I believe we sometimes limit the saving power of Jesus. He came to take away our sins and He does this by becoming to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption, 1 Corinthians 1:30.
Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation, Hebrews 5:8-9.
Peter confirms that John was right in saying Jesus appeared to take away sins in 1 John 3:5. For he says, ‘Therefore, since Christ has suffered in the flesh, arm yourselves also with the same purpose, because he who has suffered in the flesh has ceased from sin, so as to live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God,’ 1 Peter 4:1-2.
We have been set free from the law through our Lord’s bringing an end to our sinful flesh and God’s raising us up with Jesus into newness of life.
Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body that you should obey its lusts, and do not go on presenting the members of your body to sin as instruments of unrighteousness; but present yourselves to God as those alive from the dead, and your members as instruments of righteousness to God. For sin shall not be master over you, for you are not under law, but under grace, Romans 6:12-14.
If, however, you are fulfilling the royal law, according to the Scripture, “YOU SHALL LOVE YOUR NEIGHBOR AS YOURSELF,” you are doing well… So speak and so act, as those who are to be judged by the law of liberty, James 2:8; 12.
If we love the Lord with every fiber of our being and love our neighbor as ourselves, we are walking with God. In order to walk this way, we must first learn obedience in all things, for then, and only then, will we be looking away from ourselves and being servants of the Lord our Savior. If we reach this point, we will take the way of escape God provides for every temptation and live the rest of the time in the flesh no longer for the lusts of men, but for the will of God, 1 Peter 4:2. This is what the word of God says!
This is not earning our way to heaven; it is fulfilling the will of God. We are the body of the risen Christ and 0ur Father is training us up in the way we should go, that when we mature we won’t depart from it. We are learning obedience from the things which we suffer, as did our example, Jesus.
James 1:2-4,
2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials,
3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance
4 And let endurance have its perfect result, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.
1 Peter 1:3-9,
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who according to His great mercy has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 to obtain an inheritance which is imperishable and undefiled and will not fade away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 who are protected by the power of God through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 In this you greatly rejoice, even though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been distressed by various trials,
7 so that the proof of your faith, being more precious than gold which is perishable, even though tested by fire, may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ;
8 and though you have not seen Him, you love Him, and though you do not see Him now, but believe in Him, you greatly rejoice with joy inexpressible and full of glory,
9 obtaining as the outcome of your faith the salvation of your souls.
When the body of Christ grows to maturity, as was Adam, God will have His creation in His own image once again, without stain or blemish.
The body of Christ will most certainly attain to the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a mature man, to the measure of the stature which belongs to the fulness of Christ. As a result, we are no longer to be children, tossed here and there by waves, and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, by craftiness in deceitful scheming; but speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in all aspects into Him, who is the head, even Christ, from whom the whole body, being fitted and held together by that which every joint supplies, according to the proper working of each individual part, causes the growth of the body for the building up of itself in love, Ephesians 4:13-16.
Not all will be mature; there will be babes and teens, but there will also be those who are mature, and they will carry the babes and teens through the gates with them, for love covers a multitude of sins.
No one is righteous, only Christ Jesus. All who abide in Him do righteous acts because of His righteousness, for He has become to us wisdom from God, and righteousness and sanctification, and redemption. We are like lights on a hill when we are abiding in Him for the specific reason that He is righteous. Our works are righteous because they are done in Him, and not of ourselves.
This is the gospel of Christ. Deny it, distort it, or ignore it; it is still the gospel of Christ. It takes discipline, and those who are without it are illegitimate children and not sons.
“Enter by the narrow gate; for the gate is wide, and the way is broad that leads to destruction, and many are those who enter by it. For the gate is small, and the way is narrow that leads to life, and few are those who find it,” Matthew 7:13-14.
Jon David Banks, God’s most unworthy servant
Scripture quotations taken from the (NASB®) New American Standard Bible®, Copyright © 1960, 1971, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. All rights reserved. www.lockman.org
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