CHAPTER 5 MAKE EVERY EFFORT
In the last twenty-four studies we have covered many Scriptures and numerous topics. At different times and in different ways the level of our commitment to the Lord has been touched upon, but never fully set forth. A whole series of verses we have not mentioned before, as well as a new look at several we have discussed, will provide a revealing look for each one of us as to the depth of our own walk with the Lord. As has been true in every thing this ministry has published, this study has not been written to condemn. We know there is no condemnation for those who love the Lord (Ro.8:1)
Rather then view this topic in a condemning way, look at it like this: Jesus said in John 10:10 that He had come in order to give us an abundant life. That goes for us here on earth now as well as in heaven, and in many ways the degree to which we experience this type of life on earth is related to the level of our commitment. To experience the God kind of life here that He wants us to have, we will have to put forth the same effort as did Jesus during His time on the earth. This chapter is as much a partial guide as it is a checklist.
Do not get me wrong. I am not saying that we "do" in order to "get." After all, what Jesus did for us, He did because of love (John 3:16, John 15: 13&15 & I John 4:19), and our actions, like His, are to be founded in love (I Cor.13:1-3 & I John 4:8). As such, regardless of what else is said in the remainder of this lesson, remember that the love motive must be primary. The degree of this love is a good starting point for our discussion.
Mk.12:33 says that we are to love God with "... all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your strength..." (emphasis added). In short, every aspect of our life is to be devoted to loving Him. I John 3:18 tells us that we must love with actions as well as words. While we are on the topic of actions based upon love, take a look at Titus 2:14 wherein it is made clear that we are not to be "reluctant" lovers, for we are God's people "eager to do what is good."
As we continue with this study let's first look at the process we must go through in order to find out how much of an effort is required. The literal Greek in I Pe.1:22 points out that our souls are to be purified by obeying the truth. The Holy Spirit, the very Spirit of Truth (John 16:13) opens God's Word, His thoughts, His very will unto us that we may understand what we are to do. The word 'purify' means a total cleaning. Eph.5:27 showed us that the Church which remains when Christ returns is presented spotless and without wrinkle. The Bride of Rev.19:7 "made herself ready," so we can therefore see that this soul purification definitely requires commitment on our part, but how much? The answer is given in II Pe.3:14 "... make every effort to be found spotless, blameless, and at peace with Him." To be found spotless and without wrinkle means that the spotless condition exists when He who does the finding, arrives on the scene.
Christ returns for such a Church. God's Word is not full of idle words and phrases, and I John 5:18 says "anyone born of God does not continue to sin." Christ's own direction is clear, "... be perfect therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect (Matt.5:48). Those whom Jesus comes back for will have "made every effort." They will have purified themselves "...from every thing that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God" (II Cor.7:11 emphasis added). Ro.6:19 even goes so far as to tell us to offer our bodies as slaves to righteousness. To this group of saints II Cor.10:5 will have become a reality "... we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (emphasis added).
II Tim.2:15 carries through the concept of purification of thought and commitment on our part by admonishing us to "do your best to present yourselves to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (emphasis added) In Chapters 2 & 3 of the third book in this series entitled The Last Enemy we will examined the importance attached to the time we spend searching the Word of God. II Pe.1:5-7 tells us to "make every effort to add to our faith ... goodness ...knowledge ... self control ... perseverance ... godliness ... brotherly kindness ... (and) love." (parenthesis and emphasis added)
This soul purification through the Word, through obeying the Spirit of Truth; this process of becoming holy, is not automatic. In Heb.10:14 we saw that Jesus made perfect those "... who are being made holy." (ie. perfect in spirit by the sacrifice of Jesus, being made holy - sanctification of the soul - by the work of the Holy Spirit) Dan.12:10 says that in the end-times many will "be purified, made spotless, and refined, but the wicked will continue to be wicked." This is an ongoing process (Ps.66:10, Mal.3:2 & Prov.25:4),and we should take careful note that Daniel speaks of only two groups, the purified and the wicked. We must choose which group to be in, and Heb.12:14 told us that those who seek holiness will do so with every effort.
I know that we are not saved by what WE have done (II Tim.1:9 & Titus 3:5); however, once we have accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior - begun the salvation of our soul (I Pe.1:9 & Ja.1:21), we must take an active part in the process. Ja.1:21 says, "As the body without the Spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." Like Paul, we struggle, using all Christ's energy which is at work in us (Col.1:29) - but it is a struggle. It is Christ's power in us that works the works (Eph.3:20), but we are not mere puppets. In Phil.2:13 Paul writes "... it is God who works in you to will and to act according to His good purpose." He affects our will so that we desire to do His will. To accomplish that which God has for us to do, we must have His ability, His power, or His dunimas at work in us; however, the obligation to act is placed upon us.
This duty is clearly shown in I Cor.15:58 wherein we are told that we are to "... always give yourself fully to the work of the Lord." This was not taken as an idle thought, for we see that "day after day in the temple courts and from house to house, they (the apostles) never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Christ." (parenthesis added Acts 5:42) It is clear according to I Cor.4:2 that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
Don't make the mistake of thinking this applies only to the apostles simply because they were "full time" teachers. In Chapter 18 of Needful Things we saw in Acts 1:14 that all believers were engaged in continual prayer (see also Col.4:2), and the believers in Acts 17:11 searched the Scriptures daily to see if what Paul said was true. Recall for a moment Heb.5:14, "Solid food is for the mature, who by constant use have trained themselves to distinguish good from evil." (emphasis added) The point is, for all of us who seek to be mature, this is to be a full time commitment. In the parable of the talents in Matt. 25:14-30, the obligation to prove faithful was also upon the one who received the least from the master.
