In our belief in Christ, repentance from our sins, confession of faith, and baptism into Christ, we are promising that we’ll be loyal to our new Lord for the rest of our lives. Jesus asks nothing less than this kind of binding, permanent commitment.
As the Lord’s people, we have a goal that is greater than the differences that pull us apart. The Lord’s work is too important to let anything separate us, and that means we will deal with differences in a better way than if we were worldly people.
Christ has redeemed us from our previously vain way of living. Now that we’re in Christ, there is significant work to do. Before, our work was only of passing importance, but in the Lord, Paul says our work is “not in vain” (1 Corinthians 15:58).
No amount of condition-meeting would ever earn salvation. But in the NT, baptism was always the point at which a person moved from being dead in sin to being alive in Christ (Acts 22:16). We shouldn’t shy away from seeing baptism the same way today.
Hebrews reminds us that “no creature is hidden from his sight, but all are naked and exposed to the eyes of him to whom we must give account” (Hebrews 4:13). Accountability is a serious subject. It should strengthen us in doing whatever is right.
When the lukewarm and lackadaisical go through the motions of “religion,” the result is an insult to God (Malachi 1:10,11). If we are to have fellowship with God, our relationship must be characterized by unselfishness, reverence, and diligence.
We need, in a good sense, to have a “one-track” mind — a mind so totally focused on the Lord and His cause that there is no room for other considerations. It takes constant adjustment to keep our hearts where they need to be. Let’s work on that.
Even more than to Israel, God is saying to us, “I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people” (Leviticus 26:12). Throughout this week, let’s enjoy and give thanks for the closeness to God we can have in Jesus Christ.
Just as God created us to be vessels through whom He could show forth His goodness, He had a similar motive in saving us from our sins. In both our creation and our redemption, we are to be vessels used by God to manifest His divine goodness.
To have any hope of a quality relationship with God (and hence, a quality life) we’re going to have to answer the question “Who am I?” in a way that is true to reality. In the long run, nothing good comes out of thinking that is based on falsehood.
