John said this in “John 3:36 (NKJV, NASB) “36 He who believes in the Son has everlasting life; and he who does not obey the Son shall not see life, but the wrath of God abides on him.”

Paul said this in Roman’s 1:5 speaking of Jesus. “Through whom we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name’s sake…”

Compare both above to this verse from Romans 5:10 (NKJV, NASB) “10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life. “

Paul is pointing to a two-fold experience with Jesus and Father God just like John was.  Paul is saying our being “saved” as we have called it, is actually our “reconciliation” to God by the Lord’s sacrificial death. Paul continues by saying we will actually be saved (future tense) by “His life.” Christ’s “life” is what we know of Him. Paul means we are to be saved at a future point by our implementation from now until then; by the Father’s teachings through Jesus, by our living out the Lord’s responses to how He was treated especially just before and from the cross. This is the “life” of Jesus. It is to be ours also.

This two-fold idea shakes our foundations but they need to be shaken. These scriptures have always been there. Any assumption on our part that our salvation is already a done deal leaves us unprepared to resist the very troubling and distracting events we are already seeing. The lawlessness to come will become far worse. We know our love toward others is already growing cooler as we watch the evening news, wondering “What the heck is going on?” We are angry over the state of our nation. Again it all is a scheme of the Devil, a deadly offense meant to cause us to poison ourselves. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison, and expecting someone else to die!

Jesus told us what is going on. He warned us not to be troubled by it. “But Lord!”

He who is forewarned is forearmed. Armed with what? What was Jesus armed with?

The Love of God was sent into this world not to sustain this lost and dying world but to maintain the eternal life of the souls that would grasp love’s eternal life saving power, sustaining THEM as long as necessary. While training us to maintain, God is also preparing us for entrance into eternity and the kingdom of His beloved Son. Jesus did not simply pay a price and that was it.

Oh God let us see the most positive focal-point of the event was Christ’s last act. He emptied Himself by forgiving, by interceding for us. We must also do as Jesus did, to enter the kingdom. We must rid ourselves of anything that is of this world. What things? Those spiritually paralyzing things which we know will not be in heaven.  What a key to the kingdom. If we know anger, bitterness and unforgiveness will not be there, we know…it must not be in us, in our heart, in our soul and spirit!

We look at Jesus and revere Him. Jesus was trying to show us the kingdom!  He came preaching the gospel of the kingdom. Dying, literally or dying to self centered self, at face value is not good news unless it leads to something far better.  Wars have been fought and men have died to protect something they considered far greater than themselves. Jesus was no different. His life and death for us made possible our entrance into the kingdom. He taught us then died to this world but didn’t really die because He implimented the Words of eternal life. We are to learn this and then die daily to this life and maybe also die literally, but like Him, never die.  His life examples, The Way,  makes that eternal life possibility a reality for us if we embrace The Way obediently. Obedience is a distressful reality. We all know that obedience has been difficult.

Paul is saying our salvation is not achieved just because Jesus died. He is saying we are freely “reconciled” when we believe Jesus died for us and we ask Him to be Lord over our lives. Paul then says there is more to it. Whoa Mike, Jesus plus what? Dear friend Paul is saying Jesus plus Jesus.

Assuming you have asked Him to be Lord at all, many have long believed that was our part of the deal, because, Jesus did everything. Look, Jesus did what we could not do so we could do what He said to do. “You are my friends if you do what I command you.”  John 15:14  Jesus has this expectation of us, and He and the Father are one!

The eternal question then is this. Have we obediently (John 3:36) let Him be Lord? “Mike this is very discouraging. God knows we all struggle (and fail) to do that.” Yes He does and praise God He has made provision. WE however must grasp the Spirit of that provision and implement it obediently.

We made a pledge that if God would forgive us through Jesus, that we would gratefully make Him Lord of our lives.  To dispel the “works” question, God freely forgives us, cleanses, and receives us with a view toward our future entrance. God however fully expects us to keep our word to Him. He keeps His Word to us.  God knows and shared through Jesus what is required to prepare us for eternal life.  “Well Mike, we sin in word thought and deed daily. How can we maintain our relationship with God?” Dear friend, we are looking at our failures. We must look at the Lord’s success. The Father has made a Way where there was no Way. We do it the way Jesus the Son of Man did it!

“What do you mean Mike? Are you calling Jesus a sinner??? NO way!!!! This is the last post I will read man, you are WAY off base.”  Your reverence for Christ is well placed. Let your appreciation for Him rise to another level in the next post. Jesus (legally) became sin for our sake and yet rose from the dead gloriously. He has shown us a potential within us that He as the Son of Man was destined to show the sons of men. That potential will save us! We however must impliment it.

You are loved and being guarded in Jesus name, for the time has come.

Michael