Do you want to change? That is a question I asked last week. I also talked about how we change. True spiritual growth and change is not a product of our own effort or performance. God is the One who makes things grow. And God is the One who makes people grow. Without the power of the Holy Spirit, we are helpless to truly grow spiritually. We need God if we are to become godly. Only Jesus can produce his life, his love, and his character in us.
Last week, we said that one of the great hindrances to true spiritual growth is a lack of understanding about who God is. There is another huge hindrance to spiritual growth that I often see in many Christians. The problem is self righteousness. The self righteous person basically feels they are good enough, or they are just not that bad of a person. The root of self righteousness is based upon one’s own ability, performance and effort to please God by keeping his law and commandments. Self righteousness is falsely rooted in the idea that you can behave good enough for God or that you can earn God’s favor through human effort. Our culture is full of people who think they live a pretty good life and that they are fine, more than good enough for God.
If a person thinks they are good enough for God though, then they really don’t need God. They will find no need for his grace either. God will be a nice little addition to their life, but there will be no sense of real need. And if you do not know your need for God and His grace, then growth and change will be hard to come by. The moment you think you can grow on your own, then you are no longer depending upon God for true change in your life.
If I can be honest with you, I think most of our churches are filled with self righteous people. Most of us church people think we are pretty good, especially when we compare ourselves to others. We look at the 10 commandments and think, “I haven’t murdered anyone or robbed a bank lately.” Jesus took it deeper though. He said if you hold hatred or bitterness in your heart against another, then you are a murderer. I know that is tough stuff, but that is what Jesus said. Jesus wants to make sure that we remain humble. Jesus did not die for us because we were good people.
The Apostle Paul said, “… no one will be declared righteous in (God’s) sight by observing the law; rather through the law we became conscious of sin” (Romans 3:20). Paul was telling us that we could never become righteous before God by obeying all the law. The reason is because no one will obey it perfectly. We will continually fail. Paul’s point is that the law is there to actually help us become aware of our sin. How would you know that it is wrong to be jealous if God never said, “Thou shall not be jealous?” If God did not give us his commandments, we would think we are fine. The commandments not only show us what a righteous life should look like, but they also show us how far we fall short. God’s commandments are meant to keep us from becoming self-righteous. The law is meant to make us see our need for Jesus, and for our grace.
The whole point of God’s Word, and especially of the law and commandments is to help drive you to Jesus. Do you want to change? Do you want to grow? Then realize that you are not as good as you think you are, and let that drive you closer to Jesus. You will find that his love and grace are sufficient for your life. And that’s the Word.
Tags: David Yarborough, st. simons community church, the brunswick news, What's the Word?