Working Out Our Salvation...

Seeking the Kingdom of God (7) By T. M. Moore | Published Date: November 04, 2012 But that is not the way you learned Christ – assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self…and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.                    -Ephesians 4:20-24 Christians are called to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness as their highest priority in life. The Kingdom of God itself is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Spirit, as we have seen (Rom. 14:17, 18). It makes sense, therefore, to believe that wherever we are laying aside the ways of the world and putting on the righteousness of Jesus Christ, there the Kingdom of God is being found and is advancing. This process is called, “sanctification,” and it is a work of grace in us by God, Who, using His Word and Spirit, works within and through us to make us increasingly fit for His Kingdom. Sanctification and growth in the Kingdom is all of grace; it is a wondrous work of our loving Father. But while this is a work of God, it’s one that we must engage as well, “working out our salvation”, as Paul put it (Phil. 2:12) in fear and trembling before the Lord. The harder we work at this, in every area of our lives, the more we find that our outlook, thought life, attitudes, priorities, and practices begin to reflect the very character of Jesus. Through sanctification we are actually “putting on Jesus” and, as we become more like Him – as He increases in us and our old self decreases (Jn. 3:30) – we reflect more the reality of the Kingdom of God to the watching world. What, then, does the process of sanctification involve on our parts? Put another way, what must we make careful to attend to each day, so that God, Who is at work within us, can shape and transform us into children fit for His Kingdom? Sanctification begins in the Word of God, where, through reading, meditation, and study, we submit our minds to be formed by the worldview of Scripture, open our hearts to the searching scrutiny of the Spirit, and dedicate our consciences to following the Lord’s agenda rather than our own. If we will not make reading and study of God’s Word the bulwark and launch pad of each day, then how shall we expect the power of that Word to do its work in or through us? Sanctification also involves being silent before the Lord, praying earnestly, but also listening for Him to prompt us to action, disclose any previously hidden sin, or guide us in specific paths of repentance and renewal. This waiting on the Lord in prayer, staying silent before Him, is very hard to do. But we will have a hard time hearing the “marching orders” of our King if, in our time together, we’re always jabbering on about what matters to us. Further reading and study from Christian writers of the past and present can also help us to learn what the righteousness of Jesus requires in our families and marriages, the stewardship of our treasure, our lives at work, in a community, and as citizens of this nation. Reading and study take time, time we’ll have to plunder from some other activity in our lives – such as watching too much television. TV, while not entirely without value, won’t contribute much toward fitting us for service in the Kingdom of God. And if we are going to take up the task of seeking that Kingdom, then some of these familiar hindrances will have to go. Seeking the Kingdom of God is serious business. But it’s also extremely rewarding, immensely satisfying, and wholly exhilarating to know that God Himself – even our King, Jesus Christ – is at work within us, willing and doing of His good pleasure (Phil. 2:13) and advancing His Kingdom of earth, as it is in heaven. For the daily devotional from T.M. Moore, visit: www.colsoncenter.org/the-center/columns/viewpoint