1. It may be the work of a moment to get a person out of the world, but it is the work of a lifetime to get the world out of the person.

Picture yourself standing by a large iron kettle filled with murky, brown water. Picture Jesus standing with you by this kettle, looking into it. Picture Him saying, "I want people to drink of this water, and be refreshed." Picture yourself wincing at the very thought of it.

Now picture Him grabbing a large mallet. He swings this mallet with both hands, striking the side of that kettle with a loud, resounding BONG. Now as He sets the mallet down, you both watch as something black and disgusting slowly floats to the surface of the brown water, bobbing there slightly.

Jesus says, "What are you going to do about that?" As you gather your senses, you grab a nearby ladle, and scoop the disgusting scum off the top of the water, discarding it in the fire.

My life is like that kettle of water. My life is murky with sin. Sin has tainted my life, making it of no lasting benefit to anyone. Yet Jesus wants to make my life crystal clear and available for those around me to benefit from. Every now and then, Jesus hits my life with that mallet of His — BONG! And up to the surface of my life floats something disgusting. Some sinful behavior or attitude that I had no idea was there. It bobs there, awaiting action or inaction.

If, with Jesus, I deal with the "scum" floating there, it is removed, and my "water" is a little less polluted, a little more clear. It is one step closer to being drinkable. If I let the opportunity pass, not wanting to deal with it for whatever reason, the disgusting black scum will disappear from view, slowly sinking back down to the bottom from whence it came, and I will have made no progress whatsoever.

2. If the Christian salvation does not change our behavior, it is worthless to God and to man.

Picture Heaven for a moment; what do you see? Perhaps incredible beauty, fascinating architecture, waterfalls, gardens, places of gathering, etc. Now picture that same Heaven peopled with sinners who have been forgiven, and that is all. Sinners saved by grace. Sinners who still wrestle with sin — or even those who have yet to begin to wrestle, being taught (from pulpits) that they were only supposed to accept the finished work of Christ by faith, and that any attempt to live righteously is just filthy works.

You may not realize it, but when you think of Heaven, you think of transformed people. I don’t think you would enjoy yourself in a paradisiacal environment with people that don’t behave any differently than they do now.

Romans 8:29: For whom He foreknew, He also predestined to be conformed to the image of His Son, that He might be the firstborn among many brethren.

There are several good passages in the Bible that sum up what God is after in this world of pain. What is it all about? Well, contrary to popular opinion, His focus is not on bringing unchanged, forgiven sinners into heaven, there to bask forever in undeserved blessing. As you can see from the above-quoted verse in Romans, we are predestined for change — to be transformed into the image of Jesus Himself.

Image does not mean solely the outward appearance.

One understanding of the image of God is that it refers to qualities or attributes present in the person…Others believe the image is something present when the person is in a relationship to God, and in fact, is that relationship. The image is present like a reflection in a mirror, rather than like a photo…still others believe the image is something a person does. (Nelson’s New Illustrated Bible Dictionary, CD ROM version)

We are destined to be recreated in every aspect, inside and out, resulting in an image consistent with that of Jesus Himself. Once this is clearly understood as the goal of Christianity, rather than simply moving from earth to heaven, the Bible and the gospel both begin to make much more sense.

What remains now is to identify how one goes about changing…

3. The salvation that cost God everything to fully achieve costs man everything to fully receive.

An important step in pursuing the goal of change is to hold everything in an open hand before God. He must be able to access everything and everyone that you are and have. There can be no person, no material object, and no aspect of your personality that God does not have your express permission to remove, or alter in any way He sees fit. You must give Him permission to work in your life — He will not transform you against your will.

What do we have that He has not given to us? I know that sounds cliché, but ponder it for a moment. Is there any person in any way associated with your life that would so devastate you to lose, that it would derail your relationship with Jesus? A spouse, a child, a parent, a bosom friend? Whom do you love with your whole heart? Picture that person. If God, in His wisdom, saw that your transformation (the gospel goal, mind you) would be aided greatly by the (temporary) removal of that person from your life, how would you respond? A beloved child, being lowered into the ground in a casket before you…what goes through your head? Is life over? All hope gone? Is God now despised in your eyes? Do you still trust and love Him, even though your world is upside-down?

When my brother Bryan died, my life was a whirlwind. Yes, I hurt, in a way that was unfamiliar to me, having never lost a close loved-one before. A friend said it best at Bryan’s memorial service: it feels like your heart is being ripped out of your chest from the back. Yet underneath it all was something strong, something firm, something priceless. God loved Bryan more than I ever could. God had need of Bryan "on the other side." Did I believe it?

