The Irreversible decision of the Soul
Inspirational Messages
By Dr. James Perry
Your Kingdom Come, Your Will Be Done!
Greetings, brothers and sisters. This is Dr. James Perry continuing with our series where we seek to
explore the deeper meanings of our relationship with Jesus Christ. Over the years, the heavenly
Father has revealed many revelations of spiritual truth to me, and I want to share them with you. This
morning we seek to understand the irreversible decision of the salvation of the soul.
And now, sit back and listen to today's message.
The Irreversible Decision of the Soul
"For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness; and with the mouth confession is made
unto salvation." Romans, Chapter 10, verse 10.
Good morning, brothers and sisters. Jesus said, "all that my Father giveth me shall come to me; and
him that cometh to me I will no wise cast out, for I came down from heaven not to do mine own will,
but the will of him that sent me, and this is the Father's will which hath sent me, that of all which he
hath given me I should lose nothing but should raise it up again at the last day. My Sheep hear my
voice, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither
shall any man pluck them out of my hands." Thus it is seen that Jesus gives eternal life to all souls
who come to him. But what is the evidence that the souls have come to him, that they have indeed
decided to follow Him, to abide by the Father's will eternally.
Paul said that if we believe with our hearts and confess with our mouths, then Jesus gives us
salvation. But since others cannot know what is in your hearts, only hearing what comes out of your
mouth, how can we determine if what is coming out of the mouth is genuine or not? When we accept
salvation, sooner or later our acceptance will be confessed with our mouths. As Jesus said,
"whosoever therefore shall confess me before men, him will I confess also before my Father which
is in heaven". So to understand what salvation is, we must understand what it means to follow Jesus,
to accept his salvation. The salvation that Jesus offers is the salvation of divine righteousness, and
this is obtained by faith. It is given to our souls when we desire and decide to do the Father's will.
The Father has commanded man to be perfect even as He is perfect; thus the desire to do the Father's
will is the desire to be perfect even as He is perfect. The execution of the Father's will is the spiritual
act to be perfect even as the Father in heaven is perfect, and to seek to know the Father's will is to
know the Father's perfection, to know his divine character. This divine character was demonstrated
by Jesus in perfection when he lived in the flesh. He offers this same divine character to us if we
choose survival. Thus it is seen that when we accept salvation, we accept the mandate to become
perfect even as the heavenly Father is perfect. And when we accept this salvation, we begin
immediately to display the fruits of the spirit in ever increasing perfection. "By their fruits shall you
know them," and the fruits of the spirit are love, faith, goodness, temperance, gentleness, meekness,
long suffering, peace and joy. These are the life reactions of the soul that has accepted salvation. This
display of the fruits of the spirit is the spiritual decision of the soul to accept salvation. And we can
begin to see right away by observing the life reactions whether or not a soul has accepted salvation.
Until these fruits are observed, the soul is still considering whether to come to Jesus, even though
he may have indicated yes with his mouth.
Now when the soul makes the eternal decision while still in the flesh, Jesus accepts this decision as
a fact, and immediately begins to endow him with eternal life as is indicated by the flow of the fruits
of the spirit through his soul. And these fruits continue on through the ups and downs of mortal life,
sharply contrasting the difference between the material life and the spiritual life. The quality of the
eternal life is of such a nature that it is clearly discernible. This life is characterized by love of the
heavenly Father and love of others. And this is why Jesus says of those who wholeheartedly believe
him "that though he die, yet shall he live." Though the material body is mortal and will perish, the
soul that indwelled that body shall never die, but will live on and on in heaven, eternally bearing the
fruits of the spirit.
The soul that has made the eternal decision is only concerned about one thing and that is to do the
Father's will in perfection and thus obey the eternal command to be perfect even as the heavenly
Father is perfect. This ever increasing thirst for truth and hunger for righteousness drives him on
relentlessly. Such a soul has become a true worshiper, and the life of the Father flows through him,
constantly beckoning him on to the attainment of higher and higher levels of righteousness, even that
righteousness of divine perfection.
The soul that accepts salvation has solved the paradox of "he who seeks to save his life, shall lose
it, while he who loses his life shall save it." The soul knows that selfishness is its death sentence,
therefore it avoids the pursuit of selfishness, while it pursues unselfishness, goodness. The loss of
his life in loving and merciful service is eternal life. This loss of self in loving and merciful service
reveals the selfless revelation of the Father. The soul that accepts salvation has entered the kingdom
of heaven, where it enjoys peace and joy and righteousness in the spirit.
This concludes today's message on understanding the irreversible decision of the salvation of the
soul. We hope you find something in this message to ponder and pray about as you go about your
day.
Until next time, this is Dr. James Perry.
The Irreversible Decision of the Soul
