Come As You Are Party!

"Blessed are the people who know the joyful sound"  (Psalm 89:15, NKJV). 

God wants us to celebrate a new life with Him, which began upon acceptance of Him as the owner of our life and in the dedication of ourselves to Him and whatever that may involve, known as our cross to bear.  We must be willing to follow through thick and thin, come what may, wherever the chips may fall, even when they are down,  nor to faint in adversity but go from faith to faith.   The Christian life, though no easy affair, is a family affair lived with the Godhead indwelling us and engaging the fellowship of the church body.

It has been said that Christian living is not hard, but impossible!  The only way to have victory is to walk in the Spirit and to abide in Christ, for without Him we can do nothing and are nothing but weak vessels of clay in the hands of the Potter (cf. Isaiah 45:9; 64:6).  We must live to glorify and enjoy Him as we desire to honor Him in all we do and think and rethink--for our religion isn't just externalism, but internally affecting our thought life and meditations.

God invites all to come to Christ in the message of the gospel and opens our hearts to have faith and repent, in that they are not meritorious works, but acts of grace by the Holy Spirit.  We believe through grace!  God quickens faith within us and we become alive in Christ with a whole new perspective and outlook on life.  We can do no pre-salvation works to prepare for salvation (the only qualification is to acknowledge we are unqualified as sinners), but we all must come as we are in faith and believe God for a miracle to transform us into new creatures in Christ--it's all a work of grace, God getting all the glory.  But the good news is that we will not stay that way, no matter what our prior condition was, Jesus is still in the resurrection business and the power that rose Him from the dead can be alive in us as we come to know it first-hand (cf. Phil. 3:10), not second-hand or hearsay.

We live our lives as works in progress realizing all the while God is not finished with us yet, till we arrive in glory.  God always finishes what He starts and He has begun a good work in us!   When we enter eternity we will receive a threefold commendation:  an affirmation of "well done, thou good and faithful servant!" a promotion of "thou hast been faithful in small things and shall be faithful in much," and a final celebration of "enter thou into the joy of the Lord!"  The party that will last for eternity and we must realize that this world is passing away and is temporal while we are pilgrims with our real citizenship and portion are in heaven forever. 

Oh, the joy of those who have learned to walk by faith and not by sight or even feeling, but have learned by faith that God is real and seeing Him at work in the world, in their lives, and in circumstances known as Providence.  Noah probably had the best resume in the Bible, for he was a just man and perfect in his generations, and he walked with God!  (cf. Gen. 6:9).  We all have the opportunity and ability to do likewise--walk with God, because we have the indwelling Spirit to convict us of our sins, illuminate the Word, and to enjoy in fellowship, even to inspire us for life.

What is worship, but celebrating what the Lord has done and who He is?  We can learn to appreciate and adore Him for all His works and to realize that we are His greatest miracle because He transformed us from the inside out and made us new creatures in Christ.  Christians realize that Christ is the Lord who made us and owns it all, and worshiping is a way of giving back to Him spiritually and acknowledging this ownership of our spirit as a mere token of our gratitude.  We are led by the Spirit to worship the Godhead and thus celebrate the glory of God realized in Christ's work.

In our celebration, we should keep certain things in mind:  our past is forgiven, our present is given meaning, and our future is secured.  We have a reason for living and can live on purpose for God's glory and not for ourselves.   Our salvation is more than mere forgiveness, it's a new adventure with Jesus, a way of life or relationship, turning our creed into deeds (cf. Titus 2:14). How shall we escape if we neglect such great salvation? (cf. Heb. 2:3).

Don't view the faith as an escape, a crutch, a way out, or a way to just cope with life, but how to live victoriously through life with the peace of God, and the purpose and power to overcome our sin nature--our worst enemy could be ourselves! (Cf. John 10:10)  We can view our salvation as past (saved us from the punishment due our sin); present  (being saved from its power); and pending (awaiting glory and freedom from the presence of sin in glory).  We even see new meaning in our trials and adversities that build our character, and it is our privilege to suffer for \the sake of the Name.  In the final analysis, it's not just forgiveness for what we've done, but deliverance from what we are! 

