Ko koe hoki, that were sometime alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now hath He reconciled. In the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in His sight: 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 (Kolosa 1:21-23)
The old creation is a friend of the world but an enemy of God
Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God (James 4:4)
Before you were saved and reconciled with God, through the blood of Jesus Christ, by faith and regeneration in Him (the death of the flesh and resurrection of the spirit from the dead), you were the old creation and belonged to the world.
You were alive to the world and a friend of the world, but at the same time, you were dead to God because of your wicked works and lived in disobedience to God after the will of your flesh, as an enemy of God (Epeha 2:1-3).
You were carnal and had a carnal mind, which is enmity with God. Because a carnal mind doesn’t submit to God and His law, which represents His will, but is prideful, rebellious, and pernicious and does the will of the flesh.
Your wicked works (sins) testified that you were an enemy of God and that you belonged to the world and the ruler of the world; te rewera
You were a son of the devil and his (hara) nature dwelled in your flesh. You belonged to him and listened to him and obeyed him, by living sense ruled after the will, hiahia, and desires of the flesh and by doing wicked works.
Your mind was darkened and full of lies and deception, which kept you in bondage
Reconciled in the body of Christ
But now in Christ Jesus ye who sometimes were far off are made nigh by the blood of Christ. For He is our peace, Who hath made both one, and hath broken down the middle wall of partition between us; Having abolished in His flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in Himself of twain one new man, so making peace; And that He might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby: And came and preached peace to you which were afar off, and to them that were nigh. For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father (Epeha 2:13-18)
But when you heard the gospel of Jesus Christ; and His perfect work of redemption, you believed in Him and made Jesus Christ your Savior and Lord.
By faith in His sacrifice on the cross and His blood and the identification of yourself with His death and resurrection from the dead, through regeneration, you became a new creation; the new man, and were reconciled in the body of Christ to God.
All your sins and iniquities were forgiven! The blood of Jesus Christ, cleansed you from all your sins and iniquities.
Jesus Christ became your Substitute and through His death He abolished in His flesh the enmity between you and God, to present you holy unblameable and unreproveable in His sight.
The sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ made you holy
Through regeneration in Him, you have become a new man; a saint. You have been made holy, so that you can walk in holiness; separated from the world devoted unto God, doing righteous works instead of wicked works (sins).
A saint is not someone, who has been declared holy after his or her death by people, because of his or her works. But a saint is someone, who has become a new creation; a son of God (both male and female) in Jesus Christ through His blood and regeneration in Him and belongs to Him and walks after the Spirit in the will of God.
The new creation is a saint, the old creation is a sinner. Therefore the works of a person testify whether a person is a new creation or the old creation (Panuitia hoki: ‘Do you always remain a sinner?').
A new creation walks in the will of God and does righteous works and the old creation walks in the will of the flesh and does wicked works
The sacrifice and blood of Jesus Christ made you unblameable and unreprovable
Nevertheless we, according to His promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness. Wherefore, beloved, seeing that ye look for such things, be diligent that ye may be found of Him in peace, without spot, and blameless. And account that the longsuffering of our Lord is salvation; even as our beloved brother Paul also according to the wisdom given unto him hath written unto you; As also in all his epistles, speaking in them of these things (2 Pita 3:13-16)
The blood of Jesus Christ is so powerful that it washed away all your sins and iniquities. By the blood of Jesus Christ you have been made unblameable and unreprovable, which means that He has made you without blame, without fault, without spot, and without blemish. You have been cleansed and no one can accuse you anymore, everything is under the blood of Jesus Christ.
Who shall also confirm you unto the end, that ye may be blameless in the day of our Lord Jesus Christ (1 Koriniti 1:8)
Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the Church, and gave Himself for it; That He might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That He might present it to Himself a glorious Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish (Epeha 5:25-27)
No one shall be able to accuse you, as long as you walk after the Spirit in holiness and righteousness. Because Jesus will return for His Church; His Body, which is holy and without blemish, spot or wrinkle.
