Serving God is not a competition

Now a discussion arose between some of John’s disciples and a Jew over purification. And they came to John and said to him, “Rabbi, he who was with you across the Jordan, to whom you bore witness—look, he is baptizing, and all are going to him.” John answered, “A person cannot receive even one thing unless it is given him from heaven. You yourselves bear me witness, that I said, ‘I am not the Christ, but I have been sent before him.’ The one who has the bride is the bridegroom. The friend of the bridegroom, who stands and hears him, rejoices greatly at the bridegroom’s voice. Therefore this joy of mine is now complete. He must increase, but I must decrease.” (John 3:25–30)

John was truly humble. He could have envied what Jesus was doing. He could have taken credit for pointing others to Him. He could have boasted that God had sent him to do this important task. Yet he did not have “I” problems that reveal self-centered pride. He knew that the root of pride is saying that we can do without God. He also knew that pride is sin.

C. S. Lewis said: “The most obvious fact about praise escaped me for the longest…” pointing to the fact that we are created in His image and made to reflect that image to the world. It is why we exist, and this is not just about Christian service:

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. Give no offense to Jews or to Greeks or to the church of God, just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, that they may be saved. (1 Corinthians 10:31–33)

Pride thinks I know best, that I can do it myself, that I am adequate. This is not a description of Abraham who is the father of faith:

No unbelief made him waver concerning the promise of God, but he grew strong in his faith as he gave glory to God, fully convinced that God was able to do what he had promised. That is why his faith was “counted to him as righteousness.” But the words “it was counted to him” were not written for his sake alone, but for ours also. It will be counted to us who believe in him who raised from the dead Jesus our Lord, who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification. (Romans 4:20–25)

How to do it? First trust Him for everything and give Him glory by recognizing and publicly acknowledging His supreme worth and significance. Ascribe weight to Him, calling accurate public attention to His importance and proclaiming what He is and does. This is my fundamental purpose — to please, honor, and bring glory to my Creator and in every dimension of life, even eating and drinking.

It also means honoring Him above myself, and putting Him on display in both small and significant matters far deeper than religious expression, but in how I speak, work, what I wear and eat, how I care for myself and others, how I use the skills He gave me, and tell others how He cares for me.
All creation exists “from Him and through Him and to Him,” so I exist for His glory and through Christ’s life and death, with ultimate aim toward God’s glory. His grace is not meant to honor me nor is His glory is some sort of cosmic egotism. Instead it reveals Him with the goal to magnify human desire to know Him and be saved, like John said. He must increase, but I must decrease.

Jesus, I understand this by the difference I see in others when I tell of my achievements or when I point to You as the reason for anything good in my life. No one wants to be like me, but when I glorify You they seem drawn to You — with the hope that they can trust You and know Your grace and blessings. If I can be an expert in anything, it is the willingness and ability to decrease while You increase in all that I think, say, and do.

 

Being the person God created…

In the meantime, when so many thousands of the people had gathered together that they were trampling one another, he began to say to his disciples first, “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. Nothing is covered up that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. Therefore whatever you have said in the dark shall be heard in the light, and what you have whispered in private rooms shall be proclaimed on the housetops. (Luke 12:1–3)

Hypocrisy is when a person says one thing but does another. This word is usually attached to morals. Example: A driver honks and screams at cars for changing lanes too fast, then cuts across three lanes without using his signal lights. In broader terms, it is giving rules for how others should live, but breaking those rules in my own life. Jesus says this sort of life eventually is exposed.

Christians are often called hypocrites. We know how God wants us to live, talk, even think, yet we do things, or say things, and even think the opposite. While that sort of problem has an explanation, so does the cure. First the explanation:

But that is not the way you learned Christ!— assuming that you have heard about him and were taught in him, as the truth is in Jesus, to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds, and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:20–24)

We who have a saving faith in Jesus Christ are given a new nature to live by, and though the old nature is termed ‘dead’ (that means ‘separated from God’ rather than unable to act, talk, and think), we do have a choice, not an excuse. It is simple:

But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh, to gratify its desires. (Romans 13:14)

We need to change our thinking: “Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.” (Romans 12:2)

Anyone who uses the accusation of ‘hypocrite’ know the difficulty and challenge of changing how to think or even admit the need to change. This not an excuse, but it is a matter of faith. Do I believe I know better than God? Do I even know what God thinks about concerning what I pray about? I have a friend who says, “Why pray when you can worry?” illustrating how easily it is to be a hypocrite if worry is a person’s habit of life.

