Kingdom Come

“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God: Not of works, lest any man should boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9) 

Most unfortunately modern Christianity flaunts this verse as membership in the Kingdom of God being simply a “get out of jail free” card. An “easy believism” religion of fire insurance after death with no evidence of spiritual regeneration changing one’s daily routine fulfilling the desires of the flesh is not what the Bible teaches.

“Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.

But wilt thou know, O vain man, that faith without works is dead? Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?…And the scripture was fulfilled which saith, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God. Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only…For as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead.” (James 2:14-24)

There is effort, actions, one can even say work, involved in obtaining salvation. Just read how many action verbs are demanded of those who would get saved.

“Ho, every one that thirsteth,

• come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye,
• buy,
• eat...Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?
• hearken diligently unto me, let your soul delight itself in fatness.
• Incline your ear…
• hear, and your soul shall live;
• Seek ye the LORD while he may be found,
• call ye upon him while he is near:
• Let the wicked forsake his way, the unrighteous man his thoughts…

and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God, for he will abundantly pardon.” 

Before there can be a birth, just as in physical pregnancy the Spirit of God must merge with the seed of faith resulting in growth and development, with labor to finalize being born again into the Spirit hyperdimension.

All too often, that seed aborts prior to full development and birth, detailed in Yeshua’s parable of the seed and the Sower, spiritually evident by a lack of

• repentance from evil / self centeredness
• Spirit control over previous destructive physical, mental and emotional obsessions and compulsions
• knowing / growing in relationship with the Holy Spirit which shows in
• a changed lifestyle of obedience to the Father.

“Take heed, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief, in departing from the living God. But exhort one another daily, while it is called To day; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. For we are made partakers of Christ, if we hold the beginning of our confidence stedfast unto the end;” (Hebrews 2-3)

This is not a statement that you can lose your salvation, but that the interest in being saved is often lost when the reality of salvation from sin is understood to be now, in this life, not just from its punishment in hell after death. Human marriage vows specify love/merge, honor, forsake. How much more a relationship with Holy God?

I know a man who wanted the advantages of marrying a woman but didn’t want to actually merge his identity with hers. He continued to live life as a single man, enjoying all the pleasures of sin which resulted in increasing guilt, fear of consequences, estrangement, irritability with and ultimately hatred of his wife, ending with a divorce in which the judge determined there was no marriage. Can we apply this human experience to a spiritual?

“I count all things but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord: for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and do count them but dung, that I may win Christ, And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness, which is of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the righteousness which is of God by faith:” (Philippians 3:3-5)

Living righteously is the reality of spiritual life. Becoming free from gluttony, sexual immorality, jealousy, or any of the destructive forces, AKA sins, involves a personal struggle in which the individual applies the supernatural grace and power of God that has been placed at his or her disposal to use – or not – as the individual chooses.

Faith in action has always been the means of salvation from sin. This is obvious if you understand “salvation from sin” as “eliminating destructive forces from our lives”. This is true in the physical resurrection of the body at the Second Coming, but also evident in the spiritual resurrection now.

Faith in action is not the same concept as salvation through works.

We don’t change our behavior in order to get saved, we change our behavior because we are saved from destructive behaviors / sin.

King David described the process by which he was saved from his sin of adultery and murder.

“Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions. Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me. Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest…thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.” (Psalm 51:1-6)

Years later a similar situation occurred with a woman who committed adultery, and the Son of God dealt with it the same way that God has dealt with sinners since day one – believe Yahweh’s Promise to provide salvation and act on that belief.

“And [the legalistic religious leadership] brought unto him a woman…and…say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act. Now…the law commanded us, that such should [die]: but what sayest thou?…He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her…And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst…And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more.  Then spake Jesus again unto them, saying…If ye continue in my word, then are ye my disciples indeed; And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.” (John 8:3-32)

Freedom from sin cannot depend on relying on one’s own willpower. It can only be experienced under God’s protection and provision, freed from destructive forces of sin, the destroyer by whatever name described.

We should recognize God’s righteousness in relying on our behavior as proof that we have been redeemed! Unlike the infamous Dreyfus affair, in the day of judgment not even God makes himself the sole judge of our guilt or innocence. It is for our own protection that God relies on DEMONSTRABLE EVIDENCE of our adherence to the requirements for inclusion in his kingdom!