(4 minute read; 715 words)
We are living in a grace period— “the last days” (2 Timothy 3:1; James 5:3), between the first coming of Christ and His return to bring history to its proper conclusion. It lies in the intersection of two ages: “this present age” and “the age to come.” The kingdom of God is both “now” and “not yet.”
For you, the grace period is from the time you are born until the time you die or until Christ returns. Only God knows the day and the hour of each. It is the reason you exist on the earth— to be reconciled to God, by His grace and through the righteousness of His Son— to restore your relationship with Him that was broken by sin. It is what your life on this earth is all about. It is the ultimate “success,” the only “real” success in this world. Some miss it— even though they live long lives. They have no excuse for it and neither do you and I.
God, the Creator of the universe and everything in it, the one true, sovereign, living God is holy, righteous and pure, and you and I are not. That’s our problem. We have all sinned and fallen short of His perfect standard of righteousness; His glory. But by His grace, and because of His mercy and love for us, God gives us what we need— a Savior, Jesus Christ, and not what we deserve— death, separation from God, and eternal punishment.
It is imperative for you to understand that because of the curse and consequences of sin we are all born “not saved” in Adam— lost, without faith in Christ— spiritually “dead” in our sin, and condemned without hope.
Salvation— which comes only by God’s grace, applied by the work of the Holy Spirit, through genuine repentance and saving faith in Jesus Christ is the eternal life changing decision that must be made.
The redemption of man is the very reason God created the massive universe with all of its complexities. With over 2 trillion galaxies and approximately 400 sextillion stars (400,000,000,000,000,000,000,000; 4 × 10²³; that’s a 4 with 23 zeros behind it; 400,000 quintillion or 400 million trillion or 400,000 billion billion) in the observable universe— if one piece was missing or misplaced or if not enough time had passed— if God, the Creator, had not fine-tuned it all to perfection— life on this tiny blue speck call we Earth could not have existed. All the conditions of the earth had to be absolutely perfect— if it was just a little closer to the sun, we would all burn up; if it was just a little further away, we would all freeze to death. Earth is the only place in this enormous universe where human life can exist, but only for a certain period of time— the latter days… the time in which we now live. This is just part of what had to happen for the redemption of man.
Our most important blessings are those which are “everlasting,” those which occur after our temporary “grace period” on Earth is over.
Salvation was purposed by God, the Father, by His grace through His divine and perfect plan of redemption before the foundation of the world.
It was accomplished by God, the Son— Jesus Christ, through His sinless life, substitutional death and victorious resurrection, conquering sin, death, hell, Satan and all the powers of darkness.
It is applied by God, the Holy Spirit, through conviction, regeneration and sanctification. He convicts of your sin, leads you to genuine repentance and takes you belief and applies it as faith.
One Holy God in three distinct persons.
God’s grace is the source of your salvation. The Holy Spirit is the agent who applies that grace. Genuine repentance and saving faith are the means of our conversion through which salvation is received. Jesus Christ is the sole object of that faith and the Savior in whom we trust.
Pay close attention while you still have time to your real purpose in this life and make your salvation a great sense of urgency above everything else you do in this world.
You will find out everything about Heaven when you arrive.
Make your arrival in heaven the top priority of your earthly life.
Because eternity is a long, long time to be wrong!
Don’t be wrong!
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