Post by Les Brewer on Aug 31, 2012 11:23:16 GMT
John Wolf
Calvary's Cross Ministries
Preaching Christ Crucified
From the pastor's desk.....
Good morning to all in the Wonderful name of Jesus!
...
QUESTION:Will motivational speeches of how great a person is,and how wonderful they can be if they just change their way of thinking,and how great a champion they are,they just need to understand that aspect,be enough to gain entrance into the Kingdom of God,without ever mentioning the Cross of Christ and the need for repentance and faith in Christ alone?
ANSWER: The harsh reality of it is NO! It will never,ever be enough to improve the old nature.The sin nature can not be improved upon,and in fact,MUST die.This is the reason Christ said,"If you do not take up the cross daily (die to self daily) you CAN NOT be His disciple." (Luke 9:23-26)
We must understand that motivational speaking sounds good to our ears,but can not change the heart of man.The heart of man is deceptively wicked and rotten to the core,no man can know his heart completely,only God knows what's in the heart.It is often said,"follow your heart",this my friends,is the worst advise any person could ever give to another.Unregenerate man is not capable of knowing his thoughts or feelings so completely that he will change for the good,or always do the right thing.It must take the blood of Jesus Christ on a daily basis,to keep us on the right path.Repentance was never intended by God to be just a one time thing.When we come to Christ and are transformed by His sacrifice for us,the sin nature is not killed off,it is made dormant.And the way that we keep it dormant is by denying our own desires and agendas,and putting it to death on a daily basis.If we fail to do this everyday,we will soon find ourselves falling prey to this sin nature more and more.It can creep back into our lives and take over again.A thorough reading of Romans chapter 6-8 deals extensively with this issue.No one will be totally sinless until we get our glorified bodies in the resurrection,but the point Paul the apostle makes in these chapters is that we must live free from the sin nature,and not practice sin on a daily basis.Provision is made for forgiveness when we fail,but to assume the attitude that,"well we sin everyday",is approaching it from the wrong understanding.We must die to sin,we must hate our sins more than the sins of others.
Dying to self is the hardest work we will ever face,for self is the problem.We live in a world system that bombards us daily,with living to self and fulfilling our lusts on worldly pleasures.It invades our thinking to the point that we don't even recognize it at times.I struggle more with my sin nature than I do with anything else that I experience on a day to day basis.No one gives me more fits than myself.We must learn to let Christ live in our hearts by faith in him alone,placing no faith in our own efforts,for God can never use our old self,it must die,and Christ must live in us.
Let us come to the foot of the cross daily,that we may die daily,and take up the cross of Christ,and follow Him to new life.Living for self in a totally selfish world will not end well for anyone.It must be all of Christ,and none of us.We must abide in the Vine,for it is He who carries us,not we who carries Him.....may God bless you all,and have a blessed day...........brother John.
Calvary's Cross Ministries
Preaching Christ Crucified
From the pastor's desk.....
Good morning to all in the Wonderful name of Jesus!
...
QUESTION:Will motivational speeches of how great a person is,and how wonderful they can be if they just change their way of thinking,and how great a champion they are,they just need to understand that aspect,be enough to gain entrance into the Kingdom of God,without ever mentioning the Cross of Christ and the need for repentance and faith in Christ alone?
ANSWER: The harsh reality of it is NO! It will never,ever be enough to improve the old nature.The sin nature can not be improved upon,and in fact,MUST die.This is the reason Christ said,"If you do not take up the cross daily (die to self daily) you CAN NOT be His disciple." (Luke 9:23-26)
We must understand that motivational speaking sounds good to our ears,but can not change the heart of man.The heart of man is deceptively wicked and rotten to the core,no man can know his heart completely,only God knows what's in the heart.It is often said,"follow your heart",this my friends,is the worst advise any person could ever give to another.Unregenerate man is not capable of knowing his thoughts or feelings so completely that he will change for the good,or always do the right thing.It must take the blood of Jesus Christ on a daily basis,to keep us on the right path.Repentance was never intended by God to be just a one time thing.When we come to Christ and are transformed by His sacrifice for us,the sin nature is not killed off,it is made dormant.And the way that we keep it dormant is by denying our own desires and agendas,and putting it to death on a daily basis.If we fail to do this everyday,we will soon find ourselves falling prey to this sin nature more and more.It can creep back into our lives and take over again.A thorough reading of Romans chapter 6-8 deals extensively with this issue.No one will be totally sinless until we get our glorified bodies in the resurrection,but the point Paul the apostle makes in these chapters is that we must live free from the sin nature,and not practice sin on a daily basis.Provision is made for forgiveness when we fail,but to assume the attitude that,"well we sin everyday",is approaching it from the wrong understanding.We must die to sin,we must hate our sins more than the sins of others.
Dying to self is the hardest work we will ever face,for self is the problem.We live in a world system that bombards us daily,with living to self and fulfilling our lusts on worldly pleasures.It invades our thinking to the point that we don't even recognize it at times.I struggle more with my sin nature than I do with anything else that I experience on a day to day basis.No one gives me more fits than myself.We must learn to let Christ live in our hearts by faith in him alone,placing no faith in our own efforts,for God can never use our old self,it must die,and Christ must live in us.
Let us come to the foot of the cross daily,that we may die daily,and take up the cross of Christ,and follow Him to new life.Living for self in a totally selfish world will not end well for anyone.It must be all of Christ,and none of us.We must abide in the Vine,for it is He who carries us,not we who carries Him.....may God bless you all,and have a blessed day...........brother John.
