Jesus Christ is the Word Made Flesh. There is life-giving Power in the Word. Power to transform our lives; to change us from carnal creatures living to gratify the flesh, into spiritual sons and daughters of God, living by the Spirit of God within and putting down the flesh. For the most part man does not have too great a problem with accepting that salvation is a free gift. Free is good, we like things that are free. Having spent many years in organized religion, I have seen both the good and the bad that is done in the name of God.

Many leaders put great stress on the 'free gift' aspect, but are afraid to equally stress that there is also a cost. Churches operate under the same principles that worldly businesses operate from. They too, have quotas to meet, bottom lines to cover, projected growth to reach. Religious leaders in today's world fear that if they put equal emphasis on what comes after accepting the free gift they would not be able to keep the converts they are after. So they placate them with promises of blessing and prosperity, with entertainments, with programs and agendas that are void of the Spirit and Power of God, but hold great appeal to the flesh (carnal nature) of man.

There is something drastically wrong with any doctrine or teaching that encourages people that they do not have to change. Any teaching that proposes that God loves us just as we are and we can remain in the state we are in; that we will rule and reign with Christ when we die and go to heaven without ever dying to our flesh and living by the Spirit while in this world. This is a lie from the pits of hell.

To support this way of thinking there are some who claim that God is only love, while completely ignoring all that is written regarding obedience. That miracles and power were only meant for the days when Jesus walked this earth in a body like unto ours; that God doesn't do miracles today. If you have ever read Fox's Book of Martyrs, you were probably horrified at the terrible things many of the early church members suffered for their belief in Christ. Some would actually tell you that those believers were appointed to suffer; but that it was only for that time in history and doesn't happen today, so not to worry. Nothing could be further from the truth. There is an excellent publication available today called "Voice of the Martyrs" which documents and exposes the same kinds of torture and persecution being inflicted on believers in many parts of the world right now. Do not be deceived that you will never have to suffer, that you will never be forced to take a stand, that persecution will never come in your life. 2 Timothy 3:12 Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution. The only way to avoid persecution is to reject Jesus.

Let's put a little perspective on "free." There is one reason why salvation is free, because only God could make a way for mankind to be brought back into right standing with Him. There is no amount of money that could purchase our redemption back to God. The earth is already the Lord's, and everything in it. There is no amount of material things that we could offer as payment. The only thing that we have to offer God is our heart and mind, our love and our obedience (our life). Jesus came into this world and lived as a man, subject to the exact same weaknesses and temptations that we face, yet did not sin. He was the only sacrifice acceptable for all of mankind, and He willingly chose to lay down his life for our redemption.

So do not imagine that any of the things you value so highly in this world hold any redemptive value with God, they are already His, He created them. He spoke them into existence and He can remove them just as easily. Free means that Jesus Christ paid the price that was so high no one else could ever have paid it. So salvation is free, in the sense that we can do nothing to earn or merit God's forgiveness for our sin.

Free does not, however, mean that we have no duties or responsibilities. God's requirements of man have not changed. From the beginning, He has set boundaries that are not to be crossed. As in any household, there are rules meant not to be broken. As early as the Garden of Eden, God set one stipulation within the paradise He made for man's enjoyment. "And the woman said unto the serpent, We may eat of the fruit of the trees of the garden: But of the fruit of the tree which is in the midst of the garden, God hath said, Ye shall not eat of it, neither shall ye touch it, lest ye die." That one tree was forbidden to man. We all know what happened when man disobeyed God and ate of the tree. Man was driven out of the garden and no longer had free access to God's presence. All of mankind fell because of the disobedience of one man. Through acceptance of Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior that lost relationship can be restored to all men. Cain committed the sin of offering an unacceptable sacrifice, and suffered the consequences of his rebellion and disobedience. We have hundreds of examples throughout the Word of God's commandments to man, and the results of man's refusal to keep those commandments.

Modern man is no different. We are no more exempt from keeping the commandments of God than Adam or Cain were.

