The Spring Holy Days are almost upon us! Have we been recently experiencing various trials in our lives? Have we been active yet in our “spring cleaning” by removing the leavening in our houses? And most importantly, have we been examining ourselves, making sure that when the Passover approaches, we will be partaking of it in a worthy manner? Yes, these are questions we are faced with annually as we are reminded about the significance of what is coming shortly.

There are a few weeks left to prepare for Passover and the Days of Unleavened Bread – meaning that we must physically deleaven our houses and examine ourselves spiritually before we take the Passover and observe the Days of Unleavened Bread to see where we are in relation to God and His Way of Life. However, there is much more to it than that. Because keeping the Days of Unleavened Bread symbolizes living a sinless life, we have to be prepared at all times for the unexpected, especially now, since the time is getting closer to Christ’s return. We know this because of what is happening around the world, based on biblical prophecy, and we do have a general idea of what to expect. That is why we must become free from sin.

We have to make sure that we are strong in the Church as well. There is a dangerous warning for those who take this lightly. Revelation 3:14-22 talks about the lukewarm Church, describing the works and attitudes of those who don’t produce much fruit. Verse 16 says, “So then, because you are lukewarm, and neither cold nor hot, I will vomit you out of my mouth.” This is why it is important to BE PART of God’s Church and to do zealously what God commands us to do. If we want to be prepared and inherit salvation, we have to watch and be aware of what is happening in this world. We need to be ready for Christ’s return (Matthew 25:1-13).

There will be a time again when we, just like Israel, will have to be saved physically out of this world to be brought to a place of safety and protection. But we have to respond to God’s calling starting NOW. We individually have to be prepared for the coming of Christ. We read about the fall of Babylon the Great – which is a political, religious and economic power in the end time, when unimaginable and terrible events will take place (compare Revelation 18:4-5).

When that time approaches, it will become increasingly difficult to remain faithful and obedient because people with whom we are in close contact will betray us and will hate us for what we believe in. Perhaps that has already happened to us. Have we lost friends over our beliefs? It may feel as if we are alone, but we are not alone, as God is with us.

We have to make sure we are not caught off guard when that time comes. “Let your waist be girded and your lamps burning; and you yourselves be like men who wait for their master, when he will return from the wedding, that when he comes and knocks they may open to him immediately. Blessed are those servants whom the master, when he comes, will find watching. Assuredly, I say to you that he will gird himself and have them sit down to eat, and will come and serve them. And if he should come in the second watch, or come in the third watch, and find them so, blessed are those servants. But know this, that if the master of the house had known what hour the thief would come, he would have watched and not allowed his house to be broken into. Therefore you also be ready, for the Son of Man is coming at an hour you do not expect” (Luke 12:35-40).

We must become spiritually strong and we have to be aware of what is going on in this world, making sure that we don’t return to it as many former Church members have already done. We have less than three weeks left before we take the Passover, before we ask our merciful Father to forgive us our sins. This is our fresh start to try to live a sinless life, a taste of what God’s Kingdom is all about. Are we preparing ourselves for this right now and for what the future holds?   Many people will not be ready for Christ’s return, but we have been given the opportunity right now because of what we already know. Will we be ready when that time comes?

Many in this world believe that they are “saved” when they merely “believe” in Christ.  They take one of the most, if not the most popular Scripture in the Bible, John 3:16, and justify themselves by simply reading it, thinking that this is all one needs to do in order to be saved and have everlasting life.  They fail to recognize the true meaning behind that verse and ignore the other vast amounts of Scriptures in the Bible.  Does the world love Christ?  Do they keep His commandments?  We can only love Christ if we keep His commandments–EVERYTHING that Christ commands (John 14:15, 21-24).

We are to be followers and doers of what He requires, and this involves action.  We will not be saved and have everlasting life if we only “believe” in Him.  To have any part of Christ, we first of all need to repent, believe, be baptized and receive God’s Holy Spirit.  Without this process, it is impossible to have everlasting life and to be in the Kingdom of God, for Christ says in John 3:5: “…unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”

We must also understand that no one can come to Christ, unless that person has been called to the truth by the Father (compare John 6:44,65).  So are we then automatically saved and have we obtained eternal life when we were properly baptized and were given the Holy Spirit?  Of course, as long as God’s Spirit lives within us, we have the guarantee of eternal life. But can we lose it again?

James 2:14-17 says: “What does it profit, my brethren, if someone says he has faith but does not have works? Can faith save him?  If a brother or sister is naked and destitute of daily food, and one of you says to them, ‘Depart in peace, be warmed and filled,’ but you do not give them the things which are needed for the body, what does it profit? Thus also faith by itself, if it does not have works, is dead.”  Hebrews 5:9 also points out that Christ “became the author of eternal salvation to all who OBEY Him.” 

Are we obeying with living faith?

