Week 31: The Salvation Imperative

This week's Bible reading plan is as follows:



*Sunday: 2 Chronicles 24:1-25:28; Romans 12:1-21; Psalm 22:19-31; Proverbs 20:8-10
*Monday: 2 Chronicles 26:1-28:27; Romans 13:1-14; Psalm 23:1-6; Proverbs 20:11
*Tuesday: 2 Chronicles 29:1-36; Romans 14:1-23; Psalm 24:1-10; Proverbs 20:12
*Wednesday: 2 Chronicles 30:1-31:21; Romans 15:1-22; Psalm 25:1-15; Proverbs 20:13-15
*Thursday: 2 Chronicles 32:1-33:13; Romans 15:23-16:9; Psalm 25:16-22; Proverbs 20:16-18
*Friday: 2 Chronicles 33:14-34:33; Romans 16:10-27; Psalm 26:1-12; Proverbs 20:19
*Saturday: 2 Chronicles 35:1-36:23; 1 Corinthians 1:1-17; Psalm 27:1-6; Proverbs 20:20-21

Scripture: Romans 13:11
This is all the more urgent, for you know how late it is; time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed.

Observation:
With every passing day we are closer to eternity than the day before. And with every passing day, the urgency to live rightly before God therefore increases. What’s interesting is that urgency increases not because of looming “judgment,” but because of impending “salvation.” We are to make a point of living rightly because salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. This is the salvation imperative.

When I was a child, my sister and I would sometimes misbehave when my parents were out and a babysitter was watching us. The sitter would say, “If you don’t stop acting up I will tell your parents when they get home!” That was a judgment imperative.

The judgment imperative says, “If you don’t do better, you will be punished.” But God has put us under a salvation imperative in which he says, “I have declared you faultless...now live like it!” God does not hold the threat of judgment over our heads to get us to do what he wants; he holds the banner of adoption over us and calls us his own. He invites us into a new reality in which he loves us beyond measure and embraces us as his own no matter what we’ve done. And when that reality truly dawns on us, we can’t help but love as he loves and live as he lives.

Application:
I want to separate myself from all that is ungodly and pursue everything that distinguishes me as a child of light while there is still time! I want Jesus to have his way with me as I make the prayer of the Psalmist my own...

Prayer:
"Search me, O God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. Point out anything in me that offends you, and lead me along the path of everlasting life," for Jesus’ sake. Amen.

Have a great week!

Faithfully,
Chuck