Now at the close of yet another year, we should look back and honestly evaluate our own spiritual growth. Do we score low, mediocre, or high? What score do we truly think the Almighty God would give us? Was our year dedicated to Him, or was it dedicated to what we desired? Was our year submitted to Christ’s Lordship, or was it submitted to the sinful nature? Were we continually pressing forward to please the Holy Spirit of God, or were we continually turning back to please Self? Whose voice did we heed? Who made our decisions?

If we claim that Christ Jesus is our Savior and Lord, this means we have, in devoted submission, declared Him (He who is the King of kings) to be our Ruler and Boss –now, in this life, as well as in the one to come. For if we have done this genuinely, true faith will lead “to obedience, which leads to righteousness” (Rom. 6:16), which, in turn, “leads to holiness.” (v. 22) The result of holiness is eternal life (same verse), but without it, a person will miss the grace of God (Heb. 12:15), and thus being rejected (v.17) of his inheritance rights he sold through sin (v.16), will be denied the blessing of salvation and never see the Lord. (v. 14,17,25)

Rom. 1:5 says that we received grace to call people “to the obedience that comes from faith.” But aside from calling others to this, did we call ourselves to it throughout the year? If we did, it certainly brought us spiritual growth, freedom from sin, and joyful slavery to God and righteousness. (6:16-22) But if we did not, we kept ourselves in slavery to sin, thus walking in death. (v. 16,21,23) For faith without obedience is dead and useless faith (James 2:17,20,26) –useless toward the salvation of the one claiming to believe, and death to the spirit –that state of remaining in separation from God.

Let’s consider these things as we give ourselves a careful, thoughtful, and sincere year-end spiritual examination. And no matter our score, let us determine to always strive, yearly and hourly, for that God-like perfection which Christ commanded of us in Matt. 5:48: “Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.”

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