OUR RIGHTEOUSNESS CAN'T DO IT
There is a vast difference between our trying to please God and God working in us that which pleases Him (Phil 2:13; Heb. 13:21). When we don’t have a revelation of this indispensable truth, we are doomed to failure in our walk with God.
Every Christian must face the obvious truth: our righteousness can’t do it. The body of Christ in the United States has had access to more teaching and preaching than any church in history. Technology has opened the door and made available to us an abundance of Christian tapes, books, and television programs. To be sure, these are the blessing of God.
But for many of us, our knowledge has outstripped our ability. If we are honest, most of us must admit that we’re not applying what we’ve learned. We’re not living up to God’s expectations. We are striving too much; and our righteousness is falling short of the mark.For many, grace comes at an opportune time in their lives. Having gradually realized that the majority of their attempts at righteousness have fallen short of the mark, many are feeling quite confused and condemned about it. Although remembering their zeal for the Lord of years gone by, many have settled for more or less a nominal Christian life; some have even given up completely. And worse yet, some have even thought that God has given up on them!
But something good is about to happen to you even if you don’t expect it. If the description above fits you in any way, congratulations! You have finally come to a place where the Lord can intervene powerfully in your life.
While the Lord has not caused you to fail, he has allowed you to fail in order to reveal that your righteousness can never satisfy his requirements for righteousness. He usually shows this truth through a process familiar to every generation of God’s people. He allows you to struggle for years and years trying to be spiritual, trying to be holy, reading everybody’s exhortation and formulas, zealously applying new keys to true spirituality, or learning new techniques about the deeper life or healing or prosperity. Then, after all those years of striving, you discover that many of the standard formulas don’t seem to work, and, worse yet, your righteousness still has blemishes all over it.
Or, perhaps, you are the sort of person who usually succeeds at your own righteousness. Then the Lord reveals your spiritual inadequacy in another fashion – for example, through a deep hunger for more holiness and power in your soul. You may recognize that, despite all your success, the true spirituality and abiding peace and lasting satisfaction you expected haven’t been realized. Where are they? You thought Christians were supposed to have them!
You have them sometimes, maybe in worship or praise, but they are all too fleeting. You have tried to obey the biblical admonition to be holy as your heavenly Father is holy, and you have usually tried to respond zealously to preaching that exhorted you to aim at perfection. But you are becoming discouraged and exhausted!
Face it. Your own righteousness and spiritual activity cannot do it. God wants you to be totally convinced of this biblical and practical reality. Totally convinced. Why? Because the requirement of God is nothing less than his righteousness and his holiness. Always! The Lord expects and accepts nothing less than his own righteousness and holiness. The peace you seek cannot be found in your own righteousness. The only peace that can ever satisfy your soul is peace with God.
The standard in the gospel is always God’s righteousness. But how do we obtain this? God’s word tells us:
“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:21-24).
God’s standard is always God’s righteousness, and that is where you must find your peace. Peace with God results not from trusting your own righteousness but from trusting only Christ. Have faith in him and the gift of his righteousness.
“Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1).
Perhaps you are a new Christian, or perhaps up until now you have not hit the brick wall I have described here. Thank God, because if you will learn grace now, you can avoid a lot of the pain and confusion the rest of us have suffered. Begin now to allow the Lord to show you how to live in his righteousness rather than your own. Finally, perhaps you have been plagued by some kind of addiction, or maybe you have done some horribly unacceptable or sinful things. There is always hope for those who have learned their desperate need for grace.
“Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).
The primary issue is placing our hope completely in the grace of God. Our only hope of righteousness is trusting Christ and his finished work at the cross – plus nothing! This sounds pretty radical, and it is. But it is also biblical. The gospel of Jesus Christ is radical because nothing less can accomplish his purposes in us. Works righteousness is dead! The performance basis for right standing before God is dead! Don’t kid yourself, if you persist in work righteousness, the Lord will allow you to fail in order to drive you back to trusting totally in his mercy. The Lord never causes us to sin, but he may allow some painful struggles and defeats in your life until you acknowledge his grace more fully. Most Christians say they know grace, but their struggles and defeats indicate quite the opposite. Don’t depend upon your human ability to grasp and apply grace. Rather, repent of that right now and ask the Lord to begin to reveal his grace to you – what it really means and how it really works. Think about it – if your own righteousness seldom satisfies you, how can it ever satisfy the Lord?
Every Christian must face the obvious truth: our righteousness can’t do it. The body of Christ in the United States has had access to more teaching and preaching than any church in history. Technology has opened the door and made available to us an abundance of Christian tapes, books, and television programs. To be sure, these are the blessing of God.
