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(Blue entries in the meditation are links; clicking on them will take you to the verse(s) in the New International Version; clicking on the other versions on that page will show the same verses in the selected version. Occasionally links are to another file. On this page entries in green are the words of Scripture (NIV)  If you wish to pursue your own study on issues (thoughts) raised or on the Scripture verses used try these links: The Goshen Bible Study Tools or Translate 2012 Bible Study Tools An additional translation with many notes can be found at Net Bible.))

Oct.  1998  (Revised Jan.1999)

Does a diamond have right to look upon itself as a diamond if it doesn't sparkle? Does a creature have a right to look upon itself as alive if it isn't breathing--producing breath? Does a professing believer have any biblical grounds for being confident that he or she is a citizen of heaven, that he or she is one of God's holy ones (=saints) who are safe in Christ, if he or she feels unconcerned whether his or her thinking and behavior is pleasing to God? Evidence of God's new creation is something that does show up--if such a rebirth has occurred. (Romans 8:9)

The proper response to God is necessary. This is true even though the end as well as the beginning of salvation is in God's hands. It is a purpose of this meditation to demonstrate this.

There are events in history overwhich human beings have no control. These include the coming of God's perfected kingdom, the redemption or salvation and transformation of all who are to be it's "citizens" by the sacrifice of Christ.(see previous meditation; 7/98) God's election and the completion of the work he began (Philippians 1.6) are equally acts of God. These are facts. The glorious immovable bedrock upon which every believer's comfort, peace and hope rests is that the salvation of anyone is the consequence of the sovereign and irrevocable act of the Almighty God. (Romans 11:29; Numbers 23:19; Hebrews 6:17; Titus 1:2; Isaiah 55:11; 46:10; Psalm 33:11; Ephesians 1:11) (Is there anything besides this that is more solid and certain than taxes and death?) But God's sovereign acts are not the whole story. What God did for his people in eternity past and on the Cross is not everything God would have us know. If that were the case a lot of God's statements in the bible could be left out. But the sovereign all-knowing God did not see fit to leave those other statements out.

The fact that God's acts are sovereign does not endow them with such preëminent authority that they remove all significance from every other statement that God has made. The fact that God is sovereign does not eliminate the need for human beings to know other truths of God about his purposes and desires concerning the human race. God's sovereignty does not mysteriously bestow upon human beings either the authority or the wisdom to set aside other declarations of God. An inability on our part to understand how all of God's revelations fit together is no justification for deciding that some of God's statements should be be heeded (taken to heart) and that other statements of God can be safely disregarded. Yet from the days of the early church some people have believed just this--that they did have the authority and wisdom to decide that many of God's statements are inapplicable and, therefore, ignorable. Using rules of sinners' reasoning (logic) some people have drawn from the doctrine of God's sovereignty two related conclusions, namely that, 1) an individual's behavior has nothing to do with the matter of whether that person will be in the kingdom or not, and 2) some of God's declarations, some of his commands, some of his exhortations and his warnings are superfluous and therefore can safely be set aside or ignored. Neither of these conclusions are biblical. Neither of these conclusions exalt God by showing respect for all the revelations that the all-wise God decided should be made known to human beings--especially to those who believe.

While the sovereign acts of God are not the whole story they do provide the framework or context in which everything takes place. Hence that part of the mystery is presented first.Then another category of God's declarations or teachings will be considered.

Remember God's words: " He chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will --" (Ephesians 1:4-5) . It is the one who chose us in eternity past " who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy --" (Jude 24) . " God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfil?" (Numbers 23:19) "Because God wanted to make the unchanging nature of his purpose very clear to the heirs of what was promised, he confirmed it with an oath." (Hebrews 6:17) " Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade-- kept in heaven for you, who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time." (1 Peter 1:3-5)

It is not as though God has had just kind thoughts about us. No. He has "put his feeling into action." The believer must remember that " he [God] does not treat us as our sins deserve or repay us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his love for those who fear him; as far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. As a father has compassion on his children, so the LORD has compassion on those who fear him." (Psalms 103:10-13) . The believer must remember that "God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16) How beyond logic is what God has done! The apostle Paul reminded believers of this: " Like the rest [of mankind], we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:3-5) The tense of these actions is past.

