What counts for goodness in God’s sight is what we do about the wrong we talk against so much. At the judgment, we’ll be judged not on our words or our ideals or what we knew to do. Our judgment will be based on what we actually did.
One of the most basic decisions anybody ever has to make is whether to live on the principle of selfishness or the principle of unselfishness. Depending on what we decide about this question, our lives will be greatly affected for better or worse.
We must choose what kind of life is most important and sacrifice the lesser things so we can enjoy the greater. Throughout the coming week, may we be renewed in our determination to seek, above all else, that which our Creator defines as real life.
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.
