Many in this world believe that they are “saved” when they merely “believe” in Christ.  They take one of the most, if not the most popular Scripture in the Bible, John 3:16, and justify themselves by simply reading it, thinking that this is all one needs to do in order to be saved and have everlasting life.  They fail to recognize the true meaning behind that verse and ignore the other vast amounts of Scriptures in the Bible.  Does the world love Christ?  Do they keep His commandments?  We can only love Christ if we keep His commandments–EVERYTHING that Christ commands (John 14:15, 21-24).

We are to be followers and doers of what He requires, and this involves action.  We will not be saved and have everlasting life if we only “believe” in Him.  To have any part of Christ, we first of all need to repent, believe, be baptized and receive God’s Holy Spirit.  Without this process, it is impossible to have everlasting life and to be in the Kingdom of God, for Christ says in John 3:5: “…unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

We must also understand that no one can come to Christ, unless that person has been called to the truth by the Father (compare John 6:44,65).  So are we then automatically saved and have we obtained eternal life when we were properly baptized and were given the Holy Spirit?  Of course, as long as God’s Spirit lives within us, we have the guarantee of eternal life. But can we lose it again?

James 2:14-17 says: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”  Hebrews 5:9 also points out that Christ “became the author of eternal salvation to all who OBEY Him.” 

Are we obeying with living faith?

We must continue to work at perfecting ourselves, by using the gift that has been granted to us by our Father through His Holy Spirit.  We are commanded to keep His commandments, to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the world, to live a righteous and godly life. God expects that from us and He expects us to obey Him!  He has called us out of this world to give us the opportunity to be among the first to enter His Kingdom and to receive everlasting life.  This is still our choice.  It is no guarantee.  Revelation 3:11 tells us to “hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”  And in Revelation 2:10 Christ tells us to “be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

What is given to us can also be taken away.  When we turn back, we will lose what had been offered to us. Only when we overcome until the end, will we be saved (Matthew 24:13; Revelation 2:26).  This is a lifelong process that God requires of us: to be faithful continuously, to pray continuously, to be vigilant and strong continuously, to give comfort and love to one another continuously, to put ALL trust and confidence in Him continuously, and to obey Him continuously.  When we continue to do all of that until the end, then we will be saved. 

Striving for perfection is probably the most difficult thing one can do; however, that does not mean that we can’t do our best to attain perfection. Matthew 5:48 states that we are to become perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect.

There are many ways that people search for perfection.  For example, some may look for the perfect job; others may look for the perfect mate; many people dream about having a perfect body.  These goals are very tough to achieve.  Even though someone may be satisfied with what they have, it doesn’t mean that it is perfect.   There are many things that can be perfectly achieved, as, for example, a perfect driving record, perfect attendance in school, or a perfect score on a test.  All of this takes work – this is how we strive for perfection.

To achieve perfection, we have to prepare for it, like taking a test, for example.  In most cases, studying hard will get us there.  Now what about us spiritually?  When we are given a test, will we be prepared to pass it?  Have we studied enough?  Have we studied continually to pass this test and any other test that we are given?  Preparation is the key. We have to be prepared at all times, especially when we are being tempted by Satan, just as Christ was on many occasions.  He passed all tests, challenges and temptations, and that is why He was perfect!

We might think that perfection could have been achieved from the very beginning of the Bible when man was created.   Adam and Eve had everything they needed and lived in Paradise.  Everything was perfect, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t be tempted to sin.  Their wrong decision is recorded in Genesis 3.  Romans 1:18-28 tells us what has happened to this world as a result.  It is very tempting to sin, but we know what the consequences are when we do sin.  James 1:17-25 tells us what we should do when we are tempted to sin.   Not only do we have to listen to what we are being told, but we have to apply it as well.  When we are being taught in a class, we take notes and we study those notes so we can pass the test.  We listen to what the teacher says and we apply the information on the test.  The same goes for all of us, spiritually speaking.  We have our ministers who preach to us and we listen and take notes so that if we are ever in a pop quiz situation, we can answer questions confidently, thereby passing the test.

We do, however, have an extra edge, a study guide.  Our Bible is our study guide.  All the answers are in the Bible.  And to help us better understand the Bible, we have God’s Holy Spirit and our teachers in the ministry.  When we apply this valuable understanding to our daily lives, we are striving for perfection.

God has to permit it however (compare Hebrews 6:1-3), just as He permits trials in our lives.  When we are baptized, we receive His Spirit, His power, to give us strength, and that strength can overcome any trial.  God can do anything and once we have responded to His calling, which He permits, we have to be strong and faithful to that calling.  We have to be excited about His calling.  Of course, there are times when we are down; there are times where we feel like quitting; there are times when we feel alone; and there are times when we are discouraged.  During all those times, we have to feel encouraged because of what God promises us.  He knows exactly what we all go through, even through the toughest times.  This is when we should fervently pray to God and study His Word, because that is also the time when we are most vulnerable to sin.

To help us better strive for that perfection that we so desperately need, there are a few traits we must continue to work on, and we must continue to remember to apply them in our lives.  We read about these traits in 1 Corinthians 13:13.

The first one is hope.  We hope for the future, for Christ’s return.  We hope that we will make it and be part of the God Family (Romans 8:18-25).  At the same time we have patience, waiting in hope to be saved.

