Romans 2:6-11 – “He will render to each one according to his works: to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life; but for those who are self-seeking and do not obey the truth, but obey unrighteousness, there will be wrath and fury. There will be tribulation and distress for every human being who does evil, the Jew first and also the Greek, but glory and honor and peace for everyone who does good, the Jew first and also the Greek. For God shows no partiality.”
Today’s message is a relatively short one. I only want you to ask yourself one question. Are you pursuing obedience to God in your life or not? Do you hunger and thirst for righteousness, or not? Do you feel as though you are “good enough” that you have stopped progressing in personal holiness? My friends, the closer we get to God, the more clearly we see ourselves and our sin; we should never feel “comfortable” with where we are. I’m going to be blunt here – God is not mocked, he does not show partiality; if you are unrepentant in sin you will enter into eternal life, but the eternal wrath and fury of God. Leave your sin behind and turn to Christ. If you continue to struggle, continue to pursue Christ, knowing that the same type of struggle is being made daily by all believers, and the grace of God through the blood of Christ is more than enough to cover your sin.
The apostle Paul, who wrote this letter to the Church at Rome, had this to say of his own struggle for personal holiness in Philippians 3:3-12 –
“For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh— though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee; as to zeal, a persecutor of the church; as to righteousness under the law, blameless. But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.
Not that I have already obtained this or am already perfect, but I press on to make it my own, because Christ Jesus has made me his own. Brothers, I do not consider that I have made it my own. But one thing I do:forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.”
Now I will go on record here to say with absolute confidence, that the apostle Paul was personally more righteous than myself. Not in the sense that we both have inherited Christ’s righteousness through our faith in the shed blood of Christ, but in his sanctification, being he was further along than I am. Yet, if he did not rest in sins overcome, but continued to strain forward towards the righteousness of Christ, how much more should I arm myself with the same purpose? How much more should we all?
Mark 1:2-4 – “As it is written in Isaiah the prophet, “Behold, I send my messenger before your face, who will prepare your way, the voice of one crying in the wilderness: ‘Prepare the way of the Lord, make his paths straight,'” John appeared, baptizing in the wilderness and proclaiming a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins.” When a king was preparing to come to a town, his servants would go before him, and ensure that the road to the town was prepared, made straight, such that the king’s travel would be made easier. The apostle John went before the Lord Jesus and prepared the way for coming King.
My exhortation is to prepare the way for the Lord. Consider your own heart and life, and pursue ways to turn from sin and delight yourself in God. Prepare your hearts and lives such that God will lead you out of unrighteousness and into a fullness of joy in intimate fellowship with Jesus. 2 Philippians 2:12-13 – “Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, so now, not only as in my presence but much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling, for it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for his good pleasure.” All growth comes from the Lord, (1 Cor 3:6) but God calls us to turn from our sins, to work out our own salvation. I love you all, and my goal is your joy in Christ. Prepare the way for the Lord; and may God of everlasting faithfulness grant you grace, and work exceedingly, abundantly in your lives for the glory of His name.
Grace be with you,
Adam
Following the Way 