Our enemies

(Matthew 10:36)  “And a person's enemies will be those of his own household.”

Salvation is the best of all possible gifts, there is no greater gift available to mankind than the gift of new life in Christ. For us to be forgiven for our sin is phenomenal, it is so far removed from what we have been geared to believe through the throws of life: our lives are filled with merit attached to commitment in varying fields. Study hard and then get rewarded for those studies, become a doctor and then reap the rewards of the medical profession, drive a Porsche! And yet salvation is a free gift outside of our own virtues; “But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved—“ (Ephesians 2:4-5)

Salvation belongs to the One who has the power to forgive whomever He wills and yet it has nothing to do with the one receiving the gift, outside of us understanding in one form or another the merit of the free gift, which is this, that it is all of God and no one has ever earned the right to find His favour other than the One and only, the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are obviously different shades of grey when we gaze across our globe. Morally some are whiter than others and therefore we instinctively place them on a higher pedestal of honour but God views us all dressed in filthy rags and in need of His mercy. We have all been branded as those tainted by sin, and we are classed as sinners. Sinners can never in themselves enter into His presence, which would be impossible. No differently to a leprous person banished to a Leper Colony. God needs to step in and make us as white as snow; He does the saving in and through the finished work of the cross and all we need to do is accept that gift with open arms.

Boasting has been excluded! In other words we are all sinners in need of a saviour, regardless of our moral standing within our communities; “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8-9)  

    

With that established we are now numbered amongst the sons of God and need to learn obedience through the sufferings we face in our daily lives. It’s these very trials that teach us obedience, we must learn to face our assessments and not shirk them, this does not come naturally, and it must be done through the Spirit. He will change us into the image of God if we pay careful attention to His guidance. God is for us and not against us! We no longer have any rights, and selfish wills have been bought by the blood of the Lamb. Therefore because we have freely received God’s free gift of salvation, reconciliation must be high on our agendas. We must make every effort to preach Christ and Him crucified to those who are lost and still blinded by their sin.

Not all will receive this instruction with gladness, nevertheless if we endure correction where needed we will be numbered amongst the saints. The sooner we learn to appreciate God’s voice at His Word the happier we will be. Everything He has purposed both past, present and into the future will come to pass just as He has declared it. One of the reasons we can take assurance of this fact is because God is infinite and He is perfect in all His attributes. There is no blemish in Him, it is who He is! He has had no beginning, He always was!

When we reason like men we must conclude that we are flawed and therefore our best efforts on a moral level may at times get us close to perfection but there will always be room for improvement, it is not so with God for He is perfect. The reason for this is that outside of Christ we have death looming over us. God can never die for He was and is and is to come. He is not bound by time, we on the other hand will expire, that is our flesh will die. We must learn in totality to put our faith in the One who is perfect. This concept is so foreign to our conditioning that outside of the realms of faith it will be impossible to achieve. God has given us the wherewithal to operate in the realm of faith in Him; this must become a way of life for us all. Read the Bible carefully and you will soon learn that God has never commended anyone for their independence. His voice echoes through creation commending only those who lived by faith. Read Hebrews 11! I have lived long enough and made far too many mistakes not to understand this! We must totally depend on the One who is perfect, for we are far from impeccable. In Christ alone we must depend, breathe and live!

Those closest to us outside of Christ will always have a different agenda; they are blind to the things of heaven; “Jesus answered him, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God."” (John 3:3) – This is why when the pressure really begins to mount they will always look for self-preservation even at the expense of betraying their own family member to save their own skins. To them heaven may be a nice thought but it will never be their reality, they are blind to heavenly things and if God has declared it, it will come to pass. We must be prepared for that certainty.    

All we must do is fall to our knees and beseech God for mercy so that they too may find forgiveness for their sins. Nevertheless not all will find His favour. Our loyalties must lie with God above even the closest of our family members. This is a requisite God has placed on all of His children and some may be tested in this area of their lives, even to the point of death; “Brother will deliver brother over to death, and the father his child, and children will rise against parents and have them put to death, and you will be hated by all for my name's sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved.” (Matthew 10:21-22) - It will be worth it all!

It is never pleasant to consider the severity of these types of possibilities but if we have knowledge of what may happen we can prepare ourselves for the inevitable. I would rather be warned of the storms on the horizon than to put my head in the sand like an ostrich pretending that all will be well, when in fact disaster may be looming. Without oil in our lanterns we stand no chance against such onslaught. It is now time like never before to strengthen our relationships with our God. We must fight for whatever is needed to accomplish obedience in Him.

Signing off

Tyrone