Inheriting the Kingdom

August 6, 2023 Background Scripture: Galatians 5:13 -26 Lesson Passage: Galatians 5:13 - 26 I don't know anyone who doesn't want to be included as an heir on somebody's will. Frankly, that's the stuff some daydreams are built on. We imagine some wealthy benefactor admired us from a distance and secretly made us the main heir on their last will and testament. And we inherit more than we could possibly ever ask for. If that were to happen, we could only indulge in it temporarily. When our life is over, then someone else will inherit the same. Here's some good news: God has included us in His will! He has not admired us from a distance. On the contrary, we have given God every possible reason why we should not be included in His will, We are included because of our relationship with God's only begotten Son, Jesus Christ. God has appointed Jesus Christ heir of all things. We are listed as joint heirs with Christ. As such, we will inherit eternal life and share in Christ's eternal glory. James, Paul, and Peter wrote about the heirship of all Christians—Jews and Gentiles. Again, the heirship is only valid because of a person's relationship with Jesus Christi It is around this condition that our lesson revolves. I will say emphatically that a person who has been saved by God can never lose their salvation. The word of God bears that out. God does not save us based on some future terms and conditions that depend on us. If a person's salvation depended on their ability to talk, act, or live a certain way, then none of us would be saved if we continue to live in this world beyond the time God saves us. The thief on the cross who confessed Jesus just before his death made it; he was saved and then he died. Christians who continue to live in this world are kept by the power of God through faith for salvation. In today's lesson, Paul helps Christians discern between the actions, or cravings, of the flesh and those of the Spirit. It is important for us to know the difference. A saved person has a desire to live for God and a desire to satisfy the flesh. Read it again! This is the lusting of the Spirit against the flesh and the flesh against the Spirit. Christians are schizophrenic psychologically. If a person is not saved, they have no desire to do God's will—that goes against the only nature that is within them. That doesn't mean they don't desire to do good things. But their desire to do good things has nothing to do with God. Verse twenty-one has the keyword in this lesson: "practice" ("which do" in King James Version). This word describes the evil tendencies of one's general behavior. Paul listed what is practiced because it is natural and there is nothing else in the person fighting against it. To sin without any guilt or God-consciousness about it is indicative of being lost. This lesson serves as a warning to anyone who thinks they are saved but they are not. Practicing religious behavior (church attendance, stewardship, listening to spiritual music, etc.) does not lead a person to salvation. We are saved because we believe and confess that Jesus died on Calvary's cross for our sins, and God raised Him from the dead on the third day. Because we are saved, God has sealed us with His Spirit as proof. The indwelling Spirit of Christ fights against our flesh, and He leads us to produce the fruit of the Spirit. All this gives us assurance that we are the children of God and joint heirs with Christ. If a person is saved, their name is written in the will of God. Christians crave ungodly things, but we also have the urging of the Spirit inside of us fighting against it. As we follow the lead of the Spirit of Christ within us, we live according to God's will for us in this life, and we have the assurance that we will inherit the kingdom. Robert C. Hudson July 26, 2023