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Can you imagine what it means to build your life on a solid foundation when everything around us is uncertain? Today, we explore Jesus’ teaching about constructing on rock versus sand, a metaphor that mirrors our current world where truth often feels subjective and morality appears inverted. We’ll discuss why grounding ourselves in the Word of God is crucial and how the Holy Spirit guides us in leading lives of faith and sanctification. This episode highlights the importance of embracing God’s correction as an expression of His love and the vital role of actively participating in our local church community.
Reflecting on Romans 6, we delve into the urgency of spiritual preparedness, likening it to the two-minute warning in football. Are you truly ready for Christ’s return? We use the parable of the ten virgins to stress the importance of living a life that reflects genuine faith and the ongoing journey of sanctification. This episode challenges listeners to evaluate their commitment to their spiritual path, emphasizing the transformative journey of being justified by faith and making necessary changes to align with God’s will.
Living a life of holiness is non-negotiable for a disciple of Jesus Christ. Today, we examine how baptism and the Holy Spirit empower us to die to sin and live in holiness. Drawing from the teachings of early church father Clement, we underscore the need to forsake sinful behaviors and embrace a holy lifestyle. This episode calls for action now, urging listeners to reflect on their personal sanctification and the steps needed to walk in victory. By living for Jesus Christ and letting His glory shine through us, we can make a difference in this dark world. Join us as we strive to live lives that honor His sacrifice and display His light to those around us.
Where to dive in:
(0:00:01) – Building on Rock or Sand (7 Minutes)
This chapter examines the critical importance of building one’s life on a solid foundation, drawing from Jesus’ teaching about building on rock versus sand. We reflect on the current state of the world, where truth is often subjective and morality is inverted, emphasizing the church’s role as a beacon of light in this darkness. I discuss the necessity of grounding ourselves in the Word of God and the role of the Holy Spirit in leading a life of faith and sanctification. We also explore the corrective nature of the New Testament, highlighting that genuine believers should expect and embrace God’s correction as a sign of His love and our legitimacy as His children. Additionally, the chapter underscores the significance of actively participating in the local church, stressing that true family members contribute their time, resources, and talents, unlike mere guests.
(0:06:43) – Living a Sanctified Life (16 Minutes)
This chapter explores the significance of living a life dedicated to Jesus Christ and emphasizes the urgency of spiritual preparedness. Reflecting on Romans 6, we examine the necessity of making significant changes in our lives to align with God’s will, much like the drastic measures required to correct financial instability. The conversation highlights the metaphor of the two-minute warning in football to illustrate the urgency of living as if Christ’s return is imminent. We discuss the implications of not being spiritually prepared, using the parable of the ten virgins to underscore the importance of being ready and living a life that genuinely reflects our faith. Finally, we focus on the process of sanctification and the transformative journey of being justified by faith, urging listeners to evaluate their readiness and commitment to their spiritual journey.
(0:22:26) – Living a Life of Holiness (16 Minutes)
This chapter focuses on the essence of being a disciple of Jesus Christ, emphasizing the importance of living a life that imitates Jesus in thoughts, words, and deeds. We explore the transformative power of baptism and the Holy Spirit in enabling believers to die to sin and live in holiness. The discussion underscores the necessity of sanctification and the evidence of spiritual fruit in a believer’s life. We also reflect on the teachings of Clement, an early church father, who reiterated the importance of forsaking sinful behaviors and embracing holiness. Additionally, we touch on the modern implications of these teachings, particularly in the context of pride and societal norms that contradict biblical principles.
(0:38:34) – Living in Sanctification for Victory (9 Minutes)
This chapter explores the complexities of living a life that balances forgiveness, truth, compassion, and unwavering holiness, much like Jesus did. By referencing Romans 6, we discuss how our choices define whether we are slaves to sin or slaves to righteousness. The emphasis is on recognizing our motivations, making decisions that align with a holy life, and continually dying to sin while being resurrected to righteousness. We also challenge listeners to reflect on their personal sanctification, the fruit of their lives, and the changes needed to live victoriously in these challenging times. The ultimate goal is to walk in victory by being obedient to God and committed to holiness.
(0:47:37) – Living for Jesus in Dark World (1 Minutes)
This chapter emphasizes the urgency of taking action now to make a difference in the world. We explore the necessity of being prepared, likening it to having oil in our lamps to navigate through a dark world. I challenge listeners to live their lives for Jesus Christ, acknowledging His sacrifice and urging them to let His glory shine through their lives. By living to His glory, we can honor the price He paid for us. Thank you for joining me, and I look forward to spending more time with you in the future.
