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Will We Make It ...?
Hebrews 3:12-14 reads:
"Watch out brothers, so that there will not be in any one
of you an evil heart lacking trust, which could lead you to apostatize
from the living God! Instead, keep exhorting each other every day, as
long as it is called Today, so that none of you will become hardened by
the deceit of sin. For we have become sharers in the Messiah,
provided, however, that we hold firmly to the conviction we began with,
right through until the goal is reached."
There is a phrase that is often heard in the Church of God.
It begins with: "If I make it into God's Kingdom..." and then goes on to
say something about what that person hopes to be able to do or accomplish
or how they want to be when that glorious day arrives. There is a problem,
however. By opening one's statement with the word: "If I make it...", one
is implying that the possibility exists that they may not be in the
Kingdom of God when Jesus Christ returns to establish the government of
God over all the earth. It makes people feel uneasy, that they can never
relax, never really enjoy their relationship with God, because if they
make one little mistake, well, "God's gonna get 'em for that."
The source of this phrase may lie in our cultural background.
We often begin statements with the word "If." "If it doesn't rain tomorrow
I'll mow the lawn...", "if I pass this course then I can get into the
program I want.." and various kinds of similar statements. However, there
is also a deeper and more troubling aspect to this phrase as it applies to
our eternal life in the Kingdom of God. It implies that God may not finish
what He has seen fit to begin in us.
Today I want to try to build up your confidence that you can
and almost certainly will make it.
Let me begin with the premise that, unless you turn your back
on God, you are going to "make it." Of this there should be no doubt, for
you have been called by God to be one of His very "elect."
1 Th 5:24 (KJV) Faithful <is> he that calls you, who also
will do <it>.
First let's talk about our ELECTION
Peter taught that those called of God were a special
"election" and were therefore sanctified.
1 Pet 1:1-2 (KJV) Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ, to the
strangers scattered .... {2} Elect according to the foreknowledge of God
the Father, through sanctification of the Spirit, unto obedience and
sprinkling of the blood of Jesus Christ:...
We have been elected by the foreknowledge of God the Father.
He knows that we can make it into His Kingdom. He would not have chosen us
if we were destined to fail. It is not God's business to call people to
failure, for He is choosing a family to join Him in eternal life.
1 Pet 2:9 (KJV) But ye <are> a chosen generation, a royal
priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should show forth
the praises of Him who hath called you out of darkness into his
marvelous light:
Oh yes, it behooves us to "...show forth the virtues of Him
who has called you...", to be the finest example of obedient children that
we can be. But to think that God is just looking for an excuse to purge us
out of the family into which He has called us is ludicrous.
Luke 12:32 (KJV) Fear not, little flock; for it is your
Father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
(John 6:37-40 NKJV) "All that the Father gives Me will come
to Me, and the one who comes to Me I will by no means cast out. {38}
"For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will
of Him who sent Me. {39} "This is the will of the Father who sent Me,
that of all He has given Me I should lose nothing, but should
raise it up at the last day. {40} "And this is the will of Him who sent
Me, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in Him may have
everlasting life; and I will raise him up at the last day."
John 10:27-30 (NKJV) "My sheep hear My voice, and I know
them, and they follow Me. {28} "And I give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of
My hand. {29} "My Father, who has given <them> to Me, is greater than
all; and no one is able to snatch <them> out of My Father's hand. {30}
"I and <My> Father are one."
No man can ever take away your salvation. That is a free gift
from God and will be fully accomplished when Jesus returns. Yet for some,
the doubt remains. They feel they are just not good enough to ever "make
it" into the Kingdom of God.
WILL IT TAKE WORKS, GRACE OR BOTH?
The truth of the matter is, we are not "good enough" to "make
it" into God's Kingdom, and if we are left to our own strength we never
will be "good enough." For the work that God is working in us is not our
work, it is the work of God the Father and our Messiah, Jesus - or Yeshua,
as it is in Hebrew. No matter how hard we try, we will never be able to
achieve the righteousness needed to "make it" into God's Kingdom
without God's help.
