The Call to Salvation

Due to the first Adam’s sin, we are all born with a spirit dead in this sin (Ephesians 2:5). Our spirit must be Born Again for us to be a fulfilled human being with a living body, soul and spirit. 

Until we experience conviction for our sin, we live in self-righteousness. In our self-righteousness, we will never recognize our need for a Savior. We try to live a good life, earning our own salvation (Acts 4:11-12; Ephesians 2:8-9).

This prevents us from realizing our need for the indwelling Spirit of God. Though we live a moral life, we still need Jesus as our Savior. Unless our spirit is Born Again, we cannot enter the Kingdom of Heaven (John 3:7). 

When this conviction finally comes to our conscious awareness, then we do not need to listen to friends and family who try to talk us out of it. Salvation requires more than a formal, mental relationship with Jesus. 

We cannot connect with Him personally if we rely only on church services. We need a heart-changing revelation of who He is and what He means to us. 

Once this occurs, Jesus takes all of our sins, all of our fears, all of our needs and earthly cares and turns them into blessings.

God calls us to know Him intimately on a daily basis. He heals the deepest recesses of our soul and gives us His new life, one day, one moment at a time (Psalm 23:3). 

When we see Jesus, we see Calvary. We recognize the world for what it is, a cursed place. We no longer belong to this world, but are accepted into God’s beloved family (Ephesians 1:6).

Prayer:
Father God, thank You for revealing to us that salvation has nothing to do with our human effort or human love at all. When we base our salvation more on feelings than Biblical truth, the devil takes advantage of us and draws us away from You. 

Teach us to provide discipleship classes and to intercede for all new Believers. The intercession of Your Holy Spirit for the Saints in this present evil world can only be made through authentic Believers filled with Your Spirit (Romans 8:27). Remind us to pray diligently for them.

Thought for the Day:

As authentic Believers, we cannot help but to speak about the things that we hear and see Jesus do in our own life.

Living in Christ

Righteousness can come from God or from our own soul. The difference is that self-righteousness is birthed from pride and Godly righteousness comes from humility and surrender to God. If we attempt to gain God’s favor by performing holy actions, we fail. All of our human righteousness is like filthy rags to God (Isaiah 64:6). We can do nothing to earn God’s favor or to work our way into heaven. Nothing less than complete surrender to God will do.

We receive God’s righteousness in exchange for our sinfulness, at the moment we repent of our sins and look to Jesus as the author and perfecter of our faith (Hebrews 12:3). It is a gift, not something we earn (Romans 3:23). The righteous works of a Believer are simply the evidence of our faith (James 2:14-26), not an attempt to earn God’s acceptance. We only perform the works, which God intended for us to do before we were even born (Ephesians 2:10).

When the Holy Spirit governs our behavior, our works endure and we receive rewards for them on judgment day. When our human flesh directs our works, they are wasted energy and simply burned up on the day of judgment (1 Corinthians 3:15). Although we are still saved, we do not receive rewards for these works, because they are not done in obedience, but by the flesh, which is enmity against God (Romans 8:7).

God created each of us for a purpose, and only these works will survive the test of God’s consuming fire (Ephesians 2:10). When we abide in Christ, we dwell continually in His presence. The Holy Spirit gives us the character, nature and perspective of Jesus, which replaces our carnal persona (2 Corinthians 3:18). God does not give us a list of rules to adhere to, which is the law. But He gives us a whole new way of life in Christ as co-heirs and children of the King.

Prayer:

Father God, You call us to live IN Christ, not FOR Christ. You want Christ to live through us, so that we will accomplish Your will in the earth and bring forth the fulfillment of Your Kingdom. Create a new heart and renew a right spirit in us (Psalm 51:10). We acknowledge Your holiness and stand in awe of You in Your presence (Isaiah 29:23). You formed and made us from the dust of the earth, and we are created for Your glory, not our own (Isaiah 43:7).

Thought for the Day:

God chose us in Christ, holy and blameless in His sight, before the earth was ever formed. – Ephesians 1:4