Steps to Christ MORALITY IS NOT ENOUGH
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3:18.
The enemy of God knows that if a person seeks Jesus, the first byproduct of that experience will be genuine faith. He knows that the second byproduct of that experience will be righteousness--a natural, spontaneous righteousness that comes from Christ instead of from our own backbone. So one of his favorite gimmicks is to get us to focus on anything but the relationship with Jesus.
He has succeeded by getting people to focus on righteousness. He says, "Now. listen. In order to be a Christian you've got to do what's right. Now work at it." So a person begins trying all the gimmicks. He tries to develop more backbone. Have you ever tried that? I've tried it. Tried to force myself to do things I didn't want to do. I listed out my "seven sins," and I began working on sin No. 1. But before I got to sin No. 7, sin No. 1 was back again! And when I was working the hardest on it, someone from southern California sent me a pamphlet, "One Hundred Sins Laodicea Must Repent Of!"
Then someone came along and said, "No, that's not it. What you need to do is to control your thoughts, because as a man 'thinketh in his heart, so is he.' " So I began to try to control my thoughts. "Now, let's see. Today I'm not going to think about...Whoops! I just thought about it." Have you ever been over that road? It is possible to look at yourself in the mirror so long that you become more like yourself.
Someone said, "Suppose you hate Jones, and slap him every time you see him. Your part in overcoming is to try hard to keep from slapping Jones. If you will keep from slapping Jones, then God will do the rest, by taking the hate and temper out of your heart." But when I tried it, I discovered that I couldn't keep from slapping Jones.
We are not against morality. Morality is worthwhile. It will keep you out of jail. It will keep you from getting traffic tickets. It will keep you from lying in the gutter. But morality is not Christianity, and it will not get you to heaven. The only way for a person to have any kind of righteousness whatever is to have Jesus, through a relationship with Him.
But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory even as by the Spirit of the Lord. 2 Cor. 3:18.
The enemy of God knows that if a person seeks Jesus, the first byproduct of that experience will be genuine faith. He knows that the second byproduct of that experience will be righteousness--a natural, spontaneous righteousness that comes from Christ instead of from our own backbone. So one of his favorite gimmicks is to get us to focus on anything but the relationship with Jesus.
He has succeeded by getting people to focus on righteousness. He says, "Now. listen. In order to be a Christian you've got to do what's right. Now work at it." So a person begins trying all the gimmicks. He tries to develop more backbone. Have you ever tried that? I've tried it. Tried to force myself to do things I didn't want to do. I listed out my "seven sins," and I began working on sin No. 1. But before I got to sin No. 7, sin No. 1 was back again! And when I was working the hardest on it, someone from southern California sent me a pamphlet, "One Hundred Sins Laodicea Must Repent Of!"
Then someone came along and said, "No, that's not it. What you need to do is to control your thoughts, because as a man 'thinketh in his heart, so is he.' " So I began to try to control my thoughts. "Now, let's see. Today I'm not going to think about...Whoops! I just thought about it." Have you ever been over that road? It is possible to look at yourself in the mirror so long that you become more like yourself.
Someone said, "Suppose you hate Jones, and slap him every time you see him. Your part in overcoming is to try hard to keep from slapping Jones. If you will keep from slapping Jones, then God will do the rest, by taking the hate and temper out of your heart." But when I tried it, I discovered that I couldn't keep from slapping Jones.
We are not against morality. Morality is worthwhile. It will keep you out of jail. It will keep you from getting traffic tickets. It will keep you from lying in the gutter. But morality is not Christianity, and it will not get you to heaven. The only way for a person to have any kind of righteousness whatever is to have Jesus, through a relationship with Him.
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