Can a person be a believer at all who does not recall that it was none other than the Son of God "who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own..." (Titus 2:14; See also Ephesians 5:25-27) How great is his concern and care: "God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) In whose care is every believer? "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who is he that condemns? Christ Jesus, who died--more than that, who was raised to life--is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword?" (Romans 8:33-35)

Yes, God's election and the completion of the work he began (Philippians 1:6) are his sovereign acts which provide the framework or context of everything that comes to pass. Nevertheless God's revelation (the Bible) also includes a great many statements which speak of the kind of behavior which he requires of every individual--and that includes those individuals who are depending upon the perfect obedience and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ to pay for their own sins (i.e. believers). Let's look a few of these teachings. (Hebrews 4:1,11; 12:1; Philippians 1:27; 2:12-13; 3:13-14 Galatians 6:8; 1; Corinthians 9:24-27; Luke 13:24; 2 Peter 1:10; Romans 13:12-14)

God conveys the message to us that our behavior is not an irrelevant factor in his plan in many different ways.
1) By the large proportion of the God's word devoted to telling human beings how to behave.
2) By the setting forth of God's standards.
3) By the lessons of the history God chose to record.
4) By the fact that we need God's protection and guidance (guardrails and road signs).
5) By the warnings: statements about the consequences of failing to live up to God's standards.

1) The fact that our behavior in this world matters is revealed by the large proportion of the Bible that is devoted to setting forth God's commandments, instructions and warnings. If God had no interest in how his children are to conduct themselves he would not have devoted such a large proportion of his revelation--the Bible-- to telling people what pleases him, telling people what his standards are (e.g., the Ten Commandments, the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 19:17-19; Mark 12:33; Romans 13:9; Galatians 5:22-23 ; and elsewhere). If God had no interest in how his children are to conduct themselves he would not have repeatedly (over many centuries) sent his prophets to remind his people about his standards and their deviant behavior. (See file "History of Israel). If God did not care how individuals behaved, if their behavior was a matter of indifference to him, would God have had sufficient emotion to send his Son to die to take their penalty for living in ways contrary to God's revealed will? (Luke 11:49; 20:9-15) But he did care this much. "But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us." (Romans 5:8) God had a purpose in filling his word with statements which tell his children (and everybody else) what kind of mental and physical behavior he desires to see in people--above all in those people on earth who believe themselves to be God's redeemed people--pilgrims on earth on their way to the kingdom (Hebrews 11:13; 1 Peter 1:17; 2:10-11) where that kind of behavior will be the invariable expression of every member of God's kingdom. God put those statements of his standards in his notice to us for a purpose. How could we do what pleased him if he hadn't told us what does please him?

God wants everybody but especially those people he delivered by the sacrifice of his Son (Jesus), those people he clothed in the robes or righteousness of Christ (Zechariah 3:4; Titus 2:11-14; Ephesians 2:10) to live in his ways--in ways that bring honor to his name. How to behave so as to bring glory to God is also part of the Christian message--a big part.

2) The fact that our behavior in this world matters is revealed by the inclusion of God's standards in the Bible. What are those standards or values God sets before us? He tells us what is true of individuals who have been "called out of darkness," individuals who have been "rescued ... from the dominion of darkness and brought ... into the kingdom of the Son he love" (Colossians 1:13), purified" (Titus 2:14) He describes the behavior of the person who will "dwell in his sanctuary" --" whose walk is blameless and who does what is righteous, who speaks the truth from his heart and has no slander on his tongue, who does his neighbour no wrong and casts no slur on his fellow-man, who despises a vile man but honours those who fear the LORD, who keeps his oath even when it hurts." (Psalms 15:1-4) The Bible tells us that those persons do act in certain ways. "Dear friends," the apostle John says to believers, "now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he [Christ] is pure." (1 John 3:1-3) "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness." (2 Timothy 2:19) And again, "No-one who lives in him keeps on sinning. No-one who continues to sin has either seen him or known him." (1 John 3:6) And again, "For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit." (1 Thessalonians 4:7-8)

God does not leave the matter of the godly response to himself as an option. He does not say (to me) 'Whoever claims to live in him should walk as Jesus did. He says, "Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did ." (1 John 2:6) His word does not say 'Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord should turn away from wickedness.' It says "Everyone who confesses the name of the Lord must turn away from wickedness ." (2 Timothy 2:19) In the book of James we are told, "In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead ." (James 2:17) And again, "What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him?" (James 2:14) " Do not be deceived," the apostle Paul tells believers. "God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows. The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life." (Galatians 6:7-8)

