THE POINT OF THE MYSTERY

If we are too sure either way, whether man can lose his salvation or not, we have missed the point entirely. The point is not whether it can be gained or lost, but that men have been given choice, and that God is sovereign. Seeing as men can only take care of choice, we must do what we can, and since man can only understand a little of sovereignty, we must comfort ourselves with what He has revealed of those workings, but also realise that some of those very things are hidden from us, and very intentionally so. In the end the seeming dilemma is solved by upholding both truths; we must be chosen and also choose, and however that works with God, in the unseen and in the heavenlies, let that be up to Him, but however that works with us in daily life, with those things we know to be up to us by conscience and by decision, let that be our duty, and not excuse ourself by thinking we have no role or part to play. Faith can only be given by trust, but it can only be known by us through the fruit of the choices we make.

THE STRUGGLE AND REWARD OF GROWING UP

Eph 4v12: 11 So Christ himself gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, to equip his people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up 13 until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ. 14 Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of people in their deceitful scheming.

We often get weary of the fight and struggle that often exists around really coming to know what is true and what is false. There are so many opinions out there that often the blinders go up, and we believe ignorance is our best weapon in order to remain founded upon what's true. While selective ignorance is sometimes wise (i.e. why would you listen to someone who preaches a false gospel?), total ignorance is extremely foolish. God has given the VARIOUS gifts of the Spirit (which means there should be more than 1 person we listen too), not only that we'll become mature in knowing Him, but also that we'll no longer by tossed back and forth by the waves of so called 'knowledge' that is bandied about so loosely and indiscriminately that people either just accept it because it seems to agree with their feelings and their view of the world, or reject EVERYTHING in order to remain what they think of as 'secure.' But notice here, and this is the real encouragement for us, is that if we really do accept the gifts as God gives them (Apostle, Prophet, Pastor etc), and go back to the Word to check whether the things they say are true, we will no longer have to fear becoming tossed here and there every time someone opens their mouths- we'll know what's true. 

The design of the gifts is not to make us feel insecure about our faith and knowledge of Him, but rather to have us GROW UP in our faith- and yes, this is surely a process. I don't know anyone who would say growing up and maturing was a piece of cake. It was often a struggle to really become an adult. But after time, and effort, we all truly become adults because we knew that we must (and that it was inevitable)- we must be equipped in order to live and operate effectively in an adult world. And just like preparation for the adult world, God gives the gifts so that we'll be prepared and equipped for the spiritual world, a world where He wants us, not only loving others and Himself, but also wisely operating in the gifts and calling He has given us, again for others and for His work and glory. 

Lastly, we must realise that growing up spiritual is INEVITABLE. Whether it occurs in this life, or in the next, when perfection comes the Word says, imperfection will disappear. There would be nothing worse in this life in that as a child we would grow up in year, but never in wisdom, knowledge or understanding. We would effectively be illegitimate and immature adults; children who walk about in an adults skin. There are those for whom, unfortunately, this exists in real life, but also spiritually too. Often they don't even know it, and this is the saddest and most dangerous reality. While the sun shines and all the world is happy, this seems fine to them, but when the night comes, watch out, only by the grace of God will they remain walking with Him. However, in all likelihood they will experience much more grief, struggle and pain working through a much tougher maturing process than they would've ever had to otherwise. And at the very worst it seems that perhaps they would harden their hearts against a God they don't understanding, and the end results of that I think we could all guess at.

THE GOOD KIND OF COMPROMISE

Often, it is not two people agreeing on any doctrine that is beneficial when there is a sincere disagreement of what the Bible says, but rather the airing of both sides of opinion that make for a sensible middle ground. It is often the case, not that two extreme opinions are wrong, but that both provide a revelation of what really is true. The trick is to realise this is the case, and so not side on doctrinal camps for the sake of it, as though 'winning' was beneficial at all, but to realise that often God gives revelation to different people so that a truer jigsaw puzzle of truth can be realised and benefited from. Just as there are different gifts that God gives for different purposes, so there are differing revelations that are given, not to fight each other, but to fit each other. And the glue that can bring these pieces together is mutual respect, honour and love, even in the midst of respectful disagreement. There is more that unites us as Christians, than divides us. And there is even more that can be brought together of many opinions and views about the Word than we realise, all it often takes is for both parties to realise that there often does exist a middle ground of truth, that even when taken, doesn't compromise that truth, or any foundational truths.

AN ANCIENT FLAME

It used to be that the Word and the power and person of Jesus was enough, now there are many opinions, many doctrines, many programs, many devices, and an endless amount of books and teachers that offer revelation at a price. The biggest shame is that to some extent, there is some good in those things, and yet all these things mostly miss the point of what they aim at because they fail to understand that all things revolve around, not glorying in men, or their giftings, but glorying in Jesus Christ alone. The saints of old didn't need Christ plus anything, instead, they preached Christ minus everything and inspite of everything that stood as a witness against Him. Because of this, what God wrought through such men was a flame of fire and power that blew across nations, lit up hearts and burnt away the stubborn wills of blind men. God set the torch of His Spirit in the upper rooms of men's lives, because such power resided in the undiluted Word and whole counsel of God. God's men used to know that Jesus was enough, and His grace sufficient, ah, that we would remember and recall their path, that we too might know what they knew.