CAVEAT:  NO ONE REMAINS THE SAME AFTER AN ENCOUNTER WITH THE LORD, WE COME AS WE ARE, BUT ARE GUARANTEED NOT TO STAY THAT WAY!  SO ASK YOURSELF IF YOU ARE READY FOR A NEW LIFE WITH CHRIST AT THE HELM OWNING YOUR SOUL AND DESTINY.    LET THE PARTY BEGIN! THE BEST IS YET TO COME!        Soli Deo Gloria!

Christ's Bema

"...[B]ecause anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him"  (Heb. 11:6, NIV).
"... 'Fear not, Abram,  I am your shield, your reward shall be very great'"  (Gen. 15:1, NIV).
"Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you"  (Matt. 5:12, NIV).
BY WAY OF INTRO, SOME LAWYERS DON'T CARE SO MUCH WHAT THE LAW IS AS TO WHO THE JUDGE IS!  WE CAN REST IN PEACE THAT THE RIGHTEOUS FATHER HAS GIVEN ALL JUDGMENT TO THE SON WHO SAVED US.

The Judgment Seat of Christ, known as His bema or tribunal, is where all believers get their appraisal (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10; Rom. 14:8,10) and evaluation of their life's work done in the Lord, as to whether it deserves reward.  Some will be saved, as if by fire (cf. 1 Cor. 3:14-15) and some will have a full reward.  But what are we to expect at the bema?  God isn't going to inquire as to what political party we aligned ourselves with or affiliated with, as to whether we are saved by virtue of it--for God is nonpartisan and doesn't give us brownie points for this!  He will not inquire about our denominational affiliation or positions on the issues and doctrines.  God isn't going to ask us about our highs and ecstasies in our walk, for God is more concerned with faith than feeling.

Oswald Chambers said that the "measure of a person's spiritual life is not their ecstasies, but their obedience!"  Again I quote Dietrich Bonhoeffer, rephrased Martin Luther:  "Only he who believes is obedient; only he who is obedient believes!"  They go hand in hand and must not be divorced--they can be distinguished, but not separated!   We must be obedient to the faith (cf. Rom. 1:50.   This means a penitent and willing spirit, submissive to His will as our yoke. We are not under the Law, (cf. Rom. 6:14) but under a higher standard, albeit easier, the law of love, which can never be satisfied! 

We must not expect God to give us kudos for our strong faith or our assurance--how strong our faith was--for the faith as of a mustard seed is adequate.  Faith, like our righteousness, is the gift of God for which we are held to account.  Our assurance of salvation and strong faith is a gift and for our benefit, not God's.  We're measured by our good works, not our faith (cf. Rom. 2:6)!  Our righteousness is God's gift to us, not our blessing or gift to God!   All our works must be tried as if by fire, to see if they are worthy--some will only be wood, hay, and stubble, while others as pure as silver and gold that is refined and found to reflect God's image--we are meant to be God's ambassadors in the world (cf. 2 Cor 5:20) and for God to see Himself in us (cf. Col. 1:27).

At Christ's bema we will be held accountable for all the resources, blessings, character, personality, gifts, talents, relationships, time, opportunities God has granted us by grace.  Everything we have is only on loan from God as we are merely stewards of His manifold blessings and provision.    Nothing we have belongs to us, for it's all His and we must make an investment in the Lord to find a return on that investment!   God's dividends are well worth it--for it is well worth the time and effort to serve the Lord, for He is a bountiful giver of rewards as our Provider (Jehovah-Jireh) to those who serve Him, and God is no man's debtor!

Paul wasn't against good works, just those done in the flesh (by the energy of the natural man, not the Holy Spirit).  Only those works foreordained by God per Ephesians 2:10 and we are led to do while filled with the Spirit and enabled to do:  "Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit, says the LORD God"  (cf. Zech. 4:6).  If we walk after the flesh, it doesn't matter how many good deeds we do--they are not worthy (cf. Isa. 64:6). This is why the faith we have is the faith we show, and works validate faith and are evidence, not the substitute for it; also, faith without works is dead faith and cannot save (cf. James 2:17)!