3) The fact that our behavior in this world matters is revealed by the history that God chose to record. The history that the bible records illustrates and speaks of the importance of warnings and instruction The history following the biggest deliverance of God recorded in the Old Testament portion of God's word (the Exodus) provides a very clear biblical illustration of the truth that serious consequences follow disregard of God's "opinions" and commands. It was God who delivered his people from Egypt by miracles and his mighty right arm. The Passover, the dividing of the Re(e)d Sea. God accomplished a mighty work but it was after that deliverance that God wrought (Exodus 7-12) that God set his law (Exodus 19-20) before his people. This includes the better known quintessence or epitome of that law--The Ten Commandments. It was after God rescued his people that he formally set his instructions before them--about how they should live. "Now if you obey me fully and keep my covenant, then out of all nations you will be my treasured possession. Although the whole earth is mine, you will be for me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words you [Moses] are to speak to the Israelites." (Exodus 19:5-6)

The Bible records the 40 years between God's deliverance of his people from slavery in the land of Egypt and when some of them entered the promised land. The author of the book of Hebrews sums up the lesson of this history this way: "Who were they who heard and rebelled? Were they not all those Moses led out of Egypt? And with whom was he [God] angry for forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose bodies fell in the desert? And to whom did God swear that they would never enter his rest if not to those who disobeyed? So we see that they were not able to enter, because of their unbelief..." (Hebrews 3:16-19; See also Numbers 14:22-23) " For we also have had the gospel preached to us," the author of the New testament book of Hebrews says to his readers, "just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because those who heard did not combine it with faith." (Hebrews 4:2)

The apostle Paul also speaks about those people that God delivered out of their centuries of slavery in Egypt. The apostle tells his hearers (and us) why God had this history recorded. He says, "I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea. They were all baptised into Moses in the cloud and in the sea. They all ate the same spiritual food and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ. Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert. Now these things occurred as examples to keep us from setting our hearts on evil things as they did." (1 Corinthians 10:1-6; See also Jude 15) This is why the apostle pleaded with believers, saying, " I urge you to live a life worthy of the calling you have received." (Ephesians 4:1) or, as the apostle set forth the same truth in the 5th chapter: "For you were once darkness, but now you are light in the Lord. Live as children of light." (Ephesians 5:8)

4) The fact that our behavior in this world matters is revealed by our dependency on God's protection and guidance (guardrails, armor and roadsigns). Inorder to behave as God would have his holy children behave we need God's protection and guidance in this world. This is so because sin is not a dead power in this world. We need to "put on the full armor of God" because the conflict with sin never ceases in this world. (Ephesians 6:13-17) But before we can put on God's armor he must provide it. He must make his standards known. We need God's "roadsigns."

The Bible does not teach that in this world the power of sin--the temptation to act otherwise than according to God's revealed will has been purged from the being of believers. It does not teach that in this world sin is removed from all contact with believers. Believers in this world are no more untouched by the power of sin than they are untouched by the harmful effects of germs! Who wants to believe of God that his filling of his word with exhortations, instructions and warnings was a pointless, misguided waste of effort? If the power of sin, if the temptation to disregard God's opinions and values did not touch believers in this world God would have had no reason to fill his word with statements of his standards, with exhortations (Ephesians 6:10-17; 2 Peter 1:3-8) with warnings (Hebrews 10:26-27) ; and, finally, God would have had no reason to send his Son to live and die to fulfill the standards set forth in the law. (John 3:16; Romans 5:8,10; 8:3-4, 32)

The glorious fact which lies at the base of the gospel is described by many different terms or phrases such as --that believers having been "called ...out of darkness ..." and "brought into the kingdom of [God's] Son" (1 Peter 2:9; Colossians 1:13), have been made "citizens of heaven" (Philippians 3:20), have been "purchased" (Acts 20:28; 1 Corinthians 6:20; Revelation 5:9) , have been "redeemed" (Galatians 3:13; Ephesians 1:7; Titus 2:14) , have been "rescued" (Galatians 1:4; Colossians 1:13; 1 Thessalonians 1:10) . None of these expressions mean that while in this world believers have been put beyond the reach of sin, beyond all struggle with sin. Not at all. The power of sin in alive and well. Far from teaching that believers on earth live in a cocoon of rest and tranquillity the gospel makes it very clear that while believers are still in the body (pilgrims, sojourners on earth-- 1 Peter 2:11; Hebrews 11:13) they live in the midst of great tension and struggle that is present within as well as all around them: " For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want." (Galatians 5:17; See also Romans 7:17-23; 1 John 1:8,10; James 3:2; Philippians 3:12-14) What believers have been put beyond is the control of sin. (John 10:29; Romans 6:6,12,14,18,22; 8:2; Jude 24)