We can't walk halfway. Paul says in Eph.4:17 that the Lord's people must no longer live as the gentiles. We are to totally rid ourselves of anger, malice, slander, etc. etc. (Col.3:8 & Eph.4:28-31 - see Chapter 7 of this volume.) Ro.8:3 says "... if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body you will live." We do it by the power of the Spirit which is in us; however, we do it. Col.3:17 clearly shows how much of our actions are to be devoted to Him. "Whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus." (emphasis added). Can we each say that every word we utter and every act we do is done in the name of Jesus. Whether we eat or drink or whatever we do, we are to do it for the "Glory of God" (I Cor.10:31).
Do you remember Chapter 15 of Needful Things wherein we discussed the topic of praising God? Isa. 43:21 told us that God's people were formed for the very purpose of praising God. We are now His priests who are to be continually offering up a sacrifice of praise unto His Holy Name (I Pe.2:9 & Heb.13:15). God's praises are to be sung all day long, from the rising of the sun until it disappears in the evening (Ps.113: :3 & 71:15). We saw earlier in this lesson that we are to love God with all our spirit, soul & body. We are also shown in Ps.111:1; 138:1; 108:1 & 103:1 that we are to praise Him with equal fervor. Continually praying, continually seeking, and also, according to Phil.4:4, continually rejoicing.
We have seen in Mk.12:33 that our love commitment to God is to be total. However, that commandment was a restatement of the command found in Deut.6:5. The Psalms we have just read spoke of praising God continually. It would therefore appear that God's desire concerning the level of commitment He expects from us is found in both Testaments. I Ki.15:14 tells us that Asa, King of Judah, was "fully committed to the Lord all his life." In II Chron. 16:9 we see that the eyes of the Lord range throughout the earth to strengthen such committed believers. Another example among the kings of Judah would be Hezekiah. In II Chron.31:21 we read that "in everything he undertook ... he sought his God and worked wholeheartedly, and so he prospered."
Those men sought to commit fully to God. A deeper study of their lives will show that at times they failed. However, it must be remembered that they did not have the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. In that since, we have been given much more then they even dreamed about. With that in mind, recall Lk.12:48 which says, "From everyone who has been given much, much more will be demanded; and from the one who has been entrusted with much, much will be asked."
According to John 17:11 & 18-20, we have been entrusted with the very name of God. Hezekiah and Asa were not able to walk blamelessly. However, they were totally committed. The results of their commitment may not have been perfection, but for their time, and with what the Lord had provided them, they were pleasing to God. However, we have been given more: the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:4 & Gal.3:14, the power of His Name (John 17:11), the armor of God (Eph.6:11), and the victory in Jesus (Heb.2:14, Col.2:15 & I John 3:8); therefore, from us, much more will be expected.
"The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and then in his joy, went and sold all he had and bought that field. Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant looking for fine pearls. When he found one of great value he went away and sold everything he had and bought it." (Matt.13:44-45) "Though it cost you all you have, get understanding" (Prov.4:7) He promises that He will be found by those who seek Him with all their heart (Jer.29:13), and Barnabas exhorted the new believers at Antioch to "... remain true to the Lord with all their hearts." (Acts 11:23) This is total commitment. "Seek His face always" (Ps.105:4)
The title of this Chapter is taken from Lk.13:24 which tells us to: "make every effort to enter through the narrow door." Remember, I am not talking about the salvation which we received when we accepted Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior. I am however talking about the commitment we are to make to be found spotless and without wrinkle when He returns. It goes without saying that this is a commitment we are able to make solely because of the fact that after we have accepted Him, God dwells within us.
Do not confuse this concept with those who say "I can make it on my own" or "I haven't heard from the Lord so I will take it from here." We must have Him in order to act; however, we are co-workers with Him (I Cor.3:9). "We are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do." (Eph.2:10) Christ is the Head (Eph.1:22), we are the body (I Cor.12:27). Not only must each part of the body function together (I Cor.12:25), but the Head CANNOT say to the feet "I don't need you" (vs.21)
Christ, as the Head, needs the body (feet) in order to bring about the end. The timing of this event is directly under the control of the Father, but it would seem that the bringing about of this event requires the participation of the Head and the body. "Then the end will come, when He hands over the kingdom to God the Father after He has destroyed all dominion, authority, and power. For He must reign until He has put all His enemies under His feet. The last enemy to be destroyed is death." (emphasis added I Cor.15:24-27).
In the spiritual realm Satan is defeated, bound, and has been cast down (Rev.12:10). In the soul realm the Head and the body work together to bring about the destruction of the last enemy. The mortal will then put on immortality (I Cor.15:35). The same level of commitment which brought about the destruction of Satan in the spiritual realm will be needed to bring about the renewing of the mind which leads to the transformation of the body. Needless to say, Jesus was fully committed (Heb.5:7 & Matt.26:39). He was obedient unto death (Phil.2:8) and as we have said before, it was that obedience which led to His exaltation (Phil.2:9).
We have been told that we are to seek "glory, honor, and immortality." (Ro.2:7). We have also been shown in no uncertain terms that this takes commitment - effort on our part. He told us to preach (Mk.16:15), we must put on the armor (Eph.6:11), and He doesn't fight the good fight of faith, that is our duty (I Tim.6:12). The immortality comes after persistence, and that requires us to make every effort. All we have is His, all we are is His. As we saw in the Chapter 3 of Needful Things, we are His bond slaves (dulos). Sonship is our position - voluntary slavery to His will is our duty and privilege. Like Joshua we should say "...as for me and my household, we will serve the Lord." (Joshua 24:15)