In life nothing remains stagnant, it either increase or decreases, but how are we to move on to perfection? To move on to
perfection one has to; cleanse him/herself from all filthiness of the flesh and
spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
Holiness is the ultimate objective for having received
salvation, this is the will of the Father even before the foundation of the
world, as confirmed by the apostle Paul who wrote; “Grace to you and peace from
God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the
heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the
foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in
love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to
Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will, to the praise
of the glory of His grace, by which He made us accepted in the Beloved”
(Ephesians 1:2-6).
We face not only the peril of not progressing, but also the
peril of regressing from the state in which we were created in Christ Jesus, as
stated by the apostle Paul saying; “For it is impossible for those who were
once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers
of the Holy Spirit, and have tasted the good word of God and the
powers of the age to come, if they fall away, to renew them again to
repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him
to an open shame” (Hebrews 6.4-6).
Man's salvation by the grace of God is figurative to the
earth which drinks in the rain that often comes upon it, and bears herbs useful
for those by whom it is cultivated, receives blessing from God; but
if it bears thorns and briers, it is rejected and near to being cursed, whose
end is to be burned.
Because, “the grace of God that brings salvation has
appeared to all men, teaching us that, denying ungodliness and
worldly lusts, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in the present
age, looking for the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our
great God and Savior Jesus Christ, who gave Himself for us, that He
might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself His own special
people, zealous for good works” (Titus 2:11-14).
There is more to salvation than simply being saved. There
are other things which accompany salvation that we should pursue, things such
as;
- Growing in grace and in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, which is the medium by which the new man is renewed.
- Becoming slaves of righteousness; the medium by which one sustains holiness.
- Seeking glory, honor and immortality
For according to the apostle Paul; “But, beloved, we are
confident of better things concerning you, yes, things that accompany
salvation, though we speak in this manner. For God is not unjust to
forget your work and labor of love which you have shown toward His name, in that
you have ministered to the saints, and do minister. And we desire
that each one of you show the same diligence to the full assurance of hope
until the end, that you do not become sluggish, but imitate those
who through faith and patience inherit the promises” (Hebrews 6:9-11).
According to God's righteous judgment He "will render to each one according to his deeds:
eternal life to those who by patient continuance in doing good seek for
glory, honor, and immortality; Therefore, it is not just a matter of being saved, but
obtaining the objective for being saved which is to be holy, fulfilling our responsibility as priests and attaining the
things that accompany salvation, which are glory, honor and immortality.
Glory, honor and immortality are things which are extra to
Salvation and must be earned. Glory for example comes as a result of how one
has grown in the knowledge of the Son of God, to a perfect man, to the measure
of the stature of the fullness of Christ. And so we have been admonished
saying; “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of
the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just
as by the Spirit of the Lord” (2 Corinthians 3:18).
At the resurrection, the same way that the celestial
bodies differs in glory, so will be the resurrected saints. For it is written;
“There is one glory of the sun, another glory of the moon, and another glory of
the stars; for one star differs from another star in glory. So also is the
resurrection of the dead. The body is sown in corruption, it is raised in
incorruption. It is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory. It is sown in
weakness, it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body, it is raised a
spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body. (1
Corinthians 15:41-44).
The same principle applies to those who will be
honored; because honor will depend on how one has utilized the talents and
gifts which he/she has freely received from God, because they are given to us
to do business until the master returns. “For we must all appear before the
judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive the things done in the body,
according to what he has done, whether good or bad” (2Corinthians 5:10).
To receive honor is comparable to the parable of the
talents, where a noble man called ten of his servants, and delivered to them
ten minas, and said to them, 'Do business till I come.' When he returned he
then commanded these servants, to whom he had given the money, to be called to
him, that he might know how much every man had gained by trading.
Then came the
first, saying, 'Master, your mina has earned ten minas. And he said to him,
'Well done, good servant; because you were faithful in a very little, have
authority over ten cities.' And the second came, saying, 'Master, your mina has
earned five minas.' Likewise he said to him, 'You also have authority over five
cities.' But the one who did not invest his master`s money, was stripped off of
what was given to him and given it to the one who has ten minas' (Luke
19:12-27).
Therefore, it is imperative that we learn to work out
our own salvation with fear and trembling; and furthermore, it is God who works
in us both to will and to do for His good pleasure.
Copyright © 2013 by Lucius Joseph
All rights reserved
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