We have seen that God has revealed His truth in His Word: both in Jesus Christ (Jn 1:14) and through Scripture (2Tm 3:16). Our faith in what Christ has accomplished in our reconciliation to God is a volitional act on our part—the only part we play. The writer of Hebrews defines faith as “the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen” (Hb 11:1). Mankind accepts Christ’s act of redemption in this manner through the hearing of it (Ro 10:17): he has not observed the act, but trusts in it and the eternal hope it brings. Therefore, this is a volitional act by man himself. However, faith is also a fruit of the Holy Spirit (Ga 5:22-23) which the Holy Spirit matures into greater faith God can use in one’s life for even greater things and help one to stand firm (2Co 1:24). Therefore, the righteousness through faith that Paul describes in Romans 3:21-31 states what Christ did for us, but also infers what Christ will do for us in this present life and provides the secure hope of what He will do for us in the life to come. Righteousness is not just for now, but for all eternity.

In previous posts, I stated we need to understand God’s intent for time to know how to utilize (or redeem) our time effectively. We have seen how God has created time and has utilized it to bring about His will. He has used various prophecies to give us a glimpse of His intentions for the future and has allowed us to have a part in His plan if we accept it. As we have seen in other posts, acceptance is the first critical step. More is needed if we want to redeem the time we have (Ep 5:16). As we yield more of our life over to the leadership of the Holy Spirit, we gradually become more and more conformed to the moral image of God and Christ (Cl 3:5-10), and we begin to develop a perspective of life, meaning, and attitude as that of Christ (1Co 2:16; Pp 2:5). Paul was an example of this fact. Paul was very secure in his faith (Ro 8:31-39), but this made him have even more zeal for those who had not yet gained this faith (Ro 10:1). His heart for others was expressed in almost every letter he penned. He invested in the lives of others, like Timothy (Ac 16:1-5; 1Tm 1:2), Titus (Tt 1:4), and Onesimus (Pm 10-11; Cl 4:9), and others.

We do have to be cautious. The enemy (Satan) wants to “devour” us (1Pt 5:8) by making us ineffective, whether through deception of the truth (2Jn 7-8) or causing us to lose sight of our true purpose here (3Jn 9-10). Also, as Christ has taught us to be in the world but not of the world (Jn 17:14-15), Satan also has followers who are in the church (congregation) but not of the Church (true body of believers), and we are cautioned to be on guard for such (2Pt 2:1-2; Ju 4) and to not conform to the world’s standards (Ro 12:1-2; Ja 1:27). We are to be holy (1Pt 1:15-16), i.e., unique, set apart.  Christ’s indwelling of us via the Holy Spirit (1Co 3:16) is our present assurance of future glorification (Cl 1:27), i.e., a state of eternal glory (2Tm 2:10; 1Pt 5:10). Therefore, our perseverance now will lead to much reward for all eternity (Cl 3:24; 2Tm 4:8; Ja 1:12; 1Pt 5:4; 2Jn 8).

Although God’s expectations of us is quite high, he does not expect us to meet those standards on our own. He has given us the tools we need for this life (His word and the Holy Spirit) and has provided the hope we need for the next.

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Visit Books & Words to Inspire by Randy C. Dockens