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Devotions from Gospel Chapel Ministries HOME SERMONS SERMON NOTES
THE PROMISE OF THE GOSPEL
Neither you nor I [nor Enoch] can walk with God until we are reconciled with His will. See this in 2CO 6:14b-16, "...what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols? for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people."
What fellowship can we have if one of us talks only of hatred and bitterness while the other wants to speak of God’s love? Unrighteousness, the lack of love for one’s fellow man, cannot walk with righteousness. Take notice of the above Scripture. God will dwell and walk in them that are reconciled with His will. Is it possible for us to understand Enoch’s walk with God? Yes! It is the promise of the gospel that when our hearts have been reconciled with God, He will walk in us. He will be our God, and we shall be His people. Who? It is not those who walk in unrighteousness, for "...what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness?" It is not possible to have fellowship with God if we walk in unrighteousness. There must be reconciliation.
All separation between God and us is caused by sin. Therefore, those who by the grace of God are given to conformity to the image of Christ, humbling themselves unto the death of the flesh, walking with God, have this evidence of the imparted righteousness of Christ. PHI 2:8 tells us Jesus, "being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross."
Will you and I conform to the image of Christ? Will we humble ourselves and become obedient? It goes farther, even to the death of the cross. Will we obey, even to the crucifying of our old nature and the things which please our flesh? ROM 6:5-6 says, "For if we have been planted together in the likeness of his death, we shall be also in the likeness of his resurrection: Knowing this, that our old man is crucified with him, that the body of sin might be destroyed, that henceforth we should not serve sin."
Will we write death upon self, sin, and the world and follow Christ in the way of the cross, becoming obedient unto the death of the flesh? This is what having the Spirit of Christ means, and how important it is! "Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his," ROM 8:9.
EPH 1:4 says, "According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world [For what? Whereunto are we predestined?], that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." Notice the reason we are predestined before the foundation of the world. We are predestined to be conformed to the image of His dear Son, "...that we should be holy and without blame before him in love." That is a picture of our walk of life. That is wherein we have the evidence of our salvation. We must become holy and without blame, "which is Christ in you, the hope of glory," COL 1:27.
Our thrice holy God keeps no company with the unclean. When you and I can still cherish sin, loving it, we do not have salvation. A man told me of his conversion going through his checklist, concluding by saying, "and then, of course, I was lost, I was converted, and I’m saved." However, he spent the next two hours, with a beam of glee in his eye, recounting all the wrong things he did as a young man. The expression in his eyes spoke loud and clear. That man still cherished his sin; he could relive it as he told me his story. Was he converted?
When I think back on the sins of my youth, I have to say with the Psalmist that I dare not raise my eyes. There is nothing of which to boast; if I do recount those deeds, it is with shame. David said, "Remember, O LORD, thy tender mercies and thy lovingkindnesses; for they have been ever of old. Remember not the sins of my youth, nor my transgressions: according to thy mercy remember thou me for thy goodness’ sake, O LORD," PSA 25:6-7.
A holy God cannot keep company with an unclean heart, and until the heart has been cleansed by the work of regeneration, until the desires of the heart have been changed, we cannot walk with God. Even though we may say we have been literally delivered from our sinful deeds, if we can still cherish sin in our heart, we cannot walk with God. Amen.
These on-lines sermons are a ministry of Gospel Chapel located in Conrad, Montana. We also have a book ministry and a daily devotion. See also our sermon notes. We pray this sermon has been a blessing to those who read it. If you share this sermon with a friend, please let us know. Thank you.