I OFTEN WONDER as to how many of us do think of the glorious aspect of finally reaching heaven. What thoughts enter our mind? How does that affect the way in which we live now? Will we get there by the skin of our teeth? Are we going to arrive there victoriously? Do some of us doubt we’re going to make it there at all or do we have strong confidence in the God Who has chosen us to be there?

How will any of us really get there? Will we arrive with the aid of God’s help as we choose His ways, or will we be made perfect purely because of God’s unfailing and unending grace? Will it be because we refused to yield to sin or go down a certain path in life, or will it be attributed to God’s grace that kept us from wandering so far as to be eternally lost?

The doctrine of God’s sovereignty in man’s election and salvation in contrast to the doctrines of man’s free will – that he is in control as to whether he /she gets saved or not – still rouse bitter debate in the realm of Christendom. I don’t always like to use the term ‘Calvinism’ as apposed to ‘Arminianism’, in fact, it is tiresome to how it has become so clichéd today to the point of making it sound ugly; it is the attached ‘stigma’ because of the sharp controversies, that instead of bringing light (as it ought to do) has brought darkness. Much of it is due to downright spiritual pride, stupidity and immaturity. It is how the many have handled it; their behaviour, rather than its doctrine, which has caused great division. However, even when truth is preached in all humility, there are those who will still embrace error.

Of course, we are to earnestly contend for the faith and we are to proclaim truth that pertains to the whole counsel of God. We are to preach in the way that truly brings glory to God and humbles man from his pride; we are to proclaim in the way that truly represents God in His glory and exaltation and man in his debased and fallen state.

Imagine two people in glory before the throne of God: one who adheres to the doctrine of free will, that he/she had the power to determine their salvation and perseverance in the faith, while the other person who believes they were powerless (in and of themselves) to even turn themselves to Christ (the weight of being dead in sin prevented them from doing so) and to continue in the faith. The first says, “Because I did not commit such and such a sin, the fact that I stayed close to You, and because I cooperated with You, I made it to glory”; the other is so conscious of their own inability to keep themselves from falling away, yet equally aware of the  mercy and grace of God will say, “Lord, if You had not kept me back from such and such a sin, if You had not restored my backsliding heart, if You had not disciplined me, if You had stopped loving me, if You had not mercifully denied my selfish requests, if You had not prevented me from pursuing the wrong paths, if Your mercy and goodness had not pursued me I would never have heard  You say, ‘Welcome home.’”

Who gets the glory and Who alone is worthy of it?

It is all of grace and it is such grace that never annihilates our responsibility or our call to obedience; it is grace that initiates our desire to obey; it is grace that constrains us to press on in the faith; it is grace that turns our heart to loathe sin; it is grace that restores our wayward hearts; it is grace that opens our eyes to Christ’s loveliness, beauty and majesty; it is grace that causes us to behold Him and adore Him with awe; it is grace that enables us to abide in Him. It is the prevailing grace of God that will have us recognise and fully acknowledge before Him that He was the One Who began the good work within us; it is He Who maintains it and it is Him alone Who shall bring it to completion.