Corruption at the Top
We don't EARN the salvation of God, by good works... we simply EXPRESS His salvation, with the good works of faith, by being good servants of God, through the redeeming and sufficient grace of the Lord Jesus (Galatians 1:4 ; 2:20 ; Titus 2:11-14 : Malachi 3:16-18).
Servants of God are made... like rare and treasured jewels, they are shaped with purpose and precision to beautifully reflect the proper amount of light and the signature and glory of its designer.
And one of the clear signatures of God is the ability to discern the difference between those who are rightly related and connected to Him and those who are wrong about Him and everything essential about life and grace and the eternity that awaits us all. And the distinction comes down to this: we're either consumed with Jesus or something else. There's only two kinds of people in this world; those that live to serve Him and those who live to serve everything but Him. He describes the two groups as either righteous or wicked. And in Malachi He says, He'll give His servants the ability to recognize the difference. His rare treasures (His jewels) will be characteristically, not perfectly, different from all the rest, as they faithfully, thoughtfully, lovingly, willingly, delightfully, passionately, joyfully, patiently, courageously, hopefully and righteously serve Jesus.
We couldn't do this on our own... so God said He was coming to do something we couldn't, and He would send His messenger to prepare the way before Him. We were not in position to serve or offer Him anything, worth anything, so He took upon the responsibility Himself, by graciously offering His life, for our lives, that He co |
