If we desire to not be destroyed in the Day of Wrath we must obey the Lord in all He tells us to do. This means obeying the commandments given by the Lord and His Apostles in the New Testament. It is not enough to call Jesus "Lord." We must do what He says if we are to be saved in the Day of the Lord.

What does the Scripture teach about being saved? Let us look at a few familiar verses and see whether they support the current "ticket to Heaven" doctrine, or our contention that the Christian salvation is a change of behavior that makes us eligible to have fellowship with the Father and to enter the Kingdom of God.

Perhaps the following verse is well known, often quoted, but seldom practiced because of the three errors we have listed above.

Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling. (Philippians 2:12)

What is the context (the preceding and following verses) of the above passage? The context is an exhortation to righteous, holy behavior because of the example set by our Lord Jesus. The reader may wish to examine the context for himself.

"Wherefore, my beloved, as ye have always obeyed."

Being saved requires that we obey the commandments written to us by the Apostles. It is not enough to "believe." How often we are told today that "Jesus did it all" and we are not required to obey the commandments of the Lord or His Apostles.

If we state that to be saved we must do what the Lord and His Apostles command us to do we are accused of being "Pharisees," of being "legalistic," of preaching "works." This accusation reveals the extent of the ignorance and moral decline of the believers of our day.

"Not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence."

We are to practice righteous behavior at all times, not just when we are being observed by the elders of the church.

"Work out your own salvation."

The above sentence tells us clearly that our present concept of the Christian salvation is erroneous. To be saved is not to be given a "ticket to Heaven" so when we die we will go to Paradise. Rather, salvation is a process that must be worked out each day of our life. There is no such thing as being saved yesterday. We are being saved today or not at all.

We are being saved. As Jesus deals with us each day we are to be confessing and repenting of our sins, and by His Virtue and the power of the Holy Spirit we are to be gaining the upper hand over our love of the world, our sinful lusts, and our self-love and self-centeredness.

If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (I John 1:9)

To be continued.