Tag: righteousness

When Good is Not Good Enough

Discipleship 1:3

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During my teenage and early 20 something years, I babysat a boy that I practically got to watch grow up. Though I don’t know where the family was spiritually, they did make reference to God often and were pleasant. I frequently took an Uncle Arthur’s Bedtime Stories book to share with Ricky. He asked for them when I came and listened intently to the stories as was proved by his comments and his questions. I did my earnest best to gently share the love of God and his need for Him whenever and wherever I could.

He shocked me, though, when once he told me about an aunt that was a nun; there was no need for his personal salvation as her position gave him an automatic “in” to heaven. I couldn’t have been more floored. In fact, I repeated what he stated, which he confirmed, and asked if he believed it to be true, which he did. Until he made that comment, I didn’t realize that theology, if you wish to call it that, existed. Yeah, I’d battled falling into the performance trap based on my own merit, but never considered that my salvation hinged on someone else’s merit. It opened up a whole realm to me as to why people may take pride in having family members in “religious” service, no matter their faith, and why they may be so lack in nurturing their own spiritual well being. That’s problematic. I put that skewed notion right up there with the fellow student who told my girls that she was a Christian because she was homeschooled. ?! Uh, I don’t think so.

Today’s discipleship lesson is very closely related to something I recently posted entitled Approved and goes into greater detail about my battle with trying to earn God’s favor by my performance. When I was “good”, my relationship with God was “good”. When I fell short of expectations contrived by me or written in the Word, I often put myself into a corner and had a time of avoidance with Father because I felt like I disappointed Him. Wow. That hurt to write but there it is.

Generally speaking, if we ask anyone what one must do in order to be saved and go to heaven, they would most likely say, “Be a good person.” Then they may even go on to list what is considered good based on their own belief system. But in order to have a relationship with God and eventually make our home with Him in heaven, we’d have to have a righteousness that equals His. That, my friends, is impossible and that is what is so amazing about grace.

But now the righteousness of God apart from the law is revealed, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God, through faith in Jesus Christ, to all and on all who believe. For there is no difference; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, … Romans 3:21-23 NKJV

What does this mean? Man couldn’t nor can we even now keep the Law given through Moses. Our best attempts will never be good enough to earn salvation. The best attempts of those we may attach our salvation to will never be good enough. Only Jesus’ sinless life could put us in right standing with the Father. He bridged the gap. Grace, charis, undeserved favor was extended to us. And how do we obtain it?

“… through faith in Jesus Christ… “

 “… and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith;… Philippians 3:9 NKJV

For He made Him who knew no sin to be sin for us, that we might become the righteousness of God in Him. 2 Corinthians 5:21 NKJV

If we could earn our salvation be keeping the Law, by being “good”, then Christ died in vain. We cheapen His sacrifice by doing all we can do instead of leaning on what Jesus has done.

I do not treat the grace of God as meaningless. For if keeping the law could make us right with God, then there was no need for Christ to die. Galatians 2:21 NLT

Maybe it’s humanity’s weakness to lean on what we can do to maintain a good relationship with God. I link that to the original sin: pride. Do any of us really want to be dependent on someone else? I personally know of people who have caused physical injury to themselves because they did not want to ask for help. I myself have often pushed the ticket as to what I am capable of because I didn’t want to ask for help. We are never ever going to be good enough. No one person we may depend upon will ever be good enough. As the tax collector in Discipleship 1:2, we must humble ourselves before the LORD so that we may be forgiven and justified. Salvation comes through faith in Christ alone, period. Salvation is a gift waiting for us to open!

But—When God our Savior revealed his kindness and love, he saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. Titus 3:4-5 NLT

To get the most out of this study, I suggest meditating on the scripture verses presented until the next post and taking the time to look them up in different versions. If you desire to go deeper, study key words in their original meanings.

At any rate, I hope you are blessed by this and that you will continue to join me. Until next time, blessings!

Our Righteousness: Stink or Aroma?

