Finding Out It's Not About Me!
I didn't have time to elaborate on the link I shared yesterday. But I got up thinking about it this morning and knowing what I wanted to write about today. Of course, it will come as no surprise that this subject brings up memories of what I was once taught about salvation.
I remember this argument in regard to the teaching that our moral perfection was required in order to qualify for the "gift" of eternal life:
"If we're right -- that we have to reach perfection to go to heaven -- then you (who do not believe this) are in trouble (because you're not even trying).
If you're right, that we don't have to be perfect because we're saved by grace, then we're still okay because we have just set the bar higher than we needed to."
That argument actually made sense to me at one time; but only because I didn't understand the gospel and the response of a true believer.
First, if I am believing in salvation through a righteousness that I can achieve (with His help) and thereby please God, I am not setting the bar higher than those who believe we have Christ's righteousness through faith in Him. I am setting it lower. Much lower. As Dr. Hamblin explained, those who thought they could keep the law were interpreting it superficially (as did the rich young ruler).
Secondly, if I believe that I make my own contribution to my salvation, then I am rejecting the Cross of Christ, denying its sufficiency and contradicting Jesus' words: "It is finished." If we make it about us instead of about Him, if we try to enter through any other gate but through Jesus' shed blood for us on the cross, we are a thief and a robber. No one will enter heaven except by bowing their knee at the foot of the cross and recognizing our salvation was and is entirely dependent upon Christ's sacrifice.
We are RANSOMED. We are PURCHASED. We are ADOPTED. Jesus did not make the ultimate sacrifice so we could have A CHANCE. He said that those which the Father had given Him were His. Finally, Praise God, I know that I am His because I was bought with a price and not because I can measure up and deserve it.
I am not His because I will ever be worthy, adequate, sufficient, or perfect. I am HIS because He has chosen me and adopted me and, through the gift of faith, I believe He is the Son of God and, as my Savior, He died for my sins. Those who do not believe this is the only means of salvation are not "one up" on the rest of Christianity by setting a higher bar. It is so the opposite. If I still bought into that logic, I would have no burden to proclaim the truth to those who were "over-reaching."
Now, does that mean that I don't believe it matters how I live because I no longer think God expects me to achieve perfection? As emphatically as I can possibly say this, the answer is NO, NO, NO. That is a lie. The opposite is true. It has never mattered more to me how I live my life. But I am no longer trying to do right so I can go to heaven (like the elder brother). My motivation is only love and gratitude for my undeserved, unmerited adoption into the family of God. I deserved death, not God's blessings.
My righteousness is as a filthy rag. My best, not my worst day. God's holiness is far, far, far above any righteousness we can ever produce in this flesh. To believe otherwise elevates man and diminishes God and His holiness.
Obedience is the evidence of faith, not the means by which we are saved. We obey God because we love Him -- not to get His stuff (heaven). If we belong to Jesus, our lives will bear fruit; just as an apple tree naturally produces apples.
The Passover is a picture of Jesus. And what did the Israelites do to be saved from the death curse? They covered their door post with the blood of the lamb.
In Revelation, it says that the robes of the overcomers are white. Why are they white? Go and look. They are white because they are washed in the blood of the lamb.
I could go on and on. Every time I read my Bible now, God shows me His promises. I can't help but want to share what He has given me.
I remember this argument in regard to the teaching that our moral perfection was required in order to qualify for the "gift" of eternal life:
"If we're right -- that we have to reach perfection to go to heaven -- then you (who do not believe this) are in trouble (because you're not even trying).
If you're right, that we don't have to be perfect because we're saved by grace, then we're still okay because we have just set the bar higher than we needed to."
That argument actually made sense to me at one time; but only because I didn't understand the gospel and the response of a true believer.
First, if I am believing in salvation through a righteousness that I can achieve (with His help) and thereby please God, I am not setting the bar higher than those who believe we have Christ's righteousness through faith in Him. I am setting it lower. Much lower. As Dr. Hamblin explained, those who thought they could keep the law were interpreting it superficially (as did the rich young ruler).
Secondly, if I believe that I make my own contribution to my salvation, then I am rejecting the Cross of Christ, denying its sufficiency and contradicting Jesus' words: "It is finished." If we make it about us instead of about Him, if we try to enter through any other gate but through Jesus' shed blood for us on the cross, we are a thief and a robber. No one will enter heaven except by bowing their knee at the foot of the cross and recognizing our salvation was and is entirely dependent upon Christ's sacrifice.
We are RANSOMED. We are PURCHASED. We are ADOPTED. Jesus did not make the ultimate sacrifice so we could have A CHANCE. He said that those which the Father had given Him were His. Finally, Praise God, I know that I am His because I was bought with a price and not because I can measure up and deserve it.
I am not His because I will ever be worthy, adequate, sufficient, or perfect. I am HIS because He has chosen me and adopted me and, through the gift of faith, I believe He is the Son of God and, as my Savior, He died for my sins. Those who do not believe this is the only means of salvation are not "one up" on the rest of Christianity by setting a higher bar. It is so the opposite. If I still bought into that logic, I would have no burden to proclaim the truth to those who were "over-reaching."
27 My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me. 28 And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of My Father’s hand. 30 I and My Father are one.” (John 10:27 - 30)
Look at the parable of the prodigal. The elder brother did not love the father. He wanted the benefits, the stuff, the reward. It was entirely about himself and not at all about his love of the father. The son we think of as the bad son was the one who saw himself and his condition. He repented. He felt unworthy of the father's love and mercy. The elder "good" brother resented the undeserved mercy that was shown to the younger and felt entitled to everything the father had through his performance as a son. He refused to even participate in the celebration of his brother's homecoming. He did not share in the feast by his own choosing! How can any of us miss that message? Well, I did. I missed it my whole life -- until my eyes were opened -- while being taught I was a leg up for having "the truth" about salvation.
Now, does that mean that I don't believe it matters how I live because I no longer think God expects me to achieve perfection? As emphatically as I can possibly say this, the answer is NO, NO, NO. That is a lie. The opposite is true. It has never mattered more to me how I live my life. But I am no longer trying to do right so I can go to heaven (like the elder brother). My motivation is only love and gratitude for my undeserved, unmerited adoption into the family of God. I deserved death, not God's blessings.
My righteousness is as a filthy rag. My best, not my worst day. God's holiness is far, far, far above any righteousness we can ever produce in this flesh. To believe otherwise elevates man and diminishes God and His holiness.
Obedience is the evidence of faith, not the means by which we are saved. We obey God because we love Him -- not to get His stuff (heaven). If we belong to Jesus, our lives will bear fruit; just as an apple tree naturally produces apples.
The Passover is a picture of Jesus. And what did the Israelites do to be saved from the death curse? They covered their door post with the blood of the lamb.
In Revelation, it says that the robes of the overcomers are white. Why are they white? Go and look. They are white because they are washed in the blood of the lamb.
I could go on and on. Every time I read my Bible now, God shows me His promises. I can't help but want to share what He has given me.
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