Oh, how the Bible describes reality--the world we live in the midst of! When on the night before Jesus was to be crucified He prayed to the Father on behalf of his disciples. The objective for which he prayed was not that they be removed from the arena of conflict: "My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but that you protect them from the evil one." ( John 17:15; See also 2 Thessalonians 3:3)


5) The fact that our behavior in this world matters is revealed by the warnings. Because for his people (and for everyone) living in a dark and sinful world there is danger and the possibility (even the likelihood) of being attracted into sinful ways (James 1:14-15) the Bible is full of "guardrails," "God's armor" and "road signs." Warnings about the consequences of non-obedience appear repeatedly in the Bible. In the gospel according to John Jesus says to his disciples, "I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful." (John 15.1-2) In the gospels after John the Baptist has spoken of God's ability to raise up children to Abraham from the stones on the ground he declares, " The axe is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire." (Matthew 3:10) And "Do you not know," the apostle Paul warns his hearers or readers, " that the wicked will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived: Neither the sexually immoral nor idolaters nor adulterers nor male prostitutes nor [ sexual perverts/ homosexuals --RSV; NASB] ... nor thieves nor the greedy nor drunkards nor slanderers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God." (1 Corinthians 6:9-10)

The same words that inform us of the kind of behavior that will be the "natural" expression of the holy character of every member of the kingdom also inform (warn) us that those individuals who do not behave this way will not stand in God's holy place, will not dwell in God's sanctuary, will not be citizens of God's kingdom. Is not the function of the warning statements similar to that of guardrails for drivers--which convey the silent message-"if you go beyond them there will be serious consequences"? The warnings are "negative" ways of describing the kind of behavior God wants to see.

There is no "no-man's land" where the spiritual laws God established do not apply. The apostle Paul uses an analogy from athletic competition to set forth this truth: " Similarly, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not receive the victor's crown unless he competes according to the rules." (2 Timothy 2:5; see also 1 Corinthians 9:27) What rules? Jesus declared a rule of God's creation --"No-one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money." (Matthew 6:24) In the book of James the truth is set forth in these words: " You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred towards God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God." (James 4:4) The apostle Paul put it this way: "For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live." (Romans 8:13) It was Jesus who said, "unless you repent, you too will all perish." (Luke 13:3; see also Revelation 2:5) In the last book of the New Testament the words of the resurrected Lord (who is described as the Living One who was dead but now is alive, who holds the keys of death and Hades; Rev. 1:18) are very sobering--" Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you." (Revelation 3:3)

We have looked at some of God's many declarations which clearly indicate his sovereignty, his power to bring about whatever he has purposed. We have also looked some of God's many statements which clearly indicate the responsibility of human beings to behave in particular ways. There is mystery here. How God's sovereignty (which is a fact) fits with man's responsibility (which is a fact) is more than we humans can comprehend. This is an intellectual or theoretical or logical matter. But this is not the matter that, according to the Bible, God is concerned with. What salvation is all about is not an increase in human beings' ability to understand. It is not about enabling any creature to understand God's world and his ways. (Isaiah 55:8-9; Romans 11:33; 1 Corinthians 13:9-10,12) According to the Bible what God is concerned about is a matter of behavior-- specifically the kind of behavior (internal or mental as well as overt) that is appropriate to the adopted children of a holy God. (Ephesians 4:1; 5:3; 1 Peter 1:15; 1 John 2:6) The Bible tells us what the purpose forwhich Christ died was. He sacrificed his life on the Cross "to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own eager to do what is good." (Titus 2:14; see also Ephesians 5:25-27)