We increase in the knowledge of God as we do works in the Spirit as God ordained (cf. Col. 1:10).  This is precisely why Christ said that even a cup of cold water given in His name will not remain unrewarded or lose its reward!  Many will put their confidence in their works, not in the Lord, and expect a free pass by virtue of them; however, all in all, what we should expect to hear are the words:  "Well done, thou good and faithful servant!"  The Lord is our portion and our reward  (cf. Gen. 15:1)  and compensation is in heaven--don't get into a comfort zone in this life and feel too much at home.

In sum, we must be looking unto the heavenly city (cf. Phil. 3:20), to a heavenly reward not realized, and not realize our reward in this life (cf. Psalm 17:14)--we're only passing through as sojourners (cf. 1 Pet. 2:11) and pilgrims, as mere stewards of God's manifold bounties!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Are You Cashing In or Enduring?

"Endure hardship as discipline..." (Hebrews 12:7, NIV).  
"But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship..."  (2 Timothy 4:5, NIV).
"I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith"  (2 Tim. 4:7, NIV).

Some believers seem to be deluded about the cost of discipleship and the suffering that comes with the package.  God doesn't promise to make us all rich, famous, influential, or powerful:  We are not worshiping at the altar of Almighty Chance trying to cash in our spiritual lottery ticket and live a balanced, successful life; we're here to do God's will: to know Him and make Him known (cf. Jer. 9:24).  We are just vessels of honor used by God, which should be seen as a privilege of grace, and are just servants to whom we hope God will say at that day:  "Well done, thou good and faithful servant."

It is by discipline, suffering, trials, tribulation, and adversity that we build character and these are our crosses to bear, but they pale in comparison to Christ's.  Philippians 1:29 says that it has been granted unto us "to suffer for his sake."  Christ was honest enough to warn us of this and didn't exempt himself from any humiliation, persecution, shame, suffering, nor temptation.   Paul also expresses the desire to rejoice in the fellowship of His sufferings in Phil. 3:10.  Contrary to what Joel Osteen writes about in Your Best Life Now, our reward is in heaven and we are only spiritual pilgrims on green cards with citizenship in heaven only passing through!

Some of us have more hardship than others, but none of us gets a free ride or a bed of roses; it's an affliction that shapes our character and makes us Christlike.  Sure, God blesses us and makes our work in the Lord a success if we keep the faith and endure, but success in the eyes of the world is not what's meant--they have their reward in this life (cf. Psalm 17:14), but ours is in heaven.  We are, therefore, to endure with patience the race set before us, keeping our eyes on Jesus (cf. Heb. 12:1).

The doctrine of the perseverance of the saints guarantees that we won't lose our salvation, but it doesn't ensure we won't lose our full reward or be disqualified (cf. 1 Cor. 9:27; 1 Cor. 3:15).  "We must never, never give up" (in the words of Winston Churchill) and never quit but endure the hardship we are faced with, though it be a bucket of tears--it's always too soon to quit!

We may be tempted to compromise our integrity or to break faith, but we must go on from faith to faith (cf. Rom. 1:16).  That means faith is the essence and we believe that God is working on our behalf and we cannot lose or are in a win-win situation.  We may be tempted to deny Christ, or not to take a stand on His behalf, but we must keep the faith regardless.  No matter what the world dishes out we must be able to roll with the punches; we're not called to grin and bear it like a Stoic, but to see the reward hopefully, and to endure joyfully.

Jesus never encouraged people to follow Him; in fact, He did all He could to discourage them and to count the cost of signing up for life.  It wasn't something you give a whirl or make a short-term contract with, but a permanent transaction of becoming a child of God with all the consequences as well as blessings (divine discipline or chastisement and reward).  You don't just "try Jesus" but you must be willing to commit your life to Him much like a marriage where you commit to a lifelong contract. You don't experiment with Him or accept Him on a trial basis!  Jesus wasn't looking for admirers or sidekicks, but followers and worshipers who love Him and prove it by obedience.

The final goal is the smile of God, and He does so when we joyfully walk in His will and are obedient.  "True holiness is doing the will of God with a smile," (Mother Teresa).  The "joy of the Lord is [our] strength," according to Nehemiah 8:10; it's something the world cannot take away, as we are commanded to rejoice always.

