06 July 2022
Okay, even kids can understand this; follow the logic. What is the sole reason for our human fallen existence? What is our one and only purpose in life, according to the Bible? It is the Father's glory. We serve the Creator's glory. Anything else you want to say about faith has to stand on that foundation. Everything in Scripture points to that.
How do we glorify Him? We live by the Covenant. This is what God says repeatedly. Why did Jesus die on the Cross? To open the Covenant to all. The Jews had long since forgotten their primary purpose as a nation: to be the glory of Jehovah. Living by the Covenant was His glory. The Covenant was meant to speak to the whole human race, but Israel turned it inward. For them, the Covenant was a sacred privileged reserved to them alone, which was not what Moses said. Moses passed onto to them their Lord's command: "you shall be a kingdom of priests" to draw the nations in worship.
Jesus didn't die on the Cross to drag your pitiful soul into Heaven, as if going to Heaven were not possible before He came. Do you imagine folks in the Old Testament didn't go to Heaven? Was Abraham "saved"? Did David have eternal life? Elijah was taken into Heaven directly. Was King Josiah born-again? Divine election stood before the foundation of the world, before a single mortal human was born. It is supposed to be incomprehensible.
The only way you can glorify the Lord is to embrace the Covenant; that's why Jesus died. The Cross ended the sacrificial system and the need to wade through a law code to awaken your faith and to discern your convictions. Now you can know Him in your heart immediately, and then go and study the Word with the guidance of His Spirit to learn how to glorify Him, and empowering you to walk in what you learn.
Most of the time, the term translated into English as "salvation" refers to the rescue of your earthly existence. You make that commitment to explore His Covenant boundaries in this life. How can you be saved? Have faith in the teachings of Jesus regarding how to live this life. Faith that doesn't drive your obedience isn't real faith; it's just simple opinion. Do you really believe what Jesus said if you don't obey Him? If He is not your Lord, then your life in this world is doomed. It may also imply that you aren't spiritually born or elect, but that's not the point. The point is that you should be driven by your commitment to Him.
So, while you cannot choose spiritual birth, you can choose faith in Him. His Word says so; it is commanded as if anyone can do it. While actually doing that tends to correlate with Election, they aren't the same thing. Thus, "getting saved" is more properly a matter of faith in the Covenant promises and the resulting obedience in this life. You save your life by sacrificing it to Him while you yet live That's why we read things like this:
Q: What must I do to be saved?
A: Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and you shall be saved with your household. (Acts 16:30-31)
The Philippian Jailer could not simply decide that the rest of his household would be born-again, but he could decide to bind them all under the Covenant of Christ. So, in this case at least, "salvation" refers to a commitment from the heart to serving Christ as Lord in this life.
Yes, I know this kind of talk puts me way out on the fringes, a real contrast to the common American Christian religion. They are wrong. They do not understand the ancient Hebrew intellectual traditions of mysticism, even though that scholarship is available to them. They know about it and refuse to get involved. If my position makes you uncomfortable, you don't have to read this blog. But this is where I stand in everything I write here.
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