Righteous in God's Sight

 

“And he believed the Lord, and he counted it to him as righteousness.”

(Genesis 15:6 ESV)

 

 

When we think of the saints, men like Peter, John, and Paul, and when we think of the Patriarchs, men like Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, we think of them as a very spiritual people. We think of them as good and moral people. And we think of them as righteous people.

 

For this reason, we are reluctant to compare ourselves with them, believing that we do not measure up to them. We’re reluctant to liken ourselves to them, believing that we cannot compare with them. We tend to think of them on a tier or a pedestal above ourselves.

 

Looking at their lives, however, we find that they were quite messy. We find that they were sinners, just like us. We find, in fact, that they committed sins that, to us, seem unthinkable.

 

We find, for example, that Abraham allowed his wife to be taken by another man, not once, but twice, to protect himself. We find that Jacob was a liar. Paul was a murderer. And Peter, of course, denied even knowing Jesus.

 

It becomes clear in this way that, like us, they were undeserving of God’s blessing. It becomes clear to us that they too were unable to earn God’s blessing. And it becomes clear to us that, if they were to receive God’s blessing, if they were to receive his salvation, it had to result from his grace.

 

We see this clearly as we look at the passage above. It’s for this reason that Paul quotes this passage in his letter to the Romans in defense of the gospel. He tells us that, having received the promise of God, Abraham believed the Lord. And God credited this to him as righteousness.

 

No one has ever been saved because of their own goodness. No one has ever been saved by their own efforts. Even in the Old Testament, prior to Jesus’ birth, they were saved only by the grace of God through faith.

 

The message of Scripture is consistent. We see the same gospel proclaimed from Genesis through Revelation. We see both the consistency and the faithfulness of God as he’s worked for our salvation.

 

It’s this very truth, then, that we must take to heart. We do not deserve, nor can we earn, the grace of God. We deserve and we can earn nothing more than his wrath.

 

Our salvation is dependent upon Christ alone. And it has been provided to us, from first to last, by Christ alone. It’s by his goodness that we are saved. It’s by his efforts that we are saved. It’s by his sacrifice upon the cross that we have been redeemed.

This salvation is available to each and every one. And it is received through faith in him. As we trust in his work of atonement, and as we trust in his promises, we are saved. Like Abraham, God counts this to us as righteousness.

True to Yourself?

 “Let not sin therefore reign in your mortal body, to make you obey its passions. Do not present your members to sin as instruments for unrighteousness, but present yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life, and your members to God as instruments for righteousness.”

(‭‭Romans‬ ‭6‬:‭12‬-‭13‬ ‭ESV‬‬)

We live in an age where our single ambition is to satisfy our every desire. Our single ambition is to gratify our every urge. Our single ambition is to fulfill our every want.

We reason that, if it’s something that we feel, it must be right. We reason that it’s wrong to deny ourselves that which will please us. And we reason that it’s immoral to deny someone else something that would please them.

This, in fact, has become the greatest virtue of the society in which we live. And not only is it lived out openly. It’s also promoted by the media, taught in our schools, and enforced by our laws.

Sadly, this has become true of much of the church as well. No longer do we acknowledge God’s Word as right and true. It is now secondary to our emotions and our fleshly appetites.

We no longer believe these desires to result from our sinful nature. We no longer consider them a violation of God’s law. To deny our desires, we believe, is truly sin.

We’ve both accepted and promoted the mantra that people should do what makes them happy. We’ve accepted and promoted the mantra that people should do what feels right to them. We’ve accepted and promoted the mantra that truth is determined by what we feel.

When it comes to our faith, we understand that Jesus has forgiven our sin. We understand that, by his death, he’s paid the penalty of our sin. But we fail to understand that, in this way, he has also freed us from sin.

It’s this reality that Paul is addressing in the passage above. Paul had already explained to the believers at Rome that, in Christ, they have died to sin. They died to sin in baptism, and they were raised together with Christ to the new life given them by God. And, for this reason, he told them that they were to count themselves dead to sin, but alive to God in Christ Jesus.

It’s in this context that the above passage was written. And he told them that they were not to allow sin to reign in their mortal bodies. They were not to allow sin to make them obey its passions. And they were not to present their bodies to sin as instruments for unrighteousness.

In other words, Paul called them to deny these desires. He called them to resist these desires. And he told them that they were not to act on these desires.

Instead, they were to present themselves to God as those who had been brought from death to life. They were to live in the freedom and salvation that God had provided them. And they were to do so by presenting their bodies to God as instruments of righteousness.

They were to do so because they were no longer under sin. They were to do so because no longer were they under the dominion of sin. They were to do so because they were under grace. 

What mattered, then, was not what they felt. What mattered was not what they desired. What mattered is the truth God had declared and the life he had provided.

It’s clear, then, that our bodily appetites are not good. It’s clear that the desires of the flesh are not righteous. It’s clear, in fact, that they are sinful. 

For this reason, we must seek not to satisfy them. We must resist them and live the life given to us by God. We must live the life of repentance and faith to which God has called us.

Small, but Mighty

 

“For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move, and nothing will be impossible for you.” 

(Matthew 17:20 ESV)

 

As we consider our faith, and as we live out the Christian life, we often view it on a spectrum. We view it as ranging from that of a new believer, with a young faith, to that of an older believer with a mature faith. And we often tell ourselves that, if only we might grow in faith, then we could do great things for God.

 

We, then, allow this mindset to hold us back from our service of both God and men.  We tell ourselves that we’re not yet mature enough to serve or to be used by God. And we tell ourselves that, someday, we may be able to do more.

 

This seems to be supported by the words of Jesus as we look at the circumstances surrounding the above passage. Jesus had already given to his disciples the authority to cast out demons. In fact, they had already done so. But, in this case, in the case of a man who brought to them his son, they were ineffective.

