“Exit Strategy” (book seen below) is now available at most e-book venues.

Paul points directly to a bi-fold salvation experience and John does also! I mean they both separate our initial experience with God through Jesus from our living experience with Jesus which leads to our actual salvation.

I mentioned in the post about Janis, that upon her passing she was truly “saved.” She had no more race to run or struggle to endure. She passed praying for others between speaking God’s wonderful attributes. This finality is truly being “saved.” We living are all on that path exercising our faith daily by God’s grace.

So look at the verses that substantiate John and Paul’s claims. These are their claims…not mine. Their credibility is unquestioned.

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.”

Compare the above to this verse of Paul’s 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 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.” Both must happen.

“…we shall be saved by His life.” Christ’s “life” is all that we heard and saw from Him. Paul means we are to be saved at a future point (like Janis) by our implementation from now until then of the Father’s teachings through Jesus. We are to obey His Words of eternal life, His instructions, by our living out the Lord’s same 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. He knows this takes determined practice on our part.

Paul said this in Roman’s 1:5, “Through whom (Jesus) we have received grace and apostleship to bring about the obedience of faith among all the Gentiles, for His name’s sake…” Like John did, Paul points directly to obedience. Like a bi-fold door, both halves must be opened and they open together. Reconciliation is the state of righteousness we are gifted with. Salvation occurs finally by our protecting that righteous through the commandments of Christ. The teachings will keep us righteous if we obediently implement them.

This bi-fold idea shakes our foundations but they need to be shaken. You may have never heard or noticed these scriptures before. Imagine those who do not study the word? They think they are good to go but God, desiring that none should perish, is bringing this understanding to the forefront.

These scriptures have always been there. Any assumption on our part that our salvation is already a done deal can leave 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 and God certainly is allowing it. It is a deadly offense meant to cause us to poison ourselves. Unforgiveness is like drinking poison, and expecting someone else to die!

Jesus told us. 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. It sustains as  us as long as it endures within us. While training us to maintain our salvation by enduring this lawlessness through intercession, 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. That price was the entrance fee for the race we must run and finish, to be saved.

Oh God let us see that the most positive point of Christ’s crucifixion was Christ’s last act. He emptied Himself by forgiving, by interceding for us. Children of God, 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 clear key to the kingdom. If we know anger, bitterness and unforgiveness will not be in heaven, we know…it can not be in us if we ever expect to go there! We will NOT smuggle it in. Our being forgiven happens on this side of the door. More importantly, our forgiving others, multiplied others, does also. The seed of grace in us must multiply to others. We become a “Grace Fruit Tree,” to His glory.

Jesus was trying to show us the kingdom!  He came preaching the gospel of the kingdom. His or our 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. He taught us then died to this world but didn’t really die because He implemented the Words of eternal life. We are to learn this and then die daily to this life and maybe some day die literally, but like Him, never die.  His life examples, The Way,  puts eternal life within our grasp and a reality by faith if we embrace The Way obediently. Obedience is a distressful reality but like the brother of the hero of “Unbroken” said, “A moment of pain can mean a lifetime of glory. How much more an eternal lifetime.

Jesus did what we could not do so we could do what He said to do. Jesus said, “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 coming times will demand our understanding. Preparing now is paramount.

You are loved,

Michael

    Exit Strategy

   We initiate the return of Christ!  (The E-book)

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