Eternal Hope and Peace...

I needed to break out of a slump that has been going on for a while.

Hey, it happens to the best of us, so it surely happens to the least, a group in which I find myself a member of.

After resting and strengthening myself in the word, I was moved to speak the following. This is as much for me as it is for you.

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In this season, many celebrate the birth of Christ Jesus by tradition.

For some it is ritual and tradition only, enjoying the contact and friendship of family, meals, presents , etc., in an attempt at unity and peace and compassion from a worldly point of view and from personal and internal strength in the flesh.

For others, it takes on a spiritual recognition and representation of that which God would put into action from the very beginning. To bring man back to God in fellowship, and out of darkness and despair and endless destruction. Men and women buried under the terminal weight of sin at birth with no hope of overcoming the verdict of death, and no way out of the deep well we have fallen into, now have an escape! The death penalty has been paid on our behalf.

Mature Christians understand the wealth of hope and freedom, given freely by Christ Jesus and His sacrifice on the cross, and much more beyond that death, by His resurrection and triumph, in which we also are victorious, by accepting the simple gift of His Salvation by His Grace, in it's simplicity, an act of believing and confessing Christ, and following Him.

This is the Gospel, the Good News!

For the true believer, the comprehension of this at times, is so profound that it makes you cry, not tears of pain or hurt, but of joy!

There's more. His promise to His own, is to return at an appointed time in our future, to resurrect those who have died in Christ, and to transform those still alive in Him. To forever be with Him, eternal in nature, clothed in uncorrupted spiritual glory, just as He is even now after His resurrection. This is known as the Resurrection and Rapture.

All of this for the taking, simply by believing in the Son, and accepting His gift.

The worldly rational mind can't cope with the simplicity. The fallen pride nature within us says we must do something to deserve or earn it, and worse, do something to maintain it.

Romans 10:8-10 But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.

That's it! Believe it, and speak it! And Paul would also say in Ephesians that it is a gift and not of works.

Ephesians 2:8-9 For it is by grace you have been saved through faith, and this not from yourselves; it is the gift of God, not by works, so that no one can boast.

A gift is received, not earned.

If it is earned, it is a wage paid, and one that can not settle the overwhelming debt required.

Neither can you add to His already Finished work, for then Grace is made to no avail, and becomes works of the law which are not enough. We bring nothing to the table of salvation but our faith in Him.

This salvation is a process, yes, but the first step of "Justification" is finished by His sacrifice and resurrection. His blood, paid our blood debt, and set us free of the penalty of sin, our death sentence.

There are 3 phases to our Salvation:

• [Past / Justified] - At our salvation, we changed our mind, our direction, and were Justified! Washed fully of our sin. We were saved from the Penalty of sin.

• [Present / Sanctification] - We are being Sanctified! We are being saved from the Power of sin.

• [Future / Glorification] - At our completion we will be Glorified, and saved from the Presence of sin altogether.

As I said, "Justification" is immediate and eternal, you are eternally secure and saved.

You now belong to Christ permanently, and for the rest of your mortal life, will be sanctified by Christ throughout your years, growing in maturity and more like Christ, until death and resurrection, or Rapture.

Your best days and opportunities will be those during life when you allowed His will to reign in your life and allowed Him to do His work through you.

Any and all things done in self-will and self-glory will be burned up in the Fire of testing, but eternal life is already yours and can not be lost.

Your eternal security is biblical and can be said based upon Jesus's own words in John chapter 10:

John 10:27-30 My sheep listen to My voice; I know them, and they follow Me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish. No one can snatch them out of My hand. My Father who has given them to Me is greater than all. No one can snatch them out of My Father’s hand. I and the Father are one.

When Jesus reiterates twice that "NO ONE CAN SNATCH THEM OUT OF HIS HANDS", it literally means NO ONE, which includes yourself.

So, let's take a moment to understand why this is. You see, Salvation from God when accepted, is a binding permanent covenant between you and God, and His promise to us as believers (that He must deliver on to remain God, one He can not nor would He go back on), it requires nothing from us but our faith (to believe on the Son and confess Him as Lord). No works on our behalf, no prerequisites of cleaning ourselves up before hand, come as you are and say simply yes to His offer for your life eternal.

You simply can't break this covenant that relies solely on His fulfillment of the terms of the covenant. Nothing we do or say can break it now, because we have now been given His Spirit and made New Creations, with a sinless spirit, which inevitably will inhabit a sinless new body.

This is why it is considered a marriage covenant, as the two become one by His Spirit, which is why we always move forward towards Him rather than slipping back toward the old nature we were dominated by, before our salvation.

Often, sadly, when discussing these topics we get the vocal objections of some who feel they are inadequate in Christ and must help Him out a bit.

Sometimes very vicious in accusation and judgment.

There is something so insidious about those who would try to judge your salvation between you and Christ... as if they could.

And then claim that the Promises to the True Believer written in scripture are "Doctrines of demons".

It is incredibly rude and hateful to say to another brother or sister that they are preaching doctrine of demons. How insulting to Christ Jesus, even more so, than to ourselves.

I remember in scripture how Pharisees claimed that Jesus healed by Beelzebub. Very dangerous territory.

I have to ask both :

What Jesus is it that you preach? ... and... What then is your hope and your peace?

• If Eternal Salvation can be lost, then it is not eternal.

• If you could lose salvation, then you would.

• If Grace depends on our cooperation, then it is no longer Grace.

• Grace and Works are mutually exclusive, they can not exist in the same binding.

It is sad that so many are being sucked into legalism, and works based stuff these days. It simply is not the way.

There is nothing we bring to the table of salvation but our hearts and willingness to accept His gift based on His righteousness.

Our salvation does not depend on the opinions of men (or women). Can you imagine if it did? 😬

Romans 14:4 Why do you judge your brother. To one's own master does he stand or fall. And HE WILL STAND, for Christ is able to make him stand.

No. Jesus's Grace fulfills the Law. We are not under the Law, we are under His Grace.

And for that I am oh so grateful and thankful...

So in this season, I cherish our Lord and God, and consider His mighty work on all of our behalf (past, present, and future). Let us be humble and compassionate, sharing the love He taught us by His example and His command to love one another as He loved us, even before we knew what love really was.

My hope and desire as always, is in His promise of His soon return for us. The time is oh so near folks... Make sure you are ready for Him... Hold on to your faith to the very end, you will not be made to be ashamed of it.

If you are not in a Saved Relationship with Christ, I invite you to simply follow the simple pattern that Christ as the Word, gave in His word.

Grace and Peace to you in  this season in Christ Jesus our Lord!

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Don't be a grape. 🚫 🍇

🦊 Jack [ The Foxman on the Wall ]