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Full Transcript
This transcript is auto-generated and not perfect. We hope it blesses you.
0:00:01 – Jaime Luce
Jesus gave us the example that whoever builds on the sand, when the storms come, what they have built crashes, and great is the fall of that crash. It’s only what’s built on the rock that can stand. Welcome to the Jamie Luce Podcast. Thank you for taking some time today to study in the Word of God. I cannot tell you the difference that it makes. I’m sure you’ve experienced it yourself. If you are somebody who takes time regularly to dive into the Word and let the Word speak to you. And let the word speak to you, let it unfold truth to you, let it convict you. I you know. It was interesting because I was thinking about how we live in a time when up is down, backwards is forwards, what is good is bad, what is bad is good, and the world is getting darker and darker by the moment and it’s scary how dark it actually is, and my pastor this past week was speaking about the importance of the church being the light in this darkness. It’s the only light that they’ll see. The obstacle that we face is that whatever they feel, no matter who they are or how that affects anybody else, is right, that each of us can individually have our own truth and we can each individually believe whatever we want about what is actually true, scientifically or not, and that we’re supposed to accept that from one another. Not only does that not work, because eventually you will turn on yourself, because you can’t have something one day and then not the next day. If there’s no solid foundation, eventually everything is built on that foundation. So if it changes continually, if there is nothing valid to stand on, if there’s nothing strong enough and immovable enough to build on, nothing can be built. In fact, whatever is built on, it will fall. Jesus gave us the example that whoever builds on the sand, when the storms come, what they have built crashes, and great is the fall of that crash. It’s only what’s built on the rock that can stand. And as we’ve been going through the work of the Holy Spirit and the importance of having our lives open to the leading and moving of the Holy Spirit and also living a life of faith, we’ve been reading in Romans and we’re coming up on what it is to be living a life of sanctification, a life that has gone from death to true life, from sin to holiness. And here’s my fear that, if I don’t say something to you, because we’ve become a people with itching ears, and the prophets said it would be this way that in the end times, people will just gather to themselves those who will tell them what they want to hear. They have itching ears and if I don’t tickle your ear right away, you just turn off. You’ll just turn it off and you’ll not listen. And here’s the problem with that.
If you look at the word of God, the entire New Testament, the entirety of the New Testament, is written to the local church, to the local church which together builds the larger church at, you know, the global church. We each attend a local church. But if you look at the books of the Bible in the New Testament, specifically the writings of Paul, they are all almost entirely teaching a corrective and instructive word. They are not only instructing in theology but for the most part, these words that they’re giving and the correction and instruction they’re bringing is because they’re getting it wrong. They’re either still living a sinful life and allowing sin to remain, or they’re doing things out of order, and they need to be corrected. Doing things out of order and they need to be corrected, or they’re allowing the world to infiltrate the church and the world dictate to them what they should be doing or not doing, and all of those things were wrong and they had to be corrected. And so it’s hard to talk to a people who don’t want to be corrected, because how can you accept instruction from a book that’s so full of correction? And we know, according to scripture, that the father will correct those that are his. If he considers you a son or a daughter of his, he will correct you, and that you are to know he loves you and that you belong to him because he corrects you. And if he doesn’t correct you, he considers you illegitimate, that you’re not one of his. Our pastor put it this way if you attend the local church but you do not invest in the church by your time, your finances, your connection and relationship, your gifts and talents, if you’re not somebody who connects to the local church, then you’re not actually family, you’re just a guest, because family contributes.
I thought that was so good. It’s an easy way to understand it and that this is a. I have something that’s. It’s going to sound almost, and maybe it is controversial because of the culture we live in, but I’m going to ask you a couple questions before I dive into Romans 6 today. I want you to think about your personal life. I hope I’m not the authority in your life. God is your pastor, your husband. If you’re a woman married to your husband, I am not your authority, I don’t have authority in your life. But if the Lord has authority and his word holds authority in your life, then you need all of this. You don’t just need the parts that you can clap and get excited about. You don’t just need oh gosh, okay For somebody.
