Bible Studies
I Want My Life Back
Part Two
Although God desires that every soul be saved (1), only a minority (2) in each generation of the Church Age will choose the one and only way (3) to Heaven, and not all born again believers will pursue or remain in the life of post salvation discipleship (4).
When the cost of discipleship becomes evident, many “followers of Christ” will want THEIR lives back, doing what pleases THEMSELVES.
I believe that only a very few Church Age believers ever reach a level of spiritual maturity where he or she is able to whole-heartedly say, “For me to live is (for) Christ … Phil. 1:21 NASB2020 parenthesis mine),” or, “…not My will, but Yours be done (Luke 22: 42 NASB2020).”
Consider where we would ALL be headed, if that when praying in the Garden, Jesus decided He wanted His pre-incarnated (5) life back, and not the cross!
Religious people will try to roll the requirements of salvation and discipleship into one ball of wax, as if retaining salvation was dependent on the quality of one’s post salvation spiritual life of discipleship.
There is only ONE requirement (6) for salvation, and the results (7) are immediately complete, and eternally secure (8). The Eternal life received at the moment of salvation is a no-strings attached, unearned, gift from God for all who believe in the unadulterated Gospel Message. Nothing more; nothing less.
Failures in our post salvation spiritual lives have their own consequences (9), but the loss of salvation is not one of them.
Unlike salvation that is immediately complete and eternally secure, post (after) salvation discipleship is an ongoing process in which there will be successes and failures, reaping both positive blessings and negative consequences during the remaining time that a born- again believer is here on Earth.
As one spiritually matures, he or she will learn to distinguish the differences between the adversity that is a common experience shared by many; the self-induced misery that we bring on ourselves as a result of *negative volition towards Bible Doctrine; and the suffering for blessings that is a major part in the life of an advancing disciple.
*Negative volition is in view when we fail to take in or to apply the Word of God.
The more an advancing disciple prioritizes God and the things of God, the greater and more frequently will he or she be the target of satanic attacks (10).
On the day a born-again believer chooses to pick up the hingcross and follow Him as one of His disciples, he or she gives his or her life over to God, and should never be heard to say, “I want my life back,” in order to do what pleases me.”
Nothing glorifies God or frustrates the devil more than after the devil has thrown his best punch, to see the believer get back up and continue to move forward in the plan of God.
(1) 1Tim. 2: 4 (2) Matt. 7: 14 (3) John 14: 6 (4) Mark 4: 19 (5) John 1: 1, 2 (6) John 3: 16 (7) John 3: 16/Eph. 4: 30/Titus 3: 15 (8) Rom. 8: 1 (9) Heb. 12: 6 (10) Eph. 6: 16
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