Now That I'm Saved

Hebrews 10 : 36 - 39, For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise: "For yet a little while, and He who is coming will come and will not tarry. Now the just shall live by faith; but if anyone draws back, My soul has no pleasure in him." But we are not of those who draw back to perdition, but of those who believe to the saving of the soul. NKJV

Are you saved from sin? If you are, then the Word of God commands you to live by faith. However, many believers struggle when it comes to understanding their salvation. Hosea tells us in chapter 4 that God's people are destroyed because of a lack of knowledge of the truth. When Jesus came to earth, He didn't preach about the traditions of the elders or the doctrines of the Pharisees, but He taught the people truth. In John 8, He told the Jews, who had believed in His teachings, to continue in His Word, and they would come to know or recognize the truth, and the truth that they knew would set them free from the bondage of sin.

Even so, we must avoid the pit that Israel fell into when God delivered them from the land of bondage... which, to us, represents coming out of sin. Even though God had saved Israel from living in bondage to Pharaoh, the Israelites chose not to listen to God when they met with Him at Mount Sinai. If we are saved, we must walk in our new identity by faith. As the scripture has instructed us in Hebrews 10, "The just shall live by faith." If we should draw back from heeding the voice of God because of fear or unbelief, then God has said that He would have no pleasure in us.

But the generation that came out of Egypt didn't want to listen to the voice of God or hear the truth because they were living in unbelief. Let's bring this conversation up to today's generation. Many Christians believe the fallacy that once they're born again, they no longer have to be accountable to God or serve God; they need only to enjoy life on their terms. Isn't that pretty much what Israel did in the wilderness. They wanted God to provide for them, but they didn't want to obey God by faith. If, as Christians, we choose to walk according to the desires of flesh, instead of dying to those desires, we will not be able to fulfill God's purpose for our lives. Paul tells us in Galatians 6, if we sow to the flesh nature, we will of the flesh reap corruption, decay, and death. Nevertheless, if we choose to sow to the spirit, we will of the Spirit reap life and peace. Those who chose to walk in unbelief all died in the wilderness, but those who denied self and chose to obey the voice of God, these entered into the Promised Land. 

Salvation isn't just about going to heaven someday. True salvation is also about living victoriously by faith while in this present world and inheriting the promises of the Kingdom of God. If you are born again, don't you desire to please the Father? Don't you desire to be transformed into the image of Christ and to live holy before God? I desire these goals to be true in my life as well, not out of fear, but rather out of my love and devotion to the God that loved me when no one else could reach me because of my sins.

If you have been living your new life in Christ only to please "self," and you desire to make a change today, then submit your will to His will. Put God before everyone and everything else and pursue Him. You won't lose anything that is good for you. Instead, the good things will become a greater blessing in your life because your priorities are correct now.

Inheriting the Promises of God,
Pastor Asa Dockery