We must also have faith (Hebrews 10:18-23).  Hope and faith go hand in hand.  And with that comes one more trait, that of love, which is the greatest of all three.  We have to love God and each other as a family.  If we don’t show love for God and our fellow man, then we have no hope or faith in our future.  And without love, we have nothing!  We must love the church and love the work; we must love God’s law and consider the tests and trials that God allows in our lives.  God expects us to pass the test.  If we apply these traits in our lives and continue to prepare ourselves with fervent prayer and diligent study to pass each test that we are given, striving for that ultimate goal, then on that day, when Christ returns, we will be changed into perfect Spirit Beings.

We are constantly “challenged” by Satan and by God to see how strong we really are. While Satan is tempting us to sin, God is testing our strength, so that we do not sin. Will we obey God in regards to His Law or will we break His Law and give in to Satan’s intent to see us stumble and fall?

We are set apart; we are chosen by God to understand His truth and potential plan for us, which is considered strange to those who are not familiar with God’s Law.

The knowledge of the truth has to be within us and we have to be vigilant and stand up for the truth at all times. 

The Bible is very consistent and doesn’t contradict itself.  God’s Law is peaceful and perfect, but it is also a mystery in this world.  We are called out of this world to be clean, and that is the way we ought to live.  But we live in an unclean world ruled by Satan and we know how easily his clever tactics can ensnare us, tempting us just like he tempted Christ when Christ was on this earth as a human being.  We have to act as Christ did and conquer Satan by living righteously.

We were all unclean, and at our baptism we “put to death” our members, which were “on the earth” (Colossians 3:5).  We replaced one for the other as verses 9 and 10 explain: “…since you have put off the old man with his deeds, and have put on the new man who is renewed in knowledge according to the image of Him who created him.”

We were cleaned when we were baptized. However, even after baptism, we will still sin, so that we need to be cleansed constantly (1 John 1:8-9). Our members have to be put to death constantly. The annual Passover reminds us that our uncleanliness, which is our carnal mindset fueled by Satan, has to be removed, and it is a renewal of our commitment to God to live righteously and to remain clean. 

Colossians 3:12-17 and Galatians 5:22-26 provide us with great examples of how we can live a “clean” and righteous life, by applying the “new man character” and walking in the fruit of the Spirit.  This truly is the way of peace – the guide to happiness.  If we live this way, we will draw even closer to God and truly understand what our calling is all about – to be clean in an unclean world. 

We are faced with decisions that we have to make every single day and many decisions that people make are either simplistic, common sense decisions or they can be poor and costly ones.  We see how our leadership in this nation has made poor decisions, especially ones that are unconstitutional and absolutely contrary with what the Bible teaches.  It goes hand in hand with what the Bible predicts, and it will not improve until Christ’s return.

In regard to decisions that we are faced with, it comes down to the choices that we have to make.  We have to know within ourselves just what is the right or wrong choice. We have to be careful with our decision making since we are the minority in this world who believe the truth, for WE are the called out ones, the hated ones (compare Matthew 10:22; John 15:18).  Because of this responsibility we have, there is a lot of pressure we are faced with in this world, since we have to live as examples and stay true to our faith.  We can’t compromise with our beliefs, but we must stand up for what is right.  People will know by our convictions and our actions where we stand.

Now we know that God does not change and He never will.  He will not compromise (Malachi 3:6).  His purpose for mankind is the same today, as it was then!  Every person on this earth makes choices, every day, whether they will live righteously or not. But there is one critical difference. While the world continues to go its evil way, there is a group of people that God has called out of this world; to come out from the evil ways, and to live their lives based upon His laws, His statutes, and His judgments!  Even God had a choice to make, choosing those out of the world for a purpose (1 Corinthians 1:26-29).

We are supposed to live as examples and shine as lights.  Each of us being called to this Way of Life, make choices every day. Will we obey God or not? Will we walk in His Way or not? Will we attempt to worship Him in a false way, by worshipping false gods? Will we bow down to gods made with human hands, wooden or stone images? Will we dishonor God by taking His name in vain? Will we faithfully keep and properly observe His Sabbath and His Holy Days?  Will we keep man-made holidays originating from pagan origins? Will we kill another human being, for instance in war, or even murder him in our thoughts through the sin of hatred? Will we steal from others, including our brethren, or steal from God by not giving Him what is owed to Him through tithes and offerings?  Will we lie against our neighbor or God? Will we covet that which does not belong to us, thus sinning against our God?

The world continually finds itself in the struggles of evil.  We have to make sure that we don’t become a part of that.  God has His eyes on us.  Judgment is now on the house of God! With every decision we come to, with every choice we make; God is taking notice! He is ready and able to help in times of need (compare Psalm 34:15-20, 22). Will we do what is right in God’s eyes, in reference to our mates and our children, and in reference to our neighbor?  Each time we break a law of God, it is the result of a wrong choice we have made!

Noah was righteous before God.  Because of the choice made by this one man, God decided that He would allow life to continue on the earth for mankind, starting over with this one righteous man and his family, including the animals brought onto the ark. 

When it came to the obedience of His law, God chose Israel as the nation He would work through to continue to carry on His Way on the earth, because of Abraham’s right choices. Sadly, Israel chose to disobey God.

David was a man after God’s own heart. Jesus Christ walked upon the earth in the flesh and lived a perfect life. Each of these men had to make choices every day. God was pleased overall with the choices they made, and of course, in the case of Christ, He was always pleased.

After God had delivered Israel from the hands of the Egyptians and had revealed to them once again His righteous and perfect Law, He had given them a choice, as He gives us that same choice.  Let us see what this choice is: “See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil… I call heaven and earth as witnesses today against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing; therefore choose life, that both you and your descendants may live (Deuteronomy 30:15, 19).”