Developing the righteousness of God and obedience in our lives begins by grasping a more complete recognition of the value and significance of what the death and resurrection of our messiah represents. What is it that He has come to save us from? For the new, rededicated believer or someone who is seeking to continue to flourish in their faith, there is a hunger that motivates them to pursue God. For others however, (a number that unfortunately continues to increase with great frequency)whom have descended from generations within the “church”, there is a great danger of apostasy. Neither possessing nor accepting what it fully means to believe or to preserve the gifts of grace and mercy.
Farther still are others whom belong to idolatrous or superficial congregations who do not fully teach the word of God. Little do they realize that they are slipping away from His presence. The lack of reverence for God and His sovereignty is constantly lost or taken for granted. Even at the very basic expression of belief often mistaken for religion.
For this reason the distinction between religion and faith must be drawn, especially by those who claim to believe yet do not truly experience God in their lives. After all it will be faith that saves us from spiritual death and permanent separation from God.
This in no way is said to paint with the broad brush of judgement anyone who may struggle and battle with a deficiency of faith, or even those who have fallen out of faith but rather to point out and identify the reasons for it. For most in this situation, the reality of spiritual warfare isn’t even considered a factor due to either their neutrality or general disbelief.
By reason of a lack of fortification of their faith, their commitment to God has been largely abandoned. The simple truth that their faith or lack thereof has remained unchallenged by trials speaks loudly about their effectiveness as followers and doers of the word. In the giving of yourself and your life over to God will ensure us that we can stand firmly on His promises. It also ensures us that when we turn away from the path of destruction the enemy wastes no time in trying to tempt, afflict and destroy us and our faith. Which yields the question: “why do we go through trials and painful sufferings?”
It is here where our hypocrisies, our attraction to sin and disbelief are made most evident. Not to condemn us ( although when in the amidst our trials the enemy will try convince you that this is certainly the case) but rather to reveal to us what are the necessary changes we must employ and difficulties we must face so that we may bring ourselves into alignment with Christ and God’s will for our lives.