Our "good" behavior is not enough (Isaiah 64:6; Romans 3:10-12) . Without the perfect obedience and sacrificial death of Jesus Christ nobody would have any destiny but to experience the judgment and wrath of God. Why is that? Because human behavior is (and never has been) good enough to come up to God's perfect standard--his law. Since, according to the Bible, it is a fact that all people are by birth under the power of sin (Romans 3:9-10; Galatians 3:22; Ephesians 2:3), since, according to the Bible, it is a fact that all have fallen short of the glory of God (Psalms 143.2; Romans 3:23) , since, according to the Bible, the living up to or never falling below God's standard of perfection is beyond human capacity (Ecclesiastes 7:20; Galatians 3:10; James 2:10; 1 John 1:8,10) God devised a way to be merciful to his people without setting aside the perfection of his standards. Instead of requiring flawless behavior of his people he placed the obligation to meet this requirement to his own Son Jesus Christ. God laid on his own Son both the requirement of perfect behavior and the punishment for his people's sins (Isaiah 53:6; Matthew 26:28; 2 Corinthians 5:21; Galatians 3:13; Romans 3:25-26) . That is the gospel or the "good news." (Matthew 1:21; Romans 8:3) What God did was to show mercy to a people. How? By not treating them according to their behavior, their unholy behavior (Psalm 103:10-13) but according to the life and death of his own sinless Son Jesus Christ. And who were the recipients of this merciful act of God? Only believers.

This is where faith comes in. Faith in a sovereign God whose actions delivered a people and earned for them an eternal blessed inheritance. Faith in God and his way. That is the ticket. Faith is the only ticket into God's kingdom. The Bible says so. Only those who acknowledged that God's way was the only way. Only those who believe that God sent his Son Jesus Christ into the world to save his people from the wrath of God and earn for them eternal life with eternal blessings. "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life." (John 3:16; see also Galatians 3:22) Because no person created by God can live up to God's standard of holiness believing in the efficacy of Christ's sacrificial death to have paid the penalty for one's sins is the only "entrance" into God's kingdom, eternal life, or citizenship in heaven. (John 14:6; Romans 4:1-8; Galatians 3:10-14; Philippians 3:9)

There is no question that it is faith in God and not the behavior of anyone (even that of genuine believers) that "earned" that person's deliverance from the wrath of God, from the destiny of the punishment for lawbreaking (Isaiah 64:6; 1 Thessalonians 5:9; 1:10) yet it is the behavior of believers that demonstrates the existence of that genuine faith. Whether or not an individual is a genuine believer is an entirely different question from that of understanding the mysteries of God. It is not an insignificant question either--for us personally or for our witness to a watching world. Our destiny will be determined by the answer to that question. The destiny of each human being will be determined by the genuineness of that person's belief. (Galatians 2:16; 3:10; Romans 3:20-22; 4:13; John 3:36; 14:6) .

Unless an individual trusts in the "blood" of the sinless one (Jesus Christ) his or her destiny is to suffer the penalty for his or her sin. (John 6:29) The Bible says bluntly, "Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him ." (John 3:36) In the very words of Jesus, "Whoever acknowledges me before men, I will also acknowledge him before my Father in heaven. But whoever disowns me before men, I will disown him before my Father in heaven." (Matthew 10:32) Everyone has a responsibility to acknowledge God, his ways, and his opinions. (1 John 4:2-3)   (For more verses on the essential role of faith see the file "More on the necessity of faith")

Therefore the issue that concerns God and should concern every individual--and that includes every individual who thinks he or she is a believer--is not whether he or she can understand how the clear statements of God's sovereignty and the clear statements of human responsibility can both be absolutely true but whether he or she is truly a believer, whether he or she is one of those people that God chose to be holy and blameless (Ephesians 1:4) , one of those individuals that God called out of darkness into his marvelous light (1 Peter 2:9) , one of those individuals God predestined to be "conformed to the likeness of his Son,"Jesus Christ. (Romans 8:29; 2 Corinthians 3:17-18), one of those individuals in whom God has begun the good work which he will bring to completion. (Ephesians 5:8; Philippians 1:6; Jude 24) That is the decisive issue--whether you are a genuine believer.

