Oh how our choices matter

God is incredibly concerned with our choices since our choices that can affect our salvation and give us happiness in this life and the next.  Anyone who tells you that our choices have nothing to do with salvation needs to become more familiar with the Bible and what it means to exercise faith.  Each time Jesus Christ was asked what we can do to be saved; he said to keep the commandments.  (Matt 19:17-21; Mark 10:17-21; Luke 10:25-28; 18:18-22)

Faith in Jesus Christ and his sacrifice for us, which alone is the most important thing for for us to have

and develop, comes by our choices.  To build our faith, we must make choices that help us know Christ.

Many say that salvation happens in the split second when we merely recognize that Jesus paid for our sins.  There is absolutely nothing in the Bible to support the idea that we can receive salvation from Christ in only a split second.  Salvation and eternal live come when we've developed our faith in Jesus Christ, and God his Father, to the point that we know them and their plan for us.  The Apostle John wrote, "Now this is eternal life: that they may know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent."  (John 17:3 NIV 1984)  You can't fully know our Savior and understand what he did for us in a split second.

That same Apostle wrote to explain how we can know Jesus Christ.  "We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s Love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him: Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did." (1 John 2: 3-6)

John calls us to keep commandments to know Jesus Christ, and to walk as Jesus did.  This comes by conscious choice, and will help us develop faith in Christ over time.  Just as John said it, God's love will be made complete in those who obey.

We cannot earn our salvation by our obedience.  Instead, following commandments makes us the kind of person that can be saved.  God did not give us any commandment that was not for our good (Deut 6:24).  As we choose to follow these commandments, God will bless us, and we can build our faith in the power of his Son Jesus Christ.  We don’t obey to earn salvation; we obey so that we can build our trust in Jesus Christ, which is vitally necessary for our salvation.

Salvation comes by grace, by faith with works.