Let’s say you’re somebody who is in terrible financial situation. You’re in debt up to your eyeballs and you don’t know what to do. You know that the stress that that causes for one can really shake you up, but it’s disruptive. It means that what you used to spend money on you can’t spend money on. You have to make actual changes that matter, that actually cost you something that hurt. In order to right a ship that’s upside down, in order to make things right, in order to get things under control, you have to take some drastic measures and to do that, you feel it. It costs you something and folks, to be a disciple of Jesus Christ, it’s going to cost you Now.
It’s full of blessing. It’s full of every good thing. It is the answer to every problem you will ever face, jesus is the answer. So I’m not saying it’s not blessing and it’s not full of his goodness. Oh, my goodness, it’s full. It’s so full of his goodness, it’s so full of his direction and his protection and his provision. But in order to live a life where I can say I am your child and I receive your instruction and your correction, as well as your protection and your provision, then I am your child and I can be secure in the knowledge that I know that what Christ has done for me has truly changed my eternal position. I don’t have to fear what happens in this earth because it’s going crazy. It’s gone crazy. We are living.
I heard somebody say this recently. I wish I could remember who it was. I would tell you so you could hear it for yourself. But it is someone with a good standing in the church. And they heard in their spirit, like a corrective and directive word about the church at large, and what the word was was my church is not living, as if I am returning soon. And they heard it over and over and over again, so much so that the person began to weep because they kept hearing it. I’m sure it felt something like when Jesus said to Peter do you love me, then feed my sheep. Peter, do you love me, then feed my lambs? Peter, do you love me? And it grieved Peter. The word says and, folks, if it doesn’t grieve us when we hear something where we realize the Lord is saying you’re not hearing me or you don’t understand the weight of what I’m saying, or you’re not hearing to the depth of what I’m saying to you, the meaning and the vastness and the hugeness of what I’m saying. And this person said that the last thing they heard in their spirit was they should be living as if this is the two-minute warning.
And if you’re a football fan at all in our house, we’re football fans. You might be playing your heart out the whole game. You might be thinking you’re playing your heart out the whole game, but once the two-minute warning comes, you either kick it into high gear or you realize it’s over. This is your last opportunity to actually do what it takes to win. That two-minute warning changes strategy. The two-minute warning they realize okay, I have this many timeouts, I need to use them. The plays that I call are very important and I want my best players out there and I want the most advantage that I can get.
The two-minute warning changes how you do it and folks, we’re living in the last days. We don’t know how much time we have left. We have a world system that wants to eradicate all nations of their own sovereignty. The minute that happens, everything we know and how it runs changes Everything. There’s not one thing that you will have If you live in the United States of America. Every freedom that you have will essentially be gone in a moment. They’re being stripped away right now, but everything will change in a moment. In a moment, and, if it happens, game over. Everything changes, and so I’m hoping you hear the severity in my voice. I’m not wanting to bring fear and I’m not wanting to because when you, when you are his child, when you belong to the father, none of that will matter because you are safe in his hand, but everything about how you live still changes. You might be safe and he’ll give you direction. It’s the parable of the 10 virgins Only five had prepared enough with the oil to be able to sustain living in the darkness when the call came, and if you aren’t prepared, you won’t be able to borrow from somebody else. You have to be prepared.
I really hope that I am putting a sense of urgency in your spirit to say are you really ready? Are you making preparation for the return of Jesus Christ? Are you living a life that has not said in word but not in deed, that you belong to him? Um, where we’re going? Okay, I want you to go to Romans 6.
And, like I said, we’ve talked about justification by faith. We talked about the DNA of faith and the components of faith, what the markers are of a life lived in faith and the benefits of that, that we can hope against hope, no matter what we’re facing. No matter what we’re facing. But I want today to really hone in on the life that is in the process of sanctification, and so I want you to turn, because this makes all the difference. This is the strategy for winning. If you are not sure where you fall today, by the time we’re finished, you’ll be sure and you’ll be able to know you can make whatever changes or adjustments you need to make.
In this two-minute warning and again, that’s not to scare you, that’s to bring you hope. This is to bring you hope. But I’m throwing out the warning because I want to show you what things to be wary of, so that you can wary of, so that you can see, so that you can have a winning strategy. Okay, it’s good news, it’s not bad news, but I hope you understand the seriousness of it. That’s why I’m talking about it. That’s why I’m giving you the examples of when Jesus repeated himself and being prepared. I want you to have ears to hear. I want you to be an active listener today. That’s a long intro, so I’m going to try to keep this as short as I can and not keep you too long, but I want you to stay engaged with me and with this text.
