Do you know and live the gospel of Christ? It would be
interesting to know how you answer that. Is it your morality, church
attendance, personal character to which you look for some assurance? Truthfully,
our hope, our salvation rest on Jesus and the promise of the Father, end of
story. We are saved by faith, through grace, period. But … no but’s, friend. Do we need to grow in that grace? The answer
is an obvious yes. Will that gift of being set right with God need to work into
our life, changing us from the inside out? Yes, again. The moment, however, that we look back to ‘’the
Law,” to our good works, our own commitment, that Law enslaves us anew and
begins to erode the confidence that we have before God, the Father, through
Christ Jesus.
Duplicity stalks us all, doesn’t it? Every Christian
who is completely honest knows that there are areas in his life are not yet as
Christ desires them to be. To deny that we are capable of disobeying God’s moral
law, to tell ourselves that we are somehow better than others and therefore
above temptation, too good to fail, is a trap. The Bible gives this two-fold
direction to us: "If another Christian is overcome by some sin, you who
are godly should gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path.
And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself."
(Galatians 6:1, NLT)
Every Christian deals with temptations, some grossly
offensive, others more subtle, sins of pride, ego, or self-centeredness. In Romans 7, which is a long chapter about the
impossibility of making ourselves right with God through our own efforts, Paul
writes, "I truly delight in God’s commands, but it’s pretty obvious
that not all of me joins in that delight. Parts of me covertly rebel, and just
when I least expect it, they take charge. I’ve tried everything and nothing
helps. I’m at the end of my rope. Is there no one who can do anything for me? Isn’t
that the real question?" (Romans 7:22-24, The Message)
Overcoming temptation and living a life of integrity is not
for wimps! It requires unwavering honesty with ourselves before the Lord.
If we choose to excuse ourselves when the Spirit convicts, when we
suppress the call to genuine holiness by smearing on layers of superficial
morality, or when we become hyper-religious, we hinder the flow of the Spirit
that brings life and victory to us. Healing begins when we look at our
longings, our unmet needs, our desires and expectations through the eyes of
Christ. Purity requires openness, before God, before others, too.
Nothing breaks the power of temptation like dragging it into the light.
Purity comes when we respond to the invitation of the Spirit to come near to
the Heart of God, regularly. And, that intimacy is ONLY possible if we lean on
grace, by faith.
Ah, Christian, there is such beauty in grace, for all us.
God’s grace will make us loving, gentle, and accepting. It will create a kind
of beauty in us that lifts up Jesus, not our church, not our stellar morality. And,
as He promised, “when He is lifted up, He draws all to Himself!” Grace allows you and me to look at our struggles,
inadequacies, disappointments honestly. Grace lets us understand that we are not
unique in those experiences. Finding security in Christ Jesus, we then are
empowered to extend acceptance to all those other imperfect people that share
this world with us. It sounds so easy when I write it, but it is a quite human
to turn from grace to Law, judging ourselves and others.
Are you troubled in heart, knowing the failures and sins of
your own life?
Are you resolving to change only to fail anew?
Stop trying so hard to find change using all those tricks of
behavior modification. Refuse the temporary sense of ‘being right’ that you can
find in doing all those good things. Instead, lean on Jesus, completely.
Our word from the Word calls us to the foundation of our salvation
– Christ Jesus. As you read this, truly
worship, honestly praise, and receive the gift of grace. "Thank God! The answer is in Jesus
Christ our Lord. So you see how it is: In my mind I really want to obey God’s
law, but because of my sinful nature I am a slave to sin. So now there is no
condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus. For the power of the
life-giving Spirit has freed you through Christ Jesus from the power of sin
that leads to death." (Romans 7:25-8:2, NLT)
___________
(worship with this great hymn)
Be Thou my vision
O Lord of my heart
Naught be all else to me
Save that Thou art
Thou my best thought
By day or by night
Waking or sleeping
Thy presence my light
Be Thou my wisdom
And Thou my true Word
I ever with Thee
And Thou with me Lord
Thou my great Father
I Thy true son
Thou in me dwelling
And I with Thee one
Riches I heed not
Nor man's empty praise
Thou mine inheritance
Now and always
Thou and Thou only
First in my heart
High King of heaven
My treasure Thou art
High King of heaven
When vict'ry is won
May I reach heaven's joys
O bright Heaven's Sun
Heart of my own heart
Whatever befall
Still be my vision
O Ruler of all
Eleanor Henrietta Hull | Mary Elizabeth Byrne
© Words: Public Domain
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