The prophet Isaiah was inspired by God to write about the
righteousness of man:
Isa 64:6-8 (NKJV) But we are all like an unclean
<thing>, And all our righteousnesses <are> like filthy rags; We all fade
as a leaf, And our iniquities, like the wind, Have taken us away. {7}
And <there is> no one who calls on Your name, Who stirs himself up to
take hold of You; For You have hidden Your face from us, And have
consumed us because of our iniquities. {8} But now, O LORD, You <are>
our Father; We <are> the clay, and You our potter; And all we <are> the
work of Your hand.
The phrase "filthy rags" in the original Hebrew means
menstrual cloths. Our righteousness, of and by itself, is no better than a
soiled cloth from a woman's monthly cycle.
If this be true then how can there be even an inkling of hope
for any of us, even the most righteous among us? The answer, of course, is
that we must rely on God for everything, especially our righteousness.
Abraham was considered to be a righteous man. Abraham did
many great works during his lifetime. He was said to be the most
hospitable man who ever lived. He sat outside his tent by the roadside so
that he might stop any stranger who happened to pass by and invite him
into his tent to rest and be refreshed. It was Abraham who rescued Lot,
who attempted to talk God into sparing the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah if
only a few righteous could be found therein. It was Abraham who was
willing to sacrifice his son Isaac if that was what God required. Yet none
of these acts, in and by themselves were counted to Abraham as
righteousness.
Rom 4:1-3 (NKJV) What then shall we say that Abraham our
father has found according to the flesh? {2} For if Abraham was
justified by works, he has <something> to boast about, but not before
God. {3} For what does the Scripture say? "Abraham believed God,
and it was accounted to him for righteousness."
It was not the works of Abraham that accounted him to be
righteous but rather his faith that made him so. Likewise, it is
our belief, our faith, our confidence, our trust in the blood of the
Messiah Jesus that accounts us
righteous before God.
Eph 2:8-9 (NKJV) For by grace you have been saved
through faith, and that not of yourselves; <it is> the gift of
God, {9} not of works, lest anyone should boast.
Our righteousness before God, as well as our salvation into
eternal life, comes entirely from God. It is a free gift.
Rom 6:23 (NKJV) For the wages of sin <is> death, but the
gift of God <is> eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
We cannot earn our salvation through works or by our own
righteousness. It can only be obtained from God Himself as a result of our
acceptance of Jesus' blood in payment for our sins. This is called grace
or unmerited pardon.
Since we are saved by grace, shall we just forget about doing
any good works? Of course not. Now we have all the more reason to glorify
God by behaving toward others in the same manner as He behaves toward us.
James 2:20 (NKJV) But do you want to know, O foolish man,
that faith without works is dead?
We need to be learning how to behave as legitimate
members of God's Family, following Jesus' perfect example.
How do we follow Jesus' perfect example? Let's read Christ's
own words:
Mat 19:16-21 (NKJV) Now behold, one came and said to Him,
"Good Teacher, what good thing shall I do that I may have eternal life?"
{17} So He said to him, "Why do you call Me good? No one <is> good but
One, <that is>, God. But if you want to enter into life, keep the
commandments." {18} He said to Him, "Which ones?" Jesus said, " 'You
shall not murder,' 'You shall not commit adultery,' 'You shall not
steal,' 'You shall not bear false witness,' {19} 'Honor your father and
<your> mother,' and, 'You shall love your neighbor as yourself.' " {20}
The young man said to Him, "All these things I have kept from my youth.
What do I still lack?" {21} Jesus said to him, "If you want to be
perfect, go, sell what you have and give to the poor, and you will have
treasure in heaven; and come, follow Me."
Obedience to the commandments is our
first step in following Jesus'
example. Remember that Jesus said the commandments are not grievous. Love
for others is the second point Jesus made.
The book of Revelation shows us that the keeping of the
commandments is the mark of those who will be supernaturally protected in
the end times.
Rev 12:17 (NKJV) And the dragon was enraged with the woman
[God’s Church], and he went to make war with the rest of her offspring,
who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of
Jesus Christ.
Are we the saints? If we know that we have been called by
God, then we have been selected out of the world to be a saint.
Rom 1:7 (NKJV) To all who are in Rome, beloved of God,
called <to be> saints: Grace to you and peace from God our Father
and the Lord Jesus Christ.