Paul says the very first. Now, this, of course, was written as a letter. We added in chapters and verses later. So this is a continuous thought of how you are justified by faith, how, then, that faith was made evident and how we are partakers of that faith. Chapter 5 is how that faith and having that justification brings peace. That justification brings peace Through having faith. We understand that because of sin, the sin of Adam, we all have fallen into sin. I’m not taking the time to go into that today, but because of one man’s sin, all of mankind fell because he was the first man. But because of Jesus Christ. Because of one man and after faith, we are not able to live a life of faith and walk into the grace of God and live in the grace of God where that forgiveness and that justification came. But it is by faith that we walk into that grace. Now that we have done that, we move into chapter six and it says what shall we say then? Are we to continue in sin? That grace may abound. So he’s saying in order, because where sin abounded, grace there much more abounds. That’s in chapter five. And he’s saying so then do. If I want more abounding grace, does that mean I stay in sin? He says by no means. How can we who died to sin still live in it? And I want us to think about that.
When I was pondering that question, I had my own questions come to mind, and this is what I want you to take this and make this personal for yourself. I’m going to ask us some questions. I’m going to tell you what sanctification is. I’m going to show you in scripture why there is a distinction and what that distinction looks like to live a life that is in sanctification versus a life that is not and then that will give us the tools to know how to navigate. Okay, so some of these questions, you might wanna write these down because to be able to look at yourself and answer them honestly. Because, truthfully, if you don’t answer them honestly there’s no point. You’re only fooling yourself when you don’t answer honestly, when you’re not willing to really look at the truth, to face that we’re not as good as we think we are, we’re not as pure as we think we are, that we have to understand that you can’t fool God. He sees the truth, whether we’re willing to see it or not. But here’s a question for you Do you actively think about your own walk of sanctification? And maybe I need to give the definition to sanctification so you can better understand that question.
What is sanctification? It is very simply to the interests of the deity of Jesus Christ. Holiness, consecration that’s another big word. If I am consecrated to something, I have been set apart to that thing. Sanctification is used in a moral sense, or understood in a moral sense, for a process, or more often, its results, by the state of being made holy. Ok, so it’s the process of becoming holy.
Holy Sanctification is the work of the Holy Spirit in us, consecrating us in the baptism we received into a life that looks like God, which he is holy, his biggest and most oh, what’s the word? I don’t even have the right language for this his essence is holiness, everything about him. Every other attribute rolls up into the fact that he is first holy. In the throne room, the creatures are constantly crying out holy, holy, holy, because that’s all they can see is how holy he is. No matter what he, no matter what’s said, no matter what he does, no matter what our action, whatever attribute they see of him, they see his holiness and it is poured out from him. And if I’m going to live a life as a disciple of Jesus Christ, it means that my life will look like him, that I’m learning how to do it in such a way that when people see me, they see Jesus. It’s not, it’s not anything I can do in my flesh that will cause somebody to want to know him or give them the tools to be like him, but it’s when I look like him, when I’m able to do things the way he did them, which always was astounding to those who watched, then I’m able to beckon someone to come closer. To beckon someone to come closer, I’m able to cause them to desire a life lived for Jesus Christ and not one that indulges the flesh, because the end of sin is death.
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All right, let’s go back to these scriptures, because a disciple, according to scripture, jesus, was called a rabbi, a teacher, and though his disciples. The word disciple means that they literally were to live and breathe imitating their teacher. That’s what we’re supposed to be doing as disciples of Jesus Christ. We are supposed to be living and breathing his imitation, learning from him, doing it the way he did it, understanding why he did it and doing it for those purposes, having the same motivations that my life was to literally imitate, emulate what I saw him do. That is a disciple. So if we actively look at our own lives, is my life living a process of emulating him? Am I walking in sanctification and becoming more holy? Does my life show the holiness of God in my actions, my words, my deeds, my thought, life, the motives of my heart? Let’s continue reading.
