GENUINE SALVATION INCLUDES NEW VIRTUES WHICH ARE ACTIVATED BY LOVE
BIBLE PASSAGE:
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ,
set your hearts on things above, where Christ
is, seated at the right hand of God.
(Colossians 3:1)
MEDITATION:
When we read and meditate on the scriptures, we can easily see that
the control center for our faith (or lack of faith) is a combination of
our heart and mind. Whatever we train our mind to focus on, affects
our heart. If our mind is full of selfishness, then we are not going to
have a heart for others.
Conversely, if our mind is filled with unselfishness, then we will
have concern for others and actively seek ways to encourage them
and brighten their days. In addition, we will have a genuine concern
regarding their relationship with the Lord, and where they will spend
eternity.
In his letter to the Colossians, Paul addresses the importance of
controlling our minds.
Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things.
(Colossians 3:2)
Of course it is a humbling experience (and God loves it when we are
humble), but if we are going to follow Paul’s advice, then we have to
allow God’s Spirit within us to gain control of our heart and mind.
Paul tells us that when we are truly saved, we died to our
sinfulness and our lives will reflect our change in status.
For you died, and your life is
now hidden with Christ in God.
(Colossians 3:3)
He also reminds us of the promise given to those who surrender
to the Lord and His will for their lives.
When Christ, who is your life, appears,
then you also will appear with Him in
glory. (Colossians 3:4)
If we are going to allow the Spirit to have control of our mind,
then we should expect, allow, and embrace changes in our lives.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly
nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and
greed, which is idolatry. You used to walk in these ways,
in the life you once lived. But now you must also rid
yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice,
slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to
each other, since you have taken off your old self with its
practices
(Colossians 3:5, 7-9)
If we ignore Paul’s instructions, then we are promised that we
will suffer a severe punishment that we could never imagine,
and it will last forever.
Because of these, the wrath of God is coming.
(Colossians 3:6)
The wrath of God will fall on those who have convinced themselves
they are saved, but have never fully surrendered to the Lord. God
gives us a choice – we can either embrace His love and blessings, or
be subjected to His wrath.
When Paul tells us to ‘put on the new self’, it is a call to action. In order
for us to be ‘renewed in the image of Christ’, we have some responsibilities.
The reward for our actions is, Christ living in us, which makes it possible
for us to ‘clothe ourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness
and patience’. We discover that we have a new natural ability, willingness
and passion to ‘bear with each other’ and ‘forgive one another’.
and have put on the new self, which is being renewed
in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is
no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian,
Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. Therefore,
as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves
with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience.
Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has
a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you.
(Colossians 3:10-13)
Paul tells us to ‘forgive as the Lord has forgiven us’. That is a tall order
for anyone, but it can happen (along with developing the other virtues he
mentioned), when we learn to love others as God loves us. Paul says that
love is what makes everything work together to please the Lord, and for
others to recognize that we truly belong to Him. When we are motivated
by love for God and for others, each virtue accentuates and strengthens
the other ones, so they will all complement each other.
And over all these virtues put on love,
which binds them all together in perfect unity.
(Colossians 3:14)
ACTION:
Are you still wearing your ‘old self’ or have you put on your ‘new self’
with all of its virtues bound together with a heart that loves God? Can
others detect the ‘new self’ in you by your words, actions, and attitudes
More importantly, do you (and God) know you have changed and that
you have surrendered to His Will, and His expectations of you?
As we look around us, we can see many signs that the Lord will be
returning and it’s time for us to do a self-assessment to determine
where we are in our relationship with Him. It requires a ‘deep dive’
into ourselves as we compare what the Lord expects of us, and where
we are (really are) in meeting His expectations.
We can wear a ‘religious disguise’ that causes others to believe we
are ‘in lock step’ with the Lord, but we (and God) know of those
things in our lives that are not righteous (things that are hidden
from the eyes of others). We could have unrighteous attitudes and
lustful thoughts or habits that others cannot see or detect. We
might have a seething jealousy or envy that we mask from others.
When we assess our righteousness and unrighteousness, we need
to be willing to confess our faults to the Lord, ask for His forgiveness,
and commit to allowing the Holy Spirit to be active in our lives and
help us eliminate all that is not pleasing to the Lord.
Of course, Satan will be active in trying to prevent us from humbling
ourselves and striving to please the Lord. He wants to convince us that
we are pretty good Christians and we don’t really have any adjustments
to make. He can create in us an indignant attitude that causes us to feel
insulted that anyone might think we have unrighteous ‘things’ in our lives.
We have to admit that Satan is clever and devious and we absolutely
need the Holy Spirit to intervene and turn away any corrupted thoughts
he tries to implant in out minds. What things? Well, for example, he may
convince us that we need to do a better job of hiding unrighteous thoughts
or habits from others.
Why would he do that? He wants to change our focus. Instead of trying
to ‘fix’ our issues, he wants us to get an idea that as long as others can’t
see them, we are not having a bad influence on them, and that’s a good
thing, because it shows we have a love for others.
That’s just one of the many ways he attacks our mind (desires).
Let no one say when he is tempted, “I am being
tempted by God,” for God cannot be tempted
with evil, and he himself tempts no one. But each
person is tempted when he is lured and enticed by
his own desire. Then desire when it has conceived
gives birth to sin, and sin when it is fully grown brings
forth death.
(James 1:13-15)
He wants us to be deceitful by hiding our sinful thoughts
and justifying our actions if we are confronted by others.
The heart is deceitful above all things, and
desperately sick; who can understand it?
“I the Lord search the heart and test the
mind, to give every man according to his
ways, according to the fruit of his deeds.”
(Jeremiah 17:9-10)
The war between ‘good’ (God) and ‘evil’ (Satan) is real in our lives.
When we ‘come to grips’ with this reality, we will know that it is a
war we cannot win in our own strength, so we need to confess our
sins and weaknesses to the Lord, and ask Him to help us put away
the ‘old self’ and allow the ‘new self’ to become who we are now.
We need to do it today before Satan infiltrates our minds even more.
Pray,
“Heavenly Father, thank You for Your gift of salvation.
Forgive me if I am still holding on to my old self and I
have failed to embrace the new self that confirms my
faith is genuine. Help me to cultivate the virtues expected
of Christians so I will have a care, a concern, a love, and
a positive impact on others. Teach me to be humble so I
can easily exchange my selfishness for selflessness.”
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