We must continue to work at perfecting ourselves, by using the gift that has been granted to us by our Father through His Holy Spirit.  We are commanded to keep His commandments, to preach the gospel of the Kingdom of God to the world, to live a righteous and godly life. God expects that from us and He expects us to obey Him!  He has called us out of this world to give us the opportunity to be among the first to enter His Kingdom and to receive everlasting life.  This is still our choice.  It is no guarantee.  Revelation 3:11 tells us to “hold fast what you have, that no one may take your crown.”  And in Revelation 2:10 Christ tells us to “be faithful until death, and I will give you the crown of life.”

What is given to us can also be taken away.  When we turn back, we will lose what had been offered to us. Only when we overcome until the end, will we be saved (Matthew 24:13; Revelation 2:26).  This is a lifelong process that God requires of us: to be faithful continuously, to pray continuously, to be vigilant and strong continuously, to give comfort and love to one another continuously, to put ALL trust and confidence in Him continuously, and to obey Him continuously.  When we continue to do all of that until the end, then we will be saved. 

Striving for perfection is probably the most difficult thing one can do; however, that does not mean that we can’t do our best to attain perfection. Matthew 5:48 states that we are to become perfect, just as our Father in heaven is perfect.

There are many ways that people search for perfection.  For example, some may look for the perfect job; others may look for the perfect mate; many people dream about having a perfect body.  These goals are very tough to achieve.  Even though someone may be satisfied with what they have, it doesn’t mean that it is perfect.   There are many things that can be perfectly achieved, as, for example, a perfect driving record, perfect attendance in school, or a perfect score on a test.  All of this takes work – this is how we strive for perfection.

To achieve perfection, we have to prepare for it, like taking a test, for example.  In most cases, studying hard will get us there.  Now what about us spiritually?  When we are given a test, will we be prepared to pass it?  Have we studied enough?  Have we studied continually to pass this test and any other test that we are given?  Preparation is the key. We have to be prepared at all times, especially when we are being tempted by Satan, just as Christ was on many occasions.  He passed all tests, challenges and temptations, and that is why He was perfect!

We might think that perfection could have been achieved from the very beginning of the Bible when man was created.   Adam and Eve had everything they needed and lived in Paradise.  Everything was perfect, but that didn’t mean that they couldn’t be tempted to sin.  Their wrong decision is recorded in Genesis 3.  Romans 1:18-28 tells us what has happened to this world as a result.  It is very tempting to sin, but we know what the consequences are when we do sin.  James 1:17-25 tells us what we should do when we are tempted to sin.   Not only do we have to listen to what we are being told, but we have to apply it as well.  When we are being taught in a class, we take notes and we study those notes so we can pass the test.  We listen to what the teacher says and we apply the information on the test.  The same goes for all of us, spiritually speaking.  We have our ministers who preach to us and we listen and take notes so that if we are ever in a pop quiz situation, we can answer questions confidently, thereby passing the test.

We do, however, have an extra edge, a study guide.  Our Bible is our study guide.  All the answers are in the Bible.  And to help us better understand the Bible, we have God’s Holy Spirit and our teachers in the ministry.  When we apply this valuable understanding to our daily lives, we are striving for perfection.

God has to permit it however (compare Hebrews 6:1-3), just as He permits trials in our lives.  When we are baptized, we receive His Spirit, His power, to give us strength, and that strength can overcome any trial.  God can do anything and once we have responded to His calling, which He permits, we have to be strong and faithful to that calling.  We have to be excited about His calling.  Of course, there are times when we are down; there are times where we feel like quitting; there are times when we feel alone; and there are times when we are discouraged.  During all those times, we have to feel encouraged because of what God promises us.  He knows exactly what we all go through, even through the toughest times.  This is when we should fervently pray to God and study His Word, because that is also the time when we are most vulnerable to sin.

To help us better strive for that perfection that we so desperately need, there are a few traits we must continue to work on, and we must continue to remember to apply them in our lives.  We read about these traits in 1 Corinthians 13:13.

The first one is hope.  We hope for the future, for Christ’s return.  We hope that we will make it and be part of the God Family (Romans 8:18-25).  At the same time we have patience, waiting in hope to be saved.

We must also have faith (Hebrews 10:18-23).  Hope and faith go hand in hand.  And with that comes one more trait, that of love, which is the greatest of all three.  We have to love God and each other as a family.  If we don’t show love for God and our fellow man, then we have no hope or faith in our future.  And without love, we have nothing!  We must love the church and love the work; we must love God’s law and consider the tests and trials that God allows in our lives.  God expects us to pass the test.  If we apply these traits in our lives and continue to prepare ourselves with fervent prayer and diligent study to pass each test that we are given, striving for that ultimate goal, then on that day, when Christ returns, we will be changed into perfect Spirit Beings.