Let us consider for a moment the fact that in the New Testament, the fullness of salvation is viewed as occurring at the end of our pilgrimage rather than at the beginning. He who endures to the end shall be saved.

Notice carefully the following:

But we are not of them who draw back unto perdition [destruction]; but of them that believe to the saving of the soul. (Hebrews 10:39)

We "believe to the saving of the soul." We are saved if we persevere in our faith throughout our lifetime.

To view salvation as occurring at the end of our life rather than at the beginning enables us to gain a clearer picture of the Christian life. The concept of today that once we make a profession of the Lord Jesus we are "saved," meaning that whatever we do after that cannot prevent our entrance into the fullness of glory and authority, has produced Christian churches that are far from God and His redemption.

If we would perceive salvation as a state of acceptance to God that indeed begins at a definite point of putting our faith in the Lord Jesus, and then must be pursued throughout out lifetime with all diligence, we would avoid the deadly complacency that has destroyed the spiritual life of the churches in the wealthy nations.

We will be saved if we endure to the end. Our redemption is in the future. If we would attain the future redemption, every moment of our life on earth must be spent in the pursuit of eternal life.

In the third chapter of Philippians, Paul is not speaking primarily of being saved from the wrath of God. Well then, what is Paul speaking of?

When we receive the Lord Jesus Christ by faith, believing that His blood has washed away our sins, we become candidates for Paradise. We will be saved rather than lost in the great and terrible Day of the Lord if we continue throughout our lifetime placing our hope and trust in the Lord.

But attaining the first resurrection from the dead, the transformation of our body into the likeness of His glorious body; ascending the thrones of eternal life that govern the material creation; require a complete grasping of the power of Christ's resurrection from the dead and a complete participation in the sufferings of the cross.

Many are called into the Kingdom of God but few are chosen to be members of the Bride of the Lamb. Among the members of the Kingdom of God there are some who bear Christ thirtyfold, some who bear Christ sixtyfold, some who bear Christ a hundredfold. Then there are believers who are saved as by fire, receiving no reward. Their works, their inheritance, and much of their personality is burned away in order that their spirit may be saved.

We enter the gates of salvation by receiving our Lord, Christ. Then, through His grace, we press forward into the Kingdom of God. The extent to which we gain the Kingdom will determine our inheritance, our status, our opportunities for fellowship with God and for service, throughout the ages to come.

To be continued.