Satisfied With Our Works?

 
Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life.
(Romans 6:4 NASB)

and what is the surpassing greatness of His power toward us who believe. These are in accordance with the working of the strength of His might which He brought about in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places,
(Ephesians 1:19-20 NASB)

Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of Him who sent Me and to accomplish His work.
(John 4:34 NASB)


It’s amazing to me how fast this year has gone.  I find this is to be true the first part of each year, perhaps no more than this year.  It’s hard to believe that my last blog entry was nearly 4 months ago!

How does the perfectionist process this?  He seeks to make up ground to make up for all past omissions and commissions of sin.   Ridiculous?  Yes.  Impossible?  Yes.  Even if it were possible, would it satisfy?

Indulge me to back up on some recent reflections on the topic…

Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.
(Psalm 119:165 NASB)

Ever since I memorized this verse years ago I recognized the obvious conflict in my life.  Those who know me best would say that I profess a great love for the Scriptures as God’s word.  However, I don’t believe those same people would say that peace is a dominant characteristic of my life.

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, to which indeed you were called in one body; and be thankful.
(Colossians 3:15 NASB)

It’s as if I have a false profession belied by my actions.  If I profess Him as Lord, certain evidence should follow, and peace is central to that evidence. 

‘…Christ in you, the hope of glory…’ – from Colossians 1:27

Yes!

Even now, as I seek to review key truths God has impressed upon my heart, I feel immense pressure to make up for every mistake I have ever made and to finally ‘get my act together.’

This burden weighs on me most every day, but especially on weekends.  As ludicrous as it seems when I write it down, the oppressive wave of this in my heart feels quite real, despite its immense falsehood.  Such is the power of the lie.  It cannot be overcome with the logic of the human mind, but must be fought spiritually.  My ongoing study of Ephesians 6:10-17 is helping me greatly here.

Of the Jewish spiritual leaders, the Apostle Paul said this:
For not knowing about God's righteousness and seeking to establish their own, they did not subject themselves to the righteousness of God.
(Romans 10:3 NASB)

Paul, coming from that world, stated it this way concerning himself:
More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish so that I may gain Christ, and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith,
(Philippians 3:8-9 NASB)

If I seek to establish my own righteousness, then my god is myself.

Yes, I believe both parts of that statement are equally ludicrous!

Yet, I find each day the burden of seeking to establish my own righteousness.  This is a burden both impossible and unnecessary.

Father, grant me repentance leading to the knowledge of the truth of Christ’s righteousness, a deep truth imparted to my innermost being (Psalm 51:6).  Grant me grace to joyfully subject myself by faith to Your righteousness, to let Your peace rule in my heart as love for the truth of Your word takes hold.  I notice how this comes together wonderfully:

Therefore, having been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ,
(Romans 5:1 NASB)

So now, what place do works have?

A man will be satisfied with good by the fruit of his words, And the deeds of a man's hands will return to him.
(Proverbs 12:14 NASB)

So, the pressure is back on to establish my own righteousness, right?  No!  This must be lived out in the truth of ‘Christ in you, the hope of glory’ (from Colossians 1:27).  Because only righteousness satisfies (Matthew 5:6), only the righteous work of Christ in me will satisfy both God and me, just as the Father’s work did for Christ Himself (John 4:34, John 14:10).  More on this next time, Lord willing…

In His Grip,

Mark





Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

God and His Wisdom: An Introduction to Proverbs

“The proverbs of Solomon the son of David, king of Israel: To  know  wisdom and discipline, To  understand  the sayings of understanding, To  receive  discipline that leads to insight, Righteousness, justice, and equity, To  give  prudence to the simple, To the youth knowledge and discretion; Let the wise man  hear  and  increase  in learning, And a man of understanding will  acquire  guidance, To  understand  a proverb and an enigma, The words of the wise and their riddles. The fear of Yahweh is the beginning of knowledge; Ignorant fools despise wisdom and discipline.” (Proverbs 1:1-7 LSB, with emphasis)   “My son, if you will  receive  my words And  treasure  my commandments within you, To  make your ear pay attention  to wisdom, Incline your heart  to discernment; For if you  call out  for understanding, Give your voice  for discernment; If you  seek  her as silver And  search  for her as for hidden treasures; Then you will understand the fear of Yahweh And find the knowledge of God
Read more

Friendship with the World

"The Son of Man has come eating and drinking, and you say, 'Behold, a gluttonous man and a drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!' ( - Jesus, Luke 7:34 NASB) 'You adulteresses, do you not know that friendship with the world is hostility toward God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.' (James 4:4 NASB) 'It is a trustworthy statement, deserving full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, among whom I am foremost of all.' ( - the Apostle Paul, 1 Timothy 1:15 NASB) Was Jesus, in fact, a friend of sinners? What is to be the nature of our relationships as believers with unbelievers? As believers, should we refer to ourselves as ‘sinners’? As I've reflected on much of the teaching I've heard in recent times, as well as many conversations I've had, it seems to me much confusion abounds regarding these questions.  I hear the term 'contextualization'
Read more

The Cost of Christlikeness

Before I was afflicted I went astray, But now I keep Your word. It is good for me that I was afflicted, That I may learn Your statutes. I know, O LORD, that Your judgments are righteous, And that in faithfulness You have afflicted me. (Psalm 119:67, 71, 75 NASB) In my previous blog entry I spoke from Romans 8:28-30 on how God works all things for His children to become like Jesus in their character. As I thought about this, it seems to me that two questions or issues immediately arise from this assertion: What about those who do not ‘love God’ and are not ‘called according to His purpose’? (from Romans 8:28) What will it cost me to fully participate in God’s purpose for my life? In short, I believe the common answer for both is joyfully submitting to God’s Lordship in their lives, that is, His absolute control over all things. Let me explain: For the unbeliever, we see God’s goodness to all people in creation (Acts 14:17), and that He has orchestrated all things so that people would
Read more