By Dr. Anne Davis

First, we must know what it means to be “saved”. Christian theology calls our salvation “eternal life”, but what exactly is meant by eternal life, when will it occur, and most important, how will it occur.

The understanding in my early years was based on the mantra, “Believe and be saved.” I knew I would have to be righteous without sin to come into the presence of our Righteous God, so I imagined that, when the time came, God would do something miraculous to make me righteous. I guess I imagined God clicking His fingers and saying, “Guess what! You are now righteous!”

But then I became a serious student of the Bible. I began to question whether those who believed in Yeshua, but who were clearly living a life of sin, would receive eternal life. This presented a puzzle because Scripture is clear that God has given His promise of future eternal life to those with faith in His son. “By grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God” (Eph. 2:8).

As I pondered this dilemma, I was drawn to such verses as 1 John 3:7. “Little children, make sure no one deceives you; the one who practices righteousness is righteous.” The original Greek word translated “practice” is ποιέω(poieo), which in the context conveys an “action” of doing something that results in a good outcome. So, it apparently takes work on our part to become righteous. John ends this verse with, “…just as He [God] is righteous.”

We know that believing in God’s son, Yeshua, gives us the “promise” of future eternal life with God, which answers “who”, but “when” and “how”?

Our Lord Yeshua spoke similar words. “You are to be perfect as your heavenly Father is perfect” (Mat. 5:48). Yet, how can we be perfect in a sinful world? And, if we try, and believe we can achieve perfection, won’t we become frustrated and depressed? I suggest the answer to our first question is “no”; we cannot become perfect in our sinful world. The answer to our second question is “yes”; it can be frustrating and depressing if we try and fail.

So, what does Yeshua mean when he tells us to be perfect as our Heavenly Father is perfect?

I like to refer to Noah whom God saw as perfect. We are told that “Noah was a righteous man, blameless in his time, Noah walked with God” (Gen. 6:9). Righteous, of course, means perfect without sin. Blameless is the Hebrew wordתָּמִים (tamim), which describes animals that were brought to the Temple for sacrifice. As a gift to God, these animals had to be perfect without spot or wrinkle. Furthermore, walking with God requires righteousness to come into the presence of our Righteous God.

Yet, Noah was not perfect! We learn that “Noah began farming and planted a vineyard, and he drank of the wine and became drunk and uncovered himself inside his tent” (Gen. 9:20-21). Certainly, drunkenness is a sin. Furthermore, the metaphor of “uncovering himself” represents exposing a sinful condition. Yet, God saw Noah as righteous.

I have concluded that God determines “who” is righteous in His eyes by looking at our hearts. For example, listen to David, and remember that David was not perfect. We need only remember Bathsheba and the murder of her husband to acknowledge that David was not perfect. David’s words are constructed as Hebrew poetry, so listen to the verse first for its emotional rhythm, and then consider the deeper meaning expressed by the parallel lines.

You have tried my heart.

You have visited me by night.

You have tested me and You find nothing.

I have purposed that my mouth will not transgress. Psalm 17:3

So, we must ask, “Have I committed to doing my best to walk in God’s ways?” “Am I maturing in righteousness by growing closer and closer to God through faith in my Lord Jesus Christ?” Of course, we cannot know what God’s future decision will be, as to when we will be righteous to come into His presence, but we can eagerly do our best to grow and mature in that righteousness.

Proverbs teaches us how to mature in righteousness.

You will walk in the way of good men,

And keep to the paths of the righteous.

For the upright will live in the land,

And the blameless will remain in it. Prov. 2:20-21

Thus, righteousness is achieved by walking in the ways of God. “Upright” symbolizes a straight path of righteousness in contrast to the drunken path of a sinner. However, what I find most intriguing about this verse is the reward to those who will be righteous in God’s eyes at the time of the future judgment. Their inheritance will be to “live in the land”, which points to the Millennial Kingdom that will follow the Great Tribulation.

If the story of Noah is prophetic, which I believe it is, then we are encouraged to hear the words that the Lord spoke to Noah, “Enter the ark, you and all your household; for you alone I have seen to be righteous before Me in this time” (Gen. 7:1). That is, if God finds you righteous in His eyes at the time of the coming judgment, then I suggest you and your family will enter the Millennial Kingdom with Yeshua as your King and High Priest.

I suggest that “when” and “how” we will come into God’s Righteous Presence will depend on God’s decision, which will occur at the time of what I believe I have uncovered as six future judgments. All the questions that I have been asking about who, when, and how we will be saved are answered in my four-part series on the Remnant that you can find on Amazon. You can choose from paperback, kindle, or audible, and the audio version is synchronized with the kindle. So, if you are like me, you can go back and forth, whether you are listening as you are out walking, or riding in your car, or you are reading in your kindle in a comfortable chair at home. Click on the buttons below to check out the books on Amazon.

Happy reading!

***Add links to Remnant books on Amazon here ***

Remnant Part 1

Remnant Part 2

Remnant Part 3

Remnant Part 4

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