The choice is clear:  We are either for Christ or against Him; there's no middle ground of neutrality. Persecution is part of the deal or the package that we signed up for and the deal is for a lifetime:  All who are godly shall suffer persecution.  It's like a  feather in your cap or crown on your head when you've been mocked or ridiculed for your faith and you know you've spoken out for Christ as His witness to a dark world.

 The goal is to please God; "The LORD takes pleasure in his people..." (Psalm 149:4, ESV).  We ought to rejoice in tribulation:  Cf. Rom. 5:3!   The caveat in tribulations:  Keep your eyes on Jesus, not yourself, the world, nor others--no matter how tempting.  Soli Deo Gloria!  

Your Best Life Now?

"He is like a tree planted by streams of water that yields its fruit in its season, and its leaf doesn't not whither.  In all that he does, he prospers"  (Psalm 1:3, ESV).  

This is the title of a best-selling book by a well-known televangelist, Joel Osteen, touting the benefits of being a believer, who only has to cash in on his spiritual lottery ticket to find prosperity, as he sees it--to suit his whims.  God is indeed good to some in all ways, and good to all in some ways, but not good to all in all ways, including believers (cf. Psalm 145:9).  We are to be faithful to what God has called us to and put God in charge of the so-called success.

With God, little, with His blessing, is much.  The spirit that we offer our lives to Him is what matters--as Mother Teresa of Calcutta said, "True holiness consists in doing the will of God with a smile."  She also said that it is not what we do, but how much love we put into it that matters! Prosperity theology is a heresy that the modern church has fallen for, and the test of this is that if you cannot preach that gospel to everyone, it is a false gospel.  There are martyrs in China who are not leading prosperous lives, yet they wouldn't give up their crowns for worldly success any day--how does this teaching apply to them?  God will prosper us as we do His will, and this means being in His will (which is always the safest place to be).

Do you really want your best life now, as some have their reward or portion in this life, according to Psalm 17:14, or would you want to make an eternal investment that will outlast the consequences of this world? Every day we strike a chord that will vibrate for eternity, and the most important thing we can do is make an impact that will outlast us, by investing in something bigger than ourselves.


The telltale sign of believers is not income, real estate, 401(k)s, vehicles, nor profession, but the love of the brethren, per John 13:35: Mother Teresa of Calcutta (recipient of the 1979 Nobel Peace Prize) said that God has called us to faithfulness, not success. We can be assured that if we are faithful in little, we will be faithful in much, according to Jesus--as this life is but a trial run, dress rehearsal, or tryout for eternity. Jesus said that you shall know them by their love, not their possessions, or success by any standards.

Joshua 1:8 promises to make our way prosperous and to give success, if we are faithful to the Word; however, people misconstrue what success and prosperity are.  God will ensure that we will succeed in doing His will, that He has called us to do and He will bless us with all spiritual blessings in Christ, even partaking of the divine nature.  Don't be fooled by the world's standards of success and prosperity, like he who dies with the most toys wins or achieving the so-called American dream!  The Bible warns against materialism and that we cannot serve God and Mammon.  Jesus said not to store up treasures on earth.  We are to make eternal investments in heaven by giving according to, and in proportion with, the blessings we share from are granted by God.

Some seekers are searching for the benefits, but not the Benefactor, and only want God in their lives for what they can get out of Him.  God will take care of all our needs, though some confuse needs with felt needs or wants.  David prayed, "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want [be in want]." God's chief aim is to fashion us after the image of Christ, not to make us balanced, well-adjusted, happy, and secure individuals.  We need to live in light of eternity and not be so focused on the temporal!

If we have God, we have all we need, even if the crops fail:  It happened in Habakkuk 3:18 (ESV), which says, "Yet I will rejoice in the LORD, I will take joy in the God of my salvation."  3 John 2 (ESV, emphasis added) says, "Beloved, I pray that all may go well with you and that you may be in good health, as it goes well with your soul."  God seeks to use us as vessels of honor and that is what we are here to do:  Being His feet, hands, voice, and ears to a needy world.  The really successful believer is one who bears the image of Christ and God can use for His glory like Paul said in Romans 15:18 (NIV): "I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me...."  This is reiterated by Isaiah, saying that all that we have accomplished, He has done through us (cf. Is. 26:12).

