Do You Qualify?

Have you ever wondered if you were good enough for heaven?  Did you ever think you were on probation or on your scout's honor to do your best till Jesus comes or you die?  The fact is is that we are never good enough to be saved, but must realize we are bad enough to need salvation.  We cannot compare notes at our judgment as if we would be graded on a curve and think that we have a advantage over someone less fortunate.  "Who makes you to differ?  What do you have that you didn't receive?" (1 Cor. 4:7).  God doesn't grade on a curve and if He were to mete out justice to all, none of us would be able to escape hell; salvation is not because we deserve it, that would be justice, not mercy. 

The requirements for heaven are to have the righteousness of Christ, and the only way to get it is by imputation or God just reckoning it to our account.  We are not just forgiven of our wrongdoings and brought to a place of neutrality, but given the righteousness of Christ to boot--actually we are declared righteous or reckoned as righteous, but we are not made righteous, which would be different. We tend to think that God is looking for our achievements, or even cares about them, but God is looking for our obedience. 

Religion is about man's achievement; Christianity is about God's accomplishment.  Religion tries to reach out to God, while, in Christianity, God reaches out to man.  God doesn't even call us to success but to faithfulness.  What the world regards as success, I am saying, is not how God sees it.   You cannot be a man of the world and a man of God, they are mutually exclusive.  John exhorts us not to love the world (cf. 1 John 2:15) are not to be of the world (John 15:19).

People shouldn't come to their judgment and tell God about all the works they did, even if they were miracles, (Matt. 7:22) because Christ may say He never knew them.  We are not to put our faith in our works--works are no substitute for faith and works don't save--only faith in Christ saves. It is the object not the faith that saves.  Let me repeat:  Faith doesn't save; Christ saves.  

We live in an era when people applaud faith, even blind faith and most don't care what your faith is as long as you have it.  When someone says, "Keep the faith," it is meaningless and has no spiritual value. The reason the people are rejected who did great works in God's name is because they put their faith in their works and not in Christ.  They had a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge as it says in Rom. 10:2. You can have a lot of faith, but if it is misdirected, it does zilch and is worthless. 

Who gets saved, but the lowest bidder!  It is not the person who says he meant well, and was sincere, and did his best and believed the right creed, but the person who comes to God with nothing to offer and knows his wretchedness and knows he is at God's mercy, saying:  "God be merciful to me, the sinner." The way up is down in God's economy!   Don't think so highly of yourself!  You cannot think too lowly of yourself in God's eyes (actually humility is not thinking of self at all!), because you are just that:  Your righteousness is as filthy rages (cf. Is. 64:6).  You must despise yourself, hate your life, and realize you have nothing to offer God.

It cost a lot to be saved, and Jesus never made it seem easy, but it cost more not to be saved or to ignore His gospel message of being saved solely by grace, through the instrumental means of faith, in the object of Christ as Lord and Savior--God gets all the glory and the authority is the based on the Word of God.  Anything less is heresy, and corruption of the gospel and not evangelical in emphasis, but influenced by false teachings [the three heretical twists of the gospel's purity].   

"Salvation is of the Lord," (Jonah 2:9) and of the Lord alone (we contribute naught)--that is its essence. God has done it all--"It is finished!" Reckon it as a done deal.  There are religions galore that emphasize our achievements; however, Christianity stresses divine accomplishment, not human achievement!   Soli Deo Gloria!

Getting Something Out Of Church...

Most believers go to church for the wrong reason:  For comfort; for fellowship; to get favors; for making friends; for spreading their agenda or ministry; for the music; for a sermon; ad infinitum.   We may go to church for the wrong motive, but we ought, nevertheless, go:  "Let us not abandon the assembling together of ourselves as is the manner of some (cf. Heb. 10:25), but encourage one another." Today, the typical Christian will die for a church he won't attend!  God wants us to have the right motives, but can work with us even if our motives are wrong--He wants us in church and that is where we belong.

The church is an organism (a living entity) and not just an organization or a business run by some well-intentioned do-gooders.  All the members need each other and no one has all the gifts necessary to make the body function.  We all bring our gifts to share with the body or family we are part of and contribute as God has equipped us. Our gifts are for the edification of the body, and not to be selfishly used for our own service or profits.  We do not peddle the Word of God but make it available without price and without cost.  Our ministry is to the body and in another vein, our mission is to the unchurched or unbeliever.

Someone might say, "I didn't get anything out of worship today!"  That person went for the wrong intent and needs to examine his motives and heart and the doctrines pertaining to the church's raison d'etre.  Christ established the church for the edification of the body and the dissemination of the gospel message to the world at large.  The church's primary goal is to fulfill the Great Commission.

When you go to church do you feel better equipped to do that?  Worship isn't passive, but active, it is contradictory to listen to worship because worship is giving and not receiving.  God has commanded all creation to worship its Creator and corporate worship can only be done in the assembly of believers known as the local church.  There is a special presence of Christ when two or three are gathered together in His name.