Each progressive generation have imagined themselves to be more enlightened and advanced than the generation that preceded them. This is simply vanity and pride. Throughout God's Word we are told what the commandments of God are; we are told what the reward will be for keeping His commandments, and what the punishment for rebelling against them will be. And in each generation man thinks that somehow he is different than those who have gone before him. The same lessons must be individually learned in each life.

The Lord exhorted and cautioned those he spoke to concerning obedience. In Luke 14:26,27 & 33 Jesus made three cautionary statements regarding who can and who cannot be his disciple. "If any man come to me, and hate (to love less) not his father, and mother, and wife, and children, and brethren, and sisters, yea, and his own life also, he cannot be my disciple. And whosoever doth not bear (take up, receive) his cross (exposure to death, self denial), and come after me, cannot be my disciple. So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh (renounce, put away) not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple. Vs. 27 For which of you intending to build a tower, sitteth not down first, and counteth the cost, whether he have sufficient to finish it?

It is important that we comprehend the importance of what Jesus is saying to us here. He is plainly telling us that we must give Him the preeminence in our lives. Loving Him and being obedient to all of His commandments to us, more than we love our family and friends, more than we love the things of this world. We must willingly take up our cross; we must allow the Spirit to do the purging work within our hearts that results in the death of self. When we come to Jesus, we must count the cost. There is no "free ride;" there is no other way to be a disciple of Christ. We cannot say we accept the salvation that Jesus offers us and then fail to follow him or obey him.

Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments." (John 14:15 & John 15:10) Consider the lives of the Apostle's, the things that they accomplished by walking in obedience to the Lords commandments. God used them to deliver the Gospel of Christ to the people of the entire known world. They did not build great buildings and expect the people to come to them. They went where the Spirit directed them to go; they said what the Spirit directed them to say; they turned their world upside down; and they loved not their own lives to the point of death to self. They suffered torture and imprisonment, counting it a privilege to suffer for Christ. They did not go out into the world armed only with a casual acquaintance with Jesus; they went out with the full power and authority of the Godhead. This is the difference.

Many believers today want to do great exploits for God, but fail to nurture a relationship with God that is all consuming, giving Him preeminence in all things. At best, in our flesh we can accomplish good works. The world is full of humanitarian organizations, doing the same thing. We aren't seeing the power of God manifest in our lives, because we aren't walking in the Spirit. We have not complied with the three directives to be a disciple of Christ. Religion has told us that we don't have to comply; it is not necessary, just support the Church. Who are we going to believe? Will we believe our leaders and those in positions of authority, or will we believe Jesus? Maybe in making that determination, we should remember who has the power to save us? If we deny Christ, then Christ will deny us before His Father and the angels.

We are denying Jesus when we don't believe His Words. We are denying Jesus when we walk in disobedience, when we fail to keep His commandments. 1 John 2:3 And hereby we do know that we know him, if we keep his commandments. He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoso keepeth his word, in him verily is the love of God perfected: hereby know we that we are in him.

Our spiritual walk is a personal thing between God and us. No man can intermediate, other than Jesus Christ. Often we place our trust in an individual, when we should place it solely in Jesus. 1 John 2:27, 28 But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. And now, little children, abide in him; that when he shall appear, we may have confidence, and not be ashamed before him at his coming. We can have no better instructor in spiritual things than the Holy Spirit. There is nothing in this world of greater importance than our walk (our personal relationship) with God. Without obedience, we cannot walk with God.

As believers we need to consider the cost. Are we willing to comply with all that Jesus commanded us? Look at what Jesus said in Mathew 10:32-39 Whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which is in heaven. But whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also deny before my Father which is in heaven. Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a man's foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that taketh not his cross, and followeth after me, is not worthy of me. He that findeth his life shall lose it: and he that loseth his life for my sake shall find it.

We need to ask ourselves if we will follow Jesus, even if our family are against it? Will we follow Jesus and what the Spirit is showing us, even if our Christian brothers and sisters disagree? We should know that we will all be tested and tried, to see whether we will serve God or not. Not all of us will be required to be martyrs and die a physical death, but we are all required to die to self and live by the Spirit. There is no other way to follow Christ. May we all honestly examine our own hearts. I pray that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in your inner man; that Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith; that ye, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; and to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God.