Humility pops into this equation too. If I think I am right all the time (pride), listening to God’s view and putting it into practice is not easy. I have to see myself as weak, needy, and often downright stupid. This is not popular in a world that tells us we need to have a positive self-image. God’s ways are not our ways. Pride blocks them.

God, You know every thought I think or whisper and what opposites exist in what I say compared to how I live. You call it how You see it. I’m not to be as the Pharisees, but to be like Jesus, and the only way to do that is to keep my sins acknowledged, confessed, and abandoned, then be filled with Your Spirit and walk that way with no provision for the flesh. You give me what is needed. My choice is to believe You and live like it. 

“I can do it myself”

Most mothers know the words in this title. they come from little ones who want to demonstrate their skills, often long before they are able. I have three children. When they announced their determination to be independent long before they were able to ‘do it myself’ I told the first two that they were too young and shut them down. For the third one, I let him try and find out for himself that he was not able.

I don’t know if that made a lot of difference in their view of salvation, but that attitude remains in human hearts when it comes to pleasing God or obtaining eternal life. Like the rich young ruler who came to Jesus and asked, “What must I do to be saved?” this is a the normal approach of people seeking eternal life. 

This morning, I read about a group of Jews who insisted that salvation involves human effort or human works. . . .  

But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.” (Acts 15:1)
This flies in the face of the gospel that says: “For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.” (Ephesians 2:8–9)

On that occasion, the leaders of the early church responded:

Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will. (Acts 15:10–11)

Instead of circumcision, they did target a few things that particular group of new believers needed to watch out for and not do:

Therefore my judgment is that we should not trouble those of the Gentiles who turn to God, but should write to them to abstain from the things polluted by idols, and from sexual immorality, and from what has been strangled, and from blood. For from ancient generations Moses has had in every city those who proclaim him, for he is read every Sabbath in the synagogues. (Acts 15:19–21)

In other words, they knew the laws Moses gave and knew they could not save themselves, but there were past sins that they needed to avoid because they were vulnerable to them. Most of us know how this is. Our problem is thinking we can overcome our bad habits, or do something ourselves to be stronger Christians.

I’ve heard similar thinking among cults and even Christians who try to add something we must do to perfect our faith in Christ. One large denomination believes that if a Christian is not keeping all the commandments before they die, they cannot be saved. A cult believes that Christ died to give them the right to earn their salvation. Some Christians struggle with the idea that they must do certain things or they are not Christians. That attitude of childhood carries forward and “I will do it myself” pops up even in serving God. 

To this, Jesus said. . . .  

I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)

And Paul echoed that when he asked God to remove a troubling weakness in his life:

Three times I pleaded with the Lord about this, that it should leave me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me. (2 Corinthians 12:8–9)

The idea is that “I must do something” — better than thinking God or others will do it all and I can do whatever I want, but if that ‘something’ is only what I want, or motivated and energized by the sinful nature, or anything other than the Spirit of God, it is ignoring Him to do my own thing. No matter how good that might look, it is sin…

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6)

PRAY: Sin, even the sin of trying to show my faith by doing what I think You want without talking or listening to You or being filled with Your Spirit, may interfere with Your will. But not only that, it is an insult that declares my ways are better or just as good as Your ways. May I simply trust You, seeking Your will and Your guidance in all things — never boasting but giving You glory. Always. Forgive all notions and actions that think I can do it by myself. I need You just to breathe, never mind to live a godly life.