1 Cor 1:2 (NKJV) To the church of God which is at Corinth,
to those who are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called <to be> saints,
with all who in every place call on the name of Jesus Christ our Lord,
both theirs and ours:
The saints are those who keep the commandments and have faith
that Jesus forgives us when we break those commandments, because He paid
the penalty for our sins.
Rev 14:12 (NKJV) Here is the patience of the saints; here
<are> those who keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.
Are those who are called to be saints perfect? No, but we
should be getting more perfect as time goes on.
Eph 4:11-16 (NKJV) And He Himself gave some <to be>
apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, and some pastors and
teachers, {12} for the equipping of the saints for the work of ministry,
for the edifying of the body of Christ, {13} till we all come to the
unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to a
perfect man, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of
Christ; {14} that we should no longer be children, tossed to and fro and
carried about with every wind of doctrine, by the trickery of men, in
the cunning craftiness of deceitful plotting, {15} but, speaking the
truth in love, may grow up in all things into Him who is the head;
Christ; {16} from whom the whole body, joined and knit together by what
every joint supplies, according to the effective working by which every
part does its share, causes growth of the body for the edifying of
itself in love.
Eph 5:3-5 (NKJV) But fornication and all uncleanness or
covetousness, let it not even be named among you, as is fitting for
saints; {4} neither filthiness, nor foolish talking, nor coarse jesting,
which are not fitting, but rather giving of thanks. {5} For this you
know, that no fornicator, unclean person, nor covetous man, who is an
idolater, has any inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God.
So those who are called to be saints can fail, but it is not
God's wish or intent that that should happen. We will be judged at or just
prior to Christ's return.
1 Th 3:13 (NKJV) so that He may establish your hearts
blameless in holiness before our God and Father at the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ with all His saints.
2 Tim 4:1 (NKJV) I charge <you> therefore before God and
the Lord Jesus Christ, who will judge the living and the dead at His
appearing and His kingdom:
verse 8 (NKJV) Finally, there is laid up for me the crown
of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will give to me
on that Day, and not to me only but also to all who have loved His
appearing.
But failing is not the norm. It is the exception, as we'll
see.
GOD IS A FATHER
Now that God has called us into His family, forgiven us of
our sins, buried our old nature in the death of Jesus, and raised us up as
a new child of God in the resurrection of Jesus, why would He want to cast
us away? Is the very life blood of Jesus not worth any more to Him than
that? Can you see how the attitude implied in the phrase, "If I make
it..." could be an affront to God? Here He has done all of these things to
bring us into a Father/child relationship with Him and we are afraid that
He is going to kick us out of the family?
Many of us are parents. All of us are children to someone,
although our parents may be deceased. All of us were imperfect parents and
all of us were imperfect children. The same holds true of our parents;
they too were imperfect. Yet it is my guess that very few of you were ever
disowned by your parents; or ever disowned any of your children. It is
increasingly common, however, for children to disown their parents. I
wonder if there isn't a parallel here for all those people who disown God.
Anyway, even if you did disown your children, they are still your
children. There is no escaping that fact. The same is true with God. We
are His children if we have accepted the sacrifice of His perfect Son,
Jesus, as our personal Savior and been immersed in His name. There is no
escaping that fact. But God is the perfect parent. Where we failed,
He succeeds; where we chastised in anger, He chastises in love; where we
made profound mistakes, He makes profound correct decisions. How then can
we imagine that God will allow the good work that He has began in us to
fail? It just cannot happen ... except in one way:
Heb 10:26-31 (NKJV) For if we [continue to] sin
willfully after we have received the knowledge of the truth, there
no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, {27} but a certain fearful
expectation of judgment, and fiery indignation which will devour the
adversaries. {28} Anyone who has rejected Moses' law dies without
mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. {29} Of how much worse
punishment, do you suppose, will he be thought worthy who has trampled
the Son of God underfoot, counted the blood of the covenant by which he
was sanctified a common thing, and insulted the Spirit of grace? {30}
For we know Him who said, "Vengeance is Mine [belongs to Me], I will
repay," says the Lord. And again, "The LORD will judge His people."
{31} It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.
If we despise our position in the Family of God so much that
we are willing to continue to live a life of sin, not caring about
God's desire to see us perfected, then it is possible to abort
yourself out of His very family. But if we find ourselves making mistakes
and falling into sin, but hating the condition of sin and sincerely
desiring to go to "the throne of grace" for forgiveness, then we
have not even come close to committing the "unpardonable sin." Only
we can take ourselves out of the Family of God. God has placed us
in it, and He will never forsake us.
