February 2, 2023
. . . looking for and hastening the coming of the day of God . . . 2 Peter 3:12 (part 3)
“I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End,” says the Lord, “who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.” Revelation 1:8
When Jesus, now in heaven, identifies Himself in three distinct facets of time, it helps to open to our understanding as to how His righteousness is the key to our future. In righteousness and love He chose to step into our broken world and bear the full penalty of breaking His law. In righteousness, He demonstrated His power over death. In fact, it is His righteousness—His purity and sinlessness—that kept death from holding Him in the grave. And because of His righteousness, He will return, just as He has promised, to rescue His ‘bride’ and take her to that place which He has prepared. These three facets of time represent what He has done for us, what He is doing for us now, and what He will do for us when He returns. In short: justification, sanctification, and glorification!
We are currently in the “now” of sanctification. The Savior, in perfect righteousness, does everything divinely possible to mold us into citizens of heaven. He speaks through His word and by His Spirit.
Your ears shall hear a word behind you saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” whenever you turn to the right hand or whenever you turn to the left. Isaiah 30:21
A turn to the left, if not corrected, leads to presumptuous sins, against which King David prayed (see Psalm 19:13), and the characteristics of which Peter elaborated in 2 Peter 2 (whole chapter). It is a “salvation-in-sin” mindset that ignores vast swaths of Scripture and presumes lawlessness is AOK with Jesus if one has made a profession of faith.
A turn to the right begins the detour toward self-reliance, legalism, and adding to His word; salvation-by-works, “boxes to check,” rituals to perform, and charitable deeds for show.
Each deviation is a departure from Scripture; a failure to submit to the leadership of God’s Holy Spirit which will never contradict His word. We are to test the spirits (1 John 4:1) in order to discern error. Your sanctification is about you and others within your sphere of influence.
Only the righteousness of Jesus can cover our past, present, and future! Only His righteousness can empower us to preach the everlasting gospel to our broken world every day until He comes! Good works are the fruit—not the root—of true faith in Christ Jesus.
But someone will say, “You have faith, and I have works.” Show me your faith without works, and I will show you my faith by my works. Hebrews 2:18