26/09/2011 - IMPORTANT CONDITIONS

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And you, who once were alienated and enemies in your mind by wicked works, yet now He has reconciled in the body of His flesh through death, to present you holy, and blameless, and above reproach in His sight – if indeed you continue in the faith, grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the gospel which you heard, which was preached to every creature under heaven, of which I, Paul, became a minister.

Colossians 1:21-23

Before we were converted by the Gospel, all of us – regardless of our origin – were alienated from the covenants that God made with the Jewish people and enemies in mind by our wicked works. However, the message of salvation has reached us, and the divine grace came upon us to reconcile us with God. Now, our position is that of fellow citizens of the Heavens and members of the Body of Christ (Ephesians 2:19).

Indeed, the Scriptures declare that we have been reconciled and we are no longer enemies, but friends of the Lord (John 15:15). We belong to His people, and there is nothing that can separate us from the divine love. In Christ we were made new creatures (II Corinthians 5:17). So even if we fall into error after conversion, we will not be cast out, provided we confess our sins and abandon the sinful practices so that our communion with the Father can be fully restored.

We were reconciled not by decree but by the death of the Son of God, and now we are part of His body, so it is impossible to separate us from the Lord. We are His and we will be forever with Him, completely free from all the actions of the enemy. Thus, there is not the slightest chance of us being condemned again, unless we offend the Spirit of God and consciously abandon the divine grace.

The Almighty wants us to stand before Him as holy people, blameless and above reproach (Ephesians 1:4). Now, we have been sanctified in the blood of Jesus and in the Word of God. Therefore we are holy, which means that we no longer have the seed of evil in us; we are above reproach because there is nothing in us that causes us to be

reprimanded since our debt was paid in full; and we are also blameless because there is nothing that can stain our record or our testimony.

In the biblical passage we are studying there are three conditions through which all these virtues can come true in our lives: (1) we must remain grounded in the Rock, lest we are shaken and hell blows its gust of wind or cause the rain to fall and the flood beats vehemently against our life (Luke 6:48-49); (2) we must be steadfast in our faith in Jesus, and (3) we cannot move away from the hope of the Message we have heard.

With the New Covenant, the Gospel was meant for all humanity, and whoever is saved is one of Its ministers. So hold on to the hope of what you feel you can be or have when you hear the Good News because in so doing you will obtain the divine favor.

In Christ with love,

R. R. Soares