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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 set up 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
towards 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 [the 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.
For more
information, please see our sermons
Righteousness by Works and
Righteousness by Faith.
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. 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 is adapted, with permission, from an article in Hebrew Roots
magazine.
Sermon given
by Wayne Bedwell
October 6,
2007
Copyright
2007, Wayne Bedwell
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