Humbled before the empty cross and tomb…

 

Last week I had a conversation with a man we have known since he was a boy. He was not a Christian then but after being challenged to read the Bible by a woman who is now his wife, his life was transformed. As we talked about what it means to be a Christian, he stressed the importance of humility.

In other conversations with professing Christians, I often hear them say, “When I accepted Christ. . . .” and “I did this for the Lord” and wonder about the thinking behind those words. The Bible is clear. Jesus said,

You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you that you should go and bear fruit and that your fruit should abide, so that whatever you ask the Father in my name, he may give it to you. (John 15:16)

Scripture is also clear that any good thing we do does not earn our salvation, nor is it totally our doing when we obey Him:

Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:4–5)

This week someone mentioned a well-known preacher with admiration. Years ago I looked into his teaching and concluded he was a false teacher so said so. I’d forgotten why so checked again. This person, now deceased, taught that anyone who believed that faith in Christ made us eternally secure was demon-possessed. He was convinced that we chose faith in Christ and be saved, but then we could also chose not to believe in Christ and become unsaved. While I’ve challenged that on the meaning of “eternal” it is also evidence of a lack of humility.

Pride says “I can” and thinks we have more control over our eternal situation than God. The one who thinks we can override what God promises His children is a proud person to think that “my decisions” determine destiny. Yes, we can make choices, but Galatians and the rest of the NT tell how the Spirit of God changes our hearts for those who believe. Also this:

For the love of Christ controls us, because we have concluded this: that one has died for all, therefore all have died; and he died for all, that those who live might no longer live for themselves but for him who for their sake died and was raised. (2 Corinthians 5:14–15)

Yes there are warnings about turning from Christ, mostly for those who waiver at His Word, but there are also promises like this one: “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)

Salvation is by grace, not by works, by God’s calling not my decision. Walking by faith is also by grace, not earned by my performance. Without Christ, I am nothing and would be lost in an instant the very first time I thought or did something to ‘live for myself’ — and I cannot claim even as a Christian that I have no sin:

If we say 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. If we say we have not sinned, we make him a liar, and his word is not in us. (1 John 1:8–10)

Humility means honesty about what we do — and fail to do — in our walk with Jesus. Sometimes we don’t listen — an activity of our old nature, which the Bible continually tells us is now dead, separate from God. When we do listen and obey, that is evidence of His grace and the new nature He gives His children. Our lives are filled with learning how to walk in the Spirit and not the flesh, and in the end, when we see Jesus face to face, we will be like Him. God says so (1 John 3:1-3) and God does not lie nor is He unable to finish His work of saving us.

PRAY: Jesus, hearing on Friday the details of Your suffering was incredibly humbling. If I could do any of what it means to walk with You, You would not have needed to experience the cross. Nor would Your grace be necessary, nor Your sustaining power. To say You cannot keep me saved is another way of saying I don’t need You, a pride-filled nonsense and the mark of false-teaching. Today we celebrate that You rose from the dead. That is true and vital. It is because of Your obedience that Your people can say: “If anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.” (2 Corinthians 5:17) You have risen! This demonstrates Your incredible love for those who humbly bow before You. You have risen indeed!

Pride is a huge turn-off

Every now and then I get upset when it seems someone is telling others they need Jesus with the underlining message that the other person is not acceptable unless they are a Christian. The other person seems resentful of this put-down and less interested in hearing more.

Jesus said that the Holy Spirit’s task is to convict sinners about their unbelief. This does not mean that I should merely pray and never tell others the good news of the gospel. It does mean that my attitude should never be one of superiority because I am saved and considered righeous in God’s sight but that other person is still in sin and not acceptable.  

The Bible is full of instruction on the attitudes God wants in my life. They are summed up in loving Him and loving others. That love for others is exemplified in Jesus Christ. He told His disciples:

Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.” (Matthew 9:13)

This means Jesus came into the world to save sinners, not to save the righteous, the fervent, and the earnest workers, but simply and only to save sinners. Some will say they are too far gone to save. At the other end of the spectrum are those who boast that God saved them, as if they somehow deserved it. Besides…

By grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast. (Ephesians 2:8-9)

This means that no one, even the most pious of God’s children, can lord it over others as if their position in Christ makes them superior. Jesus came to save sinners and that attitude is contrary to the reason Jesus saved me! Pride has no place in why He did it.

