Grace COMMANDS Crucifixion - our own - Daily! (Lk 9:23; Acts 17:30; Rom 8:13; Col 3:5)

I have heard some that claim the name of Jesus Christ and His Lordship say that because they are not under law but under Grace there are no "DOs and DON'Ts" in the Christian Life. They say DOs and DON'Ts are "legalistic" and that the obeying of rules, regulations and commandments is the stuff of the Old Testament (Old Covenant) which has passed and been superseded by the New Covenant (in Jesus' Blood) which is Grace.

Yes, the New Covenant has superseded the Old but the problem lies in what these people think the New Covenant (in Jesus' precious Blood) achieved and permits. Put simply, they believe and teach that the Grace of God in giving His only begotten son for the sins of the world means guarenteed forgiveness for every sin they commit - that is - license to sin yet remain free from God's wrath.

For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.
Jude verse 4

I don't want to say much about these lies except that those that teach them are those that Peter says have "forsaken the right way and gone astray, following the way of Balaam the son of Beor, who loved the wages of unrighteousness" and are a total perversion of what God intended and achieved in the Crucifixion and subsequent Resurrection of His Son. The Grace and Truth of Jesus' Life of self denial and obedience unto death on a Cross opened up a Way for every soul that will to return to God with all their hearts. There are a bunch of names for this Way in the Bible:
The Way of the Lord (Matthew 3:3)
The Way of Righteousness (Matthew 21:32)
The Way of God (Matthew 22:16)
The Way of Peace (Luke 1:79)
The Way of Salvation (Acts 16:17)
The Way of Truth (2 Peter 2:2)

This Way can only be traversed and prosecuted in and by true Repentance - compliance with (obedience) and conformity to Jesus Christ's very own Words - both those Written in our Bibles and those spoken by Him (personally!) in Spirit to us (personally!). These selfsame Spiritual Words are [Resurrection] Life to us - they are part of what coming to Jesus and learning from Him means (in yoked fellowship - see Matt 11:28-30) and in my opinion are the very Laws of the Spirit of Life:

"For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death."
Romans 8:2

"Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty."
2 Cor 3:17

"It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words that I speak to you are spirit, and they are life."
John 6:63

This means taking up our own Crosses and Following Him Daily (Luke 9:23)


What I originally intended to say in this blog was that there ARE DOs and DON'Ts in the Christian discipline, two of which I wanted to highlight are found in Matthew 6:19-21,

19“DO NOT lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy and where thieves break in and steal; 20but [DO] lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust destroys and where thieves do not break in and steal. 21For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

And in John 6:27,

"DO NOT labor for the food which perishes, but [DO *LABOR*] for the food which endures to everlasting life, which the Son of Man will give you, because God the Father has set His seal on Him."

Those DOs and DON'Ts seem to be contrary to our survival and prosperity on Earth don't they?! I mean we have to eat and we have to keep aside some money for the future or use it to take care of our own lives - like buying FOOD Lord!!! Hmmm.

But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.’”
Matthew 4:4

Or in other words, 'in and by the Laws of God's Kingdom of Life'.
Matthew 6:25-34 says,

25“Therefore I say to you, do not -->worry about your life<--, what you will EAT or what you will DRINK; nor about your body, -->what you will put on<--. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? 26Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? 27Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
28“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; 29and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. 30Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31“Therefore do not -->worry<--, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. 33But [DO] -->seek FIRST the kingdom of God and His righteousness<--, and all these things shall be added to you. 34Therefore do not -->worry about tomorrow<--, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble [KJV says 'evil' here].

Does the sheer audacity of those instructions from your Lord not awake the desire for Faith to Live by them?!

"So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened."
Luke 11:9,10

These are the kinds things I wanted to say in this blog. I thank God I have the means and resources to share these Biblical Words with you!