The Christian walk is not just about what we don't do, but also about what we do. We know that Christians are not supposed to do certain things, but what about what we are supposed to do. I think our focus often times is to much on what we aren't supposed to do rather then what we are supposed to do.
I don’t think the Calvinist teaching of “the perseverance of the saints” is biblical because it makes it sound like it will just automatically happen, as if we don’t have to give any effort to persevering in our faith. But there are several verses that say the opposite, that it is not automatic and we do have to try hard to persevere in our faith and make “our calling and election sure.”
I know we are not saved by works but I think God still has expectations of us. We are supposed to love God with our whole heart, mind and soul as believers and we are supposed to love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus said if you do not forgive your brother God will not forgive you. The idea there is that if you truly are Christian, you will not hold in-forgiveness against anyone.
We also are to love God with all that we are. Jesus said you can't love God and money and Paul said, "The love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs." We can choose to love God more then money when we first make a decision to follow Jesus but then later we might choose to love money more and so loose our faith.
It is not about how we begin the race, it is about how we finish. Many begin a walk with God, but few finish it.
Paul said in 1 Cor. 9:24, "Do you not know that in a race all the runners run, but only one gets the prize? Run in such a way as to get the prize."
Some might say, “but I already have the prize because I got it when I believed in Jesus.” But it will not be evident that you really ran the race with God until you finish your race. If you persevere to the end, then you are truly saved. If you keep your faith in God and always, your whole walk with God, love God with all your heart, mind, soul and body, you then can know that you truly are saved.
James 1:12 says, "When he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life." God does test us and only if we pass tests are we saved, as in if we stay in faith even in hard times and not curse God etc.
Gal. 6:9 says, "Let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up." Notice the IF. If we do not give up, we will reap the harvest of the crown of life. There are many “if” verses throughout the new testaments.
Hebrews 10:36 says, "You have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God you may receive what is promised." That does sound very works based if you think about it. Likewise in Revelation Jesus many times says "to him who overcomes" I will give the crown of life etc.
Matthew 24:13 says, "The one who endures to the end will be saved."
Jesus said in John 8:32, "If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." We have to choose to abide in Jesus' words, the Bible. If we do that, we can know we are his disciples.
And lastly in 1 Cor. 6:10 Paul says, "Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor men who have sex with men nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God."
So we can think we are saved all day, but if we are habitually sinning in any of those areas we will not inherit the kingdom of God.
We need to stop thinking that praying the prayer is an easy gold ticket to heaven and we can just float on a lazy river until we get to heaven. That is not the truth and that’s not how a walk with God works. The Christian walk requires sacrifice and purity of heart and tenacity and endurance.
In Mt. 16:24 Jesus says, "Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross and follow me." Taking up your cross means being willing to die for Jesus. I hope you love Jesus that much that you really would be willing to die for him. That is the kind of strong faith and crazy love that God wants from us. . :)
Romans 10:9 says, "If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved."
I wonder if the Greek verb in this verse would be better read "if you keep confessing over and over?"
We often think this is a one time deal. That you say one time "Jesus is Lord" and you believe but then after that it doesn't matter what you do or think or believe.
What if this was something we had to do daily. What would it look like if every single day we confessed with our mouth "Jesus is Lord" and lived that out in how we lived our lives.
That would mean our greed isn't Lord, stuff isn't Lord, our stomach and food cravings aren't Lord, sports are not our Lord, our kids are not Lord, our cars and houses are not Lord, the amount of money in our bank account is not Lord, our desire for people to like us is not Lord. No, only "Jesus is Lord." Every day. What if every day we radically lived that out?
May God bless you all!
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