“…when the KINDNESS and the love of God our Savior toward man appeared, according to HIS MERCY He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and 1RENEWING of the Holy Spirit…those who have believed in God should be careful to 2MAINTAIN GOOD WORKS.” (Titus 3:4-8) 1anakainōsis: a complete miraculous change for the better. 2proistēmi: to care for, give attention to. The expertise to do this comes by increasing our knowledge of God, by reading and studying His Word with eager intensity!
We do this because we are changed in such an astonishing way that we become, “…a NEW CREATION; old things have passed away; behold, all things have become new.” (2 Corin. 5:17) And this is what is really awesome, “…we have been united together in the likeness of Christ’s death, certainly we also shall be in the LIKENESS OF HIS RESURRECTION, knowing this, that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be DONE AWAY WITH, that we should NO LONGER BE SLAVES OF SIN. For he who has died has been freed from sin.” (Rom. 6:5-7) Because we are like Christ in His resurrected state we are no longer slaves to sin!!! We must now remember that we have the power to say NO to sin…
-Bill Stockham