What Ought You To Be?

2 Peter 3:10-16 ESV

 

“But the day of the Lord will come like a thief, and then the heavens will pass away with a roar, and the heavenly bodies will be burned up and dissolved, and the earth and the works that are done on it will be exposed.

 

“Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God, because of which the heavens will be set on fire and dissolved, and the heavenly bodies will melt as they burn! But according to his promise we are waiting for new heavens and a new earth in which righteousness dwells.

 

“Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by him without spot or blemish, and at peace. And count the patience of our Lord as salvation, just as our beloved brother Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him, as he does in all his letters when he speaks in them of these matters. There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures.”

 

One day life as we have known it on this earth is going to be no more. One day Jesus Christ is going to come back, but not just to take his full bride to be with him for eternity, but also to judge the earth and the people of the earth. Therefore, we should not be casual about our relationships with Jesus Christ. We should not be like those who are taking God’s grace for granted, just assuming that God is going to let them into his heaven even if they have lived in denial of him by their lifestyles while they are still on this earth.

 

We, as those who profess faith in Jesus Christ, are to be living holy lives, pleasing to God. And to be holy is to be different from (unlike) the world (which is given over to the flesh), and because we are to be becoming like Jesus Christ in mind, heart, character, and will. And we are to be living godly lives in righteous living, living in purity of devotion to our Lord in obedience to his commands, in moral purity, in integrity, in faithfulness, and in truth.

 

For Jesus Christ did not die that horrible death on the cross just to forgive us our sins so that we can escape hell and go to heaven when we die. He died that we might die with him to sin and live to him and to his righteousness. He died that we would live for him and no longer for ourselves. And he shed his blood for us on that cross to buy us back for God (to redeem us) so that we would now honor God with our lives (1 Peter 2:24; 2 Corinthians 5:15; 1 Corinthians 6:19-20; Romans 6:1-23; Romans 8:1-14; Ephesians 4:17-32).

 

Now, notice with me here that this is speaking to those who profess faith in Jesus Christ and yet they are being told to be diligent to be found in Christ without spot or blemish, and at peace with God when our Lord returns. Why? Because our salvation from sin is not a one-time experience in our lives which guarantees us heaven when we die regardless of how we live our lives while we live on this earth. I know that is what is largely being taught and accepted as the gospel message, but it is not the gospel in entirety.

 

And this is why it is critical that we study the Scriptures for ourselves and that we read them in their context and that we not rely on preachers and teachers of the Scriptures and writers of devotions to tell us what the Scriptures teach. For not everyone teaches the truth, sadly. Many preachers and teachers of the faith are not teaching the truth of the gospel but they are teaching a diluted, altered, and twisted version of the gospel of Christ.

 

So, if you have not been in the practice of doing this, begin reading the Scriptures book by book and word for word paying close and careful attention to the words and what they are teaching and to whom. For if you do you will learn that “once saved always saved” is not biblical. Salvation from sin is only guaranteed for the one believing (present active) in Jesus with biblical faith which dies to sin and which walks in obedience to God.

 

So, if we are to have salvation from sin and eternal life with God we must be those who have forsaken our lives of living in sin to now follow Jesus in obedience to his commands (New Covenant). We must no longer be walking (in conduct, in practice) in sin and according to the flesh or else we do not have eternal life with God, and heaven is not our eternal destiny, unless we repent of our sins and we follow our Lord in obedience in godly living.

 

So, you see our salvation is not a one-time deal and then we are good to go no matter what. All throughout the New Testament we read that if we walk according to the flesh, in sin, in disobedience to our Lord, that we do not have salvation from sin and eternal life with God. But if we die with Christ to sin daily, and if we are walking in obedience to his commands, in practice, not necessarily in absolute sinless perfection, then we have the hope of eternal life provided that we continue steadfast in those walks of faith.

 

[Matt 7:21-23; Jn 8:31-32,51; Jn 14:15-24; Jn 15:1-12; Rom 2:6-8; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14,24; Rom 13:11; 1 Co 1:18; 1 Co 6:9-10,19-20; 1 Co 15:1-2; 2 Co 5:10,15,21; Col 1:21-23; 2 Tim 2:10-13; Heb 3:6,14-15; Heb 5:9; Heb 9:28; 1 Pet 1:1-5; 1 Pet 2:24; 2 Pet 1:5-11; 2 Pet 2:20-22; 2 Tim 1:8-9; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6,15-17,24-25; 1 Jn 3:4-10,24; 1 Jn 5:2-3; 2 Jn 1:6; Jas 1:21-25; Eph 4:17-24; Jude 1:1-25; Lu 9:23-26]

 

2 Peter 3:17-18 ESV

 

“You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of eternity. Amen.”

 

So, the caution here is for us to be careful that we are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose our own stability in our walks of faith in Christ Jesus. For, whether you are aware of this or not, at least here in America, most preachers and teachers of the word of God are not teaching the truth of the gospel but an altered gospel message intended to appeal to the sinful flesh, and the masses are following them and not the truth.

 

So, please know the truth and live the truth, for if you continue in deliberate and habitual sin, in disobedience to the Lord Jesus, and if you do not repent of your sin and turn and follow Jesus in obedience and in holy living, then you do not have the promise of heaven when you die. For Jesus said that not everyone who says to him, “Lord, Lord,” will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one DOING the will of God the Father who is in heaven. So, please take this to heart (Matthew 7:21-23).

 

[Lu 9:23-26; Gal 5:16-21; Gal 6:7-8; Rom 1:18-32; Rom 2:6-8; 1 Co 6:9-10; 2 Co 5:10; Eph 5:3-6; Col 1:21-23; Col 3:5-11; Rom 6:1-23; Rom 8:1-14; 1 Jn 1:5-9; 1 Jn 2:3-6; 1 Jn 3:4-10; Heb 10:26-31; 1 Pet 1:17-21; Jn 15:1-11; Matt 7:21-23; Rev 21:8,27; Rev 22:14-15]

 

He Gives Purpose  

 

An Original Work / June 9, 2012

 

“Listen to Me when I’m calling to you.

Obey freely My word.

Follow Me in all of My ways.

Do all that I say.

Hear Me gently whisper to you

My will for your life and future.

Give all of your life and heart to

Follow Me always.”

 

Repent of your sins and worship Jesus.

He’s your Lord and Master.

He died for your sins so you could

Live with Him today.

He has a plan for your life and

He gives purpose and direction.

He gives meaning to your life,

So follow Him today.

 

“I love you so much I gave My life for

You to walk in My ways,

Living for Me each day as you

Bow to Me and pray.

Witness for Me of your love for Me and

Of My grace and mercy,

How I died to save you of your

Sins now and always.”

 

https://vimeo.com/119038798