Heb 13:5 (NKJV) <Let your> conduct <be> without
covetousness; <be> content with such things as you have. For He Himself
has said, "I will never leave you nor forsake you."
1 John 1:8-9 (NKJV) If we say that we have no sin, we
deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. {9} If we confess our
sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us <our> sins and to cleanse
us from all unrighteousness.
Isa 55:7 (NKJV) Let the wicked forsake his way, And the
unrighteous man his thoughts; Let him return to the LORD, And He will
have mercy on him; And to our God, For He will abundantly pardon.
Heb 4:14-16 (NKJV) Seeing then that we have a great High
Priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us
hold fast <our> confession. {15} For we do not have a High Priest who
cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all <points> tempted
as <we are>, <yet> without sin. {16} Let us therefore come boldly to the
throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace
to help in time of need.
It is not difficult to understand what our position is in the
Family of God. It is really quite simple. We have been begotten (some
would say born .. let's not argue about semantics at this point) into the
very Family of God. We are already members of that family although we have
not been fully completed. That will take place at the resurrection when we
are changed from mortal into immortal. God is perfect, so by extension one
can conclude that His family must also be perfect. But we are human beings
and are not yet perfect. So how can we be a part of a perfect family? It
can only be done through the perfect sacrifice of the first of the
Firstborn, Jesus Christ. Through His blood we are cleansed of all
our sins and made perfect in the sight of God. Now we are members of His
perfect Family.
SIN AND FORGIVENESS
But we still sometimes sin, transgress the law, miss the
mark, and not follow our Father's instruction as laid down in the first
five books of the Bible. Some call it the Pentateuch; some call it the
Torah. So how can we continue to be a part of the perfect Family of God
when we fall again into sin? As we just read in the scriptures, we need to
go to God and ask forgiveness for our transgressions and He will forgive
us again. After all, did you kick your child out of the house the first
time he disobeyed you? Or the second, or the third? Of course not, and
neither does God, the righteous Father, do so to us.
This process continues all of the days of our physical lives.
We miss the mark by sinning so we go to the Father for forgiveness through
the blood of the Messiah. Hopefully, in the process, we learn some things,
and we improve over our early years so that our sins become less frequent
and less flagrant. This is called "growing in grace and knowledge..."
in 2 Peter 3:18 and "...the perfecting of the saints..." in Eph
4:12. It is a process, designed and initiated by God so that He can bring
"...many sons into glory..." as stated in Heb 2:10.
Prov 4:18 (NKJV) But the path of the just <is> like the
shining sun, That shines ever brighter unto the perfect day.
There can be no question that you are going to make it
because you are under grace (unmerited pardon) and not subject to the law
of sin and death. Does this mean that you cannot sin? NO, of course you
can still sin. The instruction book still exists and its rules or laws are
still in effect. Paul addresses this very idea:
Rom 6:14-17 (NKJV) For sin shall not have dominion over
you, for you are not under law but under grace. {15} What
then? Shall we sin because we are not under law but under grace?
Certainly not! {16} Do you not know that to whom you present yourselves
slaves to obey, you are that one's slaves whom you obey, whether of sin
<leading> to death, or of obedience <leading> to righteousness? {17} But
God be thanked that <though> you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from
the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered.
FAITH
What is required of you is complete trust and confidence
(i.e. faith) that God will accomplish in you what He has already begun; to
believe that He can and will do what He has promised to do. Faith was the
very thing the children of Israel lacked when they refused to trust God to
take them into the promised land. As a result they suffered forty years of
wandering in the wilderness and those who refused to trust were not
allowed in. Nearly all died in the wilderness. When we say "If I make it
..." we are acting very much like those faithless Israelites. We are not
trusting the great God of the Universe to accomplish His good work in us.
But where can we obtain this complete confidence, trust and
faith? Even that comes, not from us, but from God through Christ.
Heb 12:parts of 1 and 2 (NKJV) ... let us lay aside every
weight, and the sin which so easily ensnares <us>, and let us run with
endurance the race that is set before us, {2} looking unto Jesus, the
author and finisher of <our> faith.
