“I appeal to you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and create obstacles contrary to the doctrine that you have been taught; avoid them. For such persons do not serve our Lord Christ, but their own appetites, and by smooth talk and flattery they deceive the hearts of the naive. For your obedience is known to all, so that I rejoice over you, but I want you to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil. The God of peace will soon crush Satan under your feet. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you.” (Romans 16:17-20 ESV)
In our world today we need this same warning (caution). For there are many people out in the world and within the gatherings of the church (or the false church) who stir up divisions and who create obstacles contrary to the doctrine which Jesus taught, and which his NT apostles taught. And how do they do this? They teach a twisted, altered, and diluted character of God/Christ, of his church, and of his gospel message. And they teach Scriptures outside their appropriate context to give a different message.
For example, they teach Ephesians 2:8-9 absent of verse 10, which is necessary to the overall context. And much of this is deliberate, at least it is by those who initiated these teachings, but the teachings are repeated often by those who don’t know better because they just listen to what other people tell them (well, certain people), and they don’t test what they are hearing against the Scriptures taught within the right context, or they would realize that what they are repeating is a lie and not the truth.
For Ephesians 2:8-9 teaches us that we who are saved, in truth, have been saved by grace through faith. And this is not of our own doing – neither the grace nor the faith – not of the will nor of the flesh of man. For both the grace and the faith to believe in Jesus come from God and are gifted to us by God, and they are not a result of our own works. We can do nothing in our flesh to earn or to deserve our own salvation. But then it continues… “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus FOR GOOD WORKS, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them” (verse 10).
So, Ephesians 2:8-9 is NOT teaching that we do no works or that we don’t have to obey God’s commandments or that we don’t have to honor Christ as Lord or that we don’t have to surrender our lives to Christ to do his will. So, what’s it saying? It is saying that God’s grace and our faith are gifts to us from God and they are not of human flesh. So we don’t get to determine what they look like, either. And biblical faith means to be persuaded of God, and he persuades us to forsake our sins and to follow him in walks of obedience to him in holiness and in righteousness (Luke 9:23-26).
And biblical grace, which is bringing us salvation, is training us to renounce (say ‘No!’ to) ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives while we await our Lord’s return. For Jesus Christ “gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14). “For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.”
So, our salvation from sin is not absent of works, as many are teaching, but it is the works which God prepared in advance that we should walk in them, in practice, under his guidance, and in his power, which give evidence that our salvation and our faith are genuine. For the gospel that Jesus taught, and that his NT apostles taught, demand that we die with Christ to sin and that we now walk in obedience to his commands in holy living as our daily practice, in the power of God, and that we no longer make sin our practice.
And they teach that if sin is what we practice, if it is what we obey, and if obedience to God and righteous living and God’s commandments are not what we obey, in practice, that we will die in our sins. We will not inherit eternal life with God. So we can’t just pray a prayer to receive Jesus into our hearts and now we are “good to go” to heaven regardless of how we live. Jesus said that if we want to come after him that we must deny self, take up our cross daily (die daily to sin), and follow (obey) him or we do not have eternal life in him, but we will face his wrath, instead. And he will deny us.
[Mat 7:21-23; Mat 24:9-14; Lu 9:23-26; Jn 6:35-58; Jn 10:27-30; Jn 15:1-11; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 12:1-2; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 10:1-22; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Eph 2:8-10; Eph 4:17-32; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-17; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 1 Pet 1:5; 1 Pet 2:24; Tit 2:11-14; 1 Jn 1:5-10; 1 Jn 2:3-6,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 3:1-19; Heb 4:1-13; Heb 9:28; Heb 10:23-31; Heb 12:1-29; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]
So, we are to watch out for those who cause divisions and who create obstacles (false teachings) contrary to the teachings of Jesus Christ and of his NT apostles regarding Jesus’ sacrifice for sins, God’s grace, our faith, and our salvation. For they are not serving the Lord but their own appetites, and they are tools of Satan to lead us away from the truth to follow after his lies. So know that Jesus put our sins to death with him on that cross that we might die with him to sin and now live for him in obedience to him in righteous living, in his power and strength, and to the glory of God.
So we need to pray for much discernment with regard to who we listen to, and we must be diligent in testing everything we hear against the Scriptures taught in their appropriate context. For just because it sounds good and it feels good to our emotions, it does not mean that it is good. Chances are that it is not good. For the liars love to appeal to our emotions. So we need to be wise as to what is good and innocent as to what is evil, and we can only do this if we are studying the Scriptures in their appropriate context and then if we, by grace, are putting them into practice in our daily lives.
Living Water
An Original Work / November 21, 2013
Based off Various Scriptures
My people have forsaken Me,
Their Savior, who died on a tree;
Made idols, and they worshipped them;
So empty, they will ne’er fulfill.
Lord, You are the hope of Your chosen ones.
Those who turn away from You will be shamed;
The Spring of Living Water left behind.
Living Water satisfies.
The thirsty, let them come and drink;
Believe in Jesus as their King;
The gift of Jesus given them,
So they will never thirst again.
Indeed, the Living Water flows within.
It springs up like a fountain cleansing sin.
Eternal life in heaven promised them.
Living Water glorifies.
Oh people, won’t you come to Him?
Obey Him and repent of sin.
Let Jesus come and live within.
Surrender all your life to Him.
My people, won’t you turn your hearts to Me?
Forsake your idols and then you’ll be free.
Won’t you come now to Me on bended knee?
Living Water sanctifies.