I loved Bryan, and because of that I held him in an open hand before Jesus, who loved him more. I grieved, but not as those that have no hope:

1Thess 4:13, 14: But I would not have you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him.

That having been settled beforehand, proper focus could be sought. If a person in my life is taken, I will see him/her again. If a material item is lost/stolen, it can be replaced or done without. If a part of my personality needs to be altered/removed, it must fall to the sword, no matter how painful or how long it takes. A thing or person or part of me that I do not allow Him access to is a place where all progress will stop.

Sin is a multifaceted thing. Once I realized that "sin, the noun" was different than "sin, the verb", the Christian salvation made much more sense to me, especially in light of the entire Bible.

"Sin, the verb" can be viewed as the sinful acts that we commit, as defined by the Scriptures, and by the Spirit. In the Scriptures, we are given dozens of examples of what to do and what not to do. Everything from "love your enemy" to "let no filthy communication proceed forth from your mouth." God is intensely interested in our behavior. We are His children; when we exhibit behavior that is not kingly, that is not worthy of His name, we give occasion for the enemies of God to blaspheme.

"Sin, the noun" is the sin that dwells in us. If we are given to outbursts of anger, for example, then there is an aspect of our person/personality that is the source of that behavior. In other words, that anger is resident in our personality, and will cause us to act out in anger under certain circumstances. It dwells in us, as an object, and even if we are not doing anything (as far as an action), that sin is there, tangible, visible to God. It is the sin (noun) that causes us to sin (verb).

Romans 7:15-17 NIV: I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. And if I do what I do not want to do, I agree that the law is good. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me.

Under the old covenant, provision was made to forgive "sin, the verb." A sacrifice was made, and the sin forgiven. But the source of that sin was not dealt with. (Hebrews 10:4: For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.) The act of anger forgiven, the anger itself remained. Obtaining forgiveness was basically a full-time occupation, since the source of the behavior could not be dealt with.

Under the new covenant, the offering of Jesus Christ has been made, once for all, a persistent sacrifice, forever ready to cleanse the sinner of his/her sinful act, thus eliminating the need for animal sacrifices. With that taken care of, the job of eliminating "sin, the noun" can begin. That is the primary difference between the covenants: both covenants had forgiveness of "sin, the verb", but only the new covenant also addresses "sin, the noun".

The goal is to change the sinner into Christ’s image, at a personality level. This cannot be accomplished through forgiveness alone. There must be a process of removal for a lasting change to take place.

I belong to an online philosophy forum, which has a "philosophy of religion" section, frequented by many atheists and Christians. Most Christians that I have interacted with there have never given the Kingdom law of "reaping and sowing" any thought whatsoever. They know that somewhere the Bible talks about it, but not exactly where. All they seem to know for sure is that it sounds nice, but doesn’t really mean anything.

Galatians 6:7: Be not deceived; God is not mocked: for whatsoever a man sows, that shall he also reap.

Pointing this verse out to them will get a universal "hear, hear!" as a response (as any quoted verse will). Press them a bit, and you will rapidly see that they don’t know what to do with it; it does not mesh with their theology. The sum of their position is as follows: You will reap what you sow...unless you are a Christian. To them, it’s just a nicer way of saying sinners will go to hell. Christians, on the other hand, can live however they want, and will go to heaven when they die, since we are "saved by grace." When pressed to provide more thorough scriptural support for their position, they will simply quote the "filthy rags" verse from Isaiah, and end the conversation. Any whiff of "works" causes them to curl up into the conversational equivalent of the fetal position.

The idea that all men, Christian and non-Christian alike, will reap what we sow is an offense to many Christians. The concept is simple, and as righteous and just as could be. What is more just than being rewarded according to your behavior, good or evil? It is simple cause and effect. No one gets away with anything, and no one is overlooked. The idea that you could sow weeds and reap roses is ridiculous, yet that is basically what these Christians at the forum advocate. "Try to live right, but ultimately we (Christians) all get the same reward (i.e. access to heaven)."

Sin is understood to be impossible to deal with, so Christ covers us with His blood until our life is over, and then we can join Him in Happyland. As long as we’re in this world , we have to sin...it isn’t optional. Sin is magically removed when we are "glorified" (though they don’t have a clue what that will entail).

The scriptures present a vastly different interpretation. The law of "reaping and sowing" is unchanged…if we sow weeds, we will reap weeds, period. The focus is on changing us so that we sow roses, and reap roses (so to speak):

Galatians 6:8: For he that sows to his flesh shall of the flesh reap corruption; but he that sows to the Spirit shall of the Spirit reap life everlasting.

