Showing posts with label cannot boast. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cannot boast. Show all posts

February 2, 2025

Does God need me to make Him happy?

Today’s devotional reading says that every Christian wants to please and honor God. While honoring Him is fitting, I’m wondering if the idea of pleasing God is a fleshy one based on human pride. Does God need anything from me? Can I do anything that I can pat myself on the back for and say that I’ve made God happy? This passage comes to mind:

Jesus also told this parable to some who trusted in themselves that they were righteous, and treated others with contempt: “Two men went up into the temple to pray, one a Pharisee and the other a tax collector. The Pharisee, standing by himself, prayed thus: ‘God, I thank you that I am not like other men, extortioners, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax collector. I fast twice a week; I give tithes of all that I get.’ But the tax collector, standing far off, would not even lift up his eyes to heaven, but beat his breast, saying, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner!’ I tell you, this man went down to his house justified, rather than the other. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the one who humbles himself will be exalted.” (Luke 18:9–14)
As the devotional writer says, self-disciplined people can obey laws, fast, give tithes, and do all sorts of good things, but that does not mean much. We can physically separate ourselves from the world, alter our dress code, change our outward habits and live in seclusion from the world and be distinct, but those things take only self-discipline, not grace. Consider moralists and monks, or some of the cults.

Some say we please God by keeping God's laws, but the Bible says the law was given to show us how far short we fall. No one can do it. Sincerity does not make it so. Only Jesus did this and lived a sinless life.

I remember one elderly man who claimed that he never sinned. He must have skipped reading this:
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. (1 John 1:8–9)
This man was sincere. He claimed that sin dishonored the power of the gospel, yet as John wrote, self-deception does the same thing. The truth is, our old nature may be dead to God but it is still able to affect my thinking and ruin my behavior.

The only true standard of holiness is the Lord Jesus Christ. When I look at His life, I’m fully aware of the futility of trying to live a holy life myself. The Bible is clear; Jesus is my holiness. All who believe in Him and trust His righteousness, his blood, his grace and his intercession are honoring God. If I think I can please Him apart from faith in Christ, then I am pridefully putting myself on a pedestal and speaking from flesh not faith.
And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. (Hebrews 11:6)
PRAY: Jesus, You are my righteousness and holiness. You grant faith and all the rewards of trusting You. That means any goodness in me is from You. Not only that, You are complete and need no one to perfect Your joy or anything about You. Even if I obey You and feel pleasure, it is You being glad that I have done it — glad for my sake. You want me to trust You. Faith is how You want me to live and how You enable me through the power of Your Spirit to fit into Your plan for my life. You also allow me to feel Your joy — because You have even given me Your mind. All who believe You, all who trust Your righteousness and Your promises please and honor You for God is pleased with You and You are pleased to live in me. How amazing!



November 20, 2024

Imputed Righteousness - a gift!

 


The author of today’s devotional reading says that few Christians really understand the meaning of Christ being our righteousness. Is that true? Or are there many people who call themselves Christians and simply have not had any revelation from the Holy Spirit about this and are trying to live the Christian life without the rebirth and imputed righteousness that comes as a gift from God?
Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come. All this is from God, who through Christ reconciled us to himself and gave us the ministry of reconciliation; that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. Therefore, we are ambassadors for Christ, God making his appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ, be reconciled to God. For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (2 Corinthians 5:17–21)
These verses describes what happens when a person is truly saved. Their life is changed because Jesus takes our sin and gives us His righteousness. As the Bible says,
God chose what is low and despised in the world, even things that are not, to bring to nothing things that are, so that no human being might boast in the presence of God. And because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness and sanctification and redemption, so that, as it is written, “Let the one who boasts, boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:28–31)
I have heard boasting. Proud voices say, “When I chose Jesus” yet Jesus says, “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)

Salvation is a work of God. A genuine believer cannot repeat words like justified or made righteous as part of some religious vocabulary nor have a vague idea of what this means. These are truths God reveals. We can forget them at times (when flesh takes over), but because of the Holy Spirit, we know that His new life has even given to us.

The devotional writer rightly says “I cannot explain it theologically” yet speaks of righteousness as a supply we can draw from God when needed, as if behavior is the only meaning of righteousness. New life does change a person’s way of doing things, but it is first a statement of who we are in Christ. His righteousness is not a mere commodity to draw on in fresh supply as if it were a jug of milk or a head of lettuce. It is a declaration of how God now sees me because of this great trade made by Jesus Christ when He bore my sin and died for it.

The Bible essentially tells me who I am in Christ and how to live as who I am. It does not list the character traits of Jesus as something to draw on when I feel like it, but this is my new nature and He has given it to me. Because of Jesus, I am righteous, holy, set apart for Him. It was His choice to grant this, not anything I did or can boast about. Faith believes it, and faith glorifies the One who gives it.

PRAY: Jesus, if nothing else I am reviewing Your admonition to “defend the faith” as I read and try to understand ideas that put the onus on people for the work that You alone can and will do. To say I can draw a fresh supply of goodness when I need it is a sad understanding that makes some if not all of Your saving work my responsibility rather than Yours. Perhaps those who think this way have trouble with the “low and despised” part of salvation’s description and need something to boost their ego. I don’t know. All I know is that You saved me — for no other reason than it was Your choice to grant me forgiveness and new life. How can I express my gratitude other than glorifying You for what You have done?!