Saying (or thinking) you are a believer in God and his "accomplishments" is not enough. Saying or thinking it does not make it so anymore than believing the world was flat made it so. (Romans 10:9-10; Matthew 7:22-23; 12:48-50) Saying or thinking you are a believer in God and his accomplishments does not, as the saying goes, "cut the mustard." While only God knows for sure who are his (2 Timothy 2:19) godly behavior (the right recognition of, and response to, God's mercy) is the evidence or fruit that reveals the nature of the "tree" both to the believer himself and to the watching world (2 Peter 1:3-7,10; James 2:17-18). The presence of the godly fruit discloses whether or not that person is a new creature, whether that person is a child of God, whether that individual is a citizen of heaven (Philippians 3:20) , whether that person is somebody who is looking forward to the appearing of the God who saved him or her. (2 Timothy 4:8; Titus 2:13; Hebrews 9:28)

If the decisive issue is 'Am I a genuine believer' how can that be determined? How am I to show the sovereign God --the one to whom I owe my salvation-- that I do remember what he has done and trust in the efficacy of his work? How am I to show the holy God that I am a believer in him? How am I to show him that I acknowledge the goodness of his sovereign purpose and that I am one of those individuals inwhich that sovereign purpose has begun to be realized? How am I to show him that I am one of his holy ones, one of his "new creatures" with God's opinions written on my heart? (2 Corinthians 5:17; Jeremiah 31:33; Ezekiel 36:27; Hebrews 8:10) ? How else but by displaying in my behavior what God says is written on the hearts of his people; by living according to God's wishes.

How am I to make it evident to myself as well as to the watching world that I am one of his holy ones (=saints), one of his new creations? Answer: By "possessing" the characteristics of god-like character in increasing measure. The apostle Peter tells those believers he is writing to, "For if you possess these qualities [the Christian virtues listed in the preceding verses] in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:8;see also James 2:14-20) Is it possible for a person to feel that he or she was saved by God from the eternal penalty he or she deserved plus being made an heir to eternal blessings by God---and not be moved by intense gratitude to heed God's commands? Jesus said to his disciples, "If you love me, you will obey what I command ."; " Whoever has my commands and obeys them, he is the one who loves me..."; "This is love for God: to obey his commands..." (John 14:15,21; 1 John 5:3; See also Ecclesiastes 12:13-14; 1 John 3:3)

Another image which the Bible uses frequently to describe the evidence that reveals new creaturehood is the bearing of fruit. "Produce fruit in keeping with repentance." (Matthew 3:8) Jesus summed up the matter telling his disciples, "This is to my Father's glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples." (John 15:8) The apostle Paul put in this way "And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God." (Colossians 1:10) In the Sermon on the Mount Jesus said, "Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognise them." (Matthew 7:19-20; see also Matthew 13:40-41; Hebrews 6:8)

Striving to meet God's standards of behavior is not an option but a requirement. If I deliberately forget or set aside God's statements of his standards, his commands, and his warnings that tell me what he desires to see in his children I am gambling that I have "eternal life" anyway in the face of the fact that many of God's statements state just the contrary. To not show the "fruit" of what God transformed each believer into--a new creature, holy and blameless--is not only to reveal the assumption that we have "eternal life" anyway, it is also assuming or else gambling that God's pronouncements do not mean what they say (as Eve did in the Garden of Eden). It is believing that God's statements such as "Nothing impure will ever enter it [the holy city of God], nor will anyone who does what is shameful or deceitful, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb's book of life" (Revelation 21:27) or "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord" (Hebrews 12:14) can be ignored or treated as irrelevant. To not show evidence of what God transformed each believer into--a new creature, holy and blameless-- is also displaying contempt for God's purpose in sending Christ to die (John 3:16) and for Christ's voluntary sacrifice of himself for his people for that purpose (Titus 2:13-14; Ephesians 5:25-27; Hebrews 10:29) He who belittles what God and his Son Jesus Christ have done is "thumbing his nose" at the holiness of God--treating God and his works as if they were not worthy of the godly response.

The Bible tells us about the Creator God, the sovereign God, the Almighty God whose purposes will be brought to pass. It also tells us what kind of person will be in God's kingdom, in the Holy City. And it tells us what kind of person will remain outside waiting to experience God's sentence on lawbreakers. (Revelation 21:8; 22:15)

God's statements of his values are not set forth as convenient advisories or recommendations which can be ignored without consequences. The godly response to God is not just an option or suggestion. By that is meant an individual is not "free" to choose ways of thinking and behaving that are contrary to the revealed will of God without having to face the consequences of that choice the same way a person who chooses to jump out a window on the 20th floor can't avoid the consequences of that choice. Serious consequences will follow. Serious consequence will follow what? Answer: any course of action other than what God prescribes. That is what God says over and over again. God not only devotes a large proportion of his word to telling us what his standards are, he also tells us that there will be serious consequences for individuals who ignore his standards and values. There are 'spiritual laws' which he has created. An earthly illustration would be accurate road signs which describe the road ahead. Nobody (and that includes "believers") is free to ignore any of the almighty God's declarations about how his world works, declarations about the kind of behavior the Creator and sustainer of the universe(s) finds acceptable anymore than the driver is "free" to ignore the road sign that says the 'Bridge is Out'.