Newsflash:  God isn't out to guarantee anyone's happiness or financial benefit, but to sanctify us after the image of His Son and to use us for His glory:  "The chief end of man is to glorify God and to enjoy Him forever"  (The Westminster Shorter Catechism, cf. Isaiah 43:7).  Some believers just want to be happy, which depends on happenings, while we are commanded to rejoice in the Lord and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit, which includes joy.

We all have a cross to bear and when we finish the work God has given us, we will be checking out into our heavenly destination:  "For David, after he had served the purpose of God in his own generation, fell asleep and was laid with his fathers and saw corruption"  (Acts 13:36, ESV).  Our crosses pale in comparison to His, but God saves no one without sanctifying them.  Jesus said that we must take up our cross and follow Him, and to "count the cost," as this is what we signed up for and it comes with the territory--there's no guarantee of a bed of roses or an easy life, but "through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God"  (cf. Acts 14:22).

God promises to meet all our needs in doing His will, according to 2 Cor. 9:8, that makes a promise to claim concerning God's provision.   Again:  "But my God shall supply all your need..." (cf. Philippians 4:19).  In the final analysis, it is said, "Adversity, discipline, suffering, and trials inevitably come to all Christians, but Christ didn't exempt Himself from them."  It is the bumps in the road that shape character:  The same sun hardens the clay, melts the butter!  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Grip Of Sin

Before salvation we are subject to a sin nature that we have no power to defeat; in fact, all we can do is sin and we are unable not to sin. Roman poet Ovid said, "I know the good and approve it, but I follow the worst."  Paul summed up the plight of man in Romans 7:24 (ESV) as:  "Wretched man that I am.  Who will deliver me from the body of this death?" "Can the Ethiopian change his skin or the leopard his spots?  Then also you can do good who are accustomed to do evil" (Jeremiah 13:23, ESV).  "All our righteousness is as filthy rags"  (cf. Isaiah 64:6) and counts as nothing compared to the purity of God's standards, which are manifest in Christ's person.

All we need to know of righteousness is exemplified and personified in Him, the exact replica and image of God (cf. Col. 1:15). Our good works, done in the flesh, count for nothing at Judgment Day and are praiseworthy by our fellow man, who gives us his kudos and; however, they count for nothing in God's eyes, namely because they were done with the wrong motives and God takes this into consideration (cf. Proverbs 21:2)--most men do good deeds simply for the applause and acceptance of man and to ingratiate himself in God's eyes; however, there is nothing we can do to gain God's favor or to "brownnose" God.

We are all in the same boat and lumped together (cf. Rom. 3:23), regardless of our own assessment or appraisal, or of what others think considering their evaluation and estimation of our worthiness. What is esteemed in men's eyes is despised in God's eyes; for man admires high self-esteem and self-respect, not God-esteem and God-respect, and even individualism and independence--"lift yourself up by your own bootstraps," which is a do-it-yourself proposition common to all religion, on good works to gain the approbation of God. We couldn't be worse off in God's estimation of man--note that our total depravity of heart, will, and mind is God's estimation of man, not man's estimation of man. The grip of our sin nature or depravity must be solved threefold:  its ignorance by virtue of Christ the Prophet, its guilt by virtue of Christ the Priest, and its dominion by virtue of Christ the King.

God is not against good works per se, for they benefit us and we all owe a lot to so-called good men who have contributed to our well-being, but they are not good enough to gain entree into God's heaven or for salvation itself.  But God is indeed against good deeds done in the power of the flesh, by man's own effort and strength, as opposed to those done in the power of the Spirit, of which are worthy of reward at the bema (Greek for judgment seat) or tribunal of Christ (cf. 2 Cor. 5:10; Romans 14:10-12).  Jesus said, "Apart from Me you can do nothing..." (cf. John 15:5).  God must give us the power (cf. Phil. 4:13 says, "I can do all things through Christ...") to do works in His name (cf. Isaiah 26:12 says:  "...[You] have done for us all our works"--only that which is done by the power of the Spirit and in His name is worthy of reward, and this goes for believers as well, as 1 Cor. 3:15 indicates that some of their works are only "wood, hay, and stubble" and will burn up in the fire of judgment and the believer will suffer loss of reward, though he is saved as if by fire.

