The Lord is awe-inspiring, fearsome, fascinating, intriguing, and majestic in his radiant splendor: breathtaking! Here is what I saw of him today and what came to my heart and mind in Hebrews 4:3a; 9-11,
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
"Now we who have believed enter that rest…There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will fall by following their example of disobedience."
This "rest" the writer of Hebrews speaks of is resting from the attempt to establish our own acceptance with God, that is, our "own righteousness". All the religious activity to demonstrate how good I am or how worthy I am of God's acceptance is cast as "disobedience"! In this passage the writer equates the efforts of folks to earn God's acceptance with the rebellious actions of those Moses led out of Egypt, those condemned to die in the wilderness. Kind of astonishing to realize the Bible speaks of religious "do-gooders" as rebellious people deserving God's judgment, isn't it?
The writer speaks of "entering his rest", Hebrews 4:1. This is a clear picture that the posture of resting from our own efforts to earn God's acceptance is an ongoing, continuing lifestyle. We don't become a part of God's family and then jump up from our rest to scurry about earning God's continuing acceptance, maintaining our own righteousness. But somehow I always feel the temptation to "work" on my standing before God. And here in this passage, I see that is equated to disobedience, verse 4:6 and unbelief, verse 3:19.
As I think of it this morning, my righteousness, my acceptance with God took nothing short of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. He paid the penalty for all my sin. Past, present and future. His payment was so effective that there is simply nothing I can do to add to what he did on the cross for me. The sacrifice he made for me was the ultimate expression of his love for me. If he died for me out of the pursuit of his love for me and asked that I only embrace him in faith, how can anything I ever do add to his acceptance of me? Today I stand in the righteousness, the acceptance of God that my Savior bought for me. All of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith stand in that righteousness.
Why would I want to besmirch the beauty of his perfect work on my behalf by attempting to add my efforts to it? I can't improve or embellish on the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross for me! Even after I enter into the "rest" from my efforts to prove my worthiness of God's favor and acceptance, I remain in that rest. I don't lose God's love and acceptance; I don't lose my righteousness after becoming a child of his.
And yet, look at all the religious activity around us that takes place just to prove how wonderful and righteous we are! I have a confession to make… if my continued standing in the righteousness that Jesus wrought for me requires my maintaining it through a lot of religious "do-gooder" effort, I am in serious trouble. I just can't be good enough to maintain a perfect life, even as a child of God indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Maybe you can, but I can't.
Instead of a focus on my acceptance by God, my righteous standing before him, I find Scripture to tell me that my God wants me to remain in his rest, accept my righteous standing before him earned by Jesus' sacrifice for me and move on as a new creation, growing and maturing in this new life I have. The Lord has provided me his Holy Spirit who dwells within me, he has provided me direction for my life in his word, he has placed in my life wonderful brothers and sisters he has gifted to encourage me, he has provided me a hope to stand in, something to be very excited about. All these things he has provided that I might grow spiritually in him, engage in the work he has for me, be productive for him and grow into the image of Jesus Christ, Romans 8:29. I need to move on past belaboring the issue of whether I'm good enough for God, whether I have a righteous standing before him. The reality is that I'm not good enough for God based on my performance. I never have been and never will be. No wonder I always feel this temptation to improve my standing and acceptance before God, my "righteousness".
But to do so is to express unbelief in the finished work of Jesus Christ. I need to rest in the wonderful standing he has provided me. All based on my embracing him in faith, just as the gospel message promises, "Now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:21-24.
Simply astonishing! Simply wonderful!
This "rest" the writer of Hebrews speaks of is resting from the attempt to establish our own acceptance with God, that is, our "own righteousness". All the religious activity to demonstrate how good I am or how worthy I am of God's acceptance is cast as "disobedience"! In this passage the writer equates the efforts of folks to earn God's acceptance with the rebellious actions of those Moses led out of Egypt, those condemned to die in the wilderness. Kind of astonishing to realize the Bible speaks of religious "do-gooders" as rebellious people deserving God's judgment, isn't it?
The writer speaks of "entering his rest", Hebrews 4:1. This is a clear picture that the posture of resting from our own efforts to earn God's acceptance is an ongoing, continuing lifestyle. We don't become a part of God's family and then jump up from our rest to scurry about earning God's continuing acceptance, maintaining our own righteousness. But somehow I always feel the temptation to "work" on my standing before God. And here in this passage, I see that is equated to disobedience, verse 4:6 and unbelief, verse 3:19.
As I think of it this morning, my righteousness, my acceptance with God took nothing short of the death of Jesus Christ on the cross. He paid the penalty for all my sin. Past, present and future. His payment was so effective that there is simply nothing I can do to add to what he did on the cross for me. The sacrifice he made for me was the ultimate expression of his love for me. If he died for me out of the pursuit of his love for me and asked that I only embrace him in faith, how can anything I ever do add to his acceptance of me? Today I stand in the righteousness, the acceptance of God that my Savior bought for me. All of us who have embraced Jesus Christ in faith stand in that righteousness.
Why would I want to besmirch the beauty of his perfect work on my behalf by attempting to add my efforts to it? I can't improve or embellish on the sacrificial death of Jesus Christ on the cross for me! Even after I enter into the "rest" from my efforts to prove my worthiness of God's favor and acceptance, I remain in that rest. I don't lose God's love and acceptance; I don't lose my righteousness after becoming a child of his.
And yet, look at all the religious activity around us that takes place just to prove how wonderful and righteous we are! I have a confession to make… if my continued standing in the righteousness that Jesus wrought for me requires my maintaining it through a lot of religious "do-gooder" effort, I am in serious trouble. I just can't be good enough to maintain a perfect life, even as a child of God indwelt with the Holy Spirit. Maybe you can, but I can't.
Instead of a focus on my acceptance by God, my righteous standing before him, I find Scripture to tell me that my God wants me to remain in his rest, accept my righteous standing before him earned by Jesus' sacrifice for me and move on as a new creation, growing and maturing in this new life I have. The Lord has provided me his Holy Spirit who dwells within me, he has provided me direction for my life in his word, he has placed in my life wonderful brothers and sisters he has gifted to encourage me, he has provided me a hope to stand in, something to be very excited about. All these things he has provided that I might grow spiritually in him, engage in the work he has for me, be productive for him and grow into the image of Jesus Christ, Romans 8:29. I need to move on past belaboring the issue of whether I'm good enough for God, whether I have a righteous standing before him. The reality is that I'm not good enough for God based on my performance. I never have been and never will be. No wonder I always feel this temptation to improve my standing and acceptance before God, my "righteousness".
But to do so is to express unbelief in the finished work of Jesus Christ. I need to rest in the wonderful standing he has provided me. All based on my embracing him in faith, just as the gospel message promises, "Now a righteousness from God, apart from law, has been made known, to which the Law and the Prophets testify. This righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no difference, for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, and are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus." Romans 3:21-24.
Simply astonishing! Simply wonderful!
Anything of the Lord capture your heart from Scripture today? Share what moved you about him from your Bible reading today. I'd love to hear from you!
If you have someone you would like to receive these ruminations, send me their email address. I'm happy to add them to the list. If you are receiving this and would like to be removed from the list, just reply and let me know.
No comments:
Post a Comment