Tribulation

We must through many tribulations enter the kingdom of God. Not a very popular message, nonetheless let’s face it, true Christianity is anything but a popular message. It is a very specific despatch and has isolated itself from any other religion or philosophy, salvation in and through the finished work of the cross, a message where the individual is saved by grace and through faith alone, not linked to our efforts, works have been excluded. In other words salvation from God’s eternal wrath highlighted by the goodness of God, through grace, which means unmerited favour. The mechanics behind the saving of a sinners has many opinionated views across differing Christian organisations. Some declare with immovable boldness that it’s God who saves the sinner, irrefutable deliverance leaving the individual incapable of any other choice, which in part I also believe to be true. Others believe that we are given the choice and we are brought to a place as a sinner and we then have it within our own power to choose or reject God. I partially believe this to be true, we choose, but only once we are given sight, God first and then our response to His unmerited favour. If it was the other way around, I would have something to say about my commitment. I would have reason to boast and it’s very clear that boasting of any sort has been excluded. “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. For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.” (Ephesians 2:8-10) - Why is this important? Confession to this truth instils in us the awe of God and removes any form of pride that may look to coexist with our spiritual well being. The goodness of God, who can fathom it? The next question we find that rallies for our attention, is why me and not another. Now that remains a mystery? Because we cannot get our heads around a certain truth does not give us licence to fabricate our own opinions. We must be true to the text. However I am at peace, God has settled my mind on the subject, I am confident that He knows what He is doing and I will not question or explain away the reason for His actions. I am simply the clay and He is the potter. Settling on this truth brings with it a tranquil peace. It has truly freed me on what was once a great struggle in my life.

However this does not leave the individual without a choice. We now choose God because He first chose us. I love the Lord Jesus because He first loved me, God first and then our response to His grace. We cannot conclude that we have no choice in responding to God, that would be like putting one's finger into a plug socket with the power turned on and not responding to the shock. It would be an impossible quest. We must not muddle our carnal understanding with spiritual truth, which is a lesson all in itself. It's only through testing our reasoning against the Word of God that brings with it true spiritual alignment.

With that slight distraction out the way, let us get back to the point on hand. The Christian must arm their minds with this truth, tribulation is part of our journey. We will not enter the kingdom of God without the trial of life shaping us. The only time this becomes a problem is when we deny that part of God’s plan for our lives. Reject the trial of life and we will be like the grain of wheat that falls amongst the rocky ground with no depth to its roots. The trials of life will squeeze and we will fall away. Please do not be taken by the false messages propagated by the wolves in sheep’s clothing. Their agenda is an obvious one, it’s all about self-gain. True Christianity is all about self denial.

“Strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.” (Acts 14:22)  - As spokesmen for Christ, in whatever capacity God has afforded us, it is our responsibility as men to be accurate with our God given ability to project the entire truth behind the gospel message. Misdirection will produce false converts. Obviously, its God who gives the increase, but we better be paying vigilant attention to what the Spirit is saying to the churches and then declare that truth to those we come into contact with.

The message that God will bless us with wealth and prosperity is a false message, some have been blessed and will continue to be bless in that area of their lives, but the overarching message that we as Christians need to understand if we want to continue in the faith is this; “and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”  The reason we need this information in our lives, is not to be caught off guard and when we are confronted with these types of trials in our lives we know what we need to do in order to overcome the obstacle, we need to find grace. We need to approach the storerooms of grace that remains unlocked and is freely available in spades for the Christian to indulge in.

The Christians duty is to silence the gainsayer by their example, this is the will of God for our lives. We need to be illustrations though the trial of life to bring HIM glory. Without hope this would become an impossible task, however, we of all people have the greatest of all hopes, one day we will receive a body like the Lord Jesus’ glorified body and we will rule and reign with our God into eternity. We will fly the flag “sons of God”. If that doesn’t spark a will within us to glorify our God, then I question the legitimacy of our understanding to the call God has placed on our lives. Are we truly saved? This question needs to be settled on a personal level, but settled it must be, if we are to endure what awaits the believer just around the corner.

Signing off

Tyrone