KNOWING THE WILL OF GOD

Knowing the will of God is not a passive thing. You must ask, seek and knock for it. You must wait for it and when it is given, think on it. You must talk about it and learn it from the Word. You must hear that still small voice and read the signs of the times. You must walk and talk with Jesus and also study to show yourself approved. You must not be lazy but be diligent and to do all these things,

 you must first wait for the Spirit of God to stir your heart with passion and grace, and to stir your hands to action. Knowing the will of God doesn't come without patient endurance. Knowing that will isn't always perfect and complete, but relies completely on faith, and humbly on what God chooses to reveal. The will of God comes via revelation and His understanding, and our understanding must be laid aside. Knowing the will of God comes through the difficult process of humbling ourselves, for God gives grace to the humble. And yet even after all those things, the will of God comes only by His good grace and will, only by His power and purpose, only in the midst of His presence, and only according to His good pleasure. However, gloriously and amazingly, the will of God has already been revealed in the whole counsel of God, and is waiting for us in the Word of God, the perfect revelation of His will.

SUBMISSION TO GRACE: ACTION & INACTION

Submission to grace does not just mean that we do nothing, that is a fatal error many are propagating in today's Church. To submit to grace is a two-fold thing- both of inaction and action; firstly, it is to allow His power to work through us, and yes, not work in our own strength to achieve anything, whether it be righteousness or good works. However, while we are not to strive in our own strength, and this covers the 'inaction' part of submission, the 'action' part of submission is that part whereby we do something in order to rely on Him. This 'doing' is quite straight forward, and repeated at length in both teaching and practical example in the Word, most specifically in Jesus' life. This doing is 'prayer'. It is prayer by which, we not only recognise the grace given to us already and are thankful for it, but also agree with the Lord that it is by prayer that the Lord has chosen to impart such grace, and even special instances of grace, for 'God resists the proud, but gives grace to the humble.' That is why Paul wrote so often to Churches saying that He prayed for them in a particular manner, sometimes that they might know and be given the knowledge of the love of God that passes understanding, or at other times that believers might be given the spirit of revelation in the knowledge of Him. That is why Jesus prayed all night before He chose the twelve disciples, why Daniel prayed for the people of God in captivity, why Hannah prayed for a child, why the Israelites often prayed for deliverance, why Paul prayed about his thorn in the flesh, why the disciples prayed for boldness in their witness, and the list goes on.

A CALL

Awfully and inexplicably now, Churches do not allow the awesomeness and glory of God to take centre stage in their places of worship, neither do they allow that worship to be adorned only by holiness and love, instead, theme parks and light shows promise deceptive emotional thrills, and replace the power of God that comes only by His grace and Spirit with a despicable idolatry of self and flesh. We now cry out to God via the golden calf, and do not realise that it is a worship of that thing of worldly substance. We say to it- 'You are God, you are the one who brought us out from Egypt,' and do not realise that while we claim to have left the world, its image still stands upright among us and still resides firmly and happily within our hearts. We have turned the glory of God into an abomination, and worship into a travesty of glorying in ourselves, and yet we sit undisturbed and unaware of God's displeasure and His disagreement with our ways, for 

we do not know the God of the Word, but a God of our own making, and we bow down to our own understanding, and our own hearts.

But if we would just realise it, all this travesty and idolatry could be taken away in a moment, and we could all return to a simple and powerful Bethel. We could return with Jacob to a meeting of God set up only by the ladder of the Spirit, We could return to experiencing what the two disciples did after the cross when they walked with Jesus- knowing the stirring and fire of the Spirit's power within us in creating a love for only Jesus. We could hear once again, like Paul, only His voice on the Damascus road, listening only to the call He would give us for His service. We could sit again with John on an island of our own Patmos with Him in our personal lives- waiting for a new revelation of Jesus that doesn't need the excess materials and performance of the world. And we could know again the power that the Apostles walked in, seeing miracles of power and healing that once witnessed to the world how God really displayed the awesomeness of His might and glory by the power of the Son of God. And all this would ever need would be the letting go of those worldly things that dazzle and yet deceive the heart, and yet cloud the mind. Those things that thrill the flesh and yet kill the work of the Spirit. All this would need would be a throwing out of our idols and our palaces, a throwing out of the humanistic bible of ignorance and shallowness, and a wholehearted embracing of those things of God that have never changed, in any age or place in the world, from the beginning of time till now. Those things that have been tried and proven, those things that last not just a few hours on earth, but an eternity in the heavenly realm. The choice is ours.