Cain was warned by God in Genesis 4:7 that sin "crouches at the door" and waits to destroy him and we must all realize this:  We are still subject to our sin nature as believers and must constantly renew ourselves in the filling of the Spirit--it's not a one-time event, but a continuing experience of  being filled [cf. Eph. 5:18].  Even Christians can and do backslide, but God can heal them of this tendency, inclination, and weakness--He will heal the backslider (Hosea 14:4 says, "I will heal their backsliding, I will love them freely"). "But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh"  (Gal. 5:16, ESV).   Hosea says that "sin has been your downfall."  Yes, we still have sin in us as believers and this is the old man or old sin nature, the result of Adam's sin which we inherit as original sin.

We are no longer inclined to do good but must walk in the Spirit to overcome the evil one.   Many Christians do live defeated lives and have never learned to walk with the Lord in fellowship, even as Enoch and Noah did.  We must all realize our area of weakness--the sin which so easily besets us, according to Hebrews 12:1--and admit our shortcomings and failures to God--to come clean in repentance.  We have no one to blame but ourselves, for we are our own worst enemy and shouldn't be blaming the devil-like they say, "The devil made me do it!"  We have no one to blame but ourselves for our failures, because God is on our side and, as believers, we have power over sin and to overcome the sin nature.

Unfortunately, some believers are recurrent backsliders and God says to them:  "... Your sins have been your downfall!"  (Cf. Hos. 14:1, NIV).  We are not punished for our sins, nor for our parents' sins--we are punished by our sins, and God doesn't deliver us from their natural consequences because we still sow what we reap and take responsibility for our own behavior--just because a thief is forgiven, doesn't mean God is going to keep him from jail time.

The only way to be set free is to know Christ:  "If the Son shall set you free, you shall be free indeed!"  (Cf. John 8:36).  Unbelievers have no power over sin and act according to their nature, though everyone isn't equally as bad, they are all as equally bad off--we cannot save ourselves nor do any pre-salvation work!  We are all totally depraved in all of our being and nature, though we are not utterly depraved or as bad as we can be.  It has been said by theologians that we are not sinners because we sin; we sin because we are sinners!

Man is only acting naturally when he sins just like Satan is acting according to his nature when he lies, for he is a liar and the father of liars, and there is no truth in him.  The sequence of salvation is that at conversion we are set free from the penalty of sin, in time from the power of sin, and in eternity from the presence of sin.  In other words, we have been saved from sin, we are being saved from sin, and we will be saved from sin (our position, condition, and expectation).

The whole point of the Christian life is a changed life or a conversion experience--although some regard this as an acceptable way to have a nervous or mental breakdown now, it is an experience to be reckoned with and that is as dramatic as a cowboy changing hitching posts because of his change of attitude and no longer visits the brothel or saloon, and instead attends chapel.  We learn to hate sin as God hates it and to love righteousness as God does, and as we get to know God and love God, we want to be like Him.  We are all works in progress, but there is a dramatic change that occurs as a testimony of the conversion experience.

Therefore,we must learn to be patient with other believers because God isn't finished with them yet!  God is working on us like a silversmith purifies his silver:  When he sees himself he is done!  God wants to see Himself in us and won't stop working on us till He does: "Christ in you, the hope of glory"  (cf. Col. 1:27).  God is like a sculptor who makes a figurine out of a slab of marble and does it by taking away everything that doesn't resemble the figurine. Some people are just more challenging and have a further way to go, by virtue of less virtue or faith, but God is determined to make all of us in Christ's image.

Man is no free spirit (however, he's a free moral agent) that can do as he wills and come to God in his own power and free will, God must woo him and draw him to the cross and do a work of regeneration in his heart of repentance and faith--no one would come to Christ of their own power; it is totally of grace and Soli Deo Gloria, or to God alone be the glory.  It is by grace alone, through faith alone, in the person and work of Christ alone, with the Scripture as the authority alone, and God alone getting the glory.  It is summed up in the monergistic (not cooperative) and not a synergistic (co-operative) phrase of Jonah:  "Salvation is of the Lord."  It is not a cooperative venture, whereby we get a little of the credit, but God works it in us and sovereignly saves us totally by grace and not merit of any kind. There are only three possibilities:  Of man alone; of God and man; or of God alone.