Perhaps one of the reasons that the Apostle Paul was mightily used by God is about his attitude. He said this:

The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. (1 Timothy 1:15)

Instead of putting himself on a pedestal, this man of God identified with those Jesus came to save. He was merciful and even though he led a sacrificial life, it was not characterized by a self-righteous attitude nor did he use his position in Christ to manipulate others. He wrote about his attitude:

I, Paul, myself entreat you, by the meekness and gentleness of Christ—I who am humble when face to face with you, but bold toward you when I am away! (2 Corinthians 10:1)
Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. (Galatians 6:1)
But we were gentle among you, like a nursing mother taking care of her own children. (1 Thessalonians 2:7)
In your hearts honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you; yet do it with gentleness and respect. (1 Peter 3:15)

Today’s devotional warns me not to fix my eyes on myself or wonder if I am ‘good enough’ because I cannot answer these questions for myself, never mind impose such questions to others in the hope that they will be convicted of their sin and want to know Christ and salvation. All that would do is exalt self and fill me with self-congratulation and pride… and turn off the other person.

PRAY: Lord, in this I realize that exalting myself for not exalting myself is a form of pride too. Enable humility that shows up in all my interactions with others, even in my interactions with those who are filled with pride at being saved from sin. They don’t deserve even the least of Your mercies — and neither do I.
 

Wisdom requires humility . . .

 

 

READ Job 29-32

Dwelling on my mistakes is sometimes a good thing if it leads to repentance and change, but this can also be self-centered navel-gazing, just one more way of putting me in the spotlight instead of exalting my Savior. On the other hand, when down and down-trodden, a review of how God has blessed and used my life can be medicine for a discouraged and depressed soul.

In today’s chapters, Job rehearses the good times. He thinks of his family, his position as a prominent and respected man who was blessed by all. People listened to his wisdom and all was well. He also talked about his present situation. He was ridiculed by those who once looked up to him and even by those whose opinion was generally unworthy. His friends turned against him and everyone misunderstood him. His afflictions deepened each day.

Not only that, when he called on the Lord, he heard silence, as if he were forgotten. His joy was gone and he was mourning for his losses, even for himself. All that was left was his integrity. Even in all his anguish, he knew that he was all that he claimed to be before God. For him, there was no answer to this deeply painful situation except to keep trusting God.

“If I have walked with falsehood and my foot has hastened to deceit; (Let me be weighed in a just balance, and let God know my integrity!) (Job 31:5–6)

God know the human heart. He knows our intentions and our difficulties. He never leaves us or forsakes us even if we feel alone and without any resources. Reviewing the past, the present, and our hopes for the future along with an honest declaration of all that we are feeling is one way to display integrity. Job did this and in the midst of tough times, he remained full of faith. He trusted in the only One who could truly help him and Job never forsook the Lord.

As I look back at fifty years or so of being a Christian, my errors and failures could easily throw me into a pit — if I make them the focus of my review. Yet God, through the life of Job, tells me to do that review with His faithfulness in mind rather than my failures. In that lies great blessing.

Chapter 32 is interesting. A younger man comes forward. He has been listening to Job and the words of his ‘friends’ and been angered at both sides of this debate. He first goes after the three accusers and says:

“I am young in years, and you are aged; therefore I was timid and afraid to declare my opinion to you. I said, ‘Let days speak, and many years teach wisdom.’ But it is the spirit in man, the breath of the Almighty, that makes him understand. It is not the old who are wise, nor the aged who understand what is right. Therefore I say, ‘Listen to me; let me also declare my opinion.’” (Job 32:6–10)

I don’t know what I might have said to these three ‘friends’ but Elihu’s rebuke includes a wisdom that many do not realize. He said that understanding comes from God, not necessarily because a person is old and wise. My dad used to say, “There is no fool like an old fool” and Elihu would agree.

