The Calm Before The Storm

The voice of the Lord is upon the waters;

The God of glory thunders,
The Lord is over many waters.
The voice of the Lord is powerful,
The voice of the Lord is majestic.
--Psalm 29:3-4

Living On Purpose at The Speed Of Life --with Brian Heaphy

Guilty Until Proven Innocent
According to the Bible, all men enter this world with a guilty verdict: There is none righteous, not even one there is
none who seeks for God (Romans 3:10-11), and He who does not believe has been judged already, because he has not
believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God (John 3:18). Simply put, the entire human race is condemned and
headed for destructionbut God, by His grace, has chosen to save some (Ephesians 1:4-6). Are you one of them? How can
you, or anyone else tell? How is Gods gift of salvation manifested in ones life so that he may know beyond a reasonable
doubt as to his election? Lets employ Scripture as our prosecuting attorney and examine the evidence that is associated
with spiritual guilt and innocence.
Gods Word makes it clear that all men are doomed and spiritually dead apart from the saving work of the Holy Spirit (1
Corinthians 2:14, 1 Corinthians 12:3, Romans 1:21). In other words, there is no hope of salvation or acquittal without the
convicting, regenerating, and sanctifying power of the Holy Spirit. Just as with ones physical birth, ones spiritual re-birth
(i.e. being born again) is never the result of a persons own initiative or doing. It is by Gods sovereign choice ALONE as to
whom He reaches through the convicting work of His Spirit (1 Corinthians 1:26-31). Those whom God chooses WILL come to
possess a true and saving faith (1 Thessalonians 5:24, Romans 8:29-30, Philippians 1:6), and the Bible gives abundant
testimony with respect to how that faith WILL be evidenced (i.e. 1 John 1:3-6). Christianity is not a hope so faithit is a
know so faith (1 John 5:13).
Again, Scripture emphasizes that good works are never a contributing factor to ones salvation (Ephesians 2:8-9)but that
they are, instead, the inevitable RESULT of it (James 2:26). In other words, good works are never the cause, but they are
always the effect when it comes to ones salvation. Scripture also makes it clear that, while God initiates the miracle of His
saving grace, man is none-the-less responsible for submitting his life to the Lordship of Christ for sanctification (John 8:32,
John 14:21,23, 2 Peter 1:5-11). This loving and obedient response results when a lost sinner truly understands his hopeless
conditionand realizes that he has been saved from eternal destruction by Gods grace alone through Christs atoning work
on the cross. As such, it is the evidence of a life in submission to the Lordship of Christ that becomes the best indicator of
who Gods legitimate children are. Now, lets take a look at what the Bible has to say about the appearance of such
evidence.
In 1 John 3:10, God has written, By this the children of God and the children of the devil are OBVIOUS: anyone who does
not practice righteousness is not of God, nor the one who does not love his brother. Wow, the word obvious seems to
jump right off of the page in front of me. Is it OBVIOUS that you practice righteousness? Is it OBVIOUS that you love your
brothers and sisters? I once heard a pastor tell his congregation, Youre probably going to be surprised by a lot of the
people that youll see in Heaven. Well, according to the Bible, there shouldnt be any surprises this should be
obvious!!
God has also explained how to recognize His children in 2 Corinthians 5:17. Here, He has written, Therefore if anyone is in
Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come.

Carefully consider how Scottish theologian Oswald Chambers once expounded on the meaning of the previous verse: The
work of salvation means that in your life things are DRAMATICALLY changed. You no longer look at things the same way.
Your desires are new and the old things have lost their power to attract you. One of the tests for determining if the work of
salvation in your life is genuine ishas God changed the things that really matter to you? If you still yearn for the old things, it
is absurd to talk about being born from aboveyou are deceiving yourself. If you are born again, the Spirit of God makes the
change VERY EVIDENT in your real life and thought. The resounding evidence of the Holy Spirit in a persons life is the
UNMISTAKEABLE family likeness to Jesus Christ, and the freedom from everything which is not like Him. Now, with these
words in mind, take a look at your checkbook register and your weekly planner or appointment calendarwhat does the
hard evidence indicate? Are your visible interests and priorities in line with Gods Kingdom purposes?
Gods Word plainly instructs us to examine ourselves to see if we are in the faith (2 Corinthians 13:5, 1 Corinthians 11:28),
and then tells us what evidence to look for (Galatians 5:19-24). Scripture further commands that the true Christian is to
grow in respect to salvation (1 Peter 2:1-3), and to live so as to PROVE that which is good and acceptable and perfect
according to the will of God (Romans 12:2, Ephesians 5:10). It doesnt get much clearer that.
Jesus said, Many are called, but few are chosen (Matthew 22:14). That is to say that many hear the gospel--but only a few
respond in truth, and so PROVE that they are the chosen ones. In Matthew 7:13-14, Jesus used the same quantitative words
to describe the only two categories of persons on this planet. He said that many are on the broad way that leads to
destruction--but only a few are on the narrow way that leads to life. Which road are you on? Does the demonstrated
evidence of your life prove it?
Brian Heaphy is a former U.S. Navy SEAL Officer, Federal Officer, and Wilderness Guide who now
makes his home in Alaskas remote upper Yukon River valley. While practicing a subsistence
lifestyle, he photographs Creation and writes about Living On Purpose at The Speed Of Life. TM
Brian most enjoys formatting his award-winning images as Scripture-versed note cards and
Christmas cards. These Christian cards (along with his museum-quality prints and stretchedcanvas products) are available for viewing and sales at www.brianheaphy.com (view the card
images and verses via the Product Information page). Brians work may also be found at fine art
galleries, museums, and gift shops nationwide.
All images and authorial texts Copyright Brian M. Heaphy
Scripture verses and verse segments are taken from The New American Standard Bible , Copyright 1960, 1962, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977,
1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Emphasis (word capitalization) added by author.