The first is religion, the second is legalism, and the third alone is total grace.  As Paul says in Romans 5:21 that "grace reigns through righteousness."  God's grace is irresistible and efficacious or does what He intends--make believers out of us and change our hearts of stone into hearts of flesh (cf. Ezek. 36:26). God's grace always works the desired result (cf Romans 5:21), unlike man's work, and is never in vain--you can resist the Holy Spirit and harden your heart, but not God's gracious work in your heart, no more than you can resist the woman of your dreams.

It is an ill-conceived to think we are "born free" and have "spiritual" free will--we must be set free! We aren't saved by an act of the will:  "So then it depends not on human will or exertion, but on God, who has mercy" (Romans 9:16, ESV).  "[F]or it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure"  (Phil. 2:13, ESV).  We don't need free wills to be saved, but wills made free (even our wills our stubborn, rebellious, and depraved and incapable of pleasing God without God quickening of faith in them--we were dead in trespasses and sins (cf. Eph. 2:1) and God made us alive, and a dead person can do nothing to please God!

We had no inclination to come to Christ and no desire for Him until God worked this grace in us and granted us the privilege of coming to Christ: "No man can come to me unless the Father, who sent me, draws him," and "No man can come to me unless it has been granted of the Father" (cf. John 6:44).  These are hard sayings and many believers stumble over them and cannot accept that God is ultimately in charge of our destiny--they like to think they are in control of things; however, God is sovereign over all and what kind of God would He be if He weren't?  Note Romans 9:19 (ESV) that says, "... 'Why does he still find fault?  For who can resist his will?'" "Christ is the Captain of our soul and the Master of our fate."

Man's so-called free will doesn't limit God's sovereignty, and God is the one who made the final choice as to whom He would save--called His elect in Scripture.  It is an important point of doctrine that Romans 8:30 (ESV), which says :  "[A]nd those whom he predestined he also called...," militates against the prescient view that God elects us because we believe, but God elects us unto faith, I repeat, not because of our faith! He can make a believer out of anyone if it's His will (Tyre and Sidon would've repented had they seen Christ's miracles!).  But people are still responsible for rejecting God and are personally accountable at Judgment Day because God didn't impel nor compel them to reject Him--they rejected whatever light they had.

We all have feet of clay or weaknesses not readily apparent and we cannot be good until we realize how bad we are or how bad off we are, and we will never realize this unless we attempt to be good and find out the power sin has over us as a master.  We never ceased to be human who can make choices, but we ceased to be good with any inclination toward God--no inherent goodness (we are not basically good!).  In Reformed theology, man, left to himself, will not choose God, and we didn't choose Him, He chose us (cf. John 15:16).  As Blaise Pascal said:  "I would not have searched for Thee if Thou hadst not found me."

We can be glad though: God doesn't grade on a curve and we all fall short of His holiness, and He sees through the veneer to our solidarity in Adam.  It's not that we are good enough to be saved, but bad enough to need salvation!   Of course, if the run-of-the-mill sinner compares himself to Adolf Hitler, he would think himself a saint, but the standard we are held to is Christ, and He doesn't grade on a curve! Indeed, we must recognize that we are bad, but not too bad to be saved!  Caveat: Freedom in Christ is not permission to live in the flesh, but the power to live in the Spirit!   And remember we have nothing to boast:  "For who makes you different from anyone else? What do you have that you did not receive? ..." (1 Cor. 4:7, NIV).  Soli Deo Gloria!

No Christian Superstars!

We seem to think that those believers in the limelight, or who have made names for themselves as celebrities, are the greatest in the kingdom. Jesus made it clear that it is a matter of our humility (cf. Matt. 18:3) that determines greatness.  God isn't interested in our achievements, but in our obedience. He wants you, not your accomplishments!  Christianity is about God's work, not ours.  Just because God has entrusted one with many talents, doesn't guarantee them a higher status in the kingdom either--they just have more to be accountable and responsible for.  What Jesus said was that he who is faithful in little shall be faithful in much.  Mother Teresa of Calcutta (now canonized) said that God doesn't call us to success, but to faithfulness [which cannot be divorced from faith].

