Good morning and welcome in everybody. Today, we are going to take a look at a passage of scripture, but before we do that, I wanted to tell you a little story.
When I was in high school, I spent a few weeks each summer, paddling around in a canoe. Because of this, the beauty of the Boundary Waters Canoe Area has been permanently etched upon my mind. God has created so many things upon this Earth for us to enjoy, and His kindness is boundless. I can remember getting up early in the morning, and hanging up my sleeping bag on a tree branch, so it would dry out from the overnight dew. I would grab some birch bark and some dry sticks, and start up a warm fire to cook fresh fish or pancakes on the grill. But after breakfast, there was a routine that persisted every single day. You would store your belongings, pull down your tents, pack everything in the canoe, and start paddling once again. It didn’t matter, rain or shine. It didn’t matter if you were wide awake or half asleep. You needed to get back into that boat each morning, and start paddling all over again. To this day, it’s hard to imagine how many miles I actually paddled those years, but it was a lot. It was a habit that had been firmly established, and a never ending routine that continued every single day.
This reminds me of the Christian Life.
In order to obtain eternal life, we need to continue each day in the perfect will of God. When the sun rises each morning, it is another day to get back into our boat of faith and start paddling. Our salvation depends upon walking each day in the truth of scripture, a perpetual daily habit that must never end. It must be a continuing routine of obedient living, just like getting back into the boat and picking up the canoe paddle.
“Take heed unto thyself, and unto the doctrine; continue in them: for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself, and them that hear thee.” 1 Timothy 4:16
Continue means to persist in an activity, course or action, and keeping at it without stopping. It also means to resume after a period of time. What types of things do you continue to do every single day of your life? Maybe you take a shower each morning, or prepare breakfast for your family. Maybe you brush your teeth everyday, or go for a short walk. Habits are a good thing, as long as they are established on good principles. What I mean is, when bad habits become rooted in your life, they can be very difficult to overcome. As a believer in Christ, we are to continue in the faith, not continue in sin!
Romans 6 ¹ What shall we say then? Shall we continue in sin, that grace may abound? ² God forbid. How shall we, that are dead to sin, live any longer therein?
Scriptures teach that the wages of sin is death. The Lord Jesus taught that people need to repent, otherwise they are going to perish. God has provided us with Grace through His precious Son, but that Grace is provided to us for the purpose of becoming a new creature.
“Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.” 2 Corinthians 5:17
Romans 6 ³ Know ye not, that so many of us as were baptized into Jesus Christ were baptized into his death? ⁴ Therefore we are buried with him by baptism into death: that like as Christ was raised up from the dead by the glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
When we are baptized into the Christian Life, we can have our past life expunged and be reconciled unto God. He can present us unblameable through His grace, but only if you transform your lives, and become converted to His will. A new creature must emerge, one that continues in the faith every day and proves their love for God through obedient living.
Colossians 1 ²¹ And you, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath he reconciled ²² In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight: ²³ If ye continue in the faith grounded and settled, and be not moved away from the hope of the gospel, which ye have heard, and which was preached to every creature which is under heaven; whereof I Paul am made a minister;
Sin needs to be removed from our lives, renouncing everything that goes against the will of God.
“Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.” 2 Timothy 2:19
Continuing to live our lives according to the doctrine of Christ is extremely important, because it shows that you are truly one of His disciples.
John 8 ³¹ Then said Jesus to those Jews which believed on him, If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; ³² And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free. ³³ They answered him, We be Abraham’s seed, and were never in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free? ³⁴ Jesus answered them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin. ³⁵ And the servant abideth not in the house for ever: but the Son abideth ever. ³⁶ If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed.
“Whosoever transgresseth, and abideth not in the doctrine of Christ, hath not God. He that abideth in the doctrine of Christ, he hath both the Father and the Son.” 2 John 1:9
As we near the return of Jesus, seducers and deceivers will only grow worse and worse. It is the rise of a counterfeit Christianity, one that professes to follow Jesus, but cannot endure the teachings of our faith.
2 Timothy 4 ³ For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears;
⁴ And they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.
All of us are sinners who need to repent and do God’s Will from the heart. Obedience to the doctrine of Christ is the avenue that leads to our own salvation.
Romans 6 ¹⁶ Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? ¹⁷ But God be thanked, that ye were the servants of sin, but ye have obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine which was delivered you.
Our eternal salvation depends upon us getting up each day, and continuing to walk in the one true faith which is found throughout the teachings of Divine scripture. Seeking to please God must become a constant habit, just like getting up each morning, and grabbing……
…..The Canoe Paddle
Let’s think about these things for right now. We can be found on your web browser by searching, tlkjbc where you can find our diaries distributed through various platforms. We are not associated, nor affiliated with any other religious groups. You can get our entire podcast feeds directly, along with transcripts at tlkjbc.com or I suppose that you could find us somewhere up here, in the Great Northern Minnesota woods. Peace to you all, and Lord willing, we will talk with you some more tomorrow. Till then, bye bye everybody.
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Teufer Lake King James Bible Church 