"All or Nothing" -2

"For the LORD loveth judgment, and forsaketh not His saints; they are preserved for ever: but the seed of the wicked shall be cut off." (Psalms 37:28) When it comes to giving our all, our primary all that is given is our heart; we must give Jesus all of our heart, then the rest will surely follow. It is really not a matter of losing our salvation, because I believe that once we are saved, it is forever; but it's more a matter of were we ever really taken up into the boat, or did we let go of the rope when we realized what we were leaving behind. In Luke 9:62, Jesus is speaking to a man that said he would follow Him, but he wanted first to go bid those at his house farewell, He said to the man, "No man, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God". God's kingdom must be first, and it must take priority over everything else, period. What that actually looks like in our lives, does not mean we don't care about anything else, but when it comes to serving God or serving the world, God must come first; if He does not have our first priority, then we really need to evaluate the course that we are living on, because "wide is the path to destruction". The word "saints" used in the context of "His saints" means faithful ones, which means those that are faithful to Him; to really abide in Christ requires that we be grafted in, which requires a surrendered life; so the real question we must ask ourselves, is what does surrender require? Does it require death? Yes, it most surely requires that the old man be put to death, otherwise the new man cannot rise. We can not have the two of them coexist, because the new man cannot exist if the old man is still living; the new man is dependent upon the death of the old, because the new man is in the risen Christ, while the old man must be considered dead in the crucified Christ. Therefore, it really comes down to that old life being surrendered, because it is dead in Christ anyways, so why should it count any longer? It only counts when we are holding onto it, instead of that rope that is drawing us into the boat... "Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth fruit. He that loveth this life shall lose it: and he that hateth his life in this world shall keep it unto life eternal. If any man serve Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there shall also My servant be: if any man serve Me, him will My Father honour." (John 12:24-26)