What do I trust the most?

 

The devotional author tells of a woman who came to him wanting help. She agreed to accept Jesus as Lord of her life and prayed, but then would not give up evidence of her former life. She eventually said, “I guess I don’t really want Jesus, do I?”

She was like the wealthy young man who came to Jesus saying,

“Teacher, what good deed must I do to have eternal life?” And he said to him, “Why do you ask me about what is good? There is only one who is good. If you would enter life, keep the commandments.” He said to him, “Which ones?” And Jesus said, “You shall not murder, You shall not commit adultery, You shall not steal, You shall not bear false witness, Honor your father and mother, and You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” The young man said to him, “All these I have kept. What do I still lack?” Jesus said to him, “If you would be perfect, go, sell what you possess and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven; and come, follow me.” When the young man heard this, he went away sorrowful, for he had great possessions. (Matthew 19:16–22)

He wanted the eternal life Jesus offered but also wanted to keep the life he had. He was not willing to count the cost of belonging to Christ, of calling Him Lord and doing what He says.

Jesus may not ask everyone to give up their possessions, or change their job, or move to Timbuktu, but if a person is not willing to obey Him at all, then their faith is not sufficient for eternal life. Jesus is, but those who want to keep what they have do not trust that He is good, or capable, or wants the best for them.

This can also happen to those who have entered into a saving relationship with Him too. We soon find out through tests and temptations that there is much in this life that keeps us from full obedience. Others might determine such a person is not saved, but being a disciple is both and event and a process. The event involves saving faith — the process involves finding out how much we depend on ourselves and how much we need to learn that our faith is not being replaced by anything else.

The woman in the devotional writer’s story was without saving faith to begin with. She was not willing to give up what she really depended on, her sinful lifestyle. The rich young man was like that also. He wanted eternal life but not if it meant giving up his wealth, revealing what he depended on.

Christians can be sincere in their faith yet go through the process of realizing how much we can trust in our own understanding. We are told:

Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones. Honor the Lord with your wealth and with the firstfruits of all your produce; then your barns will be filled with plenty, and your vats will be bursting with wine. My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof, for the Lord reproves him whom he loves, as a father the son in whom he delights. (Proverbs 3:5–12)

For some, this discipline and reproof is more difficult because salvation came to them after they became adults. It means unlearning years of habits based on our own understanding. For those who are relatively successful by the world’s standards, it means giving up human wisdom. It also means honoring God instead of enjoying the praise of their human success. This isn’t about the ‘big’ sins like murder, robbery, and so on, but the sins of wanting control and thinking I know what I am doing without asking God or trusting Him for direction.

If such things are heard along with the gospel, understood as the cost of following Jesus, but become a reason to anyone to say NO, the NT says: “How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard.” (Hebrews 2:3) Such a person will not receive Christ or experience the discipline of learning to trust Him with all their heart.

If this happens after salvation, the discipling process will take time, but Jesus will not give up: “And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” (Philippians 1:6)

PRAY: Lord Jesus, I know how difficult it is to learn to trust You for all things in this life, even as I trust You for eternal life. My heart goes out to those who struggle with this issue of total trust.

PONDER: Think of questions I can ask to find out what makes someone unwilling to totally trust Jesus, and ways to help them see this as a stumbling block preventing them from receiving the wonderful gift of eternal life through faith in Him.

 

 

Where does living a good life fit with the Gospel?

In my current seminary class, one of the students has been challenging the rest about mixing faith and works in the Gospel message. This mixing can be very subtle. The lecturer told of a young man whose childhood church stressed faith in Christ, but added the necessity of a deep commitment. This made him think that salvation was only for those who tried hard.

The Bible does say that salvation is by grace through faith, not of works lest any man should boast. That is, becoming a child of God is not about anything we do. God graciously bestows salvation. The agent is faith, but even that is a gift from Him. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

We are also to walk by faith, trusting God to supply all we need to live for Him. We do not earn His favor by our good deeds, for we already have His favor. In Christ, He gives us all we need and anything good that we do flows out of His life in us.

Confusion happens because good deeds sound like biblical commands. Some wonder their point. If we are saved without them, and God sees us in Christ and we are His children without them, why do we need to do them? The above mentioned student is making the point that we do not need to do them to be saved.

BUT, and this is the point of today’s readings, those who have this justified and saving relationship with Christ WILL do good things. If Christ lives in us, we cannot help it. He changes how we think and how we behave. Because we are saved, we live differently than before, not to earn God’s favor or even pay Him back. (Some Christians might fall into that mode, but it is not biblical.) Salvation is having Jesus Christ in my life, and He produces good works in us.

Jesus says we are like trees: “No good tree bears bad fruit, nor again does a bad tree bear good fruit, for each tree is known by its own fruit. For figs are not gathered from thornbushes, nor are grapes picked from a bramble bush. The good person out of the good treasure of his heart produces good, and the evil person out of his evil treasure produces evil, for out of the abundance of the heart his mouth speaks.”

The treasure is Christ, and because He lives in me, I can bear good fruit, but the process is not automatic. It requires my cooperation, for right after this, Jesus asks, “Why do you call me ‘Lord, Lord,’ and not do what I tell you?” (Luke 6:43–49)

In another place, He describes those who listen and those who do not as a home builder: “Everyone then who hears these words of mine and does them will be like a wise man who built his house on the rock. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat on that house, but it did not fall, because it had been founded on the rock. And everyone who hears these words of mine and does not do them will be like a foolish man who built his house on the sand. And the rain fell, and the floods came, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell, and great was the fall of it.” (Matthew 7:24–29)

In another place, Jesus says, “If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. Whoever does not love me does not keep my words . . .” (John 14:23–24)

How I live does not earn my salvation, but clearly is a test of whether or not I have it. How I live shows what is going on in my heart. Do I love God? Do I know Jesus Christ? This is crucial. Jesus said, “This is eternal life, that they know you the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent.” (John 17:3)

Living a good life could indicate a person trying to earn salvation. This effort will lead to great pride or great frustration. It cannot be done. No one earns salvation; we all fall short.

Living a good life part of the time can also characterize an effort to earn salvation, but it can also describe a genuine Christian who is sometimes disobedient. This is confusing, both to the person involved and those who observe. Judging someone’s salvation based on performance is risky and prone to error. I cannot judge my own salvation that way either, for it leads to pride and frustration. I might succeed now and then, but the more I know about God’s standards, the more I will see how I fall short.

The only basis for forgiveness and eternal life is Jesus Christ. He lived a perfect life, a life God imputed to me by grace through faith. Jesus never fails, is the same yesterday, today and forever, and keeps every promise. Salvation is always about Him, not about what I do, even what I do in response to what He has done.

“How shall we escape if we neglect such a great salvation? It was declared at first by the Lord, and it was attested to us by those who heard” (Hebrews 2:3) and given freely to those He has called and redeemed. It is God’s gift of grace, not by works.