Jeremiah 13:23 Can an Ethiopian change the color of his skin? Can a leopard take away its spots? Neither can you start doing good, for you have always done evil.
Isaiah 64:6 All of us have become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous acts are like filthy rags; we all shrivel up like a leaf, and like the wind our sins sweep us away.
Romans 2:4 Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?
John 15:5 Jesus said "I am the vine; you are the branches. If a man remains in me and I in him, he will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not remain in me, he is like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned...16 You did not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you to go and bear fruit—fruit that will last."
Faith in Christ comes from regeneration by the Holy Spirit. Nothing we do on our own will ever be sufficient for relationship with Jesus. God is the one who draws people to himself. If it were left up to me to properly share the gospel, verbatim with every person I encounter, then people's salvation and relationship with Christ is not only contingent, but supremely dependent on my every word. This means that their understanding of their sin, God's holiness, Jesus' sacrifice, death, and resurrection hangs off of everything I say. And if I mess up, people go to hell on account of me. That limit's God's sovereign power, because it puts me in place of the judge, to either admit or condemn someone based on what I say.
Thank the Lord this is not the case. This means that it is the Holy Spirit that does a work in the person. That means that seeds will be planted, and harvests will be ready for the reaping. That means that God draws those to himself he desires to save. This also means that I cannot perceive, personify or criticize God for his character, his standard or his choices. I only have to be faithful with preaching the word (2 Tim 4:2). I need to obey Christ's command in Matthew 28, to "make disciples of all nations." To remain faithful as a steward and a servant.
Scripture is beautifully clear as to the full work and effect salvation by the work of God.
Romans 1:16 states, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, "The righteous shall live by faith."
We see here that in the gospel, which is the power of God to save those who will believe, is the encapsulation of God's righteousness. If "the righteous shall live by faith" is true, that means those who believe, those who receive salvation must be righteous. The dichotomy we then face is that, among other verses in scripture, Jeremiah 13 and Isaiah 64 clearly state that we have always been evil, as a result of sin, and our self righteousness, imparted by our wickedness, are viewed as filthy rags. (Or in the Hebrew, the word "filthy" means: used, bloody menstrual rags). That sucks for us! The question stands, what is it that remains for us to possibly do at this juncture for any hope of redemption? The answer: nothing. Which to those who are hopeless or uncertain about their faith is the most terrible thing to ever hear. But it is quite the contrary, it is wonderful and beautiful.
It means that I'm a sinner. It means that because of my tainted and perverse nature, anything I do is in retrospect tainted and perverse. But if a holy, loving, perfect and compassionately just God is the one who does the saving, the one who imparts salvation, then it is the transforming life to a wicked, tainted and perverted sinner.
This is how sweet it is:
Ephesians 2: 8For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.
and
1 Peter 1:23 you have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable, through the living and abiding word of God;
There's so much more in these verses for unpacking, but I don't have the time right now to continue. God is good and I thank him for the gift of salvation that he has given to an ill-deserving person like myself, that has regenerated and still continues to transform, abide and grow in me, bringing life to the fullest to ultimately glorify God with every inch of my being. I encourage you to look into these verses more, and ask God to reveal himself to you in his word. Amen. Soli Deo Gloria
2 comments:
I like that your pondering God's word and breaking down verses brother! What a great way grow closer to God! Keep it up! >Paul:)
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