FAITHFULWORD.ORG | TEACHINGS

John 10:1-18; [John 14:31]; Hebrews 12:2-4; [John 8:3-11]; Psalm 129:1-3; Isaiah 50:6; 52:14-53:12

When we are in pain or sick, it is a challenge to have faith. Yet while enduring the worst suffering any man had ever endured, Jesus Christ was able to steel his mind and refuse to be provoked into committing sin. He knew it was part of God’s plan for all. Every one of God’s people is precious.

A person can study the Word of God in great detail, learning all the Greek words and definitions, but he will never operate the power of God without love. The gift of holy spirit, the walk of power and deliverance, is not academic but must be approached from a heart of love.

If we want to walk as Jesus did, getting the revelation and power when needed, we must have a heart like his. Too often Christians walk in love and by the spirit, yet at the slightest provocation become carnal. We tend to exclude rather than include. No one is disposable. We have to live without partiality. Otherwise, God will not give us the power.

When people tire of walking in love, they begin to institute laws. They cannot handle walking in liberty with God, but instead demand to be followed and exclude anyone who disagrees. This is not a walk of love.

Outside of the bounds of love, God will not give us people to minister to, lives that need saving and ones who are desperately seeking truth. Why? Because He cannot trust us with them under those circumstances. As a result we become carnal, we excommunicate and judge, yet talk as though we are operating the power of God. This is the time to sow seeds of love in order to see its fruit.

Carnality is in juxtaposition with a walk by the Spirit. God’s Word judges and we are not to be the “policemen” in the Body of Christ. The only badge we wear is the badge of love. The Word does give us instruction as to handle sin in an individual’s life when it affects the church. Yet, in all situations, we walk only in love, judging no one.

In God’s plan, there was a substitute who willingly took on the consequences of all our sins and of Adam’s disobedience. Jesus was that second Adam who, by freedom of will, obeyed all of God’s commandments and achieved our redemption. He is our sin-bearer, our Passover lamb. He was the epitome of one who overcame evil with God. He suffered and died for the whole world, and loved every man and woman. He took our sins upon himself to overcome our mental, physical and spiritual needs.

The next time we are tempted to think ill of a neighbor, to judge, or to exclude, we should remember our Savior, the Lord Jesus, and ask what he would do. The answer is written in the gospels.