The key to worship is surrender and the more one loves God, the more he has to give in worship--there must be a relationship there to build on. Some churches teach that there should be no holds barred in worship and everyone should feel free to be as spiritual as they are inclined to be and not inhibited or concerned about what others think, but the truth is that there is no one-size-fits-all worship service and everyone is at a different "stage" or phase, in there spiritual journey and walk in the Lord, and we cannot compare ourselves with each other.  There's no "one-size-fits-all." 

Everything we do in church is worship:  Singing spiritual songs and hymns; giving of our tithes and offerings; fellowshipping and reaching out to others; serving with our gift, and even listening to the sermon is worship!  "Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to hearken than the fat of rams" (1 Sam. 15:22).

We go to church to contribute something of our spiritual gift and to receive from other's gifts in exchange--it is mutual and we need each other; no one is an island to himself.  Look for a church in which you can serve with your spiritual gift.  We only get what we put into it and we shouldn't go unprepared, like showing up without any spiritual preparation or devotion.  We all can minister to another and reach out to those in need with our gift.


Finally, to get the most out of worship, we must empty ourselves, or stop dwelling on ourselves, and get our eyes on Jesus.  The gateway is to focus on others and not be self-centered, but reach out in love to one another.  Emptying comes before filling, and being filled with the Spirit is an imperative because worship is unnatural and we can only do it in Spirit and in truth (cf. John 4:24).

To conclude:  We are to be active listeners: Listening with a purpose like we want to learn and be challenged.  We don't go to church solely to hear a wonderful sermon and get uplifted, but that may be part of the equation of a well-balanced church attendance.  This may involve taking notes or discussing the sermons afterward--anything that reinforces it and it doesn't end up in oblivion after church.  You will find that the more in the Word you are the more interesting you will find the sermons and the ability to follow them critically and positively.  God commands our respect and attention, and it is sacrilegious to purposely be a distraction and cause others to lose focus on the message.  Remember, God has anointed the minister and has something in mind for you to learn and apply directly to your life.    Soli Deo Gloria!

Competent For Every Good Work

It is the Word of God that gives us the expertise to do His will and accomplish every good work (cf. 2 Tim. 3:17: (We are "thoroughly furnished unto all good works!")  We have everything we need and this is what is meant by God supplying our needs-to equip us for His will.  2 Cor. 9:8 says we may abound in every good work because of the grace of having sufficiency in all things!  If God brings you to it, He will bring you through it.  We will never be overwhelmed in the Lord (i.e., if we are doing His bidding and will) and God will be with us in the storm and when we pass through the waters He will be with us (cf. Is. 43:2).

We can never boast that we have done something for the Lord, but only that we are counted worthy to be used as vessels of honor for His glory.  "I venture not to speak, but of what Christ has accomplished through me"  (Paul, in Romans 15:18).  We should be humbled that God used us for glory and not shame because He has a purpose for everyone in His plan, even Judas was decreed to betray Him and went according to what was written.  

The people of Israel became haughty and prideful that they had done something worthy of praise, but God downplayed it and put them in their rightful place:  "You who rejoice in Lo-debar [Hebrew for "nothing"], who say, 'Have we not by our own strength captured Karnaium [nothing] by ourselves?'" (Amos 6:13, ESV).  That means they had an overrated and exaggerated opinion of themselves and needed to be brought down a peg after their victory and give the credit and glory to God.   "[Y]ou have done for us all our works" (Is. 26:12, ESV, cf. Hosea 14:8) or "all that we have done God has accomplished for us."  Isaiah knew that it was just God using them and they should give Him the glory.  Colossians 1:29  (ESV)  is Paul's explanation:  "For this I toil, struggling with all his energy that he powerfully works within me."

The whole purpose of our life is to glorify God according to Isaiah 43:7 and "... God will equip you with everything good that you may do his will"  (cf. Hebrews 13:21, ESV). According to the Shorter Westminster Catechism, "The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever."   In the end, we want to accomplish great things for God, and believe God for greater things, knowing that if we are in His will He will provide all we need to perform it.  St. Theresa said she was intending upon building a convent.  They asked her how much money she had as resources.  When she said only twelve pence; they said that even Saint Theresa couldn't do much with twelve pence.  "However," she said, "God and Saint Theresa can!"

"To whom much is given, much is required" and this also goes for needs.  It's not that some people inherently need more, but are attempting more in God's will and God wants to see them through in these needs.  God is really supplying all His needs according to His purposes and we don't realize it.

In conclusion, God is able to multiply our "loaves" exponentially into enough to feed "multitudes," and we are to turn stones into bread and walk on water if that is the obstacle to God's will and completing the mission that He has given us.  Truly, we shall be able to do greater things than the Lord in greater dimension and magnitude than He was able to reach out to. (Per John 14:12 in the ESV:  "... [Whoever] believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father.")  Thus, we are all competent to do what God has designed us to do; the key is to find that out and where we fit into God's framework and design. Soli Deo Gloria!