With a view to beginning the year right, this opening episode calls believers back to the fundamentals, the constitution. Typically constitutions enumerate the powers of government, and our U.S. constitution provides a separation of powers. A successful life in God's eyes is founded on a separation of powers, where believers don't presume on divine prerogatives but only fulfill their responsibilities prescribed in the Biblical separation of powers. Well constitutionally speaking, the Christian life rests completely on the power of God. 1 Pet. 2:3 states that "God's divine power has granted to us everything pertaining to life in godliness." The successful Christian life abides in Christ, and out of the power of Christ, bears much fruit. (John 15:5) The fruit enumerated in 2 Pet. 1: 5-8 are all based on the Christian's responsibility to access the power. Well when believers learn to operate in their proper domain, fulfilling their responsibilities through the power of Christ, many of the unnecessary headaches and heartaches that plague believers diminish. Things work better in the kingdom when we let God be God and appropriately respond to His power.
Saved for Good Works
This episode places the themes of redemption, sin, and works in their proper perspective. Preoccupation with sin issues is understandable for infants in Christ, but evidence of true saving faith is that service to God and/or "works" that He prepared beforehand (Eph 2:10) become the motivation for life. The episode connects "service to the living God" with the roadmap of sanctification in Eph 4:22-24, where putting off the old and putting on the new self is emphasized as the means of producing good works.
Saved to Serve
This episode reemphasizes the futility of a sin-focused life apart from serving God. Such a misplaced focus explains why many apparently plateau in their Christianity and why most Christians are "unemployed" Christians. While Christians definitely should address issues of sin, the focus of the Christian life is on Christ, abiding in Him, and implementing His instructions. Service to God is the reason God saved us.