the long path & counting the cost
Submitted by F.O.D. on May 07 1999 at 16:54:04
In reply to Change and Jesus Submitted by Ben on May 06 1999 at 20:21:43
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Hi Ben, nothing in the Bible says we have to make ourselves completely pure before the Holy God will deign to speak to us. On the contrary, the core of our faith, the cross, says we can never be perfect enough to enter the Kingdom of heaven. Christ made atonement for the guilt of our imperfection, out sin, and in justifying is, imputed his own righteousness onto us. (I think that's all the big words the theologians use, maybe Ray can come up with some others ;) ) So the perfection God is looking for in us is not our own perfection, it's Jesus' perfection. And his perfection is good enough! I think the first page of John's first letter is great for getting perspective on this matter: If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness... My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defence - Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only our but also for the sins of the whole world. I John 1:5-2:11 God's not expecting us to be perfect, Ben. On the contrary, he makes us perfect. Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her to make her holy, cleansing her by the washing with water thtough the word, and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless Eph 5:25-27 You see it's not that we're already perfect, but that we're made perfect by Christ himself. Which means he accepts while we're still imperfect, and then goes on to change us. But all of this changing doesn't take place the instant we accept Christ, it's a lifelong commitment to the process that takes up our whole time on earth. See what Paul says in 1 Thess 5:23-24: May GOd himself sanctify you through and through...The one who calls you is faithful and he will do it But it doesn't say God has done it, this sanctifying work. It says he will do it. It's a process which has already started in you and will keep going till your last day. And Paul, too, suffered from the tension between that which you want to do and that which you actually do do. Romans 7. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot not carry it out. For what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing. And again Paul takes comfort knowing that the solution to this paradox is found in trusting Jesus What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death? Thanks be to God - through Jesus Christ our Lord! Ben, you asked about the phrase "counting the cost", and I keep neglecting to answer that. The phrase comes from Luke 14:28. If you're going to become Jesus' disciple, you have to sit down and work out beforehand if you are willing to walk the long hard road with him, through failure, through doubt, through ridicule. Are you prepared to stay true to the faith to the end? Is the wonder of life with God worth all the trip-ups that come up along the way? And so with your sin and imperfection, are you prepared to trust Jesus enough to accept even with whatever imperfections you might have, trust that he will make you unblemished, but he'll do this in his own time, not your time. And the God of all grace, who called you to his eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will himself reestore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. 1 Peter 5:10 Jude 24...I could go on..!! Trust him, Ben, trust him. He loves you. He loves you enough to die for you, he's not going to give up on you just because you're struggling to be honestly pure! Love, Fod |