u) I want here to give the Light of the Lord on two important verses of the Word of God, namely:
u1) “work out your own salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil. 2:12b). It might seem logical from this verse that we have to “work” and “tremble” at the same time. Our logic, however, does not apply in many places of the Word of God. When we consider also the next verse: “For it is GOD which WORKETH in you both to will and to do of His good pleasure” (Phil. 2:13) we will find out that we “work out” our salvation by making decisions by our free will – we are willing – to do the Will of God. He reveals to us His Will in various situations and conditions of our earthly life and we, by our tongue, are giving Him our consent to do His work. Fear and trembling should be with us and also in us when we hesitate and speculate whether we should do that revealed Will of God at all, or not at all. Because he, who would consciously not want to do it, should tremble at the consequences of his decision.
Before God performs in us any work necessary for our salvation, He will show it to us and then He wait for the consent of our free will. Because according to God’s Wisdom and the Principles of the Creation of man, God accept the decisions of our free will and He follows them. Thus man is the “mastermind” of his salvation and of his destiny and not God, Who secured the Salvation of man, but man has the choice and the power of deciding which way he will go and whether he will obey God, or not. The clearest example here is Our Lord, Who did not desire to drink the cup, which the Father prepared for Him and revealed it to Him in the Garden of Gethsemane before His crucifixion. Three times the Son pleaded with His Father to remove the cup from Him, if it was possible at all as it was full of horrors for which Jesus was not prepared and which we cannot even imagine. Finally, the Lord spoke the most important word in the whole Bible: “NEVERTHELESS, not My Will, but Thine be done”! This was the absolutely necessary consent of Jesus’ free Will, which the Father needed to conclude the Salvation of man successfully (Lk. 22:42). This is also the overcoming of oneself, which applies to us as well, and gives the right meaning to the word “working out of our salvation”.
u2) “If any man will come after Me, let him deny himself, and take up his cross, and follow Me”(Mt. 16:24b). To deny oneself means not to impose anything, not to oppose, not to argue, quarrel, dispute, not to assert or promote oneself, or own mind, or understanding, or own beliefs or persuasions. The Word of God is not giving us any right to impose, intrude these things unto others. To deny oneself also means to deny our own thoughts, imaginations, opinions, persuasions, understanding, reasonings, attitudes and everything what does not agree with the Scripture and what is in the Scripture clearly written black on white! If there is anything written in the Scripture what I should do and I do not do it, then I don’t have to be a born-again Christian in order to understand it also logically and not argue that I do not have to do it. In such cases even our logic applies even though for spiritual things it is limited. Our logic does not have to apply in the cases, where we compel, oppose, argue, quarrel, forcefully assert ourselves, our attitudes, opinions, understanding or our persuasions about the truths, which may be written in the Scripture, but we are not living them in our own life, they are not visible or apparent in our own personality. Here we need a spiritual discernment.
How can we deny ourselves? First, we must be willing – see point u1) – and also able to PAUSE AND ADMIT that we do not always have truth, but other persons may have truth, and we may not even know that other truth. When we are able to admit such an “outrageous thing for our image”, only then we have hope for a spiritual success and for following the Lord according to His Word.
There is another part in that Word of God – taking up OUR CROSS about which the church and their leaders want to hear nothing – though it is the Word of God! Why we need our cross? The Cross of Christ is not sufficient? NO, it is NOT! Otherwise, our cross would not be stated in the Scripture so CLEARLY. It is not sufficient just to deny our self even to admit that our belief and thoughts and opinions and persuasions were not right. They were given into our mind and heart by spirits of darkness and evil, which were not of God! While we may deny our bad beliefs, even bad persuasions and admit that they were not right, but the SPIRITS, which gave them to us, REMAINED IN US and they shall continue in their “work” and give us other foolishness, other false beliefs and persuasions into our mind and heart until they are destroyed – ON OUR CROSS! Because, if we do not deny our selves, then we have no reason to take up our cross. Our cross thus has to destroy everything what we denied as untruths, as lies, as evil or as unwise and incorrect things. It must destroy all the spirits, which inspired into us all those untruths, lies, evil and unwise and incorrect things and these spirits are hiding in our soul.
That this verse is vitally important (though it is never preached and explained) is indicated also by the next verse: “For whosoever will save his life (will not deny it) shall lose it; and whosoever will lose his life (will deny it) for My sake, shall find it” (Mt. 16: 25). When believers lose their old life, but the new one will they not find, then what (spiritual) life will they live after death? Do you know?
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To be continued next week
brother Hanola
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