Can you take your life back after you had given it to Jesus?
No big theology is needed to understand having a relationship with God based on love and walking with Him faithfully. It's basically a marriage.
1 Corinthians 6:17
But the one who is united with the Lord is one spirit with him.
There is no salvation or assurance of salvation on any other path. It takes the faithfulness of two who are married to enjoy the blessedness of growing old together as lifetime partners, for instance. Likewise, God who is faithful expects the faithfulness of his servants. They cannot go their own way and expect to be ushered into the eternal kingdom of the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2 Peter 1:11). They are expected to walk a certain way that the grace of God empowers them to. When they walk that way, they prove their faith in God (James 2:26). Living righteously and godly (Titus 2:11-14) after having escaped the corruption that is in the world (2 Peter 1:4) is the way that is pleasing to God.
2 Peter 1:2-11
2 Grace and peace be multiplied to you in the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord, 3 as His divine power has given to us all things that pertain to life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him who called us by glory and virtue, 4 by which have been given to us exceedingly great and precious promises, that through these you may be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust [evil desires]. 5 But also for this very reason, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue, to virtue knowledge, 6 to knowledge self-control, to self-control perseverance, to perseverance godliness, 7 to godliness brotherly kindness, and to brotherly kindness love. 8 For if these things are yours and abound, you will be neither barren nor unfruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. 9 For he who lacks these things is shortsighted, even to blindness, and has forgotten that he was cleansed from his old sins. 10 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent to make your calling and election sure, for if you do these things you will never fall; 11 for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
Jesus requires a commitment to Him and his ways to be his disciple:
Mark 8:34-37
Jesus is saying, Give your life to me (let it go, lose it) and that's the way to be saved and inherit eternal life. Forget
what you have (Luke 14:33), who you think you are, what you have
accomplished, your own will (Luke 9:23), what you think you know
(Philippians 3:8), for the sake of coming to the knowledge of the Father
and the Son and have eternal life (John 17:3).
Once you do that, you are following Jesus and not living for yourself and giving your life to sin anymore. You turn away from that path of sin that leads to death (Romans 6:23), and don't go back to it. You set your affection on eternal life (Colossians 3:2) and all things that pertain to the way to it, which is called "the way of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:21).
Once you do that, you are following Jesus and not living for yourself and giving your life to sin anymore. You turn away from that path of sin that leads to death (Romans 6:23), and don't go back to it. You set your affection on eternal life (Colossians 3:2) and all things that pertain to the way to it, which is called "the way of righteousness" (2 Peter 2:21).
2 Timothy 2:19
However God’s firm foundation stands, having this seal, “The Lord knows those who are his,” and, “Let every one who names the name of the Lord depart from unrighteousness.”
Jesus
promised eternal life to no one who would not become his disciple and
remain faithful to Him as a disciple. If people are thus committed to Him,
eternal life is ahead of them in the age to come (Luke 18:30) as long
as they are remaining on the way of righteousness. But that’s no longer
the case if they leave that difficult way to eternal life (Matthew 7:14) and go back to living in sin.
Two ways to choose from:
Matthew 7:13-14
13 “Enter by the narrow gate; for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and there are many who go in by it. 14 Because narrow is the gate and difficult is the way which leads to [eternal] life, and there are few who find it.
See also:
Saved From What?
Saved From What?
Faith Implies Obedience
You Are Accountable to Repent - YouTube video
Eternal Life - By Faith Now
Condition to remain in the book of life
Who is Hebrews 10:26 speaking to?
Condition to remain in the book of life
Who is Hebrews 10:26 speaking to?
Colossians 1:21-23
21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 He has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before Him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
If Ye Continue...
No comments:
Post a Comment