But for many of us, our knowledge has outstripped our ability. If we are honest, most of us must admit that we’re not applying what we’ve learned. We’re not living up to God’s expectations. We are striving too much; and our righteousness is falling short of the mark.For many, grace comes at an opportune time in their lives. Having gradually realized that the majority of their attempts at righteousness have fallen short of the mark, many are feeling quite confused and condemned about it. Although remembering their zeal for the Lord of years gone by, many have settled for more or less a nominal Christian life; some have even given up completely. And worse yet, some have even thought that God has given up on them!
But something good is about to happen to you even if you don’t expect it. If the description above fits you in any way, congratulations! You have finally come to a place where the Lord can intervene powerfully in your life.
While the Lord has not caused you to fail, he has allowed you to fail in order to reveal that your righteousness can never satisfy his requirements for righteousness. He usually shows this truth through a process familiar to every generation of God’s people. He allows you to struggle for years and years trying to be spiritual, trying to be holy, reading everybody’s exhortation and formulas, zealously applying new keys to true spirituality, or learning new techniques about the deeper life or healing or prosperity. Then, after all those years of striving, you discover that many of the standard formulas don’t seem to work, and, worse yet, your righteousness still has blemishes all over it.
Or, perhaps, you are the sort of person who usually succeeds at your own righteousness. Then the Lord reveals your spiritual inadequacy in another fashion – for example, through a deep hunger for more holiness and power in your soul. You may recognize that, despite all your success, the true spirituality and abiding peace and lasting satisfaction you expected haven’t been realized. Where are they? You thought Christians were supposed to have them!
You have them sometimes, maybe in worship or praise, but they are all too fleeting. You have tried to obey the biblical admonition to be holy as your heavenly Father is holy, and you have usually tried to respond zealously to preaching that exhorted you to aim at perfection. But you are becoming discouraged and exhausted!
Face it. Your own righteousness and spiritual activity cannot do it. God wants you to be totally convinced of this biblical and practical reality. Totally convinced. Why? Because the requirement of God is nothing less than his righteousness and his holiness. Always! The Lord expects and accepts nothing less than his own righteousness and holiness. The peace you seek cannot be found in your own righteousness. The only peace that can ever satisfy your soul is peace with God.
The standard in the gospel is always God’s righteousness. But how do we obtain this? God’s word tells us:
“But now apart from the law the righteousness of God has been manifested, being witnessed by the Law and the Prophets, even the righteousness of God through faith in Jesus Christ for all those who believe; for there is no distinction; for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, being justified freely by his grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus” (Rom. 3:21-24).
God’s standard is always God’s righteousness, and that is where you must find your peace. Peace with God results not from trusting your own righteousness but from trusting only Christ. Have faith in him and the gift of his righteousness.
“Therefore having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ (Rom. 5:1).
Perhaps you are a new Christian, or perhaps up until now you have not hit the brick wall I have described here. Thank God, because if you will learn grace now, you can avoid a lot of the pain and confusion the rest of us have suffered. Begin now to allow the Lord to show you how to live in his righteousness rather than your own. Finally, perhaps you have been plagued by some kind of addiction, or maybe you have done some horribly unacceptable or sinful things. There is always hope for those who have learned their desperate need for grace.
“Fix your hope completely on the grace to be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ” (1 Peter 1:13).
The primary issue is placing our hope completely in the grace of God. Our only hope of righteousness is trusting Christ and his finished work at the cross – plus nothing! This sounds pretty radical, and it is. But it is also biblical. The gospel of Jesus Christ is radical because nothing less can accomplish his purposes in us. Works righteousness is dead! The performance basis for right standing before God is dead! Don’t kid yourself, if you persist in work righteousness, the Lord will allow you to fail in order to drive you back to trusting totally in his mercy. The Lord never causes us to sin, but he may allow some painful struggles and defeats in your life until you acknowledge his grace more fully. Most Christians say they know grace, but their struggles and defeats indicate quite the opposite. Don’t depend upon your human ability to grasp and apply grace. Rather, repent of that right now and ask the Lord to begin to reveal his grace to you – what it really means and how it really works. Think about it – if your own righteousness seldom satisfies you, how can it ever satisfy the Lord?
“…come boldly unto the throne of grace, that [you] may … find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).
Oh Lord, have mercy upon us and grant that we may see and know and accept your grace. Grant that we may learn to fix our hope completely in Jesus Christ and his shed blood.
Joy in the journey,
Danny
posted by Danny | 8:49 PM
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