Once saved, always saved?

There is a lot of heat over the so called 'once saved, always saved' issue with believers on both sides of the spectrum baring claws at each other! Peter and Paul would both be surprised because they have made their stand very clear. Peter writes, 'make certain about His calling and choosing you...' and Paul says, 'Test yourselves to see if you are in the faith'. In other words, when in doubt, don't look at the root but at the fruit. The only clear evidence that you are in the faith is whether there is an ongoing activity of God taking place inside your heart or not. The epistles are clear on this. Paul constantly refers to the fact that his confidence in the saints is because of the evident growth in their lives. The question should never be whether I am saved or not. The query should always be whether I am being saved or not. How do I know whether I have been touched by God? It is because He is touching me today. We would like to have a more sure foundation but we are not allowed that liberty in the Scriptures. Yes, we have to pull ourselves out of our past experiences no matter how rich they are. Our security is that His presence is with us, all the time. If you cannot sense it, you better seek it. Nothing is more important than that. 

The living dead!

There is a verse in Hebrews chapter 2 that needs careful unpacking. There are many verses like this in the Scriptures and only those who are willing to look closely will be able to unravel its blessed mysteries. The Word of God is rich and deep and it yields more treasures only to the diligent.
Here we read that through death. Jesus rendered him powerless he who had the power of death, that is the devil. Now this verse cannot be used to claim that the devil could destroy people whenever he wanted. We cannot give the devil more than his due. Mankind came under the clutches of death because he sinned. The power of death is over all who sinned including the devil. The devil cannot control death. He can only utilize it to further terrorize people. He has no mastery over it. But he entered into it first. In that sense he is its father, just like he is the father of lies. The spectre of death does not haunt him because he has no conscience. However he uses it to haunt humanity. He takes pleasure over it. Jesus freed his people from this bane because death no longer holds sway over His own. He broke its power over us and in that sense, we are released from the devil because we are free from the bondage of death. We were subject to slavery because we were walking in death and couldn't escape its influence. We were the living dead. 

Faith needs friends!

It is truly an eye-opener to read in 2nd Peter regarding how our faith needs to put on some flesh. It is possible to operate on a 'raw' faith level but that is a sign of babyhood. Too many of us are just concerned about whether we have faith and we try to inject more faith into our being. Peter is telling us to work around our faith instead of working at it. We need a bulwark for our faith. It is so serious that Peter tells us we are blind and shortsighted if we ignore it. He talks about moral excellence. We are lost without it. He mentions knowledge, a knowledge of God and His ways. We cannot act as if we have not learned any lessons on the way. Much of our doubts vanish if only we knew how God operates. Peter adds a few more virtues. Remember that our faith does not work in isolation. Faith needs friends.