Yes, even our faith is a gift from God. All we really provide
is the willing vessel with which God works. Everything else is God's
doing. We find ourselves in trouble when we try to take over the plan
ourselves, when we try to do it our way instead of the way God wants us to
do it. Have you not seen your own children suffer and chafe under that
same kind of attitude, unwilling to do it the way you have instructed
them, but wanting to do it their way instead? We are just like little
children before God. What we need to develop is not childhood rebellion,
but that beautiful quality of openness to learning, that a very young
child has, childhood faith.
Mat 18:3 (NKJV) .... "Assuredly, I say to you, unless you
are converted and become as little children, you will by no means enter
the kingdom of heaven.
OVERCOMING
Some may object to this positive interpretation of the
process of salvation. After all, do not the scriptures say:
Rev 21:7 (NKJV) "He who overcomes shall inherit all things,
and I will be his God and he shall be My son.
1 Pet 4:18 (KJV) And if the righteous scarcely be saved,
where shall the ungodly and the sinner appear?
But this passage goes right on to give us the true and
faithful answer:
verse 19 (KJV) Wherefore let them that suffer according to
the will of God commit the keeping of their souls <to him> in well
doing, as unto a faithful Creator.
Yes, we must be overcomers, but the overcoming, just like our
faith, is authored and accomplished in us by the power of God, the Holy
Spirit that dwells in us.
How does one go about overcoming? Is it by being scared to
death if we break even the minutest rule? Or is it by allowing the Spirit
to lead us into all righteousness? It is not a question of the need
to overcome our sinful natures, rather it is a question of how we
are to accomplish the overcoming. One is a salvation by works, where it is
entirely up to us to live sinless lives, the other is salvation "by
grace through faith." We must have a confidence wherein we trust
God to give us the power we need to accomplish the task. The first is
doomed to failure, the second is destined for success.
Heb 12:1-4 (NKJV) Therefore we also, since we are
surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every
impediment [that is, the sin which easily hampers our forward movement],
and the sin which so easily ensnares <us>, and let us run with endurance
the race that is set before us, {2} trusting Jesus, the author
and finisher of <our> faith, who for the joy that was set before Him
endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right
hand of the throne of God. {3} For consider Him who endured such
hostility from sinners against Himself, lest you become weary and
discouraged in your souls. {4} You have not yet resisted to
bloodshed, striving against sin.
THE LEADING SPIRIT
If you are a true son or daughter of God Almighty, then the
Holy Spirit of God dwells in you. This indwelling Spirit is the earnest
payment, the guarantee from God, that He is going to accomplish that which
He has set out to do.
2 Cor 1:21-22 (NIV) Now it is God who makes both us
and you stand firm in Christ. He anointed us, {22} set His seal of
ownership on us, and put His Spirit in our hearts as a deposit, [as down
payment,] guaranteeing what is to come.
We can choose to follow the Spirit of God or to follow our
own minds and hearts. However, to do the latter puts us in jeopardy
because then we are denying that part of us which has been made holy. Thus
the scriptures tell us:
1 Th 5:19 (KJV) Quench not the Spirit.
Or we can act in a way that brings grief to God through the
Spirit that seals us and makes us holy (set apart).
Eph 4:29-32 (NKJV) Let no corrupt word proceed out of your
mouth, but what is good for necessary edification, that it may impart
grace unto the hearers. {30} And do not grieve the holy Spirit of
God, whereby you are sealed for the day of redemption. {31} Let all
bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamor, and evil speaking, be put
away from you, with all malice: {32} And be kind to one another,
tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God in Christ forgave you.
When the urge comes over you to do good, DO IT! That is the
Holy Spirit leading you. On the other hand, when the urge comes over you
to do wrong or speak evil of another, DON'T DO IT! That is either your own
carnal nature talking to you or the Adversary himself needling into your
mind.
Psa 37:27-29 (NKJV) Depart from evil, and do good; And
dwell forevermore. {28} For the LORD loves justice, And does not forsake
His saints; They are preserved forever, But the descendants of
the wicked shall be cut off. {29} The righteous shall inherit the land,
And dwell in it forever.