Discipleship 1:2

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(*For our understanding, the simplest definition I have heard for righteousness is right standing with God. Let’s bear that in mind during today’s study.)

Our main text today comes from Luke 18:9-14.

Two men, a Pharisee, (an ultra-religious, “separated one”, person), and a tax collector went to church to pray. I can picture the Pharisee going front and center of the church, standing upright, looking heavenward. “I thank You, God, that I am not like other men,” he prayed. Then he began to pontificate on the reasons why, using comparison to other men. Besides being faithful to his wife, he was holy, just, and he did not use force, threats, or illegal means, to gain what he had. In other words, he was not like the tax collector, (whom we’ll get to), who stood afar off, praying. Oh, and by the way, the pharisee also went without food twice a week and gave ten percent of all that he had to the church. He was all of that, a bag of chips, a mega sized drink besides, and vocalized it. Self righteousness stinks.

Sadly, I can relate to the pharisee. I have looked down on others, especially in my younger days. “I do not go to the booze, drug, and sex parties of my peers. I do not use vulgar language or immodestly dress as they do.” La de da. Okay, reflecting back, I do not think that I was as outwardly as offensive as the pharisee or my peers would have approached me as they did. Ah, but God looks on the heart, and sometimes the inner thoughts of my heart stunk.

The point I’m making is that I have battled the self righteous attitude. I may not have been as vocal as the pharisee, but internally it was still there. What I think the big temptation to do here is compare ourselves to one another. Which, now that I am more mature in Christ, I intentionally guard against; however, I have caught myself, even now, being a spiritual snob. At times I must remind myself that my “comparison” is to be made to sinless Jesus only, period, for all of us have fallen short of the glory of God.

The tax collector felt the weight of his unrighteousness. He didn’t go the whole way into the church, would not lift his eyes to heaven, and smote his breast which is a biblical sign of repentance. There was no comparison to others here; he owned his sins and cried out, “God, be merciful to me — I am a sinner!”

I can also relate to the tax collector. Sometimes I drive myself nuts with the things I think, say, or do that are displeasing to God. But that’s why grace, charis, the free, unmerited favor of God toward people who don’t deserve it, is so wonderful. This was the heart of the tax collector. It is my heart when I have done wrong and have humbly come to God to confess it.

My sacrifice [the sacrifice acceptable] to God is a broken spirit; a broken and a contrite heart [broken down with sorrow for sin and humbly and thoroughly penitent], such, O God, You will not despise. Psalm 51:17 AMPC

This is when righteousness is a sweet smelling aroma as unto the LORD. So who went home forgiven and in right standing with God? The tax collector of course!

I tell you, this man went down to his home justified (forgiven and made upright and in right standing with God), rather than the other man; for everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but he who humbles himself will be exalted. Luke 18:14 AMPC

The pharisee was not humble in his “praying”, therefore God didn’t hear him, just as he won’t hear us.

If we say we have no sin [refusing to admit that we are sinners], we delude and lead ourselves astray, and the Truth [which the Gospel presents] is not in us [does not dwell in our hearts]. 1 John 1:8 AMPC

Compare the non-effective arrogant “prayer” of the pharisee to that of the effective prayer of the tax collector.

If we [freely] admit that we have sinned and confess our sins, He is faithful and just (true to His own nature and promises) and will forgive our sins [dismiss our lawlessness] and [continuously] cleanse us from all unrighteousness [everything not in conformity to His will in purpose, thought, and action]. 1 John 1:9 AMPC

I hope you will join me in taking some time to self-reflect. Let us ask ourselves: Is there a bit of snobbishness residing in me? If there is, let us humble ourselves, ask for forgiveness, and repent. And like the tax collector, may we walk away forgiven and in right standing with God. In closing, let’s visit the scripture again:

If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us.  If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 NKJV

Blessed be the name of the LORD.

For “whoever calls on the name of the Lord shall be saved.” Romans 10:13 NKJV