A NEW LIFE IN CHRIST means a complete turnaround from the life once lived. The old and new cannot coexist if one is a born-again believer.
According to Pastor Glenworth Joseph, “The concept of new means there has been an old. If there is a new life, it means you had an old life before. One has to be better – the new has to be the better life.”
Joseph preached this last Friday night, the final night of a week-long tent crusade hosted by the Pinelands, Government Hill and Mapp Hill Seventh-Day Adventist churches at Wildey, St Michael.
The crusade was held under the theme Encounter, Explore, Explode – A New Life.
The Adventist preacher told the congregation that according to Romans 8:7 and 8, “the carnal mind is at enmity with God because it is not subjected to the law of God”.
“They [who] are in the flesh [operating outside the Spirit] cannot please God. Those who are not of Christ are not good in the sight of God. You can save 100 000 lives, but if you are not in God, it means nothing if your mind is not subject to the law of God,” Joseph reiterated.
He drew attention to Galatians 5:19 to 21, which says that the carnal mind is subjected to such sins as fornication, adultery, uncleanliness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulation, drunkenness, revelry, strife, murder and envy.
“Those who do such things shall not inherit the Kingdom of God,” he preached.
He warned that “There are some individuals who don’t do these things because they have given their hearts to the Lord but they preach a lot of error. Be wary of such false prophets”.
He said the Ten Commandments “cannot be abolished and anyone who says ‘God says’ when God has not said [so] is speaking lies concerning God”.
Joseph further told his listeners, “If there arises among you a prophet or dreamer of dreams who says to go after false Gods, do not hearken unto that prophet. False prophets are a sign of the end times and will be around until Jesus comes.”
He said the false teachings of today include
• God did not create the world in six days.• Marriage can be between any two people regardless of their sex.• Couples can live together as long as they love each other and serve God.• The Holy Spirit is just a wind.• Grace means we are no longer to keep God’s Law.• Sabbath is done away with.
He said there must be a distinction between those who are [with] God and those who are not.
“Walk in the Spirit and do not fulfil the lust of the flesh,” he urged his flock.
He said the fruit of a person professing new life in Christ is – love, joy, peace, long suffering, gentleness, meekness, temperance, goodness and the like, and against such “there is no law.”
The night was complete with special ministry in song, including a special selection by soloist Brother Michael King.
As the sermon drew to a close, individuals in the congregation walked up the aisle to indicate their willingness to live the new life.
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