However, this young man also knew the possibility that what he says is his “opinion” rather that the thoughts of God, another wise statement. This is a rebuke to these ‘friends’ for speaking without the humility that comes with an admission that not one of us really knows very much. Their words to Job would have been much different had they told him they had no idea why God had allowed this man to suffer.

In my prayers, I realize how little I know of the will of God. When they are answered, the answer is a small glimpse, yet when nothing happens according to my requests, I also learn something: that I’m either to wait or that God is telling me how clueless I am to what He is doing. From Job, I learn that the best thing I can do is to keep on trusting Him. Only the Lord can give me right words and right thoughts. I must admit that when He does (or does not) I may not have a clue about that either. Unless what I say lines up with His words plainly stated in Scripture and unless He reveals it by His Spirit to my spirit, I am just as oblivious as those ‘friends’ when stating my understanding about most everything, no matter my age or how much I study, or much I think I know.

 

Learning obedience takes a lifetime . . .

 

READ Exodus 17-20

These four chapters are rich with story and with application. God’s people have just begun their journey with Him to the place He promised them, but they had much to learn. I look back on my fifty years of walking with Christ; He has taught me much, but I’m still learning. That says two things: learning about God will take an eternity, and my tendency to forget or resist is stubbornly entrenched.

That said, wanting my own way and not being content with God’s way is a characteristic of sin. He had given them food and water, but they still whined to their leader when it seemed God had forgotten them:

All the congregation of the people of Israel moved on from the wilderness of Sin by stages, according to the commandment of the Lord, and camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. Therefore the people quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” And Moses said to them, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you test the Lord?” (Exodus 17:1–2)

However, they did learn the value of sticking together, of supporting their leaders. When Amalek attacked, Moses delegated the choice of fighting men to Joshua and stood on a hill with his staff to rally them in the battle. Then, “Whenever Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed, and whenever he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. But Moses’ hands grew weary, so they took a stone and put it under him, and he sat on it, while Aaron and Hur held up his hands, one on one side, and the other on the other side. So his hands were steady until the going down of the sun. And Joshua overwhelmed Amalek and his people with the sword.” (Exodus 17:8–13)

Moses also learned to delegate rather than do everything himself. His father-in-law advised him to do all God told him, but “look for able men from all the people, men who fear God, who are trustworthy and hate a bribe, and place such men over the people as chiefs of thousands, of hundreds, of fifties, and of tens. And let them judge the people at all times. Every great matter they shall bring to you, but any small matter they shall decide themselves. So it will be easier for you, and they will bear the burden with you. If you do this, God will direct you, you will be able to endure, and all this people also will go to their place in peace.”

Moses listened and selected able men to lead groups and judge their issues, bringing hard cases to him. (Exodus 18:18–26) Wanting to “do it myself” can indicate pride or lack of trust in God to direct others to do the job, as if I am the only one who can. That has been a huge, repetitive lesson for me.

The most important lessons have always been about simple obedience. God told Moses to remember the exodus from slavery, what He did to the Egyptians, and how He brought them to Himself. He also kept reminding them of the results; they would be His treasured possession and a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. I’m not to forget His purposes for me either and always remind others of the same thing. We belong to God and must obey Him to see this happen in our lives. (Exodus 19:3–6)

Chapter 20 contains the Ten Commandments. Volumes have been written. For me, the first one is basic. If I neglect it, the rest are apt to fall also. God says to me: “I am the Lord your God, who brought you out of slavery to sin. You shall have no other gods before me.” While I’m not apt to “make for myself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth or bow down to them or serve them.” This command is broken every time I ignore Him and trust myself and do things my own way.

I also need to remember how this command was broken even as God was giving it. Sin is the enemy and it keeps me from enjoying and remembering that God “shows steadfast love to thousands of those who love Him and keep His commandments.” (Exodus 20:1–6) The chief lesson is that the Lord God is the Lord God. He is the priority and obeying Him is my response to the greatest love anyone could ever know.