Duane Suffolk
Trust and Obey
The time of the end, the time when all that man has made and values will be destroyed in fire, is the time when the remnant of the faithful to God are sealed and preserved from harm and taken home to heaven. So, what is this seal of God? How do we make sure we receive it? Is it something we do, our works? Or is it a gift for which we do nothing? Paul tells us in Ephesians 2:8 that “…by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God.” Paul also in Hebrews 12:2 calls Jesus “…the author and finisher of our faith.” How does this faith in God change us? We must respond in love and obedience, we must be (James 1:22) “…doers of the word, and not hearers only.” Jesus said (John 14:15), “If you love Me, keep My commandments.”, and in Revelation 14:12, John differentiates between the saved and the lost as those who “…keep the commandments of God and the faith of Jesus.”
What is a seal? A royal seal will contain the name, the title and the domain of its owner. Where the seal of God is connected to His law, is found in the fourth commandment – the only commandment to contain his name, his title, his right to rule and his domain. We must keep the Sabbath as we keep all of God’s law – in spirit and in truth, and only through His power. We trust in God through our faith in Him, and we obey through His strength. As King David said in Psalm 51, “Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.” In Ephesians 4, Paul asks us to “…walk worthy of the calling with which you were called” (vs 1) and also to “…not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” God has our future and our happiness in His hands – trust Him!
I have been crucified with Christ; it is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me; and the life which I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. Galatians 2:20