- God Demands Spiritual Preparation
Our pious forefathers believed in spiritual preparation, and they said so. They saw themselves as a bride being prepared to meet the bridegroom. They regarded this earth as the dressing room to outfit them for heaven. They were well aware of God’s admonition to personal holiness even as He was holy.
I shall be frank. I do not believe God is going to allow His carnal, selfish children; His lustful, worldly minded children; His money-loving, pleasure-seeking children to come rushing pell-mell into His holy presence singing their gospel ditties. I do not!
Why are we so slow to admit that our Lord Jesus Christ taught that He would accomplish His great task of church building through spiritually gifted men and women? His New Testament promises are so plain that no one can misunderstand them. It was His word that we should “receive power” through the infusion of His Spirit in our lives. When the “Time out!” ends, none of us should go limping and excuse-laden into the presence of the Lord. Can you imagine people standing before the sovereign God trying to explain why they messed up their Christian lives because they refused to let the Holy Spirit bestow the sweet graces and pleasant fruits of holiness that the Bible promises?
I have mentioned the necessity for spiritual preparation in light of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ. Such preparation is related as well to spiritual responsibility. Too many professing Christians will not accept responsibility. They are woefully mistaken in their theology when they excuse themselves by insisting that “Jesus did all the dying and we get all the benefits—without any responsibility.” I think they must have fallen short in their Bible study.
One aspect of Christ’s coming is our solemn appearance before His judgment seat, at which time we shall “receive what is due{us} for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad”(2 Corinthians 5:10). What we have done for our own glory will be exposed to our embarrassment. Our supposed accomplishments achieved without the direction of the Holy Spirit will be blown away as worthless stubble. In that final day of review and examination, only that which has been wrought by the Spirit of God will endure as eternal treasure.
The pursuit of godliness
It pains me every time I hear Christians excusing their shallow, carnal living with a “We’re doing the best we can!” The apostle Peter told the suffering Christians of his day that there was a far better testimony than that:
Since everything will be destroyed in this way, what kind of people ought you to be? You ought to live holy and godly lives as you look forward to the day of God and speed its coming.