NOT MY WORK, BUT HIS
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt. Rom. 4:4.
When a person first begins to understand that God offers a life of freedom, peace, and fulfillment through righteousness by faith in Jesus, the devil gets nervous. He has worked for as long as possible to keep everyone away from any interest in God whatever. He doesn't want anybody to come to Jesus and find rest. The further away we stay, the better he likes it. But if he fails to keep us from being drawn, to keep us from searching into things of God, he still has other tactics.
The first of these is to try to get us to work on righteousness. It is possible to spend years of futile effort working hard on the externals, trying to make yourself good enough to be accepted by God.
Finally, the realization comes that righteousness is by faith in Jesus alone. We learn that external goodness is insufficient. We see that our hearts are evil and we cannot change them, even if we are successful in improving our behavior. At this point the devil comes in with another clever sidetrack. He tries to get us to work on our faith. He brings in all his arguments in favor of positive thinking and urges us to concentrate on making ourselves believe. He tries to get us more interested in claiming promises than the One who made the promises. When we pray primarily for answers, and we don't get the answers we expect, he can then destroy our faith in God while professing to be exercising it.
When we realize that we cannot develop either righteousness or faith by our own efforts, the devil makes his final attempt to keep us from coming to Christ. "Now you've got it right," he says. "What you need to do is to give up. You must try hard to give up."
It has been good news for many of us who have tried time and time again to make ourselves surrender, that surrender is a gift also, as surely as righteousness and faith are gifts. "No man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work."--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 159.
Every gift that God has to give us, righteousness, peace, faith, victory, eternal life, and even surrender, is available in only one way--by coming into relationship with the Giver, through a personal communication with Him.
Now to him that worketh is the reward not reckoned of grace but of debt. Rom. 4:4.
When a person first begins to understand that God offers a life of freedom, peace, and fulfillment through righteousness by faith in Jesus, the devil gets nervous. He has worked for as long as possible to keep everyone away from any interest in God whatever. He doesn't want anybody to come to Jesus and find rest. The further away we stay, the better he likes it. But if he fails to keep us from being drawn, to keep us from searching into things of God, he still has other tactics.
The first of these is to try to get us to work on righteousness. It is possible to spend years of futile effort working hard on the externals, trying to make yourself good enough to be accepted by God.
Finally, the realization comes that righteousness is by faith in Jesus alone. We learn that external goodness is insufficient. We see that our hearts are evil and we cannot change them, even if we are successful in improving our behavior. At this point the devil comes in with another clever sidetrack. He tries to get us to work on our faith. He brings in all his arguments in favor of positive thinking and urges us to concentrate on making ourselves believe. He tries to get us more interested in claiming promises than the One who made the promises. When we pray primarily for answers, and we don't get the answers we expect, he can then destroy our faith in God while professing to be exercising it.
When we realize that we cannot develop either righteousness or faith by our own efforts, the devil makes his final attempt to keep us from coming to Christ. "Now you've got it right," he says. "What you need to do is to give up. You must try hard to give up."
It has been good news for many of us who have tried time and time again to make ourselves surrender, that surrender is a gift also, as surely as righteousness and faith are gifts. "No man can empty himself of self. We can only consent for Christ to accomplish the work."--Christ's Object Lessons, p. 159.
Every gift that God has to give us, righteousness, peace, faith, victory, eternal life, and even surrender, is available in only one way--by coming into relationship with the Giver, through a personal communication with Him.
RSS Feed