 

Jesus, when he learned of this, chastised their entire generation for their lack of faith. He referred to them as a faithless and a twisted generation. He, then, cast out this evil spirit himself.

 

When the disciples asked about their inability to do so, Jesus told them that it was because of their little faith. He said that it was because of the smallness of their faith, or the inadequacy of their faith.

 

This, then, feeds our perception that we must become more mature if we’re to serve God.  It feeds our perception that we must become more mature if God is to use us. And this is especially true, we think, if he’s to use us in great ways.

 

We must, however, look at this in the context of his larger statement. As we see in the passage above, he tells them that if they had faith the size of a mustard seed, they could move mountains. If they had faith the size of a very small seed, they could work wonders.

 

The problem with the disciples, then, was not the immaturity of their faith. Nor was it the size of their faith. The problem was their lack of faith. They were not trusting in Christ to accomplish this work. They lacked faith when it came to the authority Jesus had given them.

 

We know this because, according to Jesus, it only takes a very small faith to do great things. Faith like a grain of mustard seed, which is tiny, is enough to move mountains. The disciples, then, didn’t need a bigger faith. They simply needed faith.

 

This truth, you see, is not meant to discourage us.  It’s intended to do the exact opposite. It’s meant as an encouragement. It tells us that God is able to use us in great ways if we have only a very small faith. And it assures us that it doesn’t take greatness in terms of faith to accomplish great works for the Lord.

 

We, then, must not use this as an excuse for our lack of service. Nor can we use it to excuse our unwillingness to serve. We can trust that God will empower us to serve him, even when our faith is small. We can trust that God will accomplish his purpose through us, even when our faith is immature.

We Need a Savior

 

“Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned— for sin indeed was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not counted where there is no law. Yet death reigned from Adam to Moses, even over those whose sinning was not like the transgression of Adam, who was a type of the one who was to come.”

(Romans 5:12-14 ESV)

 

We all understand and confess that we are sinners. We understand and confess that we’re far from perfect. We understand and confess that we violate the law of God and fail to live up to his standards. 

 

However, this is all that we understand sin to be. We believe that it refers only to our acts of disobedience against the law of God. We believe that it refers only to our violations of the will of God.

 

This certainly is sinful. Sin, however, refers also to something more. It refers to the state in which we find ourselves. It refers to condition in which we are born.

 

What I’m speaking of is commonly referred to as original sin. And what this means is that, from the time we are conceived, we have a natural bent, a natural tendency, to rebel against God. It means that we have a natural desire for those things that are opposed to the Lord and his will.

 

We do not enter into the world as innocent beings. Nor are we born into the world as good. We enter this world as enemies of God.

 

It’s for this reason that we’re in need of the salvation of God from the very beginning of life. Even the sweet, cuddly babies that we enjoy are sinners deserving only of God’s judgment. And we know this because they too are subject to the consequences of sin.

 

We see this as we look at the above passage. In it, Paul discusses those who lived between the time of Adam and Moses. He addresses those who lived between the fall of Adam that the law which was given.

 

There was this period where the law had not yet been given. It had not yet been spoken by God, nor had it been written down. And, for this reason, the people could not have been guilty of violating his law as did Adam, who violated a direct command.

 

They, however, remained guilty. We know this because they were subject to the consequences of sin, namely death. Death, you see, would not have been suffered had they not been guilty.

 

So, although sin is certainly a violation of God’s law, we must understand that it is something more. We must understand that it is a state, it’s a condition, in which we find ourselves. And it’s this state that leads us to commit acts of sin.

 

This sinful condition makes us guilty. It makes us deserving of God’s judgment. And this is true of us from even the beginning of our life.

 

We, then, are in need of forgiveness from the very beginning of life. We’re in need of salvation from the very beginning of life. We’re in need of atonement, we’re in need of redemption, from the very beginning of life.

 

The good news, of course, is that Jesus has provided just that. The good news is that his salvation has been provided and made available to all mankind. And it is received by faith in Christ.

 

 

Please, Be Quiet!

 “…aspire to live quietly, and to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one.”

(1 Thessalonians 4:11–12 ESV)

People, today, have an opinion on everything. They seem to believe that they are experts when it comes to each and every subject.  They think they know the best course of action when it comes to politics, world affairs, economics, and even sports. 

They are also nosy. They want to know what’s going on in the lives of those around them. And they seem to think they have the answers to everyone else’s problems.

Additionally, we live in a society where everyone wants to be heard. They want to be recognized. And they want to stand out.

With the advent of social media, it even feels as though this is within our reach. We aspire to be the next YouTube sensation, or the next internet celebrity. We aspire to be the next great influencer. We seek to do so by making our every thought, our every viewpoint, known to anyone and everyone.

We are loud-mouths. We’re blowhards. We’re absolute windbags.

This is true of us, even as believers in Jesus. It’s true of us as churches. We want to express our every opinion, and we do so tactlessly.

The principle cited by Paul, in the above passage, is absolutely foreign to us. It’s one that most of us would never even consider. He tells us to aspire to live quietly and to mind our own affairs.

Rather than expressing every opinion and constantly attempting to be heard, we’re to work with our hands. In other words, we’re to speak less and toil more. We’re to pursue a peaceful existence, seeking only to carry out our duties and vocations.

The result, he says, is that we’ll walk properly before outsiders. We’ll be respected by outsiders. And, as we focus on our responsibilities, we will not find ourselves in need.

So, in this age of opinionated expression, may we learn to keep our thoughts to ourselves. In this age of unfettered assertion, may we mind our own business. May we tend to our responsibilities, seeking to live a quiet and a peaceful existence.