Forever Saved

I read beautiful things about the finished work of Jesus. How forgiveness for what we have done is all settled and paid for. How our failures cannot cause us to fall out of his hands. And while there is a sense in which this is true, it bothers me a little. Because it can lead to complacency. A place where we feel we can indulge in little things here and there because God's love towards us will not fail. We will not fall out of "being saved". I am uncomfortable with that. And here's why.

The Israelites were God's "chosen people". They knew that. They saw physical evidence of him in the miracles he gave them and in the fire and smoke on the mountain and the tabernacle. They watched him fight for them! To win victories they had no business winning based on skill and resources (other than God). They built their lives around rehearsing who he was to them, and the things he had taught them about living life to display who he was. Every day, in every activity, they were to be reminded of whose they were.

In some ways they were way more immersed in it than we are!! And yet, they often grew complacent about who they were. Went into battle believing God would protect them because they were his, even when he said not to go. They became dissatisfied with the leadership and complained many times, even while knowing it was God who installed the leaders! Even Aaron and Miriam, Moses' siblings, the High Priest and prophetess indulged in this!! They grew comfortable in believing they were special, and forgot to respect the holiness that also characterised God! And they paid the price for it!

I don't believe God has changed. He is still holy. Yes, he has provided a way and paid for our messed up lives - made salvation a gift for every person! But that comes with something! We need to bury ourselves in him and absorb him deep within us!! To our very core!! So we can be transformed from the inside out!! Into his character that we were originally created to display!!

His holiness is still incompatible with sin! We cannot think it's ok to indulge in trivial little things because he will forgive us!! That is an insult to the cost of him providing life for us!! Yes, he will forgive if our hearts are turned back to him. But if we are determined to walk against his ways, he will let us go! And no, I do not believe, within that walk, that we are saved!! We need to let go of what keeps drawing us into wrong paths!! He will not go with us there!!

For us to be forever saved, we need to be completely his!! And yes - I understand that we will still fail. That's the nature of us here. But those who are truly his will hate that they do this! Their heart still seeks his way! That is why God could call David a man after his own heart, even after his horrendous fall!! When confronted with the darkness of what he had done, David did not become defensive, but had a broken heart for what he had done to his relationship with God.

That sin was huge. Many of ours are small in comparison. But they still cost the life of God's son. Don't hang onto things that break the bond with him. Bury yourself in him. Seek after him living his life within you. This is not "salvation by works". This is recognising that every ounce of our salvation is through total dependence on him. In every moment of our lives. There can be no hanging on to little things that "don't matter". Don't be destroyed by complacency. You must be all his to be forever saved.

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