Do you not know that all of us who have been? I love this because we have to understand that, by accepting his death, why we get baptized, why we’re baptized in the Holy Spirit, in the Holy Spirit, is so that I can put to death the deeds of the flesh and that I can live to the holiness of God, that he has given me, through baptism, the ability to die to what enslaved me, sin enslaves, in fact. Let’s keep reading because he explains this very well, for if we have been united with him in a death like this, we shall certainly be united with him in a resurrection like his. We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that. Do you feel trapped by sin? Do you feel enslaved to an old behavior, an old pattern, an old mindset? For one who has died has been set free from sin. Now, if we have died with Christ, we believe that we also will live with him. We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again. I don’t have to worry that I’m going to die continually in this sin, in my thoughts, in my emotions, in my body. Once I have died to sin, I now have resurrection life. The life that resurrected Jesus Christ now lives in me. Now that understanding demands the two minute warning life, that two minute warning life, and it matters. It matters how it matters. The fruit of my life that’s being shown, what’s being produced in my life is evidence We’ve talked about this before. It’s evidence of what’s going on on the inside of me.
And I read something by one of the church fathers, clement, who many of the first, many of our church fathers who literally lived at the same time as many of the disciples, or there right after when the disciples were all martyred except for John. They were passing these, the theology and the understanding of the revelation of Jesus Christ. They were passing that on to men to head the churches like a presbyter, and the Roman church ended up calling them a pope or a priest. And one of the first bishops after Peter was Clement. And Clement wrote an epistle. Now, it’s not in our Bible, it’s not considered part of the canon, but their epistles are. An epistle just means a letter. So they wrote letters, the same way that Peter and Paul did to the churches in order to continue to stir them to live the life that Jesus Christ died for them to have and not to continue in a life of sin.
And I wanted to read this to you. This is something that Clement wrote in his epistle and it says seeing then that we are the special portion of a holy God, let us do all things that pertain unto holiness forsaking. Okay, so this is showing us he’s getting ready to give us, and these are in scripture too. I just wanted you to hear it from him because I thought it fits so well. He’s mimicking what Paul has already taught. He’s reiterating, actually, to the Corinthian church and he’s letting them know okay, some of these things that we, that Paul, wrote to you, you’re still struggling with. So let me reiterate to you what the fruit of your life should look like.
And we have to take stock in our own lives and we have to look and say does the fruit of my life bear out to a life of sanctification or am I still allowing myself to participate in things that are not holy? Am I allowing myself to remain enslaved to sin Instead of realizing I can be free from sin and live a life free from that? But that also means that I’m making choices to live a life unto holiness. You can’t have one without the other. I have to not participate here. But not participating here means that I have chosen to participate over here. Okay it’s, you can’t do both. You can’t do both. That’s lukewarm, you can’t do both.
So he says let us do all things that pertain unto holiness, forsaking evil speakings. Abominable and impure embraces. What are we embracing, or who are we embracing that we should not. That’s impure and abominable drunkenness and tumults and hateful lusts. Oh, my goodness, when I heard, when I read that, it immediately made me think of all the protesting that goes on right now. That is so not standing for truth and it is hateful lusts that they are standing for and screaming about Abominable adultery, hateful pride. At the time of this recording, this is June 3rd, I believe, when I’m recording this, and this is they have made. The United States has the government has called for June to be pride month and where every abominable thing according to scripture we’re supposed to have parades and dress and celebrate everything that stands in pride against what is spoken of as far as holy living and according to the word. And that’s exactly what I’m seeing here Abominable adultery and hateful pride.
Then he quotes scripture, for God, he saith resisteth the proud but giveth grace to the lowly. So God resists the proud but gives grace to the lowly. Let us therefore cleave unto those to whom grace is given from God. Let us clothe ourselves in concord, being lowly-minded and temperate, holding ourselves aloof from all backbiting and evil, speaking being justified by works and not by words. Now, what’s he saying? He’s not saying that we get our salvation from works and that we aren’t justified because of our works, but what he’s saying is like because you have to see this as two sides of the same coin you have that we are not justified by our works, but then you also have James explaining.
But my faith shows you my works. So something happens in me that causes me to do something different. My actions validate what I believe, and so by that he’s saying that we have to live a life that shows that what I believe. You can see in the fruit of my life that they are congruent. A life of concord, not something where I am participating in the things that will cause death to me, not things that will bring a false knowledge of Jesus Christ or what it means to belong to him. It is not a life. I cannot be saved and live a life of sin. If I think that I’m saved and I’m still sinning, I am fooling myself. I have to walk away from sin, I have to be baptized in the Holy Spirit and I have to be freed. I have to put that sin man to death and live a life now free from sin and unto holiness, unto true life.
