Our Decision Today Will Have Eternal Relevance

Scripture

Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. (Colossians 3:1-5 NIV)

A short note on Colossians 3:1-5

Christ is your treasure and where your treasure is, there is your heart. As your heart is in Christ, you also sit in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. Christ is the life of your souls; and as he is hidden in the bosom of the Father, so are those who live through and in him.

When Christ comes to judge the world, you will be with him in his glory in an eternal state of blessedness.

‘To put them to death’ is the verb used metaphorically to signify, to deprive a thing of its power, to destroy its strength. Use no parts of your body to sin against God. Keep all under control and never permit the beast of evil to run away with you. To gratify any sensual appetite is to give it the very food and nourishment by which evil lives, thrives, and is active. The body may suffer from excessive sensual indulgences and luxurious lifestyles. The appetite increases with the indulgence. When you deny yourselves, and let reason rule, then evil will not get the ascendency over you.

Actions have Reactions

But you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die.” (Genesis 2:17 NIV)

God gave to man a test of obedience, and a proof of his being in a dependent state. The man from whose mind the strong impression of this dependence and responsibility is erased, necessarily loses sight of his origin and end, and is capable of any act of wickedness.

As evidenced by the action of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden, there is a reaction for every action. To every cause there is an effect. Through the sin of the first man, Adam the natural head of the human race, every one of us is born with a corrupted and sinful nature. This sin affects our total person--- whether it is our feelings, our thoughts, or our actions. Mankind and the entire universe are contaminated by sin. Furthermore, we are guilty of our many sins. The Holy Spirit now inclines us to do what is good, but our sinful nature constantly draws us away in the direction of sin. We don’t have to be a Bible scholar to understand that something is wrong. We have so many problems. But death is our greatest problem. Death is two-fold, physical and spiritual. Physical death is inevitable, from dust we were made and to dust we shall return. But much worse than physical death is the spiritual death, the eternal separation from God.

The only Remedy for Sin

“But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” (Romans 5:8 NIV)

We were neither righteous nor good; but impious and wicked. But when the fullness of the time came, as foretold by the prophets, Christ was manifested in the flesh and died for the ungodly.  He died for sinners at the appointed time, when the world needed him most. Despite our iniquities, unrighteousness and sins, God loved us with an everlasting love and has paved the way for the atonement of our sins. That provision was Jesus--- the sacrificial Lamb of God. At the cross a sinless Christ died like a criminal for sinners.

The only remedy for sinful passions is found in the believers' experience of union with Christ-- a union by virtue of which the Christian dies to sin and to the world's way of thinking and doing. The death with Christ involves also participation in his resurrection life. This releases into the believer's life a power that is more than adequate to resist the appetites and attitudes of the lower nature. To set the heart on things above is to desire and to strive for heavenly things. Christ is seated at the right hand of God, the place of supreme privilege and divine authority. Our thoughts and actions must be constantly centred on Christ. Our attitudes, ambitions, and whole outlook on life are moulded by Christ's relationship to the believer,and our allegiance to him takes precedence over all earthly allegiances.

Discerning what truly matters

In the movie, Casualties of War, five American soldiers are on patrol in Vietnam. The sergeant in command decides to kidnap a young Vietnamese woman, so the soldiers can take turns raping her. Two of the groups object. One of them has a rosary around his neck and when the group pressure wears him down; he takes off the crucifix, places it in his pocket, and then takes his turn raping the terrified girl. Only one of the men refused to participate in this despicable crime. Only one listened to his conscience and, thereby, kept it clean. At risk of his life, he reported the crime. This is a true story. Fearing vengeance and to protect his life, secret arrangements were made so that he could live in anonymity.

The conscientious soldier in the story commented that just because they were living in an environment where they could get blown away any second, his comrades felt that they could do anything that they wanted and it didn't matter. He felt that it was the other way around. Precisely because they could get blasted away any second, they had to be extra careful about what they did; what they did mattered even more.

Our fragile life

Life is short and uncertain; death may overtake you any moment. Don't wait for the eleventh hour to accept Jesus as your personal Saviour; you may die at 10:30. There is no rule which says the older ones will die first. A grandchild may die long before the demise of the grandparents. But this does not mean we should live and revel in worldly things as we wish with total disregard for God and the outcomes. Instead we must seek to become a part of God’s family through faith in Christ and look forward to eternal life with him.

Eternal life begins now

And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life. I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. (1John 5:11-13 NIV)

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 NIV)

But whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (John 4:14 NIV)

God had given us eternal life, the right to endless glory. This life is in his Son; it comes by and through him. He is its author and its purchaser. This eternal life is only in and through Christ. Believing in the Son of God is not a blind reliance for, but an actual enjoyment of salvation with Christ living, working, and reigning in the heart.

The person who will not be persuaded, in consequence, will not believe. Having not believed, will cannot obey. Such a person cannot find the way to the kingdom of God because the way is only through Christ Jesus, None can expect to enter into this kingdom but those who obey him for he is the author of eternal salvation.

Eternal life begins now. You only have to accept it. The rejection of it means eternal punishment.

Choose Eternal Life through Christ

“I tell you the truth, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be condemned; he has crossed over from death to life.” (John 5:24 NIV)

What we do, the decisions and the choices we made today will have eternal relevance --- eternal life with God in heaven or eternal punishment in hell. Repentance and faith are the free acts of men. With their own mind, heart and will they must renounce sin. Turning from sin and reaching out in humility and faith to Christ are the acts of man. No one can repent, believe and trust Jesus Christ on our behalf. Salvation is deliverance from sin and death. It neither be earned nor borrowed. We must personally, knowingly, consciously, and willingly believe in Christ to be saved. Then we must live in obedience to God, living a life worthy to be called his children.

Selie Visa