6. Our sinning will never be permitted in the Kingdom of God. Either it leaves or we leave.

It is true that God loves us with a love so deep and rich that we cannot grasp it. But He doesn’t love us so much that He is willing to allow us to taint His Kingdom with the sin that He hates — and that we allow to remain in us, unchallenged. God’s love for us does not override our level of dedication when it comes to dealing with sin. In other words, if we don’t take His Word and work seriously, we will end up out on our ear, God’s love notwithstanding.

Now, that may seem overly harsh, but think about it…what He is asking of us is not hopelessly impossible, as our selfish human nature would have us believe. The concepts are really pretty basic…

2 Corinth 11:3: But I fear, lest somehow, as the serpent deceived Eve by his craftiness, so your minds may be corrupted from the simplicity that is in Christ.

"Simple" as in basic, not easy. Certainly not easy. The part that is not easy is the part where we become convinced that overcoming sin is necessary. That seems to be ridiculously difficult, especially for something that comes across as such a no-brainer. After we become convinced, it’s downhill from there. Once we see that sin is God’s enemy, once we see that the Adversary is not one to be willfully entertained in any manner, once we know what Jesus is after and learn to lean on Him for everything…once these all become a reality, then the guess-work is removed, and we can get down to the business of death and resurrection.

The problem is once we read something like that, and finish nodding in agreement that we are committed to Him and His work, we walk away and immediately go back to business as usual. We are not convinced. We stumble and fall and cry "woe is me." We ask God for help, vow to try again, get up, press on, stumble forward…this is all good; but until we clearly understand both what He is after and the seriousness of it, we won’t develop the necessary resolve, we won’t become convinced.

Matthew 13:40-43: Therefore as the tares are gathered and burned in the fire, so it will be at the end of this age. The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will gather out of His kingdom all things that offend, and those who practice lawlessness, and will cast them into the furnace of fire. There will be wailing and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine forth as the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

If we only realized what is at stake! There are things in us that offend God — things destined for the fire! We need to be serious about having them removed, or we will be removed. Of whom much is given, much will be required. (Luke 12:48)

7. Our goal is not Heaven but Christ — that we may know Him.

While the work of transformation is obviously important and integral to God’s plan, there is something deeper that God is after. The daily process of working sin out of your personality builds a friendship with Jesus, a relationship. This is His ultimate goal — to become one with you. This relationship cannot happen instantly, or even quickly.

Think of your best friend for a moment; chances are, you’ve put years and years into your best-friendship, and are at the point where you can share just about anything with each other. You can be physically apart for long stretches of time, but once you’re together again, it’s like you were never apart. You have such a strong connection.

The strength of the relationship that Jesus is after eclipses anything we can currently comprehend. It is built as we learn to go into each situation of life, each conversation, each scenario, tense or relaxed, with Jesus. I like to picture it as a parrot on a pirate’s shoulder. What will you be doing when you finish reading this? Will you go interact with a person or people? Will you go to sleep for the night? Off to work? To church? Whatever you will be doing in the next few minutes, go into it with Jesus. Take Him with you. Be aware of His presence as you take in the words or actions or settings that will present themselves to you next.

Every time that there is a "now," you should confront it with Jesus. We tend to wing it, and run to Jesus when things get tough. This is the pattern of humanity from the earliest parts of the Bible, through the history of Israel, and I’m sure you recognize it in your life as well. God blesses us, we rejoice in it, things are good, we get distracted, we drift into sin and compromise, we become blind, God sends trouble, we run back to Him for help, He delivers us and blesses us. It is one big cycle of heartache for God, repeated ad nauseam.

What will break this pattern? Taking Jesus with you into every situation and conversation, that is what. Difficult? Sure, because we tend to be completely self-absorbed. But by taking Jesus with us into every moment, it makes impossible things possible. Praying without ceasing becomes a natural byproduct of a moment-by-moment relationship. Also, if we get used to taking every little thing to Jesus as they present themselves (not after the fact) then when a big crisis arises, we are instantly able to get wisdom from Jesus, and make wise decisions.

This intense relationship will be a benefit not just during this life, but on into eternity, as we serve the King in His Kingdom. This is "walking in the light." This is "abiding in Christ." This is "dwelling in the secret place of the Most High."

Sometimes we take statements and promises in the Scriptures and imagine that because we read them, they are true in our life. Doing this can bring comfort in some situations, but most often it simply leads to spiritual laziness. When Paul, toward the end of his life, said he was crucified with Christ, nevertheless he lived, yet it was not him, but Jesus that was living in him…the tendency seems to be to read that verse (Galatians 2:20) and say, "Yup, me too! Say, what’s on TV?"