When we are tempted to do wrong, to sin, to miss the mark;
immediately we need to ask our Father in heaven, for assistance to
overcome the temptation and to put the evil urge out of our mind and
heart. He will answer our prayer.
To live in the Spirit is to live with God and for God, not
being mindful of our present circumstances or conditions. Perhaps we are
where we are, not because of sin, but because God is teaching us something
that will prove to be a blessing for us and for others at another time and
place. So be open to discipline.
Heb 12:6 (NKJV) For whom the LORD loves He chastens, And
scourges every son whom He receives."
To live in the Spirit is to totally trust God that He,
"...will never leave you nor forsake you." Heb 13:5.
To live in the Spirit is to have total and complete
confidence in God that He will complete in us the work that He has begun
to do.
This again is FAITH!!!
Sometimes the Children of God feel worthless and of no value
to God or man. That was true when they were living in the flesh, according
to the ways of the world. It is definitely not true when they live in the
power of the Holy Spirit.
Rom 8:1-2 (NKJV) <There is> therefore now no condemnation
to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the
flesh, but according to the Spirit. {2} For the law of the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death.
Rom 6:4 (NKJV) Therefore we were buried with Him through
baptism into death, that just as Christ was raised from the dead by the
glory of the Father, even so we also should walk in newness of life.
Our old man has been crucified with Christ, therefor we
should now be walking in "newness of life", living our lives in such a way
as to be pleasing to God. He has given us the instruction book on how to
live our lives. It is called the Bible; a book Islam hates. We need to
obey these instructions in the way that our Saviour has shown us,
following His example and teaching.
John 1:17 (NKJV) For the law was given through Moses, <but>
grace and truth came through Jesus Christ.
Rom 8:3-8 (NKJV) For what the law could not do in that it
was weak through the flesh, God <did> by sending His own Son in the
likeness of sinful flesh, on account of sin: He condemned sin in the
flesh, {4} that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled
in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the
Spirit. {5} For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on
the things of the flesh, but those <who live> according to the Spirit,
the things of the Spirit. {6} For to be carnally minded <is> death, but
to be spiritually minded <is> life and peace. {7} Because the carnal
mind <is> enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God,
nor indeed can be. {8} So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please
God.
John 10:10 (NKJV) "The thief does not come except to steal,
and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and
that they may have <it> more abundantly.
verses 27-28 (NKJV) "My sheep hear My voice, and I know
them, and they follow Me. {28} "And I give them eternal life, and
they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My
hand.
ATTITUDE
The whole question here is one of attitude. How do we look at
ourselves? Do we see ourselves as still the fleshly son of Adam? Or do we
see ourselves as the begotten child of God? How we answer that question
will have a profound impact on the way we conduct our lives. If we see
ourselves as a child of God we will want to act as one of His. If we see
ourselves as the fleshly son of Adam, living according to our old sinful
nature, we will be constantly trying (but never able) to overcome sin by
our own strength.
God cannot raise us to our full potential as His child as
long as we live by our old sinful nature. True, that was what we
used to do, but now we are a child of God, begotten by the Holy
Spirit, the very power of God that dwells in us. Not only that, but our
very own fleshly body is the Temple in which the Holy Spirit
dwells.
1 Cor 6:19-20 (NKJV) Or do you not know that your body is
the temple of the Holy Spirit <who is> in you, whom you have from God,
and you are not your own? {20} For you were bought at a price; therefore
glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's.
So what can we conclude?
1. All those who have been called out of the world
have the opportunity to become saints.
2. Saints are identified as those who keep God's
commandments and have faith that Jesus Christ is their personal
Saviour.
3. Only if we turn our backs on God by deciding to rebel
against Him and the Holy Spirit which leads us; only if we knowingly sin
and do not have remorse for and repent of the sin; only if we do not
care if God is pleased with our conduct and growth, do we who are
called run the risk of not making it into the Kingdom and Family of God.
We should confidently look forward with great anticipation to
the day when our physical body will be raised or changed into an immortal
body, when we will never sin again. In the mean time we can say: "When
(not if) I make it fully into the very Kingdom and Family of God."
This sermon was adapted, with permission, from an article in
Hebrew Roots magazine.
Sermon
Given By Wayne Bedwell
23
October 2010
Copyright 2010, Wayne Bedwell
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