Not By My Works

Good morning. Like the first touch of the Son on our lives, the sun rises this morning to a new day in Christ. Do you feel saved this morning? We know in our brains that salvation is not a feeling, though many feel a great relief in the act of submission to Christ that first time, but we continue to look for some cleansing feeling. Is the Lord sanctifying me for heaven? Where is my cleaned out feeling? Feelings come and go in our lives. Certainly, we do not want to base our hope of eternal life on a transitory feeling. I have often fought the opposite though, hoping to base my claim to salvation on a resume of accomplishments for the Lord's kingdom, or a list of legal obligations met and stamped by some heavenly clerk in a big room full of file cabinets. Those of us raised going to church two or three times or more each week, may run into that Pharisee disease. We want to show the Lord that we are saved in place of accepting His work of salvation in us. Perhaps we get a little confused by the admonition of James to show our faith by good works and forget that Paul wrote of saving faith.

Salvation and justification are accomplished by Jesus upon our surrender to Him. We cannot claim an 'I did it' in our salvation, the work is done for us and by our Lord. Paul boasted of what Christ did in his life. We are to do the same. We tend to get turned around by legalism. "There is nothing I can do to be saved; I'm doomed." NO! Jesus accomplished that which the sinner cannot do. We believe in Jesus and we are saved! Surrender brings victory in Christ. There is no mountain to climb to obtain a cup of salvation at the top. We accept the Lord's gift of grace when we lay our burdens down at His feet. That is just so backward from what the world has taught me.

We do not learn the way to salvation by studying the religious texts of the world. That stuff teaches the opposite, some path of works to be accomplished, a list of tasks to be fulfilled. A rich young man comes to Jesus and presents his resume. Jesus gives him one more task, one that proves beyond the man's ability. Our Lord in His wisdom showed us how there will always be one more task for the person seeking to prove himself worthy of eternal life. The young man missed the Way standing before him. We learn that we cannot come to Jesus asking what we must do to obtain, we ask Him to save us and He gives.

To God be the glory!
Bucky