I have highlighted again some aspects in this blog as I did on Saturday, as we looked at Eph. 1.

My readers know I love Church History especially the REFORMATION, when God began to restore truths to the Church that had been lost for many hundreds of years. We thank God for men like Calvin and Luther who were so used of God to bring the Church back to the Word of God. It wasn’t many years later that the Holy Spirit brought fresh emphasis on Water Baptism by immersion, then later on again a whole new emphasis came with the Restoration of the truth of SANCTIFICATION AND HOLINESS. In the 19th century Holiness churches began to be raised up around the world, sadly there developed an error in the teaching, that suggested the “old nature” was plucked out or eradicated. Holiness churches saw this as the 2nd blessing for Believers, after being born again, out of this teaching flowed the Pentecostal teaching of being baptized in the Holy Spirit and receiving spiritual gifts like speaking in unknown tongues. I have given you this little bit of history and background as we want to talk today about how a Believer can live a holy, victorious pure life and grow in grace and the knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ. As I wrote earlier the Eternal Godhead covered every important aspect of truth for the Christian.

Let us now turn to Romans 6:1-14 NKJV What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin that grace may abound? Certainly not! How shall we who died to sin live any longer in it? Or do you not know that as many of us as were BAPTISED into Christ Jesus were baptized into His death? Therefore we were buried with Him through baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
For if we have been united together in the likeness of His death, certainly we also shall be in the likeness of His resurrection, KNOWING THIS, that OUR OLD MAN WAS CRUCIFIED WITH HIM, THAT THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DONE AWAY WITH. that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves of sin. For he who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him, knowing that Christ, having been raised from the dead, dies no more. Death no longer has dominion over Him. For the death that He died, He died to sin once for all; but the life that He lives, He lives to God. Likewise you also, RECKON yourselves to be dead indeed to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body, that you should obey it in its lusts. And do not present your members as instruments of unrighteousness to sin, but PRESENT YOURSELVES TO GOD as being alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not have dominion over you, for you are not under law but under grace.

N.L.T. Well then, should we keep on sinning so that God can show us more and more of his wonderful grace? Of course not! Since we have died to sin, how can we continue to live in it? Or have you forgotten that when we were joined with Christ Jesus in baptism, we joined him in his death? For we died and were buried with Christ by baptism. And just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glorious power of the Father, now we also may live new lives.
Since we have been united with him in his death, we will also be raised to life as he was. We know that our old sinful selves were crucified with Christ so that sin might lose its power in our lives. We are no longer slaves to sin. For when we died with Christ we were set free from the power of sin. And since we died with Christ, we know we will also live with him. We are sure of this because Christ was raised from the dead, and he will never die again. Death no longer has any power over him. When he died, he died once to break the power of sin. But now that he lives, he lives for the glory of God. So you also should consider yourselves to be dead to the power of sin and alive to God through Christ Jesus.
Do not let sin control the way you live; do not give in to sinful desires. Do not let any part of your body become an instrument of evil to serve sin. Instead, give yourselves completely to God, for you were dead, but now you have new life. So use your whole body as an instrument to do what is right for the glory of God. Sin is no longer your master, for you no longer live under the requirements of the law. Instead, you live under the freedom of God’s grace.

PASSION So what do we do, then? Do we persist in sin so that God’s kindness and grace will increase? What a terrible thought! We have died to sin once and for all, as a dead man passes away from this life. So how could we live under sin’s rule a moment longer? Or have you forgotten that all of us who were immersed into union with Jesus, the Anointed One, were immersed into union with his death?
Sharing in his death by our baptism means that we were co-buried and entombed with him, so that when the Father’s glory raised Christ from the dead, we were also raised with him. We have been co-resurrected with him so that we could be empowered to walk in the freshness of new life. For since we are permanently grafted into him to experience a death like his, then we are permanently grafted into him to experience a resurrection like his and the new life that it imparts.
Could it be any clearer that our former identity is now and forever deprived of its power? For we were co-crucified with him to dismantle the stronghold of sin within us, so that we would not continue to live one moment longer submitted to sin’s power.
Obviously, a dead person is incapable of sinning. And if we were co-crucified with the Anointed One, we know that we will also share in the fullness of his life. And we know that since the Anointed One has been raised from the dead to die no more, his resurrection life has vanquished death and its power over him is finished. For by his sacrifice he died to sin’s power once and for all, but he now lives continuously for the Father’s pleasure. So let it be the same way with you! Since you are now joined with him, you must continually view yourselves as dead and unresponsive to sin’s appeal while living daily for God’s pleasure in union with Jesus, the Anointed One.
Sin’s Reign Is Over
Sin is a dethroned monarch; so you must no longer give it an opportunity to rule over your life, controlling how you live and compelling you to obey its desires and cravings. So then, refuse to answer its call to surrender your body as a tool for wickedness. Instead, passionately answer God’s call to keep yielding your body to him as one who has now experienced resurrection life! You live now for his pleasure, ready to be used for his noble purpose. Remember this: sin will not conquer you, for God already has! You are not governed by law but governed by the reign of the grace of God.

Once again I have given you a number of translations to read and meditate on, and also highlighted some keys that may assist you embracing and experiencing the work of Holiness and Sanctification in your life.

BAPTISED

Please do not associate this with water, see your self IMMERSED IN CHRIST’S DEATH. Paul speaks about being “baptised” into the Body of Christ by the Holy Spirit, nothing to do with water. John the Baptist speaks about being “baptised” in the Holy Spirit, again nothing to do with water.

KNOWING THIS.

This is the Logos becoming a Rhema Word, not just information but revelation, remember God said it (no matter how I feel) I believe it that settles it.

WE WERE CRUCIFIED WITH CHRIST, AND THE BODY OF SIN MIGHT BE DONE AWAY WITH.

Knowing that our old nature was put to death, and has been RENDERED POWERLESS.

RECKON

A mathematical term, add up all the Paul says Christ did for us on the cross, we must believe and embrace the truth.

PRESENT YOURSELF

This is the key to holy living, as Paul says in Rom. 12:1-2 NKJV I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable service. And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God.

As I have written before, this is the aorist tense in the Greek language, this we must do continually, WE MUST LEARN TO LIVE CONTINUALLY 24/7 THE LIFESTYLE OF SURRENDER. When Jesus is :

THE LORD

The BOSS

The KING

THE MASTER

THE OWNER

THE PRESIDENT

AS WE LAY ON THE ALTAR IN SURRENDER THEN THE OLD NATURE IS RENDERED POWERLESS.

We know the old saying so well personally and EXPERIENTIALLY that THE PROBLEM WITH A LIVING SACRIFICE IS THAT IT IS ALWAYS WANTING TO CRAWL OFF THE ALTAR.

God could have plucked our old nature out, but He wants us to learn to live every moment SURRENDERED BODY, SOUL AND SPIRIT TO HIM. 1 Thess. 5:23 NKJV Now may the God of peace Himself sanctify you completely; and may your whole spirit, soul, and body be preserved blameless at the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. He who calls you is faithful, who also will do it.

This includes our mind, our will, our emotions, our drives, our senses.

I guess naturally speaking this is impossible, but God never asked of us something, that His grace is not sufficient to fulfil His righteous commands over our life.

So the key truth and reality to learning and embracing this glorious truth is that Holy living is a daily progressive walk of surrender with the Lord, sadly I am sure there will be failures, but there is going to more and more victories as we are ever changing into His likeness amen.

Much of the above will almost be new teaching to many who read this blog, but let this truth captivate your life, don’t let your past be the guide, but learn to live and walk in the Spirit amen.