Does it matter to you personally that your life bears fruit of growth and holiness? What am I really saying? What am I asking? I’m asking do you care? Do you look at your own life and look at the fruit of your life, and do you care if it looks like you have the fruit of the spirit being borne out in your life, or do you not care? Do you not? Do you not care so much that you don’t ever think about it? You don’t. You don’t look, you don’t self-examine. We all have to become better at truly looking at ourselves. And what are we living for? What are we giving our life for? What are we giving our time to? For what are we giving our life for? What are we giving our time to? What are we prioritizing, and how are we going about doing that? What is the manner in which we do that? What, would others say when they look at us, is the fruit of our life? What is the evidence of our life pointing to? Is it a life that is sanctified, set apart for the work of God?
Now, that doesn’t mean that all of us are called to be preachers and teachers and working in the church, so to speak, with certain ministries. It means whatever my hand finds to do, I do it unto the Lord. I do it with all my might, and I do it unto the Lord. I do it living a life of holiness to him. I do it with right motives. I do what he’s called me to do, whether I’m at home raising children, whether I’m on a job working for a boss, whether I am the boss and I am commanding those underneath me, or whether I am in ministry. Is what I’m doing simply because I want a position of recognition or power? Or do I do it because I want to feel better about myself and my decisions and I say, well, I’m covered by grace and therefore it’s okay? Or am I actually looking at the fruit of my life and do I care what the fruit of my life says?
I want you to think about those questions. What do you feel about the word holy? And I’m asking that because the word holy stirs all kinds of conjectured thoughts, pictures, imaginations in the minds of people. We usually think of the word holy based off of either what we grew up, hearing or seeing. If you were in the church or a denomination that you’re a part of or you might make, that might conjure up the way somebody dresses. That might conjure up the way somebody worships. That might conjure up the way that somebody has their list of what they’re allowed to do and not allowed to do. The word holiness can conjure up all kinds of things for people, and it’s different for so many and we may not be on the same page, but I’m hoping I can draw you to what holiness is.
Holiness is simply the emulation of living the life that we live unto God, the way that Jesus modeled for us. That has nothing to do with what kind of songs you sing. We don’t know what kind of. We know Jesus sang hymns. We know that because when he was going to the Garden of Gethsemane, when they left after having the Passover meal and Jesus washes their feet and sends Judas out, we know that this whole thing when they leave, they’re singing hymns. The scripture tells us they were singing hymns, but we don’t know if they were demonstrative, we don’t know if it was quiet. We don’t know if they were clapping and rejoicing. We don’t know. We don’t know if it was quiet. We don’t know if they were clapping and rejoicing. We don’t know. We just don’t know. It doesn’t tell us.
So I want you to kind of put away whatever imaginations you have about the word holiness and I want you to think about this for yourself what does the word holy mean to you and are you? Are you somebody who it makes you like, like? You don’t like that word, and if you don’t, I need to challenge you, because how can you love a holy God if you don’t love the fact that he’s holy? We need to embrace holiness again. If we’re going to be able to make a difference in this world, folks, in the climate that we’re living in, we have to do it, living a holy lifestyle. We can’t look like the world and think that we’re holy and living unto God. There needs to be a marked difference of what the church looks like versus what the world looks like. It needs to be drastically different. We need to embrace holiness again. We need to wrap our arms around what holiness really means.
What does it mean to be someone who forgives, someone who covers, but someone who tells the truth, and someone who doesn’t compromise, someone who has compassion, someone who helps his neighbor, but someone who stands and defends, and someone who will give their self in sacrifice for others. They can seem like a total dichotomy. And how does one do both things? But we do. Jesus, who was meek and lowly, was the same Jesus who made a cord, a whip out of cords and drove out the money changers to stand for holiness in the house of God and said this house is to be a house of prayer. That’s what his father said and that’s what it’s going to stay. It’s not going to be a place where I come and have what I’d call a holy party and give it the name holy. I am to come to the house of prayer, I am to seek a God who’s holy and I am to live a life that emulates that holiness. I know this is heavy, I really do. But if you want to make it in the climate we’re living, if you want to make it, if you want to be assured that you have lived your life victoriously and that a glorious eternity waits you, it means that you have given your life in baptism, you have died to the old man, to sin, and you have risen to new life, a life of sanctification. I want to read to you and I hope you will read the whole chapter. I hope you read all of chapter six, because it’s very, very detailed. It’s it.
Paul lays it out very detailed in in how you become slaves to something and that you choose what you are a slave to. And you are a slave to the one that you obey. If you obey the demands of your flesh and sin, you’re a slave to the one that you obey. If you obey the demands of your flesh and sin, you’re a slave to sin. But if you obey the Holy Spirit, you have now made yourself a servant and enslaved yourself in a right way to live free from sin and alive to Christ.