Continue in the faith grounded and settled
Cast not away therefore your confidence, which hath great recompence of reward. For ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of God, ye might receive the promise. For yet a little while, and He that shall come will come, and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith: but if any man draw back, My soul shall have no pleasure in him. But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul (Hebrew 10:35-39)
As long as you stay in Him and continue in the faith grounded and settled, which means that you will walk by faith after the Spirit, instead of walking after the will of the flesh doing wicked works, you shall remain holy, unblameable, and unreproveable (Panuitia hoki: ‘Shall I find faith on earth?‘ a ‘Examine yourself, ahakoa kei roto koe i te whakapono’.
But you have to watch that nothing and no one moves you away from the hope of the gospel. That task and responsibility lie with you and no one else.
Every day, you make a choice and you decide on what things you spend your time on and with what things you fill your mind.
If you spend more time on (the things of) te ao, then (the things of) God and His Kingdom and fill your mind with the things of the world, you will become world like instead of by renewing your mind with the Word of God you become like the Word.
Faith is built upon God’s Word
God’s Word is the truth and faith is built upon God’s Word. But if you listen to all kinds of preachers and/or read all kinds of ‘Christian books that teach doctrines, which derive from a carnal mind and changes the words of God in such a subtle manner that it may look spiritual, encouraging, and hopeful for the carnal eye, but in reality diametrically opposes the words of God and lead to perdition, then it won’t be long before you believe their words above the words of God and follow them and deviate from the Word and become lukewarm in the faith and the true gospel of Jesus Christ and the things of God’s Kingdom.
You shall no longer be grounded and settled in the Word, but you shall become unlearned and unstable and be tossed to and fro and carried about with every wind of doctrine, and you shall doubt and become fearful and shall not be able to resist temptations.
Only if you renew your mind with the Word and stand on the Word, there shall be no room for unbelief, doubt, and fear and you shall endure and resist temptations and stay faithful to God.
How do you get faith? By spending time with God in prayer and read and study the Word of God and become a doer of the Word.
Faith is trust in God and believe His Word and obey and act upon His words. Therefore you have to get to know the Word, so that you will get to know God and be able to trust Him. Because how can you trust a person, if you don’t know the person? Exactly, you can’t
Faith is a seed and must grow. Faith will only grow and become strong if you take that little bit of faith and apply it in your life (Panuitia hoki: 'Faith as a grain of mustard seed’).
Faith doesn’t whine, murmur, and complain. No reira, if you want to walk by faith, you should stop complaining and murmuring and stop allowing the circumstances, hardships, and problems to dictate your life and/or linger in the past, which is all part of the nature of the old creation.
Because the new creation, who walks by faith doesn’t murmur and complain, but fights the good fight of faith and takes the Sword; the Word of God and believe His words, obey His words and do His words and keep standing on His Word and in everything gives thanks to God and exalts God (Panuitia hoki: ‘Thankfulness of the sons of God').
Fight the good fight of faith until the end
Fight the good fight of faith, lay hold on eternal life, whereunto thou art also called, and hast professed a good profession before many witnesses. I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things, and before Christ Jesus, who before Pontius Pilate witnessed a good confession; That thou keep this commandment without spot, unrebukeable, until the appearing of our Lord Jesus Christ: Which in His times He shall shew, Who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; Who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; Whom no man hath seen, nor can see: to Whom be honour and power everlasting. Amen (1 Timothy 6:12-16)
Let nothing and no one move you away from the faith and the hope of the gospel, but stay grounded and settled in the faith. It’s not about how you start, but how you finish. Therefore stay in Jesus Christ; stay faithful to Him, keep standing on the Word and fight the good fight of faith until the end, lay hold on eternal life, so that the Lord, the righteous Judge, shall give you the crown of righteousness at that Day.
'Kia tote mo te whenua’