The all-knowing God gives us information we had better make the appropriate response to. God's desire or purpose that his people make a godly or holy response to the God who chose them in eternity past to be holy and blameless is a requirement, not just a suggestion or recommendation. (1 Peter 1:16) When God says to believers, "Be holy, because I am holy "that is not just a recommended course of action. (1 Peter 1:16; Leviticus 11:44) "Make every effort to live in peace with all men and to be holy; without holiness no-one will see the Lord." (Hebrews 12:14)

God's act of sending his Son to die so that his people (believers) might have everlasting life was a sovereign act. God's setting up of "road signs" to tell his people how to live and "guardrails" or "armor of God" to protect his people from the dangers out there was no less a sovereign act of his.Christ's sovereign and sacrificial death to redeem God's people was not the total means by which God brought about his purpose of creating a holy people for himself. The setting up of standards, warnings, "guardrails," and "road signs" was another means he devised to keep his people on track; they are a "visible" part of God's means of protecting, preserving and perfecting those that believe (Deuteronomy 8:2; Exodus 16:4; 1 Peter 1:7) . We not only need to know that God is sovereign and almighty. We also need the protection and guidance of the all-knowing and almighty God. We need his "invisible" protection and his "visible" guardrails, armor and road signs. Who are we to say that that need is not real and that the provisions for it --the "full armor of God"-- the instructions, the declarations of standards, the exhortations were not a necessary provision of the sovereign God? Who are we to decide we can ignore them and live properly without them?

God's sovereignty in salvation does not mean that those human beings who were affected by God's saving acts do not have any role or responsibility to God in the matter. In the same way that an individual who has been given music lessons is expected to show that the lessons accomplished their purpose so also those individuals who were beneficiaries of God's forgiveness, beneficiaries of God's transforming grace and power have a responsibility or obligation to God to show that that act of the Almighty God accomplished what he intended for his people--their redemption, their birth from above, their deliverance from the control of sin.

Having been put in a privileged position does not eliminate the need for an acceptable response to God anymore than a person being made the president of a company or of a state or of a nation means that that person would have less responsibility. Just the contrary. Having been placed in that position demands more. This truth is set forth as a principle of God's spiritual management: "From everyone who has been given much, much will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much more will be asked." (Luke 12:48)  God's sovereign election is anything but a refuge on earth in which to rest and to hide unholy behavior. (For further discussion of this truth see No Place to Hide Unholy Behavior)


On one side we hear the commands, the exhortations, the warnings of the sovereign God and on the other we hear of God's election, promises and total control. (Ephesians 1:11) As the title of the meditation put it, "Election and the Necessity of the Godly Response". But what is involved is more than a mechanical balancing of the two sides of the scales. How beyond understanding are God's ways! Believer, Don't lose sight of what the Holy God chose to do for you. He set his love upon you. "For you are a people holy to the LORD. The LORD your God has chosen you out of all the peoples on the face of the earth to be his people, his treasured possession." (Deuteronomy 7:6) We must not forget that it is to him (the holy sovereign God) that we are indebted for everything we have--and that includes our salvation. (1 Corinthians 4:7; Ephesians 2:3-5; Philippians 2:12-13; 1 Peter 2:10)

How it can be that God's sovereign election and control does not exclude the necessity of the godly response is mystery--an awesome mystery. But it is so. As the Lord says, "'My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,' declares the LORD. 'As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.'" (Isaiah 55:8-9)

God's sovereign election does not remove from any believer the necessity of demonstrating that he or she is a believer. (James 2:14,17-18)  For anyone who is one of God's elect, for anyone who is one of God's new holy creatures whether to behave so as to please the holy God is not an option anymore than for a mammal to breath, for fire to make heat, or for the sun to shine. The apostle Paul says this: "I urge you, brothers, in view of God's mercy, to offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God--this is your spiritual act of worship." (Romans 12:1; see also Luke 17:7-10) Addressing believers the apostle Peter says, "Therefore, my brothers [=fellow believers], be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure [to yourselves]. For if you do these things, you will never fall, and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ." (2 Peter 1:10-11)

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