Let’s look at verse I’m going to read from verse 19, through the end of the chapter, which is verse 23. And it says I am speaking in human terms because of your natural limitations and he’s speaking of the difference in understanding what it means to be a slave. For just as you once presented your members as slaves your body, your members, your arms, your feet, all your members as slaves to impurity and to lawlessness, leading to more lawlessness, so now present your members as slaves to righteousness leading to sanctification, to righteousness leading to sanctification. So when I do what’s right in the eyes of God, it leads me on the road of sanctification. For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? What a great question. What a great question. I’m going to read that again, verse 21.
But what fruit were you getting at that time, meaning when you lived free from the regard of righteousness, when you lived in sin. What fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed, for the end of those things is death. But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the fruit you get leads to sanctification and its end, eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus, our Lord. So, to sum it up, how do we live in these last days? We live a life submitting ourselves to the knowledge that we have died to sin. If I am brought into a situation of any kind, that is a temptation to sin in some way, whether that’s with my mouth, with my actions, with my heart, with my body, whatever If I am continually meditating on the fact that I have died to sin, a dead man doesn’t do anything. He doesn’t do anything. He has no life left in him to do those evil deeds. He is dead. So if I know that I am dead to sin, but that in my baptism I was raised to a righteous, eternal, holy life in God, what choices would I be making?
Become aware of what you’re actually thinking when you’re making decisions. What are the thoughts that you’re actually thinking when you’re making decisions? What are the thoughts that you’re thinking? What is motivating you? Is it flesh motivating you or is it a life of holiness pleasing to God? Is your desire to please God motivating you? Think about your motivation, and if you’ll think about what’s motivating you, it will be easier. It will be easier for you to see.
What are you enslaved to? What are you obeying? What things do you maybe need to lay down before the Lord and say I recognize I’ve been giving myself to this, I recognize that I’ve wanted to for this reason or that, and I repent of that and I allow that thing to be put to death. That’s why Paul said he dies daily. We will realize, as we walk out this sanctification, that there will be things we didn’t even realize we were enslaved to and as they pop up, we have to realize okay, that needs to die, it’s time to put that thing to death. And then, when we do, we understand that it doesn’t end in death, it ends in resurrection, life and we live unto God.
My challenge to you today is to think about your personal sanctification. Think about the fruit of your life. Think about what you feel about the word holiness, how you have to make those adjustments. What things do I need to change to right this upside down ship and what can I do? If this is the two minute warning, what do I need to do? What strategies do I need to employ and use that I might walk in victory, folks. We have the ability to totally walk in victory, but it will be determined by our willingness to obey and be a slave of Jesus Christ versus a slave to sin.
It really is that simple, and we have to determine by our choices what fruit that’s going to manifest. Who am I affecting by my fruit? Who’s watching? Are my children watching? Are friends watching? Are co-workers watching? Is a spouse watching? And whatever they’re seeing, is that going to cause them to want Jesus Christ or are they going to think I don’t want any part of that? That’s no different than the way everybody else is living. There’s nothing there. We need to have that kind of understanding. We need to have that kind of thought process about ourselves, about our own lives, about the fruit of our lives.
But when we do lives, but when we do, the fullness of the kingdom of God is then at our disposal. If you die to sin and the way of the world, you live to the kingdom of God, where the ruler and reigning king is Jesus Christ, the king of all righteousness, the king of all that is good. Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father above, in whom there is no variance or shadow of turning. There’s no place I can turn to in him. Where his light casts a dark shadow, it is all light. I have all light. When we live in a dark, nasty generation who wants nothing to do with godliness, I can still bring the light into that darkness, and that light can not only affect my life but all those around me, and I hope that that is what you desire.
If we’re going to make a difference, we need to start doing it right now. We don’t have time to waste anymore. We have to make preparation. We need oil in our lamps to live in this dark world. So that’s my challenge to you today. I hope you take it. I hope that you will not shy away from the hard thing and that you are willing to live your life for Jesus Christ. He came and lived and died for you in your place, took your place, paid your penalty price. He paid the ransom for us. Now the least we can do is live to his glory. Let his glory shine forth in our lives. Thank you so much for joining me today. It’s my pleasure to spend time with you and we’ll see you next time. Bye-bye.
Transcribed by https://podium.page
