Pride is one of the most reprehensible sins a person can commit because it demonstrates that a person has not recognized the grace of God in Christ. If God justifies me on the basis of faith in Jesus and His work, not my work, then I have no basis or reason to boast.
Some like to think that they can earn God’s blessing and approval. If that were true then God's approval would not be by grace but would be owed to the person (Romans 4:4). In effect such an arrangement would make God a debtor to people. It would put God in a position where He was obligated to bless someone. GOD WILL NEVER BE A DEBTOR TO ANYONE. A DEBTOR IS UNDER THE CONTROL OF THE ONE TO WHOM A DEBT IS OWED –
Proverbs 22:7 – “The rich rules over the poor, And the borrower is servant to the lender.”
Those who try to earn God’s blessing are involved in a subtle attempt to usurp the control of God in their lives. God will not allow that.
When we get to heaven and see Jesus the Lamb on His throne we will worship Him and focus upon Him (Revelation 4-5). No one will be able to stand up and say, “Wait a minute, don’t forget about me! I visited a lot of people going door-to-door.” Or, “Wait a minute, I paid double tithes . . . I didn’t drink coffee . . . I never danced or went to a movie! etc.” You won’t even be saying, “Oh wow! Look, there’s Billy Graham, and there’s Chuck Smith, and there’s . . “ No, there will be no room for boasting in heaven. We’ll all be sinners saved by God’s grace and all eyes will be on Jesus.
All God seeks from us is our love and appreciation (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).
We need to learn to accept God’s grace gracefully. Enjoy the goodness and blessings of God even though you will never deserve it. Don’t work for it. Just receive and enjoy it. God has stamped us with the stamp of Jesus. You can’t improve on that. Yet so often we try to do so. You simply can’t. Just receive the blessings of His grace and enjoy them.
No comments:
Post a Comment