Just because the Bible says something does not mean it is true of you automatically. The promises to the overcomers listed in chapters two and three of Revelation are good examples of this. Walking with Him in white, sitting on thrones, pillars in His Temple, hidden manna, etc. -- we read them and automatically associate ourselves with them. As though "overcoming" is a synonym for "becoming a Christian."

The promises of protection fall into this same category. Take Psalm 91 for example: protection from the arrow that flies by day and the terror at night; from pestilence and destruction; plagues and various evils; lions, snakes and dragons; all the way down to simply keeping you from stubbing your toe on a rock. We love that chapter, especially in perilous times, and rightly so. But the entire chapter has an oft-overlooked qualifier in the very first verse:

Psalm 91: 1: He that dwells in the secret place of the most High…

If this is not true of you, the promises won’t necessarily apply to you. As with the "overcomer" example, we somehow automatically equate "dwelling in the secret place" with "being a Christian," or "attending a church." We need to realize that the proper synonym for "dwelling in the secret place of the most High" is "abiding in Christ." More importantly, we need to know what it means to abide in Christ, and then how to go about abiding in Him if we are not. Let this quest for proper understanding become our goal...it is risky business assuming something is true when so much is at stake.

So much focus has been placed on the "ascension" that the resurrection has been lost in the mists. The "rapture" has become the focus, which is the wrong means to the wrong goal. Unfortunately, it fits hand in glove with the current shallow interpretation of the goals of the gospel: when the goal becomes a simple relocation of a believer from earth to heaven, then a "special" act of relocation for a "special" group of believers makes sense.

Of course, the fact that it misses the mark entirely doesn’t seem to be of any consequence. Not only does it miss the mark, but it reduces the wonderful thing that God is doing to an empty, shallow, self-centered mess. The grandeur of God’s plan becomes completely obfuscated. Behold:

Vision #1: During this life only, anyone professing belief (mental assent) in Jesus is covered with His blood, and allowed entrance to "heaven," there to live forever (doing who knows what) for eternity, while the remainder of mankind, including those that have never heard the gospel (this is most of the people that have ever lived), will be cast headlong into eternal torment. Moreover, there will come a "special" time toward the end of the age when Jesus will come secretly to whisk away a group of gentile believers so that they can avoid suffering during the Great Tribulation, the poor things.

Or…

Vision #2: God is building an eternal, flesh and bone kingdom on earth. Living and serving on the New Earth will of necessity require the resurrection of our flesh and bone bodies. It will have as kings and priests certain Christians that have developed an abiding relationship with the King, whereby they hang on His every word. These "overcomers" are the structure and defense of the Kingdom, preventing sin and rebellion from ever rearing its head again (this is what was missing in Eden). They will govern the saved nations — comprised of most people that have ever lived, that have never heard of and rejected Christ — as they enjoy God’s Kingdom, resting beneath their vines and fig trees (so to speak).

You can decide which vision of the Gospel is more supportable by scripture.

Acts 1:6: Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him, saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?

What we face in the day of resurrection is being determined every day that we live on this earth. How we live, the decisions we make, our actions and words…these are creating a reward (if you will) that we will receive on that day.

2 Corinthians 5:10: For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Notice: all, every one, good or bad.

It is preached by some that for Christians the Judgment seat will be like an awards banquet, with every Christian receiving only praise and rewards, not receiving a bad word or punishment of any kind. The Scripture does not bear this out, in either testament.

Psalm 62:12: Also unto You, O Lord, belongs mercy: for You render to every man according to his work.

It is important to understand this relationship between the way we live and what we will face on that day. It allows us to "time bind;" that is, to go forward in time (in our mind) and imagine what that day will be like. Then we can come back to today and live accordingly. Confess sin, repent, turn from ways that are spoken against in the Scripture, realizing that if we do not seriously attempt to conquer these sinful behaviors (in Christ), we will reap destruction in that day, whether we call ourselves a Christian or not.

I speak primarily to those among us who say they rest on the finished work of Jesus, thinking it doesn’t really matter if we overcome lust or violence or selfishness…it will all somehow come out in the wash. We should try to live right, they say, but ultimately we’re saved anyway. To those I give a stern warning — God is not mocked. You will reap exactly what you sow, period.

2 Corinthians 5:11: Knowing therefore the terror of the Lord, we persuade men; but we are made manifest unto God; and I trust also are made manifest in your consciences.