What seems to be a high profile believer is just one who has a lot of responsibility to God and will be rewarded accordingly. Not many mighty nor noble are called into God's service (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26), and God does reserve the right to use anyone for His purposes, as the Potter has power over the clay. (cf. Isaiah 64:8).  We shouldn't be discouraged because we are unknowns, but rejoice that God has put us into the ministry--we are all ministers of reconciliation according to 2 Cor. 5:18-19.

There is no room for a Christian "elite" or superstar status making a class of believer worthy of special treatment:  When the king of England went to communion, commoners were ahead of him in line and they insisted that the king go first;  he said that in this line we are all equal! Yes, we are all one in Christ and all servants of the Lord who literally owns us as a master owns a slave.

We are all vessels of honor and unbelievers are the vessels of dishonor.  God has called us to bring glory to Himself:  Isaiah 43:7 says that God created us for His glory.  The Westminster divines said: The chief purpose of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever!  Beware that when God uses us to think that it is to our credit; it is humbling to know that God is using us to bring glory to Himself.  All our righteousness is as filthy rags (cf. Isaiah 64:6), and God rewards us for what He accomplishes through us.  Isaiah 26:12 says it most plainly:  "... You have done for us all our works."  In other words, all that we have done, God has accomplished through us (cf. Hosea 14:8, NKJV says, "... Your fruit is found in Me.").   Paul also declares in Romans 15:18 (NIV):  "I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me...."

All Christians are royalty and members of the household of God and children of God, whereas we shall all reign with Him as sons of God and joint-heirs of Christ.  Nobody is a persona non grata in God's kingdom.  We are all referred to as "saints," despite the fact that we still sin (cf. Gal. 2:17:  "... We too were found to be sinners...").  We are all members one of another and cannot say we have no need of other parts of the same body--hence, we are one (cf. Gal. 3:28) in Christ!  Soli Deo Gloria!

The Bema Of Christ

"Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life. He does not come into judgment, but has passed from death unto life"  (John 5:24, ESV, emphasis added).

Paul said, "For each of us shall give account of himself to God" in Rom. 14:12.   Before that in the context, he says, "For we all shall stand before the judgment seat of God [Christ]."  For the Father has given all judgment to the Son.  Note that there are two judgments:  One for the believer and one for the unbeliever. 1 Cor. 3:13ff describes how a believer's works are judged as to their due reward--they must remain after being tested by fire!  He has appointed a day to judge the world (this is the Great White Throne Judgment mentioned in Revelation 20:11). That refers to the lost and the "books" will be opened to judge their works.  By their own words, they will be condemned--they are all hypocrites. Christians have nothing to fear of a judgment day because there is no condemnation for the believer (cf. Rom. 8:1). Our words will justify us and not condemn us!

"I tell you, on the day of judgment people will give account for every careless word they speak, for by your words you will be justified, and by your words, you will be condemned"  (Matt. 12:36-37).
The so-called "day of judgment" is the one appointed by God at the last day and is called the Great White Throne Judgment.  Christians will not be present here but at the Bema.  Note that Christians will be justified by their own words (testimony and witness) and unbelievers will be condemned by their own words and testimony.

Bema is the same as tribunal or judgment seat in Greek and Christ will judge our works and test them by fire whether they are silver and gold, or wood, hay, and stubble which will burn up (NB: There is no double jeopardy).  Our sins have been forgiven past, [present, and future, and we fear no future embarrassment of reprimand, but God is able to present us blameless before His throne with great joy (cf. Jude 24).  Many Christians try to put the fear of God in their brothers by telling them they will be judged, but God has already judged our sins and they are deleted from His memory bank, never to be brought up again.  The judgment we face as believers is to how much reward we are worthy of and how much we glorified Christ with the opportunities, resources, talents, gifts, and time that God conferred on us by grace.     Soli Deo Gloria!