Most of us stop at repentance, the work of the cross, the covenant of baptism, and the forgiveness of sins. We are left assuming that God will somehow perfect us through a mysterious process after death.

And this is where most of us remain. We went to church, had our seat, confessed our sins, were baptized, sang songs, supported the teachings of our church, lived a religious life – and believe that, through this, we will enter the Kingdom of God.

This is where the work of salvation stops for most – without realizing that God's plan includes both the restoration and the perfection of human character.

Almost no one believes that in order to be found worthy of the life that awaits us in His eternal Kingdom, we must grow to reach the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. (And he gave some, apostles; and some, prophets; and some... pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints, till we all come unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Ephesians 4:11-13)

Many of us would like to get there, to take part in the Kingdom of God. But the spiritual values of this Kingdom are of no interest to most, being incompatible with the way we live. These values of God require us to give up many things that, until now, have been very useful to us in life.

From the moment we are small children, in order to reach our goals, we begin to rely – more or less – on the rule: “the end justifies the means.” As schoolchildren, we resort to cheating, plagiarism, and lying. Later, as adults, we turn to other things: deceit, bribery, arguments, anger...

Note:
The text above is taken from the booklet “The New Birth”. The booklet is available free of charge in written form.
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