After attaining eternal life by believing in God’s saving grace, our most important responsibility is to keep that eternal life, by the help of the Helper – the Holy Spirit. Failure to do so means being rejected by Jesus at His return! This I believe is the crux of the New Testament epistles. The apostles lived by this understanding, and they taught us to do the same.
Peter said that, “Brethren, be even more diligent to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things (in verses 5-7: faith virtue, knowledge, self-control, perseverance, godliness, brotherly kindness, and love) you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:10-11). This means that there is a work of bearing the fruit of the Spirit that we must do as Christians, and that diligently, so as not to fall away from the faith and be denied entry into the Kingdom of God.
Paul also understood this very well. Not once did he ever say what we falsely think of him, that he was a greater-than-life infallible man of God who by all means was destined for the everlasting Kingdom of God. On the contrary, Paul said of himself that: “I discipline my body and bring it into subjection, lest, when I have preached to others, I myself should become disqualified or be a castaway” (1 Corinthians 9:27). Some famous preachers erroneously teach, like I once did after learning from them, that Paul was here not talking about not entering the Kingdom of God, but about not receiving a certain prize (in verse 24), upon entry into the Kingdom. The truth of the matter, as clearly stated in the Paul’s next words, is that Paul knew he could end up outside the Kingdom – into hell – if he allowed his body to indulge in sin. Remember, Paul did not write his epistles with chapter breaks. So, immediately after saying “lest . . . I myself should become disqualified or be a castaway,” he carried on with the same thought (1 Corinthians 10:1-13) by not only telling us of the children of Israel who did not enter the Promised Land because of sin, but also that “these things became our examples, and were written for our admonition,” (verses 6 and 11), lest we also do not enter the Kingdom of God because of practicing sin. Therefore, the prize in 1 Corinthians 9:24 that Paul wanted to get must be understood to be the crown of righteousness which only the believers who will be ready to enter the Kingdom of God – having lived righteously and godly – will receive at Jesus’ coming (2 Timothy 4:8; Titus 2:12-13). As you are aware, unrighteous Christians who practice sin will not inherit the Kingdom of God (1 Corinthians 6:9-10). That being the case, we too, like Paul, must discipline our bodies and tame our desires, lest we are disqualified and cast away at the Lord’s coming. We must work out our salvation with fear and trembling by the help of God (Philippians 2:12-13), lest we are denied entry into heaven and the everlasting Kingdom of God.
It is in that light that Paul said: “Brethren, I do not count myself to have apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which are ahead, I press toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 3:13-14).
Therefore let us, as many as are MATURE, have this mind; and if in anything you THINK OTHERWISE, God will REVEAL EVEN THIS to you” (Philippians 3:15). Let us press toward the only goal which really matters as far as eternity is concerned – the prize of eternal life that we even now have in Christ Jesus. Let us cooperate with the Spirit of God in bearing fruit worthy of our salvation. In doing so, “an entrance will be supplied to us abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ” (2 Peter 1:11).
God bless you.