Hello. Just got back from church. Today, Pastor How gave a very powerful sermon that I'm sure spoke to many people who attended the Getting Started with God session, and I am going to share it with you.

We are saved by grace through faith. Grace is God's unmerited and undeserved favour, while faith is man's belief in God. We are therefore saved by God's unconditional gift of salvation and our belief in him, and remaining committed to His will. Salvation is a gift of God and we are not saved by good works, or doing good. According to Titus 3:5, " ... not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit...".


In other words, we are NOT saved by doing good works and earning God's favour. On the contrary, it is because we are saved, and we experience God's love, that we want to share it with others by doing good works. Also, the laws of God are not for us to obey, but to show us how sinful we are, because no matter how much we try, we cannot be sinless, and hence we need a saviour and that is Jesus.

After getting saved, the first question that many Christians ask themselves is " Where do I go from here? ". Yes, the Christian life is not simply about going to church, listening to pastors preaching and just reading the Bible for the next 60 years on this planet. Rather, it is about growing in the spirit, getting closer to God, and doing the good works that God has prepared beforehand.

There is a PRIZE at the end of our Christian race. Referring to Philippians 3:12-14, "I don't mean to say that I have already achieved these things or that I have already reached perfection! But I keep working towards that day when I will finally be all that Christ Jesus saved me for and wants me to be. No, dear brothers and sisters, I am still not all I should be, but I am focusing all my energies on this one thing: Forgetting the past and looking forward to what lies ahead, I strain to reach the end of the race and receive the prize for which God, through Christ Jesus, is calling us up to heaven."

So what is this prize of the high call of God that Paul is relentlessly pursuing? Its is beyond salvation: an eternal life in God, perfection and treasures in heaven. The meaning of perfect in this case is to be complete and mature in moral character.


Referring to 2 Timothy 3:16-17, "All Scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, that the man of God may be complete, thoroughly equipped for every good work." We live a life of tribulations, temptations and tests to build patience. Patience builds character and holiness, and makes us more mature spiritually and hence more complete.

We are saved by grace through faith, but we are rewarded according to our works. The treasure in heaven are the eternal rewards of the kingdom of God. According to James 1:12, " Blessed is the man who endures temptation; for when he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love him."

THE WAY OF THE CROSS

God's plan for mankind was to pursue the high call. However, this journey was cut short by man's fall and sin. Jesus, by dying on the cross, redeemed man back to the place where he fell, a sort of back to the starting point. Jesus's work did not bring man straight to heaven nor did it produce instant spiritual maturity. Once saved and redeemed, man must walk the way of the cross by obeying God and changing his or her character for the better. Therefore, eternal life is not the end of the journey, it is only the beginning. Salvation only brings us back to the starting point of the race, where we begin to walk in the way of the cross.

Referring to Ephesians 2:8-10, " For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is a gift of God, not of works, lest anyone should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them."

To conclude, God wants His children to grow, to become 'perfect' and mature, in essence, more Christ-like. Our goal is to pursue the prize of the high call of God, which is spiritual maturity and being complete in character, and the treasure in heaven, rewards given according to our works by doing God's will.