Holiness, Godliness, Usefulness
05/30/2014, by John Kincaid
Lesson 252: His Goodness, Not Mine
Many people believe they will go to heaven if their good works outweigh their bad. But on God’s scales, even our best works count against us. “God loves us fully, despite our sin” – this is comfort for our guilty conscience. But it strips away any pride we may feel for our works.
God will be in debt to no one. Job 41:11; Rom.11:35
God made us right with Him; when He saved us He justified us, not because of our good works.
But the same is true each day of our Christian life, at each step in our sanctification.
If we ask God to bless us because we think we earned it by our good works, we miss the point.
Even our best works are filthy rags. Isa.64:6 I have to depend on His goodness, not on mine. If we walk in God’s ways, we will be blessed. Psa.1:1-3; Matt.5:3-10
God promises to bless obedience by using it for His purposes. Ultimately, His purpose is to make us more like Christ in our faith and character.
But this may involve hard times, which cause us to depend on God alone. God wants us to find satisfaction only in Him. Psa.73:26; 2 Cor.4:17; 1 Pet.1:7
About This Series
The goal of this series is to become more useful in serving the Lord Jesus Christ, as an instrument in the Redeemer's hand. The theme verses for the series are Ephesians 4:22-24, Philemon 11, 2 Timothy 2:21
- to put off your old self, which belongs to your former manner of life and is corrupt through deceitful desires, and to be renewed in the spirit of your minds,
- and to put on the new self, created after the likeness of God in true righteousness and holiness.
- Formerly he was useless to you, but now he is indeed useful to you and to me.
- Therefore, if anyone cleanses himself from what is dishonorable, he will be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work.
