PAST:
Although - due to Adam's sin - man is born separate from God, he can have his sins forgiven and become a part of God's family by receiving Jesus as his Savior. That means Jesus' death on the cross pays the penalty for the person's sins and the person is declared righteous - he is then able to enter into the presence of God.
JOH 5:24, "Truly, truly, I say to you, he who hears My word, and believes Him who sent Me, has eternal life, and does not come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. (also JOHN 6:47)
ROM 6:23, For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.
After we repent, we have eternal life. It does not depend upon our works - pure hands are required to enter the presence of God - and yet all have sinned, except Jesus, that is..
JOH 10:9, "I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
There is no other way into the presence of God except through Jesus. There is no way to avoid paying for our sin by our own death - except allowing Jesus to pay our dept with His death.
JOH 14:6, Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father, but through Me. (also PSA 24:3-4)
PRESENT:
After we have had our sins forgiven and are no longer under a death sentence, we are free to really start living. In our former life our time was consumed by attempts to hide our sin and pretend to be things we were not. As a Christian there is no longer any reason to hide. We can be ourselves and even work to improve ourselves.
When we were busy hiding, we could not admit our weaknesses and sins. We could not move to fix things we would not even admit were broken. But now - as Christians - we are free to admit (confess) sin and failures and work to correct them. We don't fear God will punish us for the sins we admit because Jesus already paid the price. As the perfect father, God is more than willing to help us grow.
The Christian's life is devoted to being transformed. Much of the Scriptures are devoted to instructing the Christian to "act like a Christian." We no longer have our attention focused on this world. We know our ultimate destination - our real home. We start getting ready for the trip.
ROM 12:2, And do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind, that you may prove what the will of God is, that which is good and acceptable and perfect.
EPH 2:8-13, For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, that no one should boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them. remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.
In the past our actions were motivated by a desire to please people in this world, now it is to please our Father. God sent his Spirit to help us prepare our minds and souls for a new life.
EPH 2:18, for through Him we both have our access in one Spirit to the Father.
TIT 2:11-14, For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all men, instructing us to deny ungodliness and worldly desires and to live sensibly, righteously and godly in the present age, looking for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Christ Jesus; who gave Himself for us, that He might redeem us from every lawless deed and purify for Himself a people for His own possession, zealous for good deeds.
We will never be fully perfect, or complete, in this world. What matters most is the direction we are headed. Many Christians seem to have stopped growing as if they are perfect - their job is done - and they can just relax until their journey in this world is over. This is really dumb!
The closer we get to God - the more we should grow. The more of His Spirit we have the more we should grow. The non-Christian may see many of the wrongs of this world and want to fix them - but he does not have the tools necessary. He does not have the fruit of the Spirit necessary to work. It is the Christian who has the tools required to do the work. Why should we sit down just when we are finally able to do something?
The Spirit of God will keep prompting the Christian to improve his own life and will guide him.
COL 1:18-22, He is also head of the body, the church; and He is the beginning, the first-born from the dead; so that He Himself might come to have first place in everything. For it was the {Father's} good pleasure for all the fulness to dwell in Him, and through Him to reconcile all things to Himself, having made peace through the blood of His cross; through Him, {I say}, whether things on earth or things in heaven. And although you were formerly alienated and hostile in mind, {engaged} in evil deeds, yet He has now reconciled you in His fleshly body through death, in order to present you before Him holy and blameless and beyond reproach--
FUTURE:
At times, we may get discouraged because it seems that our efforts are useless. It would have looked like that to Jesus when He was on the cross. But through faith He knew what He was doing was in the Father's will and would accomplish great things.
In those times when it looks so dark we need to hold on to the promise that our home is prepared and our salvation is sure. Don't lose hope - Jesus has not lost a battle yet - and He is not going to lose you either.
2 COR 4:16-18, Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 COR 5:1-4, For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens. For indeed in this {house} we groan, longing to be clothed with our dwelling from heaven; inasmuch as we, having put it on, shall not be found naked. For indeed while we are in this tent, we groan, being burdened, because we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed, in order that what is mortal may be swallowed up by life.
HEB 7:25, Hence, also, He is able to save forever those who draw near to God through Him, since He always lives to make intercession for them.
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